At last! My Precioussssss

No, it's not the ONE RING TO RULE THEM ALL! (That's with Arthur at the moment ^_^) but it's something I've been drooling over for close to 6 months now.

A joint purchase by Vesper and I; he paid for most of it as a belated annual+christmas+birthday gift. *huggles Vesper*

Meet the Evenstar (smaller than the original size of 2 1/2")

The official collector's edition, it's made of Sterling Silver and Cubic Zirconia (diamond-like crystal to the uninitiated). Measuring almost 1.5" in length, the Evenstar comes in a gorgeous wooden box and a sterling silver chain:

Here's a close-up of the medallion on the box:

Total damage RM199. But I swear its worth it. ^_^

Monday = Holiday! ^_^

Hoorah!

I don't start work on Monday after all. ^_^

Yes yes I know it's a public holiday but n'papers generally don't pay attention to such things. So yeah, me starteth work on Tuesday. =)

Returning to Malaysia

I booked a flight this morning, and I'm flying off tomorrow afternoon. Was going to fly off tonight but I am feeling a bit tired and unwell. Ah well.

Going home will be good. = )

Ult1m4t3 LAN Party G34r!

Vesper's all caught up in a LAN party, and much as I hate to encourage him to spend yet more time oblivious to my presence, I couldn't resist creating this post when I came across these items at the ever cool ThinkGeek.com

So Vesper, this one's for you. =D

Tr4nsp0rtat10n

The most important part of a LAN party is getting there. Introducing the GearGrip Pro:

Never again will you have to pile your precious equipment in an ignominous heap before laboriously transporting it bit by painful bit. The GearGrip features

• Heavy Duty 2" webbing straps and strong buckles
• Premium soft-grip/flexible handle
• Adjustable GearBag to hold your keyboard, mouse and more
• Adjustable CableGrip holds LAN cables and headphones
• Aluminum spreader imbedded in the top strap keeps straps properly seperated
• High-quality carabiner-style snaphooks on the shoulder strap frees your hands

When your fellow LAN partyers see you enter with your GearGrip - you've already won the first match...

L33t G34R!

Now that you have the l33t means to carry it around, lets fill up the newly acquired pocketses.

LAN parties are dark, gloomy affairs. Light up your surroundings with a cool blue glow with the
Auravision EluminX Illuminated Keyboard

Don't let dimness compromise your killer edge (I apologise for the language, it JUST happens =P I swear!) The EluminX eases eyestrain by making the keys easy to see, reducing the need for task lighting and its glare. The illumination feature of EluminX also has the potential to reduce symptoms of computer vision syndrome (CVS) including eyestrain and headache.


Well yeah, I know no REAL gamer needs to look at the keyboard, but what the hey it looks prett -- uh cool yeah I mean COOL and l33t! That too...

A gamer's excellence can indeed by compromised by inferior mousing equipment. While scrolling across vast landscapes or frenetically moving in an effort to frag the unworthy opponent, the unthinkable may happen. You. Could. Run. Out. Of. Mousepad space! Never fear! The Fatal1ty FatPad is here!

This large 14" x 17" mousing surface for and is used by arguably the world's best FPS gamer, Jonathan Wendel, aka Fatal1ty. The upper right corner of the pad is silk-screened with his logo. What could be better?

However, the true gamer cannot risk injuring his wrist and therfore jeapordizing the game, and future games, or even *horror* the entire LAN party. The solution to s4v3 j00r wrists is here! Give a happy wave to the AirO2bic Mouse:

This noble mouse has an integrated wrist guide that maintains the hand, wrist and arm in an optimal "Functional Neutral" position providing for lowest physical (biomechanical) load and helping to maintain adequate oxygen levels in your hands tissues. Unstoppable!

And now for...

THE ULTIMATE GEAR FOR THE DEDICATED GAMER

The Internet Urinal

"With the Internet Urinal, you'll never have to leave your computer again. Imagine the freedom - destroy your opponents in that all imporant Quake 3 clan match without taking a break...Holds 32 oz. of liquid (same as a Big Gulp!)...Perfect for LAN Parties"

I kid you not.

