Tuesday, July 27, 2004

Andrea

Co-worker or Scott's colleague for Spring/Summer 2004
That wasn't nice of me that I didn't look into your eyes and initiated conversation
This is not the usual gesture I'd offer but I was busy
You seemed too familiar as though I have known you for a long time, a connection
I was busy and time was my constraint but I couldn't steal some off it to be with you... and Scott.

We have not really got to know each other although that idea would have been a blast
If this scares you, know that I am frigthened as much as you because I dont wanna believe there is an attraction between us. Let it something that I can think of as a precursor of my higher self-esteem; live and let love, let love be liberator -- that which liberates me from my insanity to even write this out.

Ah! The power of atractions and love! they both never cease to amaze me.

this is an audio post - click to play

this is an audio post - click to play

Sunday, July 25, 2004


Shot by ... the table?? : At Chelsea's place after stuffing ourselves with pizza and watched an independant movie... kinda silly. From left to right by head queues: Me Myself, Ben, Sylvia, Canaan, Scott, and Chelsea. Look!! All of us have clean feets!! Except... lots of shiats going around here. beware, don't step on one. hehe
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Shot by Shutterdan: This was the look I got when I asked her "I want you to be my nude model". That look is her knock-out look for a "yes!".
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Shot by Shutterdan: We're in the pub crawl bus. Right behind me is Ben. And right behind the Scary Movie ghost (Scott) is Chelsea. The bus is rocking!! The party ambience in the bus is, however, surprisingly even greater than in pubs.
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Shot by Ben: Dont steal shots, Ben! Ask and you shall receive! Tango for Ben .. mm-mmh!! Hey, is that a two-headed guy?! Oh my god!! It is!! It is!! The world has evolved! Aaahhhh!! Bio-mutations have begun! Flee your lives! Save yourself!!!
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Shot by Ben: Doing the 2-steps dancing with Rochelle, Ben stole a shot of us having fun. I couldn't keep up with her, man, she's good!
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Shot by ...the table? : From 7 o'clock, Lindsy, Canaan, Keane, Andrew, Myself, and Sylvia at the Longbench (?) pub; plays mostly country musics.
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Shot by Keane: Karen and drunken Jordan being silly on stage. I believe Jordan was kneeling down on one knee while the other bended on a right angle like stretching your hamstring muscle before working out.
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Shot by Andrew: Sexy lass Lindsy, myself looking good, and infantry Keane Ooo-ooh (keey-ann Oooo-oh) at The Pat.
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Shot by Lindsy: Woahh!! This is Lindsy's self-portrait. She did it again -- took the camera away from from Keane's possession and "showed" him how to use the camera in the most proper way. It does look proper though!! That would mean that all guys sucks at using camera! Heyyy, I remember I TOO have cleavege! but without the laces like she does... *winks!*
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Shot by Lindsy: Rochelle and I at The Pat on 1st Ave, the place where we began our Pub Crawl. Such a sweet girl she is! Strong and atheletic build... beware!
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Shot by Keane: Myself & Chealsea, inclined towards Sylvia for a trio shot. Sylvia wanted a small pop but she got a mini jug of coke and rum. Don't I just have that "Chow Yunfatt" look?? hehe!
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Aurora Borealis


Shot by Shutterdan on Tv Mode for 15 seconds (Canon PowerShot A70): I lay down on the grass of the park just opposite Brunskill High School (illustrated) along Wiggins Avenue gazing into the azure skies full of random activities. Notice the different color streaks.
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Shot by Shutterdan on Tv Mode for 15 seconds (Canon PowerShot A70): The camera was tilted at >120 degrees on a concrete block. I believe most pictures are shaky, therefore, would appear to be blurry but at an acceptable level.
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Over looking the aurora beyond Saskatoon's tallest building--old folks home.
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This one was totally brutal and is a killer! It almost killed me by running and dancing its streaks in multicolor and at speed of light in swivel for a few seconds and then disappears into thin air. This is the best of the best show!
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Laid on my back and shot this picture! Sometimes flashes work better!
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Shot by Shutterdan on Tv Mode for 15 seconds (Canon PowerShot A70).
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Shot by Shutterdan on Tv Mode for 15 seconds (Canon PowerShot A70)
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Oops! It did it again!

this is an audio post - click to play

Gee, there "is" a time limit to record your message, which I good to keep you from floating and blabbling away till sunrise.

Party Partee Partaaaay!! Lets Partey!!

this is an audio post - click to play

Saturday, July 24, 2004

Untitled


Shot by Keeane: Well, needless to say further. If you are seeking for the "virgin" picture, contact me.
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That was a blast!!

Soon after stepping out of the theater I realized that "Bourne Supremacy" is the second part continuing "Bourne Identity". It was the former that I watched with my brother. Good movie! The story line wasn't that bad and the special FXs are quite decent too; and the car-chase scenes or maybe you'd like to term it as high-speed pursuits are jaw-droppings aftermath. Sit put in your seat... lest you be swayed away.

There's something about how the movie was shot that I am attracted to; perhaps the positioning of cameras and methods used to capture several out-of-the-ordinary scenes. hmm... I might put that on my wishlist-- be a film-maker by first owning a video camera?

Bah!

Anyway, enough said about movies.
This time I walked to Danville's resident for a scheduled appointment to take some pictures of the stepping stone I made with a big leaf on Wednesday. The concrete is not dry yet but he suggested that we lay it down on his garden for photos. And we did just that!. Embossed on it are the copper wires that I twisted and bended to form alphabets that would apparently spell out my name with a date stamp. Cool!

Here are some pictures of it.


