Black Swan

This is one of most intense and riverting movie I have watched this year.

Passionate horror.

Loving hate.

Graceful obsession.

Devastating dreams.

And a deep, dark spiral into madness.

IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0947798/

Merry Christmas to all and to these people in particular

As we all enjoy another Christmas safe and snug in our homes, let us remember those who help make it all possible by doing insane work to keep our infrastructure going. People who delve into the briny depths to drill for oil, people who work long and late shifts to maintain our utilities and then there are these guys in the video. Easily the most badass people outside of uniform, they work on power-lines suspended in mid-air every day to keep the juice flowing for us consumers. Wherever you are gentlemen, Merry Christmas and God Bless.



PS: That television program you're watching? Someone like this had a hand in the broadcast towers remaining operational.

2011: Year of the RPG?

2011 is shaping up to be a bumper year for RPG fans. Not only is Dragon Age II and Mass Effect 3 being released, Bethesda has announced Elder Scrolls V for 11th November and the Witcher 2 is also slated to be released on March 8th. If you harken more for JRPGs well.... Disgaea 4 and FF Versus XII are both in development but only Disgaea 4 has been confirmed for a 2011 release date. Atlus' Catherine and Level 5' Ni no Kuni might be out in Japan by then but its unknown if an international version of the game will ever be released. This is also true of Tales of Graces F. Patience is a virtue in this regard; Yakuza 4 did take an entire year to be ported overseas after all. The best JRPGs of 2011 (or projected to be released in 2011) seem to be on handhelds like Valkyria Chronicles 3 (and I curse the day someone at Sega decided to bring VC to the PSP) and FF Agito XIII. Overall it would seem that a CRPG fan will have a much better year than the JRPG fan.

And now for something completely different:
An early cinematic for the ending of Starcraft II: Heart of the Swarm has supposedly been leaked. Bogus or legit, no one who could confirm this is talking.

http://kotaku.com/5709838/ending-leaked-for-starcraft-iis-next-chapter

Mass Effect 3 Teaser

Mass Effect 3 = War of the Worlds in the 22nd century. Thoughts?

Happy Birthday to the Mad Penguin

SITEX 2010

Anyone heading down to SITEX 2010?

War... War never changes

After an epic adventure in the Mojave, I have finally freed NEW VEGAS and establish it as an independent party!

No more NCR!

No more Legion!

Long live the King!



New Vegas is an epic game. After long hours of holan-ing and travelling, the breath-takingly and long game leaves an unsatisfied taste after completion. After all, I want to try out the unarmed build or the laser commander build or find all the companions or explore all the locations!

So much to do and YET I have already spent so much time completing (part of) the game...

Definitely a game that is value for money and entertaining. A few bugs is really nothing compared to the shiokness!

BUNDINESS to its max!!!

Distance Dreamer

Can't find the official mtv. Doubt there is one anyway. Just heard this song while watching a tv series. I find it quite nice and would like to share it :)

Best Video Game Advert Ever!

3 papers down, 1 to go! Go go go!!!

Inspiration for a Campaign

I've a vague wisp of an idea for a campaign. Anyone interested? Will flesh it out and post more details after my exams.

And now, back to the millstone.

Fallout: New Vegas is Really a J-Horror Game In Disguise

Some SOB left me for dead and when I woke up, that *thing* was sitting right in front of me. Here I thought I was buying into a CRPG but I was wrong. Sweet Jesus above, my mission must be to rid the Wasteland of the unnatural abominations that infest it! Starting with Uzumaki neck over there....

Wait... I was here for days now... does that mean I have become one of THEM?!

Tools and Toons

What happens when you leave your tools lying around and bring lots of soft toys to work?

Remember Work Place Safety.

A message brought to you by CatNRice

(Wonders of blu-tab, mallet and soft toys)

Not so sure why people love to bring soft toys and display them at work. You never know what could happen to them especially when tools are lying around and mischevious engineers who are on a friday mood high...

Checkout the tags.

And Now, A Quick Word From Our Sponsors

To make up for the recent lack of Down Under posts, here's a few photos. The first two show what I'm usually up to while on campus.

