Recently when playing basketball,  I've eased up a bit  and mostly content to shoot outside and play conservatively cause my shoulder is still sore (old recurring injury) and my knees are starting to feel weak. This is definitely not fun, so I've started a daily rehab routine to build back up the strength in my arms and knees.

This dude is like 39 and playing int the NBA and this dude just started on Team USA and is 35. So no excuses. I won't be hanging on the rim again like when I was 18, but I should still be able to drive and play decent defense at least in a few months.

These days you can find basic exercise routines on the Internet if you don't have major injuries and want to do basic rehab privately. Found this Plone powered site which had some routines that I remember doing several years ago.

Good news also for SS17 folk, the local courts are fixed and now have nice transparent backboard. There are also lights, bright enough at least to shoot around at night (too dark and dangerous for a game though).

I hate dust, cause I'm allergic to it. In Malaysia, where it's humid, house dust builds up quickly. Worse it's the fully grey organic kind which gives me cold like symptoms. By the end of this month, I should have almost no paper clutter left. All other clutter is now organised into covered boxes. It doesn't reduce dust, but it helps me clean it up.

Dust is bad for computers too, this is the filter after a month on my server case:

Some tips on reducing paper clutter:

• Important documents, scan it and file it away. Most of the time, you only need to provide a copy. Having access to digital copies, makes it easier to find and quickly print out.
• Business cards. I find it funny that people with USD 599 phones with IR, WiFi, Bluetooth etc. don't have a business card in VCF ready to beam or send via bluetooth from their mobile. It's the quickest way to get your contact details to somebody else. It's also an open standard.It will even be on their phone already, which is the most likely place they will look up a number to call. Until more people realise this, you'll just have to get into the habit, of adding the business card into your phone as soon as possible. Then chuck it away, if it's not important to add, chuck it away. Don't build up a collection, in today's digital age, it's silly to look up a number in a stack of cards.
• Bill statement, after payment, chuck it in the recycle bin. Most statements you can check online anyways, or request for if it's really important.
• Liberally throw away stuff. If you haven't read a pamphlet within a week, you'll probably never going to read it. Chuck it in the recycle bin.

After a week and a half, the amount of paper clutter in my recycle bin. So many trees.

Just upgraded my desktop to the recently released Gnome 2.20. It continues with the gradual improvement and polish throughout the Gnome Desktop environment. Speed up here and there, more efficient power management, various UI and dialog tweaks etc. An example is that instead of one huge list of tasks and appointments, from the clock applet, you now have little arrows for tasks and appointments which collapses. Similarly the new Clearlooks theme has blue scrollbars which makes it stand out more. Seems like a minor point, but it's all the small little things that give it that polished look and feel.

Official release notes

Desktop

Shift Switcher

All my workspaces on a Wall

From Lim Kit Siang's blog,

Lingam tape - letter to PM to suspend Ahmad Fairuz as Chief Justice and to establish judicial tribunal

This is one of the reasons, I don't buy or read Malaysian papers. There is of course a news blackout on this.

Most young people I know shrug at this as if nothing can be done, however there is something all of us can do, and that's to register as a voter now.  It's not difficult, SPR is even in shopping malls, all you need is to give your IC card and fill in a simple form to register.

There is enough of us in the younger voting generation, that can say enough is enough, and it's time to now shape Malaysia for us and not simply accept the corrupt racist system that is in place.

Remember, the ruling government is elected by us. They serve us, not the other way around. In a democracy, it means collectively your votes will have the power to change things. So let's not leave it almost a third of the way, like in 1999 and instead vote any party except BN. Not registering and not voting in the next elections means that you accept and condone the current corrupt system.

Upset about toll hikes?
Upset with corruption?
Upset with high prices for cars?
Upset that you can't get into local university because you're the wrong race?
Upset that minister allows foreign corporations to dictate our IT standards?

Register now, and be ready to do something when the next elections come up.

I've always been a fan of turned base strategy games. Mostly because I like the stategy part, it's like playing chess but with more variables and an imaginary world. The best of this would have been Warlords III for me, and it's nice to see just as enjoyable a game availabe as FOSS. I'm not much of a gamer, preferring to go out or play basketball, but fasting in Ramadhan provides a good opportunity to try some out.

Full screen map

The map is comprised of hexagons. It's set in a fantasy world, with your usual humans, elves, orcs, undead etc. One reason I like strategy based games is that it's not an all out race of who can build the most resources the fastest. Wesnoth stresses this even more, as there is an upkeep cost for units. So if you lose a few villages (income) you start losing gold real quick. When you start losing units, you don't have bold to recruit new units.

There are also numerous strategy elements in play. Terrain matters, so that elves fight better in woods. Night and day, such that lawful units fight better during the day, and of course evil fights better at night. The units are also well balanced, so that a powerful knight, can be quickly picked apart by archers. Another aspect that I like is that units gain experience, so it's wise to keep them alive as veteran units are more powerful.

There are multiple campaigns and they are challenging. You really have to plan it well, there are also turn limits. One scenario for example, I had to flank the enemy from both sides and assinate the leader from behind. Otherwise, their forces would just hold you until your turns run out.

The artwork is not too bad, and it is constantly being updated/improved. You won't find final fantasy like cut scenes, but the games doesn't lack polish.

Full-size Artwork

If you're into strategy games, I highly recommend this. It is availble on most platforms, Linux, Windows, Mac and FreeBSD.

Battle for Wesnoth