Okay - after 2 posts about Halo 3 - I'm going to try to get back in gear and do a blog post that contains no video game references (other than this line!).
Anyway, Gerry loves playing with all of his various teddy bears etc. Although not his favourite, he has a big stuffed Doraemon teddy which is just slightly bigger than he is. During one of his "play" sessions with Doraemon, I grabbed the camera and took a quick video of him and Doraemon.
As you can see from the video - they are BFF!
:D
Friday, September 28, 2007
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
Halo 3 (again!)
At this time, I really should apologise to my regular blog readers. As you can tell from the title, this is going to be another game related post. Unfortunately for you, the only thing I can think about at this moment is Halo 3 so you will have to just bear with me until the thril passes. Don't worry, I'm sure it won't be longer than a week ... or two. :)
Anyway, one of the things about Halo 3 that has really impressed me is the video function. All games are automatically recorded by the game as you play. After you finish playing, you can then play back the video and watch what you did. Whats great about it is that you have full control over the camera in this video and you can take film clips or screenshots to show off what you have done. Its really a very cool idea and I've spent an inordinate amount of time playing around inside the video instead of actually playing the game.
You can also refer to my gaming blog if you wanna check out some screenshots from the game. I intend to post ongoing screenshots of my gaming sessions in there. However, this has gotten me to thinking. What else can I do with this function?
The obvious thing is to create a Halo comic strip. To do that, all I would need is some decent screenshots, Photoshop (or an equivalent) and a healthy dose of imagination. I can get the screenshots from the game and I have a photo editor. The question is whether I have enough imagination to script an actual comic.
Maybe as a test run, I could create a comic based on the Halo 3 storyline. By following the storyline, I already have an idea of what dialogue to include so my imagination won't be stretched too hard! Also, it will give me an idea of how feasible the project is (viz a viz time and my limited ability with a photo editor!).
Anyway, one of the things about Halo 3 that has really impressed me is the video function. All games are automatically recorded by the game as you play. After you finish playing, you can then play back the video and watch what you did. Whats great about it is that you have full control over the camera in this video and you can take film clips or screenshots to show off what you have done. Its really a very cool idea and I've spent an inordinate amount of time playing around inside the video instead of actually playing the game.
You can also refer to my gaming blog if you wanna check out some screenshots from the game. I intend to post ongoing screenshots of my gaming sessions in there. However, this has gotten me to thinking. What else can I do with this function?
The obvious thing is to create a Halo comic strip. To do that, all I would need is some decent screenshots, Photoshop (or an equivalent) and a healthy dose of imagination. I can get the screenshots from the game and I have a photo editor. The question is whether I have enough imagination to script an actual comic.
Maybe as a test run, I could create a comic based on the Halo 3 storyline. By following the storyline, I already have an idea of what dialogue to include so my imagination won't be stretched too hard! Also, it will give me an idea of how feasible the project is (viz a viz time and my limited ability with a photo editor!).
Monday, September 24, 2007
Halo 3
Halo 3 gets released tomorrow. At this point, I guess I should apologise for another gaming related post. However, at this moment in time, Halo 3 is the only thing that occupies my mind - so I guess you'll have to bear with me.
I say it gets released tomorrow - however, it would probably be fairer to say that it gets released tonight. Toys R Us in Harbour City is having a midnight opening tonight so that eager Halo fans can buy the game at the stroke of midnight (and hence technically 25 September) and then rush home to play. Which is actually the first time I've heard of this kind of thing in HK.
You see, midnight openings are very common in the US and in the UK for big games. However, I've never heard of it happening in HK before. To be honest, I wonder how many people will show up at Toys R Us tonight to buy Halo 3. Maybe I'm being harsh on HK people here but the impression I have of the HK market is that there aren't that many people who buy originals (I'm one of the few) as most will buy or download pirate games.
What do you think? Am I being harsh on HK people or is the place really a pirate haven?
