Yuhui's Blogger

Installing RVM, Ruby 2, Rails 3, MySQL on OS X 10.8

2013-05-25T16:16:00.000+08:00

ALERT! For Ruby on Rails developers only.

FYI this is more for my reference than anything else. Use at your own risk.

My environment:

Mac OS X 10.8.3
Intel Core i5
XCode 4.6.2 with command line tools

As of this blog, after running all commands, you should end up with:

RVM 1.20.12
Ruby 2.0.0-p195 + default gems
Rails 3.2.13 + associated gems
MySQL 5.6.11 (64-bit) using mysql2 gem (version 0.3.11)

First, download and install MySQL.

Temporarily allow software installation from anywhere.

Open System Preferences --> Security & Privacy.
Click the lock icon at bottom-left. When prompted, enter your (administrator) password.
Remember your current setting, i.e. "Mac App Store", "Mac App Store and identified developers" or "Anywhere".
If it is not already selected, click the "Anywhere" radio button. Press "Allow From Anywhere" in the popup.

Download MySQL.

In your web browser, go to https://dev.mysql.com/downloads/mysql/
Download the latest version of 64-bit MySQL as a DMG (as of this blog, it is "Mac OS X ver. 10.7 (x86, 64-bit), DMG Archive", the rest of the steps will use names based on this version).

Install MySQL.

Double-click the downloaded disk image, "mysql-5.6.11-osx10.7-x86_64.dmg".
Double-click "mysql-5.6.11-osx10.7-x86_64.pkg". Install without any customization.
Double-click "MySQL.prefPane". Install for all users on your computer.
Double-click "MySQLStartupItem.pkg". Install without any customization.
Eject the "mysql-5.6.11-osx10.7-x86_64" disk image.

Restart MySQL.

Open System Preferences --> MySQL.
Press the "Stop MySQL Server" button. Enter your (administrator) password if prompted.
If MySQL Server Instance is still running, you need to shut it down in Terminal.

Open Terminal.
Run this command:
$ sudo /usr/local/mysql/bin/mysqladmin shutdown
Enter your (administrator) password if prompted.

Press "Start MySQL Server" button. Enter your (administrator) password if prompted.

Reset software installation permission.

Open System Preferences --> Security & Privacy.
Click the lock icon at bottom-left, if it is still locked. When prompted, enter your (administrator) password.
Under "Allow applications downloaded from", choose your previous setting, i.e. "Mac App Store", "Mac App Store and identified developers" or "Anywhere" radio button.
Close System Preferences.

Now, run all of the following commands in OS X's Terminal.

Start a new Terminal session (start a new tab with Cmd-T).
Update permissions.
$ sudo chmod o-w /usr/local
Install RVM with stable release of Ruby.
$ \curl -L https://get.rvm.io | bash -s stable --ruby
Start a new Terminal session (start a new tab with Cmd-T).
Update RVM settings.
$ source /Users//.rvm/scripts/rvm
$ rvm requirements
Verify RVM.
$ type rvm | head -n 1
rvm is a function
Verify Ruby.
$ rvm current
ruby-2.0.0-p195
$ ruby -v
ruby 2.0.0p195 (2013-05-14 revision 40734) [x86_64-darwin12.3.0]
Verify gem directory.
$ rvm gemdir
/Users/<home>/.rvm/gems/ruby-2.0.0-p195
Update Rubygem (to be on the safe side).
$ gem update --system
Install Rails.
$ gem install rails
Verify Rails.
$ rails -v
Rails 3.2.13
Verify GCC.
$ gcc -v
Using built-in specs.
Target: i686-apple-darwin11
Configured with: /private/var/tmp/llvmgcc42/llvmgcc42-2336.11~28/src/configure --disable-checking --enable-werror --prefix=/Applications/Xcode.app/Contents/Developer/usr/llvm-gcc-4.2 --mandir=/share/man --enable-languages=c,objc,c++,obj-c++ --program-prefix=llvm- --program-transform-name=/^[cg][^.-]*$/s/$/-4.2/ --with-slibdir=/usr/lib --build=i686-apple-darwin11 --enable-llvm=/private/var/tmp/llvmgcc42/llvmgcc42-2336.11~28/dst-llvmCore/Developer/usr/local --program-prefix=i686-apple-darwin11- --host=x86_64-apple-darwin11 --target=i686-apple-darwin11 --with-gxx-include-dir=/usr/include/c++/4.2.1
Thread model: posix
gcc version 4.2.1 (Based on Apple Inc. build 5658) (LLVM build 2336.11.00)
Verify MySQL.
$ mysql -V
mysql Ver 14.14 Distrib 5.5.20, for osx10.6 (i386) using readline 5.1
Symlink MySQL dynamic library.
$ sudo ln -s /usr/local/mysql/lib/libmysqlclient.18.dylib /usr/lib/libmysqlclient.18.dylib
Update mysql_config. (I use vim as my text editor.)
$ sudo vim /usr/local/mysql/bin/mysql_config

Go to line 119.
Copy-and-paste lines 119 and 120.
Comment lines 119 and 120.
Line 121: remove -Wno-null-conversion -Wno-unused-private-field
Line 122: remove -Wno-null-conversion -Wno-unused-private-field
So lines 119-122 should now be:
#cflags="-I$pkgincludedir -Wall -Wno-null-conversion -Wno-unused-private-field -Os -g -fno-strict-aliasing -DDBUG_OFF -arch x86_64 " #note: end space!
#cxxflags="-I$pkgincludedir -Wall -Wno-null-conversion -Wno-unused-private-field -Os -g -fno-strict-aliasing -DDBUG_OFF -arch x86_64 " #note: end space!
cflags="-I$pkgincludedir -Wall -Os -g -fno-strict-aliasing -DDBUG_OFF -arch x86_64 " #note: end space!
cxxflags="-I$pkgincludedir -Wall -Os -g -fno-strict-aliasing -DDBUG_OFF -arch x86_64 " #note: end space!
Save and exit.

Install mysql2 gem.
$ sudo env ARCHFLAGS="-arch x86_64" gem install mysql2 -- --with-mysql-dir=/usr/local/mysql --with-mysql-lib=/usr/local/mysql/lib --with-mysql-include=/usr/local/mysql/include
If mysql2 gem still fails to install:

Uninstall mysql2 gem.
$ gem uninstall mysql2 -a
Delete MySQL's files and folders.
$ sudo rm /usr/local/mysql
$ sudo rm -rf /usr/local/mysql*
$ sudo rm -rf /Library/StartupItems/MySQLCOM
$ sudo rm -rf /Library/PreferencePanes/My*
$ sudo vim /etc/hostconfig
$ sudo rm -rf /Library/Receipts/mysql*
$ sudo rm -rf /Library/Receipts/MySQL*
Re-download and re-install MySQL.
Go back to step 14 and continue from there.

Hope that works for you too!

My farewell email at XM

2010-10-02T01:27:00.006+08:00

September 30, 2010 marked my last day at XM Asia Pacific Pte Ltd. As is a sort-of tradition there, I sent this farewell email. Some names have been changed to protect the innocent. Also, some parts have been censored due to company confidentiality issues.

Subject: [HR] Yu Hui will be out of office... forever!

It's 10pm as I write this email. T's lurking somewhere, but otherwise, I'm spending my last day at XM alone.

Usually, when one resigns, you get less and less work towards your final day. But I've had more and more! Such that I thought I wouldn't have time to compose a meaningful final email. So I've written this over the last few days. It sums up my thoughts and feelings of my experience at XM.

Please pardon its length.

---

I've been at XM for 4 1/2 years. 1/2 more year, and I would've got a 5-year award. As M said, "So sad!"

I only felt sad when people whom I thought would be at XM forever left for other pastures. It's true what they say: the people make XM the place to work at.

I've had 5 bosses, 8 department colleagues, 6 different desks (+1 roaming when the new desk hadn't arrived), working in a department that is at its biggest now with 5 people, but soon shrinking to 3. Some may consider it the passing of an era at XM. I prefer to think more realistically in that demand (for analysts) outstrips supply.

When people ask me what account I work on, I say, "All of them!" <censored list of clients> If any of those sound alien to you, don't worry, you'll collect some of your own if you stay as long too. M and V and S have probably collected many many more.

I was pretty much the only reporting monkey for about 2 to 2.5 years. And when I was forced to deliver on my own without any real guidance, it made me grow up professionally very quickly. When everyone depends on you for answers, "I don't know" quickly becomes interpreted as "This person is an idiot".

Every report became an experiment in new reporting techniques, new format/structure, new metrics, new ideas.

Which probably explains why when someone asked me for a reporting template, I was at a loss to produce one!

---

Save your files to the network. Attachments kill email and version control.

On the other hand, remember not to <censored>. True story from <censored>.

---

I still think of the days back at Shaw Towers with fondness.

When we were spoiled for choice for lunch.

When there were little boys and "Hello" ghosts.

When thunderstorms appeared as beautiful curtains of rain.

When I could hear the horns of delivery vehicles from Suntec City about every 3 months (IT fair!).

When the Xbox was fully utilized during lunch and after work. When I brought my Wii and we played late into the night.

When K was tied to her chair, wheeled into the lift, and sent to the first floor. (XM was on the 26th floor.)

When we walked down 52 flights of stairs in one day. (26 floors x 2 earthquake tremors = tired legs)

When we only had client A and client B. Heck, when client B meant the business unit 1 and the business unit 2, not this business unit 3 that I keep hearing about.

