Justifying cute cursors

I have been using a Pikachu cursor on my PC for a long time now. Every time I switch to a new PC, I will reinstall the cursors. Besides the normal pointer, there are also different animated images for the “busy” and “working” pointers.

Recently I installed my Pikachu cursors on my work PC. At first I kept quiet about it, just waiting to see whether there were any reactions to it. Basically, there were none…I didn’t know whether people just didn’t notice, or everyone who had the chance to see it just hid their reactions really well.

One person finally commented the other day; an IT support person to whom I shared my screen. He remarked just a while after I started sharing, “Oh, your cursor is a Pikachu!”

Today I decided it was time to get some feedback. I asked three people that I remembered sharing my screen to, or who came to see something on my PC after I had installed the cursors. Firstly, whether they had seen the Pikachu at all (who knows, they may not have noticed it at all, right?), and secondly, whether it was distracting.

The overall response was that everyone noticed it, and that it wasn’t distracting. But the cherry on top is this response:

It was some time since he had seen the cursor, so at first he said he didn’t see it. Then he recalled it. And then he said that my cursor is easy to locate. So…I guess I have a good reason to use this cursor! :D

If anyone complains, I’ll tell them, “My eyes are not good, I need this to be able to find my cursor.” :P

New bests and an alternate solution

I managed to get new best times on both Saturday and Sunday on Knotwords. 

On Saturday, I even found the word "pothers" which I didn't even know existed.

As it turned out, it was actually an alternate solution...and the original solution was actually simpler. See the difference in the screenshot below..."pothers" is not there!

I guess that means that I would have found the solution even if "pothers" had not been a word. But it might have taken me a while more, since I was on the wrong track!

And here's Sunday's puzzle:

I guess practice really does make perfect...the first few times I played, I couldn't imagine finishing any of the weekend puzzles under ten minutes. But now, I guess my brain has gotten quicker at figuring out the possibilities.

Well, at least I hope I don't jinx myself with that remark. :P

August's scores

Today I saw an intermediate with a 6, and managed to finish it. I saw another one right after that, but blasted the board. There were a few 6-es on expert as well, but I didn't bother taking screenshots... (and also, I didn't complete any of those if not mistaken :P )

What I'm happy about? A 23 in intermediate! It was a low 3bv, but I don't care. It's a rare occurrence to get something below 30, let alone below 25. And today I managed another 29(28+) and a 29+. :D

New Sunday best

Did today's Knotwords in a fairly short time, a new Sunday best, it tells me!

 

A great actor finally getting a lead role?

I just watched Queen of Divorce.

The plot summary is not really that interesting…it’s about a team that helps people through difficult divorces. But I decided to watch it because firstly, I recognized the male lead as an actor that I had seen many times in many different dramas in a supporting role, usually as the bumbling but supportive best friend of the main character. Secondly because the poster looked like it was a comedy, and this actor never fails to deliver a comic role.

I was pleasantly surprised as I started watching; the plot is about people dying of suspected murder and the protagonist wants to uncover the crime! Right up my alley.

There are comedic parts as well, but it turned out not to be the main genre. Suits me.

Anyway I am writing this post to give credit to that actor, Kang Ki Young. While watching him in other dramas, I have thought before that he had all the skill to be a male lead…just that his looks was not at a high enough level. After watching this drama, I am of the same opinion… He delivers well enough as a male lead, he can look cool and he’s not bad-looking either…but he just doesn’t look as good as the popular male leads. (Sorry... :P )

Maybe that’s why he’s a male lead in a drama where the main protagonist is the female lead. :P

Anyway, I liked the drama. Very enjoyable.

Real dry curry mee

What do you expect to get when you order dry curry mee?

Well, I definitely did not expect this when I ordered that at Lao Mu Zi.

Usually, if we order a dry version at stalls that sell “normal” curry mee, the noodles will be in a bit of curry broth. The curry broth would most likely be from the same base as their soupy curry mee, just with less soup?

But never have I seen noodles that are actually 100% dry like this one.

The white curry soup is served on the side!

Frankly I am not sure how they expect us to eat this…but I put some soup onto the noodles and then mixed the curry paste in. Not bad, but I still prefer the soupy version.

There may be hope yet for Asics

I just bought a new pair of badminton shoes. ("just" being fairly recently)

It was another Asics (my third one), though I had seriously considered trying out another brand. Read on for a lengthy story… :P

I bought my first pair of Asics in December 2018 (see this post). It was an Upcourt 3 according to my shoebox (somehow I still have the shoebox for the first pair, but not for the second pair).

Asics was supposed to last, according to every badminton friend who had mentioned it. But mine got torn at the little toe. I tried to get it repaired, but after the cobbler reinforced the shoes at the toes, my toes hurt and almost bled (they didn’t bleed but they felt like they did…the skin was already peeling off!) every time I played. I summarize it like this: Previously my shoes were not strong enough so they got torn; after they were strengthened, they didn’t get torn but my toes did :’(

So there was no other choice; I had to get a new pair (immediately!).

The second pair was a Gel-Rocket, bought in Aug/Sept 2020 (I did some digging to find out this date :P ). I don’t have the box any more, probably threw it out because it was in less good condition than other boxes. But the model name is written on the shoe itself, albeit without a number. (it is written on the part above the heel, at the back of the foot)

This second pair suffered almost the same fate…plus one more accident: I scraped the back of the sole while walking down some stairs, and the rubber sole started coming off. So I had the soles stitched. (You might notice the stitching in the photos) The toes also got torn…but this time I reinforced them myself with some (faux-)leather pieces, sold for that exact purpose online.

This extended the life of my shoes (helped by the break during MCO, I guess, since it meant I played less), but the toe area was starting to get frayed again, so it was again time to replace my shoes.

Here I considered trying out Yonex, or even Li Ning if I could find a suitable pair. Friends had told me that Yonex had a wider toe area, and I could also see it from their shoes.

But Yonex shoes were either not suitable or too expensive. I went to a fair that had plenty of Yonex shoes for me to try, but the cheapest one that I liked cost RM469, way more than Asics (the Asics that I bought in the end cost RM299, with an additional discount thanks to my friend). Cheaper ones felt uncomfortable on my feet. So I decided to go back to Asics, which I liked just as well as the RM400+ Yonex pair.

The Asics shop had a lot of new colours for the Gel Rocket 11 model (it was a new arrival, it seems), and I really liked this colour. There were plenty of other nice colours…they came up with a number of pastel colours this time! Plus my usual blue-white shade (both the previous pairs were of those colours...with the first pair being the loveliest; unfortunately I don't seem to have a photo).

After getting home, I took my old pair of shoes out for comparison. While trying on the shoes at the shop, I had felt that the toe area did not feel like it curved in as much as my existing pair. But I didn’t know whether it was just wishful thinking, so I wanted to check!

And I really can see the difference: There is more space for my little toe!

Also, if you look at the side view, the toe area that got torn in the old pair looks like it is now covered by the “front reinforcement” on the new pair of shoes.

So with these two differences between the new and old pairs of Asics, I am hoping that this improvement will prevent my little toe from poking out again…

Time will tell!