White Christmas

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Currently Playing: I Will Be - Leona Lewis


Christmas came early this year - Thank you Singtel! =)










Singtel gave away the all-new late-2009 Apple MacBook with their weekend-only 10 Mbps broadband offer in conjunction with a local computer show!



Apple claims to have reduced their carbon footprint producing the latest incarnation of the MacBook, with reduced packaging size so that they ship more units than before given the same logistic equipment, and it sure looks like it:















With a no-frills packaging design, Apple now ships more of the goodies and less of the air. =P



I still remember that thick printed manuals came with the Titanium PowerBook G4 when I first got it years back - Much of these have been digitized to reduce usage of paper - Looks like Apple is determined to go green:










This cardboard sleeve basically contains all of the Apple Install CDs and manuals. Again, more of the product, and less of everything else!



The late-2009 MacBook comes with a revised MagSafe adapter that is more compact, and less obstrusive:










The MagSafe header now mates with the MacBook in a right-angled manner, reducing cable clutter. The build and construction of the header seems to be sturdier than the previous design.



Yes, Singtel gave away the latest and greatest, the late-2009 MacBook model that's beefed up with a slightly faster Intel Core 2 Duo processor at 2.16 GHz, 2 GB of faster DDR-3 memory, a 250 GB hard drive and Nvidia GeForce 9400M graphics. The LCD is now of the LED-backlit kind, which reduces power consumption and increases battery life.

Geeky stuff aside, it also looks sexier with all the curves, is slimmer, lighter, and sports a built-in 7-hour battery. Plus, it is also now blessed with the glass multi-touch trackpad that the MacBook Pro has!















It still amazes me as to how Apple manages to pack a stunning 13.3-inch widescreen display, full-sized keyboard, and an optical drive into such a compact package. O_O



Of course, how the broadband performs is still of paramount importance! For the geeky ones, here are the SpeedTest results, before and after:












Bye bye Green Camp, hello Red Camp! =D

Singapore Marathon 2009 Finisher

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Currently Playing: If Today Was Your Last Day - Nickelback


Once again, Singapore's annual largest marathon event took place successfully with over 50,000 participants this year - Congratulations to all marathon heros who ran and finished their own race!

Kudos to the job well done for many who were 1st-timers to running a full marathon - The act of putting your name down on the registration form and actually being there on race day is commendable to say the least! Give yourselves a pat on the back for that! =)

This year, participants are given a blank tag on top of their running IDs for writing inspirational quotes, and then attaching the tag with their personalized words of encouragement onto the back of their running jerseys - Neat idea! Some of the more memorable ones I've seen:


"Running for free bananas and 100-Plus!"

"This sounded like a good idea 3 months ago!"

"I thought last year's marathon was my last... But the Early Bird pricing was just too tempting!"

"Whose idea was this anyway?"

"Got mountain... Climb. Got road... Run. Got food... CHIONG AH!!!"



I had a good chuckle while hot on the heels of these jokers! xD

The weather was cooling in the early morning, but turned nasty towards the last leg of the race - The sun was scorching by the time we hit the F1 grandstand and marina floating platform and most of us just got toasted. =_=

Unlike the previous years, New Balance replaces Adidas as the apparel sponsor for the Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon 2009. The comfort and fit of the running jersey isn't as good as the Adidas ClimaCool series, the material being tougher and causing some abrasions.





The official running jersey that many said fitted like it was for basketball instead of for runs!



However, the finisher's tee design is pretty refreshing, with a body-hugging fit:





Front view of the full marathon finisher's tee - Love how the blue and black colours come together! =)






New design for rear this year, with larger prints. The stylised runners in white are pretty cool.



The front of the finisher's medal remains largely unchanged, but the rear now features the iconic Marina Bay Sands integrated resort:





Front view of the finisher's medal, which is the same design as the previous year's.






Rear of the medal etched with the Marina Bay Sands integrated resort.



Once again, my running 4D number contains no '8's in it. =( A disposable timing chip is used this year instead of the champion chip. It's a good thing, really, 'cause we'll have an additional item for keepsake! =)





Running 4D number tag and timing chip.



Special thanks to the organisers and tons of ethusiastic helpers who cheered us on along the length of the route - The run was tough, but you guys made it easier! =)

See you guys again at SCSM 2010!

NUS Singapore Marathon Race Pack

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Didn't manage to collect the official Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon race pack from the expo personally 'cause I had exams right up till today. =(

But hey, the NUS Singapore Marathon race pack is pretty cool too. It comes with a running jersey in loud orange-and-blue school colours and a nifty bottle:





Front of the running jersey, in really loud orange!






And here's the rear. The design didn't change much from last year's.






Lastly, the bottle with a metallic base and cap that looks like it could withstand a fair bit of knocks and drops. I'm a careless user I know! =x