high definition!

Finally decided to spend some money and get a high definition (HD) set up for the TV room. Been mulling about it for weeks now and just 2 weeks ago decided to get a gift for my dad and myself. ;)

Did some research and ended up with a 50' Panasonic Viera Plasma TV (TH-P50S10K). Wanted smaller but the old man insisted on 50' or bigger. Lucky too as 50' seems perfect for the TV room. After getting the TV I was itching to get a Sony PS3 but sadly I had to wait till 1st of November for it to be released (the slim version) in Malaysia. So it was 1 week of watching Astro and boy Astro doesn't really give you a good reason to get HD TV. It looks awful!

On the launch day I headed over to Sony Style at the Curve and got myself the PS3. Also got myself what must be the game of the year, Unchartered 2. Couldn't wait to get home and test it all out. Even loaned a copy of Transformers on BluRay from a colleague.

When it was all plugged in only one thing came to my mind. What took me so long?! Watching movies will never be the same again. The clarity, sharpness and audio quality simply amazing. Really brings out the potential of the Plasma TV. Now am itchy in collecting more BluRay movies like The Dark Knight, Iron Man and Star Wars collection.

Lets not forget the game. Unchartered 2 is really something else. The graphics are out of this world and the storyline really amazing. Keeps you wanting to play for hours. Which sadly isn't something I have the luxury of. :(

All and all am really satisfied with my investment even though I have burnt a big hole in my wallet. Now am looking towards getting a home theater speaker set. Whats the point of having HD video and no audio right? ;)

yummy gadgets...

I sold the Sony PSP for a reason. I was trying to pool as much moolah as I can for my new interest. What now right? LOL. Well this time its about getting something for my room. Most times when am free, I'm stuck in my room without anything to do. Being in an IT line the last thing I wanna do is go online. Then Dad and Mom each occupy both the TVs in the house so thats out of the question.

Hence I decided to get an LCD TV and console for my room. Two days ago I headed over to Best Denki at Tropicana City Mall near my house and got myself a Philips 32' LCD TV for RM1799. This unit came with 3 HDMI and 1 USD inputs. Very useful especially when I found out the USB input supports AVI files. That saves me the time of finding a media player or setting up my console to playback the movie files. ;)


Then I drove straight to Gamer's Solution at City Bazaar, KL to get my Xbox 360 Go Pro Edition for RM1450 which came with 12 games. Reason I settled for Xbox was due to the fact that I could get Jack Sparrow games. I know I know I should support the developers. Sadly I don't have the moolah to be buying games monthly at that cost.

Got back home. Got a shelling from my mom for wasting money. Then proceeded to set it all up in my room. Boy what joy I tell ya. Felt like a kid again. The LCD TV is simply amazing especially when playing Xbox games. Very impressed with the clarity and real life graphics.

Love the fact that the controller is now wireless. No more messy cables and restriction on sitting right in front of the console. Now I can just sit back on my bed and play some games or catch a movie. :D

Even my old man and niece are impressed and they want to hang out in my room now! LOL.

ipod dock...

Guess what I got earlier today from Sunshine? Yup its another birthday present. I have been looking high and low for an Apple Ipod dock and now I have one. :D

Sunshine got me the Logitech Pure-Fi Anytime. Its a nicely built sleek unit with added features like digital clock and radio. Just what I needed for my dresser.

The moment I got home I tore the packaging open and have been listening to it since. Its exactly what I wanted. Now I have easy access to my library of tunes. ;)

bumblebee...

This was supposed to be posted on the 19th of May 2008. Its a gift my old man bought for my lovely nuisance of of a niece. I actually wanted to take before and after pics but sadly I still haven't figured out how to transform the blady thing.


At the end I just gave up and kept it in my display cabinet. LOL. Go figure!

micro buggy...

As you know I bought an rc truggy recently. While researching on what to invest in, I came across micro buggies. They were from Takara Tomy under their Q-Steer series, which are micro rc vehicles. Its actually a collaboration effort between Tamiya and Takara Tomy to create micro scaled replicas of Tamiya's infamous offroad buggies. It comes with proper suspension and a slightly more powerful motor.

