法拉利賽車歷史上唯一的女駕駛員?
Comments (0) 這張60年代的照片裡，有兩樣東西顯得特別突出。
首先就是法拉利F1賽車那個誇張的Spaghetti形狀排氣管，另外就是座位上的美女。
難道她就是相傳法拉利賽車歷史上唯一的女駕駛員?
這當然是個玩笑，其實她是當時紅極一時的法國女歌手，而當年樂壇鬼才Serge Gainsbourg也曾經幫她作曲過以下這首十分好聽的歌。
Category: Others (其它)
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Windows Server 2012 R2 and Windows 10 on ESX 4.1!
By admin, October 31, 2015 10:22 pm
Well, you didn’t mis-read the above! Yes, I finally managed to get both (W2K12R2 & Win10) running under the old daddy VMWare ESX 4.1 with the latest VMTools installed, not supported? Huh? You must be kidding me.
1. Basically, in order to run your OEM copy of Windows Server 2012 R2, you will need to select Windows Server 2008 R2 as the OS template. Also you need the latest SLIC 2.3 ROM, the correct Dell Cert and of course a valid OEM Key.
2. De-select the default video driver (ie, WDDM) when installing VMware Tools or you will get a black screen immediately. At least this is true on Windows 10, but somehow no problem with W2K12R2. Details please refer to this blog article. (Update: actually you don’t need to install VMware Tools here)
3. Still, you will find the mouse isn’t working smoothly in W2K12R2 and Win10, this happens to both Windows Server 2012 and Windows 8 as well, and the solution is simple, download and install the latest VMWare Tools which comes with the updated drivers for video (VMware SVGA 3D), disk controller (PVSCSI) and network cards (VMnet3).
4. Again, after you have successful upgraded your VMWare Tools, then you will need to create a 1MB hard disk and select the SCSI to 1:0 and change the secondary controller type to Paravirtual, restart the VM, shut it down, change the primary hard disk controller to Paravirtual as well, finally remove the 2nd disk and controller. Viola, there is your lightening fast PVSCSI disk!
5. The other things I discover W2K12R2 and WIN10 keeps crashing for every 3-5 hours without any reason, then I found this KB which solved the problem, and make sure you applied all the windows updates.
6. Another tips is to turn off the Sleep Mode under Power Option in Windows 10, or you will face VM constantly went to sleep and hence VMTools status always shows “Not Running”.
7. Finally I discover you can install the latest Linux CentOS 7.x and Ubuntu 15.x without any problem on ESX 4.1 although it’s not listed as supported OS…strange, but working perfectly fine which leads me to think we can in fact install any updated OS on the much older ESX 4.1. One hint is to download the latest VMTools and install it! (Actually you don’t need as somehow CentOS 7-1611 comes with VMTools automatically somehow)
8. I also noticed those Linux VMware Tools status shows as “Unmanaged”! That’s actually ok, as the tools is installed from the latest package instead of using the default attached CD-ROM (which the version doesn’t work anyway), so you can safely ignore it.
So who said these two latest OS from Microsoft aren’t supported on ESX4.1? Think again. 
Update: May 15, 2017
Tested the latest CentOS 7-1611 also worked perfectly on ESX4.1.
Update: Oct 10, 2017
Problem found W2K12 constantly hangs, finally identified it’s the old anti-virus program Symantec Endpoint Protection that’s causing the conflicts, you will need the version at least v14.0.2415 in order for the OS to be stable.
Update: Dec 25, 2017
It turns out Windows Server 2016 follows exactly the above step and I can confirm W2K16 is running happily on ESX 4.1 without any problem! Except you need to have SLIC 2.4 BIOS!
Dell purchase of EMC should set off alarms
By admin, October 13, 2015 1:56 pm
姣婆守唔到寡…
Dell Inc. founder and Chief Executive Michael Dell, right, and EMC Corp. CEO Joseph Tucci shake hands in an image provided by Dell after the merger of the two tech companies was announced Monday morning.