I say it gets released tomorrow - however, it would probably be fairer to say that it gets released tonight. Toys R Us in Harbour City is having a midnight opening tonight so that eager Halo fans can buy the game at the stroke of midnight (and hence technically 25 September) and then rush home to play. Which is actually the first time I've heard of this kind of thing in HK.
You see, midnight openings are very common in the US and in the UK for big games. However, I've never heard of it happening in HK before. To be honest, I wonder how many people will show up at Toys R Us tonight to buy Halo 3. Maybe I'm being harsh on HK people here but the impression I have of the HK market is that there aren't that many people who buy originals (I'm one of the few) as most will buy or download pirate games.
What do you think? Am I being harsh on HK people or is the place really a pirate haven?
Friday, September 21, 2007
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
Video from my new camera
Continuing on the theme of my new Casio Exilim, below is a video we took of Gerry using the camera. In it, you can see Gerry counting to 10 before he gets too enthralled with taking apart the PC!
Anyway, the video is another reason I dislike the Casio Exilim. The reason is that the Casio Exilim records video in the Quicktime movie format. However, I don't have a video editor which can edit Quicktime (my previous editor came with my old Canon camera).
Granted, the Casio Exilim does come with a CD which includes a video editor which can edit Quicktime. However, the program (called Ulead Movie Wizard) really isn't very good. In fact, in my opinion, its a piece of shit software which was probably designed to make you buy a different video editor. Coincidentally, on the CD is the trial version of a different, and more powerful, video editor which you can buy. How convenient!
This pisses me off. The software bundled with the Exilim is basically worthless. I know one of my readers is considering buying a small digital camera. Now obviously, I don't know what software comes with the newer Canon cameras - however, based on the software I got with my old Canon, I'm guessing it would be better than the shit I currently have. Based on my experience with the Casio Exilim so far, I would recommend you go with Canon.
By the way, can anyone recommend a free video editor to me?
Monday, September 17, 2007
Pics from my new camera
You may recall that I bought a new camera recently.
Here are some pictures that we took of Gerry using our new Casio Exilim. Unfortunately, they were taken before I realised I still had the time stamp on (personally, I hate that function - imo, it just gets in the way of the photo).
Anyway, one thing that I really don't like about the Exilim is that it doesn't automatically rotate pictures to get them the right way up (For the record, my old Canon automatically rotated pictures both in the Camera playback mode and also upon transfer to my PC.). You can see from the last 2 pictures below that they are on their side. This is because the camera was on its side.
Now granted, I know how to rotate the pictures manually. However, I will be taking hundreds of pictures using this camera. I really don't want to rotate all the pictures manually!
This is a picture of me reading a story to Gerry. Look how happy he is!
Gerry likes his sweetcorn. So do I! :)
And some random pics of Gerry at home.
Here are some pictures that we took of Gerry using our new Casio Exilim. Unfortunately, they were taken before I realised I still had the time stamp on (personally, I hate that function - imo, it just gets in the way of the photo).
Anyway, one thing that I really don't like about the Exilim is that it doesn't automatically rotate pictures to get them the right way up (For the record, my old Canon automatically rotated pictures both in the Camera playback mode and also upon transfer to my PC.). You can see from the last 2 pictures below that they are on their side. This is because the camera was on its side.
Now granted, I know how to rotate the pictures manually. However, I will be taking hundreds of pictures using this camera. I really don't want to rotate all the pictures manually!
This is a picture of me reading a story to Gerry. Look how happy he is!
Gerry likes his sweetcorn. So do I! :)
And some random pics of Gerry at home.
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Back in BJ
As you know, I am in Beijing at the moment. I arrived last night and took a taxi to get to the hotel from the airport. However, being the idiot that I am, I gave the taxi driver the wrong name for the hotel (I'm staying in a different hotel than the one I normally stay in due to our new hotel policy).
In my defence, it was an easy mistake to make. I gave him the abbreviated name of the hotel. However, it turns out that there is actually a completely different hotel in Beijing whose name just happens to be the same as the abbreviated name of the hotel I am staying in!
