zhuzhupigpig's Xanga

Shopping and Eating

Tue, 25 Sep 2007 07:08:37 GMT

It really does help in making one happier and cheerier...

I just love going out and buying the foods and drinks that I see and like.

I went to Woolies and bought:
Gatorade
Up and Go Bannana breakfast shake
Dried fruit salad mix
Fresh Blueberries
San Remo Fresh Ravioli
San Remo Mushroom and Bacon Pasta sauce
Hot Spanish Salami
Yoplait "Berries" Yogurt 6 pack
Wrigleys Bottle of gum

Photo from JF vs CECA (3-0)

Wed, 19 Sep 2007 01:33:17 GMT

I finally score the first goal of the season, and it wasn't off my foot, nor off my head.... it came off my stomach and went in. I take whatever i can get! Two more games in the season and I am pumped. NSCAC need a win against us to come first in the competition, and we will do all we can to prevent that. For us to be champions we need to win the next two games by a total margin of 4 goals. Very difficult but we are not giving up!

In reply to Grace

Wed, 12 Sep 2007 11:27:56 GMT

I work at a place where disadvantaged people (ie. not able to drive or too lazy to get off the couch) get essential nutrients (aka food and drink) delivered to their door pre-made (aka cooking). In this job I do a lot of door knocking and home visits. Sometimes it can be very rewarding (ie. money) but often can be frustrating (ie. wrong addresses, pranks, rude people, badly numbered houses) and frightening (e.g dark neighbourhoods, possible ambushes, huge dogs). Sometimes when there is nothing to do i can watch TV and play my NDS. Perks of the job: i get lots of free food and drink. So Grace that is my job, but i am looking forward to quitting, as it is extremely boring, nearly all of the time.

PHOTOS OF JF vs NDFC (1-2)

And here is the LINK to some more photos of our loss to NDFC.

Oh what blunders!

Sat, 08 Sep 2007 13:57:32 GMT

1. sis (second oldest sister) forgets to take fish to work
2. sis rings, asks me to get "chicken" (i am sure she said chicken) and give to my dad to take to work
3. sis asks me to get her spare house keys from my mum
4. sis tells me to go to her house and press, "one" until the alarm beeps twice, to by pass the alarm
5. i take my dad's car, does not bring my mobile (because i thought it would be a simple process... just a quick go-in-and-pick-up job)
6. i get to the house, unlocks the doors, goes in and presses "1"... no 2x beeps
7. the alarm goes off.... extremely loudly.... it hurts my ears
8. i don't know what to do, and i can't think properly, so i start to panic a bit
9. i run outside, its slightly softer out there, and i think about what i should do
10. i have no phone so i decide to use the house phones...it does not work! And I didn't know why...i am getting very frustrated with the phone, almost want to chuck it.
11. after a long while the alarm stops screaming...what a relief!
12. now i am thinking, i don't know what to do about the alarm, and i still havn't completed my mission in getting the "chicken"...hmm....i think i should run in and grab it and leave!
13. now i have a plan.... i get inside the house again....the alarm does not scream....yay!
14. i get to the kichen, and the alarm screams at me again, and i start to panic again.
15. now i am wondering where the chicken is...i had no idea...so i decide in my panic to grab everything that looks like meat in the refrigerator, and so that's what i did.
16. i run out of the house, trying to not look suspicious, and get into the car.
17. now i forgot to mention that i also had to pickup my nephew and niece from another house nearby, and so i had go there now
18. time is really tight, because my dad is in a hurry to get to work and i need to get to work somewhere else too
19. i quickly get my niece's phone and rings my sis
20. and here is a key word that she ought to have used when she asked me to go to her place: REMOTE!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I was meant to press "1" on the remote!!!!!! I had no idea. I thought it was the one on the keypad for the alarm! Am i stupied to think that? I mean wouldn't anyone just assume the "1" was the one on the alarm keypad??
21. although she said remote, i had in my head, still, a TV remote.....ahaha...i just couldn't picture it....so i said, but mum didn't give me the remote! In fact she did. It was on the key chain all along.
22. in my dads's impatience he drives my car and arrives at my nephew's place (my oldest sister's place) just as my nephew and niece were coming out. I was still on the phone with my sis.
20. he gives me this stressed-out / in pain look on his pace that annoys me intensely, it drives me nuts and puts me into another panic. He complains about the alarm going-off and him being late.
21. at this point, on the phone, i told my sis i had failed my mission... i did not grab the chicken.
22. now she tells me that it was not "chicken" but "fish"!!!!! (i am sure she said chicken before)
23. so i said, YES, I got the fish! YAY.
24. in my happiness i said to my dad (who was unsympathetic to my position and continuing to pressure me with his look) you can go now
25. so my dad leaves and i am still talking to my sis, i explained what happened, what a shambles!
26. she explains that the phone in her house is connected to the alarm and it continuously rings my bro-in-law's mobile until the alarm is reset at the house. No wonder it didn't work!
27. she now asks me to go back to her house to reset the alarm through the keypad
28. so i go to her house ready to complete her instructions....BUT!
29. at her house i discover that in my panic to let my dad go, i had left the house keys in my dads car!!!!!! ARGHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!
30. so i can't do anything and my sis needed to come back home from work to reset the alarm, otherwise it would just continuously ring my bro-in-law's phone all night before they get home...
31. so after all this i was late for work....fantastic

