Wednesday, August 6, 2008

A nerve crushing week, and.. if it got any worse, it would be armageddon.

Monday,












Tuesday,
Felt uneasy all over for no reason. Tried to take off the faceplate protector on my PS3 and forgot how hard it was to stick it on the first time, ... too late. Anyway, tried washing it but to no avail, and I think it's dirtier than ever with micro hair stuck onto the sticky part. Spent hours trying to fix it and finally gave up and stuck it back on. Note to self: Write a letter to Sony to complain about the glossy finish on the PS3 OR asks Sony to go into the faceplate market.

Wednesday,
Started out quite ok until I started playing Starcraft Brood Wars. Damned that game is hard. Actually, only the last few Zerg missions are hard. The difficulty gap is just too wide for me to think of any suitable idioms. F*CK. And I plan on finishing the game before I start reading the novel, Starcraft Archive. F.F.F.F.F.F.F.F. How could anyone have completed it without cheating?! TELL ME!! I'm on mission 8, and the previous mission was a living hell. Me, a single zerg base, up against a whole base of impentrable protoss base. I can't touch the main base since they're up on higher ground and I have no air support, no guardians, no mutalisks, no nothing. Mission 8 is entirely different. I have all the available units, but I'm up against a whole map of enemies of Terran and Zergs, and they're brutal.. around 10 minutes into the game, they start sending siege tanks and battlecruisers at me, all fully upgraded. I did all I could just to survive and managed to take down 2 bases(around 10-15% of the map?), when I realized it's just impossible to continue...

However, that's not the worst part of today is, surprisingly. I came back from guitar lesson and surfed around til I stumble upon something. A past story, one concerning the dumbest things I did in life yet couldn't forget. Prompted me to start blogging now of all times. Part of me says I should be happy for that someone, part of me just don't know what to say. I'm a forgetful person sometimes but when it comes to certain things, ..I just can't help but recycle it through my brain over and over again. Hell, I won't give you guys the satisfaction of seeing my soft side. Just feel like letting it out, so there!

Could someone tell me how to get taller?
Either that, or sponsor me a, no, make that 2 punching bags (not made in China please)
Or provide me with alcohol, real strong stuff, stuff that'll punch me out in one sip but won't give me a hangover..

I'm out...
goes back to listening to Rod Stewart - The first cut is the deepest (nice song btw, especially under the circumstances)

Edit: Mozilla crashed on me when I finished.. Armageddon!! It could not get any worse my crap! But blogger saved a draft, so I guess things are going uphill again? I hope..

Saturday, August 2, 2008

Streamyx's a bitch and I'm regretting ever having slept with it!

Ahem, on to the side news, my life! Wee, aren't you people excited?! I sure am :)

First off - I got a new mobile, and it's sweeeeT! It's the sony ericsson W910i walkman phone. Why the sudden change you ask? My dad's a gadget freak too , no less than I am seriously (for a better picture - get this, I was walking around Wisma Merdeka with my family, went to an optician's shop, decided not to spend RM 700 on an aviator sunglasses, said to my dad, it's better to spend it on something more practical like a phone, so 5 minutes later, we were checking out some phones and got my phones 10 minutes after - wicked). He really wanted to try out this thingy called 3G video calling. I don't really give a shit about it (may change my mind when I get a girl.. maybe), or the other gimmicks they're pulling outta their sleeves like movies on a phone, IM on a phone, email on a phone for that matter.. Ok, some of the things I mentioned may be useful to some, but movies? Who'd wanna watch movies on such a small screen. If it's like a short funny clip, then meh, that's ok.. but an entire movie? Why let your eyes go through so much?!

But yeah, anyway, my phone is full of it when it comes to gimmicks. Shake control to switch songs, motion control that changes the way the screen is displayed, stuff like that. Despite that, I still love it and I'm not a hypocrite - read on. Sound quality is great, best used when on the go or heck, even when cooking in the kitchen. I really like the headset that came with the phone. Cuts off most of the background noise and has a good bass. This phone might just replace my beat up shuffle. Other points I have to give the phone - sleek design, very light and a nice big screen (I'm very easily pleased like that, nothing too fancy ya know?). It's my first high end phone.. hmm, not really, cause I had a nokia 6230 but that ended up sleeping with the fishes (I drowned it, in a toilet.. while taking a leak.. hey, who hadn't done it before huh?) My dad has plenty of experiences with phone losing - drown, stolen, washed and dried, so I guess it runs in the family. I just hope mine doesn't end up dead as this model had had some issues with freezing.

