Desktop Tower Defense

Allow me the introduce the most addictive game of the century - Desktop Tower Defense. It is a fun flash based puzzle/strategy game where you have to protect your desktop from invaders by spending money on attacking pieces and building a maze for them to follow. A strangely addictive yet stress relieving game... how many levels can you survive? I know I am exaggerating a bit about the "century" part but I guarantee that it is indeed very addictive. Check it out at http://www.handdrawngames.com/DesktopTD . The current version is 1.5 and it might get even better in future. ^^ You can play the game using only the mouse, or complement the mouse with the keyboard for the shortcut keys. I have been hooked onto this game. For far, I am only able to hit 5000+ points on the hard mode (2 lines of creeps +50% health). I am improving each time and thinking of better strategies! Also, I am getting better at managing my "income". To familiarize yourself with the game, I suggest you begin with the easy mode - I did, for my first game. If you like the game and want to donate, go ahead too. Have fun. =)

LWW Quotes: Miracles

Need a payment solution for your website?

Are you a business owner who is thinking about expanding online? Say, you currently own a brick and mortar shop but you have decided that it is possible to make more money by expanding online. You have got your website up but how do you digitize your shelf items? And, how do you even collect money from your customers who may be miles away? Well, you need a shopping cart software, as well as an interface that allows you to accept e.g. credit cards online. Scratching your head over the unfamiliar concepts already? Fret not, check out Ashop Commerce. Ashop Commerce is a leading provider of hosted shopping cart software. It offers a complete solution for merchants to sell online. Below are several highlights of what Ashop Commerce offers with its ecommerce software. - Web based, no installation required - Affordable ecommerce software - Accept credit cards online - Thousands of features, easy to use - Start selling online right now - Fully customisable design There is a FREE 10 day trial so there is really nothing to lose for you to check it out. (I love FREE stuffs lol. ^^) So there, if you have any questions, just contact Ashop Commerce directly. Oh yea, check out their presentation above too. =) * This is a sponsored post.

LWW Quotes: Reality

Bored when travelling on public transport?

This post is more for those who travel on public transport. If you are driving, you can hardly take up my suggestion. Read on and you will see why. So what do you do when you are travelling and are outright bored? For me, I normally bring a book with me, especially if I know the journey is a long one. However, reading may not be everyone's favorite pastime and it might not always be feasible too. Perhaps you can't find a book you like or maybe you don't want to bring along something extra - especially if the book you are currently latched on is a bulky hardcover version. :P But think: what is it that you will likely always have with you? Answer: Your mobile phone For some people who are able to play music with their mobile phones, good for them. They can choose to have this little entertainment if they are bored. Otherwise? Or if you don't feel like listening to music? How about games then? Games are not strictly the domain of kids, and adults can play games too - especially intellectual ones. Say, remember the Sudoku craze earlier? That "cute" Japanese mathematical brain stimulator? Well, you can consider installing a Sudoku game in your phone and while your time away challenging your mind. Check out Mobile Heart, one of the better websites I found that provide free games that can really be downloaded (I found several others but despite my considerable capability, I can't download the free games offered). You can zoom in straight to their games section (if the link is invalid when you read this post, just find it again from the main site) and see if you can find some games you like for your phone model - or just grab one of the many Sudoku games available. ^^ Enjoy. =)

Exclusive savings at selected Google Checkout stores for a limited period

According to the Google Checkout Blog, a number of Google Checkout stores are offering exclusive savings of up to $20 for Checkout buyers for a limited time. For details, please see: http://www.google.com/checkout/promotions.html For instance: Save $20 when you buy jewelry from Zales. Minimum purchase of $60 or more. Save $20 when you buy laptops from USA Notebook. Minimum purchase of $50 or more. Save $20 when you buy computers from Comp-U-Plus. Minimum purchase of $30 or more. PS.: This is NOT a sponsored post. Since Google is giving me blogs for free, I guess some karmic return won't hurt. =)

Happy 42nd birthday Singapore!

Sing Singapore. Dance Singapore. Clap Singapore. Write Singapore. Run Singapore. Fly Singapore. Drink Singapore. Eat Singapore. Rejoice Singapore. Rock Singapore. Blaze Singapore. Live Singapore. Lick Singapore. Taste Singapore. Smell Singapore. Hear Singapore. Learn Singapore. Grow Singapore. Be Singapore. Happy 42nd birthday Singapore!

Tried virtual drinking yet?