What a day! Also Jook Fook lost to NDCCC and my beloved Swans loses to Collingwood and their season is over....Grrrrrr....I hate Collingwood!
Good bye and good night!

BIOSHOCK - more like BIOSHOCKER!

Fri, 31 Aug 2007 03:36:50 GMT

Stupid publisher withheld the truth (i.e. lied) by not indicating on the box that you can only install this game twice! Now they back tracked and said it should have been 5 times... This has so many issues, i'm not going to discuss all of them here (see 2k Forums 760 posts and counting!). Basically the game restricts the user from installing the game more than a few times. After which, the game will not work, until you can sort it out with the publisher (2K) or the company providing the system of protection (Securom). Supposedly, if you uninstall the game properly (i.e. use a special utility, NOT provided yet) then you gain an install credit to be used again. If this works then it might satisfy some users, but that's if you get the chance to uninstall properly. Think about all the times that your computer (e.g. hard disk, windows) has failed on you or how many times you update your hardware or how often you need to reformat your hard drive or what if you wish to play this game 10 years from now? Your game will not work!

It gets worse, still, as the game installs some software on to your computer that cannot be removed! Yes, even if you uninstall the game! Software like it has a reputation for causing security risks to your computer. It also causes conflicts with other software including virus scanners (e.g. AVG)

But what i am most upset about is they basically lied to all those people who bought this game. Now people have have spent like 100 dollars on a game they can't play. I am not going to buy this game until it is all sorted out. Furthermore, and very ironic, the stuff they are doing to protect their property against piracy is only turning people who would normally buy the game, to wait until the game is eventually cracked - this is just a matter of time. That's how bad their copy protection system is. Now while those who bought the game suffer, those who weren't going to buy the game anyway or those who have decided to not buy the game because of the outrageous restrictions placed on the user, are just patiently or impatient waiting until the game is cracked. Then they are going to play the game without those very annoying and unnessary restrictions. So in a nutshell, pirates will enjoy the game eventually, while legitimate consumers will suffer.

Furthermore this fiasco has damaged the reputation of 2K games. Many forum users have expressed their discust at the situation and declared they will never buy any 2K games ever again. And what about the costs involved in putting people in place to take all those calls from unhappy users.

According to many reviews this game is fantastic....what a shame...I am just going wait and see what happens and make a decision if i am going to buy it.

[I have no idea why i wrote this blog... i was just going to post the picture and that's it, but i ended up saying so much. I don't think anyone who comes to my xanga would be interested, understand or even be bothered with reading what i wrote]

Yay... we won 2-0

Sun, 19 Aug 2007 13:23:48 GMT

BHCBC 0 vs 2 JF

NDFC next....*gasp*

Monday, August 13, 2007

Mon, 13 Aug 2007 05:25:42 GMT

Sun-burnt lips aint no fun.

USANA on top : Vitamins Tested

Wed, 08 Aug 2007 05:36:28 GMT

Here I quote an article I find interesting, especially since my family and I use USANA products:

Vitamins: tested and rated

Reporter: Helen Wellings
Broadcast Date: August 07, 2007

From A to zinc, a staggering 70 per cent of Australians buy nutritional supplements, spending on average $200 per year: a total of $2.3 billion.