However, I do think I'm becoming a consumer freak. The day I got the phone, I was so restless, skimming through pages of reviews on this phone. Most websites gave it an average due to the aforementioned issues and recommended other models. I had to bite my lips from giving out a sigh. Then I looked at reviews of other phones, and succeeded in convincing myself that my w910i is still the best and I'm gonna stick with it. Before getting the phone, I had my eyes on the samsung soul, but damn man, the price tag really put me off. RM 1999 just for the extra touchpad? I don't think so..

Oh btw, my current no. is 0128219529

Other stuff I've been doing? Not much. So, I'd like to take this opportunity to recommend this gaming podcast NoobToob at www.noobtoob.com . Despite what some may say about NoobToob being unprofessional (duh?..it's called NOOBtoob for a reason) and biased, I find the show really funny and interesting...and honest, to the extent that they are honest to themselves. It's hard to give an unbiased review of something..ok wait..It's IMPOSSIBLE to give an unbiased review of something since everyone would have their own preferences..some may like a good storyline in their games..others would prefer a great gameplay experience..but whatever. I watch them plainly because they're funny and they are REAL gamers themselves who just simply like to share their opinion of games they have actually played..unlike some game websites out there ..ahem..*cough*. So do check them out if you're interested, http://www.noobtoob.com/ . They're up to episode 102 now and still ongoing. Oh, and they're a bit vulgar sometimes, but hey, you'll get used to it, and besides, it's funny when they swear :)

I'm gonna be having badminton lessons tomorrow if all goes well. I get tired of things pretty easily nowadays. I can start blogging, stop, switch to an anime, stop 5 minutes into the intro and decide to do something else. I lost count the number of times I've alt tabbed back into this blog to finish it. Heck, I neglected my wife (PS3) for almost a month now and I'm not very proud of it. That expensive piece of equipment deserves more love, but I'm just too lazy to drag it down every night and set up the whole thing and pack it up after an hour +. Why do I have to pack it up? My bro.. he deleted my whole Kingdom Heart save file which I've spent.. A.LOT.OF.TIME perfecting. Need I say more?

Oh oh, before I end this, I have a question to the readers. Has anyone had ay experience with sea mails? Do they get delivered to your doorstep? I've been waiting for a shipment from the US for almost a month now. Do reply if you have the slightest idea - you'd comfort this restless soul quite a bit.

I'm out!

Wednesday, July 30, 2008

My new desktop..Spent half a day creating this look. So what's new? See those icons on top? Those aren't normal icons. They're called docklets, and the whole bar, which I've set to transparent is called a docklet (I think those are the appropriate terms). It's like an advanced version of icons allowing you to customize the looks and the animation when you mouse over them. Pretty cool huh? Plus it keeps my desktop tidy.. so that's a huge plus!

Here's another sample..


Other cool things you can do with it include adding docklets which show the ram, memory usage and space left, a calendar, weather forecast etc :)

Check it out here:
http://www.stardock.com/products/objectdock/

I really gotta start practising before my lessons tonight so I'm out!

Friday, July 25, 2008

It's been a bad week.

I broke my glasses (new one) again but luckily it's built to be destroyed. Bend it and it can be unbent..twist it and it can be untwisted..crack the sides open.. and yes, it can be put back together. Pretty cool glasses I would say albeit a lil' troublesome, having to go back to the optician to get it fixed up... but it saves up a lot since the frame can be reused again and again if the damage is not unsalvageable. I didn't like wearing glasses and still don't but I couldn't replace it with contact lenses either as you all know, I'm just that careless with delicate stuff. So, I'm left with only one option if I were to rid myself of this glasses burden - eye treatment, which the last time I checked, costs around RM 4000+.

I still prefer not wearing them.. See the difference?









































There are plenty other mishaps this week.. like realising that I just missed Hancock, microsoft announcing FF XIII for the Xbox 360 (thus the series is no longer sony exclusive), petty stuff like that which I'm sure most of you don't bother about. I do..especially the latter. Microsoft must've stuffed wads of cash into Square-enix's pocket, quoted from NoobToob (a very fun and lively gaming podcast which I shall talk about later). It soils my sole reason for getting the PS3! Petty petty stuff I agree..compared to what the world is facing. I'm pretty selfish I'd say and hopefully that'll change as I age and mature :) Hopefully.. but for now...Why? Square-enix??! WHY?! You're supposed to be Sony's trump card!

No..I'm not done with complaining. My other complaints are as follow:
- Connection sucks like a feisty little leech, goes without saying, but still deserve a saying.
- I'm bored outta my mind and would try anything new and refreshing if given the chance. Not a good attitude I'd say, given the time we're in. Don't worry, I haven't sunk that low yet.
- And to top it off..I just came back from a losing streak of badminton with the uncles and aunties. Couldn't seem to focus with that little headache clogging my head up. Plus I broke the strings on my new asdacquet..yowch..