Apologies if the above is confusing but there is a reason I am not giving out the hotel name.
Anyway, when we pull up to the wrong hotel, I can see that the name doesn't match up (but that it is similar). At this point, I realise my error and give the taxi driver the correct name for the hotel I am staying in. Luckily for me, the correct hotel is quite close (in fact, its just up the road!).
Unfortunately, the wrong hotel is in a one way slip road (that runs parallel to the main road) so in order to get back on the main road, the driver has to take a large detour down the rest of the slip road. This kind of slip road seems to be quite popular in BJ - especially as there were a couple of restaurants and another hotel on that slip road.
So, as he is driving slowly down this slip road, we pass a guy holding a stack of business cards standing next to the slip road. He holds out a couple of cards to me but I ignore him. Undeterred, he throws the cards into the taxi (the front door window of the taxi was open). Unfortunately for me, this seems to be a common practice in BJ as well. As the taxi slowly went down the slip road, I was assaulted by a constant stream of business cards being thrown into my face!
You may recall that when I was here in March, I had an incident with a madam who accosted me on the street with a business card (And if you can't recall, you can refresh your memory here). Well, it seems that they are all at it!
I am currently the (not so) proud owner of a stack of business cards. On one side is an alluring picture of a young pretty girl with the word "Student!" printed across the top. On the other side, emblazoned in bold text, is a telephone number. In slightly smaller print, it says "You Want beautiful Young chinese girls for Massage and more service... Yes, that's What we have!" (and yes, I am copying that verbatim - capitalisation an' all). Apparently, there are a lot of chinese and russian students in BJ as the chinese and russian style "massage" services are available 24 hours a day.
What can I say - if you are ever in BJ and need a "massage", let me know.
Coincidentally, I will be going for a massage tonight.
:)
In my defence, it was an easy mistake to make. I gave him the abbreviated name of the hotel. However, it turns out that there is actually a completely different hotel in Beijing whose name just happens to be the same as the abbreviated name of the hotel I am staying in!
Apologies if the above is confusing but there is a reason I am not giving out the hotel name.
Anyway, when we pull up to the wrong hotel, I can see that the name doesn't match up (but that it is similar). At this point, I realise my error and give the taxi driver the correct name for the hotel I am staying in. Luckily for me, the correct hotel is quite close (in fact, its just up the road!).
Unfortunately, the wrong hotel is in a one way slip road (that runs parallel to the main road) so in order to get back on the main road, the driver has to take a large detour down the rest of the slip road. This kind of slip road seems to be quite popular in BJ - especially as there were a couple of restaurants and another hotel on that slip road.
So, as he is driving slowly down this slip road, we pass a guy holding a stack of business cards standing next to the slip road. He holds out a couple of cards to me but I ignore him. Undeterred, he throws the cards into the taxi (the front door window of the taxi was open). Unfortunately for me, this seems to be a common practice in BJ as well. As the taxi slowly went down the slip road, I was assaulted by a constant stream of business cards being thrown into my face!
You may recall that when I was here in March, I had an incident with a madam who accosted me on the street with a business card (And if you can't recall, you can refresh your memory here). Well, it seems that they are all at it!
I am currently the (not so) proud owner of a stack of business cards. On one side is an alluring picture of a young pretty girl with the word "Student!" printed across the top. On the other side, emblazoned in bold text, is a telephone number. In slightly smaller print, it says "You Want beautiful Young chinese girls for Massage and more service... Yes, that's What we have!" (and yes, I am copying that verbatim - capitalisation an' all). Apparently, there are a lot of chinese and russian students in BJ as the chinese and russian style "massage" services are available 24 hours a day.
What can I say - if you are ever in BJ and need a "massage", let me know.
Coincidentally, I will be going for a massage tonight.
:)
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
My new camera
A while ago, I mentioned that I was looking for a new camera. Well, after hours of painstaking research - trawling through websites looking at numerous reviews of different cameras - I finally made my decision. Based on the reviews, it looked like the Canon Digital Ixus 950 was my best bet. All the reviews were positive and generally indicated that it was a very good camera.
