Movie 2014.07.27 - Dawn of the Planet of the Apes

Intro of the movie fills us in about a simian virus outbreak that decimated the global human population. Meanwhile, Caesar and his simian colony are settled comfortably in the forest. In a chance encounter, one of the humans shoots and injures one of the apes. Caesar leads his troops to the human town in San Francisco and warns them to stay out of their sanctuary. What Caesar doesn't know is that the humans need access to the forest in order to access the hydroelectric dam. Malcolm goes back to Caesar with his request. There is a tentative peace between the two camps, while the humans (and apes) cooperate to bring the dam back in operation.

All it takes is for one bad egg to bring everything crashing down. And that is what happened. Back in SF, Dreyfus, the leader of the humans, is stockpiling arms and ammunitions, preparing to duke it out with the apes. Koba, Caesar's right-hand ape, kills a couple of humans and steals their rifles. While everyone is celebrating the successful activation of the dam, Koba shoots Caesar with the rifle, and blames it on the humans. Koba leads an assault on the human colony and takes everyone prisoner. Malcolm and his wife rescues and revives Caesar, who later subdues Koba.

In the end, it's all for naught, as military reinforcements are on their way to the city, and an all-out war is all but guaranteed.

Movie 2014.07.27 - Muppets Most Wanted

In this sequel, the Muppets go on a world tour with some coaxing from Dominic Badguy (Ricky Gervais). Kermit is mistaken for Constantine, the world's most dangerous frog and number one criminal, and was sent to a Siberian gulag. Meanwhile, Constantine paints his mole green and passes himself off as Kermit.

Dominic plans the groups itinerary, and while the Muppets are performing, he would break into the nearby museum and steal some treasures. During their Dublin stop, Constantine announces that he and Miss Piggy are marrying at the Tower of London. Animal, Walter, and Fozzy discovers that "Kermit" is really Constantine. They escape and helps Kermit break out of the gulag. While the wedding is going on, Dominic steals the crown jewels with the help of the Muppet babies. Kermit and the gang foil Contantine's plan and goes on to Siberia for the last performance of their world tour.

I found the movie quite enjoyable. Cameos from Lady Gaga, Tony Bennett, Josh Groban, Sean "Diddy" Combs, Usher, Celine Dion, Christoph Waltz, etc. Lots of laughs and song-and-dance numbers.

Creating a WiFi Hotspot

When out and about, I usually use my smartphone as a 4G modem for my laptop - either through USB tethering or as a portable hotspot. However, the reverse is a bit tricky. For example, I would be in a hotel room which provides wired Ethernet to the laptop, but no WiFi for my smartphone or tablet.

I've looked into this before, and there are software like mHotspot and Connectify that can use your Internet-connected PC as an access point for other devices. However, if your PC's wireless adapter supports hosted networks, then you won't even need any third-party software.

1. Open a command prompt with administrator privileges.
2. Type 'netsh wlan show drivers'. Make sure it says Yes for "Hosted network supported"
3. Type 'netsh wlan set hostednetwork mode=allow ssid=<SSID> key=<password>" to create the WiFi hotspot with the chosen SSID and password.
4. Type 'netsh wlan start hostednetwork' to activate the WiFi hotspot.
5. To deactive, simply type 'netsh wlan stop hostednetwork'.
6. To check the hotspot status, type 'netsh wlan show hostednetwork'.
7. Open Network and Sharing Center. Right-click on the connected that is connected to the Internet, and select Properties. Under the Sharing tab, tick "Allow other network users to connect through this computer's Internet connection". Select the connection name that is used by your hotspot. Click OK.

I've tested this myself and it actually works just fine. Lifehacker's article makes use of an ad hoc network. I still prefer the former method.

Sources:
http://www.wikihow.com/Create-a-WiFi-Hotspot-Using-the-Command-Prompt
http://www.reddit.com/r/YouShouldKnow/comments/2bqfvi/ysk_how_to_turn_your_pc_into_a_wifi_hotspot/
http://lifehacker.com/5369381/turn-your-windows-7-pc-into-a-wireless-hotspot

Movie 2014.07.26 - Divergent

The Hunger Games meets Harry Potter. You have people living in a post-apocalyptic world, and children being sorted into different "factions" in order to keep the peace. You have the Amity, who are peace-loving folks who provide food for the society. You have the Erudite, who supplies the smarts. There is the Dauntless, who are the protectors of the realm. There is the Candor faction, who tells no lie. Then there is the Abnegation, the social workers who care for the factionless.

