Month: April 2005

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ASP is…

Ugly. Very ugly. Fugly.


There’s a new client for my company and I need to edit their existing website a little which is in ASP. Code organization looks good enough. Easy to understand and edit. At least all I need to do is to make changes to a page or two to have that change applied to all other pages.


Every content is stored into the database and then pulled out with keywords from querystrings. No filters are applied to the querystrings before using them to query the database. Means anyone who knows SQL injection well enough could unleash havoc onto this site. I could fix that but I have forgotten a lot on ASP.


And I repeat, I don’t like ASP anymore.

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Phlegm

I thought my cough would get better over the weekend. Instead it worsened. So I seized the opportunity to go MC for 2 days. Whole body felt weak after taking the medicine. But enough strength and concentration for me to sit on my chair and log on to FFXI for the rest of the two days. Now I’m back to work.


Still, I feel a bit of irritation down my throat. At least my condition is getting better.


I wonder if it’s because of the medicine, I get that lifeless feeling again. I could just sit on my chair, stare at a blank wall and not do a thing.


By the way, the first thing that greeted me in office was a horde of ants that invaded my coffeecup I left unwashed since last Friday. Killed them all with hot water, my favourite way of exterminating pests.

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The clouds, the sky

I didn’t realize I was going back Malaysia for the Qing Ming festival too.
From what I know, it’s a festival for ghosts. Sort of like Chinese New Year for
the departed. What those still alive do is pay a visit to the graves of their
ancestors, clean up if need, make food offerings and burn paper money and
stuff.


So I got dragged along but I didn’t mind it anyway. If memory serves me well,
this is the second time I’m visiting my mum’s grandparent’s and parent’s grave.
We left in the morning and finished around noon. I got sunburnt because I
refused to use the umbrella cos I wanted a bit of tan. Hell, people get sunburnt
at the beach but I get sunburnt at a cemetary. [X|]


Other than the festival, making my new Malaysian IC was a breeze. Just
collect my number ticket, photographer takes my digital photo, another takes my
digital thumbprints, confirm address, done.


Food is definitely more delicious in Malaysia. At my mum’s hometown (Lunas,
Kedah), we stopped by a small stall by the road for a plate of wanton noodles.
Mum says this stall is very famous and people come from far places just to eat
for their noodles are handmade. [XD]


A plate of wanton noodles here, slightly lesser than what you get in
Singapore, costs RM$2, which is slightly less than 1 Singapore dollar! Meh,
average tasting noodles at Maxwell food centre here costs S$3.00. [8|]


In Malaysia, I stayed with my mum’s sis at Sungai Petani, Kedah. There aren’t
much tall buildings here except for a few shopping malls. So it’s easy to get a
good glimpse of the sky.


Ever tried to grasp how huge and wide the sky is? I did and felt overwhelmed.
Things you see everyday are easily within your sight radius but not
the sky. It’s so huge it makes one feel helpless.

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Seer’s!

Back to the game, I took 5 days to level both my white and black mage jobs to 29. Somehow my EXP parties decided to disband before I reach 30. Doesn’t really matter since I just want to be able to put on the Seer’s set and get rid of the ugly San d’Orian tunic and other low level mage equipment.


I bought part of my Seer’s set from this Galka’s bazaar back then. He was shouting about quitting the game and selling his stuff at dirt cheap prices. Bought the mitts, tunic, slacks for a price of 10,000gil only. The crown and pumps I had to get them myself later on.


Now that I’m done with my mage jobs, it’s time to set new goals. For my dark knight job, I need 1 more sniper ring and if possible, an amemit mantle+1. Total cost approximately 1.5 million gil. I have on-hand, measly 300,000gil. Probably visiting the mines again and try again to seek for a party this coming Sunday.


——


My thoughts of WHM and BLM to 29.


Levelling white mage at Valkurm Dunes was a little stressful. There’s a high possibility of having novice players in your party. But somehow I managed to survive from 16-29 without any deaths! But of course, I have members who die. Some because of goblin/bogy aggro, links, and 2 deaths because I couldn’t get Benediction activated for them in time. I just needed 1 more second!! ( T-T)


Overall I didn’t find playing white mage exciting. All the while I do repetitive stuff. Protectra! Shellra! Paralyze! Slow! Dia! Regen! Spam cures! Then rest and recover MP.


Black mage is the same for me. Shock! Blind! Blizzard, Fire, Thunder! Rest a tick for tanks to get a good amount of hate before getting up and start nuking again to kill it off.


To be safe and courteous, I crafted my own Pineapple Juice and put {Amateur} {White Mage/Black Mage} in my search comments to warn people before inviting me.


——


During the course of levelling both mage jobs, I got invited by Japanese players on a few occasions even when I’m not on seek and with empty search comments. It’s not surprising since both mage jobs are highly sought after and since it’s in the low levels, it’s not a big deal to lose exp through deaths.


While in JP PTs, I sometimes respond to sentences they say. Then when asked if I understand Japanese, I say “hai, sukoshii” (yes, a little), and they seemed glad. I still don’t understand how the Japanese players think of NAs but I’m quite sure getting an invitation into a Japanese party for higher levels like my 62 dark knight is near impossible. And don’t tell me about forming my own parties because I have received either rude or no response at all from Japanese players. Enough to discourage me from forming my own PTs forevermore.


And so, I whine! [X|]


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Here’s screenshots of me in Seer’s set equipment. Low res because I took them at work and my PC in office sucks.


Seer's set
Love the markings and color scheme.


Seer's Set
Here’s one showing my new pants and shoes. [8|]