Coming to the end of another year

Yes, it's that time of the year again. May I wish everyone a merry Christmas, and a superb new year ahead.

The joys and excitement of Christmas slowly builds up as it approaches. The festive spirit is everywhere on the streets. You put up a tree at home, decorate it, listen to carols, do the Christmas shopping, plan for the family party... Then on the day of celebration, memories are made. The gathering of people who you care and love, the sharing of happiness, the exchange of gifts, the feast. These are all things to cherish, because every year, after the party, you realize another Christmas is over, the year is coming to an end, and you reflect on the year. Naturally, you start thinking about all the Chirstmases in the past. All the good memories.

And those were great memories. I have to admit that over the years, there were some drastic changes. Changes that I do not particularly like. It seems to get even more difficult every year. To me, it was perfect back then. I wonder why things have to change like that. That is why it is so important to cherish what you have now. It may not be the best, but I will still cherish all the good things that have happened this year. All the best for 2009.

Mind Power

It's all in the mind. You control everything in your mind. The more you use it, the more you find out what it is capable of. You can bend spoons, time warp, make yourself invisible, read minds...

Guitar Stand

One year ago, I lost this compact, lightweight, foldable Fender electric guitar stand while moving back home. I flipped over every rock and pebble in my room looking for it. I finally gave up and went to Tom Lee to buy a new one, but it was out of stock. Tom Lee never restocked this guitar stand, and that made me very sad.

2 weeks ago on a stormy Sunday, I was wet from head to toe while running back to the car. I opened the trunk to see whether there was a towel for me to dry off, instead, I found my guitar stand. The very stand that went missing exactly 1 year ago.

My guitar now rests proudly on the guitar stand in the display case in my room.

Election

Did you vote?

It's a tough choice... the quality is not high, but I trust you can make the right choice.

I do have some suggestions for future candidates though:
1) You can dress casual when you're out in the heat campaigning, but don't wear that polo/T-shirt for that poster photo.
2) Do you really care about the environment? Everyday, I see campaign cars going around HK, adding to the pollution and using exessive gasoline. Not to mention their loudspeaker broadcasts are annoying and is another form of pollution. I don't mind if the candidate is actually on the vehicle waving at people, but if it's only a vehicle with posters stuck on and blasting out their messages... I cannot accept.
3) Stop all that silly singing, it's not Hong Kong Idol... geez.

Guitar Strings: D'addario

So far so good! At first, I was worried the sound might become muddy and unclear, but all the high frequencies are still singing. They feel great to play. It's a lot bouncier compared to the Fenders, it feels more alive. Tone is just as great. Best of all, no oxidization! I highly recommend D'addario strings for your guitar!!

I have to say, I'm impressed by what China has achieved when hosting the Olympics.

A little advice for guitar players. Don't use Fender strings! Fender strings definitely sound good and play well, but they don't last at all. I find myself going through Fender's Super 250s Nickelplated Steel 250L packs faster than ever. The main problem is they oxidize easily. Back in the old days, Fender saves on packaging strings by not sealing their strings air tight. Put them in HK atmosphere and they'll rust right away. Fender finally improved its packaging by sealing the bags, but I was rather shocked when I  opened a pack of fresh strings and found rust in 5 out of 6 strings. Totally unacceptable!

On the other hand, I use D'addario strings on my Ibanez guitar. Not only has that guitar stayed in tune after the first tuning, the strings have stayed clean and rust free. I'm going to switch over to D'addario for my Fender guitar and see how everything goes. I know they'll last, I'm more concern of how they sound, as I tend to find my Ibanez very warm sounding.