Suffocating Angel

Hero

2009-07-27T03:30:00.003+08:00

Liverpool was playing Singapore in their pre-season friendly on Sunday, but this guy is the hero of the day. Gotta give him some respect. Balls & guts to him!

Ghostbusters

2009-06-28T18:03:00.004+08:00

Finally got myself a copy!

Stay Puft Marshmallow Man

2009-06-28T01:28:00.006+08:00

Here's a good sending off to CR7

Appreciate the goals & tricks he brought to the club. He's just standing at the wrong letter of the board.

Bye Prick ha ha.

mini-bot

2009-06-25T00:15:00.000+08:00

Gundam Wars: Battle of the DualShocks
(thx Peter for the title ha ha)

Night Drive

2009-06-24T23:13:00.001+08:00

I've forgotten how much I enjoyed driving... now that I'm enjoying my week of time-off, I've the chance to take my Dad's Altis out for a good drive everyday.

Recently my Mum told me something that really shocked me... she wants to buy me a car! Wow, what did I done to deserve this ?! ha ha. Tho' I really appreciate her doting gesture, I rejected. I really wish to have my own car but the timing is just not right, plus I think she should just keep her money for herself.

For me, having a car now is a both luxury and (more of a) burden:
- 2 ERP gantries to work
- parking expenses @ Tanjong Pajar/Shenton Way area
- definetly would "zheng" my car here & there for 1st couple of months
- being an auditor requires to travel rather extensively to clients' locations
- my current (work) travel expenses are fully claimable from the firm
- some misc $$ incurred in maint, insurance, tax, etc.

It's just not the right time and I don't forsee owning a car in the next erm 1.5 yrs? Anyway, i'm just glad to be able to take my Dad's car out when it's available and not worry bout such things so soon.

I'll be behind this wheel when Daddy's not meeting clients/relaxing at home/lazy

Virtua Tennis 2009

2009-06-24T00:00:00.001+08:00

Got this today.

Terminator Salvation

2009-06-22T03:04:00.003+08:00

Watched the movie, played the game & platinum trophy it. To sum this (mediocre) game up: repetitive combat, short length and lacks replayability.

My rating - 6/10

Patapon 2

2009-05-25T20:04:00.005+08:00

Started playing on my PSP again.

Candra's month old

2009-05-24T20:30:00.008+08:00

Photos from yesterday. Wenguang & Yinhuan are blessed with lovely baby girl Candra.

the goofy father had tasked me to sponsor 6mths of diapers for Candra

see more of Candra's pic here

inFAMOUS & PoP

2009-05-24T20:23:00.004+08:00

Gaming is my sickness really. Went to collect my inFAMOUS pre-order this afternoon and while I was there, I pick up Prince of Persia as well. Really gotta control my gaming spending - I've bought 5 PS3 games (sold Godfather II) this month!

Vin Diesel is Wheelman

2009-05-21T00:02:00.003+08:00

I've been deprived of my gaming time since my audit peak. Now that I'm in reservist (not so high-key anyway), decided to get this movie-like game and spend some weekday nights gaming.

Reservist

2009-05-18T23:37:00.002+08:00

Funny how time flies. Today is 1st day of my 2 wks reservist and its a good time to have a break from my stressful audit environment. It's great going back to my squadron, especially this time round with my good old pal Ashton, cum lead singer of our now defunct "band". Too bad our then drummer Fabien was not scheduled with us. If not, we could really have a mini jamming session in the squadron ha.

Being the 1st day, it's a much relax mood for us especially catching up with our squadron mates and officers - something like Chinese New Year visiting ha! Great to see these guys.

Impreza WRX STi

2009-05-15T19:44:00.005+08:00

my in-game ride & dream car to get

inFamous - Hero vs Evil

2009-05-14T22:55:00.003+08:00

Some guys over @ the forum was kind enough to share the inFamous demo that was not available from Asia PSN. Played the demo and was blew away by it to justify a purchase for me.

Some stupid cam shots while I was "climbing"...

This sandbox superhero adventure will be coming out on 26th this month. Can't wait.

Ferrari Challenge

2009-05-13T18:30:00.002+08:00

My Play-Asia parcel finally arrived! It took 6 working days from date of (free) shipment. Good enough for me.

It's a US Region 1 title, which means I should not have any problems with getting any future DLCs (Downloadable Content).

Good Read

2009-05-13T01:34:00.006+08:00

TOIL - Day 2
Was out shopping and enjoying my well-deserved time-off week. Grabbed this book at kinokuniya this afternoon. This title of the book caught my attention coz I'm always interested in Frauds, Creative Accounting, Forensic Accounting, etc. (not saying I will be ha ha disclaimer and self-defense in placed).

Game bought, games sold

2009-05-13T00:28:00.002+08:00

Sold Mercenaries 2 and The Godfather II today to fellow GAX members. I bought Godfather II 2 weeks ago and managed to complete and platinum trophy it 2 days back.

Overall, I would rate it 7/10. Take over rackets, control crime rings as you progress, kill rival families and their made men. The Don's view within the game provides sort of an overview for that area you're in - New York, Florida and Cuba, so you can strategise your next move.

The main objective of Godfather II is to take over businesses and run rival families out of town. Once they are being shut down, the final step is to storm their families' compound, and kill them once and for all with a demolition charge Being a sandbox style game, it's not too hardcore for my liking. All in all, it's a rather fun experience and i managed to clock in 26hrs 47mins 35sec (according to my game save record). Oh, for those gunning for the platinum trophy, be sure to clear all the execution style before you reach Cuba ;)

----

Still waiting for my Ferrari Challenge (Region 1) that was shipped by PlayAsia on 6th May.

WTF

2009-05-13T00:13:00.003+08:00

This is really WTF. Haven't post anything for some time and when I wanted to today, I realised my blog template was all messed up! This was my previous template:

Too lazy to correct it, so i sort of opt for the easy way out - revamp using the simple blogger template. Even my tagboard frens' comments were screwed up and I had to re-create a new tagboard. Dunnoe what's going on.

Crayon Shin ... LOL

2009-04-04T23:01:00.002+08:00

Ha ha, I bought this yesterday after lunch somewhere around Chinatown area, which is where my current client's office is located. The last I remebered watching this was like 5 or more yrs back while I was still a student.... ah, memories.