Shot by Shutterdan: There lay my stepping stone on a bed of lilies; ever so strong and steadfast. I feel indebt somehow.
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Shot by Shutterdan: Stan Danville laying down the second stone. Mine will be on the third.
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Shot by Shutterdan: Stan posing a backache stance. Just kidding. He's picking up something and mind you, he is ever so healthy!
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Shot by Shutterdan: A closer view of the finished product.
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There it shall lay in garden for eternity(?)
I have left behind quasi-time-capsule souvenir
They have left behind beaconing memory for me
that would raise reasons for yearning to return to Canada

I mean, come on, I don't suppose that any host families make their own garden's stepping stones, right? Let alone your name on one of it. Frankly speaking, Stan Danville and his wife, Nelly Danville, are not even part of the International Friendship Program that the International Students Office of my University runs.

We met last summer after I return from Malaysia for a month's of holiday. Jean (Jingfang) and I went outfor our daily strolls around the place we stayed, which was Soji's 1428 14th street East. Now, on January 30th it was the Right click and 'SAVE AS' for larger versioncoldest day of the year with a temperature of 57 degrees celsius below zero, 1428 got burnt down. Jean moved out of 1428 to live in BC at the end of August 2003. So did I. So, we came upon this beautiful fenced garden full of lilies. We decided to walk into the garden to have a chat with the person whom I know today as Stan. He showed me this water fountain that he made from nothing and continued to surprise me by revealing to me that most of the stuffs I see in his garden are not bought but made with the two hands endowed to him. I am already convinced that this man is not only amazing but as creative as I would like to be. To raise one more brow, over many conversations within that period I just could not believe that we do share some common interests and I would suppose that that is the probably the reason that has kept this friendship. I don't really think that age has largely to do with this although I cannot deny that it could be a contributing factor as a senior citizen in the community spends his/her day trimming the garden, read a book outside, invent something, etc. in other words, they are just too nice and meeting people has always been part of their life in their retirement years.

Onwards to another item.
We sat and chatted about Canadian history, Malaysia (pronounced as Ma-lay-sia and not Ma-lay-zhuh) on most part. Then he took me down to his 'dungeon' where he works at polishing stones and jewelries during the winter. The entire base is just full of tools and motors that I suppose would assist in his polishing work. So, I had the opportunity to polish a stone for myself and so I did! I got a rounded Snowflake Obsidian 1 inch in diameter and about a quart of an inch in thickness. He showed me how to do the job and I polished the stone from its coarse surface to a glossy shinning stone. It's the kind of stone where kids would find on the beach or by a river and keep as souvenirs. Their borders or corners would usually be rounded and blunt (not sharp) and a variety of mineral deposits in layers are visible. Here are the pictures:


Shot by Shutterdan: The Snowflake Obsidian stone is waxed onto a stick so that I don't get my hands grinded by the machine. I am polishing the stone here until it glitters! It's mica not gold!
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Shot by Shutterdan: The polished stone in my hand. From pointy edges to polished dome. My Precious!! My precious jewel from Canada!
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So, at 23:00, we drove out of town (about 10 minutes) to pick up Amanda (who is now engaged to Tony, the two person behind my head) and headed to The Hose. Most of the people whom we played Ultimate Game together were there drinking and yakking away. As usual, we were late because Scott was driving. He needs to have a talking wrist watch that would annoy the daylights out of him by reciting every quarters of the time and probably yell

"Scott! Scooot now!! Scooot!!"

That would be horrendous if it were to be true for him. I get too IMpunctual sometimes too and because I am a (Canadian??) Malaysian, we have coined a name for such impunctuality -- Malaysian Timing -- as though we're dumb in telling time and meeting appointments on time.

Why am I having so much fun now? Like, what happened to the days before tonight? These people are people of substance and I'm just about to learn about them getting to know them and right now to even think about not being able to party with these people again would probably cause some tears rolling down ones cheeks.
But one has to move on in life, eh? It's good to get comfortable with what you have and your surroundings but it's never too good when you get too comfortable that laziness pops up and you're not motivated to do something else. If you don't know what I'm talking about, try looking up for a book called "Who moved My Cheese" authored by Dr. Spencer.

this is an audio post - click to play

Friday, July 23, 2004

Slide shows

Well, I am glad that Claudia finally got her chance to look at her own glamour shots. While looking at her analyzing each slides that she picks up and held out at arms length, my heart just beats faster and you know I think I also feel a little panicky as I am afraid of her being very critical of how I have made her look like in the shots. Anyway, there are 37 slides and she's gone through each and every one of them and now comes the verdict:

"So, how are they? Do like like them?", I querried in deep trembling voice.
"So-so lor... there are some good ones", she replied with a smile probably feeling a little embarrassed too.
"Well, you can probably go through all of them again because I am going to have ask you to pick out the ones you want for print", I explained.
She nods her head.

From #37, she filpped through the slides until 25 and called out "number twenty-five" as her first slide of choice to print.

In my head I questioned myself about the last 12 slides. Perhaps they are no good. Oh well, at least from #25 and below, there are more good ones (the ones she likes) as she called the slide numbers out. 15 slides out of 37 she picked out for print. I dont know about myself but I think that is quite an achievement for me. However, I should also give myself the benefit of doubts that "what if" she chooses out of obligations or sympathy...? Anyway, the whole thing didn't turn out bad... it was a good scene. I guess we're both glad with the results... although we're not taking into consideration of the bad shots.

Gotta go... might go and watch "Bourne's Identity".

SMS.AC Alert!!


I
have been a member of SMS.AC for a long time now. You would probably know they are free-service providers when you sign up. However, behind the attractive word "Free" that consumers like me are always looking for on the WWW, there is a price to pay.

When you DO sign up, I learned (just now even though I was already a member for over 2 years) that you have several credits per day in which will allow you to send text messages via their website for free. Those credits will be replenished at midnight Pacific Time. However, your membership with SMS.AC will warrant an automatic sign up to their other "pay per use" services. You will be charged for every text messages received. I have gone through their Terms and Condition and assuming I have not overlooked any clauses, there is no where it mentioned that users like you and me will be bounded to such situation, which does actually opens up a door for them (SMS.AC) to milk us out.

