Merry Christmas

From the entire crew at Surrounded by Rain, we'd like to wish everyone Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Now if you'll excuse me, I've got less than 12 hours to learn how to roast a turkey properly!

The Holidays

It's been almost a week since I finished my co-op job but I've managed to keep myself busy because of the holiday season.

Here are some pictures of Icron's QA lab the day I left:

Some shelves we put up when

I do sort of miss the place even after only 4 months, there has to be some sentimental value to your first co-op placement.

Long overdue partaking of a Christmas tradition

It took 21 years, but this year I got my first Christmas tree. When I saw a 7 feet Christmas tree on sale at Canadian Tire, my mind was set on buying the damn thing. I realize this is one thing bad about co-op because I'm finding that I'm a lot more trigger happy on purchases now that Ihave a little bit of money :@. I thought I would have to lower the back seats to fit the package in my car but I didn't. Anyways, here is the largely unimpressive packaging of my first Christmas tree.


The first look inside the box was equally unimpressive.

It was rather depressing to look at once out of the box, too. I was excited, but not exactly enthralled.

So, three segments, a base, and an instruction manual. This shouldn't be too hard, I threw the instruction manual to the side and started construction on the base. The entire unpackaging and construction process took less than two minutes but once I had a look at the skinny skeleton of a tree I realized the cumbersome task ahead of isolating every tip.

Before

After

Who would've guessed?!

I must say though, it does look a lot more impressive but I realized the much more cumbersome task ahead of decorating the damn thing. I bought some frosted pine cones, some bells, and a an ornament bundle because its a lot less thinking than picking out your own ornaments. I do prefer an angel though, its got more majesty to it than a star. That, and most of the stars are literally flat so you can't see it from the side.

So by the time I put up all the ornaments I realized that the white wasn't exactly great against my white walls so I took down everything and exchanged it for a red and green package. One and a half hours wasted. :(

So I started at 2:30 and I finally had the tree up and lit by 7:00 because of the entire ordeal with the white ornaments. I also bought some yellow ornaments while I was there so I guess it wasn't a complete waste of time. Anyway, here it is.

Much more impressive

I pushed it into the corner beside my TV where it'll stay until Boxing Day. I can't wait to have to go through the painstaking process of undecorating and putting away the damn thing. Oh, goodie! Hopefully it'll be quicker, since I'll just toss all the ornaments into some rubbermaid containers. Oooh, it's shaping up to be an annual chore!

Hindsight is 20/20

When I started this blog I saw this as a potential problem, but now I finally see how severe it actually is.

I don't do enough interesting things to blog about. X.x

Epic fail.

I will try to do better. Try being the operative word.

So heres a very very quick sketch of my DAT day
very tiring throughout the whole thing. started early and last for 6 hours, but I survived and now im finished. I have some other pictures for later till then!

sup

so after this post, im gonna be posting all in comic format, ill try to get one a week, itll mostly be doodles on lined paper, just to spice things up a bit : D back to wc then studying!

Halloween Post

Because I'm obviously more interested in my computer than my friends. I did the H50 post before the Halloween post :P. I originally wanted Jeffrey to write this post but he's busy with his DAT preparation and won't be available until this coming Saturday which will be a full week after Halloween. Since I don't like to leave things undone, I thought I would start this post. Mind you, this is my second post in the last 1-2 hours so I'm rather out of it. (Jeffrey, feel free to make additions)

Anyway, because girls are smelly, it was just the guys (me, Eric, Jeffrey, and Keith) last Saturday for Paranormal Activity and late night sushi afterwards.

Paranormal Activity started out pretty slow, I actually dozed off twice in the first half hour. The pace did pick up a little bit afterwards and it compounded with teenage girls screaming every 5 minutes. I actually didn't mind this as I would be furious if I slept through the entire movie I paid a good 12 bucks for, no matter how bad it may be. I'm rather satisified with the ending though as I did not anticipate it at all (I won't spoil it for you guys since I think you should watch it yourself). A little advice for the pirates/renters out there, dim lighting and proper audio is very important when watching this movies. The rumblings add a lot to the experience.

Late night sushi at Tomokazu is one of the hidden gems of Vancouver, I still prefer this place over Toyama. Eric's bulking also seems to be moving along quite well, I haven't seen him eat as much as he did in a while. However, Eric, you'd be hard pressed to top your performance at the IB banquet that one year when you had an eating contest with Jeff, that was just epic.

I seem to be pointing down, how awkward.

Anyhow, I'm now completely out of it, I just can't write anymore. Maybe Jeffrey can add to this post when he has time.