Mercenaries 2

2009-03-08T20:59:00.002+08:00

Chanced upon this great sale item @ Hereen HMV today. I've gotta say at S$ 24.95, this has got to be my cheapest PS3 game (less those I've bought from PS Network) ever bought, considering the normal price of a PS3 game cost between $68 - $89. Like any other seasoned shopper, I wouldn't give up such as great bargain right?

Ice Cream, Donuts & Sackboy

2009-03-07T22:14:00.004+08:00

Udders Ice Cream. Had no idea that Mike was gonna bring me & Phyllis here but I would rather he treat us instead ha ha. Never heard of this place before. It's along Thomson Road, near Novena MRT. Gotta say it's a nice little cosy place and their liqueur-flavored ice creams taste great. I ordered the Orange Choc Bitters & Tira-miss-u, serving on a waffle. I'm so coming back again.

Am also a sucker for all things donuts. My fav was from Donut Factory but since I was at Plaza Singapura, decided to get from Missy Donuts instead of heading to Suntec for Donut Factory.

Donuts!

Last but not least, something cute to complete the day. Finally decided to buy Little Big Planet and see what the fuse is all about. Though not Mario, a google search revealed that Sackboy is popular in it's own right.

PS3 Official Bluetooth Headset

2009-03-03T22:49:00.009+08:00

Left office @ around 5.45pm, the earliest in the past 3 mths I think. Since I had time to burn, decided to shop around and managed to hoot this slick looking PlayStation 3 Official Bluetooth Headset.

Had been thinking of buying this since it was announced that this headset would be bundled with Socom: Confrontation. I just bought the headset w/o the bundle coz Socom for the PS3 did not really interest me coz it's only mulitplayer online + read couple reviews that the server is not really that stable, only like 7 maps available and overall, the game got bad-average review.

I've paired and play around with it for a bit and honestly very satisfied with it. My initial review:
- fast & easy to pair with my PS3
- paired with my Nokia E71, no issue so far
- sound quality is suberb
- doesn't take long to charge
- doubled as a desktop mic when in cradle (also while charging)
- High-Quality (HQ) mode (which works only on PS3) offers noise cancellation. Good feature especially when having a chat in-game when ur team-mates
- Also, PS3 displays info such as connection status, battery level and speaker volume level.

I should be using this exclusively for my PS3 gaming.

Nokia E71 Leather Case

2009-03-02T23:42:00.001+08:00

Decided to get a good quality leather case for my Nokia E71. I had enough of those casings (see below). This is my 3rd set of casing which suffered the same problem - cracks at the top hinge area. I've been using this casing for bout a month now tho' only 1 side (left) cracks. But when the right top breaks off, that was it.

A nicer fit, better quality all-round and chio chio looking leather case for my E71!

Some updates + Killzone 2

2009-03-01T02:15:00.006+08:00

Last day of the month, Saturday.
I was at client's place since morning to go thru' outstanding issue and to sort out the financial statement since morning till ard 6pm. Really sucks to work full day on a sat instead of my usual sat routine of waking up late, slack, gaming, chill out and/or watching soccer wif frens while having couple of ice cold beers.

Feeling damn tired today coz i reach home around 2am and felt asleep on the couch only to wake up this morning and head off to client's place. Which is why my shoulder n neck hurts the whole day.

Oh, have to mention this. Went to Marina @ Keppel Bay last night (my first time there) to chill with my fellow auditors. Everything - the clubhouses, atmosphere,etc looks and feels classy, romantic and relaxing. We settled for our dining and chilling session at this area (i think it's called prive or something) which is like damn relaxing and romantic tho' a little too dark for my preference.

Back to today. I finally managed to collect my Killzone 2 preorder that was released 2 or 3 days ago. This next big thing after Street Fighter IV. Seriously no time to head down to the shop to collect coz ppl close shop around 9pm, but I'm like working till 11 or 12am this past week. Good thing the shop reserved my copy for me, being a regular customer. Good deal, good price, good customer rapport + free poster!

Actually, all thanks to Steph and Mag jio-ing for dinner n movie just when I was bout to leave client's place for home. Sleep deprived lately. Wanted to watch The Legend of Chun-Li but not released yet. I blame Yahoo! SG Movie site for this coz they published the released date as 27/02/09 but hello? dun have leh... next choice, Marley & Me - too late. I actually wanted to watch Role Models but again, too late and too shag. Give up. Then, the plan was to chill at Timbre but again, crowded. Damn sian, had to settle for some arcade fun and coffee at Starbucks.

Street Fighter IV

2009-02-15T01:10:00.003+08:00

My pre-order finally arrived! Another significant milestone to my PS3 gaming lifestlye and a great addition to my PS3 library. I've been waiting for this day since the day it was announced that Capcom will be making this for the console.

Excited, but 'm slightly disappointed (not the game though) that this is a Region 3 Korean Import instead of the Region 3 Asian version. The only different is that the manual is in Korean, but the game is fully in English. There is no Korean text in game at all. The server is global so I there's no region issue when playing online. Anyway, I'm already thinking of selling this off and get the Region 1 US version if the future DLCs are worth paying for it. I guess it's just personal preference that I prefer my PS3 games to be R1.

I just realised that my last update to this blog was 4 mths back... i blame my audit peak ha ha

Rock Band 2

2008-11-07T20:19:00.007+08:00

Finally in Stock! But I'm paying inflated price for it coz it's an Region 1 (US) import.

1st try using the Quick Play mode - one of the easiest song to Gold Star and perfect it
on upstrum bass

and apparently, I'm a pretty good singer/rapper to be able to perfect this number by
the Beastie Boys hee hee

Midnight Club: Los Angeles

2008-10-27T00:13:00.003+08:00

Just got Midnight Club: Los Angeles this evening. My 3rd gaming hoot this month! Considering each PS3 title averaging $75 each, I've spent approx $225 this month on gaming alone.

Damn, all these great PS3 titles coming out (there are still other titles on my shopping/anticipating list), I really have to prioritise my spending. I guess it's coz I've been working hard recently and wanna sort of reward myself by spending more on my gaming + tml it's a holiday... Game on!

A7X f**kin' awesome gig!

2008-10-25T01:34:00.002+08:00

I'm tired, throat feeling soar, hair's a mess and hearing a little impaired but it's a worth it coz I've just experienced Avenged Sevenfold fuckin' awesome live gig here in Singapore! It's really a huge crowd coz i didn't really expect that much A7X fans here in Singapore.