Good times.

---

<censored>

---

Client C is scary to work with, but in a good way.

---

I believe in mobile. Throw away your iPhones and Androids and buy lower-end 3G phones. Then surf the web with the built-in browsers or Opera Mini. It'll blow your mind away.

---

I hate site revamps.

<censored>

---

Sleeping at your desk doesn't mean you're lazy. It means you're overworked and over-tired.

And if you're further sleep-deprived, you can't function at your best. And then XM suffers. And clients scream. And take their money away. And XM goes bankrupt. And then you don't get your bonus. And then you're laid off. And then your house mortgage is due.

So you have to sleep in the streets.

When all you needed was an afternoon nap at your desk.

---

<censored>

---

Contrary to popular opinion… having a blog (and one that is rarely updated!) does not make me a social media guru.

---

To those whom I've frustrated over the years... comfort yourself with knowing that you have one less idiot to work with.

---

XM should just merge with Agency A and be done with it. This competition, this "I'm better than you" thing that's going on is ridiculous. Less patting self on the back, more using of limited resources efficiently.

---

There are times when I think XM should do <censored> because they make sense.

Like when I <censored> in a campaign site. Though that turned out to be a flop because <censored>.

---

Now that I'm gone, someone else will need to take over the responsibility of switching off the meeting room and bathroom lights when they're not in use. Though 50 Scotts Road is a "green" building, you can save more energy by switching off.

Please don't leave your computer and monitor on throughout the night or weekend.

---

It's the 21st century. Time for Flash to die.

I had wanted to do a HTML5 version of a Flash animation. Alas, my canvas and SVG skillz were not up to par.

---

Some personal words of wisdom that I had compiled in December 2009:
Eight hours a day is the maximum, not minimum.
Self-improvement is always at your own time and effort.
Bring your children to work. If nothing else, they will lighten the mood in the office.
Bring your parents to work. If nothing else, they will scold the person who keeps you working late in the office.
Take full advantage of available discounts provided by XM and WPP.
Taxi fare claims, meal expenses, lucky draw prizes and performance bonuses are not overtime pay.
---

I don't know what the procedure is for changing desks here at XM. But if anyone wants a dusty table, a chair that has some flecks of dandruff, with a tin of tea from when I joined in 2006 and a cake from 30 Nov 2009, surrounded by Creatives at one end and Suits at the other... please, make yourself at home.

Stay in touch! My email address is on the Internet.

For the last time,

Regards,
Yu Hui
[standard XM official signature]

Universal Studios Singapore -- fun, imaginative... too American

2010-08-13T19:02:00.003+08:00

About half a year after it opened, I finally had the chance to step through the gates of Universal Studios Singapore and experience this internationally acclaimed theme park first hand. My expectations were set both by the hype around this local version of the Universal theme park franchise, and also my previous experience at the Los Angeles one.

Having arrived after the rest of the group, I met up with the others at the "Shrek 4D" attraction. This was where we would join Shrek and Donkey in rescuing Fiona. We donned our glasses to watch the 3D effects and got sprayed with water and bounced around in the seats to get the "4D" effect. (Technically, the fourth dimension is time, but who am I to argue with creative licensing in the name of fun?) Like any motion simulator ride, the "4D" effects were simple and predictable, especially the water spray... though it did feel rather gross to get wet when Shrek sneezed on screen!

We wanted to go for the Jurassic Park water ride, but there was a one-hour wait for it, so we went to the "Revenge of the Mummy" ride instead. It had a reportedly shorter wait of 45 minutes, but we were in-and-out within half an hour! This was an indoor roller-coaster where we were supposed to find the Book of... something. Anyway, the story wasn't important, we were there to scream! And as luck would have it, I got into the first row.

We got a slow build-up for about a minute and then it was a full-on roller coaster ride! Unfortunately, the whole thing ended in a few minutes. We expected some kind of big climactic final drop, so we were disappointed when we found ourselves heading for the alighting point.

This indoor roller-coaster ride felt... safe.

We walked a bit further and found ourselves in the "Sci-fi" section. The highlight was the "Battlestar Galactica" twin roller-coaster. This was, of course, closed, and has been closed almost since the park opened. A few of us went to the "Accelerator", which is really like Disneyworld's Mad Hatter's tea cup ride, except that we're supposed to imagine that we're in some kind of high-tech spinning accelerator. It didn't help that the in-car wheel was so stiff to turn! Actually, the speed of our spinning felt to be controlled more by the external system rather than our own turning efforts.

We walked through the "New York" section and had a break at "Mel's Diner". I had a chocolate milkshake while some of the others bought burger meals. While sitting and chatting, we saw a performance going on outdoors. It was supposed to be for the filming of a beach song-and-dance for a 1960s/1970s movie.

Personally, I thought the story was lost on the Singaporean/Asian spectators. And that performance summed up my thoughts about Universal Studios Singapore. What the planners seemed to have done was to transfer the American model into Singapore, lock, stock and barrel. There was very little "localization" done. That meant American food, American performances, American attractions. Granted, there's little localization that could be done for the attractions, but songs and dances could have been better adapted for the local taste. Perhaps Universal needs to partner with a few Asian filmmakers to inject that local flavour into its Singapore theme park.

After our break, we went to watch a Steven Spielberg-hosted attraction about special effects. We were to imagine that we were in old New York City and a hurricane was coming down on us. Again, it felt... safe. We were supposed to feel a hurricane, but I thought our own local monsoon thunderstorms were more dreadful. When a metal beam fell from the roof, it dropped mechanically. When a boat burst into the dock that we spectators were supposed to be in, it just floated in undramatically.

Our final attraction was "Monster Rock". I thought it would be something like the "Rocky Horror" show. Instead, it was about a song-and-dance show featuring non-scary monsters. And -- again -- it was very Western. I could understand the "scientist's" fast-spoken opening monologue. The monsters project on-screen were their classic horror versions, but the performers who came out were instead prim and proper and, for the females, sexy.

At least this show featured some localization. There was a routine when Dracula serenaded his Bride in a Chinese song. (While I recognize the song, I don't know its title.) The audience loved that! They were screaming and whooping at the start and applauding loudly at the end. If I were a Universal Studios planner, I'd start working on more localization for other acts to make them more enjoyable by a predominantly Asian audience.

Finally, the day ended with some shopping back at the "Hollywood" street at the entrance. Amazingly, we had completed almost all of the key attractions in half a day. (The only one that I wanted to go to but didn't have the chance was the Jurassic Park water ride.) That showed just how small the theme park is. As a friend remarked, we could have walked the park completely in an hour. Of course, Universal Studios Singapore (also called "USS" in acronym-mad Singapore) is limited by land area, so I think it's quite admirable with what it has achieved with its constraints.

What was most ironic for me was that, of all the attractions that I went to, I had never watched the movies nor television shows that they were based on! But that didn't mar my time, since I was there to have fun, fun, fun!

In spite of its flaws, I'd go back to Universal Studios Singapore again... once the "Battlestar Galactica" ride opens!

Final comment: I was surprised to hear the theme song of "Star Trek 3: The Search for Spock" playing over the intercom. "Star Trek" is a Paramount movie. Then again, so are the Dreamworks-produced "Shrek" and "Madagascar". Maybe this is a Universal-Paramount partnership.

--

Overflowing with durians

2010-06-27T22:07:00.003+08:00

The recent spell of hot-and-cold weather had made me feel rather unsettled. To comfort myself (or was it to pamper myself? ha), I decided to treat myself to some durians. So I made my way to my favourite durian seller to buy some durians.

Was I astonished to see his stall! There were baskets and baskets of durians everywhere! They were in his shop, on his tables, along the corridor, outside his stall. There were baskets of durians stacked upon other baskets of the fruit. In fact, the whole market was flooded with the thorny fruit -- to the point where even his neighbours' stalls were filled with durians!

As to be expected, the odour from the King of Fruits was quite unpleasant and it raised a stink in the neighbourhood. Fortunately, years of consuming the fleshy yellow fruit had made me quite immune to it, so I carefully wade through the baskets of fruit to get to the durian stall.

Inside, I could see my durian seller guiding his assistants impatiently. His arms flailed and his voice boomed as he directed them to move the durians here and there. Some of his assistants were already outside, recovering the durians as quickly as they could. Others were inside the stall, where they transferred the baskets of fruit out of sight as quickly as their tired arms could.

Just then, my durian seller saw me approach him. He barked another order to a hapless assistant, then walked towards me. He was clearly exasperated and I didn't know what to say to calm him, or if I should even say anything.

"Look at this mess!" he exclaimed. "How to work like that?"

"What happened?" I asked gingerly.

"Over there, lah!" he said, pointing into the distance. "Got traffic jam, so the lorries all cannot carry their durians out. In the end, the durians all kena dump here."

I looked into the distance but could not see the lorries that he spoke of nor whatever was blocking the roads. "I've never known the roads to be this badly jammed," I remarked.

"You don't know," he drawled. "This place always got jams. But my assistants always help to direct vehicles away. My assistants are very good. Tell them to check every six months, they check and clear the jams. That's why always no problem."

"I didn't know your assistants have to check the roads for jams."

"I am the landlord here, so it's my responsibility. Some more, this is premiere shopping area. If nobody check, and the roads kena jammed, then customers disappear, then we all lose big money. So of course I get my assistants to check. Then confirm got durian to sell and got customers to buy. And everyone is happy."

