For something new in gaming, thinking of buying a Nintendo Wii for a change, why? For starters, I usually don’t console game & all I had previously was a NES, a SEGA Gamegear & Gameboy SP. Therefore, I usually see my chances at modern console gaming at friend’s houses or chalets. But not much of a problem actually as I’ve always never partonised consoles & had a stand that console graphics will never even be up on par with PC games, though running on similar PC based hardware. In other words, they are inferior to PCs. PC had always been my chosen gaming platform for roughly the last one & half decade. Moreover, some console games are just not meant to be played with analog controls & best on PC, like RTS & FPS games for instance.

I guess I’ve out grown the Playstation (particularly the new 3). Moreover it’s too common and overhyped, let be the Xbox & the 360. Anyone can call themselves a gamer now, the name is just too overused… just as how any broke who registers a business can be labelled as an ” entrepreneur”. Seemingly, even pioneers like us have nothing much to brag about though. Been “Gamers” long before windows 3.11 while single digit bit-gaming DOS era still existed. But that’s nothing to be proud of now, and nothing much the playstation generation care of either now, just as how they treat their biological elders. We are just any “gamer” like the pesky 8 year old kid next door or one hogging the arcade game machine with 29 credits pre-loaded into the game.

At this fresh crossroads of choosing one of the 3 forks in console gaming, the Wii seems to be the most innovative and interesting input platform. But then console games are not cheap either. The Playstation selling point is arguably having the largest console game base. But the Xbox had grown remarkably as a new bird in the industry with respectable specs to boost, coupled with several outstanding titles including ported arcade ones to date. The interesting thing is while Sony & Microsoft stuck to their guns, Nintendo’s new gyro console platform, though in the infant stages, is the most promising on what such an input gaming style may bring about in the near future. Therefore with me leaning more in that direction.

My distant Uncle and auntie are in Singapore now, just flown in today afternoon where Mum, Dad and Cous Gordon’s family went to pick them up from the airport, therefore being away the whole day. Dropped by Cityhall in the afternoon to collect my Swissotel Vertical Marathon goodie bag (event in a fortnight’s time). The Shoe bag is meshed, but I guess it won’t be as durable as last year’s one, as meshed shoe bags tend to spoil due to the weak nature of the mesh itself. Inside this year’s goodie bag, we also got a small can of Deodorant, NVM2006-similarly sponsored Centrium tablets, together with a Cotton Cap, a Men’s health Magazine and misc sweets and discount vouchers (which I won’t even see myself using). The event shirt is dry-fit this year but still have the ugly 2 tone red and white design, the only difference is the 2005 being changed to 2006, otherwise no effort at all.

After a doing few shopping chores around the block, went thereafter to change my watch strap at the 1st floor Swatch shop, it seems that they do not stock old Irony watch straps anymore, with the saleperson recommending a current silver strap to go on my navy blue aluminium one. It’s like Yew! No Taste! it’s like driving a car with replacement doors of a different paint colour! New stocks will come end of the month, costing $49.90 standard a piece with no bets whether they will recieve my particular watch’s model strap. Not unitl I pay an additonal $20 for “order service charge” presumabley to swatchy’s swiss-land for a custom order…

Official stores always sells things at “nett price” it’s an excuse to jack their rates up, it’s all evident in big general retail stores as well. I can get an original strap for $25 at least from private owned family watch shops stocking swatches as well. What a rip off… $69.90 for a strap replacement? forget about it.

Killed some time at Dhoby Ghaut X-zone arcade where I can’t believe spending 40mins to queue to play the new game The House of Dead 4. Wahahah it’s so hot, the prequel to THOD3, even Ghost Squad & Time Crisis 3 Cabinets are all empty wahahah! But got to leave to AMK for dinner before I can even put SMG lead into rotting flesh. Looking back, I STILL CAN’T BELIEVE I’VE ACTUALLY WAITED!! ARRGHH STUPID ME! end up also never play… dumb dumb dumb

Pardon my use of archived moblog pictures for my posts. As my camera phone is currently down. Before I get around purchasing a phone (one with all the specs I want, I am not putting even a dollar out), it’s hard to make it out with so much words where a simple moblog picture will settle it, just like before.

Mmm whats more, my computer’s been acting up lately, (well… been so for the last month actually), it’s a critical software/USB driver problem where it will force reset your system each time you boot up even system restore won’t get it fixed, not much of a problem once windows up and running, but a nusiance at start up or when I want a quick boot. Nowadays I just simply turn it on and let it reboot for about 10mins before I come back to the room to actually see it load into Windows.

But I am just too lazy (yea) to fix the problem as I can’t afford a reformat with only 3.5GB/500GB harddisk space free, so that’s no space for backups for now. Guess it’s time I got another 500GB as the lowest priced one you can get in Simlim will be $339, with market rates averaging around $369 (from $599 last year).

But I believe the MAJOR turn-off for reinstalling windows so frequently is the need for the dumb reactivation. Having gone through countless reformats to the extent of even maybe knowing the MS phone activation staff & able to recite every instruction word-by-word on computer operator line. Because the damned thing won’t allow me to net activate anymore – strike 10 & “YOU ARE OUT!” Well till then, you call & screw them up asking: “I paid hundreds for a software which refuses to run on my computer, what is THIS?” then they will scrawler into their little operator holes & offer you few more net activation “leeways”.