I must be mad posting the last photo. The moment I return to Singapore, CatNRice will descend upon me and extract the essence of Bundaberg from my blood.

The Hunter and the Hare

This is a story told to many children to discourage that laziness will get you nowhere.

Long time ago, there was a hunter. Once day he saw a rabbit run into a tree and died on the spot. Amused by his luck he thought, if a rabbit run into the tree each day, I will never need to hunt again! So happily he gathered the carcass home.

The next day he sat at the same location waiting for another rabbit to run into the tree. Unfortunately we all know what didn't happen.



Anyway just took this amusing photo as I make my way to ECP today. Apparently some hare was late and was looking for its hunter.

Play Beyond

An advertisement is ostensibly created with the singular goal of promoting a product, service or business. Its entire purpose is to increase revenue for someone and yet, strange things emerge from advertising firms that make you wonder when they came into the grip of the Devil.

For example this advertisement for the Sony PS3:



There are some unfortunate conclusions that one can draw from watching this ad:

1) The forces of hell itself are so pleased with the PS3 that they must manifest themselves into a generic Chucky simulacrum to express their delight.

2) The PS3 will cause all of the human-like objects in your house to be possessed by evil spirits. Come to think of it there is such a superstition in Japan where this ad comes from which is why dolls have rituals to placate them before they are destroyed. Extra bonus points for using something especially terrifying to your target audience.

3) This is your afterlife after you mortgaged your soul to pay for that PS3 with its notoriously high launch price. You. In an empty room. Trapped in that doll. With a non-functional PS3. FOREVER.

4) The PS3 will drive you stark, raving, gibbering bonkers. First childlike joy. Then sensory overload. Followed by despair when it consumes your life which is eventually supplanted by ennui as the stimulation of the PS3 makes you uncaring that you have lost your job, friends and family. Finally as the enormity of your folly hits you and drives you past those shimmering horizons of desolation, a regression to infantile behaviour.

Kanchanaburi 2003 - Ex Sapper Star

One of my army friends recently dug up a bunch of photos taken(with a film camera!) during our active days, on exercise in Thailand. Life was tougher but simpler then.

Plantation of something on the right, mountains in the background.

Approaching a FLB(Foldable Longspan Bridge).

That's me on the left, chilling out with a friend on the roof of a 5 tonner.

Our PC's Land Rover and a rainbow in the background.

"I can't go back to yesterday because I was a different person then." — Lewis Carroll

(Photos taken by Khew Jun Hao)

Pokemon: Apokelypse

What happens if they wanted to make a grim and gritty reboot of Pokemon? Already Hollywood's track record is rather dim with poor adaptations of both Japanese animation and video games such as Dragonball, Speed Racer and DOA. Well with any luck the Hollywood Pokemon will look a lot like this:

The Next Best Thing

Since I am stuck in camp, the next best thing I can do is to blog from here. Pretty lobo day today since the actual mission only starts tonite.

Gonna be out finally this friday. So keep me informed of the usual activities.

Good luck and cya.

What the Protoss Really Needs

It has been a year since the last revelation.

PROTOSS NEEDS PYLONS...

Now one year after the great pylon battle, the new era enlightened one has spoken again.

TERRAN NEEDS FARMS!
- the Saying of John

Come fellow pylonites! Embrace the new teaching and head down to your nearest starbucks!

The Vines Seafood and Steak Restaurant

Brought my mum out for dinner the other day and decided to try out this diner near my place. Although we have stayed in that area for such a long while, we have not frequent the vines restaurant even once.

Vines

Anyway it was a suprising lunch with pleasant food which is value for money. The place reminds me of an old western family diner, nice and cozy. Highly recommended for those who wants a nice meal at a good price and a familiar ambience.

What Would Happen If.... And Now For Somethings Completely Different

It did occur to national security personnel in light of the 9/11 attacks that terrorists might attack nuclear power plants by crashing aircraft into them much like they did on that tragic day. So they ran a couple of tests even though the engineers at the plants assured them that they over-designed the heck of the plants since well, there is always the off chance that they explode...



And now for something completely different...