So, armed with this knowledge, I hit the streets to check the street price in HK. Naturally, I brought my wife along with me as she is better at negotiating for discounts than I am.
We wander into the electronics store and ask to see the camera. The salesmen grabs the model off the shelf and plonks it down onto the counter in front of me. Then he opens his mouth and proves to me that he is an expert salesman.
How? In the 2 seconds it took for him to grab the camera, he was able to size us up perfectly. He knew exactly who was the party he needed to make the sale to. Furthermore, he knew exactly how to make a sale.
After plonking down the Ixus 950 in front of me, he whips out the Casio Exilim and turns to my wife. Launching into a spiel about how the camera is the thinnest camera in the world and how it comes in different colors etc etc. I type etc etc here as this is the only thing which my wife can remember from that conversation. At this point, she had already been sold (especially by the nice burgundy color of the Exilim!).
We walked out of that electronics store with the Casio Exilim. As I said, an expert salesman.
PS I am off to Beijing tomorrow so may not be able to post for the rest of this week. According to a friend of mine in BJ, my blog is now blocked in BJ! I guess I should have been more discreet in my criticisms of the Chinese government!
Update - I just realised. This is my 100th post! Woot Woot!
So, armed with this knowledge, I hit the streets to check the street price in HK. Naturally, I brought my wife along with me as she is better at negotiating for discounts than I am.
We wander into the electronics store and ask to see the camera. The salesmen grabs the model off the shelf and plonks it down onto the counter in front of me. Then he opens his mouth and proves to me that he is an expert salesman.
How? In the 2 seconds it took for him to grab the camera, he was able to size us up perfectly. He knew exactly who was the party he needed to make the sale to. Furthermore, he knew exactly how to make a sale.
After plonking down the Ixus 950 in front of me, he whips out the Casio Exilim and turns to my wife. Launching into a spiel about how the camera is the thinnest camera in the world and how it comes in different colors etc etc. I type etc etc here as this is the only thing which my wife can remember from that conversation. At this point, she had already been sold (especially by the nice burgundy color of the Exilim!).
We walked out of that electronics store with the Casio Exilim. As I said, an expert salesman.
PS I am off to Beijing tomorrow so may not be able to post for the rest of this week. According to a friend of mine in BJ, my blog is now blocked in BJ! I guess I should have been more discreet in my criticisms of the Chinese government!
Update - I just realised. This is my 100th post! Woot Woot!
Saturday, September 8, 2007
Wood Wedding Anniversary
Wow - can you believe I have been married 5 years now? My Wood wedding anniversary was on 1 September and to celebrate, the missus and I went to El Cid in Causeway Bay. As you can guess from the name, this is a Spanish restaurant.
Ever since I started trying to save some money, the wife and I haven't really spent much time dating or eating out. As this was our wedding anniversary, we decided to go out for dinner. Okay - granted, a night out at El Cid is hardly what you would call fantastic fare (the tapas there is only okay but the paella was quite nice). Still, it was a nice opportunity for us to get out and away from Gerry. A little bit of quality time for us.
After dinner, we went to Haagen Dazs for dessert. The missus had a cookie crunch (with 3 different scoops of ice cream!) while I had the hot chocolate brownie. If you have never had the hot chocolate brownie at Haagen Dazs - you haven't lived!
1 square of chocolate brownie with thick chocolate sauce over the top (served hot naturally!). This is accompanied by 2 scoops of ice-cream and another generous side lashing of thick chocolate sauce and whipped cream. Yummy! With the delish dessert to top things off, we really enjoyed ourselves last night.
Of course, the 1/2 liter of sangria helped as well.
Ever since I started trying to save some money, the wife and I haven't really spent much time dating or eating out. As this was our wedding anniversary, we decided to go out for dinner. Okay - granted, a night out at El Cid is hardly what you would call fantastic fare (the tapas there is only okay but the paella was quite nice). Still, it was a nice opportunity for us to get out and away from Gerry. A little bit of quality time for us.