Hell of a metal/rock atmosphere in the mosh pit. The whole area is a crowded mosh pit and I was totally moshing; unwinding myself, releasing aggression, throwing some punches here and there and having fun while enjoying (headbanging) to A7X's awesome music \m/. All of these while following an unwritten "moshing etiquette" with fellow fans and strangers.

Avenged Sevenfold opens with my fav song - Critical Acclaim!!!

my best pic of the night - M Shadows screaming his lungs out!

Zacky Vengeance & Synyster Gates complementing each other

Gates entertaining the crowd with his skills

and his kick-ass bullet speed solos

Zacky Vengeance and The Rev

Memorable quote from M. Shadows :

"I just realised we totally sold out Kanye West... does that means Rock n Roll is better than Hip Hop?" and the crowd goes wild...

oh Kanye West also having a concert here next week, but that's another story :eek

Johnny Christ on bass

there should be lots of youtube videos out there ...

Mini Reward

2008-10-21T22:22:00.002+08:00

Been working hard and late recently (worked from 9am to 1am yesterday *ouch*). So when I manage to get off work at around 7pm and nowhere to go, I went retail therapy. Bought Dead Space & Fifa 09 earlier to reward myself a bit. Dun noe if I'll have the time to play or not ha ha.

2008-10-21T00:20:00.001+08:00

... when all else fails, there is always mobile broadband

Can't wait for A7X!

2008-09-23T18:37:00.004+08:00

Just collected the tickets for the Avenged Sevenfold gig after work. Now the wait for the awesome gig begins....

Meanwhile, I'm going blast my ears with Beast and the Harlot.

Lehman Brothers

2008-09-16T22:56:00.003+08:00

Managed to snap this "money" shot on our way back from lunch. One of us suggested we pose around it but we decided to frown upon the idea so as to be sensitive to the current situation and also to demonstrate our professional behaviour lol. It's pretty sad with all the news and update on what's going on in just 1 day. Hope the situation picks up asap.

Avenged Sevenfold

2008-09-14T23:28:00.011+08:00

I'm so going to this gig to see one of my favorite band live! The memory from Slipknot in Singapore is still fresh in me and seriously I can't wait to be in this mosh pit! I'm so gonna headbang to Critical Acclaim, Afterlife, Beast and the Harlot, Almost Easy, etc.

Anyone attending this pls drop me a message ya ;)

http://www.midaspromotions.com/upcoming.htm

Update: I managed to secured 3 tickets as off 16 Sept 2008 for me and 2 other friends! Hope the rest of my "pending" friends can confirm and obtain their tics asap. This is gonna be one huge awesome live gig!

Every contact leaves a trace

2008-09-09T22:28:00.001+08:00

法證先鋒II（Forensic Heroes II）

I've managed to watched all 30 episodes on 10 DVDs in just 2.5days! Had been waiting for this sequel since the last episode last year. 2 new cast since Forensic Heroes were added - Charmaine Sheh and Kevin Cheng.

Overall, its a very good sequel with good plot and twists. Seeing how the last episode ends, there could be a Forensic Heroes III hopefully. Now my parents are sis are hooked to the show.

Coffee with Jennifer

2008-08-31T20:55:00.002+08:00

Jennifer is back from Denmark! So we arranged to meet up and catch up since it's been super long time since we saw each other. Started off having coffee and some tiramisu cake at Starbucks (where else? ha ha).

Not sure if it's me but it seems more crowded today in town as compared to other weekends. Nothing much to do but just shopped around and end up bumping into William & Siska at Taka. Our newlyweds looks good and happy together. Siska kept asking us to join them but we decided to let them alone to enjoy their marriage time. End up, we went shopping for toys (mostly Jennifer) and she accompanied me to shop for some business wear at G2000. Will be back next weekend to shop for more business attire to prep myself for my career break @ Deloitte.

Jennifer sort of dragged me into this crowded Mid-Autumn food fair at Taka. I hate crowded place but as it turns out, we kinda had a little fun trying out some mooncake samples. Didn't knew there is a coffee flavoured mooncake and the aftertaste kinda grows on me. She ended up buying a bottle of honey and I got a weird consultation from one of the honey stall lady. All I can remembered is that she told me I shouldn't go Taiwan... wtf?

TGI Friday

2008-08-29T11:57:00.004+08:00

It's finally Friday! What I like going to work on a Friday is that you don't need to be in your usual smart business attire. I can be in casual shirt and jeans. But of course being the month end, there are lots of work to clear and staying back late is inevitable.

I hate reconciling those figures and schedules!!

Someone recently came back from leave and brought back some goodies to share with the office. Stupid me, go try out the lemon ginger... the after taste is kinda weird.

One of my many visits to the coffee dispenser on a daily basis. I reckon I had 6 cups of coffee on average.

Beautiful sunset view. Reminds that I need to finish my coffee and head back to work.

After being office bound for more than the amount of sleep I had for the past 2 days, I can finally EXIT.

Erm... where's my cab?

3 Games this month!

2008-08-16T02:58:00.002+08:00

I used to control myself to max 1 game per month but somehow I burst my limit this month and bought 3 PS3 games. I knew Conan was a mediocre game but after Heavenly Sword, there's not much hack and slash game to satisfy me. Plus, there's boobies in Conan

Sold my Normal Edition of Battlefield: Bad Company and bought the Gold Edition within the same month. Yah I know, I'm a bit bo liao...

Dinner @ RedDot

2008-08-07T23:50:00.007+08:00

This evening we had a little company-department dinner at RedDot Brewhouse at Dempsey Road to celebrate the success of one of the project implementation. Our journey there from office was a little "off" due to the rain but manage to made in on time.

Stairway to good food & beer

We had bout 30+ people occupying 2 rows with people from Finance & Control, Procurement, our Expats, the Deloitte consultants, etc and of coz the boss.

Started off with some finger food and beer. I ordered one of the house beer - Weizen (wheat beer). Had the Australian Baby Lamb Rack as my main course and Banana Tiramisu for dessert. Overall, The food and dessert was great and so was the beer. The environment had a warm cosy feeling and not to mention the cool breeze after the rain definitely made it better.

My phone cam did not really caputure the beauty of this brewhouse. See their official page reddotbrewhouse.com.sg to appreciate it.