I nodded in understanding. "But that doesn't explain this situation. How does a traffic jam cause this overflow of durians?"

"You never read the durian forecast in the newspapers? Got flash bumper crop! As if all the durians trees start dropping their durians! This only happen once every 50 years!"

"A bumper crop should be good for your business," I noted. "You can sell more durians and satisfy your customers' thirst for it."

"You say lucky, I say sueh! The durian farmers must move the durians before they all get rotten, right? Their drivers all drive very fast, move the durians quickly, they also very good workers. And then what happened?" He gestured at the distance again.

"A traffic jam," I replied.

"The drivers got no choice, dump their durians here, then go back to collect some more." He stared at his shop, and I noticed that he was giving his workers his classic evil eye. "They all, lah! Never check the roads for jams. Now I must make sure they work double hard! Check six months, not enough. Check three months also not enough. I tell them: check the roads every month!"

He mellowed for a moment and shook his head in despair. "The impact and disruption to customers and business -- all not acceptable one."

Then, just as quickly, his rage returned. He stormed back into his stall. "Next time better not have any more traffic jams! Otherwise you all know what it means to die!" His assistants all cowered in fear and moved even quicker.

My durian seller was clearly not in a selling mood today, so I left the market quietly. While leaving, I surveyed the damage. At one of the nearby stalls that was filled with durians, I saw an old uncle drinking his kopi while avoiding getting swamped by the thorny husks of the durians.

This was truly a disaster.

--

I'm single in Singapore but not by choice

2010-05-24T05:49:00.003+08:00

Hello. My name is Yuhui and I've never been kissed.

It's not that I'm averse to kissing nor am I shy about it (as far as I know, given my lack of any real experience). Also, kissing my mother doesn't count.

No, it's about the lack of partners to kiss with. Actually, at this point in my life, I'd settle for a partner - singular.

In Saturday's Straits Times newspaper (reproduced at SGClub.com), there was a full-page article, "Never been kissed". It described the issues around the growing number of singles, a.k.a "singletons", in Singapore. And yes, this being Singapore, those issues include marrying late and having babies even later or not at all.

As I read through the stories, I found that mine did not match any of those. So I thought I'd share my side of Singaporean singlehood. In doing so, I hope that I can show that my experience isn't a quirk or "the exception that proves the rule".

I didn't attempt to start dating seriously till I was in university. Before then, the closest I'd got was with a girl from junior college -- who brought a friend along. During my National Service days, I watched my buddies hook up while I was left hanging.

But you have to understand. I was young then and believed that I had all the time in the world to find a partner. That was about 15 years ago. Time is no longer a luxury I have. And in the intervening years, I've tried to make up for lost dates.

Yet, I found myself continuing to attract only two kinds of girls:

those who already had boyfriends (or *gasp* were on the verge of getting married) or
for one reason or another, didn't want to be in a relationship now and "can we just remain as friends?"

(As time dragged on, friends suggested that I let go of my principles and pursue those in the first group, i.e. those already attached. After all, these days, even a marriage isn't forever. However, I'm glad to say that I haven't stooped that low.)

The ironic thing is that some of those girls in the second group getting married!

To find Ms Right, I even joined a dating agency. Yes, I forked over good money for a number of dates (20, I think). I went on two repeat dates (supposedly the measure of success for a dating agency), though things fizzled out after that. And by that, I mean I received no replies when contacting them subsequently.

But almost all of the girls were just looking to widen their social circles -- and I somehow never ended up being a part of anyway. This is where marketing met reality. The "dating agency" promised partnership, but its database consisted of people looking for friends. It was a big "what the f--k" realisation -- not to mention seeing good money go down the drain.

Some dating articles suggested that I look nearer, like in the workplace. (Though a friend advised: "why eat and shit at the same place?") One day, I plucked up the courage to ask a colleague out (you know who you are!). She gave the "I don't date colleagues" response, which I guess was acceptable. But even now that we're not colleagues, she can't bring herself to date me.

Other colleagues are -- you guessed it -- already attached or "not looking for a relationship right now".

It was then that I pretty much gave up. After that, if anyone wanted to introduce me to someone, I gave my contact details freely. It's truly a "what's the worst that can happen?" decision. People who know me would probably pair me with someone compatible, right?

If so, I wouldn't be writing this now.

So that's my story, and I hope I'm not the only Singaporean single male who's "suffering" through this.

Oh yes, I'm still open to being matchmade. (Or if you're my previous/current colleague, you could try to "psycho" that ex-colleague to give me a chance or point my in another direction.) After all, "what's the worst that can happen?"

On a sidenote: I read an article (from a man's magazine, naturally) that it was cheaper to hook up with prostitutes than it is to date. With the former, there's also guaranteed sex for the fee, whereas with the latter, you hope that your "investment" in dates culminates in a marriage and therefore sex (going by the traditional means of having sex). This suggestion is really not an ideal option for me.

--

Omniture plug-in: “setCampaignVars” for efficient campaign tracking

2010-04-25T22:37:00.001+08:00

WARNING: this is a very technical entry that details some web programming/development for a specific web analytics tool.

(This entry was originally published on the XM Asia Pacific blog. I'm reproducing it here as my publishing and reproduction right as the plug-in's sole developer.)

Today, I'm proud to share a plug-in that will help to make campaign tracking more efficient within Omniture's s_code.js file ¹. It's called setCampaignVars. It's free, it's easy to use, and -- best of all -- it's open source.

Background: Campaign Tracking with Omniture SiteCatalyst
At its simplest level, campaign tracking works this way: the Omniture code reads a value from the URL and saves it as your campaign tracking code. For example, let's say that I have the following URL:

http://www.my-wonderful-site.com/index.html?cmp=foobar

The Omniture code can be configured to get the campaign tracking code whenever it sees the "cmp" query parameter in the URL. In this example, it will save foobar as the tracking code.

But Omniture recommends that campaign tracking doesn't stop there. It suggests the following:

Store the tracking code in an Omniture traffic variable - to report on pageviews, visits, time spent, and similar metrics
Store the tracking code with your landing page name and enable pathing on this combination - to track how users navigate your site from the landing page

In addition, depending on your requirements, you might also need to

Make the user's browser retain the tracking code for a period of time ², regardless of how he subsequently returns to your site.

Campaign Tracking introduces New Problems
To implement the above, your Omniture technical account manager should have provided you with a set of code that you can just copy-and-paste into your s_code.js file, or the file may already contain the code when it was first given to you. That's all well and good. BUT (and you knew there would be a "but"), that code normally applies for external campaigns only, for example, to track users who enter your site from a paid search campaign.

On the other hand, you may have internal campaigns, e.g. banners within your site, like on your homepage, for certain promotions. You'd want to track these in the same way as external campaigns. (Omniture recommends that you do so too.) But that means you'd have to (a) write the code yourself, or (b) get your account manager (or savvy web developer) to do it for you.

New Problems demand a New Solution: setCampaignVars
Now I give you option (c): setCampaignVars. After adding the plug-in to your s_code.js file, you will be able to:

Get the (external or internal) campaign tracking code from your URL
Store the tracking code in both traffic and conversion variables
Store the tracking code+landing page combo as a traffic variable for pathing (optional), and
Retain the tracking code only once for a certain period of time (optional)

Here's how to use setCampaignVars:

Get the file, setCampaignVars.txt
- Refer to setCampaignVars_maximized.txt for the plug-in's details and its "maximized" version
Copy-and-paste the contents of setCampaignVars.txt into your s_code.js after "PLUGINS SECTION"
Make sure your s_code.js contains Omniture's getQueryParam, getAndPersistValue and getValOnce plug-ins
Use setCampaignVars within the s_doPlugins block

Getting Started with setCampaignVars
Here are a few example scenarios to get you started with step 4:

Save your external campaign tracking code (from the "cmp" URL query) to s.campaign and s.prop1, and expire the tracking code within the same visit
s.setCampaignVars('cmp','campaign','prop1');
Save your external campaign tracking code (from the "cmp" URL query) to s.campaign and s.prop1, keep the tracking code for up to 7 days, and enable campaign pathing (using ":" to separate the tracking code from your landing page name) on s.prop2
s.setCampaignVars('cmp','campaign','prop1',7,'prop2',':',s.pageName,true);
Save your internal campaign tracking code (from the "intcmp" URL query) to s.eVar7 and s.prop7 and retain the code for the next 30 days
s.setCampaignVars('intcmp','eVar7','prop7',30,,,,true);

Now It's Your Turn
I've used setCampaignVars with great success for a major project. Knowing that it works properly in a production environment, I'm now making it publicly available for the Omniture community to use as well. Hopefully, it makes your lives much simpler, as it did mine.

If you encounter any implementation errors with setCampaignVars, please log it down at the setCampaignVars support section in SourceForge. Or help me fix it ³.

Disclaimer: setCampaignVars is not endorsed, verified or supported by Omniture. Use at your own risk. Also, by using this code, you agree not to hold XM Asia Pacific or any of its employees, both past and present, liable for any data errors and/or loss.

Footnotes:

The "s_code.js" file is a required JavaScript file that performs the guts of web tracking for Omniture's tools.
The retention period for your campaign tracking code is measured in days. Ideally, it should match your campaign variable's setting within your report suite's Administration section.
setCampaignVars is entirely open source and licensed under the GNU General Public Licence v3.