The moment I saw it I had to get my hands on one. I read online that they were rather hard to come by in Malaysia as they came in limited supply but that didn't deter me. Today I headed out to 1Utama to check out Toys R Us. Sadly none there. Then I went straight into Jaya Jusco's toy section and lo and behold, there was ONE box left! :D

It wasn't really the model I wanted but hey beggars can't be choosers right?! So now I am a proud owner of The Frog micro buggy (RM59.90). Damn this baby can run and its fun to ride em' all over the room. The added suspension helps as it can run on my bed or keyboard without issues. Hehe. I know I know I sound like a kid. :P

To give you a little perspective on how small this bugger is. Ain't it cute? LOL. If only I can get my mates to all get one then we can be racing about in office or something. Great way to release stress I tell ya! ;)

hbx springbok-x...

I couldn't wait. It was bothering me day and night. I just had to get one! So today I went down to Ikano Power Center and into RC Planet. Looked around a bit at all the options and finally settled on what I was planning to get. A grey/orange HBX Springbok-X 4WD Truggy which cost me RM399.

It was actually a toss between this and a 1/10th scale Kyosho Lazer ZX5 which cost RM850. Uha. 2 times the price. Decision was down to the fact that I won't be playing this much and more like to pass time and release tension. Hence would be wise not to plonk down too much money into it. Hehe.

Haven't fully played the truggy yet but the test drive at the shop was amazing. Didn't expect it to run that fast. Worth the money I would say especially for a part time hobby. Can't wait for tommorrow when I can tear it up outside. :D

rc itch...

I know I know. What now?! LOL. Sorry folks but I've got a new itch and its to get myself a radio controlled (rc) vehicle. Moving more towards a buggy as I want to play it outdoors but the touring cars are pretty neat. Hmmm...

Its been a long time since I last played remote control cars but suddenly I feel like getting one for myself. The last one I owned was a 1:10 scale electric powered Tamiya Calsonic Nissan Primera back in 1991 or so. Had to build that car from scratch and it was a proud moment when it finally ran. Sadly though I was rather young and it got damaged running on our roads. Never figured out how to fix it, neither had the money so the car went into cold storage. Its actually still sitting pretty in my cupboard. Unfortunately none of the electric parts or radio control works while the batteries are dead. Its too old to rebuild as parts are hard to come by.

I don't really have time to build a car from the ground up so am looking for a Ready to Run (RTR) kit. Gonna stick to electric powered as the nitro ones are rather pricy to buy as well as maintain. Although those buggers can really fly! Now its more about how much should I really invest. LOL. I know this hobby ain't gonna last long so it doesn't sound right to plonk down much. Am still researching on the brands and what scale I should get. Its between 1:18 to 1:16 or 1:10. Although the latter is too big for my purpose.

Below are some models that I am currently drooling over. ;)

oktoberfest...

I came back from work today and saw something on the dining table. Nosy me opened up the plastic bag and guess what caught my eyes? Hmm Paulaner. :D

I still wasn't sure what it was so I took it out of the bag. Damn it was a huge beer mug. An Oktoberfest commemorative Paulaner Munchen beer mug to be exact. But then the best part is yet to come. Guess what was inside the mug itself?

A 1 litre can of Paulaner Oktoberfest Bier. Yup 1 freaking liter! *drooooooool* Its now sitting in the fridge. Itching to pop it open I tell ya. Sadly its my dad's. So I'll just have to imagine drinking it. LOL.

ready to navigate?

Most of you guys should be aware that I've been looking for a cheap GPS unit for awhile now. Even wanted to get a China made one (RM300 odd) but heard lots of problems with it. Then Sony Ericsson came up with a new phon with built in GPS but heard its via the Internet so thats gonna take up lots of money as well time just to load up.

I started mulling it over and decided why not just spend and get something good and solid. So I researched on Gophers. Sounded alright for RM888 you get it preloaded with maps of Malaysia and Singapore. Furthermore its Msian so after sales 'should' be good. Then I recalled that my aunty from US was visiting soon. I checked online and surprisingly you can get a Garmin (who are the gurus of portable GPS units) unit for around USD150 and above. Thats not bad, even cheaper than the local made ones!

So now am roaming around with a Garmin nuvi 205w. Pretty cool stuff I tell ya! Manage to download a free Malaysia and Singapore map from MalsingMaps. Headed down the road and got it set up. Needed an open space for the first setup process to lock on to the satellites. After that it was smooth sailing.

Tommorrow am heading to Port Dickson for some prayers. Gonna give this baby a go and see how she fares. Heard the maps are really detailed so am eager to try it out. Gotta say its worth every penny. Great for when getting around Kuala Lumpur. Those of you who know me should know how bad I am with KL. :(

music head...