Popiah & surprise b'day

2008-07-27T23:52:00.005+08:00

Crowded popiah day at WG+Diana's house. It's been a long time I've come to CG and today its really lively n fun!

Table 1 of 2

Table 2 of 2
Endorsing & advertising the new away jersey for my fav team as always

The leftover stuffings

A surprise KS

KS enjoying his birthday cake while Kenny gave his smile of approval on the photo collage

koinonia - A Greek word for fellowship

"GamerCard"

2008-07-14T23:00:00.003+08:00

Here's my PLAYSTATION®Network portable ID aka the OFFICAL PSN "GamerCard" that PlayStation site introduced today.

Modern football slavery

2008-07-14T16:57:00.005+08:00

This is the result when you agree to an idiot's comment without thinking!

Modern football slavery:
- earn lots of $ per week
- take all our penalties
- take all our free kicks
- shag the best girls

by the way, does the definition of a contract means anything at all?!

P0rnster ?!

2008-07-13T11:08:00.003+08:00

Recently, I've received couple of messages from my friends on Friendster and strangely enough, all contain a link to another website. I knew it immediately that this was a circulating spam just that the previous penis enlargement ads going around in FaceBook. I somehow knew that this spam that has been circulating around in Friendster should be those links that would re-direct you to a "adult-content" related site. MSN, FaceBook and now Friendster... wat's next?! Damn those idoits who have nothing better to do.

So, I apologise in advance to all my contacts if u guys received any such messages from me ;)

Late Night Jam

2008-07-11T03:22:00.004+08:00

sleepy n tired *yawn* but yeah, we cleared the 1 million mark & gold star it on our very last song.

Coke Scam

2008-07-11T00:44:00.004+08:00

Weird that this was not auto filtered by gmail. Anyway, I had a good read before I "Report Spam" it. It's a rather amateurish spam coz The Coca-Cola Company (yes, that's the correct spelling with a hyphen in between), one of the largest corporations in the United States does not have its own email but have to use yahoo.com for contact purposes. What a bunch of cuntbags.

A quick visit to its corporate site reveals a couple of these email hoaxes in circulation

http://www.thecoca-colacompany.com/contactus/myths_rumors/phishing_samples.html

Trophies

2008-07-09T00:18:00.005+08:00

PS3 latest Firmware 2.41 fixed the bugs in 2.40 and so far it's all sound & stable. Sony has gone simple with its in-game rewards / bragging rights system, settling on the concept of "Trophies" for rewarding players for their ... achievements in games.

The first two games to support Trophies are the Sony-published PixelJunk Eden and Super SatarDust HD, so I went ahead and bought Super StarDust HD off the US PSN for bout US$10.50 to try out this new trophy system.

my first 2 trophies

I was never really a fan of achievements, though I can't deny I'm *secretly* addicted to them. I really like Sony's concept on different classes and levels of trophies. Also, there are news that some previously released games such as Unchartered & Burnout Paradise will be patched in the near future to support this trophy system. This has certaintly extend the playablility of these games and I guess I would postpone selling my Unchartered and complete it all over again.

Now, back to trophy whoring.

"New" PS3

2008-07-06T21:57:00.002+08:00

Since my PS3 is about 18 months old now, I decided to give it a brand new look to "beautify" it as well as to prevent any more haircut scratches.

The original look of my 60GB PS3 when I first got it.

Bought this skin today.

Ta-da!

New DLC - Papa Roach

2008-07-06T02:58:00.000+08:00

New DLC this week, courtesy of our newly formed sharing group. Pape Roach ROCKS!

Short session with Ming Yi (aka newbishme) :

Stand By

2008-07-04T19:57:00.002+08:00

Team on standby.....

Starry Nite

2008-07-03T00:51:00.004+08:00

Had a short jam with one of the mates (TheDoc) and we got gold stars

FW 2.40 is LIVE!

2008-07-02T12:21:00.002+08:00

The much awaited PS3 Firmware 2.40 is out and it's really fast! Took me only 10 mins to update.

German Coach Joachim Loew

2008-06-29T05:51:00.002+08:00

Do it in the changing room, yucks!

Samba De Amigo

2008-06-29T03:40:00.003+08:00

Does he really have to dance (shake his ass) like this in the arcade? Maybe's he's using it as a stress outlet or some weird issue buy hey, everybody needs a friend like him who can afford to be a total idiot in public and be nonchalant at all.

By the way, this is the song that was played every time a goal is scored during Euro 2008.

100% Club

2008-06-28T02:42:00.006+08:00

Bragging Rights post! Ha ha...

I finally returned to complete the full 100% of Grand Theft Auto IV after taking a hiatus from the story mode and Metal Gear Solid 4.

It's funny how this certification from RockStar is more satisfying than the outstanding serviceman cert from the Air Force 3 years back...

Weekend Hoot

2008-06-23T22:52:00.010+08:00

PlayStation Magazine - July 2008

The shiny foil cover caught my attention. What else but old man Solid Snake on the cover of this month's mag. Can't help it but grab me a copy of it

I have cut down my spending on all mags and only buying on an irregular basis depending on the featured content.

Heavenly Sword

Released some time back around September 07 but I haven't had to chance to play it. Got it at a discount.

Cheapo Disk Enclosure

To house my original PS3 60GB hard disk that was lying around after I upgraded my Ps3 to a whopping 250GB. After "enclosing" it and properly formatted, this would become an extra external portable hard disk.
Good for use with my new HP mini note that I will be getting next month.

All Hope Is Gone

2008-06-21T02:33:00.003+08:00

It’s been three or four years since Slipknot released Vol. 3: (The Subliminal Verses) and it's been that long a time since I've suffered enjoyed the aftermath of their performance here is Singapore. Anyway, Slipknot’s new single ‘All Hope Is Gone’ is available for official download at http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/allhopeisgone

another cheater retailer

2008-06-19T23:27:00.005+08:00

Just yesterday I mentioned of an unethical retail store in Lot 1.

There's another one even worse today! Cyb******** from Compass Point sold this guy a used PlayStation 3 as a new unit (at full retail price) and what's worse, it's one with a lens problem. Actually, I read and posted my advise in the particular thread few days before as he is a new GAX forum member. This issue was subsequently upped in STOMP.

We should really blast retailers like these to caution ill-informed people.

Read more here:

http://singaporeseen.stomp.com.sg/singaporeseen/viewContent.jsp?id=25711

Update:
Anyway, this was the damage control reply from them on 20/06/08.