Japan trip - day seven - Tokyo

2010-03-16T23:59:00.001+08:00

Woke up at 8:30am to have breakfast at 9am. Then remembered that the hotel served breakfast till 11am, and check-out was at 10am, so decided to sleep in till 9:30am. After checking out, walked opposite to the hotel's annex for breakfast.

It was a "continental" breakfast consisting of toast, Japanese soup and coffee or tea, 320 yen with unlimited refills of any item. Surprisingly, waitress spoke English fluently and without a Japanese accent. (Later, I asked her if she was Japanese, to which she said yes, and she chuckled when I complimented her English.)

Just when finishing breakfast, saw that a group of office workers were gathering outside the adjacent building. Apparently, there was a fire drill. An old man from the fire department led the drill, issuing instructions and other pointers. Some of the office workers even had a chance to try their hand at using a fire extinguisher, something we certainly don't practise in Singapore. Later, another fire department official led another session, though I couldn't tell what it was.

Stayed till 11:30am, then took the train to Shinjuku. Still had about two hours to kill before taking the Narita Express to the airport. So walked around the shops outside to see if anything caught my eye for last minute gifts. Also took the opportunity to take some photos of Shinjuku in the daytime.

First, deposited my luggage and some items from my backpack in a locker at the train station, then went out. Weather was warm enough to be without a jacket, but I brought it along just in case. Sky also looked cloudy, but guess I'll be out of Tokyo before it rains.

Happened to walk past a Bic Camera and an ad caught my eye: a Sony Ericsson "Bravia" phone. Never having heard of one before, I went in to see what it was. Apparently, it's a phone that lets you watch TV as well, but since the menus are all in Japanese, I couldn't try this out. It also had a five-megapixel camera, but picture quality was soft even under bright light, so that was a disappointment. Also saw a Sharp solar phone, which could be useful for me in Singapore if I weren't indoors almost all the time and since work forces me to hardly see the sun.

Then, since I still had some free time, I went to Uniqlo to see if there was anything suitable, but looking at the prices, I think I can get the same items in Singapore for about the same price.

Returned to the JR Shinjuku train station at 1:50pm. Collected my luggage, repacked some items, then went to board the Narita Express. Slept on the two-hour ride.

Then, at Narita station, I did a stupid thing by tossing my train ticket into the recycling bin before exiting. Luckily, I could reach in and retrieve it!

The counter for United Airlines featured its Easy Check-In system. I've often wondered why Changi Airport doesn't have this, and after today, I'm glad it doesn't. Easy Check-In, the automated kiosk system that allows passengers to check-in themselves rather than through the counter assistant, was basically useless. It frustrated passengers who weren't used to dealing with it. And since passengers on international flights almost always luggage to check-in, you still need to have a counter assistance check it in for you. In the end, Easy Check-In wasn't so easy and took as much time to check-in, if not longer.

I thought of browsing the airport mall for a while, but it was already about 4:15pm and boarding time was at 5pm. So I went into the immigration area. And then, this moment reminded me of what George Clooney's character had said in the movie, "Up In The Air".

First, I waited for a while behind a young American guy (probably his first time flying international) who struggled to get his passport and boarding pass out, before I just passed him by. Then, when going through the X-rays, I stayed away from groups and old people and made a beeline for the shortest queue with -- you guessed it -- Asians. It helped my ease of passage too that I had already put my wallet, handphone and key in my jacket, so I wasn't held up at the X-ray unnecessarily.

Then it was time for a snack. I hadn't eaten anything since breakfast, which I finished at 11am, and dinner would probably be served two hours into the flight. I bought a sushi handroll and chocolate milk, the latter which, at airport prices, cost an outrageous 400 yen for something poured from a packet. But what to do? I hadn't bothered to buy food from outside the airport.

So then it was 5pm, time to say farewell to Japan. Tried to sleep on the plane when I could, but found myself not able to enter into deep sleep, somehow just couldn't find the right position (woke up with a cramped neck) nor that quiet moment. Anyway, also watched "The Men Who Stare at Goats" and the ending of "When Harry Met Sally".

There was a medical emergency on the plane. A young Japanese woman apparently had complained of shortness of breath. Flight attendants gave her one oxygen tank, then moved her to an empty aisle (after asking the other passengers there to change seats). Later, I saw her being given another oxygen tank, while attendants asked for doctors or nurses to assist. I saw a Caucasian woman helping, assumed she's a doctor, based on her "take charge" manner. Later, I also heard a Singaporean couple who offered their asthmatic medication say that this woman had advised against giving any drugs in case of further complications. Anyway, when disembarking, I saw the woman sitting upright without any oxygen tank. Guess she was feeling better, otherwise a medical crew would've helped her off the plane before the rest of us could leave.

Bought a bottle of Bailey's from the duty free store, then had a cup of tea (which came out bitter even though I asked for it to be sweeter) at Killiney Kopitiam while updating this blog entry. Figured I might as well make use of Changi Airport's free wireless service while I could, hehe.

--

Japan trip - day six - Tokyo

2010-03-15T23:59:00.001+08:00

Woke up at 8:45am, fortunately, had set my alarm at 7:30am, so was already roused from sleep then. Had packed most of my things last night, and just needed to pack my toiletries and backpack. Still had some time before 10am check-out, so ate the bun I had bought yesterday (for a snack during the sumo tournament).

Already had my shinkansen ticket for 1:30pm, so thought I'd kill time by taking a peek at Osaka Castle. According to the map, it's supposed to be just at the next block. But as Peter MacIntosh had said, Japanese maps aren't drawn to scale. At the next block, still couldn't see any sign of the castle. So took the subway to Shin-Osaka.

Thank goodness for the rail pass, I obtained another ticket to Tokyo, this time at 11:13am. It was only 10:50am, so browsed the stores and bought a Japanese snack souvenir. Then went up to train platform to wait for the shinkansen.

Random thought while at JR Shin-Osaka: I can see myself living and working in Japan due to the seeming politeness and harmony that I've witnessed so far. Of course, that would also mean that I have to wear a white-and-black suit every working day!

After arriving in Tokyo, for a moment, I was disoriented because I thought I needed to exit the station before boarding a JR train for the Tokyo metro. Turns out that I could just go straight on, so I did, and went to Ikebukuro station. From there, I headed straight for Sakura Hotel. There were some other people checking in, so I browsed the available tourist brochures. Found one that mentioned the Akihabara Electric Town, thought that might be the more famous electrical appliance area rather than the one I had wanted to go to at Shinjuku on my first day.

But first, I wanted to get a ticket to visit the Ghibli Museum. The last admission for the day was at 4pm, and by the time I had entered my room, it was 3:30pm already. Checked the website and found that the last entry time was 4:30pm. Next challenge was to find a Lawson's store to buy the ticket. Found the nearest one through Google Map and headed there.

As I went in search of it, found a lot of "girls bars" and other nightspots. Then I saw some "casual hotels" offering a 3-hour "rest" for 4,000 yen. Wow, I didn't know my hotel was just two blocks away from this nightlife! I swear that I didn't know this when making the booking, my concern then was to get a cheap hotel that was near a Japan Rail station.

Found the Lawson's store and proceeded to get my ticket. Alas, all tickets for the day had been sold out. Bought a sushi snack and chocolate milk, since I hadn't eaten since the bun in the morning, then walked around the sort-of red light area while eating, and also because I got lost finding the main road.

Since I couldn't enter Ghibli Museum, the least that I could do was take a look at it from outside. I'm not a big fan of Miyazaki, though I've seen some of his films, so this wasn't a big loss. Took the train to Mitaka, about half hour away, then took the local, yellow-coloured bus to the museum. Arrived at 4:45pm, so even if I had bought my ticket, I never would've entered anyway, and then it would be 1,000 yen down the drain.

Turns out the museum is just a small building surrounded by a residential area, a school and a huge park. Went around taking pictures of the museum, then went to explore the park. Realised that it's more of a dog park, where locals (residents?) bring their dogs to run and play.

Finished walking around the museum building in under 10 minutes. By then, was about 5:30pm already and sun was setting. Not much else to do in Tokyo. So first, I went to Shibuya, apparently the fashion area where teenagers and women go to shop. I'm not a shopper, so this was really just a chance to see what Shibuya is all about. But there wasn't much eye candy, mostly office workers going home for the day. And only a handful of schoolgirls. Maybe I had gone on the wrong day and time.

Next stop was Akihabara to see what was so great about Electric Town. About 7:30pm by the time I arrived and some shops were closing already. Saw that almost all of the small shops were selling security cameras, even the small "spycam" type. But as I progressed further out to the main roads, the stores were selling pretty much the usual computer stuff, i.e. hard disks, blank DVD-R discs, USB accessories, etc. Not very exciting to me since this was all available in Singapore, except probably for the USB AC charger. After this experience, I don't see why people say you can find strange electronics in Akihabara.

Also saw a lot of girls in maid costumes announcing some service and giving out leaflets. There were quite a few in the area. Took a leaflet from one girl, who then proceeded to tell me something in Japanese. I couldn't understand her, unfortunately, so just smiled, shook my head, and walked on.

By 8:45pm, even the bigger shops were closing already. Went in search of dinner and ended up at a ramen place. Hot soup on a cold evening, yummy!