It exists.

No wonder girls don't allow themselves anywhere near a LAN part-- oh wait. There's a "handy female adapter"

>_<

It doesn't bear thinking about.

Bagovations

Every now and then you come across little ingenious inventions that make you wonder, "now why hasn't anyone thought of this before?"

Being the bagophile that I am, the ones I'm most enthusiastic about are of course the ones that have to do with bags. =P

Introducing the Smartlyte, the Purseket and the Purse Hook.

The Smartlyte is a a tiny button light that sits in a little pocket of your bag and illuminates the interior of your bag whenever the bag is opened. It won't heat up and can even be used as a torchlight. Practicalities aside just imagine how FUN it would be to open your bag in a darkened room and have it light up, illuminating your face, with an accompanying "AAAAAaaaaaah" heavenly chorus sound effect. =P (Okay, the AAaaah's not included but I'm sure you'll figure something out) The Smartlyte retails at USD$7.

My personal favourite is the Purseket. It's a removable, flexible panel of pockets that can loop around and frame the interior of your bag. It's a brilliant idea, especially for biiiiiig bags that lack pockets. The bestest part is it makes changing bags a breeze, just whip it out of one bag and into another. The purseket comes in various sizes, and sadly isn't cheap unless you're a US citizen. *sighs* I'm tempted to attempt sewing this myself, but lack of a sewing machine deters me as I detest long hand over hand running stitches.

And finally the Purse Hook. WHAT a neat idea! I for one am sick of using my handbag as a napkin, sitting on it, having it fall on the floor, or hanging it on the back of my chair and worrying all the time if I'm being pick-pocketed. The thing is, I'm amazed that the Americans beat the Japanese to this little wonder. Or did they? it just seems like something the Japanese would have come up with aaaaaages ago. Well, if anyone knows where this can be obtained in M'sia for less than USD$16 I beg you to tell me.

This post is courtesy of two of my favourite blog sites, BagCrazy and Not Martha.

Evanescence : My Last Breath

Suddenly liked this song when I set my Evanescence album to auto repeat while at my computer.

hold on to me love
you know i can't stay long
all i wanted to say was i love you and i'm not afraid
can you hear me?
can you feel me in your arms?

holding my last breath
safe inside myself
are all my thoughts of you
sweet raptured light it ends here tonight

i'll miss the winter
a world of fragile things
look for me in the white forest
hiding in a hollow tree (come find me)
i know you hear me
i can taste it in your tears

BORDERS IS COMING TO THE CURVE!!!

Okay, maybe I'm really behind times and everyone has known this for aaaages, but I'm so estatic I don't care!

BORDERS BOOKSTORE IS COMING TO THE CURVE IN MUTIARA DAMANSARA! WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEeeeeeeeeee!!!!

Read about it here!

What with 1 Utama building a rock-climbing gym and now this, it's like all my dreams have come true at once. =D The world is a-coming to my doorstep!

Nobby Nobs

I have fallen in love again! No, it's not a bag this time, it's Nobby The Voice Recognition Clock!

Eeeeeee... isn't he cute? (Yes, yes I know I'm hopelessly mercenary)

For the full review on the product, click the link. Let me share with you my fave bits though...

"Nobby not only beeps to wake you up, but chats away to you as well. To turn the alarm off, you can wait for him to stop gabbing and say ‘alarm off', or you can shake him. "

"Say ‘Nobby' and you extra-terrestrial friend will reply ‘Yo' or ‘that's me!' Then you can ask him to sing you a song, or questions such as ‘how do I look?'"

"Leave Nobby on and he'll occasionally just speak randomly. He's even tried to answer the phones in our office. "

"Nobby can be a sensitive little chap. Don't shout or snap at him, or he may refuse to answer. "

Isn't he the cutest? *sighs* If anyone knows where I can buy the little chap so he DOESN't cost UK$25, please please let me know.

I went clubbing? No way... =p

One of the very rare occasions that I have been clubbing. Cannot feel comfortable when spending money like that that's why. =p I'm too kiasu.