Ever heard of virtual drinking? What does it mean anyway? Ok, normally when you go drinking, you plonk yourself down in a chair at a pub with some friends. That's "reality drinking" if you must have an official unofficial term. It's "reality" because there are real people with you. Mannequin models do not count. :P If you decide to drink alone, that's just "drinking". Drinking alone. What if you don't feel like getting out or if the person you want to drink with is not able to meet you somehow? Perhaps she's at the North Pole while you are at the South Pole? Not that easy to meet up within the hour, is it? So let me introduce virtual drinking. I am assuming both parties have their favorite alcohol fix with them. Both get online or on the phone and open their bottles. Then they drink. Yes it is THAT SIMPLE. This virtual drinking from experience (*ahem*) is not really inferior to "reality drinking". The reason is that both are intoxicated (lol) and so both are more relaxed than they normally are. Some people enjoy talking face to face. Others prefer emails or IM messages. Some may like picking up the phone. Virtual drinking will thus cater to the latter two categories of people. Try it! Make a date with your [fill in the blank here] and enjoy virtual drinking. I bet you will enjoy it as much as me. =) PS.: I have a really hilarious video on top that is taken from the Guzer site. Go on, play it and have a good laugh. It's about drinking of course. ^^

Make your hotel reservations at... hotelreservations.com

Look at my blog post title again. Make your hotel reservations at... hotelreservations.com . Nope, that is not a typo error so please don't think it is. :P Tomorrow is National Day for Singapore and this festive mood triggers a thought that the year-end holidays are coming nearer by the day. Not that anyone except the big bosses should be complaining! ^^ If you have not booked a travel package and are intending to travel, I guess you must be going free N easy. Otherwise, it might be a bit tough to get an opening if you are not alert enough to pounce quickly at a last minute's notice. If you are travelling with a backpack on your back, you need a roof over your head when night falls. www.hotelreservations.com is an online portal that allows you to easily find, research and book hotels, motels, resorts, vacation rentals, etc. The prices offered are competitive and they have been helping travellers for more than 6 years. When you place a search for e.g. a hotel, you can avail yourself of the accompanying map they provide. This is not just any static map - it is a dynamic one which you can navigate with. This makes it a handy tool for travellers who like planning every stage of their vacations themselves. I would describe this portal as a one-stop station. Do your research on this portal, plan well, check out the best offering, book, then enjoy your vacation when that day comes. There are over 70,000 property listings available internationally so do check with HotelReservations.com - even if it is just to get a price comparison. You can perform bookings online or call them using their 24/7 toll-free number 1-800-447-4136. I mentioned at the beginning of my blog post that this blog post title is not a typo error. I did this to highlight how easy it is to remember this website. You don't even need to bookmark this site because it's hard to dislodge the domain name from your memory. Think Hotel Reservations. Where should you make your hotel reservations? At HotelReservations.com of course. =) * This is a sponsored post.

Is your phone number auspicious?

Most of us have access to a personal phone number. It could be your office phone, house phone or cellphone. Ever wondered whether that number is auspicious according to Fengshui or not? Check this out. This is a free "game" provided by WayOnNet, a geomancy consultancy firm. Believe you not, though I am not an extremely superstitious person, I changed my mobile phone number after using this tool. From one that is "very inauspicious", I changed it to one that is "very auspicious". A little more good luck come my way is never gonna hurt. Have fun. =)

LWW Quotes: Peace

What do you do when you have a computer problem? - try TightVNC

Ever encountered a computer problem and tore your hair off in frustration? Having your computer messing up your brain alone is not scary enough. What's more frightening is when you are at its mercy and no one seems to be able to help. Say, you tried to explain the problem to someone more knowledgeable but that someone just cannot understand you. You are sure you are speaking English and that it is not a "language" issue... or is it? The uncomfortable thing in this situation is that you need your computer to work again AND you need help, but the help that arrives has trouble understanding you. So what do you do then? Give up? Scream? Give up. :P What I would suggest is for you to get an "expert" to tunnel into your computer. This way, he can see what problem you are facing and resolve it for you right away. A typical way to do this is to allow him to control your computer via VNC (Virtual Network Computing). This means that he can move your mouse and play with your keyboard and basically do everything you can do on your computer. Sounds scary? You bet. The first time someone comes into your computer will be an... unique experience. The one safeguard you have on your side though is that you can see whatever he is doing. Yes I know it might be eerie - as if there is a ghost in your machine - but at least, he can't do anything without you knowing. And the last resort you have control of is the power plug. Just restart or switch off your computer and the connection will be broken. Or, just power off your modem. ^^ Scary, yet worth the try? How then can you allow this remote controlling for troubleshooting? Instead of relying on Windows' inbuilt remote help service (or whatever they called it) which fails pretty much all the time, use a VNC software instead. There are many pretty good ones (FREE) available on the internet so you can just go search. Personally, I have been using TightVNC which you can download from http://www.tightvnc.com . This software is not even 2MB so it is incredibly "light". It is also very easy to set up and use. Have fun experimenting. =)

LWW Quotes: Hunger

Forget Santa, CouponChief is here to help!