Started drizzling, the first rain I'd had here, though rain had been forecast for the whole week. Before heading back to Sakura Hotel, made another walk around the bar area. Found a lot of well dressed men in their white-and-black suits who were the bar promoters/touts. Only one approached me, think the rest ignored me because I'm not Japanese. Anyway, couldn't see much action anywhere, so just headed back to my room for the night.

--

Japan trip - day five - Osaka

2010-03-14T23:59:00.001+08:00

Took it easy today, after all, I'm on holiday. That meant going out in the late morning only to get something to eat… and to buy the ticket for today's sumo wrestling tournament!

First thing I did was to check for ticket availability at the sumo website. Unfortunately, it isn't updated in real-time. By 8am though, it had been refreshed to state that all of the 2,000-yen general admission tickets were sold out. That meant I would have to get the more expensive, reserved seating tickets, though those promised a better view.

To obtain that ticket, I had to buy online, but that required registering with the ticketing agent with a Japanese address and phone number, both of which I don't have. I could also buy a ticket at the Family Mart or Lawson convenience stores.

So I went out to the Family Mart nearby and enquired with the cashier about getting a ticket. For some reason, he didn't understand me, even when I said "sumo". I had assumed that it's sufficiently Japanese-sounding that he should know what I was referring to. But he didn't understand me, and I didn't know how else to describe sumo wrestling.

I then went to the Lawson store that was two blocks away. Made the same enquiry with the cashier. This time, a female employee who sort of understood me directed me to a kiosk. She entered the date for the tournament… and it showed that no tickets were available. That wasn't what I'd seen on the website, even from the online ticket purchase site.

For a moment, I contemplated skipping this more-or-less once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I went back to my hotel room and tried purchasing online, using the hotel's address and phone number, but no luck.

Then I did what I should've done originally: write down the Japanese words for the sumo wrestling tournament, including which seats I wanted. With that in hand, I returned to the Family Mart store and showed the cashier my note. He understood me now, though I think he didn't even know that there was a tournament on.

It took a while to find the right screen. Apparently, the tournament also doesn't show up as a prominent selection. Eventually, he managed to select the right ticket. And then it asked for a Japanese phone number. When I said that I didn't have one, the cashier proceeded to enter (I think) his own number. With that done, the purchase was completed, I handed over my money, and got my ticket. Yay!

I lounged around till about 2:30pm, then took the subway to Namba station and walked to the Osaka Gymnasium, venue of the tournament. I saw a crowd outside, with a noticeable gap. Apparently, I had arrived just in time to see a sumo wrestler arrive! He was greeted like a Hollywood celebrity at the Oscar ceremony. By the time I got my camera out, though, I only managed to take a picture of his back.

I entered the building and asked for the way to my seat, since the signs didn't seem too clear, or maybe they were clear in Japanese. I found myself seated about 25 rows away from the ring. With my naked eye, I could see the wrestling clearly. But with my phone camera and iPod nano, the wrestlers appeared as tiny, one-centimetre-tall figures. At least I could zoom in with my phone camera, but the pictures came out blurry.

While waiting for the tournament to begin, two young Japanese men seated next to me started chatting with me. One spoke English and translated on his friend's behalf. When they saw my phone and iPod nano, they asked about it. I guess my phone is like a dinosaur next to theirs.

At 3:30pm, an announcer entered the ring with a few wrestlers to welcome the spectators to the tournament. A short while later was the dohyo-iri, the wrestlers' entrance from two ends. When some wrestlers' names were announced, the crowd cheered loudly. Following this was the yokozuna's entrance, which the crowd enjoyed.

During the 10-minute break before the start of the matches, some spectators took the chance stretch their legs. The two Japanese youths next to me went to get a meal from McDonald's.

And then the matches began! There were about 20 matches for the day. While recording these, I would learn that each match lasts slightly more than five minutes, from the time the announcer announces their names to the rewarding of the victor. Nearly four minutes of that time is spent when the wrestlers eyeball each other. According to the free guide book (given to non-Japanese only, apparently), this helps the wrestlers size up their opponents while also waiting for the right moment to strike.

The wrestle proper lasts about half a minute, or a minute at most. That, of course, is when the crowd cheered the loudest, especially when popular wrestlers were competing. Even after today, I still can't figure out the technique behind sumo wrestling. It just seems like a lot of pushing to get the opponent out of the ring or lose his balance and fall. But I guess there are proper ways of sumo wrestling that won't be known to the untrained eye.

Also, before wrestling, the wrestlers toss salt in the ring to cleanse it and supposedly protect them from injuries. In between matches, sweepers would sweep away the salt and smoothen out the clay (which the ring is made of). I wonder how much these sweepers get paid.

In between matches, I would also see some people parading banners around the ring. I thought that these were to announce the category or house or something similar. According to the Japanese men, these were actually advertisements by the sponsors! No wonder I kept seeing the same banners!

The whole tournament ended at 6pm. During this whole time, I saw a lot of empty seats, especially in the general admission sections. I overheard a Japanese woman explain to her American husband that the banners above the stage stated that all of the tickets were sold out. If so, it seems that spectators attend only portions of the entire tournament.

Also, unlike American sports like football, sumo wrestling doesn't seem very popular, or at least in Osaka. There were no large crowds in the streets around the gymnasium. There were, as mentioned, empty seats. And the two Japanese youths were watching this tournament for the first time in their lives (though they knew who the wrestlers were and the common chants). I couldn't help but feel like this illusion of sumo's popularity in Japan had been shattered today.

After the tournament, I decided to walk around Namba, since I wasn't too tired and hadn't really explored this southern end of Osaka. There are a lot of shops with many bright, blinking lights. Nowhere near as glitzy as Times Square or even Shinjuku in Tokyo, but still quite colourful.

Craving for noodles again, I ate udon at an eatery before heading back to the hotel.

Strange thing happened to me while bathing: the water suddenly shut off! Fortunately, I had already finished bathing. Still, it was weird. I don't know if a pump had been accidentally turned off or there's a water limit per room or something else. Anyway, after drying myself, I tried the taps again and water flowed as usual. So that was a weird experience.

--

Japan trip - day four - Kyoto

2010-03-13T23:59:00.007+08:00

Once again, slept past my alarms and finally woke up at 10:30am. Ate the sandwich and drank the chocolate milk that I'd bought two days ago, while catching up on my Internet stuff.

Rushed out of room at 12pm so that I could get the 12:42pm train to Kyoto from Shin-Osaka (I had realised that this station was a better bet than Osaka because there are more trains to Kyoto from here). Got my ticket and asked for the platform, ticket seller said, "Check board." I did and couldn't find my train platform! Anyway, went down to a platform that had trains going to Kyoto. Showed a passenger my ticket and asked if this was the one I was supposed to be at. He shook his head.

A train arrived at that moment, bound for Kyoto. It was the Special Rapid Express. Since there were spare seats (this was a non-reserved seating train meant for regular commutes between cities), I got in and took the half hour ride.

At Kyoto station, I used another exit and found myself in the Kyoto mall, The Cube. I had seen it from the outside yesterday, but thought nothing of it till now. It's just another up-class mall anyway. Found my way to the subway station. Called Peter McIntosh regarding the geisha walking tour, but a Japanese message came on, ending with a beep. Assumed to be voicemail, so I just left a message.

Then took subway train to Imadegawa station and then a 10-minute walk to Nishijin Textile Centre. Arrived at 2pm, just in time for a kimono fashion show. Lots of mainland Chinese tourists already surrounding the small stage with cameras ready. Whipped out my brand spankin' new iPod nano and video-recorded it. (I knew there was a reason I bought the iPod nano!) Show lasted about 15 minutes.

Browsed around the store and bought a few gifts, while also viewing the live kimono making demonstrations. Also browsed the selection of teas and desserts. Left at 3pm to walk back to the train station.

Along the way, stopped by Shiramine-jingu Shrine. Built by a late emperor, it is now a temple for the ball sports deity. While there, saw some Japanese writing their wishes and praying at the altar.

Took the train from Imadegawa station. Stomach growled a bit, hadn't eaten anything since breakfast. But thought it better to first find the Minamiza Kabuki Theater for the geisha tour. So walked from Kawarachi to Shijo-dori, took almost 20 minutes. After finding the theater, went in search of an eating place. But it was already close to 4pm and tour starts at 4:30pm. So stopped by 7-Eleven, planning to get a sausage bun and chocolate milk. Found instead some sushi. Also thought a bottled drink might be easier to carry, so bought milk tea. Finished the sushi at a small resting point nearby.

While searching for food, saw a "Love Beach" sign, and outside was a board with pictures of a hotel room. Hmm, was this one of those love hotels? A man in a suit saw me looking and said something about "no reservation". While I was curious, I didn't have time to explore further. I would walk past there later in the evening, saw the same man, but this time he didn't approach me. Oh well.

Went back to Minamiza Kabuki Theater to wait for Peter MacIntosh's geisha walking tour. Saw a burly Caucasian in black whom I had seen at 7-Eleven and speaking fluent Japanese, knew it had to be him. Confirmed his identity and made small talk. While waiting, an old Japanese man spoke to me and asked if Peter MacIntosh was my friend. When Peter replied in Japanese, the old man knew better and laughed about it.

Rest of group soon showed up and we began our tour. First went to Minagawa district. Stopped by Peter's bar where he gave quick introduction to geisha, explaining the two different types (maiko and geiko), what they do, what they wear, and stressing that they are not prostitutes. Gave us some postcards bearing pictures that he had taken.