My Latest Toy

As some of you may know, I'm running STOCK Core i7 940. I may be the only person you know that's running a stock i7 of any sort. The major reason why I've been running a stock i7 is because I've yet to acquire an aftermarket heatsink. After much deliberation, I've finally taken the first steps to overclocking and gotten . Behold, the Corsair Hydro Series H50, a factory sealed CPU water cooler.


I was considering the Swiftech H20-220 Ultima water cooling kit at one point but I realized that, with my clumsiness, it would only be a matter of time before the externally mounted radiator would come loose. That, and the fact that it costs more than 4 times as much as the H50 with the chipset block. One downside is that I'm relegated to a noisy 40mm fan to cool my chipset since I've yet to find one that provides good airflow while remaining quiet.

Despite the H50 being my first ever aftermarket heatsink, I was able to install this thing with no problems.

Backplate installation was straightforward and simple. I originally forgot the metal screw guides and eyeballed the placement of the backplate. After I corrected my mistake, there was no guesswork at all. *facepalm* (note to self: always go through all the parts and instructions first)

Notice the dried up thermal paste on the processor in the next shot. :P

Since you rarely take out the motherboard, I thought this would be a great chance to clean up some of the dust behind the motherboard. Yes, I used a brush. I use a brush more often than not. Compressed gas aint cheap dude.


Anyways, this is the part where I wished I had bought a better case with a motherboard tray. Although getting the board out was easy, getting the board in was a pain in the ass.

After 5 minutes of positioning and losing screws, I finally re-mounted the motherboard and got to attaching the heatsink. Look at the pretty thermal paste. (O.O)

The best thing about the H50 is that the radiator is mounted internally which means nothing hanging around the case. However, I had to remove that dusty rear fan first.


And here's the final product.

I've yet to overclock yet, I still have to refresh myself on bclks and multipliers but I'm running 15 degrees cooler than I did using the stock heatsink fan which gives me much more headroom since I didn't want to push the system to its thermal envelope in the first place.

Now, if only Jeffrey will stop making sense so I can go out and buy a 6GB DDR3-1600 kit. I think there's a limit to how far you can push DDR3-1066. >.>

KEITH HAS BEEN BANNED

as the title reads
he will have to write a blog to make it up if he wants back in which i doubt

Announcement

It gives me great pleasure to announce that Surrounded by Rain is the latest recipient of Darren Dinh's Seal of Approval.


Darren Dinh's Seal of Approval is your guarantee of quality and satisfaction unlike other blogs *ahem* surroundedbysheep *ahem*.

Reasons why kim's birthday this year was better than last years

On friday was our dear friend Kimberly's big 2-1 birthday dinner. I was actually anticipating the dinner because I needed a break from all the intensive midterm studying I've been doing that week. I even had a midterm/quiz on the day of her birthday, which I am still quite angry about but thats not the point of this blog.

Anyway, without further ado, here are some reasons why Kim's birthday this year:

1. THE PLAN. Now her birthday this year was well planned. She sent out a facebook msg to a bunch of us almost a week before and EVERYONE replied in time; Eric was cutting it close though....4 in the morning was it? Also, it took us 3 days to finalize plans! Thats amazing when it comes to our group of friends, usually we do things on the day of and it usually works out...I think. Congrats to you kim, you should plan more things for us!

2. THE FOOD. Actually this wasn't all different from last year. This year she decided she would like to eat thai food again but at "Urban Thai Bistro" (has some sweet tunes at their site, so fancy) instead of "Tropika"(thanks to Jo for reminding me where we went). Now I don't really remember how much better Urban Thai was than Tropika but according to Dinehere, the ultimate guide to restaurants in Vancouver (except for BC sushi, stupid keith), Urban Thai had a rating of 3.5 stars while Tropika on Cambie (the one we went to says Jo) had a mere 2.5 stars. This year's restaurant beat last years restaurant but ONE WHOLE STAR! Here's a comment I read on their site for Urban Thai:

Added Jul 13, 2009 by dragondrea of Vancouver (43 Reviews)

Good stuff
When I'm in Yaletown and hungry, this is where I go to eat. The staff are super friendly and very social, when time permits, and the food is fresh, delicious and plentiful.

My partner and I usually the dinner specials for 2, which are decent value and let us try a variety of dishes. We usually end up taking some home, and the leftovers are always excellent the next day for lunch!

The interior is clean, comfortable, and nicely decorated.