And it seems that Vista’s not making it any better either. I guess I will reformat when I get Vista next Jan, so I can save the trouble for doing it again when the time comes.

With that, here’s some “Whose Line Is It Anyway?” for a laugh or two…
Click view more for more:
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Well it had been rainy quite alot lately. Didn’t go for training yesterday as I’ve got a family dinner on in the evening. Later do I know will it rain smack right at 5pm islandwide yesterday drenching not only track training, but the SGX bull run too… heheh good for them… Anyway, my family is no longer directly associated with SGX now, ever since they did away with pit trading. The familar “hand gestures in house coats all covered in lucky horseshoe badges” are all of a thing of the past now, only evident in the NYSE now… where you can only recall and reminiscence the “old days”… so as my parents say…

Anyway, despite the cold weather things are definately heating up on my side, namely finishing up school projects and such. With the biggie, Engineering Design Test held on the “bluest” day fo the week- Monday. Almost finished studying for it, (as I thought I would never get done). Project-wise it’s kinda difficult managing 3 different teams from 3 different modules. Especially during e-learning week when everybody’s all free to do whatever they want at their one time, , but it’s still largely managable. The thing is that the average Singaporean Poly student is one who will always put tasks to the last minute – whenever they have a chance to do so. So as I come to experience again after chasing my team repeatedly for submissions, all late. Why do anyone wanna do last mintue things? Why not get them all done and enjoy the rest of the holidays? That very much goes hand-in-hand with the saying: “humans are born lazy”.

Yea no millege this week at all, the lowest so far I think…

Millege for the week (7 day period)
SP Track & Field Training, Endurance – Tuesday – 6km
SP Gym 3+1 Sets Weight Training – Wednesday
Total Millege for week = 6km (20.0% of 30km/week target met)

Sorry I’ve not been updating lately, its always the same reasons, work work and more work to the extent of destruction. Other than that, I admit I had been buggering on YouTube for TopGear videos very often these days, so blogging was the last thing on my mind the past week. Good thing I treated myself to a relaxing long smooth jog today to relax myself, reflect and thought “hey when was the last time I actually blogged?”

The E-learning week is starting and lets just dowse the burning flame even before it starts. E-learning is always all full of shit and it’s my 4th time saying it again. If it’s not slow servers its lecturers simply just putting off what they do not need to teach to students to learn for themselves, which I can say majority of the students won’t do, copy or do just for the shake of doing and not understanding.

Interestingly, I am glad some teachers thought out of the box and actually veered off the madness to host their assignments and quizes out off the SP blackboard server – a very good move a say. So it’s homework quizes on quizilla/quiz-me sites which we are very similar with and interactive media video streaming teaching (something the SP blackboard will cripple and foam in the mouth in fitting glory if it tries doing) ahha, thats very cool, at least something fresh and new. Blackboard suxs, as we all know, it’s commercialized dopey 90s based simple managment software installed just for the pure shake of using it and nothing else – no AJAX, no Web 2.0, primitive CMS systems, a forum which no one uses, not to mentioned yes inflexible layouts.

Well what SP is more concerned about is displaying ISO ratings and TrustSG logos on their sites rather than that of user-centered experience – wrong move. I can’t even use Firefox on all SP sites!

On the forefront, I have 1 MST (Eng Design), 1 Presentation (BPNV), 4 projects (Colours, 2 GEMS, Materials Case Study) & 3 assignments (BPNV, Eng Design, Materials) to complete by end of next week. All these just come at one shot and it’s not just any simple questions, it’s full sized assignment papers toned from semester papers for each of the 9 modules I am taking. On top of that, I have 3 Teams to manage as team manager, so it’s Micro-managment to the maxes with no prisoners – knowing how easy my teammates can veer of the fine line with defines Work/Study and DOTA. Luckily I’ve out grown computer games, even my gaming computer is a full fledged workstation for school & work now.

To make matters worst, work is all accumlative to the extent I have no free time for myself. After throwing in regular training schedules and even excluding work.

I am already packed till next weekend, it’s that bad. So if ya bugging for a drink/outing/dinner/chillout sorry can’t… (which includes movies today, T&F MS lunch with Leslie tomorrow, Zoo outing next week) sorry sorry sorry.

All I can manage now is my class outing coming Monday, MY ONLY BREATHER DAY, SAD! – To chill out at the Jurong Recreational Sport Complex for a relaxing swim and fun on the slides. Reserved a table for evening dinner DimSum buffet at Dragongate, HabourFront with the class and 2 teachers to wrap up that coming Monday… just as if I do not have any load looming on my shoulders… guess I will just let gravity take me back to reality on Tuesday then. Till then, chill and peace out dudes.

Otherwise, can’t really make it these days for the week, cept those ya who told me in notice I will try desperately to make it, I promise ok?

And to end this post, my Running Millege for the week, tomorrow will be a work day so no training:

Notable clips of the week (Indestructable Toyota Hilux) – An old archive from Topgear I remember reading in their Magazine few years back, but didn’t really get to see the full feature on video till now. Featuring the indestructable Toyota helix pickup, put through a series of torture tests to see whether you can kill it… or not.

I remembered Jeremy clarkson once running a station wagon into a wall once and it just simply died thereafter. The helix does redefine automotive excellence, you just have to watch it to believe it for yourself. Click “Show more” to watch them.
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