But it is hard to know which to choose, from a mind-blowing 30,000 different types on the market. An extraordinary scientific analysis by a team of Canadian and US biochemists may come to the rescue.

They have thoroughly examined more than 100 leading multivitamins available in Australia and New Zealand, evaluating and comparing their formulations by separating and measuring each ingredient: vitamins, minerals antioxidants and other components.

Dr Lesley Braun, Pharmacist and Naturopath from the National Herbalists Association of Australia and Dr Marc Cohen, Professor of Complementary Medicine at RMIT are the authors of Herbs and Natural Supplements.

We showed them the latest comparison of multivitamin products which scores brand by brand.

"What you've got is seven experts from the US that have put together what I would call a wish list, a list of ingredients they believe would be the ultimate to have in a multivitamin," Dr Braun said.

Professor Cohen added: "It was done on a range of issues, which include how absorbable the vitamins were, the range of vitamins and minerals that were in the tablet and whether they were in the appropriate amounts and in the appropriate form" says Professor Marc Cohen.

Dr Braun explained the research further.

"Their aim is to try to find a product on the market that is as close as possible to their wish list of the most comprehensive, of the highest doses, for them what they would consider the best," Dr Braun said.

"It is very important when you look at a vitamin supplement that not only have you got the key ingredients, but you've got them in the right combinations."

They say the absolutely perfect multivitamin tablet would be a huge "poly-pill", the size of a walnut, but Professor Cohen says we should be aiming for the following.

"The full range of vitamins e.g. A, the full range of vitamin Bs - and B should be done in a complex, not just 1 or 2 of the vitamins - certainly vitamin C and a range of minerals," Prof Cohen said.

"There is also an argument to say you should not put everything in the one pill because things absorb differently, e.g. the fat soluble vitamins."

Now the results

First, the final top 5 scorers. Remember they're rated against an ideal multi-vitamin pill.

Best: USANA Health Sciences Essentials scores a very high 74 per cent, followed by Solgar Omnium at 56.5 per cent.

Thorn Research Al's Formula scored 47 percent, Clinicians Vitamin and Mineral Boost 45 per cent, and NFS Nutraceuticals Ultimate Sports Multi 44.5 per cent.

But you won't find them at the supermarket nor pharmacies: they're available online, some through naturopaths and herbalists.

What is it that gave these brands such top ratings?

"They do contain a lot of the B group vitamins, the antioxidants that are traditional vitamins, so bioflavonoids. And they contain a few other little bits and pieces as well in high doses, such as the minerals with magnesium and calcium," Dr Braun said.

"A lot of the key ingredients are in very high doses. So when you match it up to the wish list that the US experts put together, it looks very good."

Most of the multivitamins tested scored lower than 20 per cent. Again though, all were rated against the ideal.

About one-third only managed single figure scores. Bottom of the list, unbelievably, some of our top supermarket and pharmacy brands: Myadec and Nature's Own Multivitamins and Minerals both with just 2.4 per cent,

Herron Clinical Nutrition All-in-One Multi-Vitamin and Mineral scored 2 per cent, Guardian Multi Vitamins and Minerals Hi Potency also 2 per cent, and last was Advocare Macro-Mineral Complex at just 1 per cent.

But at a fraction of the price of the top scorers, our expert nutritionists say you do get what you pay for.

"They tend to have fewer number of ingredients compared to the ones that rated very highly," Dr Braun said.

"Also the strength of the ingredients tended to be lower.

"So I see them as just a very basic stopgap for someone whose diet really needs some work, whereas as they go higher in the list, they become more sophisticated and have better combinations."

Professor Cohen said: "I think the ones in the supermarkets and pharmacies are competing on price. You could have the vitamin on the label and only a very tiny amount. It won't actually do anything for you, but it is still on the label and consumers don't really know how much is the correct amount."

So are the right vitamins worth the money?

"Go with the ones that are comprehensive in good doses, the ones on the list," Dr Braun said. "Ideally though, go to a health professional, get your diet looked at, start working on the diet and get the right supplement for you."