Thank you dragondrea for your insightful comment.
For our meal, we had a combination order, A dinner for 8 was what it said on the menu. It consisted of a couple of appetizer dishes (spring rolls and skewers) and then probably 10 more dishes of different curries, vegetables, and other things I can't remember. Oh and unlimited refills of rice. Even though we had 9 people, the food was very filling.

3. THE AFTER PARTY. Because Keith is not being helpful cuz he sucks ( F U KEITH) I'll tell you what we did after dinner. We first stood around the restaurant contemplating on what to do as usual. Kim decided that we should go to a lounge but we didn't know where, thus our adventure began. We walked far from where we ate, searchin high and low for a place to sit and drink, all full of course since it was a friday night at 9 o clock. After we decided we would go to EDGEWATER CASINO for some drinks. I didn't go because I had stuff to do the next day but I assumed it was going to be fun. I had the pleasure of sitting next to a guy on the skytrain blasting Miley Cyrus's new hit "Party in the USA." It really was a party indeed v.v

Now what we did last year, I honestly don't remember but it can't beat walking around downtown after a hearty meal, enjoying the night life of VANCOUVER with great friends. It's definately a lot more fun than going to New Zealand and last years party probably.

Thus concludes this blog session, the last party about the after party, Keith MAY fill in but I doubt it because hes a big jerk....like Jeff.

As the weekenders always say "Later Days!"

Date: October 23, 2009, Location: Elsewhere

Last friday was Kimberly's birthday, the plan was to go out for Thai food, dessert, and then find somewhere to chill afterwards. I, on the other hand, had other plans. The guys were getting together and going for hot pot at Posh on the same night (for some odd reason, Allan picked the weekend closest to his birthday to get together). Short story made even shorter, I thought that we needed a blog presence there so I made the sacrifice and bailed out of Kim's birthday. We had Jeffrey and Keith there so we were fine, and I figured I would just meet up with them afterwards. I did feel more like hot pot anyway.

Zooming down the Granville Street Bridge and exiting at Fir, I found parking nearby at around 7:55 and got to Posh at 7:58. Just in time. I walk in, had a look around and didn't see anyone, am I at the wrong place? No, they were just sitting with their backs facing me. PEOPLE, WHEN YOU GET TO A RESTAURANT EARLY AND YOU'RE WAITING FOR OTHERS, SIT FACING THE DOOR.

As usual, there are stragglers who get there 5-10 minutes late but by 8:10 everyone was seated and dining commenced.

Hot pot is simple, four to a pot and eat as much as you can. Dennis and Allan, being losers and wannabe Japanese, wanted to meticulously roll every slice of beef into the pot. But I'm an impatient man - I want all my meat cooked at once and in a hurry. This method was much too inefficient for me so I took over.

WHABAM! Everything in at once, that's how you do it bitches.

Round 2? 3? 4? I can't remember. Oh shit, its overflowing.

Who the hell ordered instant noodle? (I think they call it ramen to trick you)

Sometimes, you realize how fine the line is between boring and entertaining. For example, watching paint dry - boring, watching beef cook - entertaining.

Watching beef cook:

BEFORE
(looks like someone is also taking pictures for a blog)

DURING

AFTER

AFTER AFTER

Yes, towards the end of the night your soup thickens into a really potent sludge because you stop adding water - even moreso if you ordered the udon. And I finally fixed the white balance in that final shot if you didn't notice.

I can't say I regretted skipping Kim's birthday dinner because hot pot was tons of fun. Not to mention Posh hires cute waitresses, they're like the Asian equivalent of Hooters. At the end of the night though, its really about the people. So here are some shots of everyone there.

Stuart, Dennis, Darren, Ern (Thanks for the shots Ern!)

Jose, Sunny, Allan

Yours Truly

Addendum: Just got around to installing Windows 7 yesterday.

Ooo... Pretty

A Better Playlist

Sometime shortly after I started driving to school, I compiled a music CD for my daily commute consisting of The Smashing Pumpkins, OLP, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and a few dozen other artists. Safe to say, it grew old on me, I found myself on the verge of falling asleep at the wheel far too often and some of the tracks are just plain depressing (The Fray, I'm talking about you guys). It was time for a change, I needed something more vibrant, something more colourful.

So I set out to compile my current CD based on "dem rap music", "dem black music", and booty shakers. In essence, douchie tracks with a simple message: "I want to fuck you and cum all over your face".