Special Price?

2008-06-18T15:42:00.003+08:00

I was with Tai yesterday at Lot 1, walking aimlessly looking for any new stuffs in gaming and comics when I noticed that this particular game shop (not gonna ''proclaim'' the name of the shop coz u can basically narrow down yourself as there are few gaming related shops in Lot 1) is have have a 'Special Price' sticker on $9.90 on the Devil May Cry 4 Special DVD.

this is the exact DVD (my own copy) being marked at a 'Special Price' of $9.90

Wow, $9.90! It's pretty cheap and worth is for fans of the Devil May Cry game or anime series.

.
.
.
problem was
.
.
.
.
.

That's right, it's 'NOT FOR SALE'! This special DVD was from the PlayStation 3 Devil May Cry 4 Special Edition for the Asia region. I bought the special edition of the bluray game sometime this Jan or Feb and this was BUNDLED with the special edition of the game!

Isn't it unethical and a whole new low to separate it and sell off as a separate item? To confirm my doubt, I checked the retail price of the now-separated bluray game and yes, at normal full retail price. And to be totally honest, this shop does not have the best pricing of it's' products as compared to its competitors in this market.

Any uninformed gamer or anime fan of this series would have been tricked/lied/misrepresented/misplaced their trust in this rather reputable shop. Do u have to scoop to that level for a mere $9.90? Mind you, I saw quite a number of this DVD on 'sale' separately! Well, at least now I understand how this shop does its business.

Current collection

2008-06-18T10:35:00.005+08:00

Someone asked me this morning what PS3 games I have and I could only mentioned those few that I'm currently ''high'' on.

A closer look at my shelves and the following are what I have till date. Just sold off my Euro 2008 yesterday though.

David Villa!

2008-06-16T20:21:00.008+08:00

My in-game David Villa and Spain gameplays from UEFA Euro 2008 on PlayStation 3

EA SPORTS™ Football World: PORTUGAL - SPAIN 0 - 2

My David Villa's wonderful screamer in Captain Your Country mode

EA SPORTS™ Football World: SPAIN - N. IRELAND 2 - 0

David Villa - Captain Your Country mode

EA SPORTS™ Football World: DENMARK - SPAIN 1 - 5

David Villa - Captain Your Country mode

EA SPORTS™ Football World: SPAIN - ENGLAND 2 - 0

Spain - Euro 2008 Tournament mode

It's amazing how EA's FIFA series and the UEFA Euro 2008 spin off improved over the years.

Human Cargo

2008-06-15T05:59:00.005+08:00

This reminds me of yesterday when I was traveling from Queenstown to Kaisiong's place for dinner. Though the journey was short but it was damn crowded at bout 6.30pm, perhaps due to the masses returning from the PC Show at Suntec.

I dread the day when our MRT becomes what was shown in the following video, especially during the peak hours.

oh mine! precious stuffs and parts are being squashed! 3 or 4 conductors ''packing'' per cabin?! Madness.

iPhone 3G

2008-06-15T03:20:00.004+08:00

Apparently, SingTel is taking reservation for the upcoming iPhone 3G to be available soon here in Singapore. Didn't know this until I stumbled upon the SingTel page. I was a loyal SingTel customer since secondary school until last year. It's actually a big woo-ha considering we don't pre-order or reserve phone here.

Should I?? Did some reading off the net and realised that iPhone 3G is merely iPhone 2.0 with the inclusion of GPS, ability to support 3rd party apps (legally) and a slightly improved battery life. The lack of basic stuffs like MMS and voice recording is still a bumper.

I will get 1 eventually but right now? nah... not in such as hurry as to reserve 1 via SingTel. It's a matter of time before it will be available for the other Telco. Right now I still prefer my 5 mega pixel LG Viewty :)

It's on Starhub. My cable and broadband are on Starhub as well coz greater cost savings overall as a Hub club member plus its easier to manage by consolidating all the 3 services under 1 telco.

Farewell Potluck

2008-06-14T22:39:00.003+08:00

no sad no sad

Mr Pilot-to-be is leaving early tomorrow to start his pilot training cum career.

Thanks for hosting the dinner bro and all the best! See u in 4 weeks time. Appreciate the chocolates u bought from France!

Metal Gear Solid 4!

2008-06-11T21:28:00.006+08:00

No f-ing way! I just got a copy of the long waited Metal Gear Solid 4 : Guns Of The Patriots earlier this evening! That's right, 1 day before the worldwide release on 12 June 2008.

The New Paper dated 11 June 2008 as prove!

GTA IV Posters

2008-06-11T16:54:00.005+08:00

Went t0 the Take-Two/IAH Carnival this afternoon at Funan DigitalLife Mall, Main Atrium to redeem 1 full set of 8 big & glossy GTA IV posters. Yum!

Another Play-Asia parcel

2008-06-10T22:51:00.001+08:00

PS2 KOF $30+ buts work well on my PS3

Hori Dust Caps for PS3 $7 each - idiot proof application; cheap & does what it does
(the other 3 sets are for my GAX frens.... I only 1 PS3 )

Debts

2008-06-02T22:59:00.003+08:00

How I clear my debts: Cut up my credit card & claimed I never got it! Ha ha.

In anticipation of Euro 2008

2008-05-28T14:55:00.001+08:00

Got the package today. Again, another reliable and reasonable shipping time from Play-Asia. This time it took 5 working days to arrive.

Ah, cute little Hello Kitty Dim Sum Noodle snack. It's Japanese Soy Sauce flavour.

The main dish - Euro 2008 game for the PlayStation 3

Evidence of a soccer fan gamer

Friday Night Jam

2008-05-24T01:04:00.005+08:00

Me and my GAX mates started the weekend with some Rock N' Roll....

The band - TrustKillLogic (me), SimpleCinful and Andromean6000. Erm we need a good singer..., anyone?

Learn To Fly - Foo Fighters

Black Hole Sun - Soundgraden

Blitzkrieg Bop - Ramones

Run To The Hills - Iron Maiden

Live Forever - Oasis

Main Offender - The Hives

marshmallow mod

2008-05-06T15:16:00.003+08:00

Been playing GTA IV since I got it on launch day so much so that I've been neglecting almost every other thing. Anyway, I did the marshmallow mod on my Rock Band stock drum sticks today. Found it to be way easier and effective than buying those foam pads and modding the drums itself.

