2013 Honda CR-V vs. Subaru Forester - my driving experiences

Considering upsizing my car, I test drove both 2013 CRV and Forester during the weekend.
Both cars have been highly acclaimed in the global market and established fair bit of reputation this year. But reading others' review is quite different from driving the cars your own, so here is a bit of my view on both.

Honda CR-V VTi 2.4 4WD

Pros:

1. It's a clear winner if look and feel is the only criteria. The smooth curves make it quite attractive looking. My other half got instantaneously captivated. 
2. The interiors also wins at quite a margin. The materials Honda use looks good. The backseat leg room is spacious, the storage space is quite generous too.
3. Driving on city roads, the engine is dead quiet and smooth.

Cons:

1. The steering wheel feels a bit too agile and sensitive to my taste.
2. At sharp corner turns, the CRV is not as stable as Forester, which gave me a sort of uncertain feeling at the turning speed and a hint of unsafety. I'm not sure if its center of gravity is higher, or its automatic switching between 2WD to 4WD was not intelligent enough to detect all scenarios.
3. On motorway driving pass 90KM/H, the CRV's accelerator clearly felt soft and powerless. Especially when you carry a few passengers and the road is a bit uphill, the engine just didn't react much on your acceleration. 
4. Lastly, personally opinion, I don't like foot pedal brake.

Subaru Forester 2.5i AWD

Pros:

1. Its power never failed me, no matter on a steep slope or on motor way, the acceleration was as much as I wanted it to be.
2. I felt almost 100 percent control on road conditions, and I knew exactly how hard I need to step on the accelerator. This feeling is quite important.
3. The exterior look is definitely a step up from its previous generations.

Cons:

1. Engine is noisier, especially at starts.
2. The interior is so humdrum. The materials and accessories are very basic, and the dashboard & stereos look so old-styled.
3. Driver's left side legroom is quite limited.
4. Open the bonnet, the giant ugly plastic intake manifold is quite an eye-catcher. I did some research afterwards and found the benefits of plastic intake manifolds are actually outweigh the aluminum design. However it gave me a rather cheap feeling.

Conclusion
No wonder some people say a Subaru is "drivers' car". As driver, I do prefer the feeling of driving the new Forester, it gives me the confidence of total control, which I'm pretty sure affects safety too. So I can compromise on its look and feel.
CRV is a good car too. However it just gives me a touch feeling of uncertainty. I know there are plenty of expert reviews bragging on the enhanced safety, fuel efficiency and utility of CRV, and also cons of the Forester's less fuel efficiency and its noisy engine. But I'm pretty much decided go for Subaru. Now just wait for their financial year sale.

Mt. Grose Walk

I rarely ventured into the Blue Mountains for bush walking, mostly due to its infamous reputation of easily getting lost. Though this weekend I decided to try a track, in a part of the mountain I've never been to.
I read some good things about the Grose Valley, but I decided to take a look at the valley from high above. It's called Grose Head South, or Grose Mountain.
I drove off to Winmalee via Richmond, through Hawkesbury Rd, which prove to be a much more enjoyable drive than M4. The autumn colors were lush and vivid.
The track started with Shaw Ridge Fire Trail, which lasted for more than half of the one way distance, and it was a bit boring.
Turned right after the junction of Shaw Ridge Fire Trail and Blue Gum Swamp Trail, the track became quite steep, and my heart started pumping hard. Luckily this section was quite short, then I turned right onto final flat section of the fire trail until hit vehicle turnaround point. A large rock platform was on the left hand side, which provided an unobstructed view of the valley and undulating mountains stretching toward the horizon.
Jumping from rock to rock, I followed the foot path and reached the bottom of a very steep slop. That must be the way to the summit, I decided and pressed on.

After some tough climbing, I finally reached the summit, however the view was totally obscured by the bush. I fumbled back and forth, then eventually identified a very vague path to the left hand side, which led to a large rock platform, which provided unobstructed grand view of the Grose Valley. I didn't bring my SLR, and the photo taken with iPhone seemed to erect the Grose River to be a waterfall.

After resting on the platform and enjoying the magnificent view, totally by myself, for about an hour, I headed back. I veered right to the Blue Gum Swamp Track, which was in parallel to the Shaw Ridge Fire Trail and formed a loop back to the starting point.