I'm guessing I should stop now since I'm sure the readers out there, if any, don't come here to "read" me whine about life. So on to the good parts of my life.

For the past 2-3 weeks, I've been playing quite a bit of Starcraft, a pc game which many would consider a classic. It didn't appeal to me when my friend played it ages ago but after seeing starcraft 2, I decided to give it a try..like there's anything interesting going on in my life right now. I gotta say, it's a great game, and should be put into PC games' hall of fame if it hadn't been done. Nice story, great gameplay, and decent graphic for an age old game. I just finished Starcraft, the original and am now indulging myself in brood wars which, imo, is not as good. The new units weren't as creative.. I mean.. devourer for the zerg which looks like a flying infested dragon, capable of shooting acid at air units but not at ground units..not really what I was looking for. But the lurker :) I like..very mucho. Heck..it's an age old game, and everyone gives it a thumbs up so why should I say otherwise. I'm really pumped about SC2 and hopes it'll be coming out this year. My only worry is that..will I be able to play it? PC games' graphic are getting more and more demanding. That's why I prefer to be a console gamer..just slot in the disc and play..no upgrades or whatsoever required. So here's to hoping I could and would be giving a review on it..if I could find the time to :P

Hydralisk: Alright! Huddle up! We'll do the choo choo train!

Zerglings: YEA!! Wooo WOO!

(reminds me of the time I did it in the scottish Ceilidh)




Below shows how I own with the Zerg..yes..my favourite unit is the guardian :)






























The mission was to bring the crystals to the temple and later fend off the zerg from the temple(the zerg in blue is mine btw..mind control is awesome:) while the the heroes do their thang. I forgot to read the objectives and wiped out the entire zerg army instead..lol..
So I waited out the 15 minutes by having some fun with my forces. A random Z done with the arbiter's annoying skill..


My forces applaud my ability to own by spelling my initial :) Aww...

And their units come with shields..but they cannot regenerate themselves like the zerg or how the humans heal and repair.. and it ticks me off when I see one my carriers.. damaged ..permanently.
Here's a scene I find particularly amusing.. a dragoon, having 4 legs for f's sake.. can't manouevre up/down a staircase.. Guess aliens can't comprehend how our simple contraptions work.. They prefer teleporting ya?

Sorry protoss fans.. I don't mean to diss the protoss but I do feel that the other 2 races deserve some love too.. especially the zerg :)

The final mission in the original game. After being pummelled on my first time playing this mission.. I paid it back a million fold to them.. yes.. I never forget a grudge..

<<
Initial attack, victory was sealed within minutes as the overmind wasn't really well protected.. Had to replay the mission as I didn't overkill them.. What's overkill you may ask..well.. it's killing more than what's necessary..
See the map? Not really clear.. but yea.. I wiped out the whole colony surrounding the overmind. Like this..

















And rubbing it in their face by having only the 3 heroes slay the overmind.. like this..























I like all the races.. each has their own strengths and weaknesses.. but I'm intimately attached to the zerg. They're built to survive.. Plus.. I can do this <<, in a matter of seconds.. And no..I don't cheat, cause I ain't no cheater..


Ultralisk: Alright! Group photo before we take the temple!



oO .. one more thing. Anyone who feels like replaying starcraft, or maybe giving it a go, like me, try this trick which I just found out from a website. Keep clicking on a unit, protoss or terran preferably since they're not verbally challenged and you can listen to them say some funny stuff, mostly insider jokes.
An example.. artanis would say..
Stop poking me..
Do I look like an orc?
This is not WARCRAFT(another blizzard game)!!
I know it's not 3D!

Nerdy huh?
Like I care what you think...



I'm out!!

Saturday, July 19, 2008

2 posts in one week? I'm on roll!



Yes folks! I just watched Batman, The Dark Knight and let me tell you this - Movies that end up being featured in my post would either be so bad it makes you cry just thinking about it or so freaking out of this world good you'd wish you had never watched it - I'm dead serious - (note - maybe this applies to me only since I'm an oddity of the planet :)

So here's what I think. Picture this - Ooo, I just saw the greatest film of the universe and I wish there's just more! - but there isn't gonna be any - so there's just this undescribable feeling that tells you - hmm, maybe I should've waited to watch this, or maybe I should've waited til I get tickets for iMAX. Face it - you'd wish you had never watch in the first place and now you have no idea what to do. Well, here's a solution that I'm sure most of you would go with but are not aware of - Maybe I should get the soundtrack for this, or maybe I should change my desktop wallpaper, or maybe I should get a hold of the previous movies! Well, they are all possible solutions and that's how they milk money outta the fans :) , but enough bout that..let's get on with the show people!