Tis the season to be jolly, la la la la la lala lala. Alright, I know it's not Christmas *yet* but hey, we are getting closer and closer. *wink* It's August right now and soon it will be September. And then it will be October and then... okay, I think you get the point. :P I personally find shopping to be a great joy - as long as my pockets can take it. As the wise old saying goes, "Giving is receiving". I agree with this 101%. However, if the giving needs to come from resources you do not have, then your joy from giving might be somewhat marred. So what do you say if you can shop to your heart's content because you get some discounts? Heard of CouponChief?. Coupons, coupons, coupons!!! :-) CouponChief.com is a wholly owned subsidiary of Coupon Chief, Inc. It is a one-stop coupon deal and discount resource for those who enjoy online shopping. Up-to-date coupon codes, promotional deals and discounts are easily available on this portal. For instance, you might want to pamper yourself with some clothes from Gap. Or, you think you want to surprise your hubby with the latest IT gadget. Check out BestBuy.com for some hot deals. ^^ So don't wait any longer and start having fun choosing gifts for your loved ones while still getting the best deals by using CouponChief coupons. Enjoy. =) * This is a sponsored post.

Categories of magic in the fantasy world

I am an avid reader of fantasy stories. Each time I visit the library or bookstore, the fantasy genre would be one section I will not miss. It just occurred to me that it might be interesting to categorize the different types of magic "available" in the fantasy world. I have come up with the following list after a wee bit of brainstorming. I might have missed out a few either because they are not big enough to warrant a category or that I simply forgot about them - so you can always add on to make your own list. Drop me a comment if you feel that I have missed any big and important category - I would be happy to update this post. :-) In the order these categories came to me: 1. By religion Remember we are now discussing the fantasy world in books and stories - so please don't start throwing stones at me and insisting there is only one God in this world and that I would be tossed into h*ll without even my sleeping bag for spewing such blasphemy. So, we were talking about religion. Some authors explain the magical nature of the worlds they create using religion. There are usually several religious sects in the world where the followers will have various powers granted by their "divine overlords". For instance, one of my favorite authors, Raymond E. Feist, features this concept. We can also see this in the Boudica series by Manda Scott. Either this, or the characters themselves are Gods. I particularly love the Incarnations of Immortality series by Piers Anthony. 2. By bloodline/gene/species This, in my opinion, is the most popular choice among authors and most books fall into this category, using it as either a predominant or secondary theme. Characters in the stories have magical powers if they were born in the right family, race or species. If you want power in these worlds, you have to pre-arrange for the right Daddy and Mummy. You need to check out Terry Goodkind who is ranked very high on my list. Other good ones include the Amber chronicles by Roger Zelazny, Demon Child trilogy by Jennifer Fallon, books by Robin Hobb, Saga of Seven Suns series by Kevin J. Anderson, Tears of Artamon series by Sarah Ash, Death Gate Cycle series by Margaret Weis, Vampire/Witches chronicles by Anne Rice and not forgetting of course, our beloved Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling. 3. By object This is more common as a central concept in fairy tales. In more adultish fiction, it usually takes that of a secondary nature. However, we do have quite a few outstanding books revolving around objects. I recommend the Thomas Covenant chronicles by Stephen R. Donaldson, EA Cycle series by David Zindell and the Fifth Ring trilogy by Mitchell Graham. I guess you can count the Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien too. 4. By geographical location In this kind of world, the magic depends on which part of the world you are born in. Elantris by Brandon Sanderson hints of this elegantly. "The Still" and "The King" by David Feintuch utilize this concept too. Largely, I think most stories fall into these four broad categories (those stories involving "special destiny" thingies don't count. Or, make them a fifth category! :P). Granted that most throw in spells, potions, gestures and what-have-you's, it's hard to find one that is completely out of these four. PS.: There are definitely more books than those I have mentioned in this post. However, I only mentioned those that I personally like. Further, I am sure there are still many more I have not yet had the chance to read. ;-)

LWW Quotes: Giving

It's time to go... BALD!!!