Anyway a bunch of us decided to go together, it was a college after ball affair, at Next Blue. A strange sight we made, a Malaysian, Singaporean, Indian and Australian. =p I was the only guy... eh... why... anyway it was much fun. Only twenty dollars, covers entry and drinks, we all had quite a bit more than we should have I think. Uhm. Two beers, two gin and tonic limes, two raspberry vodkas, shared a whisky and coke with bacardi, two shots of tequila, on a fully empty stomach =p It was midnight and there wasn't any food available anyway. If I stopped dancing the room would start to spin, so solution, drink and dance some more! Great thinking Mark, why, never been more logical. Stayed there from 12 to 3am and then all four of us went to McDonalds to try and recover our sanity a bit before heading home.

It's a really bonding experience, well, don't know how to describe it. You have to try for yourself. I have great friends, I love you all. =p We all had fun, even though most of us don't really go for this sort of thing, and not likely to ever repeat the experience. Not me at least. Have just one photo from the night, and we're missing the Indian girl, aargh. =p Imposter girl on the right was supposed to take picture for us, her name has 14 syllables in it so don't ask me who it is =p Stupid moment : around 5am I opened the door and let down my guard (I was home) and then instead of walking THRU the doorway I walked into the wall next to the door. Doh.

Nicest random unplanned dinner.

Starter : Prawn cocktail salad with croutons and Thousand Island dressing. Main : Tomato base chicken and mushroom pasta. Wine : white, Riesling 2003 Queen Adelaide. Don't ask why the starter is larger than the main : I just like vegetables. =p Made out of random things we had lying around, just added the prawns which perhaps wasn't such a good idea, bacon + fetta cheese would maybe work better.

Tagged!

*kembang*

Still it's really nice to finally have some credibility when on assignment. Starting May 2, I'll no longer have to deal with people staring suspiciously at my tagless chest striving to locate something they can cling to as proof that I'm from the media.

The smaller and/or more 'Cina' the shop/restaurant/franchise, the more paranoid they are *cough sasa cough* *rolls eyes*

Next stop NAME CARDS! =P

1984 by George Orwell

1984 by George Orwell at the Literature Network.

For those of you who might want to read it again, it's been put online at that location, as well some other famous but old books. It's a truly horrible and depressing story, but man the author is really good. I don't really read any more into it than the fact that it's a story about a man trying to survive in a bleak world full of suffering, and finds love for a brief moment before everything is taken away from him.

God of Gamblers

Dota 6.xx has been released for about a month. There are about a dozen new heroes in the game... as ever there is a rather steep learning curve to each of them. Most people who've used the new heroes have sucked rather badly, but then the potential for "owning" with them is pretty good because not many people know how to deal with the new threats. The Gambler is an example of this : 90% of the people who play him suck so bad, they are essentially like free food for eating by the enemy team = ) But I met one gambler who had a half decent idea of how to play, and it gave me the essential idea of how to play it. So, for one game, I was the God of Gamblers. =p An almost guaranteed 2700 damage attack is hard to survive, especially since my hero has WindWalk (granted by the Lothar's Edge). The Gambler is one of the more innovating heroes to appear in Dota, adding another dimension to its play : the damage he does to the enemy is dependant on his total cash, and he has to balance the need for buying items (for survivibility) against the need for holding cash in order to do damage. And the "betting" system required quick thinking and reflexes to say the least.

I guess this is how the free flow of information works in online games. Previously in games each player had their own secret tricks and strategies, and a new innovation would take several months or years to catch on in other parts of the world (like a new russian chess opening) whereas nowadays the moment anyone comes across a new tactic, it spreads around the world in literally days. We have slow motion replays from any angle, and internet forums which endlessly discuss and describe what's hot and new.