You might probably be asking yourself how would they charge you. Well, SMS.AC is predominantly a text-messaging provider company and when you signed up you have provided them your cellphone number. That is where you are vunerable.

My cellphone bills have been regular and I am quite familiar with the iteneries within in until I received my last bill. Take a look and I shall draw your attention to the highlighted item that reads "Total Pay Per Use Service Charges".Click to enlarge

I just got off the phone with Rogers operator/customer service assistance. Been on the phone for like 33minutes! They have been trying to resolve what seems to be my problem as well as Roger's. Because it appeared on my bill, therefore, it does mean that Rogers know about it and was charged thus I am responsible for the charges. But How did I not know about it?!" This is what I'd call it hidden charges.

I don't exactly know how it (SMS.AC) works out. They may have changed their policies, terms and conditions without notifying or highlighting key points that could and/or would change or influence consumer's choice on whether or not to continue to stay as their members. For most cases, silence construes acceptance or agreement, which I think is totally unjust.

Recently I have been receiving a lot of text-messages from them and I haven't actually question myself as to why and how seriously... until today.

So, the purpose of me writing this to you so that you be aware of SMS.AC's cunningness or wittyness in their business conduct. Alhthough I do not and am not a member of any pornography websites, I know how they work-- you sign up for XXX's 3 days trial at NO COST and failing to withdraw your membership within 72 hours gives XXX the right to bill you their full membership rates as well as you are automatically signed up to XYZ, AXX, ABC, XZZ trial porn sites for free... but you'll be billed. Before you know it, you've been billed by 10 sites behind your back when you are only aware of ONE porn site that you signed up for at the end of the month when you look at your credit card invoice.

Another point I am making: ALWAYS (EXTRA EMPHASIS!!) READ AND SCRUTINIZE "TERMS AND CONDITIONS" and "PRIVACY POLICY" whenever you sign up to a web service site that requires your financial information (e.g. credit card).

There's another reference to this testimony and is found at Abysm Of Time. Who ever needs a translation, I am more than willing be at your service. All you have to do is to let me know... using the comment link available at the bottom of this posting.


Thursday, July 22, 2004


Using the same pictures used to make the previous panoramic photo, we have rearranged the scenes in an attempt to get a different look. We didn't think the one looking like an island was all that good.
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Shot collaboratively by LF and me: 360 degrees panoramic view of the beach and around us. The beach is in facing in front of us while the hibachi is behind us in shadows. Looks like an island, doesn't it?
Using multiple shots, we have combined these using Photoshop CS
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Shot by LF: Spy at work... on bended knees. One of my fav shots.
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Not quite a good start

I wasn't going to miss another bus as I was late for a scheduled physical therapy appointment. It was already 13:54 and I was still in my room; I have 1 minute. I dashed out of my house half naked and the 6A bus passed me and stopped at the bus stand which was just next block. There wasn't even a chance for me to slide in my shirt (buttoned) as I did the fastest sprint as I could... on my almost torn sandals. Just a few more steps away from the stand, the bus left.

"No!!!", I exclaimed!!

Already panting and grasping for air, I walked at ease and realized that the bus was slowing down at the ambering lights ahead on College Drive and Wiggins Ave. Determined not to miss my ride, again I did the 100 meters sprint. As I approached the junction of Wiggins I was sure I could get the driver's attention. It stopped at the next stand on Wiggins. A couple of people got down and doors were closed. I was only 3-4 leaps away and the bus had to step on it.

"Nooooooooo......!! Not again!!", I shouted in frustration. Who wouldn't be frustrated after attempting twice or more to flag down the bus after a few sprints? I gave up and guilt almost ate me up for leaving my door late... but, alas, I heard screeching noises from the bus and that's a good sign--the driver had lifted up his leg on the gas pedal and stepped on the brakes! Woohooo!! I jogged there to make my entrance... still half naked! Stepped up the stairs and dug up for coins in my pocket, still topless! Passengers by the windows who noticed me running after the bus applauded me and one of them made a comment:

"You must be ready for the Olympic games!".

I was panting like mad. I offered a generous smile to the person who made that comment as I walked down the aisle passed him looking for a seat to put on my shirt. gee!

After receiving treatment, I paid and left for Walmart to get my photos. When it's my turn to pay I gasped and panicked digging all the 6 pockets of the cargo pants I wore.

"Heck! where is my wallet!?"

Apparently, I left it at Daniel Kimbers Physical Therapy clinic. The panic attack subsided after I made a call to the clinic and so I strolled down 8th street when my sandals torn into two pieces.

"Give me a break!! It has not been a good day to start with since I stepped out of my door at 13:54!"

Limping my way to the clinic and took back what belonged to me and limped back to Walmart to pay for the merchandise.

Limped all the way to Sportschek and the first thing I did when I stood before the shoe shelves was to kicked off the rotten sandals I was wearing and pick them up to dump it in my trash bin behind me.

The sales assistance grins. I bet he thinks that "this" guy is certainly going to buy something from here. hehe! Of course I am! Don't wanna be walking on bare foot now do I?

Great!
Headed to Black's photography to pick up slides I shot for Claudia. Some turned out so-so but most of them are okay and there are a few exceptional ones. Felt excited as it is my first time shooting on slide films. Color saturations are top quality and they were all super vivid! I have to keep in mind to underexpose by either ½ or 1 stops next time I shoot slides, and overexpose by the said amount when I shoot negatives. I'm quite satisfied with the quality of slide films has to offer!

Later in the evening, I was at Stanley Dansville's to make another impression of stepping stones that he lays down in his magnificient lily garden. This time it'll be a different stepping stone -- it has my name printed on it. Not that I don't already mind people stepping on my name, but how many international students (I'm from Malaysia) would have their names on a concrete stepping stone in somebody else's garden in Saskatoon, let alone Canada?! *sniggers!* I thought of it as a time capsule and offered that idea to Stan, a retired mchanical engineer who will be 83 years old in a month, and he pretty much liked the idea and adopted it. Best of all, he taught me how to do it and I did everything on my own.

