Life Journal

If you're interested in reading my reflections on the Life Journal Bible readings, check out Ian's Life Journal blog.

Monday 23 May 2011

IOI Mall on Fire!

I had to go to the dentist (my sister Diane Chai) this morning and so was driving past IOI Mall around 9am and it was on fire! I could see the flames shooting out the roof and the fire engine was there shooting water at the flames. By the time I found a place to park that didn't obstruct the traffic and got my camera out, however, the fire was already under control, and a few minutes later, they started letting the shopkeepers back into the building.

Joni & the A&W bear

We were at A&W recently and someone had a birthday party and hired the A&W Bear, so Joni took the opportunity to get a photo with him.

Sunday 15 May 2011

How to use free software to make an SVCD

I have always used Sonic, a piece of software that came with my old laptop, to make SVCDs (Super Video CDs, which can be played on DVD players), but I just figured out a way to make SVCDs using free software on a Windows machine, so I thought I'd share the information here, since I didn't see any web page that put all of this information in one place.

You need 2 pieces of software -- eRightSoft Super to convert the video into VCD format, and CDR Tools Front End to take those video files and package them into a VCD.

After you install SUPER, select "SVCD Std. Compliant (MPG)" in the "1. Select the Output Container" section. Then drag and drop your movies into the area that says "DROP A VALID MULTIMEDIA FILE HERE". Then click on the "Encode (Active Files)" button. Now wait for it convert the videos into the proper format. (It could take a while.)

After that, run cdrtools Frontend and select "(S)VideoCD" from the tabs at the top of the screen, and drag and drop the videos you made in the earlier section into the main window. Then insert an empty CD into your CD writer and click "Start". Wait for it to finish.

Then you're done! You can now eject the SVCD and play it in a DVD player!

Sunday 8 May 2011

A Grand Mother's Day

We all went to my mother's house on the eve of Mother's Day. Joni & Hannah (with a little help from mummy and daddy) made grandma a big Mother's Day card.

Saturday 7 May 2011

Joni loves books

Even though she doesn't read yet, Joni loves to look at books. Hopefully, she'll also be a reader once she learns to read.