Dell Inc. is making its biggest move ever to expand beyond its personal-computing roots and compete directly with Hewlett-Packard Co.’s corporate business, buying EMC Corp. EMC, +1.76% But there are worrisome aspects to the largest tech deal in history.
One is the hefty debt load privately-held Dell is taking on in order to do the deal. The company expects to pay for the deal with cash on hand, a debt issuance and through the creation of a stock that will track Dell’s ownership interest in EMC’s virtualization software business, VMware Inc. VMW, EMC shareholders will receive $24.05 per share in cash and approximately $9.10 per share in the newly created VMware tracking stock, which didn’t seem to please VMware investors: While EMC’s stock ticked up slightly on the news, which was first reported last week, shares of VMware fell 8% Monday.
Dell hopes to pay down some of the debt through cost-cutting and the elimination of duplications and redundancies in the company. Michael Dell, the CEO of the company he founded in his college dorm in 1984, assured investors Monday the company was not taking on more than it could handle, even amid a threat of potential rising interest rates.
“I think what you’re going to see is in the first 18 months to 24 months, a significant de-leveraging coming from some cost synergies,” Dell told reporters on a conference call. ‘We have revenue synergies that are three times larger.”
Executives, though, declined to be more specific about what areas could see cuts or restructuring, preferring to focus on the more amorphous “revenue synergies,” which they told analysts were about $1 billion.
Analysts were not too keen on the idea that the companies would be looking to issue debt in an environment of rising interest rates.
“We still believe raising $33 billion plus in debt at reasonable interest rates will be challenging (but not impossible) for Dell,” Jeffries & Co. analyst James Kisner said .
Sanford Bernstein analyst Toni Sacconaghi said in a note on Monday that he believes Dell will have to raise about $45 billion in debt to finance the deal and that he was “a bit surprised that Dell was able to get financing,” according to the Wall Street Journal.
Meg Whitman, the chief executive of Hewlett-Packard HPQ, +0.00% believes Dell is going to face an ominous task raising that much debt, and she hopes H-P can take advantage of the confusion among customers as the companies embark on this massive deal.
“To pay back the interest on the $50 billion of debt that the new combined company will have on their balance sheet, Dell will need to pay roughly $2.5 billion a year in interest alone,” Whitman said in a company-wide email to employees obtained by MarketWatch. “That’s $2.5 billion that they will allocate away from R&D and other business critical activities, which will keep them from better serving their customer.
While Whitman’s comments can be seen as self-serving, H-P has its own experience with big mergers that sucked up its cash, notably the $11 billion deal for software company Autonomy, most of which it later wrote off. H-P also wrote down a huge chunk of its $14 billion acquisition of EDS, a computer services company, both moves that H-P did in a similar push for enterprise-focused businesses.
Whitman, whose tenure at H-P started with a mandate to strengthen the company’s then-weakened cash balance, contended that the company is “two years ahead of the game,” as it prepares for its own separation of its corporate server business from its printer and PC business at the end of this month.
“We’re organized, we have a strong balance sheet and our innovation engine is humming,” Whitman wrote. “So, get out in front of your customers and your partners. Tell them our story. Take advantage of this moment.”
In addition to the hefty debt load Dell is going to be saddled with, the company is going to have to again publicly report its financial results, as a result of its new tracking stock. EMC Chief Financial Officer Zane Rowe told analysts on a conference call that along with the tracking stock, “we would expect Dell to report financials.”
“We’ll become an SEC registrant and will report financials on their business as well as the VMware business,” Rowe said.
So in addition to adding on a pile of debt, Dell — which seemingly enjoyed being out of the public limelight as a private company — is now going to be foisted into the public glare again. At least investors will be able to track its progress in this mega-merger, but it’s unlikely to be an easy road.