After that, I joined Scott, Andrea, Andrew, Jordan, and a few other friends for a game of Ultimate -- the ultimate frisbee game!

Whew! What a day! :)

Wednesday, July 21, 2004

A forwarded mail with good intentions

Dear Guys, 
Please update how true is this if you've been there. 
Please forward to all your girl friends out there!   

Subject:    FW: Aware of the RUSH club washroom!

To every ladies out there, 
Please be aware that there is a new club which used to be calledViva located in Eastin hotel called RUSH Club.Inside the ladies washroom there is a blue water flowing glass with a mirror next to it, it's a one directional mirror from the guys washroom.

So ladies be aware because we can't see the guys from the oppositebut the guys can watch every single move and things that we are doing in the washroom except when u're in the cubicle. 

I've been to the club and my bf told me about it.He said he sees every gal in the washroom clearly and the otherguys are like watching a show in their washroom. Please pass this messageto all of ur gal frens to aware them about this humiliating action that isgoing on at RUSH Club.


Shot by LF: You will see the shot I was trying to create here... little did I know that there's a papaprazi eye around the beach. The naked truth is... I think I might have discovered that I have boobs!! I'm a 36AA. Do also check out the pic with me lying on the beach sand.
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Shot by Leonard Fang (LF) : Lovely shot! Finally I get to see myself... looking away into the horizon perhaps trying to get a glimpse of bikinied-humans?!
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The Group of Asians in Waskesiu


Shot by LF: Group photo... how about a lift of my leg for kudos!? Had good time!
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Shot by Leonard Fang (LF) : Dancing Flames. A Flame dancer puked a whole lot of fiery goo after the drunken dance while the other still dancing away into oblivion.
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Shot by Leonard Fang (LF) : Paint with fire. Ambers and flames from our hibachi just before we headed up to the pier. This was around 00:30.
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The Aurora Borealis Showdown we witness-- Shot by Leonard Fang (LF) : For an hour we sat on the pier just to see these formless green lights as though they have a message for us. Another great shot by LF! Kudos!
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The Aurora Borealis Showdown we witness-- Shot by Leonard Fang (LF) : To witness this is to be in second heaven. Words are beyond description to describe just how at awe we were. This is one of the best shots LF has.
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The Aurora Borealis Showdown we witness-- Shot by Leonard Fang (LF) : As you can notice, brighter on the right side. These thing actually moves like when you'd run your finger across the ivories on a piano. Just magical!
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The Aurora Borealis Showdown we witness-- Shot by Leonard Fang (LF) : The auroras gathering up and taking formation for intensity. Generally this one we saw were all green in color.
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The Aurora Borealis Showdown we witness-- Shot by Leonard Fang (LF) : A little too dim but as spectacular!
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Tuesday, July 20, 2004

Just in case you're wondering...

... about the motion picture of the sexy lass in white on the right side bar of this page, you might have asked yourself why is it there and perhaps wonder about the degrees of a social deviant I am that would equate to a sick pervert.
 
Before you allow your mind to lead you thinking in that direction, you must first allow me to clear up the stench in the air then you make your judgement.
 
I, too, have never heard why would anybody want to hack into personal blogsites like mine and put up stuffs that the hackers thought was funny or just for the heck fun of it.
 
Doesnt' it look cool? Okay. That picture is situated on the "About" [this blog] part and not "About Me" part so it doesn't speak of my sickly fetishes or that I'm sick. Whatever I do to that picture it will still come back. So, for now I'll just leave it as it is until it's time is up. Right now I"m too lazy...
 
Cheers!

What an impression I made!

Come back to keep up...

Monday, July 19, 2004

Another weekend in Waskesiu

Saturday, July 17, 2004
Got up at 06:15 and started packing up before my ride arrived at 07:10. Threw in a sleeping bag, a pillow, a tripod, a camera, and some clothings into Julian's truck.
 
After a two and a half hours on the road we arrived Waskesiu. We were on one of the beaches to start off with lunch at around noon time. Played and relaxed on the beach till 17:00 when rain clouds were already setting in. Some of our guys said that there was going to be a thunder storm in this place earlier but nobody seemed to be bothered by it too much because the sun was scorching our skins earlier and at this time it would be been deemed to be an impossible phenomena. Skies were clear and cotten-candy clouds painted the blue skies pretty. Man, I even got a mild sun-burn.
 
A group of people went to town for a shower while a few more stayed back. I stayed back for some sun and photo-shootings (scantily clad girls in bikinis perhaps?). At around 16:45, Leonard, Raymond, and Jotham Gan have all gone to the campsite to pitch up our tents leaving behind Josephine (Jotham's mother), Melissa Gan, and myself at the beach side. They came back 20 minutes later and I must say their timing were excellent. We would be under water had they not. All of a sudden, winds up to probably 56 km/h were constantly blowing for more than 5 minutes. It's not like a gush of wind for a second or two but a constant flow of air so strong that it would have perhaps moved the lid of the hibachi sideways. Waves on the waters became violent. The six of us pack up stuffs in haste and headed out to our campsite. No rains yet but we were already expecting one.
 
It started rainning already when we arrived at our campsite and since there were 11 of us in total, we had to pitch up another tent. Four of us got out leaving behind Josephine and Melissa in the van to do just that. Each of us held a corner of the tent and stretched it out to lay it on the ground. As soon it the tent was on the ground, something dropped from above  and hit on the tent right in front of me and I thought the tree bore some kind of interesting seed or fruit as it was white in color. The second I picked it up it didn't take me long enough to know that that is an ice ball. About an inch in diameter and half and inch in height and looks like an UFO's flying saucer (oval).
 
"Hey guys! It's a hail!! This is ice!", I exclaimed.
 
Already [half] drenched in the rain, we must have unanimously agreed in our minds to get into the tent that was already pitched because somehow we believed that that one piece of hail that fell off the sky had a purpose.
 