My aunty from US came visiting again. This time around she brought 2 yummy toys for me. Hehe. First up is the brand spanking new Apple Ipod Nano. To be exact its the shiny purple 8GB version (USD149).

To be honest am not really a fan of Apple. Would rather spend less and get a Sony or Creative MP3 player but since my aunty was springing for it I thought what the heck! ;) Although I did overhear my dad saying he'll pay for it. Hmmm...

This newer Nano variety has some new techno enhancements like the accelerometer which allows the gadget to shuffle songs when shaken or switch between portrait and landscape display modes. Also comes with 'Genius' which automatically creates playlists based on a selected song using an algorithm built by Apple. Not sure how 'smart' it can be but interesting idea I guess.

The design is also much nicer. It has a curved aluminum shell and glass screen. Supposedly its "the most environmentally friendly iPod [Apple] has ever made", containing arsenic-free glass and a BFR-, mercury-, and PVC-free design. It is also claimed to be highly recyclable. Doubt that really matter though. LOL.

All and all its a pretty nifty toy. I like the touch rotating pad as well as the crystal clear screen. Would prefer better earbuds though but I guess I can get some 3rd party ones. Now I gotta look for a suitable casing so that I can maintain the shiny metallic shell. If not it will be scarred in no time.

Guess I'll be chillin' with some cool tunes for awhile. ;)

goodies for kate...

I haven't managed to check on Kate. I think now she would have her internals all out laid bare. I wanted to document the whole process and take pictures of every stage but sadly exhaustion got the better of me.

Work is taking its toll and every weekend I just want to bum the time away. Hate looking at the monitor at times cos that is ALL I do 15 hours a day! This weekend isn't any better as I have to provide reports every 3 hours. Arrrgghhh.

On a plus note, I had a nice chill out session with Sunshine at Old Town White Coffee. Yummy coffee and great company! After that we went to Sunway in hopes that Kakimotor will be open. I needed to get some gadgets for Kate before they wrap up the transformation. Thankfully they were and below are the goodies I grabbed. :)

First up an Apexi Auto Timer (black edition). Need this so that my baby can cool down after a run. Being a turbocharged car it the oil temperature can get crazy hot. A decent amount of idle time is needed before shut down so that the hot oil won't choke up the lines. Didn't want to be cheap for this so I got the best timer out there.

Next up was to get a gauge. This isn't something I really need as I'm having a fixed low boost setup but firstly its never too bad to have one, so you know if something is failing and lastly it looks freakin' cool! LOL. Gotta admit at times its nice to have gadgets in the car. Gives a sense of accomplishment as well as excitement.

There are a lot of gauges out there but I settled on the most important which is the Boost Gauge. Didn't really want to plonk down too much on this so I settled for the Taiwan made Auto Gauge. It looks good and it does the job. Now I just gotta figure out where do I place it for security purpose. Last I need is an ass smashing my glass to get hold of it!

Alrighty folks. Thats the lastest update for now. Cheerio...

lcd monitor...

Just got myself a new toy yesterday. Dad wanted to get me something for my birthday and he knew I was eyeing an LCD monitor. So voila! I now have a shiny glossy black 19" Samsung 943BWX LCD monitor. :D

It was a toss up between Samsung and View Sonic and due to reputation I decided to go for Samsung. They also come with 3 years warranty so thats comforting. Almost got a 22" as old man didn't mind but decided against it as it would be a waste considering my usage. But boy it was sweet looking. Would be great to watch movies or play games. ;)

Soon after getting back I transferred my current 17" CRT Samsung to my dad's rig as he has a 10 year old 15" Dell monitor. Yup it lasted for 10 freaking years! Its still running fine but since my CRT is newer and much clearer might as well use it. Am now looking for a recycling center so I can drop off the Dell.

Am still getting used to the LCD monitor. Its hard to find the right settings that will work with my eyes and in my room but I guess all in time. Did I mention everything looks sweeter on it? Hehe. Just played a game and damn what a difference.

Thanks old man for a great birthday gift! :D

god of war on psp...

Its not often I finish video games. I think in the last 20 odd years of playing them I've only managed to finish about 20 odd games. Yup only 20 but I've played hundreds, maybe thousands even. I'm the sorta player who plays for the thrill of it. To enjoy the graphics, sound, gameplay and marvel at the technology advancement.

