Why Would I Write

  • WordPress 5.0, Year Recap, Gig #116

    WordPress 5.0, Year Recap, Gig #116

    Since WordPress recently upgraded to version 5.0 I thought I’d give the new editor a shot and I’m pretty impressed. It’s one of the best looking WYSIWYG editors I’ve used in a while. Previously, I had been typing out my blog posts using the text only editor and they replaced it with this one by default. While I’m not too ambitious when it comes to the layout of my blog posts (let’s be honest, it’s just text, the rare photograph, and more text) so I don’t think I’ll be doing anything fancy now but who knows – maybe I’ll be a bit more creative in the future.

    We’re 11 days into December – the best month of the year (just because), and we’re getting close to the end of the year. Not that it matters. Let’s see how I did this year in terms of achieving my goals.

    From my post I wrote in January:

    What I intend to do this year:
    – finish my first game
    – record songs that incorporate keyboards in some way
    – play more sports
    – learn to play a Dance Gavin Dance song

    The End of a Season

    I didn’t finish my first game. However, I did take steps towards it: I’ve planned out my first game on paper. Now all I need to do is execute it. So, fail.

    I didn’t record any songs that incorporate keyboards but I did record songs that used virtual drums and electric guitar – something that I didn’t do before. I guess I still failed, since the whole point of recording something with a keyboard meant that I had to learn a new instrument.

    Play more sports – I did pick up cycling after getting a bicycle about a month ago (I guess I could write a post about it) but it’s not really considered a sport. I did try playing more CS:GO, does esport count? Nah, I failed in that aspect.

    I didn’t manage to learn a Dance Gavin Dance song but I did write a DGD-inspired song and I learned the intro riff to Cocky by Tilian. I guess I failed that too.

    Woot, a 100% on failure. Can’t say I didn’t try.

    What did I do that’s worth talking about this year then?

    I started a new job in a new industry, doing new things. That’s pretty rad I think. I’m also glad that I’m fitting in and able to deliver my work. Sure, it’s something that every working adult is expected to do but I’m happy that I found a job that fits me like a glove.

    I got back into gigging after a hiatus last year, and I’ve been consistently playing at least one show a month. It’s great to be back – I missed the stage.

    I started work on my first comic. It’s been a slow and gradual process, but Animal Bus is finally seeing the light of day. Over the past few months I’ve been drawing pages of the comic and while I’m nowhere close to launch (I intend to finish about 5 chapters before putting it online so I have a buffer for the next chapter), I’m happy with the progress I’m making.

    I did manage to write a few new songs this year, am close to finishing another one and have enough material to record a second EP.  Whether or not I’ll do it is left to be decided, but I’ll be playing them at my shows.

    I’ve managed to finish a few games from my Steam library – a huge feat considering the amount of time I spent playing Dota 2. I also attended the KL Major, which was great because Virtus Pro won. Hopefully I’ll be able to attend TI 2019 in China. That would be awesome.

    I tried and failed growing a beard, but at least now I don’t have to wonder anymore about the effects of Minoxidil on my face.

    What’s in store for 2019? I don’t even know myself. Probably the same goals, just that this time I’ll put more effort into carrying them out. We’ll see. In the meantime, do drop by the Poolside Open mic on Thursday for some chill beer and tunes.

    Poolside Open Mic #68 ft. Armand Tanzarian [Facebook Event Page]

    Time: 8 PM – 10:30 PM
    Date: 13th December 2018
    Venue: KL Journal Hotel [Google Maps]


    The Poolside Open Mic is our 3rd longest running open mic night which happens every Thursday evening right on TOP of The KL Journal! Each installation features one of our finest musicians, with this one featuring…

    ***ARMAND TANZARIAN***

    After a haitus as a failed international man of mystery, the busiest man on stage Armand Tanzarian returns with new and old songs. Using a guitar, a loop pedal and occasional woodwinds to build an epic wall of sound, Armand Tanzarian creates soundscapes and stories that wrap around the listener like a warm hug, and transport the listener to some place faraway.