Those 3 guys quickly crumble-folded the tent and walked towards the tent. They were confused as they did not know where to put the tent -- back into the van or bring it into the tent that was dry on the inside. I shouted to get them into the tent and they did. As we hurried in, the rain just got heavier. We opened the 'window' of our tent and we can see Josephine and her daughter stucked in the van on about 10 feet away to our front left side. A minute later (17:40) there wasn't much rain but this time little hails poured down.
 
We sat/knelt in the tent and stared at each other in consternation just watching one of mother nature's powerful force unveiling her wraths. The  grounds were beginning to look like a floor of white sago seeds rolling in all directions as water droplets hit them. The hail got worse. 5 minutes later, the sound of hails that hit out tent grew harder and louder. We looked outside once again and we were telling each other to look how the size of the hail changed. They were no longer the size of sago seed but now the size as big as foosball and golf balls. It size of it all were just mind-boggling. 
 
Josephine later on relate to us her experience to be inside the van during the hail. It's like somebody playing a drum kit's snare and you're trapped inside it. She got so worried that those hails would crack her windshield so without much hessitation she switched on the wipers at max speed hoping the pair of wiper blades can bat the thousands of hails pouring down on her van and on us. We thought the movie we watched a few weeks ago--The Day After Tomorrow-- is not simply just a movie but some kind of manifestation as prophesied in that movie.
 
The hail storm lasted about 20 minutes and it is the first hail storm I have experienced to date. Alas! That first hail that dropped on the tent we were going to set up has served as a warning to us all -- "GET IN!! Or else you'll be hurt!!".  If that's the work of God, He must have been gracious to have warned us! Glory to be Him!!
 
The rest of the people finally arrived at the campsite at around 18:10 when it the hails were already over. I bet they have had hell of a ride to here. One by one came into our tent. We sang and played the guitar. Jean, from Taiwan, is apparently quite talented at strumming the strings and singings as well.
 
The storm subsided 20 minutes later, 18:35-ish. Mosquitoes came out! Great!! Why didn't we have a break from mother nature? I have seen those mosquitoes the size of a twoonie coin (2$ Canadian coins). Here is a pic of that coin: . When one of those blood-sucking pest lands on your back, you had better slap on it fast and hard when its stomach is still empty or you're gonna get your own blood splattered all over its land site. God knows what kind of viruses/bacteria it carries. I learned that mosquitoes only detects carbon dioxides that our skin pores and breath emits. They don't have those super high tech heat sensors or was it called a thermal goggles, no, no shiats like that. Products like insect/mossies repellents sprayed onto the skins prevents CO2 from emitting into the air. really effective! I've seen a wandering mossie buzzing close by my left arm confused whether or not to land on its land of milk and honey.. but hessitated and landed on my shirt (where I didn't spray anything on it) to meet its death. 
 
Great! Now that rain has subsided, firewoods were wet and we can't start a fire! How can we have dinner? Soon I realized that the woods were wet on the outside but dry on the inside so I began splitting them using a 20" axe and violà, we made FIRE!!
 
Kevin drove Josephine, Mariata, and I to Waskesiu's town for shower. We left at 20:40. Just 3 minutes before we arrived town four of us got the opportunity to catch the breath-taking sunset on the horizon of Waskesiu's lake. I asked Kevin to pull over so that I could capture that rare moment. It reminds me of some arts we used to draw during our elementary years in schools where the bright orangy-red sun sinking down into the sea or behind some mountaineous humps or both. The reflections of the sun on the water is not missed too. The sensation was so... oh, so wonderful! Magical if I can say?
Anyway, the shower facilities in town were closed. We arrived 20 minutes late. So, I suggested that we sneaked into another campsite that has shower facilities. That campsite is electrified, but ours are not. Mission accomplised! Feel so refreshing!
 
It was already dark then. It was 22:00. When we were back at the campsite, all were already gathered around the hibachi warming up, singing and having fun.
 
By midnight, most have gone to bed. Those who were still up were:
Jotham, Leonard, Jean, Char Mei, and I.
Leonard, weilding his digital camera, and I decided to head out to the lake nearby (~2 minutes walk) to be away from the trees and to get a better view of stars. The Big Dipper (Ursa Majora) was really, really big in the clear dark skies.  

We walked down several steps in half a circle before we came to a landing. It was low tide then and it was 01:40. The second we landed on the platform and looked up the skies (that's what we were there for anyway), we beheld something else we never would have thought we'd see. Jotham, Leonard, and I were "Taken away" in spirit just by looking ahead of us. We were facing north as Polaris was just right above and in front of us. For 30 minutes, Leonard and I rushed each other for the one tripod we brought with us taking turns shooting at the amazing showdown on earth -- Aurora Borealis or commonly known as the Northern Lights.
 
Not wanting the other 2 lass to miss the show, we decided to call them, who I believe are still playing the guitar and singing around the hibachi, over to join us to watch the show.
 
We stayed up till 03:15 before hitting the sacks.
 
Sunday, July 18, 2004 
More meat for breakfast. They have, I think, done quite a good job in taking care of the food part. We were all fed quite well and energized for the day's activities. So, kudos to those who have prepared and thought out for the meals.
 
Packed and headed out to town by 12:30noon. Most of us went into the water. The sun was at its peak heat and I could literally feel it scorching on my skins as though I have my arms just over the electric stove set on max temperature. Well, guess what? For the first time in Canada, I got sun burn. I had one yesterday but this time I thought I could really want to burn myself. Frolicking under the heat of the sun at the beach and later sun bath for 40 mins did a lot of burning. I'm now... an African Chinese!
 
Left Waskesiu at 16:10. Still hot! To be in the van with only a window that opens a crack is stifling and perhaps a torture!
 
Had good dinner at the Mandarin Restaurant when we arrived Saskatoon.
 
That's that!
The pictures of this trip are up next. They are photoblogged!










Saturday, July 17, 2004

Why Women Reject Men…And What To Do About It

I'd like to share a secret to success with women that I've been thinking about and using for awhile now.