"There is strong evidence now that everyone over the age of 55 should be taking a multivitamin every day to prevent long-term diseases," Prof Cohen said.

"I'd extend that to say everyone should be taking a multivitamin because the risks are very low and the benefits are potentially very high."

So what does an expert take daily? Here's a tip: don't waste your money taking multivitamins with a cup of tea.

"The best way to take them is in the morning with breakfast, big glass of water," Prof Braun said. "Tea not so good because it binds some of the iron and you won't get the absorption, cancels out the iron."

Dr Lesley Braun takes:

"Dona Glucosamine" by Your Health.
"CoQ10", Co-enzyme Q10 by BioCeuticals for healthy cardio-vascular function and good for people taking statins for lowering cholesterol. Lesley also takes them for migraine.
"Multi-biocomplex" with selenium, a multivitamin by Nutrimedicine.
A bowl of blueberries which are neuro regenerative - to combat the loss of brain-cells due to ageing. If she can't buy fresh in season, she buys frozen blueberries.

National Herbalists Association of Australia.
Website: www.nhaa.org.au

Dr Lesley Braun and Professor Marc Cohen wrote "Herbs and Natural Supplements: An Evidence Based Guide. Published by Elsevier, November 2004. ISBN 0729536823. Contains 567 pages. Price $A40.

TEST RESULTS
The scores and brand analysis of multi-vitamins, as mentioned in our story, are in Comparative Guide to Nutritional Supplements. A Compendium of over 100 Products available in Australia and New Zealand, written by Lyle MacWilliam BSc, MSc, FP. (Northern Dimensions Publishing, Vernon, British Columbia, Canada. Revised 1st Edition).

But it is not in bookshops in Australia. Go to www.uniprotools.com.au. You can order the book from that site by selecting Lyle MacWilliam's name on the left-hand side of the page. Price is $40 including postage and handling.