By now, the Dragon Age 2 trailer has made its way around the internet. It has next to nothing to do with the Warden we played in Dragon Age Origins and the companions we got so attached to. However a lot of plot threads were left unresolved presumably for a sequel. Well since the sequel will not be able to tie everything together and more money is always good, Bioware is releasing some DLC meant to finish the story started in Origins.

http://www.1up.com/news/bioware-announces-dramatic-conclusion-dragon

Plus a video I promised to post some time ago. Its from a musical about muppets being naughty so beware strong language!

Worth Every Penny.

The best $3.50 I've spent so far in Aussie Land.

Happy Birthday Singapore

Happy holidays everyone :D

Sunshine Coast 2010

The view from a lookout point on the Glass House Mountains.  The mountain range are all that remains of volcanoes that were in this area.  Erosion wore down the surrounding rock leaving the harder rock of the lava plugs.

The summit of Wild Horse Mountains, looking west towards the Glass House Mountains. In the middle are forests that seem a bit too regular to be natural, they are actually timber plantations due to be harvested in 10-20 years time.

Looking south from the summit of Wild Horse Mountain.  The road in the middle is the Bruce Highway, an inter-state motorway leading to and from Brisbane.

A waterfall somewhere in the Glass House Mountains.

A view from a ridge line in the Glass House Mountains.  The white house at the bottom of the slope is a farm.

The rocky shore line of the Noosa Heads, a nature reserve on the Sunshine Coast.

This is the "Hell's Gate", a cliff side on the Noosa Heads shaped some what like the gateway of a castle.  For an idea of the scale, the specks seen on the rocks in the middle right hand side of the photo are people.

Another view of "Hell's Gate", this photo simply doesn't do justice to the size of this cliff.

The summit of Mount Coo-Tha, on the outskirts of Brisbane, on a cloudy day.  Brisbane city is on the middle left hand side of the photo.

WE DIN START THE FIRE

I just got a new song for KTV!

Sunshine/Brisbane by Day & Nite

Some photos from the trip:

Starting with Nancy!

Combat Rations of Other Countries...

...in this forum thread below:

http://www.militaryphotos.net/forums/showthread.php?164671-Military-Food

Pretty interesting read.

More Photos

Here are some photos I took earlier in the year.

The typical Australian suburban train station.

Brisbane City Hall clock tower.

Old Parliament House.

A Return to Thedas

The Dragon Age II site has gone live! Trailer on the 17th of August.

http://dragonage.bioware.com/da2/

Kids, Don't Try This At Home

Seriously, don't. Unless you're trying for a Darwin Award.

The Cat and Ran for Down Under!

Ha ha beware little penguin...

We are coming!

Fill up your stock of bundy and beer!


What a week for me.

Some Games of E3

E3 (the Electronic Entertainment Exposition), the largest showcase of video game technology is in full swing and so far there has been good news and bad news.

The bad news? Project Natal/Kinect looks to be positively underwhelming since one of its launch titles is Kinect Sports. Now where have I heard that one before? If I wanted a Wii, I would have bought one and making the X360 a more expensive Wii would not have influenced my purchasing decisions. Considering its rumored 149USD price point, you might as well get the Nintendo Wii for another $50 and enjoy some Mario brothers on top of wacky motion controls.

Speaking of X360, the new model of the X360 was also unveiled. You'd think by now Microsoft would have fixed the hardware issues and not leave themselves open to class action suits. However the new X360 will mutilate discs inside if the machine is moved during gameplay and they avoid lawsuits with a small sticker on their disc tray. BRILLIANT!

The good news?

The Nintendo 3DS has some serious specs and outstrips the PSP in every way. Marvel vs Capcom 3 will feature Deadpool and Dante. New Assassin's Creed game. The Force Unleashed 2 and the Witcher 2 will satisfy fans of cutting people up with swords.