The interesting part of this particular secret that I'm going to share with you is that it involves CONFLICT.

And it involves conflict on more than one level. 
Because this particular issue involves such a touchy and emotional topic (conflict), one which most people like to AVOID rather than talk about, I have to ask you to read this email ALL THE WAY THROUGH before making any judgments or decisions about how you're going to use what I'm going to share...
   Fair enough?
   OK, so here's the concept in a nutshell:
WHEN IT COMES TO ATTRACTION, SOMETIMES YOU HAVE TO DO THINGS THAT SEEM "MEAN" OR "INCONSIDERATE" ON THESURFACE IN ORDER TO GIVE A WOMAN WHAT SHE "REALLY"WANTS. IF YOU DON'T DO THESE THINGS, YOU WILL FAILTHE TEST, AND ULTIMATELY FAIL WITH THE WOMAN. 

By the way, I really struggled with the idea of writing this particular newsletter. It's not always easy to explain things like this particular idea, and I know that I will lose subscribers, have some women get upset with me, and cause a little bit of commotion. But ultimately I do believe in what I'm sharing, so I feel that I have to say it.
  
Onward.
As I've mentioned many times in these newsletters and in my products, women aren't attracted to men who have lower STATUS than themselves.
  
This is one of the reasons why there is a lot oftension around the ideas of:

  • A taller woman with a shorter guy
  • A woman making more money than her spouse
  • A man being "led around" by his female partner ...etc. etc. etc.  

These are "naturally" sensitive issues, because these issues hint that the man is "lower status", and somehow we all know that this is somehow "not right". 

   Now I'd like to give you a situation that you may even have personally experienced (in fact, there's a pretty good chance that you have), and use it as an example to explain the principle I'm explaining.

Here's the situation:
You're going out on a date with a woman. You ask her where SHE'D like to go for dinner. She doesn't give you an answer, and seems to be indifferent.
So you ask her what her FAVORITE restaurant is.
She says "Well, I really like this one particular place, but it's up to you".
You say "But I really want to take you wherever YOU want to go... you decide".
You can hear in her voice that she's actually beginning to get annoyed. This confuses you, since you're just trying to find out what she wants so you can give it to her.
   You finally decide to just take her to her favoriteplace, since... well... DUH, it's her favorite place, so she's obviously going to enjoy it.
   As the evening goes on, you can sense that she's in a bad mood, but you can't understand why or how this could be. The evening ends on a bad note, even though you went out of your way to make it nice for her.
 
OK, sound familiar?

   Let's try another one:
   You meet a woman, get her number, and meet her for a cup of tea. She's unusually attractive and beautiful, and at the first meeting you realize that she's also intelligent and successful. This woman is obviously exceptional.

After the meeting you go home and think about her.
A LOT. You decide that it would be good to call her to tell her that you had a great time, and ask her out again.

You pick up the phone and call her. You tell her what a great time you had with her, and ask her if you can see her again the next night. She agrees.

The next night, you have a wonderful dinner, and great conversation. At the end of the evening, you start talking to her, and you tell her that you can't believe how beautiful, intelligent, and sweet she is, and that you are already beginning to have feelings for her.

She smiles and says "thank you", but doesn't offer any comments in return.

The next day, you decide to call her and ask her out again. She doesn't answer her phone, and doesn't return your call.

You get an email from her three days later saying "I'm sorry, I just need some time alone right now. I really like you, but I think we should just be friends."

Even though it was obvious that you were both havinga great time and enjoying each other's company... something went wrong. You somehow suspect that it had to do with the fact that you shared how you felt with her, but you have no way of knowing.

And how about a third scenario:
You meet a nice girl, get her email and number, and call her to make plans to get together.
She flakes out on you, and doesn't show up for your first meeting.
You call her later that day and ask her what happened.
She explains that she got busy and wound up having to help her best friend who was going through a crisis.

You say "Oh, that's OK. No problem. Can we meettomorrow instead?"
She says "Sure, give me a call then and we'll talkabout it".
The next day when you call, she's not home, and she doesn't return your call.
You call her the following day, and she has anotherexcuse for why she wasn't around and why she didn't return your phone call.
You keep calling to ask her out, but she keeps being busy, and eventually stops talking to you altogether.

Ever had THAT happen? HERE'S THE KICKER...

In the first situation, the best thing to do would have been to just decide where YOU wanted to go for dinner, then take her there.

In the second situation, the best thing to do would have been to NOT call her right after you met for coffee, NOT go out the next night, NOT share how you "feel" so quickly, and actually LEAN BACK a little and give her space and time to miss you and pursue YOU a bit.

In the third situation, the best thing to do would have been to NOT TOLERATE the fact that she flaked out, and to actually CONFRONT her with her poor behavior, then to NOT call her for awhile (if at all), and to make sure she understood that it isn't acceptable to waste your time ever again.

SO WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE?

And why is it that sometimes, when you're trying your very damn best to be nice, considerate, honest, open, and respectful, women DIS you and run? Why is it that doing things that seem inconsiderate are best in some situations?

Well, part of the answer is that ATTRACTION isn't like other areas of life.
Attraction isn't a CHOICE, for one thing. We don't go through a logical decision-making process and carefullyconsider who we're going to be attracted to.
NO WAY.
It just HAPPENS.
POW!
And attraction isn't triggered by being NICE.

In fact, as ironic as this sounds, some of thecharacters in movies and romance novels that are considered to be the SEXIEST are mean, nasty, and horrible!

Go watch Marlon Brando in "A Streetcar Named Desire".Women will tell you that he is a SEXY BITCH in that movie.

Oh, by the way, he also beats his wife and rapes his wife's sister in that movie.

Attraction is NOT triggered by being nice and considerate.

Often, ATTRACTION is triggered by things that make no sense at all, and it's destroyed by things that SHOULD make it stronger.

Now, I'm not saying that you should treat women badly. Of course that's not a good idea.