I'll try and keep it spoiler free for those not-so-fortunate souls out there so rest assure.

So.. Batman, (I'm sure this fella needs no introduction even for all you non-geek readers out there.. if any) The DARK KNIGHT is just the type of movie I've been waiting for all this time - saying this from the point where I've already watched it, not before. Everything about it was just so intense - the plot, the action, the acting - everything if there needs to be any!

This movie brought out the best of the franchise; Batman and the Joker, an incorruptible vigilante vs a madman who just simply enjoys what he does ( talk about finding the perfect job for some people eh?)

The acting on batman's part was ok, which leads us to the Joker, who was portrayed just perfectly in this movie - a low-down scumbag who sees the world as his playgroud. This movie would've been just ..meh .. just like the first movie (can't really comment much since I saw it on a pirated disc) if it wasn't for the Joker's involvement. From his 1st appearance in the movie, I was either laughing at the Joker's bad joke, dancing along his evil rhythm or on the edge of my seat (like a kid watching porn for the 1st time - bad joke - get it? owh well) waiting to see just what he has in store(installed?) for us. However, since I don't wish to let out anything on this great movie for everyone, I'll just leave it at that.

The action scenes were not bad. Some were actually quite good and since Batman is all about gadgets (I think), I never knew how he was actually gonna get away with it (which is how all the movies should BE like! Noone wants to watch a movie where you already saw IT coming 5 minutes before!!)

The storyline is just *snap* magnifig. In fact, it was the best I've seen in the long line of superhero movies thus far. It wasn't just all about who vs who, and in the end the stronger prevails, or I've got this amazing supah powahz outta no where and now I need to use it to fight evil! The plot really got me thinking, yea, he(the Joker) is right sometimes cause *spoiler*spoiler*spoiler*spoiler*spoiler*spoiler*spoiler*spoiler* & *spoiler* Sigh..I wish I could say more but, yea it's just too good that I don't have the heart to spoil it for you guys out there - I'm just caring like that :)

Oh, and try to appreciate the sound too. It was intense - the feeling of being on the edge and just about to snap!
So I guess that ties it all in folks!
For those who care what I have to say in this small ol' blog of mine - I give it a 10/10

I'm out! *Runs off to find the soundtrack*

Friday, July 18, 2008

Just because I'm committed to this blog :)

I never thought I would see this day coming..but yea! I just finished my attachment at the radiology department in SMC and I lemme tell you this, I can't see myself..ever..being in the radiology department..ever..

Don't get me wrong.. the attachment was great and I did get to learn loads of things not to mention getting my lazy bum to do some work. However, staring at x-rays everyday, and having minimal patient contact weren't exactly what I'd signed up for.

In the past week, I've learned that one needs to have enhanced vision to spot anything wrong at all on an X-ray/CT/MRI/Ultrasound scan, in the order of increasing difficulty. What I'm trying to say is, it's haaarrddd though it's not to be expected since it's a specialist field. Out of the MANY scans I've seen..I got maybe..hmm.. 2..5(including the normal ones :) correct. Sad huh?


I choked a laugh when I thought back about it too..I mean.. on my notes, I wrote, "big left hole below the lungs" and when I checked the doctor's report, it was:
Lung fields are normal
Diaphragms on both sides appear normal
Mild cardiomegaly
Unfolded aorta
and many other gibberish, ahem, terms which I now understand..

So I asked the nurse, what about the big left hole below the lung, and I could just smack myself on the forehead imaginarily(does this adverb exist?) when she said "Oh, that's the gas/air in the stomach..it's normal". Oh, btw, the other terms like cardiomegaly doesn't apply to this picture since I just google imaged this, but it does show the infamous big hole I was talking about :)

Dr. Ravi, the radiologist I was attached to(not affectionately, but professionally mind you) is the only radiologist in SMC, thus having freed some of his time to take care of this nuisance of yours is very much appreciated by yours truly. Heck, he even brought me to have a coffee break in the doctor's lounge where I felt so at a loss of words..literally. The doctors there don't just take a break and talk about CNN or sports, nothing like that, but instead they discuss the cases they've seen, especially the odd and particular ones. I just sat there sipping my milo looking dumb.

Hooray for jargons! Luckily all that studying in my first year in med school didn't go to waste. I understood what they were talking about but couldn't really quite connect the dots as to why. Oh well, I guess that's what the other4 years are for.