Notime "living planet" and "dying planet"

Converter is Scott Sturgis, a well-known Rhythmic Noise artist, who released quite a few classic RN albums under the esteemed Ant-Zen label.
As Converter's side project, notime is mostly unknown to most.
The two releases of notime, "living planet" and "dying planet", are purely experimental joint efforts of images and sounds. They were created over the course of a few months in 2002. Jenny Sturgis (Dislocation Photo) took photos and Scott Sturgis conducted field recordings, then both audio and video materials have been compiled and treated into 2 albums, each 250 copies and each copy featuring its own cover art.
Unlike Converter's signature dark, dense and complex sound-scape, the two limited releases of notime are more experimental, haunting and "loosely arranged". Although not short of explosive rhythms, the key elements are hollowed drones and crackling ambiance.
On the back cover, the release note says "All sounds recorded with microphone and minidisc in the field, sampled and manipulated in the studio".

Teddywombat's obsession with bushwalks

Living in Sydney has been such a merit that without going far from home, you can enjoy the beauty of the wilderness. There are no less than 600 walking tracks (according to wildwalks.com) meandering across pristine national parks, reserves and bushlands around Sydney. After a week of busy work, you can easily clear your mind and lungs by diving into a walking track or two during the weekends - keeping away from the crowds, leaving your cares at home and getting closer with Mother Nature.

In Australia, we don't normally call it "hiking" mostly due to the fact that we don't have many high mountains to climb. Plus, Australian native plants have a rather "bushy" feeling, though we do have big trees. With this in mind, hikers tend to call their hobby "bushwalking" rather than "hiking".

I've been addicted to bushwalking since 2006. My initiation was Bill Bryson's best seller "Walk into the Woods." Hence, after completing the book, every weekend the beautiful sunshine would tempt my wild heart to take a walk into the Aussie bushland.

At the beginning, I was studying the street directories to search for the closest tracks. It was exciting to find those green tentacles of Mother Nature stretching among building blocks, roads and railways. Following the traces of dotted brown lines (indicate walking lines) to see where they were heading was just as much fun.

After accumulating more experiences, I started exploring tracks with mid- to high-level difficulties. Finishing all the tracks around my area, I searched for those within moderate driving distances. But the first thing to consider was if the track could be finished within a day. Here is a short list of what I've prepared for a day hike, just for your reference.

• Bring a map with the track you are going to walk through (or a hand-held GPS). Do a bit of research before you set off--otherwise you'll waste some time in doing so along the way.
  
• Wear sturdy hiking shoes - remember, don't wear sneakers on rugged tracks, or your feet will complain!
  
• Drink plenty of water in any weather condition, no joking.
  
• Use sunscreen and sunglasses if you walk under the blazing Aussie sunshine.
  
• Bring a torch in case you miss your turn and schedule - blundering in the dark night forest is one of the most miserable experiences (it hasn't happened to me yet, but you can imagine how it would be).
  
• Other beneficial add-ons include a cap, camera, walking stick, a bag and some snacks. If you feel bored, an iPod may help you kill the silence.
  
• Wear fast-dry hiking pants rather than jeans. This is what I learned from Bill Bryson's experience--it's a very practical suggestion.
  

To list a few of my most favorite walking areas which I've been waded through:

1. Garigal National Park and Middle Harbor area: Located in the Lower North Shore area of Sydney Metro, Middle Harbor area provides probably the most delicate views, with lush native plants and expansive harbor inlets. Most tracks are well maintained in this area. One of my favorite is Two Creek Track. There are swift drops, leafy glade territories, wooden bridges hanging over babbling brooks, small waterfalls bumbling over black rocks and marshy mangrove banks--and the views across upper reaches of Middle Harbor are just sensational. Located right between residential blocks, Garigal National Park has no shortage of wild animals. There are flocks of cockatoo and rainbow parrots; mysterious water dragons (a kind of lizard) taking sun baths on boulders along the bank; wild cockerels wandering across the bushes. I once saw a mother fox playing with cubs along a secluded creek.

2. Berowra Valley and Hornsby area: There are plenty of picturesque tracks here, and they are far more difficult and wilder. A long section of the Great North Walk (Sydney to New Castle) runs through the whole region along the deep valley and Berawra Waters. But I rather prefer another thread of tracks from Gibbergong, passing Bobbin Head to Berowra Track before reaching Brooklyn Station. The view is just spectacular - very dynamic terrain alongside the tracks and very expansive valley water view. It's said that once a humpback whale entered the Mooney Mookey Valley in 1950s. It's a pity I missed the whale, but I did bump into a huge goanna of 1.5 meter long. Without any preparation, I was scared out of my wits at the first sight--but he was rather calm in seeing me.