I believe that you can take what I'm sharing and actually treat women VERY well. But if you don't understand the psychology of the situation and the psychology of ATTRACTION, and know how to handle situations like the ones I've just mentioned, you will fail the tests, and ultimately not succeed with women and dating most of the time.

To put this in plain, simple words, women aren't attracted to WUSSIES.

Women are ATTRACTED to men who DECIDE, who LEAD, who are in CONTROL. Women feel that gut-level emotional attraction for men who have DIRECTION... men who make decisions and then take action on those decisions... NO MATTER WHAT ANYONE ELSE THINKS.

This is why you can ask a woman what she wants, take her to her favorite restaurant, tell her how you feel about her, and have get ANNOYED at you.

It's because you made a BIGGER mistake while you were trying to be "nice". When you asked her what SHE wanted to do, you put HER in CONTROL. This is annoying to women. When you couldn't make up your mind where to take her, and wound up taking her to her favorite restaurant, you demonstrated that you can't LEAD. Again, by being "nice and considerate"in one way, you were making a HUGE mistake on another level.

The reason why it's hard for me to express this thought and explain this concept is because this isn't exactly great news about life.

It means that you have to deal with and accept the fact that you might have to do something in a situation that seems "inconsiderate" in order to actually "do the right thing".

I have one friend who is VERY good with women who says that if you can get into an argument when you first meet a woman, she'll be far more likely to sleep with you.

This really shook me up when I first heard it, because this isn't something I wanted to hear. But then I thought about it and realized that "jerks" often have the most beautiful women around them... and these hot women will often endure all kinds of abuse just to be with the jerk. So there it is.

Sometimes you have to do things that don't seem to "make sense" or be "considerate" in order to make and keep a woman attracted to you... and ultimately give a woman what she REALLY wants.

I've spent the last few years taking what I've learned about how to be successful with women and dating, and distilled the process of ATTRACTION down to a few keys. I've also done something that I'm very excited about... I've figured out how to do the things that make women feel that powerful GUT LEVEL ATTRACTION... but without any of the ABUSE that jerks use.

I now honestly believe that it's possible to treat women well, while being interesting, challenging, ATTRACTIVE, and sexy at the same time.

But you have to know how.
It all starts with understanding the basic principleslike the one I've just discussed, the origin and evolutionof ATTRACTION, the beliefs and values of "naturally"successful guys, and, of course, the specific techniquesand strategies to use in different situations to do things like approach women, get numbers, get dates, and take things to a physical level... 

And I'll talk to you again soon.

Your Friend, 
 
P.S. If you'd like to send me a Success Story, Question, or Comment, follow these guidelines:
1) Keep it short and to the point. Two paragraphs max.
2) Tell me what's working for you before you ask your question. I appreciate all of the "Your stuff is great" and "I don't need to tell you how well your stuff works" comments, but the fact is that I DO need to hear all of the specifics... because this helps other guys to see what's working in different situations.
3) If you have a Success Story, write "Success Story" in the subject line of the email. I read these first.
4) At the end of the email, give me your initials and tell me where you're from.
5) Send it to me at:
d a n t v l i [ a t ] h o t m a i l . c o m
...don't just hit "reply" to this email. Thanks!

Notice: The article above is authored by David D. and you can find more information on what he writes about at his website.


Friday, July 16, 2004

Sold my digital camera that was a gift from dad 3 years ago to a Nigerian guy for 10$. It is a Fujifilm FinePix 2100 and it was acquired for 299$ then and I believe it has been discontinued. Besides, the SmartMedia storage that it uses is no longer popular and perhaps discontinued as well. For 10$ perhaps it's a little too cheap for a digital camera that is still fully functional. It should have been 30$ to justify the price that was paid for but for a person who stepped into my room and imagined himself as though he just entered a Dollar Store or Dollarama Store where most merchandises are under 5$, I didn't think 30$ would be as attractive to 10$, or even 1$ (might as well be a give-away). I haven't been using the FinePix for a very long time ever since Canon Rebel Ti has been my possession last summer.
 
My fan died on me yesterday and it's hell to sleep in my room now that it is so hot and stiffling!
Anyway, I'm glad that I have finally found a store that carry Jelly Beans, the original Jelly Belly's. It is just right after Famous Player's Capitol. Had a great time shopping for jelly beans there. She commented on the weather and yeah, I agreed with her that it's a nice and hot weather out there. I told her about my fan out of the blues and her jaws just dropped and eyes was about to popped out and she gasped. She thought I said "My friend died [on me] yesterday" and she was surprised how I can still shop for jelly beans happily. Pretty funny. Got to know her during my 45 minutes stay there. She's in her mid thirties and of Ukraine origin. Dressed in a simple low-cut spotted brown blouse knee level. Maybe she wanted people to notice that she has a nice cleavage and she's naked under her blouse. Her B-cup quasi-sagging boobs hangs down wobbling a little and stretched in freedom when she bends down to reach for a jelly bean that dropped from the counter. hehe! I don't know... not that I am a bloody pervy but hey, maybe I was there at the right time and the right place. She's single and have no kids by the way. *winks!*
 
I just got a Canon EF 50mm F/1.8 prime lens and a tripod, which is a monopod also. Both of these cool items can be striked off my wish list now. Darn, the rate of depletion just gets steeper as I spend more... burning a bigger hole in my pocket.
 
That's all for today. later!
 

Wednesday, July 14, 2004

Commitmentophobia?

I am turning 25 this September.
Am I ready for a new relationship?
Should I still be on the look out even though I already have one by my side?
But that couldn't be cheating, no? Maybe it is because my heart is not devoted entirely to my current girl. Am I afraid to commit? I don't think I am afraid to commit myself into a relationship as long as we are both attracted to each other.

In my opinion, there is nothing wrong with commitment in a relationship but if this is so, then why are there some people out there are afraid to commit? They are not ready to 'settle down' I'd suppose and that being said, perhaps they are still looking for more fun before tying a deadend knot (assuming divorce is not an option)? I call it diversification.