Children at a certain age are given an aptitude test to determine which faction they are best suited for, but they can still select which faction they want to join during the Choosing Ceremony. What's the point? Wouldn't everybody just go for the safest choice? Obviously not the Dauntless, where competition is tough, and there's a real chance of being kicked out, and becoming factionless. Beatrice turns out to be a Divergent, but her procter advised her to keep this a secret.

There is the obligatory initiation rites, introduction of more characters, some martial arts training, some war games and simulations to keep interest up, some friction within the team, a little romance, then we get to the real story. Apparently, the Erudite are in cahoots with the Dauntless - plotting to overthrow the Abnegation, who currently runs the show. The Dauntless recruits were given a suggestion serum, and ordered to round out the Abnegation faction. Tris, with the help of Four, storms the Dauntless stronghold and stops Jeanine's diabolical plot.

If you think the ending is a bit abrupt, don't worry - more sequels coming up.

Adding Java to Windows 7 PATH

Java is actually installed on my Windows 7 system, but is not showing up when I try "java -version" on the command prompt.

So looks like the JRE bin directory is not included in the system path. What you want to do is right-click on MyComputer and select Properties. Click Advanced system settings. Under the Advanced tab, click Environment Variables. Under System variables, scroll down until you find the PATH variable. Select it and click Edit. Add in the JRE bin path, and click OK.

Movie 2014.07.20 - Cuban Fury

Another British feel-good underdog movie. Tween Latin dancing sensation Bruce (Ben Radcliffe) was on the way to conquering the salsa world when he gets bullied and beaten for wearing too much sequins. He screams "Salsa is for pussies!", and drops out of the dancing circuit. Fast forward 25 years, Bruce (Nick Frost) gets back into the game to impress his new boss Julia (Rashida Jones), who's also a salsa enthusiast, and to one-up the office alpha male Drew (Chris O'Dowd), who's out to nail Julia.

You can probably guess what happens next. Bruce goes into Rocky mode, and enlists his former mentor Ron's (Ian McShane) help to get back into the groove, in time for the big competition. Given Frost's pudgy chubby build, there's no way he's going to win the competition. He doesn't get the trophy, but he did get the girl.

The movie is done by the numbers, and there's not too many surprises. Nick Frost tries his best to be convincing as a Latin dancer, but it doesn't really work. The other characters are pretty static, and needs more development. Nice drive-by cameo from Simon Pegg though.

Mini-SIM to Micro-SIM

There should be not too many people left who are still using mini-SIMs on their mobile phones.

If you moving on to a handset that's using the micro-SIM format, you can either go to your cellular service provide and request for a new micro-SIM, or DIY.

Download the template from here:
http://www.thechinacellphone.com/micro_sim_template.pdf
Or here:
http://adipura.menlh.go.id/.../micro-sim-template-2.pdf

Make sure the printout (use A4) is 1:1. Use the printed ruler as a guide.
Position your mini-SIM and mark out the lines to be cut.
Use an X-ACTO knife or a pair of sharp scissors to make the cuts.
Use a piece of sandpaper to round out the edges or to finetune the dimensions.

Dual-Booting Android on Kobo Glo

There are a couple of threads on how to install Android on Kobo Glo. For dual-boot, go with this one.

First off, you'll need an 8GB microSD card. After installing the scripts mentioned in the thread, a full system backup will be done on first boot. Takes about 10-15 minutes. Copy off the created img file for safekeeping. Then use Flash Drive Image Writer to write the Android image to the microSD card. The thread is mainly for Kobo Aura HD, but if you scroll down to the comments section, you'll find specific files for the Kobo Glo.Power on the Glo and keep the backlight button pressed until you see the LED light flash red. The device will now boot Android from the external microSD card. Boot normally, and you'll go straight to Nickel.