Some trailers:

Warhammer 40K: Space Marine is still alive and going strong. Hopefully it will be God of War in the 40K universe, with guns. And hopefully if it is, the awesomeness does not create a singularity out of which steps the Doom marine and Duke Nukem exchanging wisecracks.

http://gamevideos.1up.com/video/id/29958

Star Wars the Old Republic is also on show and how is it that the trailers for an MMO can surpass the movies in sheer entertainment value? Apparently in the Star Wars universe, things like "tactics" and "survival instincts" are not the purview of soldiers since when things really go to pot, a Jedi (or dozen) will show up to save your ass.

http://gamevideos.1up.com/video/id/29850

Finally Fallout New Vegas has been dated in this trailer. 19th October 2010 is when we'll get our hands on it. Obsidian's track record is rather spotty at this moment with Alpha Protocol being their latest release but they're at their best when they are not the ones building the engine. Here's hoping that it lives up to the very name these people once established.

http://gamevideos.1up.com/video/id/29840

The First Hundred Days

I thought I'd take a break in the midst of my exams to write a few words about my first hundred days in Australia.

Actually, it's been 115 days since my arrival on the 8th of February but I've never been happier.  Of all the major events in my life, coming to Australia to study has been one of the easiest transitions I've experienced.  And in the process, I've become less cynical and more optimistic.

Sometimes, it pays to leave your comfort zone.  Humanity progressed this far as a species by doing just that.  Also, be nice to immigrants, migration is to humans as water is to plants.  I am not that far removed from my migrant forefathers.

Three square meals a day is a privilege.  I realize that more than ever now that I have to buy and cook my own meals.  I take back every complaint I've ever had about SAF cook-house food and combat rations.  I should be grateful that even in the middle of a tropical rain forest, I have something to eat.

Being homesick is a waste of time.  Just thought I'll mention that.  I've never once felt homesick, just sick of listening to people moan and groan about being homesick.  Not eating rice regularly is NOT the end of the world.  When in Rome, do as the Romans do.  And eat as they eat.

Absolutely Speechless

How does this fit into your idea of "Dream Job"?

After a request from CatnRice, here's a link to a newspaper article that made a certain Penguin rather happy.

http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_532544.html

Dress Codes 101

I wore a long sleeved shirt with jeans and sneakers today. How on earth is that formal?  Some people really have no clue how dress codes work.  

Here's a quick guide in ascending order.   

Casual: we all know what casual is.

Smart Casual: collared shirt, at the very least jeans without any fading or rips and shoes.

Business casual: long sleeved shirt, dress pants and dress shoes. With or without a tie.  With a sports coat or blazer in colder climates.

Business formal: suit, tie and dress shoes.

Black tie formal: tuxedo with a black bow tie, cummerbund or waistcoat, patent leather shoes.

White tie formal: tailcoat, white bow tie, waistcoat, patent leather shoes.

Dragon Age... What if

What if you died at the Joining?

Instead you are raised to join the ranks of the Darkspawn?

To be one of the numerous ranks of chaos and evil.

What if all this is true?

http://www.sswarez.com/games/122525-dragon-age-origins-darkspawn-chronicles-dlc-arm.html

A look at an alternate history: what if your character had died in the Joining ceremony, and the Grey Wardens marched under Alistair's command instead?
Command genlocks, hurlocks, shrieks, and even the mighty ogres.

A dark future awaits. Are you ready to claim your prize?

Demo New Recruit

Muahahaha. Finally surpassed my longest life and highest dmg record last held by an Engineer.

Giant Robots and Rice Bras

Here's the link to download the free version of Mechwarrior IV from Mek-tek, the current holders of the rights. Seems that the server keeps crashing due to demand but has stablized in the last few days.
http://mektek.net/projects/mw4/

Also, one of the most pants-shittingly insane inventions I have run across this week, Luckily its only a "proof of concept" model.
http://www.japantoday.com/category/picture-of-the-day/view/grow-your-own-rice-bra

Not that such a thing has not been done before, its essentially a repurposing of an existing product.



Yes, saving the environment is a good and noble cause. However there are a lot of better ways to do it though than to create multi-purpose underwear. Still its a much better idea than hot coffee thermos briefs.

Avengers Assemble!

After watching the entertaining Iron Man 2 movie, the curiosity drove me to find out more about up coming Avengers related movies:

Spoilers #1
Who is Thor?
Mr Thor

When its out?
Check it out!

He also happens to be Aussie!

Spoiler #2
Who is Captain America?
Steve Rogers

When its out?
Check it out here!