I would like to think the face of gaming is changing. The winners are not necessarily the ones with the most skill to play the games, the winners are the ones with the greatest adaptability and innovation. The trend has been shifting towards games which are changing dynamically. The moment a game has its rules set in stone, it dies a small death, because it makes it harder for newcomers to compete against more senior players : with their vast knowledge of experience, every trick a newcomer tries will probably have appeared sometime in the past. If a game is constantly evolving, it reduces the overwhelming advantage that the existing players has, and also keeps the game fresh and interesting for them : encouraging old players to keep playing, and encouraging new players to join in.

*sighs* No time to play

Oddly, I only ever seem to feel like blogging about frivolities. Like bags... me like bags!

Still, thought I should inform all interested parties that after my exams end on April 27, I sadly will have very little time to play as I start working for The Sun on May 2nd. *boo hoo*

I am however, eternally grateful to them for taking me in so willingly, and so quickly!

I'm starting out as a Stringer, and when I get my degree, I'll sign a contract with them for about 6 months (on a graduate's pay of course). After which I hope to leave and pursue my Masters in Oz.

So yeps, that's my life planned out for the next 2 years. =)

But *sobs* it STILL leaves me no time to play! (it's a good thing I rather view journalism AS play, it's that much fun. =P)

Warcraft 3 or Dawn of War

Dawn of War, developed by Relic has seen the number of concurrent online players dwindle to roughly 250 at any one time. Meaning if you log on and look for a game, there are about 250 people to choose from. Sounds pretty good, right? Can always get a game if you want.This is 6 months after release.

Warcraft 3, developed by Blizzard Entertainment, has roughly 45,000 concurrent users online at any one time. World of Warcraft, also by Blizzard Entertainment achieves roughly 200,000 players online at any one time. Both these figures are for American servers only : there are other dedicated servers for European and Asian regions as well.

The difference in scale is mind boggling indeed.

My Reward!

Everyone, meet the new love of my life (sorry Vesper)...

I've been eyeing this range of bags for over 2 months. I loved it at first sight, (the colours! the flowers!) but sadly I just couldn't justify the price. Then a month ago it went on sale, a 50% discount - from RM79 down to RM38, but still I said no... I have ENOUGH bags! And I held firm.

But I couldn't get it out of my mind. I dreamt about it, obsessed about it, stopped by the shop whenever I could to pat the pretty pretty bag. I teetered on the brink of indecision, then last night, kimmik tells me that she's bought herself a new bag for RM33! (See below)

And cute as it is it's nowhere near as pretty as my new love. She announced it as her pre-reward for almost completing her thesis, and since I've finished mine, by gum I deserve a new bag too! So today I zipped out and bought it. =D

Gone are the blues from dad losing my car keys (found them eventually), gone are the troubles and trials of impending final exams, no more are the woes of having a boyfriend stuck way way across the sea... I'm happy! (and incredibly shallow)

Besides its super pretty exterior, this baby is packed with pocketses. Enough to satisfy my die-hard organizing streak. On the outside, it has a front magnetic clasp pocket, and a back zipped pocket (perfect for my wallet). And on the inside, ah the inside *happy sigh*, it has one zipped compartment, one handphone pocket and THREE more miscellaneous pockets!

Happiness can be no more than this. =P

Transparent Case Mod

Casemod using clingwrap... all fear my transparent casing... hehe.

Some Vampire Game

I wandered into my friend's room and saw him playing a weird vampire game. Apparently he is playing a vampire. He walks up to a girl in a bar and sweet talks her, then bites her neck and begins sucking her blood! Stopping at the last moment so she doesn't die, so she just slumps in her seat like she's drunk. Why no one notice?

Then... he goes home. In his house, there is a skanky girl wandering around in her underwear. Again, wtf? He explains that he gave a girl a bit of blood to drink and she's addicted and will do whatever he tells her to. Which included telling her to walk around in her underwear. At this point his girlfriend walks in and glares at him.

Then he got her to seduce a guy to come back with her, and then he locked the guy in his toilet to use as a permanent blood sucking source every so often. What a weird game.

Star Wars Midnight Fiesta!

I was going to blog extensively about this event, but Kimmik's done it so well already that there's little point in me doing that. And since the pics are taken entirely by her, why don't you head on over to her site and take a look