(Market Watch)
唔好為咗層樓而放棄了夢想! (轉文)
By admin, September 30, 2015 11:11 pm
夢想，by default，我以為是沒有邊界的。
原來，在香港有，還要很窄超細，得400呎，白鴿眼咁大。買樓，就是夢想。真興奮（呵欠）。
寂寞如果有邊界，夢想合該無邊無際，否則還叫什麼夢？連夢都發得那麼狹隘，有志氣沒有，有出色長進沒有？還是在這個城市，連夢都不敢想了？有個廣告說香港七歲女孩的夢想是買樓。
歐 美的小孩年輕人談理想講夢想：Sky’s the limit，天多高夢就有多高，海多闊夢就有多寬。如果真的要說界限，天空就是極限，有種未被世故馴服的天真，有種不妥協不退讓的壯志豪情。從小就妥協， 你幾時妥協到老？維珍航空的創辦人Richard Branson今年65歲了，還每天在當年輕人的夢想教練，他說維珍本身就是一個關於big dreams的故事，夢要夠遠夠大，創意才夠新夠放，更相信不論你到了幾多歲，都要花盡量多的時間去探險、玩樂和學習。香港年輕人，有幾多的夢想都牢牢困 在一層400呎的樓裏？年紀稍大，目標就是千方百計搵快錢，老了，夢想就是有樓收租咬長糧，「探險、玩樂和學習？」傻的嗎？但不探險、玩樂和學習，人生蘇 波榮。香港，其實so boring很久很久很久了。
本來，買樓作為夢想，人各有志，但這裏的夢想擠在幾百呎空間，已經OMG，還要分建築和實用縮骨面積，夢想還會發水、短樁和跳層，簡直WTF。
Steve Jobs的夢想是改變世界，擁有夢工場（Dreamworks）的史匹堡直認他「晚上不發夢，全日做夢，以發夢維生」，Mother Teresa的夢想也是改變世界，用慈悲每次感化一個人，世界就會慢慢變好。他們矢志追尋自己的夢想，令夢想成真，沒聽見他們年輕時不惜一切要買樓。西方 國的夢想文化是“dream the impossible dreams, reach the unreachable stars”。腳踏實地，眼眺天星，廣告宗師李奧貝納名言：“When you reach for the stars you may not quite get one, but you won’t come up with a handful of mud either”。
這裏欠奉攀星摘斗的輕狂和氣概，祇有自殘賣血買樓的氣短。於是再無創造力，再無創業家。各行各業再出不到任何真狀元，交租加租玩死晒。
曹仁超寄語年輕人：「不要讓500呎綁住你的青春」。折實是400呎才對，廿多歲拼命儲錢30歲達到首期已經還神，好彩上到車供足廿年人到中年，50歲你還有衝勁創業？
販賣買樓作為夢想本身就是大規模把夢想集體屠殺，這裏有年輕人沒有青春。青春就是敢夢，就是相信可能性，就是不怕輸因為從頭來過又如何。青春就是輸得起。有 了樓就沒有了夢，事業夢率先再無幻想，你還敢冒險、還敢嘗試？輸不起就沒資格發夢，那有必贏的夢和包生的仔。失敗的空間太小，供樓的緊箍咒太絕，問題是今 時不比往日，一份工作很少有長期穩定性，社會又沒有長期安定繁榮，年輕人急着上車變成買一條長債來短炒，日夜惶恐，像玩「俄羅斯樓盤」，份工冇咗先，加息 先，定泡沫爆破先？日夜擔驚受怕中任何一槍非死重傷，壓力大得連生活質素和自由都輸埋。一條長債，勒死了大部分人的夢想。樓，是扮成夢想的夢想殺手。那有 人的夢想是房奴，經濟、生活、事業自由等被長期監禁20年。
你會說，綁死人的不是樓，是房屋政策。對，但在政策改變前，為什麼要玩那個遊戲，在樓價高瘋時，為何要因為恐懼或世界告訴你的價值觀羊群上車？自由就是不玩世界迫你參與的hunger game。
廿 多歲時，科網崛起，我在DY& R跨國廣告公司任助理創作總監，主理亞太區的大客戶，在甲級寫字樓有全海景個人辦公室，因為相信科網就是未來，我放棄了近百萬年薪跳進一個全新的行業和世 界，由一間地下革命基地似的小office起拼搏，非常成功過，又徹底PK過，很爽。可以這樣因為我沒有樓債。三十多歲，肥佬黎邀請我加入壹傳媒當集團創 作總監，先推辭結果我也去了，沒有正統傳媒經驗，又由頭來過。我沒有樓債。我的夢想是做個創作人，自由而忠實，對己對人對事亦然，做個better person。創作，就是take risk，自己的事業決定都不敢試新，還創什麼作？近七年後我向肥佬黎辭別，如今在當廣告導演，因為我沒有樓債。
發夢誰都懂，為什麼要教練，因為「齋發」不去有效把它實現，一樣同條鹹魚冇分別。我沒有教練，如果有，我的教練是自由、勇氣和忠於自己，加少少不死心的天真和低能。最多咪失敗，有何大不了？很早之前，我就覺得供樓很慈母很暴力。
很 早之前，我就記住了馬克吐溫說：”20 years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover”。