Rest of walking tour took us along the narrow alleys, explaining along the way some sights, such as:

identifying the geishas who lived in a particular house, based on the names listed outside
bamboo structures at the foot of some houses to prevent dogs from getting a good position to pee
symbols on the red lanterns to identify the districts, e.g. three linked rings for Minagawa, chain of eight circles for Gjon

He also showed us the training schools in each district. The one at Gjon was built for 800 students, but only had 120 now. Upon graduating, a geisha works for 5-6 years -- with no pay! All of her pay goes to the house that she belongs to. On the other hand, she gets to wear the most expensive clothes and have all of her expenses paid for. Which is why Peter thinks girls as young as 15-16 years old would want to become geishas (with their parents' permission).

The tour lasted till 6pm. By then, the sun had set already. I took the opportunity to retrace our steps, seeing what we had seen but at night. As expected, it was still too early to see geishas shuffling between houses for the night's entertainment. Peter mentioned that 8:30-9pm was the best time. But I'd had a long day and didn't feel like being on my feet longer.

On the way back to the subway station, stopped by a bakery to pick up a bun and donut for tomorrow's breakfast. Then took subway back to Kyoto station. After three days of eating rice and craving for something warm, I looked around for a cheap noodle restaurant, but couldn't find any at Kyoto mall. So got a ticket for the shinkansen (bullet train) back to Osaka and had dinner at the station there. Then headed back to hotel.

--

Japan trip - day three - Kyoto

2010-03-12T23:59:00.002+08:00

Question: How many Japan Rail tickets does it take to get from Osaka to Kyoto?
Answer: Three -- if you were me today.

Heard the alarm ring, but ignored it. Finally struggled out of bed at about 10am, the time I had actually planned to leave. Got out of the hotel at 11am and headed for Umeda station, then went straight to JR Osaka station.

Next train to Kyoto was at 11:42am, so I bought it and ran up to the entrance… and couldn't figure out which platform to use. No indication on ticket. Searched frantically but couldn't find any train with the right number of cars.

Heard a train leave and figured that was the one. Went back to the ticket counter and bought another ticket for the next train at 12:42pm, this time confirming the platform to use. Then went to look for food since I hadn't eaten anything since last night.

Found a few eateries but they were crowded. Then came across the noisiest McDonald's ever. Woman "yodeler" constantly announcing the latest burgers. Decided "what the heck" and proceeded to buy a bacon lettuce burger set. Ate at a small alcove with tables for standing only.

Went back to JR Osaka station at 12:30pm, found the train successfully. Fell asleep on the train. Next thing I knew, train had arrived at Kyoto station. I rushed out but doors had shut already… and the train started to move. Resigned to my fate, found an empty seat and cursed myself silently. Ticket inspector came along. I explained in sign language and broken English that I had fallen asleep and missed my stop. He told me to switch trains at the next station, scheduled to arrive at 2:01pm! So there goes my tour of the Kyoto palace.

At Tsuruga station, explained to the old male staff at the gate that I was supposed to go to Kyoto. He sort of understood me, but he didn't speak English and I don't understand Japanese. He directed me to the ticket office, where I bought a ticket for the 2:15pm train back to Kyoto. Thank goodness for rail pass, don't need to pay more than needed!

Tsuruga station is high enough in the mountains that there was still snow on the ground!

A train arrived at the designated platform but I wasn't sure that it was the one I wanted. Saw the train conductor and asked him, gesturing to my ticket. "Next train," he said pleasantly. Whew!

Arrived at Kyoto at 3:10pm. Along the way, struggled to stay awake so as not to miss the station again. Drooped off a few times, but always managed to force myself back awake. At Kyoto, headed straight for the subway to Kyoto Imperial Palace. After exiting the Imadegawa station, walked down the wrong road for a moment. Luckily, I consulted my map in time and managed to get to the correct path without straying too far.

105 minutes after the appointed tour time, I arrived at Seisho-mon Gate. Of course, tour had already started and walk-ins are not allowed. Walked around the huge park outside for about half hour.

Went back outside Imadegawa station, but couldn't really find anything worth seeing/doing. Lots of small, convenience-type stores. Strange, would have expected more cosmopolitan feel since there are several schools and colleges in the area.

Consulted map and decided to go to Kawaramachi, the shopping area. Turned out to be pretty much the same as Shinjuku, same mall streets with lots of fashion stores, except this place was less crowded.

Craving for a hot chocolate as comfort food after the sucky day. First coffee shop had menu in Japanese. Dreading not to go to Starbucks if it's the only one with English menu. Then saw Cafe Lucca -- with English menu! Quaint little two-storey, "hole in the wall" place.

Browsed the shops looking for any nice gift, but decided to wait till Osaka or Tokyo. Getting late, so went back to Kyoto station to catch the JR train back to Osaka. At first, ticket seller said I could just show my rail pass without needing a ticket, but that was news to me, since all along I had got reserved seats. So I asked for that. He said the next train was at 9:09pm! But he corrected himself quickly and meant 7:09pm (clocks run on 24-hour format). So I took that, even though still had 20 minutes to spare.

Arrived at Osaka station without falling asleep (though my eyes closed a few times) nor missing my stop. Went to ticket office to buy rail ticket from Osaka back to Tokyo for 15 March. Incidentally, same ticket seller who sold me my first Osaka-Kyoto ticket! Then went to Daimaru basement to buy sushi and sake for dinner.

Back at hotel by 9pm. Ate dinner while watching TV. Sake must have made me sleepier than normal, so got ready for bed.

--

Japan trip - day two - Osaka

2010-03-11T23:59:00.001+08:00

Alarm was set at 6:30am, but only finally woke up at about 7:40am. Washed up, ate breakfast that I had bought yesterday. Watched TV but didn't understand what was going on, so just looked at the pictures. Packed up and left at just past 9am.

Took train to Tokyo station. Followed the signs and through the crowds to the ticket office. Bought my Hikari 467 Shinkansen (bullet train) ticket to Shin-Osaka. Wandered around the station, but couldn't find anything interesting to pass the time. Went to the wrong gate first. At the correct gate, finally figured out that I need to show my rail pass with my ticket to enter.

At the platform, the train had just arrived. Saw the cleaning ladies dressed in their pink uniform and with their blue cleaning bags do their work. Seats can be rotated, depending on which direction the train is going.

Train left at 10:03am promptly. Slept for most of the three-hour journey. At Shin-Osaka station, went to information counter to figure out how to get to Tanimachi 4-chome station. Turns out I can't use the JR rail pass, need to buy a subway ticket. Decided to have lunch first at the station. Picked a fish dish, but while updating this entry, waitress accidentally gave me someone else's order. Luckily, I was still typing this and hadn't started eating!

Bought a one-day unlimited ride subway ticket and went to Tanimachi4-chome station. Checked in at Weekly Mansion Osaka at Otemae. Though check-in time is at 4pm, room was already ready at about 3pm, so managed to move in. A big room with its own kitchenette, but bathroom was just as small as Oak Hotel's. Once again, Internet connection only through Ethernet. Caved in and decided to buy an Ethernet adapter, so went out in search of one.

Took the subway to Shinsaibashi station, where it seemed like the shops were. Came out and tried to figure out where the shops were. Followed the mass of people into a shopping street. Lots of clothing and boutique stalls, but nothing that I needed.

Along the way, someone banged hard into my left shoulder, even though I thought I had avoided him. Didn't want to think about the reason, just brushed it off and continued walking.

Remembered seeing a Bic Camera shop on the map, but couldn't remember where. So stopped by Dotonbori river to rest, get my bearings, and take in the sight. Then went straight for it. First floor was all cameras and handphones, thought I was out of luck. Then saw a floor guide stating "PC" at the fourth floor. So headed up, found the USB section, and browsed the racks. Finally found a USB-Ethernet adapter-cum-USB hub.

Browsed the floor and found the Apple section. USB-Ethernet adapter retailing for 3,400 yen, more expensive than the one I'd found, so went to pay for the adapter-cum-hub. Yay, now I have Internet connection!

Browsed the rest of Bic Camera before heading out to Namba station. Found the JR Namba station, enquired about how to get to Kyoto. After that, didn't feel too hungry, so went to recce the area before the sumo wrestling competition on Sunday. Walked and walked along the road but couldn't see the gymnasium as expected.

By then, it was 6:30pm already, so decided to have an early dinner. Remembered seeing a noodle shop, so went in its direction. No customers, just the two male cooks. Through broken English, I gradually realised that they served Korean food. But rather than leave, I decided to just eat there. Anyway, food and service weren't that bad.

Resumed searching for the gym. Had checked the map again at the restaurant, so now I knew how far I'd over-walked. Found the gym finally. Went back to Namba station, headed for Umeda station to find the connection to JR Osaka station. From there, I can also go to Kyoto, then don't need to make one round trip from JR Namba to JR Osaka.

With that done, I went back to the hotel. Stopped by a convenience store to pick up a sandwich and chocolate milk for tomorrow's breakfast. Came back, fixed up USB-Ethernet adapter (yay!), caught up with all of my Internet stuff, then watched a bit of CNN (yay! English channel!) before turning in.

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Japan trip - day one - Tokyo

2010-03-10T23:59:00.003+08:00

Arrived at Changi Airport at 5:30am. Thought United still operated out of Terminal 1, but it's now at Terminal 3. With time to kill, wandered around Terminal 3's shops that were still closed. In the end, just went into the departure area and browsed the shops there.