To install apps, get them directly from APK Downloader. No need to log in to your Google account or go to the Play Store. For my purposes, I installed the following:
QuickPic to repurpose the Glo as a digital photo frame
Weather Neue for weather forecast
Display Brightness to turn off the backlight, which is on by default

In ebook mode, the Glo lasts for weeks. Unfortunately, not so when it's in Android mode.

Hacking the Kobo Glo

Running out of devices to hack/mod, so I turn my attention to the Kobo Glo. I've had this for some time now, and so far saw no need to hack it. So I've been reading the forums on MobileRead, and now I've got the itch.

Prior to making any changes to the Kobo Glo, make a backup just in case. Everything runs off an internal 2GB microSD, so best option is to crack open the case, take out the microSD card, make a backup of it, and put it back in.

dd if=/dev/sdX of=/home/youruser/backup.img
Insert similar-sized microSD card, and do the reverse.
dd if=/home/youruser/backup.img of=/dev/sdX

If you use Windows, you can use the below tools to do the same thing:
USB Image Tool - http://www.alexpage.de/usb-image-tool/
Win32 Disk Imager - http://sourceforge.net/projects/win32diskimager/

Using a hex editor (Free Hex Editor Neo), go to offset 200 (before any partition starts). What you see is your Kobo's serial number. Make a copy of this.

If you're too lazy to open up the case like me, there is another option. As the Kobo Glo has an external microSD slot, you can simply insert another card, and install some scripts to make a backup from internal to external. Details on this thread (http://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=212474). Mind you, I installed the scripts, but it didn't work for me. Maybe my firmware (3.5.0) is too new? I installed Angor's scripts from this blog post, and that did the trick.

If you managed to brick your device before you managed to make a backup, head up to the forums and request for a clean SD image. If someone takes pity on you, they'll send you a copy. Don't forget to edit in your personal serial number before writing the image to the microSD card.

At this point, I have the option of installing KoboLauncher or Kobo Start Menu. The latter looks more full-featured, but is more "intrusive" as it puts itself above Nickel, the Kobo user interface. In the case of KoboLauncher, it's just a tile on the homescreen. When launched, it presents you a list of small apps that you can run (CoolReader, pbchess, sokoban, checkers, reversi, notepad, calculator, etc.). Installation instructions here:
http://wiki.vlasovsoft.net/doku.php?id=en:pbchess-1.2.6#kobo_touch_glo_mini_aura

Swatch Solar

Heard of Swatch Solar, but this is the first time I saw it being sold on eBay. Naturally, I flagged it on my watchlist, ready to put in the winning bid.

Then I did some research. Unlike other solar-powered watches, Swatch Solar doesn't really run on solar power alone. Light hits the watch face, and solar energy is used to recharge an internal battery, which powers the movement. Well, technically not a battery, but more of a mini capacitor. Instead of storing electrical energy chemically like rechargable batteries, the mini capacitor stores electrical energy physically.

And unlike the Swatch Autoquartz, where the battery is not user-replaceable, you can swap out the Renata GC 1120 on the Swatch Solar when it dies. You'll need to have the right tool though. Instead of the usual battery cover with a slot, this one has three small indentations arranged in a triangle. I guess this is prevent people from putting in the wrong type of battery. Thing to note - the factory that produces these GC1120 mini capacitors have stopped production 15-20 years ago. That's probably the end of the line for the Swatch Solar then.

Cool fact - the Swatch Autoquarz uses a Panasonic MT920.

Movie 2014.07.08 - The Marconi Bros.

A pleasant little movie to pass the time.

Story about two brothers working in the family carpet business. Anthony (Brendan Sexton III) just finished college, and was hoping to expand the business with his new marketing chops. Carmine (Dan Fogler), on the other hand, is a slacker who moves from one mess to another. One time they were goofing off in a customer's basement video studio, and decided to switch career to wedding photography, working for Lou Burns (Jon Polito).

In one of their assignments, Anthony meets Lauren (Zoe Lister Jones) from another photography outfit. They immediately hit it off. He even suggested they start their own business, but Lauren turned him down. Later, he finds out that Lauren is engaged. Carmine makes a big screwup of their last assignment, so back to the carpet store for them.

In the last scene of the movie, the boys starts their own wedding photography business, and cover's Lauren's wedding.