So lesson learned:
To be a good radiologist, one needs to have:
- A very good understanding of the human anatomy
- Keen observation skills
- Experience
- Eyeballs trained to withstand long hours of staring into black and white pictures that would normally not appeal to anyone, nor me for that matter.

That's all the highlights of this week folks!

I'm out!

Wednesday, July 16, 2008

Ever got fortunate enough for a life lesson to be taught to you through your dreams? or in my case.. a nightmare? I have, and in fact, I just did.

I've gotta admit, it's some scary shit..no kidding even for a tough guy like me. It was so real; not like special side effects real real, but real as in within the boundaries of logic. Many of my friends and perhaps would be readers are in it which just adds to the whole aspect of realism. Alright, so I guess you're all wondering what is this all about..right? RIGHT?! My memory is a lil' sketchy but I'll try to remember as best as I could all the details...

Ok, so for those who have watched the movie Click by Adam Sandler, it's gonna be something similar.
One fine sunny day, (yes..it has started..go grab some popcorn if you'd like) I met up with my friend, or more accurately my relative like we usually do. On this occassion, she seemed oddly happy about something which was quite unusual for her. So, being the 38 bastard that I am I asked wassup and was rewarded..bountifully. She was having problems of not having enough time lately and not being able to make the right decisions (who doesn't right?) and somehow, she found this software online(yes..my dreams are all geeky like that), and guess what..this software allows the user to relive back 5 minutes of their life in return for 12 hours of his/her life. I don't exactly know how it works but..all in all, it's a software that allows you to travel back in time for just 5 minutes, but in return you get 12 hours chopped off your life.

Eyes widened..I thought to myself, pretty good deal eh? I mean, 5 minutes is not a lot, but enough to change a huge mistake into the best decision one has made in years! The downside - 12 hours? Not really that much compared to how long humans usually live to. Ok, so heck..why not? I'll give it a try.

So I tried it a couple of times and it got to me..I was hooked, like a sony fanboy to a sequel of Final Fantasy! The only example of me using it that I recall was when I did something really embarrassing in front of my friends that I wish I could just stab myself in the face...but wait..I don't have to..since I "didn't" actually do it...*snap* and 5 minutes before, I didn't do it. I'll spare the lame details since I couldn't really control what I did in that dream..I was more like a spectator of myself.

So yea, think about it..not knowing something, but 5 minutes later you would and you have the power to change that in your favour. I could think of a million other things I could do with this power in my grasp - like hitting on a girl and knowing the right stuff to say to get the deal sealed..haha. Oh, and for the record, I didn't actually do that in my dream..damnit!

I've been using this software like mad and one day, this friend who gave me this awesome uber software *pause for grim effect* died...and I think, according to the software..she lived up to her 80's! So I started recalling the times I've used this software and a chill went down my spine, literally and I woke up.

Lesson learned? - Use the software alongside a timetable..HAHA..just kidding.
12 hours is not a lot, I'll admit BUT think about what you can do in those 12 hours.. just think about it. I won't give examples since to each his or her own. I guess making decisions is kinda easy, but following through the decision is not what everyone can and would do. I've made lots of decisions in the past which makes me what I am now and I haven't been able to follow them through lately. Hopefully it would change from now on..

And to reward the readers for reading this long post..here's what I found out..

Zoom out..zoom to when you'd be looking at this from the point on your deathbed (face it, everyone dies!) and follow through your decisions be it good or bad cause IMO, there are no good or bad decisions - We have no way of knowing what would happen if we did this or that! Face it, we all try to make good decisions and in fact it couldn't be any better, but a big chunk of us fail to stick with it...and it's a domino effect from henceforth..
There are no "save" and "load" in life people! Just "continue"!

Pretty depressing post huh? :P
I guess this is why I started blogging - to remind myself of what I did so I can have a game over with a bang!

I'm out!

PROFILE

I, as defined by myself..
Name: Vincent
Age: XX
Birthday: XXVIII.V.MCMLXXXVIII


l Likes l
Games with original gameplay and story♥
Badminton♥


l Currently.. l
Playing: FF7, Starcraft
Learning the guitar
Playing badminton on a weekly basis


l Wants to.. l
Finish FF7 ASAP
Watch Batman

PARTY MEMBERS

Tsa
Orange Ng
Didi
Emily
Chik Yoong
Amelia
Brian Chee
Banana Wong
Ham Shu HUi

PM's here

ARCHIVES

July 2008
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CREDITS

Skin by: yoka
trapness
Brushes: X X X X X
Images: Final fantasy XIII