Animal Victim of Human Acts

Refer to the news of the San Francisco Zoo Tiger Attack. This is a sad end for an animal already locked up in a zoo when it was shot dead after it escaped from its enclosure and bit a man dead. But new revelations show that it could be because the group taunted the animal first though they denied it at first. And furthur reports that they smoked pot and drank shots before going to the zoo would most likely say that they weren't exactly 'good' boys either.

As it is presented to me, the boys most likely got a great big lesson with one paying for it with his life.

If the animal was shot dead to save the boy, fair enough. But in this case, 2 lives were lost, one kinda deserved it, the other just acting on instincts. The truth is, if the reports are based on facts, the tiger was the innocent victim.

So lessons learnt, don't do drugs, don't underestimate caged animals thinking you're superior, respect nature, and learn not to be stupid.

Mocha

wow...



late by 8 months

Sansa Express: So You Want To Update Your Firmware?

You come home excited about your new Sansa Express MP3 Player. You plug it into the computer hoping to transfer some of your favourite songs in. Here's you will encounter, which unless you are on Windows Vista, your very 1st problem.


The Sansa Express can't seem to install itself after Windows detects it. An error with the driver causes the player not to be installed and as such, you won't be transferring files anytime soon. But hey, this is a USB drive too right? You should be able to find a solution by searching online forums to detect the player as a mass storage device and start getting the files to transfer.


That is one workaround solution for the less fussy owners. But you still can't update your firmware this way. You bought this to work as flawlessly as it should and why would you settle for less. The problem with the installation earlier on was due to Windows XP's inability to read the driver INF files instructions after you have installed Windows Media Player 10.


But a simple download from the Microsoft Website will take this problem away. After you downloaded and installed the driver, you'll need to right-click on 'My Computer', go to 'System Properties', then click on 'Hardware' tab followed by 'Device Manager'.


In 'Device Manager', you will need to uninstall the Sansa Express first. This is because you need the system to detect the player as a new hardware when you plug it in again after you have installed the User-Mode Driver Framework.


Once plugged in, it will automatically install. Update your firmware, enjoy your music!

-EDIT-
For some time already Microsoft had decided to remove this driver for mass download for reasons that i don't know. However, I can tell you that you will need a file called umdf.exe to be downloaded. I'm not sure where you can find this anymore as a search i tried didn't turn up any viable results as well. If you do find a link, pls post in comment for others to solve the irritating problem as well. Thanks!

-SECOND EDIT-
I seem to have found it. If you download WMP11 and do a WINRAR extract to a folder, there's a umdf.exe in there. You should just use this umdf.exe and install the framework for your device to work properly. Kindly leave me some comments so i know that it still works. Thank you.

Sansa Express 1 GB Review

Having owned the player for a little more than 4 months, I can only have better than average views on this handy little player.

First the good stuff. The Sansa Express is a very very handy player that easily fits into any pocket without creating a bulge and has a 4 lined display in two colours, orange and blue that actually looks quite good.

Song navigation isn't too hard once you understand how the buttons work, but apparently my firmware version 01.00.16P2 does have some problems with song navigation and song selection.
For eg. when navigating to the songs list while a song is playing sometimes cause the player to reboot and it keeps happening when the action is repeated once it starts. Another problem is selection of songs sometimes fail because the player can't find the file, but if you try accessing it in a different way by going selecting the song thru album selection, it plays.

So while these problems do cause it to be rated a little less lower than it should, the player is still worth the buy as it has micro SD expansion card for more songs anytime you want.

Overall, the Sansa Express is a solid player with good enough functions but with a few shortfalls in the firmware. But those are problems that can be solved with future firmware updates and since it doesn't always affect my listening experience, I would still recommend it as a buy.

Taipei - Taiwan - Day 9 - 9 Days Backpacking

Day 9

I spent today going to Wu Fen Pu to get some clothes and stuff for friends back home. Stuff here is really cheap and bargaining is highly recommended. Last minute shopping is good here because of the large cluster of shops here selling fashion items.