Advantages:
- 5 mins job
- cheap (FOC - found the single sided foam tape in store room )
- no loss of sensitivity so far
- minimised the ''tok tok'' noise - very noticeable/audible
- fairly bouncy - good for those more difficult songs

Disadvantage:
- other than looking weird, none so far.

Credit to brauks on the official RB forum for this idea.

GTA IV Released!

2008-04-29T18:16:00.003+08:00

Today is the official release date for Grand Theft Auto IV here in Singapore and worldwide. Went straight to collect my pre-ordered Special Edition for PS3. Welcome to Liberty City!

Boys will be boys

2008-04-19T22:42:00.001+08:00

Today we went to help out those ''Bad Boys'' in 71st Junior Boys Brigade Company at South View Primary School. It was a fun way to spend my Saturday morning with those juniors. BB brings back some fond memories of mine being in the 28th senior BB company during my secondary school days. Actually this was my first time involved in a junior BB event and the boys being primary 3 to 6, are rather wild as company to what I experienced during my senior days. We had fun planning the games for these boys (actually its Yanni's good planning) and it was great fun, especially during the ''boss'' round whereby the boys went berserk against us.

GT5 Prologue

2008-04-19T10:29:00.011+08:00

The driving simulator is out! Went down to Gamescore Funan this afternoon to get my preorder - Gran Turismo 5 Prologue, which actually arrived yesterday, a day after this US Import was officially released. Had been waiting for this to be out since the Jap/Asian version was released last december. But too bad my Jap & Chinese reading skills cannot make it so gotta resort to waiting for the US version.

This US release edged out Jap version as it has 34 more cars, one more track, two player split screen, drift trial, Quick Tune mode, Free Run mode, additional single player races, and a bunch of bug fixes already included in the Blu-ray disc. But those who got the Jap/Asian version can obtain this update to 'par' it online. I tried for a little while earlier and the HD graphics damn chio!

My 1st car on GT5 Prologue: Mazda RX-8 Type S. My phone video cam does not do justice to the realism of the graphics.

Super Hero Cows

2008-04-15T22:38:00.001+08:00

Captured this rare sight while on my way to driving lesson. Notice those superhero cows with red flying capes erected across the piece of empty state land? New markings to replace our regular 'State Land' signs? I've absolutely no idea. Perhaps, this piece of land is reserved for near future development of intelligent cows?

GTA IV Special Edition

2008-04-11T19:25:00.010+08:00

Grand Theft Auto IV will be released worldwide on 29 April 2008 and I'm damn excited to have secured a pre-order for this special edition. It will be US$89.99 for the special edition, so including S&H, it should not be more than S$150.

The Special Edition includes:
- A customised metal safe deposit box.
- A Rockstar keychain for the safe deposit box keys.
- A limited edition Rockstar duffel bag.
- Production artwork in the Grand Theft Auto IV Art Book.
- Selected soundtrack CD from Grand Theft Auto IV.
- A specially packaged version of the game.

can't wait for Mr Postman...

Zine(s)

2008-04-06T22:01:00.001+08:00

Resistance = Fall of Man. The more I tried to resist my regular trips to HMV, the stronger the lure. Somehow I ended there.

While getting my ''irregular fix'' @ HMV, I knew I had to buy this month's issue upon seeing the Star Wars cover. Though I admit I am a Sony fanboy but I seldom purchase the PS mag. This month's issue also include 2 important reads for me - GTA IV & Resistance 2.

Some regular zines I managed to avoid/resist/control - Kerrang, Revolver, Metal Hammer, Rock Sound, Total Guitar & PSM. So, huge savings/cost avoidance this month.

Army of Two

2008-04-06T01:39:00.005+08:00

So I gave in to my temptation n finally bought Army of Two last Thursday. Considered a laggard since this game was launch slightly over a month ago. Reason for buying? To assess what's all the hype about the co-op play and the aggro thing that EA had been bragging prior to its launch.

I just completed this game on all 3 difficulty level - recruit, contractor and professional and also unlocked all the weapons and such. The length of the single campaign isn't long, I completed within a day. Co-op mechanism works well enough and the graphics are good. Online play is fast paced and fun at first but after a while, 2-on-2 seems bored for me.

Conclusion: better than average shooter, fun online element. I would rate a 7/10

Beats

2008-04-03T21:51:00.003+08:00

Purchased the game Beats from PlayStation Network via PS3. Its a very nice music game for a mere $8.30. This game allow you to use any music stored on the memory stick, analyse it and play them on your psp! It works with all musical styles/genre and the beats of each songs are spot on!

I tried out a Rap/Hip-Hop chinese song by MC HotDog & it analyses the beats and plays well. You can play multiplayer, make music using on of its function and saves it for playback. For a $8.30 title, this is awesome!

2008-04-01T22:10:00.003+08:00

Just completed drums on RockBand easy mode (yeah, no bragging rights I know). But hey! It feels kinda cool drumming 40 over songs to it.

There's 4 difficulty settings - easy, medium, hard & expert to vocal, guitar, bass & drums. Its progressive learning and jamming online & offline. I'm very impressed with the gameplay and presentation aspect of RockBand.

Time to rock on!

Rock Band!

2008-03-31T17:17:00.005+08:00

Finally got the Rock Band Special Edition with all the peripherals for the PS3 from FunzCentre. I enjoyed the stare of the other customers when I carried this big box out of the shop. Ha ha.

Box Contents : Drums, Wireless guitar, batteries for it, Bluray disc and the microphone package.

After bout 20 minutes of assembling, this is what is gonna take over my life.....

Google up "Rock Band Broken Pedal" and you'll see all sort of frustrations and complaints that people had their stock kick pedal broken. Initial batches of Rock Band had this problems and both EA and Harmonix acknowledged that.

In order to prevent this and the lengthly return policy/replacement/shipping/all sorts of craps, I got the COMPLETE MEGA PEDAL from MEGA PEDAL (see here).

Note : Those thinking of getting Rock Band, this is mandatory!!

Mods - removing the stock kick pedal. Its a rather simple process; max 20 minutes.

MEGAL PEDAL vs Stock Pedal. Tell me, which is more heavy metal, more hardcore? hee hee.

Final touches to the pedal

All done up, pretty simple process. Time to rock and roll!

