Pan Admun Republic of Western Blog

Just install the FlashVideo plugin and so I have to test.

Maybe I am just slow... just realize that Google Images has the whole range of images from my blog.... don't know it's a good thing or not.

It looks like some bot is using the service to find live page to hit? I don't think there should be that much traffic from Google Images to my blog.....

Saw this on my IM

While looking up reference for my previous post, just bump into this link about Montreal meat.

It started a few years ago while visiting Montreal, my friend Dixon used to live there so we made a few trips up from time to time (I still try to do one a year). Afterall, Ottawa is close to Montreal, only 1.5 hours driving (much closer when compare to TO(ronto)). One time a bunch of us decided to try out the "world famous" smoked meat out of curiosity. How good a sandwich can be?

They are good. The meat is not salty but very flavourful. The smell of the spices and meat blend together to ensure you want to bite it.

Actually, I never eat there (maybe I should some time), each time we bought the meat to go and have them sliced up in thin pieces. The meat is wrapped in oil paper, in the old fashion way. I usually can't resist to open it up and swallow a few slices by the time I get to the car. It's _that_ good. The smell, taste, and the juicy meat......

Even after I get home and put them into the freezer, they are still good. I usually put them in smaller bags once get home, so I just keep one in the frige. The meat still taste good after the road trip and in the freezer. It's THAT good.

Speaking of food from Montreal, the next thing come up is bagels!!

I was in this place as well when I visit Singapore in June. There's why I first met Heng's friend in town. It's really a busy place and the waiter/waitress works there really have an attitude. I mean they are mean.... yes, mean. I guess it's come from that I-am-famous-near-and-far-so-I-serve-you-the-way-I-want-to-and-you-eat-what-I-give-you thingy. (There was a smoked meat place like that in Montreal too... and they are GOOD)

This bring back a lot of fond memory of the trip.

Thanks, Alice.

If you are a military buff like me, you probably notice the US troops deployed in that certain part of the world is donning a new camouflage BDU. The Army Combat Uniform. The new unifrom is redesigned and suppose to make soldiers' life easier, in another word, make them more survivable on the battlefield.

One interesting thing about this grey/white-ish camo designed to make soldiers "invisible" is that it's universal for all environments that US troops is going to be deployed. (desert/woodland/urban)

However, how effective is this so call "univerisal" camouflage? I guess only time will tell.

Meanwhile, ACU is not the only game in town. There is an experimental uniform/camo known as Multicam that is coming out about the same time. According to some information on the net, Multicam seem to be even more adaptible to the surrounding.

Speaking of the camo used by ACU, it's actually design digitally. It's a variation of one used by Marines called MARPAT (and here).

If you still want more of camo, see here.

Meanwhile, I still like the optical camo in Ghost in the Shell better.

I am finally returned to Ottawa after 6 months in China. My server has been off-line due to DSL router problem since June, the root cause is the failing Ethernet function on the SMC router. I replaced it with a LinkSys WRT54GS.

During the server's long outage, I've been using MSN MySpace a bit (now Windows Live Spaces). I will port all posts form there later.

I almost got pick pocket on the street last night when touring the city with my friend Jesse and wife Fanny from Hong Kong.....

The three of us walked out of a shopping mall and heading to grab some eat. It's dark already and we walk side-by side among the crowds, suddenly I feel a pull from my camera bag on the side. I immediately turn around and feel something back away. I notice a guy in white tee right behind me. This guy than move to the left and walk in front of us, eventually goes into a shop. I check and realize the buckle of the bag is opened, I know for sure it's not me forgetting because I checked earlier.

Actually, I think I stopped an potential pickpicketer earlier in the day, when we walked on the street and I noticed a guy pay a little too much attention on us and start following us. I stared at him as he walked innocently behind us to make sure he saw me looking at him, than he looks away and walk on.

I know I have been pushing it to wear my camera on the side, everyone I met from Guangzhou warned me about it. But I thought:

1. I need easy access to my camera so I can take picture often (bad bad bad idea.....)
2. The bag only carry camera, which is quite heavy, so I will feel it if someone try to pick it
3. I am wearing it on my right, which my hand is always right next to it, which will shield it. It will be very hard to attempt
4. I usually attach my camera to me with a biner, so no chance they are going to steal it without my notice
5. I am an alert person

Yesterday, I even purposely carry a back-pack to create an extra barrier to block someone form the back picking. But it still happened, and just days before I left for the country. I was lucky to block their attemp. On the other side I have to admit that I am getting sloppy:

1. Going in a group give me a sense of security, so my guard is slightly down
2. I did not tie the camera to myslef, which if the guy did pick my cmaera, I will have to chase after him (which is bad)
3. I am getting a bit tired at the end of the day (it was almost 8pm when this happened)

Lucky me this time, but next time I might not. So I got to remind myself this part of the world is really NOT a safe place. Unlike in Canada, you can left a bag of camcorder on a bench in Wonderland for half an hour and still no one will take it (or treat it as a "unidentify" object and call the bomb squad)

Just to illustrate how I carry:

In Tokyo, there are women's only train in the morning before 9:30am. So, OL can go to work without harassed by molester.

In reason years, my friend told me, women are more vocal when being victimized.