3. Central Coast: This is a bit far from the Sydney Metro area, probably a 2-hour drive to the north, so I could go all day and hardly meet a soul. One highlight is the Bouddi Coast Walk stretching along the coast line of Bouddi National Park. Any angle of the ocean view on the track is just immense. Besides the cliff top walk, the track also strings up a couple of small beaches. Just imagine that a full kilometer-long, sandy beach is totally yours. Every time while passing an empty beach, I would be totally immersed in the beauty and calmness of Mother Nature. Not long ago, I met a big snake along the Bouddi Coastal Walk. That was another calm animal of decent size that I met alone in the wild. He even posed for me to take a couple of photos, and his cool, brown gaze was quite unforgettable.

Beyond Sydney bushwalks, I would target New Zealand for world-famous tracks such as Milford and Routeburn Track. I once hiked Kepler Track alone last September when I traveled to New Zealand South Island. With the enormous alpine view, none of the Aussie tracks could compare. The best thing about walking New Zealand tracks is that every different piece of scenery is vividly spread in front of your eyes - cold, white alpine mountains; far and expansive pastures dotted with pearl-like sheep; the huge mirror of a glacial lake; colorful layers of mountain vegetation ... Without the thrusting mountains, the meandering green land would be too sweet; however, without the prosperous colors of vegetation, the mountain themselves would feel too cold. Does Mother Nature teach us a vivid lesson on how to treat our own life?

Walking the Wentworth Tracks

I have been to Wentworth Falls in the Blue Mountains for no less than 5 times. However each time was a short lingering without hitting the bottom of the Fall.
Last weekend I finally made up my time to walk a full circle from so called “Valley of Waters” to Wentworth Falls.

The planning was a bit painful because there are so many side paths on map. To decide which track to take needed a bit study. A website called “Wild Walks” became a great help. It maps out some most popular tracks as well as very specific track notes.

So my trail was something like this: started from the end of Fletcher Street, followed the track along the side of Conservation Hut descent all the way to the Valley of Waters, then trudging through the long Wentworth Pass to hit the bottom of magnificent Wentworth Falls. Then climbing up the Slack Stairs to the top of the Fall (rising up around 900m), then follow the Undercliff Walk and Overcliff Walk until hitting back to Conservation Path.

I drove off from home at 6am when stars were blinking. Though the traffic was dead thin, it still took me around 1.5 hours to reach Wentworth Falls. The sun rose from the back while I was about to arrive, tinted everything with a golden fringe, looked like a promising day.

The track starts off with no drama at all – well paved and maintained. However covered by foliage there were no much breath-taking scenes until Queen Victoria Lookout and Empress Lookout. Sounds Aussies are quite reminiscent about their Anglo-Saxon roots. Though the scene is nothing like England.

A few more minutes later I arrived at Valley Of Waters. It was a series of small waterfalls, nothing gigantic but very delicate. Since it’s hiding deep in the valley, I could even feel the waves upon waves of moisture rushing through the atmosphere. And of course no short of vegetations, no naked rocks can be seen – they are all covered by thick moss.

Passing the Valley of Waters was the joint of National Pass and Wentworth Pass. National Pass is said to be a “easier” walk. Of course I would choose the more difficult one, which is marked as for “experienced walkers only”.

Since the sun was blocked by the cliff, it was rather chill and gloomy along the whole track. Though I didn’t find it’s very difficult comparing with tracks I walked before. I didn’t make any mistake at all in finding the track. A couple of spots need a bit climbing but nothing major. Oh well, I think I must be in the “experienced walkers” group now. I was longing to meet a wild animal along the way – a stout wombat would be ideal, but to my disappointment no ground animals appear at this season except ants. The relief was that there were never short of birds chirping, all song birds, no coarse songs of cockatoos or magpies.

Soon I hit the bottom of Wentworth Falls, and it’s for sure much more majestic than those in the Valley of Waters. It is said the water to be falling from 800 meters above the top of the cliff. Standing at the bottom, I was not able to see the top, the fall has been segmented into 3 steps. Every time I came to see the Wentworth Fall, there were plenty of people up on the top, where you could drive to arrive. But now sitting on a big boulder at the bottom of the fall, I didn’t see a single soul for half hour. There are sure some steep climbing on the cliff.
And that was true, the beginning of the Slack Stairs was quite steep, 4-5 sections were almost vertical. At one spot there were no stairs, just a thick rope dangling from above. This part is definitely not for faint heart.

However after elevating from the Slack Stairs, there was no drama at all. When I was about to reach the top, a lady talked to me considerably “You still got long way to go, young man!” “Oh really? I think I’ll be fine” I said. And I was sure to be fine.

The Undercliff and Overcliff walks loop back to Conservation Hut were no challenge at all and I got back to top within half hour.