Spent about 2 hours here before heading back to Ximen Station at 1pm. Took lunch at one of the cafes near the hotel before hurrying back to the hotel to catch the Freego bus we bought tickets for.

Gotta leave now already, so long, Taiwan... I'll be back someday! Next time I'll plan a round Taiwan Trip. But before that .. Europe.. maybe... :)

Taipei - Taiwan - Day 8 - 9 Days Backpacking

Day 8

I spent my 2nd last day for a full day visit to Yehliu, Keelung & Jiufen. Woke up at 7 and had breakfast before heading out to Taipei Main Station Exit 4 to get to the bus terminal to purchase my NT92 Kuo Kuang bus tickets to Yehliu for the Queen's Head Attraction. The ride takes about an hour and on arriving, had to walk in a little to get to the ticketing office.




Use the youth pass here and get tickets at NT25 instead of NT50. The Queen's Head was not as big as I thought it would be, but still it does make a good photo backdrop. The area is not big either but the view of the surroundings is beautiful. Left the place after an hour and went to the bus stop just outside the convenience store to catch the Keelung Bus (NT45). Its just a short 20 min ride back to Keelung but knowing where to alight is a big problem, so just ask the bus driver or the locals where you should drop to change bus to Jiufen.



The bus to Jiufen costs NT45 and will go up the hills to the tourist spot. The place is filled with teahouses, foodstalls and giftshops paddling a lot of interesting stuff. Its nice to look around and experience this hilltop, seaside town which in the past was a gold mining area. Some of the teahouses offer a good outdoor view of the sea, so don't forget to look around before going into one.




I left Jiufen in the evening and took the straight bus back to Taipei. Alighted after a 2 hour bus ride at Dongxiao Fuxing Station opposite the Sogo mall. Although the journey was rather long, I had a good rest and recovered from walking under the hot sun since morning.

Explored around at Ximending area and had dinner before heading back to the hotel for a good night's rest

Taipei - Taiwan - Day 7 - 9 Days Backpacking

Day 7

Decided on my plan for the day only after I woke up from a good sleep. Its the shortest day of activities today, as I decided to set off for Taipei Zoo at around 12pm. To get to Taipei Zoo, take the MRT to Zhongxiao Fuxing on the Bannan (Blue) line and change to the Muzha (Brown) line to get to Taipei Zoo Station. Over here, there will be two exits.




Exit 1 leads straight to the entrance of Taipei Zoo while Exit 2 will lead to the Maokung Gondola (Cable Car). The gondola is a good choice if you want a great view and it costs NT50 (EZCard) to get from the bottom to the top. There are only 2 stops along the way but the whole ride takes about 15mins.



At the top, I took the return trip to Taipei Zoo South Station on the gondola and entered the Zoo through its backdoor. Tickets cost NT60 which is really cheap, and can be paid with the EZCard as well.

The zoo is just a place that houses the animals in their exhibits. Attempts to make it just like the animal's habitat do not work very well in my opinion, or maybe there's no such intention at all. If you have been to the Singapore Zoological Gardens, you can skip the zoo here. Otherwise, you can spend sometime here if you have nothing on your itinerary and just want to experience the difference.



The zoo here closes at exactly 5pm and i took the Muzha line back to Technology Building Station and took a 30min walk/navigation to Shida night market. The night market here was extremely crowded, with scooters and people going alongside in tight alleyways. It's one of the better night markets I've experienced here. Tried goose noodles, beef noodles, dumplings and had desert after that. There are also a lot of fashion retail shops.




After that, I took a walk to Taipower Building Station on the Xindian (Green) line and made my way back to Ximen Station, changing trains at CKS Memorial Hall Station.




Ended the day a little early at 9, I was tired from all the walking but still, I think its a good way to explore Taipei on foot (mostly).