Wait a minute? Isn't he the one who play Johnny Storm? Does that mean the Fantastic 4 will not be featured in the avengers?
Think someone is concerned about bursting the production budget...

Avenegers Assembling in 2012. Preventing 2012 (the movie) from happening.

Helmetcam footage of NL MARSOF boarding a hijacked vessel

This is actual footage of a boarding operation on a hijacked ship. Interesting stuff.

Law Abiding Engineer

I know I promised to post more photos, but I found this on Youtube and couldn't resist.

Never piss off an Engineer. ;)

Reimagining Your Mascot

How do you sell burgers in a country where your mascot looks FFVI's Kefka or the Joker from the Batman mythos? How do you reimagine your mascot to be relevant to today's consumer without any connection to murderous psychopaths? Especially in a country with very little popular consciousness about clowns?

This is MacDonald's Japan's answer.


Funny - Funny Videos

Campus Shots

It's been a while since I posted anything as I've been busy with assignments.  Here's some photos of my campus.

Operating Systems: An Analogy

MacOS: The Electric Razor

MacOS is an electric razor.  You just plug it in, turn it on and shave.

Windows: The Safety Razor/Disposable Razor

Windows is a safety or disposable razor.  To get a good shave, shaving foam and aftershave is a must.  You can get by without shaving foam and aftershave but you run the risk of nicking yourself.  You also need to change blades when they wear out.

Linux: The Straight Razor

Linux is a straight razor.  You better know what you are doing or you're just going to cut your throat wide open.

Discuss.

30 Cans of Tooth Decay

Shhhh!!! Don't tell Mechamorph! Oh wait...

A Day In Life for Chipmunk @ TECH ... Bright and Sunny

A bright sunny day to drive away all your worries. Just make sure your have the proper eye protection.

A Day in Life for Chipmunk @ TECH

Ah feel so thirsty... Let me have a refreshing Coke from JAPAN.

*Ahhhhhh....*

PS: Ha ha dun really know how you guys would react to this but I will post them frequently... When my colleague is willing to 'lend' me her Chip'n'Dale for a photo shoot.

Marvel vs Capcom 3

Once upon a time when we were younger and fishing for dunkleosteus was the epitome of extreme sports, there existed a magical place called "the arcade". Much fun there was to be had there for the young lad or lass but of late arcades are like a fading starlet who is ready for her close-up. One of the key games that ate tokens back in the day was Marvel vs Capcom 2 which was a geeky fanboy's dream where you could settle once and for all if Ryu could punch out the Hulk. Now after more than a decade, a true sequel to this classic is being released.

So far only a few characters have been revealed but besides the given roster odds are that characters iconic of each company such as Spiderman and Chun Li will be additions to the full game. It would seem that since Chun Li was a no-brainer Capcom decided that the fanservice in this trailer would be filled by Morrigan. She plays this role admirably since to date Morrigan has been in more crossover games that she has been in games from her parent series Vampire Hunter.

Given Capcom's deep library additions since the days of Marvel vs Capcom 2, one can hope that more interesting characters like Dante from Devil May Cry or Arthur from Ghosts and Goblins might appear but this may be a faint dream. From the trailer, this seems to be a dead serious sequel with little of the quirky humor that characterised MvC2.

Thought for Food by Steven Colbert

Especially loved the part where the German ambassador appears. I am not sure if its really the German ambassador to the UN or an actor but he really does play on the fatalistic German stereotypes.

http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/270726/april-13-2010/thought-for-food---mentally-ill-advertisers---german-cupcakes

Link provided since the Embedding code apparently doesn't work.

Getting this Hotel

Tourist Alert!

I will be getting the below hotel for the trip since the previous one did not reply my email. Anyway its cheaper as just as near to the beach (90 m).

Can't wait to freeze my butt running down the wintery Sunshine Coast!

Nautilus

For the Love of RPG

Where it all started from.

A book 2 decade old.

Once lost, now found.

Buried beneath the tomes of the DM library.

BUNDY!!!!!

When I saw this, I just had to take a picture of it for CatnRice's benefit. Now to run for cover...

Edit! (11/04/10):



New flavour!