I forced myself to make the dreaded trip today. I have put it off for too long. I told myself to just do it and think no more. I decided to stop procrastinating and visit the barber. :P The lady hairdresser asked me how I would like my hair cut. I said, "Anything. Whatever you want." Despite my obvious green light for her to do whatever she wanted to my hair, she hesitated. More correctly, she did not seem to have heard me and proceeded to bombard me with incessant questions. For each question, I gave her the same answer. Anything, anything. At the end of the 10 minutes or so, she pointed to the mirror and asked me if it was okay. My hair looked cut enough and I was satisfied. Almost. I asked her if she would make the hair above my ears a bit higher. She replied that this meant I wanted to have a "slope" behind. SLOPE? I still don't get the connection between that and the hair above my ears. Too complicated for simple men like me. Anyway, we laughed a bit and formed an easy camaraderie. Like when a mute tries to speak with a deaf. She then commented that it was interesting I wanted my hair short, and shorter. She said that young people don't like their hair cut too short. Further, the "slope" was currently out of fashion so she thought I might not want it. I rolled my eyes and snorted that I knew peanuts about fashion and that I was not exactly young either. It struck me as strange then - this stereotype that middle-age lady had of "young people". Yet, it does seem to fit into the mold I myself have observed. A thought came unbidden to my mind. In Chinese, our hair is also referred to as 烦恼丝 (fan nao si). 烦恼丝 translates literally to "strands of vexation". It thus follows that the more hair you have, the more 烦恼丝 you have and hence, the more stress, problems and burdens you keep with you. It is my view that the enlightened ones are free from such worries. After all, haven't we note that those supposedly enlightened monks and nuns all don't have hair on their heads? :-) Youths are foolish. I remember I wanted to grow up quick when I was weeny. Now, I wish I was always little and ignorant of "world events". Youths of today want to keep more hair on their heads because they think it is fashionable. Sure, it is adult-ish to have lots of burdens too. Remove that hair on your head, get rid of your 烦恼丝... good luck on your path to enlightenment. =) PS.: For now, I think I will still keep my hair.

Attitude is 100% in life

Ok I confess. I didn't make this presentation myself. I got it from one of those mass emails. :P But hey, the content looks interesting (though I've seen it before - before I had my blog though ^^). Apparently, if we try to find a connection between the English alphabet and numbers, the message is that only attitude is 100%. Lost already? Check out the above presentation and you won't be. =)

LWW Quotes: Driving

Example of BAD customer service

There are many kinds of customer service in this world. Some good, some bad. Some fabulous, some atrocious. Some so-so. I am not presenting myself as an authority on customer service. After all, I have neither a doctorate in this subject nor years of experience with serving customers. I am just a humble armchair critic who believes he knows how he likes to be treated when he steps into the shoes of a customer. A friend of mine was sharing her experience with me which I thought is appropriate to include here. Recently, someone alerted me that the decaffeinated coffee I have been drinking may be poisonous. I was informed that benzene which is poisonous might be used in the decaf process. I was naturally shocked to learn that I may have been consuming regular poison while thinking it was packed with healthy antioxidants. I conducted some research online and soon had my fear assuaged. It seems that the decaf process might have been poisonous in the past, but advances in technology have saved the day. I was the one who told my friend about all this but she remained unsettled (she drinks decaf coffee too). And so, she wrote in to 2 companies where she had consumed coffee from - Boncafe and Nescafe. She told me that Boncafe was a dear. They got back to her the next day and subsequently provided her with details on their decaf process (no benzene used). If you are interested, this is the jpg file (280 KB) describing the process. On the other hand, Nescafe took more than 1 week to get back to her and this was the message she received from them: Thank you for your email which has been referred to us via our Webmaster. As we do not have your contact number, kindly call our Consumer Services Hotline at 6836 7200 during office hours (9am to 5pm, Mon - Fri) so that we can better assist you. This is the example of BAD customer service I am talking about. And it is not only Nescafe - I myself have received similar responses from other companies for my queries too. Let's just go back to Nescafe for now. My friend had expressed her concern to them explicitly. She asked a *simple* question. The gist of her query is really "Is your decaf coffee poisonous?" Nescafe could have simply informed her of their decaf process and assured her that there is no benzene involved. This was what Boncafe did which conveys responsible professionalism. By ignoring my friend's query and asking her to use the phone instead, it begs the question whether they are truly just ignorantly unprofessional or that their decaf coffee is indeed poisonous. I really hope it is the former since I am currently drinking Nescafe decaf coffee (because it was the cheapest on the shelf - but it tastes as insipid and smells as aroma-less as the previous Nescafe coffee I remember so I may decide to pay more and switch brand when I finish this bottle). Just to set the record straight, I am NOT accusing Nescafe of anything here. I am just speculating on possibilities from the "evidence" I was given. Nescafe lawyers, please, I am just a poor guy. You won't get a cent even if you win the case. So, be nice Sirs and Madams and let me keep my pants... thanks. To reiterate, if a customer sends you an email (or use your online query form) with questions, be professional by addressing them. Please do not replicate the example above and ask the customer to call your hotline instead. If they want to call you, I am sure they will give you a mooch over the phone without you asking. Happy customer service. =)

LWW Quotes: Marriage

LWW Quotes: Girls