Looked at my watch, 3.5 hours I spent, including all the stops. Though no much excitement, I finally conquered one of the most famous Blue Mountains tracks. Now I miss New Zealand, the alpine view was just sensational.

An interesting debate between an environmentalist and a humanist

This is an interesting debate happened today. While a friend was raising fund to support patients with Multiple Sclerosis, I replied that I actually donate to Wombat Awareness Organisation. Next is the logged message, A is that friend, while B is myself.

A: I walked 9 kms on Sunday 14 Jun to help raise fund to support patients with Multiple Sclerosis.
If you like to sponsor this effort with some spare coins, please let me know. I will go to your desk.

B: Ah I donate to a wombat protection organisation. I seem more interested in protecting nature and wild animals than help human beings, haha

A: Faint ... No comment on your comparison.

B: Human being is so self-centric, this is where all the problem starts, being the supreme intelligent on earth, we should not only care ourselves, but the whole well being. While we are caring about the nature, we are caring ourselves.
You should understand it well from Buddhism philosophy.

I believe in what original Taoism (Lao Tsu and Chuang Tsu) noted, the most crucial relationship people need to deal with is the human relationship with mother nature, not the nasty relationship between human beings. The whole history went through a wrong way.

A: Animals are also self-centric. Wombat never care about human being.
The difference is they still don't have the power to make too much damage.
In a broader sense, saving nature is saving Man.
But it's long term effect; and it can't replace the immediate relief for people who are suffering from any kind of decease.
When you feel sick, you go to see doctor, not Wombat.

B: I would say all living creatures are selfish, they only take care of themselves - that's designed by nature, and it's running well in natural process to keep the balance.

However, there have been no such being as human, who put so many species into extinction - purely for their own well being or benefits. If we don't plan the long term solution, short term relief is meaningless - people soon put themselves into extinction, have you heard some NASA wants to bomb the moon to find water? - a bunch of lunatics.

Womat is sure no much help to human beings, but it's one tiny reflection of the natural protection efforts, we cannot save whales because Japanese keep on hunting no matter what, but we can help wombats if we can raise enough awareness and stop the government from legal mass slaughter - at least things need to done little by little.

Famine, wars, disease are means to balance the world population, and they are inevitable, the small adjustment efforts from within won't help much on the big picture, human world is always changed by lunatics, like Mao Ze Dong.

Optimising web page download time - tips and tools

Fast loading pages improve user experiences, it is widely accepted. But along with the proliferation of faster internet connections, web designers/developers put less attention on page file sizes. It presents a serious threat to user experiences and customer satisfaction. Fast page loading time is not only a crucial factor to keep users happy, but also a key factor to elevate your search engine rankings.

Here are a few tips to make your web sites/pages running quickly and smoothly.

1. Ensure there are no broken path and images on page - they would dramatically increase loading time.
2. Host files locally.
3. For images, always specify image dimensions - height and width, most browsers would recognise an image's dimension, leave it to be loaded last if it's heavy, and load the rest of page first.
4. Make Javascript and CSS external, because they are cached by the browser, but inline JS and CSS get downloaded every time the HTML page is requested.
5. Combine Javascript files - as a general rule, downloading a batch of JS files is slower than download one big JS file even though the combined file size of the batch equals to the big one or even smaller.
6. In the same principle, combine multiple images into a single one, the overall size is about the same but reduce the number of HTTP requests.
7. When designing Flash, rather than designing one big Flash (swf) file, make each flash scene as a separate swf file, and call respective file from the frame swf, depending on user action. In this way, those user uninterested content would not be loaded.
8. Try use vector graphic as much as possible, and reduce the usage of imported jpg, wmv and other raster graphics. Vector shapes are extremely light weight while raster graphics tend to cluster Flash movies in size.
9. Preload components. You can take advantage when browser is idle, a simple example, preload an image for a mouse over state. A more advanced usage could be, before you launch a new redesign, users browsers are stuck with caches from your old design. So before the redesign has been launched, some code can be written in your old page, when the browser is idle, the code can request images/scripts which will be used for new page. Otherwise when the new site is launched, all components would be loaded afresh.
10. Optimise images - use suitable image formats (jpg, png, gif) for different design elements, designers should be crystal clear on this.

There are some really useful tools in optimising page download time. To list a few:

• Use a page analyser, for example http://www.websiteoptimization.com/services/analyze/
• Using Firebug as FireFox plugin, it will analyse all aspects of a given web page. http://getfirebug.com/releases/index.html
• Pingdom - Cool little tool to check loading time of all page components.
• CSS and Javascript file size shrinker - http://www.cleancss.com/ and http://dean.edwards.name/packer/, used to clean up CSS and JS.