Breakfast at Black Mesa

DO NOT MESS WITH GORDON FREEMAN'S BREAKFAST. HE WILL END YOU.

Dragon Age Awakening ... Another Review

Dun worry it won't be as long as mecha

Just summarising the review in the below few area:

1. Gameplay

Nothing much has change. Camera still a bit awkard which occassionally I had to re-comb the area searching for that critical treasure chest or monster drop to complete the set items.

2. Music

Nothing much has change either.

3. Graphics

No changes here as well.

Okay back to the serious part:

4. Storyline

The story feels like eating dark chocolate. Bitter and yet the sweet aftertaste will linger and stirs your craving for more. The story of the Grey Wardens continues with more harsh decisions which impacts the future of the games. Who to sacrifice, who to defend. Who is right, who is wrong. Who deserves another chance, who not. Ultimately this entices players to replay another story path.

Make more decisions, see how the story diverge. The beauty and paradox of choices.

The expansion story is hardly self contained. Bioware have a knack for creating more hooks for future expansions just like the original Dragon Age. Well done to wet the players' appetite!

5. X-Factor
Ironically, I ended the game carrying the same weapon I used from the Origins: Chasind Great Maul (CGM). Surprisingly it is the most damaging piece of devstation I have actually seen in the whole game. Even though Bioware beefed up many of the higher tier equipment, the CGM still owns hands down. Hmmm they din out do themselves here which I believe is what most RPG players expects from expansions and "add-ons" etc.

Anyway it is a great game and hope you all enjoy the game as much as I do.

Epic April Fool's Video is Epic.

There really ought to be more romances like this in the game. Hell I'm still disappointed that there has not been an elcor companion yet.

Video Games Mass Effect 2 Secret Romance Gameplay HD

XBox 360 Playstation 3 Nintendo Wii

Retro HK Movie

Anyone wants a copy of this?

HK Movies

Colon Cancer: Dragon Age: Origins: Awakening: A Review

Dragon Age: Origins: Awakening delivers pretty much what it promised, even more Dragon Age. Yes it costs about half as much as the original Dragon Age but is about a third as long. This is a tad disappointing since traditionally Bioware's expansion packs are actually better than the original games. Case in point Throne of Bhaal (Baldur's Gate 2) and Hordes of the Underdark (Neverwinter Nights) are huge, sprawling campaigns in their own right and rival the length if not the breadth of their parent games. Placed within this context it is simply disappointing by Bioware's own high standards, its about as much content as say, Knights of the Nine for Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion for example or a pair of Fallout 3 DLC.

That said, is the expansion any good? I think that yes, its worth the money to buy it if you're a fan of Dragon Age. The new abilities bring even more strategic depth to the game and some of them are real fun. The Manual of Focus allows you to respec any of your characters which can lead to some severe metagaming abuse. However it also allows you to access the new skills and talents a lot more easily since no one told you in Dragon Age: Origins that you would need 62 Magic for a given talent.

The storyline in Awakenings is standard Bioware fare and the characters are just as fun. Admittedly the story in Awakenings feels that much more personal than Origins simply because you are the one in a position of authority. As the Warden-Commander of Feralden you have to make hard choices and some of them will either come to bite you in the ass or make you smile during the epilogue. The problem with Origins was that you often felt swept away by the tides of history, events much bigger than yourself shaped the narrative. In Awakenings its your city being threatened, your people being massacred; regardless of your Origins story you are now in charge of this fiefdom so its ultimately your responsibility to protect everyone.

I am not so sure that changing most of the cast was the best idea. Awakenings is too short for the same level of depth to develop like for the crew of Origins and the decisions you made in Origins have only a minimal impact on the storyline of Awakenings. I thought it would have been wiser to save this cast for Dragon Age II and reuse more old faces. Sure Morrigan might have disappeared but there was no pressing need for anyone else to be missing aside from maybe Alistair and Shale. Mhari could have filled Alistair's spot, Jowan Morrigan's and add a new character to fill in for Shale who was a DLC character anway. Without any romances and such a short time together I felt I barely knew some of my companions in Awakenings and that is a disappointment in a Bioware game. Also its BS that Dogmeat did not accompany me to Vigil's Keep, especially since you get another chance to recruit him during Return to Ostagar.