沒有攀星摘斗的氣概，至少要有在樓市PK前決不買樓的豪情，改變觀念，拒絕玩俄羅斯樓盤，「有他媽的能抵抗點什麼的氣概」。
要致敬，寧願向夢想致敬。
畢明
新的Black Code終於推出了!
By admin, September 29, 2015 1:47 pm
我的另一支後備球拍Head Extreme Pro一直都是穿Black Code，同一幅線用了3年半，線床並沒有出現任何死亡的跡象，而且越打越舒服，實在想不出為什麼會這樣。
這次選的是Tecnifibre新出的Black Code 4S 18g/1.20mm，第一次穿這麼纖細的網球線(原來還有更細的19g!)。一般來講，球線越細，控制力越好，當然也更容易磨損，希望遲些時候試拍的時候這幅新的Poly可以帶給我一個全新的體驗。
另外聽了經驗豐富的師兄建議，這次拉的Tension是52lb (Main) x 50lb (Cross)。
Black is Back! With Black Code 4S, Tecnifibre gives big hitters a durable, low-powered co-poly with MASSIVE spin potential, impressive tension maintenance and great feel (especially for a firm monofilament). Boasting a square profile and sharp edges, this string puts a very tight grip on the ball. Topspin players will be able to hit high-arching, spin-loaded balls that come down sharply and explode off the court. For this string Tecnifibre uses Thermocore Technology, a multi-stage heating technique designed to soften the structure and reduce harsh impact vibrations. This helps explain why our playtesters were so impressed with the comfort level. Players looking for a durable co-poly with phenomenal control and spin-potential should definitely give this one a serious look. Try this thin 18g for more spin and feel than the other gauges.
- Gauge: 18g/1.20mm
- Length: 40ft/12.2 m
- Composition: Co-polyester with Thermocore Technology.
- Colors: Black
Update: Feb 12, 2016
Blackcode Guage 18 doesn’t feel right, as it’s too thin and too stiff, probably need to lower the string to 45-48lbs. Also just re-strung another racket with Black Code 17 (previous one got broken during a match after almost 3 years, yeah!), 50lb (Main) x 48lb (Cross), it feels much much better this time, I shall stay at this range from now on.
非一般的Cult Movie
By admin, September 25, 2015 1:40 pm
剛看完2007年的Death Proof，裡面的變態殺手和一眾少女固然是此片的固有元素。
但更重要的是這是套圍繞車作為主題的Cult Movie，裡面提供了大量的70年代美式肌肉，譬如1971 Chevrolet Nova、1970 Dodge Challenger、1969 Dodge Charger、1972 Ford Mustang等Cool Cars!
如果你像我一樣喜歡American Muscle的話，那就千萬別錯過了!