    Follow him: https://www.instagram.com/armandtanzarianmusic/

    ***OPEN MIC***

    #* Rafiq & Izat
    #1 Wasif Hyder
    #2 Rachel Schlossman
    #3 RUFUS
    #4 2storeyheart
    #5 Fathee
    #6 Amr Mohsen

    To sign up for the open mic, email us@openmicmalaysia.org 😀

    ~

    Open Mic Malaysia is the brainchild of Shaneil Devaser, frontman of The Endleaves. Established in 2012 and currently operating in the Klang Valley, Kota Kinabalu and Johor Bahru, Open Mic Malaysia aims to create sustainable avenues for bedroom musicians, singer-songwriters and professional musicians to share their music and experiences with each other and the public, over evenings of wholesome indie goodness. In partnership with other like-minded musicians from across the country, Open Mic Malaysia aims to… Make Malaysia Great (for indie music) Again.

  • One Week on Ortho

    One Week on Ortho

    So, I finally received my Planck keyboard and I’ve been using them on and off for over a week so I thought I’d write a quick post about it just because I haven’t written anything this week.

    For those of you who don’t know, the Planck is a 40% ortholinear keyboard – which means the keys aren’t staggered like a regular keyboard (look at how A is slightly to the right of Q, Z is slightly to the right of A and so on), the keys are lined up in a grid instead. This is supposedly better in terms of ergonomics, but since I haven’t had any issues typing on staggered layouts all these years, I don’t really feel the difference. However, this grid layout introduces a new problem for me (which I assume will go away with time) – muscle memory.

    Maybe I’m just a slow learner but I’m having a lot of trouble adapting to the Planck layout. I find myself hitting the wrong keys even if I look at the keyboard to type just because my hands automatically reach out to hit the keys when I have a word to type. It gets annoying when you have to use backspace multiple times while writing a single sentence. Because of this issue, I find myself not using the Planck as much as I’d like to. Other than that, I have no qualms about the keyboard. Initially I had some trouble remapping the keys due to a problem with the QMK configurator site, but since that has been sorted out, everything is fine and dandy, the way I like it.

    In terms of build quality – you get what you pay for. I bought the EOTW (easy on the wallet) version of the board because I wanted to try out the layout, and for how cheap it was, I thought it was worth it. The EOTW plates are gorgeous, and so is the PCB. Definitely one of the nicest looking PCBs I’ve seen for a keyboard. The form factor is great – I love how light and tiny it is, though it might feel a little fragile due to the lack of a case (which can be easily solved by spending more money).

    Overall – at least based on my short experience with the Planck, I think ortho is not for me. That being said – for people who have issues using staggered layouts, this could be a viable option for a more ergonomic keyboard. At this point in time, I see no benefits to relearning how I type so I don’t think I’ll be an ortho user in the future. That being said, I’m still going to continue using it over the next few months. If my typing doesn’t improve on it, I’ll just turn it into a giant macropad or try to flip it.

  • Gift Cards Are Worse Than Cash

    There’s something that I’ve been wondering about for a long time – why do people think gift cards are a great idea?

    Buying someone a gift card assumes that the recipient:

    1. still wants something from the shop you bought it from
    2. is willing to travel to the shop
    3. before the gift card expires

    You’re basically making your recipient do work for his or her own present – when you could have just given them the gift in the first place. So you say, you don’t know what the recipient wants – why not just give them cash?

    Cash is flexible – because it is not tied to a store, it can be spent anywhere and on anything – they don’t have to travel to an inconvenient or faraway location to purchase something. It doesn’t expire, so if the recipient doesn’t want to spend it, he or she can just save it for something else. There is no way a gift card can be better than cash. If a store offers discounts for people buying using gift cards – the recipient can just purchase those gift cards to get what they want since they’ll be going to that store anyway.

    Of course, gift cards can be used as jokes – i.e. giving a vegan gift cards to a popular steak restaurant – the recipient will either end up not spending it (wasting your money) or giving it away (which I guess is a good thing, since you gave them a present to gift for free).

    I can’t think of a situation where presenting someone with gift cards is better than giving them cash.