Slept on the 7:20am flight, but couldn't get a good position, so had a stiff neck and no deep sleep. Caught snippets of "Up in the Air", but read the Chinese subtitles instead of listening to the audio. Also flipped between that and the Sandra Bullock movie.

Arrived at Narita Airport at 2:45pm. Breezed through customs and immigration. Headed to JR station to exchange my Rail Pass coupon for the actual pass. Got a ticket for the 4:45pm Narita Express (N'EX) train that goes directly to Ikebukuro station.

To kill time, wandered around the airport's shopping mall at fourth floor and watched the planes from the observation deck at the fifth floor. Also tried to surf the Net, but need to pay for 24-hour access, so I skipped that.

Went down to the JR station at 4:30pm. Confused initially because the train was there but no one was boarding. Turned out to be being cleaned. Train ultimately left on time. Audio messages in Japanese and English fortunately.

Slept for about half an hour on the train. Arrived at Ikebukuro at 6:15pm. Followed the directions to Sakura Hotel Ikebukuro, quite easy to find. But when checking in, realized that I had mixed up the dates! I was supposed to check into Oak Hotel today!

Went back to Ikebukuro station, queued up in ticket office to get a ticket. Counter girl told me to go to the south entrance. So I went to the ticket office there, and the counter guy told me to just show my Rail Pass at the gate. Turns out I just need to show the validity dates printed large on the pass for free entry and exit at the gates.

Half hour ride to Ueno station. People watched on train. Almost 80% of all men and women dressed in black. I felt colourful in my red jacket. Also, young and old were glued to their phones. Some had privacy screen filter, so can't see what they're doing. Others appeared to be either playing a game, watching a show, or -- more commonly -- reading something. Book? Web site? Online service?

From Ueno station, followed directions to Oak Hotel. "Japanese style single room" was really very small. Also given a cable modem and Ethernet cable for Internet access, but I forgot to bring my Ethernet adapter for the MacBook Air, so cannot use.

Headed out at about 8:30pm. Walking past convenience stores, it's very common to see men reading magazines at the magazine racks. Later found out that they were reading either the men's non-nude magazines or manga. Nude magazines are tied up, so cannot read at the racks.

Went to Shinjuku station. Walked around looking for a good place to eat. Finally picked a small eating place. Selected a curry rice dish, bought food ticket from machine outside, then found a place to sit at the counter while waiter took my order. Dish had a normal helping of rice and generous curry, but only three chunks of meat (beef, chicken). Scooped some complimentary preserved vegetables to round up the dish. Noticed that other diners were content to eat rice with curry alone.

After dinner, went out to find my way to Electric Street. But lost by the lack of directions and map that didn't show any road names. Finally found my way by navigating from Koei mall. But almost all shops were already closed, realized that it's past 10pm. Found a lot of pachinko shops, didn't go in but they sounded noisier than normal game arcades.

On the way back to hotel, stopped by a convenience store to buy a sandwich and carton of chocolate milk for tomorrow's breakfast. Then returned to hotel, bathed in the tiny bathroom, and got ready for bed.

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Chinese New Year parody song part 6

2010-02-15T12:27:00.001+08:00

It's Chinese New Year again! Wishing my few readers a happy and prosperous Year of the Tiger! And you know what Chinese New Yer means, right? Yup, another verse to my parody song!

The reminder to add a new -- seventh! -- verse had been nagging at me as the date drew closer. And since the first day of Chinese New Year coincided with the Western culture's Valentine's Day, I thought, "Hey, why not parody that too?"

So here is the latest, seven-verse-long "Gong Xi Gong Xi Gong Xi Ni" song.

I was sleeping on my bed,
Everyone thought I was dead.
Doctor brought a coffin in,
I jumped out and he jumped in.

Gong xi, gong xi, gong xi ni.

It was such a peaceful night,
Vampire gave me a bite.
Sunrise made me feel so blue,
Now I want to bite you too.

Gong xi, gong xi, gong xi ni.

Gave a diamond to my girl.
She said she would rock my world.
Speeding towards a night of fun.
Didn't see the tree in front.

Gong xi, gong xi, gong xi ni.

GST went up again,
Gahmen welcome foreign t'lent.
Locals squeezed upside-and-down,
Turn my smile into a frown.

Gong xi, gong xi, gong xi ni.

Prices up by more than half
Ang pow also not enough.
Gahmen say will give money
First they take some more from me.

Gong xi, gong xi, gong xi ni.

Start the year with recession
Lagi jialat depression
Wallet empty, job no more
Must use life insurance lor!

Gong xi, gong xi, gong xi ni.

I and girl buy HDB,
Pay with CPF money.
(But) work till no more energy
And no time to make baby.

Gong xi, gong xi, gong xi ni.

Explanations for non-Singaporeans:

Buy HDB: HDB, or Housing Development Board, is the government agency that builds low-cost housing, or flats, for Singaporeans to own. HDB provides a grant for newly married couples to buy flats at a lower price. So if a couple wants to buy an HDB flat, it implies that they are planning to get married soon.
CPF: The Central Provident Fund (CPF) is the government scheme for local workers to save for their old age/retirement by forcing a deduction from salaries into this fund. Normally, this nest egg can't be touched till you reach the "withdrawal age", but the government allows the money to be used for certain investments, like paying for a house.

Previous Chinese New Year song parody entries: verse 2 in 2005, verse 3 in 2006, verse 4 in 2007, verse 5 in 2008, verse 6 in 2009.

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Enhance Monopoly Deal with "real time" play!

2010-01-17T17:11:00.000+08:00

Some time back, I was introduced to the card game, Monopoly Deal, by a colleague. Based on the traditional Monopoly game, the objective is to be the first to own three sets of properties. Along the way, you play cards that represent cash, properties, houses/hotels or actions (e.g. pay rent). Like Monopoly, it is a game that tests your property-owning capabilities (and luck).

Also like Monopoly, it is extremely slow to play. Like the board game, Monopoly Deal is a turn-based game. That means, each player gets a chance to play what he wants to play, before ceding control of the game to the next player, and on and on.

As a result, some players, including my colleague, came up with a fast way to play the game. Called the "one minute rule", each player has only one minute to make a decision on what cards he wants to play. If he doesn't play within one minute, he forfeits his turn.

That is all well and good. It certainly makes it faster to complete one round of the game, and thus more opportunities to play at a sitting. It also forces players to make snap decisions, much like in real life.

Robert Kiyosaki, author of the self-help series, "Rich Dad Poor Dad", also appreciates playing Monopoly for teaching him the importance of good debt vs bad debt. He claims that by playing Monopoly, he has been able to parlay that knowledge into real life wealth.

I was reflecting on this and realised that there's a fundamental flaw with Monopoly and its derivatives, including this card game. Life isn't turn-based. In making business deals, you don't make a move, then wait for the next person to move, then the next, then the next, till it's back to your turn.

In real life, everyone's turn occurs at the same time.

So if you want to make Monopoly Deal even faster and more realistic, remove the turn-based element of the game. This is "Monopoly Deal real time"! The basic rules of a turn apply, i.e. you pick two cards, play up to three cards, and must not have more than seven cards in your hand at the end of your turn. But instead of waiting for the other players to finish their turns, you just keep playing by these turn rules.

What happens next would be very chaotic. After all, when everyone's playing at the same time, you need to constantly keep track of what's going on. But then, the business world is chaotic but governed by rules. And it is the government that ensures that everyone plays by the rules. So ideally, you'd have a player who doesn't hold any cards, but keeps a sharp eye on everyone to make sure they play accordingly during each of their turns.

Aside: if the "government" player wants to play, he certainly can! In that case, it's called "Monopoly Deal real time (Singapore version)", since Singapore's government is well known to engage in commercial transactions, e.g. Temasek Holdings, Singapore Technologies, etc.

Besides the chaos, other complications could arise. One of these is when two or more players play a "rent" card at about the same time. Should one rent card negate another? If so, does this mean some players could skip paying rent?

As in the real world (unless you're dealing in a crooked system), you still need to pay your rent. So the first player who plays the "rent" card collects from the others first, then the next player, and so on. If player B doesn't have enough cash to pay player A, then he has to forfeit his properties accordingly, in line with Monopoly Deal rules.

Just because player B also plays a rent card (which could numerically negate player A's rent card) doesn't mean he doesn't pay rent. In the real world, the early bird gets the worm. If player B wanted to save his properties, then he should've played his "rent" card first. But he didn't, so he suffers. Just like in the real world.

And that's "Monopoly Deal real time". It's messy, it's confusing, but it reflects real world commercial situations.

Have fun dealing!

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Review: "Coraline" in 3D

2009-10-22T01:22:00.002+08:00

Just a little plug for my new entry at Yuhui's Movie Blogger: my review of "Coraline", which I watched in 3D. Read it, then leave a comment there, ya?

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Rat roadkill

2009-09-25T00:22:00.001+08:00

WARNING: This is definitely not for the squeamish! If you don't like looking at dead animals, then leave this page NOW!

While walking outside my house, I noticed a squashed carcass on the road. On closer inspection, and from the look of its tail, this looked like a rat. So being morbid me, I snapped a picture of it. I continued taking pictures of it about every 12 hours. Eventually, someone must've cleaned up the roadkill, because it wasn't there on the third day.

"Enjoy" these pictures!

Judging by the state of the body, including the redness of that organ that's sticking out, I think this was soon after it got struck by a vehicle.