After dinner, we went to Haagen Dazs for dessert. The missus had a cookie crunch (with 3 different scoops of ice cream!) while I had the hot chocolate brownie. If you have never had the hot chocolate brownie at Haagen Dazs - you haven't lived!
1 square of chocolate brownie with thick chocolate sauce over the top (served hot naturally!). This is accompanied by 2 scoops of ice-cream and another generous side lashing of thick chocolate sauce and whipped cream. Yummy! With the delish dessert to top things off, we really enjoyed ourselves last night.
Of course, the 1/2 liter of sangria helped as well.
Wednesday, September 5, 2007
A nice night out
These days, I only get to go to the pub once in a blue moon. Luckily for me, the sky tonight was very clear and the moon was very blue!
One of my colleagues at work is off to China next week in order to intensively study Chinese (the guy is Malaysian). He will be there for 3 and a half months before returning to HK to get married. Okay, so I made up the marriage part - but he is coming back to HK!
So tonight was his going away drinks night - a perfect excuse for us to get together and have a few drinks (while hopefully accompanied by some pretty girls)! While we managed to get the pretty girls bit right, unfortunately our drinks were cut short. Halfway through my first beer, he got a call from his girlfriend. Not long after, he gave us a shoddy excuse ("I had arranged to meet her before" - sheahh right) and then left early. Yeah - he left his own going away drinks night early!
You can tell this guy is prime marriage material - he is so going to be under his wifes thumb! And I should know. After all, you know what they say - it takes one to know one!
One of my colleagues at work is off to China next week in order to intensively study Chinese (the guy is Malaysian). He will be there for 3 and a half months before returning to HK to get married. Okay, so I made up the marriage part - but he is coming back to HK!
So tonight was his going away drinks night - a perfect excuse for us to get together and have a few drinks (while hopefully accompanied by some pretty girls)! While we managed to get the pretty girls bit right, unfortunately our drinks were cut short. Halfway through my first beer, he got a call from his girlfriend. Not long after, he gave us a shoddy excuse ("I had arranged to meet her before" - sheahh right) and then left early. Yeah - he left his own going away drinks night early!
You can tell this guy is prime marriage material - he is so going to be under his wifes thumb! And I should know. After all, you know what they say - it takes one to know one!
Monday, September 3, 2007
Miss South Carolina
You really have to pity this poor girl.
Basically, Miss South Carolina was at a beauty pageant which was on live TV. She was asked a question and completely screwed up the answer (and I'm being nice when I say that - just watch the video if you don't believe me). Ever since then, the internet has been ruthless in its urine extraction of this poor girl.
First off, I don't know her. And I have no idea of how intelligent (or not as the case may be) she is. However, one thing I do know is that no-one is as stupid as that video would seem to portray (unless there was some kind of medical condition involved). Looking at other videos of her, she looks like a normal girl.
So what does this tell us? Well, I would guess she was just overwhelmed by the situation and panicked. In fact, in her comments on her own performance, she says that she didn't hear the question properly and simply made a mistake. Quite frankly, this seems to be the more likely scenario.
Still, the video is funny.
:)
Basically, Miss South Carolina was at a beauty pageant which was on live TV. She was asked a question and completely screwed up the answer (and I'm being nice when I say that - just watch the video if you don't believe me). Ever since then, the internet has been ruthless in its urine extraction of this poor girl.
First off, I don't know her. And I have no idea of how intelligent (or not as the case may be) she is. However, one thing I do know is that no-one is as stupid as that video would seem to portray (unless there was some kind of medical condition involved). Looking at other videos of her, she looks like a normal girl.
So what does this tell us? Well, I would guess she was just overwhelmed by the situation and panicked. In fact, in her comments on her own performance, she says that she didn't hear the question properly and simply made a mistake. Quite frankly, this seems to be the more likely scenario.
Still, the video is funny.
:)
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