Diversification is healthy in a relationship, I mean, if you are in a relationship and you'd like to know if he/she is really the one for you, then you should diversify! I know it sounds crazy but it's not like I am "for" Temptation Island's idea but, somehow I do believe that every relationships should be tested for its threshold tension; that is to say how far or how strong the relationship is before the ropes that ties the couples together in love snaps. Not the kind of test where you take her (and not only her) for a "test drive" where she'll "ride" on you happy.

While I am not suggesting that is the right thing to do, when you do "test" out your relationship at the of the day you'll reap out the benefits by multiple folds.

gone for beer. brb.

Back.
My previous romantic relationship was more of a lesson to me given the condition of "now that I know". I did test out our relationship in many ways that now I thought were all misleading and headed to no where. To make matters worse, I had placed a lot of high expectations on her to which she did not respond sufficiently and appropriately leaving me feeling flustered and frustrated most of the time. There was no "Temptation Island" on TV then ;) hehe! I love her too much. But things just didn't go the way I wanted. Am I being selfish? Both of us were selfish in our own ways so I guess we're even, but on the wrong grounds. To be even on a balancing scale (杠杆 [gang2gan3]) our relationship would have a higher probability of survival. However, it seemed like there were more than one balancing scales and instead of being in equilibrium for all the scales, they are unequally weighted on either sides.

That was what Ben and I discussed --the BGR (Boy-girl Relationship) problem-- when we went out to catch some breezes on our blades along the Mewasin Trail (River side). We sat on the last bench closest to Circle Drive bridge for a good 20 minutes and chatted. His girl is afraid to commit but simply because I think she's still immature towards BGR. Scott made a huge mistake on giving up on Chelsea but he realized soon enough to mend back his relationship and right now, what can I say? Lucky chap!

What's going to happen this weekend? I thought of going back up to Waskasiu Lake for a weekend camping getaway. But I want to see Theresa Sokyrka the cutie at Lydia's too. The opportunity cost of forgoing a last camping trip to the wilds and be in and around natural habitat "is" I think, greater in some number than going to see Theresa serenading my heart soft on Sunday when I know she plays at the Lydia's most Sundays. If I can have both, then it is suffice for me to say that I am even better off thus happier?! Yeah! So, camping that is!

Oh yeah, I watched King Arthur with my brother earlier... Not that good even though I did enjoy the medieval settings or backdrops in the film?

Tuesday, July 13, 2004

I hate Mondays

I spent the entire evening and night over at Yanbing's place watching Cool Running and "The Journey of Natty Gann" and chatted till sunrise and watched funny video clips at Joked.com (Be warned! Some medias are not suitable for persons under the age of 23!). Went to sleep at an ungodly hour: 7:45am and got up at 2:00 when my phone rang. It was a person looking for some items I put up for sale because I'm moving out of this place pretty soon. I thought I have put up notices to have people call me after 8pm to enquire? Tried to snooze a little bit but couldn't because a few minutes later came in another call, from the Royal University Hospital. Thank god Dr. Ansel rushed my case to the hospital otherwise I wouldn't be able to use my left arm ever again! That sounds like kind of cruel to my own arm, but anyway, it is not that serious. I'm quite happy as it is healing fast!

I stepped on a weighing scale and there was no good news! Horrors were scribbled on my face as I read out loud my weight in disgust! Kirk Backstrom, Yanbing's other half, tried to be nice by saying that the scale is off by 5kg (~11 lbs) but I know that is not a possibility. I am eight-fucking-ty kg (~176 lbs). 2 weeks ago, as far as I can recalled I was merely 76kg! Heck, what did I do to myself?! I didn't want to continue facing my horrors by not doing anything so I decided to put on my blades and go skating. Hmm, felt kinda heavy downward... more gravity thus more stability (don't they call it center of gravity?). fuck! aahh!! im fat!! heck no! but look at my tummy ... or has it become a belly?! omg!! omg! Danny! Cut this out! You're not fat! You just need to do more ab-crunches! Oh, that is so reassuring! So, my brother decided to come along. We skated south on Clarence Ave and I noticed 2 young look blonde girls taking a stroll ahead of us. One of them was wearing a particularly short skirt, tight on the hips but lose around the hem lines. It's funny the way she walks , or maybe it was just her skirt that was flapping back and forth each step she takes. If you have eyes, then her bare naked ass is impossible to miss when her skirt flaps up. There was a puddle of water and she lept! Oh-oh oh no!!! I tripped and fell when the thong revelation befell on me! hehe! Nah, I didn't fall. Couldn't afford to lose another arm now, could I?
Anyway, they continued walking down on Clarence and we turned left on 12th street and we had dinner at East Mario's. Good meal but the Kung Pao's chicken pasta is not that fantastic. It's funny how they westernized a chinese/asian (Kung Pao chicken) menu item... anyway, I did flirt a bit with our server/waitress. hehe! I played dumb and later I admit I was just kidding with her and she hit me. hey, that was something! My brother who sat on my right tried to stop my obnoxious behaviors towards the dirty blonde server maybe because I am embarrassing him? hhehee! Fun though!

Somebody called me and she sounded too distant to be audible so I asked her to speak up. She hessitated for a bit and threw in some interjections which I didn't understand. From the voice, I can tell she's a Chinese, Mandarin speaking person. So, I told her to speak in her mother tongue and my, my... the next thing she said totally blew me away! It was Xiaoyu! We laughed silly at ourselves because we didn't recognize each other's voices and number (I have caller's id). So, yeah, we'll meet tomorrow for a date. ;) hehe! But it'll be more like... uhh, well, she's coming over to my place... to buy things! Cool!

Sunday, July 11, 2004

News from down south

School girl got suspended for showing off her assets in a sexually suggestive manner.
For complete story, click here.

Click here to read more.

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Hint: Right-click and "SAVE AS" for larger picture.