About 12 hours later. Still mostly intact, but much flatter.

About 24 hours later. And I think that dark stain on the road surface is from the body.

About 36 hours later. Flies were buzzing around, but I still stooped down to get the picture.

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Lunchtime train of thought

2009-09-14T23:32:00.002+08:00

"Comex was this weekend. I wonder if my lunch buddy went for it. I didn't go because I had nothing to buy. But I'd really like a Blu-ray player. Need to check it out. Also need to learn more about Nike Free and Adizero. What are those shoes about? If I buy one of them, then I'd need to start exercising again. Hmm, exercise. I remember when I trained hard for my Sec 4 physical fitness test. Class actually cheered when I did a pull-up! Trained with repetitive stretches and push-ups. Reminds me of repetitive squats done by Mr Ying. Ah, Mr Ying, that strict discipline teacher. He and Mr Wee. Everyone feared Mr Wee, but we all loved him at the end."

"Wait, how did I end up thinking about Mr Wee?"

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I passed the Google Analytics Individual Qualification test!

2009-08-24T23:13:00.005+08:00

Big day for me today! After procrastinating for one year, I've finally obtained my Google Analytics Individual Qualification! Yay! What this means is that I've shown that not only do I know my stuff about Google Analytics, but Google also thinks I'm good enough.

The test consisted of 70 multiple-choice questions, which had to be answered with two hours. It costs US$50 per try, but if you are fairly familiar with Google Analytics and have watched their free, online training videos, then one try should be all that you need.

For me, the hardest part actually wasn't in answering the questions, but hoping throughout that no one would bug me and cause my two-hour limit to expire!

This qualification now gives me more confident to take on other certifications, like the one for Omniture SiteCatalyst. That's another one that I've been procrastinating over.

My first time at Heineken Green Room

2009-07-26T01:30:00.001+08:00

So there I was, about to have dinner, when a friend called me up to say, "Do you want to go to this Heineken party?" And I thought, well, why not? He said that it was at a warehouse along Keppel Road, opposite the Keppel train station. I thought he meant that it would be at St James Power Station (a refurbished building), which is next to HarbourFront MRT station.

No, he really meant a warehouse at Tanjong Pagar Distripark! I thought that that was a weird place to hold a party. But when I approached the venue at around 10pm, I saw the big "Heineken" banner and could hear music from the main road. And as we approached the warehouse itself, we saw people milling about outside.

There was a momentary slip-up when we were shuffled from the VIP queue to the "regular" queue, all because the Heineken people had not briefed the security people properly. But soon, we got our wrist bands and were stepping into a cargo lift.

On the third floor, we were greeted with... a near empty warehouse. I guess 10pm is too early to start a party. Anyway, we decided to get some drinks. Now this being a Heineken Green Room event, we thought that we would get free drinks, or at the least, one free drink. Hey, that's a great way to promote your drinks right? But nope, we had to pay for our own booze. $10 for a bottle, $45 for a bucket of five. There were also other drinks, but we stuck to the green bottles.

The lone DJ, Cherry, spun her music to an empty dance floor. With only a handful of people, almost everyone was just hanging around, drinking and talking. My friend and I did the same, while people-watching at the same time.

Then, to spice things up, he told one of the Heineken models that it was my birthday, so as to get me to take a picture with her. Yay.

After a while, we made it to the front of the dance area and just enjoyed Cherry's music. I thought that the party was in danger of becoming a snoozefest. But at 12am, there was a change of DJs. The trio from Germany, Moderat, took to the stage and suddenly, everyone was screaming and cheering. As for me, I didn't know what to expect. This isn't my scene after all. And all dance music sounds the same to me.

But as the hour went on, I realised that Moderat had its own unique tune. It was jumpy and catchy and made you dance. Except for the moments when they slowed the beat, like an interval. Maybe it was to get the crowd to cool down before pumping the beat later. For me, I thought that it broke the rhythm unnecessarily. However, as I've come to learn at other parties, such fast-slow-fast-slow tempos are apparently a pre-requisite for succesful DJing.

Anyway, yeah, the music was fun to dance to, when the beat was right for dancing. The visuals were also well synchronised with the beat. There was only one part that I didn't enjoy, when the white lights were flashing. Bad enough that I was going deaf in this place, I didn't want to become blind too.

And another visual I wasn't too pleased about: when they flashed the statement, "Hell is Love". Nope, that's just wrong!

10 bottles of Heineken and three-and-a-half hours later, we decided to call it a night at 1:30am, which also turned out to be the time for the next set of DJs. But we didn't stay to catch that. It was a fun night and though I didn't get to score with any hot babe (I did get a funny face from one girl, however), I can at least now say that I've been to a Heineken Green Room party...

And would prefer the quietness of a lounge any night.

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Discovering gems in old mail

2009-07-18T15:21:00.004+08:00

I've just spent the last hour clearing three months' worth of mail that had been piling up on my desk. While I didn't find any long-lost love letters, I found that most of my mail consists of:

bank statements
credit card bills
insurance policy notices and receipts
investment statements

Yes, very boring stuff. But I did also uncover the following gems:

a one-month-old cheque for an insurance policy - which I need to find out why I received anyway
a three-month-old cheque from Google Adsense - and my first ever cheque from them! How could I miss this???
a reminder for my dental appointment next week - whew! Luckily I found this now.
(while strictly not being postal mail, but it was buried at the bottom of the pile) my long-lost Kinokuniya book vouchers... that expired three months ago!

I guess it would serve me well to go through my postal mail more regularly from now on...

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Michael Jackson and me

2009-06-29T01:00:00.001+08:00

My first memory of Michael Jackson was when he had won his Grammy for the "Thriller" album. My family had then bought the Grammy Awards cassette tape, a collection of 20 (I think) of the winning songs from the year. Two of those songs were "Beat It" and "Billie Jean". And they were so good that my sister and I added them to our own mixtapes. (And yes, I'm that old!)

Then, for a moment, I stopped listening to his songs because I learned that he was a Jehovah's Witness and his albums supposedly made use of "backward masking". But as I grew older and more discerning, I came to enjoy his songs for what they were: fun, little ditties that got me dancing (though I don't dance).

It was also around this time that I became a big fan of his song, "Heal the World", for its strong message of hope. Through some reason, this song came out at the time that Superman died in the landmark Superman #75 comic. As a result, when I hear the song or read the comic, I'm reminded of the other.

I don't remember when, but I remember being amazed at his music video, no, short film for his "Bad" album, in particular, the segment for "Smooth Criminal". The part when he and his dancers leaned forward at an impossible angle harkened back to his other slick dance move, the legendary Moonwalk, which I never failed to perfect.

A few years back, I finally decided to put down some good money for his "HIStory" album. It was a collection of his hit songs, and listening to it was like taking a trip down memory lane.

And this is what I'll remember the King of Pop for. Not his bizarre antics or his ever-changing appearance or his criminal trials. Like many fans, I'll remember him for his music. My parents' generation had Elvis Presley, we'll have Michael Jackson.

RIP Michael Jackson.

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Facebook is everywhere in APAC, right? Well, almost.

2009-06-02T23:47:00.001+08:00

Over at the company's blog, I wrote an article, "Facebook is everywhere in APAC, right? Well almost." The topic came about while doing some research about the usage of social network services in the region for a project.

I think we'd all like to think that Facebook is the only social network service that we should care about due to its immense reach. But the thing I like to remind myself about Singapore is that we're a very Western influenced country, unlike the rest of the region. As a result, though we follow the U.S. and European trends, our neighbours may not.

Read on to discover what I learned about Facebook and other social networks in APAC!

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MTV show, "College Life" + alma mater = nostalgia!

2009-04-28T23:03:00.000+08:00

I've just discovered this show by MTV, "College Life". A few freshman are given cameras to record their new lives in college. And which college would be a better setting than the University of Wisconsin-Madison!

I watched the first episode and it was fantastic! It brought back all of my memories from 10 years ago! (Wow, it's been that long!) Views of State Street, the tiny college dorm rooms, the parties, the people...

There was even a short scene in the Underground Textbook Exchange! I remember that! That was the second book store to buy and sell textbooks, and everyone was so glad for the Underground because it broke the University Book Store's monopoly. Yeah, that was an awesome trip to see the store, even for a minute.

The best part is: I can actually watch the episodes online -- legally! Which is good because it hasn't started showing in this part of the world and I have no idea what MTV Asia's programming schedule is (I rarely watch it). So far, I haven't encountered any geographic restriction for the shows, which means that I can savour more nostalgia through the streaming episodes there. Yay!

I didn't have a chance to go to Madison the last time I was in the United States, so this is the next best thing for me. It's always enjoyable to see the ol' town. Unfortunately, MTV seems to focus too many scenes on State Street and the Capitol and not enough on the rest of the city or campus. I hope more of these show up in later episodes. There's more to UW and Madison than just State Street!

On Wisconsin!

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The new chapter

2009-04-11T13:56:00.000+08:00

Okay, so I haven't quit blogging. APRIL FOOL'S! That last entry was written on April 1, which I'm sure was a dead giveaway to my 10-or-so readers.

Still, it was quite a pain to stay away from blogging for a week (to give more credibility to the farce). I realised that there are indeed things that are better left blogged than micro-blogged. I'll still be twittering and plurking and all that, but I'm not giving up on my blogs anytime soon.

Like Eminem and his new album, I'm back into the blogging groove!

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