1. Akon - Smack That
2. Baby Bash ft Frankie J - Suga Suga
3. Lil' Jon - Get Low
4. Mystikal ft. Pharrell - Shake Ya Ass
5. 50 Cent - Candy Shop
   
6. Akon - Bananza
7. Akon - I Wanna Fuck You
8. Chingy - Right Thurr
9. Juvenile - Back That Ass Up
10. Massari ft. Belly - Rush The Floor (Rule #1 for a douchie soundtrack: must have Massari)
    
11. Methods of Mayhem - Get Naked
12. Lady Gaga - Love Game
13. Sisqo - Thong Song
14. Snoop Dogg - Drop It Like It's Hot
15. Snoop Dogg - Sexual Eruption

So far, the Douche CD has been working wonders - I haven't fallen asleep at the wheel since. It's still a work in progress and I've been promised a few recommendations from Jeffrey, but if you have any suggestions, feel free to leave a comment.

Edit: I'm pretty sure I'm missing some songs so the list will be updated

Massari exemplifies the essence that I wish to capture on this CD

Post #2

I've had this post drafted for a few days now but I've been too lazy to finish it up. Anyways, last Friday started slow but ended with strong. When I look back, I think of the song Get Low by Lil Jon. Probably only because it was playing at one point when I was driving that night but whatevs.

7:30 AM - Wake up.

9:00 AM - Work.

1:00 PM - Lunch.

1:?? PM - Back to work.

5:30 PM - Gym.

7:30 PM - Pearl Drops Tea House. Pearl Drops Tea House?! WHAAAAAA? So we finally went to Pearl Drops yesterday after Keith brought it up and my friend told me it was good. I have no idea why people say this place is expensive because it's roughly the same as Estea and Tea Works. Guess people like their cheap and dirty $3.00 night market bubble tea. Here is a pretty good review with pictures.

8:00 PM - A little bit too early for late night sushi so to Brentwood Mall it is. Brentwood has absolutely got to be the worst mall in Greater Vancouver, there's absolutely nothing there. Oh wait... I forgot about Kingsgate. Jeffrey inquires about the iPhone, Keith bitches about his plan, I feel indifferent. Whatever. Off to sushi we go, that was our main purpose tonight. We broke tradition by not going to Tomokazu *gasp* since Keith found a place called Toyama that seemed to be getting pretty good reviews on dinehere. One problem: it's in downtown. And you know what that means, parking is going to be a bitch.

Behold, the second worst mall in Greater Vancouver

9:00 PM - As usual, I find a parking spot right outside the restaurant and Jeffrey drives around looking for parking. Meanwhile, I find out Allan, Dennis, and Stuart haven't even left yet. I wandered around for a bit (because I am sure as hell not going to sit alone at a table for 7). Jeffrey eventually settles for a spot by Davies and Homer. I laughed. little did I know, his terrible parking would come to screw me over. I conceded. I walk into Toyama and sat alone at a table for 7.

9:20 PM - Everyone eventually arrives. Dinner consisted of Dennis getting a bunch of random fish dishes that he had to finish himself (salmon head, various grilled smelly fishes) and Keith getting his fill on mango pudding. Darren, who none of us know where he was all night, arrives after last call to make out with Keith.

Some hour and a half to two hours after I first sat down - We finally paid the bill and left. Oh look, it's pouring rain. Oh look, I parked just outside the restaurant. Oh look, I have to drive Jeffrey to his car. Fuck. Oh look, I thought Homer was west of Seymour. Double fuck.

Driving Jeffrey to his car in the pouring rain (he parked in Yaletown but the restaurant was at Robson and Seymour, typical)

Opening Post

It seems that Jeff, judging from his overly enthusiastic blog posts, is slowly becoming disillusioned. So, tired of reading his ravings about New Zealand, that shithole of a country, I feel it is my obligation as a friend to give him a rude awakening.

Seriously, there's a reason the country only has a population of 4.3 million. How often do you hear about people illegal immigration to New Zealand? Hell, how often do you hear about LEGAL immigration to New Zealand? Sure New Zealand is developed, but its also one of the last places you would consider. People want to go to GOOD countries; places where future generations will actually have a future, places where they can be proud to live in.

Only in New Zealand would people proudly call themselves fruits.

To conclude the opening post of this blog, I'd like to list a few great things about Vancouver. Not the great scenery, the multicultural vibe, or how the ski hills are only a short drive from the beaches; you can read a travel brochure for that. This isn't a list for tourists.

1) The Canucks don't play when you're at work
2) Bao Chau
3) Canadian beef (which owns New Zealand lamb)
4) Asian girls
5) Ian Hanomansing (what a stud)

There's definitely more, but an extensive list would be longer than the last Lord of the Rings trilogy.