Think the last game I finished was Call of Duty 4 on my Nintendo DS. It wasn't really that long a game, a couple sessions in the throne and I was done. Hehe. However just moments ago I managed to finish a game that kept me glued to my PSP. This game alone is worth the price of a Sony PSP! This is none other than God of War : Chains of Olympus.

Video game fanatics should be aware of the God of War series. One of the core games for the Sony Playstation environment. Every one released was remarkable in every sense. From the storyline to gameplay to pure graphics and sound. Damn it was such a rush. I never really played the other versions and wished I had now. Especially when I had my Sony PS2 cos I did have the games. Arrgggh.

Oh well least I managed to play (and finish!) this version. Wished it was longer but I can't really ask for much being a portable take on the game. The developer mentioned they aren't gonna make anymore for the PSP (too time consuming) but I hope they change their minds. :D

new rig...

After 5 years of serving me well I have decided to upgrade my desktop. Been spending the last 2 weeks researching on what to get and on Saturday got everything from Digital Mall. Roughly midday yesterday I manage to get it up and running without any issues. Phew.

Below are the specifications for those that are interested. Some pictures as well. Hehe. ;)

Intel Pentium Dual Core - E2200 - 2.2Ghz
Asus P5KPL w/ Intel G31 Chipset Motherboard
2 x 1GB Kingston DDR2 667 ValueRAM
250GB Western Digital Caviar SATA Hard Drive
Lite-On 20x12x20 SATA DVD RW
Lite-On CDRW - reused from previous rig
Asus EAH3650 Top Graphic Card
Powerlogic Modena Casing
Edifier M2300 2.1 Speakers


Notice the red lining of the casing, I chose that for the Red Devil in me! Now am enjoying S.T.A.L.K.E.R, DiRT and Test Drive Unlimited. Been awhile since I played any PC games as my older rig was too damn slow. Damn missed out on quite a bit. :D

now what?!

Errm this is gonna sound stupid funny. Its been almost 2 years since I sold off my piano black Sony Playstation Portable (PSP) due to financial reasons. Soon after that I invested in a Nintendo DS Lite and never looked back. I have been playing with it over and over. It accompanies me when I travel, when I visit the throne or whenever I got time to kill.

Recently however I started researching about Sony PSP and how far it has come. Some of you might be aware that Sony released a slimmer and lighter version called Sony PSP Slim & Lite. It does have a few upgrades like video-out function, faster load times, nicer colors as well as a handful of firmware based upgrades like Skype, GPS and camera add on capabilities. On top of that they are packed with games that I wished I played on PS2 but didn't have the time.

With that I started getting itchy again especially after selling off my PS2 on Thursday and so this afternoon I headed down to Gamers Solution at City Bazaar, KL and got my hands on a brand new Felicia Blue (Blume Series) Sony PSP Slim. :D


Damn the games are awesome! I know I know. You guys would be wondering what next?! LOL. G'nite folks.

oops i did it again...

Last week my dad bought my mom a new Sharp 32 inch LCD TV for Deepavali. Due to this the TV I gave her is now in storage. I on the other hand have been itching to buy a video game console to pass my time. Been spending the better part of my days researching on all the available consoles out there. From Nintendo's Wii to Microsoft's Xbox 360 to Sony's Playstation 3 (PS3).

The drawback from all the new generation consoles above was the exorbitant pricing (console and games) as well as current hardware issues. Since I knew I was looking for something more casual, I decided to get a Sony Playstation 2 (PS2) which by the way has dropped in price. Plus not to mention the shit load of Jack Sparrow games out there.


Earlier today I headed over to Gamers Solution @ City Bazaar, KL and got myself a Sony PS2 Slim package. Total damage was RM630. Below is what I got in that package.


The package consists of the modified Sony PS2 Slim console, 1 original controller, 1 fake controller, 1 original 8mb Memory Card, a USB fan, a stand & 12 games. Due to the nature of the games I decided not to take any pictures of them. Can't wait to set it all up and start playing!

By the way do you know this would be my 3rd PS2 to date. First was in October 2000 when I lined up for the official launch at Walmart in Missouri, US. Sadly they only had 30 odd units and I was like 50th in line. I did however manage to get it few days later by buying a PS2 package (console, additional controller, memory card & 2 games) through KB Toys. I sold it off in March 2003 when I was returning home for good.