A New Low

2008-03-28T22:21:00.003+08:00

Got this in my gmail inbox today, wasn't filtered as spam perhaps due to the spam-friendly email title.

How low can these spammers/fraudsters get! Once I open this particular email, I can see all sorts of terrible mistakes that warrants a warning that this is just a damn crap.

1. Fedex and not FedEx
2. First name and last name in small caps? how careless from "Fedex"
3. FedEx employee with a .edu email address?
4. How inefficient are they? since 4th Dec 2007 in the in-tray? 4 mths of delay is not the FedEx I know of...
5. Grammar mistakes all over this mail
6. Contact person with a hotmail address??

Maybe there's more mistakes in this email but this fraudster is just rather amateur sending out a poorly constructed email. Guess he/she is too eager to make some quick buck without doing a proof-read first.

Project completed

2008-03-21T18:03:00.001+08:00

As of right now, I have not slept in the past 26.5 hours! I'm damn tired now but can't sleep now coz somehow it past my biological clock. After a week of intensive preparation, I've finally completed my Oxford Brookes University (OBU) project. It consist of a main report a max 5000 words and a sub-report of a 1500 words excluding the appendixes and bibliography. I managed to clock in 4979 and 1481 respectively. This research and analysis thesis really sucked my week into it - no gaming, guitars, no fun.

Now I'm ready to send out to Oxford tomorrow morning (together with £50) and be awarded a BSc (Hons) Degree in Applied Accounting later this July 2008. Now, if only I can get some sleep...

Super Smash Bug Brawl

2008-03-14T14:40:00.003+08:00

Stupid bug came visiting yesterday night while I was busy rushing my project. Too bad it was smashed by my remote.

Hmm... no blood but just some white mess to clean up after that.

How to upsize PS3 hard disk

2008-03-10T20:53:00.010+08:00

My Ps3 was running low on harddisk space will all the games data, demos, HD videos, etc. Fortunately, Sony had designed in such a way that we can DIY without voiding the warranty. So b4 any last minute panic, I have to upgrade my HDD first with the 250GB HDD I've bought couple of days ago at the IT Show.

1. Backup all necessary data (game saves, etc) to an external storage drive, which has to be in FAT32 file structure else the PS3 cannot recognise the external drive. Use the backup facility under PS3's XMB to backup.

2. Turn off the PS3 (front n power switch at the back) and unplug all other cables prior to the actual hard disk swap.

3. Remove the plastic HDD side panel. Use a flat tip screwdriver and the small space on the right side of the panel to pop it off. Careful not to apply too much pressure to scratch ur shiny machine.

4. Use a phillip screwdriver to remove the blue screw which secures the hard disk tray.

5. Raise the small metal handle and slide the whole thing to the right to remove it.

6. PS3 OEM hard disk (pictured left) is in the metal tray. Remove the 4 screws (2 on each sides) to remove the hard disk. Swap the new drive (pictured right) into the metal tray and install those 4 screws.

Note : These 4 screws are very tight and be very careful not to strip the screws. Use a fitting phillip screwdriver to remove and tighten after the swap. Do not over tighten the screws.

Sony is using the OEM Seagate Momentus 60GB 5400rpm. I'm swapping with my newly purchased Samsung HM250JI 250GB 5400rpm. Don't go wasting ur $$ to buy a more expensive 7200rpm hard disk because the speed increase is negligible. (I did my reading up)

7. Put back the hard disk and slide back to its left. Then put the blue screw back on to lock the drive. Put the HDD side panel back on, attach all ur cables and start the PS3.

8. Follow on screen instructions to format and set up the new drive.

9. There you go -> whooping 200+GB of free space. Don't worry bout the "loss" of disk space coz the PS3 reserves that for other stuffs.

10. Finally, restore ur data that u backup prior to this and u're done!

All I need to get now is an enclosure to use the PS3's OEM 60GB as another external hard disk!

IT Show 2008

2008-03-06T23:58:00.008+08:00

Went to the IT Show this afternoon at Suntec and this time, I would say the range of products and exhibits this time round is one of the widest and anyone would be spoilt for choices. Typical stuffs like laptops, PMPs, cameras, HDTV,etc. Level 3 was all SONY (well, the other smaller side-Starhub).

PlayStation 3 booth

I was browsing the selection of Blu-ray titles at the booth and at $118 for 3 titles, its a rather good deal. I was also playing with Sony's Alpha range of DSLR cameras they had on display particularly the A350 and A700. I'm not thinking of getting myself a DSLR anytime soon but if I were to choose, I would prefer the Canon EOS 40D.

Being the 1st day of the exhibition, crowds not as crazy thus I could navigate through the crowd easily and take my time to look around for interesting gadgets and stuffs, and of course, the booth promoters. Too bad I did not took any pics of them.

Hard disk prices were getting cheaper over the years even those smaller laptop hard disk. Managed to buy a Samsung 250GB SATA 2.5-inch laptop size hard disk for $170. That's 68cents per GB! Since my 60GB PS3 is 'eating' up the space with all my media and game data, I decided to upgrade my PS3 with this new hard disk.

<- Samsung Spinpoint M series HM250JI 250GB 5400RPM 8MB Cache SATA laptop hard drive

Free Earphones from Deal Extreme

2008-03-05T19:27:00.002+08:00

Got this in the mail today. Took slightly more than a week for Deal Extreme to air mail over to Singapore. Paid for this from proceeds of some online activity, so to me its foc!

Ordered the metallic red colour to match my PSP slim and it looks great! The in-ear design provides excellent attenuation of ambient noise-perfect for the long commute .

Format war is over

2008-02-19T18:02:00.001+08:00

Blu-ray vs HD DVD finally comes to an end with Blu-ray the victor.

Yeah this was always going to happen. Might sound like a fanboy here but when people argued that PS3 is crap compared to 360 (without reasons to) they always seem to leave out the RRODs failure rate and of course, the HD formats. BluRay's obviously miles better as seen by actions of those major players in the industry. Toshiba's official announcement to stop HD DVD production brings an end to this format war.

Freedom!

2008-02-01T23:25:00.006+08:00

ORD Farewell Dinner

I finally got my FREEDOM (and pink IC) back today after working in the airforce as a regular for 5 years! It's damn tough to have to work and study for ACCA at the same time. Only started my part-time ACCA studies like 2+ years ago but it was very difficult phase of my life having to rush to classes after work, weekend burned to attend classes and revision, etc. Damn! I can't really explain or described the feeling of a regular like me to ORD. It's finally my turn after seeing so many batches of my NSFs ORD-ing. Will miss some of my mates there.