Nutritional Supplements sorted by score
USANA Health Sciences Essentials 73.7
Solgar Omnium 56.5
Thorne Research Al's Formula 46.9
Clinicians Vitamin and Mineral Boost 45.1
NFS Nutraceuticals Ultimate Sports Multi 44.5
Thorne Research Basic Nutrients V 44.4
Thorne Research Basic Nutrients III 38.7
Solgar VM-2000 37.9
Pharmanex Lifepak 28.1
Amway NutriWay Double X 27.3
GNC LiveWell Women's Ultra Mega 26.1
Pharmanex Lifepak Women 25.6
BioCeuticals Multi Essentials 25.3
Pharmalliance OxiChel 24.8
Neways Orachel 24.1
Solgar Formula VM-75 23.1
Radiance Multi-Power 22.6
Nutra Life Active Men's Multi 22.3
GNC LiveWell Mega Men 21.2
Pharmanex Lifepak Prime 21.0
Nature's Sunshine Supplemental Vitamins & Minerals 20.6
Thompson's Multifort 17.5
Nature's Way Mega Multi 17.1
Thompson's Immunofort 16.9
Nutra Life Active Women's Multi Plus 16.4
Eagle Tresos B PluSe 16.4
Nature's Way Women's Energy Mega Multivitamin 16.4
Pharm-a-Care Women's Mega Strength Multi-Vitamins 16.4
Bioglan Women's Complete Multi Compex 16.4
Pretorius Women's Live Better Multi Vitamin & Mineral 16.3
Kordel's Men's Multi (without Iron) 15.4
Nutrition Care Formula SF88 15.1
Blackmores Women's Vitality Multi 14.1
Metagenics Multigenics 14.1
Red Seal Women's Multi 14
Nature's Own Daily Multi Peak Performance 14
Mannatech GlycoLEAN Catalyst 13.9
Natural Nutrition Mega Potency Women's Multi Vitamin with Selenium 13.7
Nature's Sunshine Mega-Chel 13.5
Metagenics Multigenics Phyto Plus 13.5
Blackmores Women's Multi & Evening Primrose Oil 13.4
Natural Nutrition Mega Potency Fifty Plus Multi Vitamins 13.4
Blackmores Sustained Release Women's Multi Vitamins & Minerals 13.3
Natural Nutrition Mega Potency Men's Multi Vitamin with Selenium 13.3
Red Seal Men's Multi 13.3
Pharm-a-Care Men's Mega Strength Multi-Vitamin 11.7
Bioglan Men's Complete Multi Complex 11.6
Nature's Way Men's Energy Mega Multi-Vitamin Iron-Free 11.6
Blackmores Sustained Release Multi Vitamins and Minerals 11.5
Swisse Women's Ultivite Formula 1 11.5
Pluravit Time-Release Multi 11.5
Thompson's Men's Multi with Antioxidants 11.3
Herbs of Gold Executive Multi Vitamin & Mineral 11.1
Golden Glow Senior's One-A-Day Multi 11.1
Swisse Women's Ultivite No Iron or Iodine 10.9
Swisse Men's Ultivite Formula 1 10.8
Blackmores Sustained Release Multi Vitamins & Minerals + Selenium 10.7
Melaleuca Vitality for Women 10.6
Reliv Now 10.4
Nature's Own Multivitamin Plus Omega 3 Fish Oil 9.1
Avon VitAdvance Women's Complete II 9.1
Good Health Men's Multi-Plus 9.1
Pharma Foods Pharma Day with Selenium 8.7
Herbalife Formula 3 8.7
Kordel's Women's Multi Plus EPO 8.6
Cenovis Mega Multi 8.4
Thompson's Femmefort 8.3
Microgenics Mega Multivitamin 8
Melaleuca Vitality for Men 7.5
Reliv Classic 7.5
Nutrition Care Formula 33SE 7.4
Microgenics Women's Pro Active Multi Vitamin 6.8
Golden Glow Super One-A-Day 6.7
Herron Clinical Nutrition Men's Multi-Vitamin & Minerals 6.2
Blackmores Men's Performance Multi 6.2
Good Health Women's Multi-Plus 6
Vitaplex Professional One a Day Multivitamin 5
New Vision Essential Vitamins 4.7
Centrum Select 50+ 4.3
Amway NutriWay Daily 4.2
Microgenics Men's Essential Multivitamin 4.1
Myadec Gold A-Z Guard 4
Red Seal Total Multi with Minerals 3.9
Centrum Complete from A to Zinc 3.9
Cenovis 50+ Multi 3.8
Guardian Women's Multi Vitamins & Minerals 3.6
Herron Clinical Nutrition One-a-Day Women's Multi-Vitamins & Minerals 3.6
Cenovis Multivitamin and Minerals 3.4
Amcal One-A-Day 3.3
Berocca Performance 3.2
Healtheries Women's Multi (AU) 3.2
Cenovis Women's Multi 3.1
Nature's Own Daily Multi Essentials 3.1
Pluravit Women 3.1
Golden Glow Women's One-a-Day Multi 3.1
Blackmores Multi + Gingko for 55+ 3
Pluravit 50 Plus 3
Healtheries Women's Multi (NZ) 2.7
Hivita LiquiVita 2.6
Red Seal One-a-Day Multi & Minerals 2.6
Amcal Multivitamin & Mineral Effervescent 2.6
Golden Glow Men's One-a-Day Multi 2.5
Bioglan Daily Plus Max 2.5
Cenovis Men's Multi 2.5
Myadec Multivitamins and Minerals 2.4
Nature's Own Multivitamin & Mineral 2.4
Herron Clinical Nutrition All-in-One Multi-Vitamin & Mineral 2.1
Guardian Multi Vitamins & Minerals Hi Potency 2.1
Advocare Macro-Mineral Complex 1.1

Source: Comparative Guide to Nutritional Supplements by Lyle MacWilliam, BSc, MSc, FP (Northern Dimensions Publishing, ISBN 0-9732538-3-5

http://au.todaytonight.yahoo.com/article/40331/health/vitamins-tested-rated

Random Tidbits

Mon, 06 Aug 2007 00:51:11 GMT

That really cute picture below is actually my niece by the way. It is not me - incase you get confused. Haha.

Started a forum for jook fook fellowship (JF):
http://jf.freeforums.org/index.php

Updated JF website aswell:
http://users.tpg.com.au/jweizhu/jf/

Did linesman duties with Kin for PEFCA vs NSCAC, yesterday. It was a draw 2-2.

Saturday, August 04, 2007

Sat, 04 Aug 2007 02:45:00 GMT

I'm addicted to this series on TVB!