I soon got itchy and bought a set at Sungei Wang Plaza, KL in September 2003. That set came with the console, 2 controllers, a memory card & 15 games. Sadly I was cheated as both controllers were fake even though promised original ones. I amounted about 40 odd games but never really found time to play em'. I soon sold that off to a colleague in January 2004 before the price of the console dropped.

Now I have done it again and bought another set. I hope this time I use it enuff to justify the purchase. My old man is already saying that I am just throwing money away. :(

new itch...

Sigh. Am falling into the trap again. Am itchy to get myself a new phone. Main reason is to get one with a good built in camera so I can take random pics for blogging (I know I know its just an excuse). Hehe. So obviously I turn to Sony Ericsson and their Cyber-shot phones. Will never touch Nokia due to how much they suck. Love Motorola but sadly their camera feature will never be up to par. Have used Sony Ericsson before (the T630) but sold it soon after as I didn't like the interface much although it does look good.

Now I just gotta learn to live with it. Hehe. There are some really nice models coming out especially the K850i. Simply amazing. 5 Megapixels with image stabiliser and 40mb built in memory. On top of that you can use MicroSD memory cards. So no more memory sticks which are rather costly. Sadly its gonna be their flagship model and should cost around RM2000 plus. Way over my budget.

Have decided to settle on the K800i with a 3.2 Megapixel. Their ex flagship Cyber-shot phone if I am not mistaken. Price has drop to a reasonable level and it performs really well. Nothing but praises so far. Was actually thinking of the K770i which looks really good and also nice and slim but its more of their style series so certain features were left out to cut cost. Think its also pricier than the K800i by a few hundred at least plus won't be released for a month or so.

Now gotta work on selling my current phone (Motorola ROKR E2). Wish me luck! ;)

K770i

K800i

i got croc'ed...

Am sorry folks. I fell into the trap. I got a pair of Crocs (Sobek flip flops, pictured right) earlier today. I have been stalling on getting them for months cos I didn't think it was worth the money. Plus previously their original designs were hideous. Sadly they have come up with modern practical designs with safer colors. I just couldn't help myself. Damn you Crocs!

Officially it was to get my old man a pair for his upcoming birthday but after trying the Sobek flip flops I decided what the heck. They are so light and comfy compared to my current Nike sandals. Furthermore its so easy to maintain. All it needs is a simple wash and it'll look like new. At first thought it was a gimmick but my niece has one and its true folks.

Oh well. Damage has been done. I got Croc'ed! :P

PS. I know I know its all lame excuses. Hehe.

new toy...

Tommorrow am gonna get my new camera since I have some time to spare. Been without a digicam for about 3 weeks now. I know it ain't long but somehow when I don't have one, I seem to NEED it. I bet when I DO get it, I won't have much use for it. LOL. Anyways am going to get it at Mid Valley since I always get good deals at a particular shop on the 2nd floor (or is it 1st), Key Color. Bought my last digicam and my dad's latest there. Hope to walk away with a good deal if not at least a fair one.

After months of research am deciding on the Canon A570IS. I know its no DSLR but its as close as I can get without forking out more than RM1k. Its the best choice for the price I must add. Plus points include manual mode, high ISO, aperture & shutter priority modes and not forgetting the biggest draw (for me at least) which is image stabiliser. Theres also the Face Detection technology which I ain't too hyped about but a plus point nevertheless.

Now I can't wait to get my hands on it. Hehe. ALWAYS get excited with a new toy! ;)

time for an upgrade...

Ahh finally after months of looking for a buyer I've sold my digicam. It served me well for 1 and half years but with all the new beauties out there I can't help but upgrade. My Nikon Coolpix 4600 was a good camera but the small display was a pain when deciding if the pictures were taken properly. Most of the time I would head home and find out they were blurry or misaligned. Very depressing especially coming back from overseas trips. Can't help it I guess when the screen is only 1.8". Then again when I bought it that was considered pretty good already.

The digicam technology just bloomed soon after. Now there are myriads of designs out there to suit all sorts of usage. Even a Digital SLR isn't all that pricy compared to before. Have been poisoned by many to step into the Digital SLR world but don't feel like putting down that much dough is worth it. Especially when I know my real purpose of owning a digicam. I do love photography but not to the extent of lugging my camera daily and taking shots of everything. I only bring it when I really need it like trips and parties. Even then I tend to rely on my mates to bring theirs and share the pics taken. LOL.

Now its time to research for a new camera. Got a few in mind. Just got to figure out how much am I willing to fork out. Hmmm now lets see whats on dcresource. =)