First thing I did after my official clearance from the airbase, I came back for a good shower and head off to a salon to dye my hair brown! Next, get a good camera phone. These 2 to-dos are strictly prohibited in the armed force ha ha.

Bought the above LG Viewty KU990 from Jacky at his shop right after spotting a new hair colour.

Ended a phase of life, need a well deserved break to enjoy n embrace life before the next major change to my life.

Boo DS Stylus

2008-01-26T23:55:00.003+08:00

Got this purple Boo Nintendo DS Lite stylus from a Gashapon machine at Toys R Us, Suntec for only $2. This is the 3rd mario related stylus in my current collection. Too bad the Gashapon machine that dispenses the Bomberman series was empty.

Time Crisis 4

2007-12-25T23:44:00.004+08:00

Bought this today (Christmas) coz I need some some games to tide over the holiday period and to enjoy myself after the exams. Affordable pricing $129 for a Region 1 title from Play Craft, Lot 1.

Many reviewers gave TC4 a mediocre rating but I've been playing TC in the arcades way back till now, its 4th installment in the Time Crisis series. Now I can play the arcade mode in the comfort of my room. A black Guncon 3 would be much prefered than this sucky orange one. This could be a great game to release work stress at the end of long day.

Exam Review - Dec 08

2007-12-13T01:04:00.002+08:00

After 3 consecutive days and 3 core papers for this dec 08 sitting, I'm physically and mentally tired. This sitting, we are the 1st batch to be examined under the new ACCA syllabus and all I can say is, I did my best for all the papers. Should be able to score for P1 Professional Accountant and P3 Business Analysis. As for P2 Corporate Reporting, this is one of the toughest and lowest passing rate among the final year papers-no high hopes for this paper.

As usual, back to work day after the last paper. But hey, on a brighter side, Christmas and year end just round the corner and I will be gradually clearing and handing over my appointments and work stuffs coz I'm a month away from leaving the airforce after 5 damn years!

PES 2008

2007-11-11T21:18:00.002+08:00

Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 is finally released for the PS3. Here goes my simple review.

Next-gen PES gives a HD boost and some change to the AI but its not perfect. Frame-rate drops when the game gets busy especially during replays. Graphics are slightly poor to for a PS3 title. Only 2 official teams for the English Premier League, but u still can edit yourself.

It seems like the developers at Konami applies the 'if it ain't broken, don't fix it' tenet but I feel that PES 2008 could benefit from some more development - just feels like a scrappy finished product to me.

Though a little disappointed, it is still one of the most realistic soccer experience.

Flu-zy day

2007-11-03T21:44:00.004+08:00

This is what I've been surviving the whole day while studying for my Business Analysis paper. Had been sick the whole week and its nearer to my exams. Damn hard to concentrate with a leaking nose n headache!

Yoshi DS Stylus

2007-10-19T00:03:00.004+08:00

Got 2 x Yoshi DS Lite stylus for 4 bucks each this evening from the Gashapon machine at Jurong Entertainment Center.

Easier to hold than the original stylus (which feels like holding a tooth pick) plus its cute!

The Legend of Zelda!

2007-10-07T21:45:00.002+08:00

I finally got my hands on a copy of The Legend of Zelda - Phantom Hourglass for the DS! Been waiting for the US version of it ever since it was announced some months back. It was a Jap release back then, but nevertheless, I got the US retail of this game. Finally.

This game is seriously addictive so much that I played during my lunch break in the office for the past few days. It's the first Zelda game of its series to hit the portable DS and its damn good! Unique and innovative touch screen based control, so far so good (I've not even half complete the game) with some cute dialog n interesting storyline.

I'm so addicted and loving it that I customised my DS case with a Zelda pic.

Arrival Hall

2007-07-17T02:17:00.000+08:00

I so damn tired. Just back from my Hong Kong trip with Adrian , DS and Marshall. My hands are sore and fingers are red from all the extra luggages due to all the shopping. All I need now is a good shower, coffee and a good sleep with my air con at full blast! Hong Kong is damn hot this period and on the 2nd day, the news over there mentioned that it was 37 degrees! I think I'll just unpack tomorrow after breakfast. Sian, back Singapore no more 'dim sum' for breakfast.

How to destroy a CD

2007-07-02T18:41:00.001+08:00

1. Take a penknife
2. Scratch whichever way you what
3. Take a pic of ur 'design'
4. Post on ur blog - show ur friends how bored u r
5. Throw away the CD
6. Back to ur usual self - do nothing

The Magic Car

2007-06-20T18:50:00.000+08:00

in order of appearance : 1- Marshall, 2- ah Tay, 3- DS, 4- Kasaya, 5- Kelvin, 6- Alton, 7- ah Poh, 8- Thomas & 9- Aaron

ah... fun times, happy times, silly times

ah Tay birthday feast

2007-06-20T18:23:00.000+08:00

a nite of crabs and ktv fun!

the cake with dry ice effect....

a very happy birthday boy - 19/06

my boys : DS, Aaron, ah Tay

brrrr....

driver for the day - Kelvin

all of us, in 1 car!!

the guys

kelvin, ah poh (i guess he is a little drunk)

no comments

Exams over!

2007-06-06T21:34:00.000+08:00

Yup finally after months of classes and hard work, the June 07 ACCA exams are finally over for me ha ha ha. Now its time to plan how to enjoy my short 'holidays' before the last semester starts in July.

Hmmm.. hardcore gaming on my PS3, catch up on my love for photography with my newly purchased DSLR cam, going out for movies and planning for the tour! But, first things first, gotta have a good sleep and back to work tml. I guess my work had piled up during my leave.

Audit in 18 hrs

2007-05-13T21:27:00.000+08:00

Finally finished the intensive advanced audit revision today, Mother's Day. 6 hrs revision class per day : fri, sat and today. Jam-packed revision to cover all the syllabus which was taught over 20 lectures. Tiring shit.

No special Mother's day dinner.... just flowers and gift for mum.

Can't possibly study anymore later. I think I'll watch the last Man Utd match for this season later on and just head to bed. On study leave next week then back to work for 1.5 weeks then ACCA exams 5th and 6th June.

Crazy pursuit for success.