The game also seems to set up for Dragon Age II: The Darkspawn Strike Back with a monumental choice prior to the finale. I really don't know how they will make this decision stick in Dragon Age II since it could literally change the course of history. Perhaps DA2 will feature a new Grey Warden trained in Vigil's Keep as a successor to the Origins character.

Bioware if somehow by the Grace of God you're listening: make the character Morrigan's son. Or whatever, tie it in to the Origins story. An Apostate Mage Origin is the child of Morrigan and the Warden, a Human Noble the child of Alistair/Anora and the Warden, an elven Rogue could be Zevran's child with the Warden so on and so forth. It can bring back now older familiar faces as parents, teachers or guides. Wynne's last apprentice (Circle Mage), Shale's new squishy body (Dwarven Noble), so many choices and that's what's Dragon Age about.

Aside from its length and the fact that many of my old favourites have gone their seperate ways, there's not much to criticise about Awakenings that does not also apply to Origins. The camera still screws up in multi-layered environments like a city where climbing a flight of stairs can have the camera wind up in a wall. Enemies still fireball you off-screen where you can't target them. Combat can become ridiculously easy with a pair of well-stated, well-kitted mages. Wade, fantasy's most fabulous blacksmith, still makes the unique armors.

Its best points? It buffs up Rogues and Warriors with new talents, the new specializations are fun, add a lot of flavor to the game and allow for more customization. Ser Pounce-a-lot's unique item power is something to behold. Anders, Nathaniel and Oghren make a great comedy trio. Justice should really have said "its just a flesh wound!" at least once. New armor sets are kickass and there's even a cloth armor set for a mage although the robe item is a random drop. Admittedly by the endgame I was holding on to items that were simply clutter in my inventory because I was never going to sell Maric's armor and Duncan's sword even if new items had outclassed them. I was hoping for an upgrade system like in Throne of Bhaal where I could upgrade these old pieces of equipment with miscellaneous monster bits I collected along the way. The epilogue really makes you feel that your decisions mattered in the lives of the people in your Arling. I wonder what would happen if you were a human noble? Then you'd be a Teyrn if not King yourself.... got to replay as a human noble next.

When The Cold Wind Blows...

As I am typing this, Tropical Cyclone Ului is making landfall on the coast of Central Queensland, about 700 km north of Brisbane. Here's a link to the radar image.

In case you are wondering, a cyclone is what is otherwise known as typhoons or hurricanes in other parts of the world.

I wonder if it's going to move south?

Dragon Age: Awakening

Coming to your stores on 03/18/10 ... Hey its TOMORROW!

10 tips to conquer SE Asia Highest Peak

This is a summary of what I learnt or experienced when climbing mount Kinabalu.

1. Bring lots of water. You never know who might need it (fellow climbers).
2. Bring spare food, you never know who might need it (fellow climbers).
3. Talk less, breath more. For the air near the summit is so thin, I walked about 30 paces and I am breathing hard...
4. Bring you tongkat (trekking pole). Always. Regardless of what your guide would say.
5. Eat an apple or chew gum to reduce the impact of Altitude Motion Sickness (AMS). Supposedly the chewing action helps.
6. Ensure your temples (side of your head) are warm and covered during the ascend. This helps to prevent AMS as well.
7. Do not stop too long or it will break your momentum and make you lazy to carry on.
8. Dress light when on the move. The constant movement will keep you warm. Change into something warmer when you reached the rest house at the middle.
9. Themal wear really keeps you warm. It is available in 2 materials, cotton (ard S$40) and wool (S$100). Wool is thinner and keeps you warmer (hence the price diff).
10. Persevere and you will reach the goal despite it being a tough climb.

Epic Climb!

Just came back from Kinabaru. It is a great and exhausting experience. Had a wonderful time there overall. A recommended trip for those with a love for nature and the will to persevere to the top.

A few photos of the trip

From Rose Cabin hostel, a sleep over before the climb:

The trail. Whole 8.6 km of it.

The last 700 m of the climb to the peak (Low's peak) but so many have already given up.