2011 in review
A bit late but lots of stuff to do during my break, especially once you are confident/competent enough to drive yourself. XP
The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2011 annual report for this blog.
Here’s an excerpt:
The concert hall at the Sydney Opera House holds 2,700 people. This blog was viewed about 31,000 times in 2011. If it were a concert at Sydney Opera House, it would take about 11 sold-out performances for that many people to see it.
Date: 13 November 2011
We went rather late to the convention center on this day. Slept and relaxed the morning away. Only by 11am did we arrive there. We went around the main halls and looked around and totally missed out on the hall area that day. There was a sort of protest at the back due to the graffiti corner being taken down the day before and my friend and I drew some stuff. Unfortunately, I forgot to take a photo of what I drew though. My friend also played around with a certain Robot Damashii…
I also went to the butler cafe with my friends this time – finally. Each person MUST buy a meal set to enter so it came at a high price. It wasn’t really much TBH but at least I get some experience for it though I wish there was more to it… Otherwise, I took a photo (which I didn’t put up online yet) and bought some pins which I haven’t gotten from my friend yet either. Okay, I so need to get my pins soon. >_>;
By around 5pm, my friend and I went out for a while to meet up some of the Singapore Nintendo 3DS Community for their Mario 3D Land launch/Streetpass mini-gathering at… Funan I think. o.o;
We went back by nearly 7pm to the main hall area of the convention center.
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This year, I went to the Anisong Concert which I enjoyed for the first half then lack the energy to contribute completely to the finale. Kinda over-waved my arms when Angela was performing as they did quite a number of songs – I believe they did the most that night. May’n performed the finale but I didn’t feel much energy at that point… I wonder why?
Nonetheless, I had an interesting experience that night, watching how excited people got when their favorite artists took stage and how the crowd played and important role when the artists performed (asides from just watching and hearing them perform).
See the gallery after the break. Most of the photos should be self-explanatory. Watch out for Hardo Gay as well. =P
Click read more for the content, its huge!
Note: Photos are mostly on what went around during the course of the event. Didn’t really take much overall.
Singapore 2011 – Day 3 – AFA 11 Day 2
Date: 12 November 2011
- We went out early for the second day of AFA 11 by around 8am. Do note that the first day was on 11 November 2011 but only the Cool Japan forum and the Vocaloid Concert over at the stage area were conducted. The main halls only opened on 12-13 November 2011.
- We used the train from Bugis to City Hall then walked through the underpass to Suntec Convention Centre.
- We grabbed a toast-ful breakfast from BreadTalk on the way there.
- We arrived there by 9am and I bought some necessary entrance tickets. Unlike last year, there was no overwhelming line of mundane waiting. Things went very smoothly this time around. Looks like the committee learnt their lesson. =)
- There were a lot of things in the main hall and the stage hall was bustling with people as Danny Choo took the stage. This will be illustrated in a gallery post after this.
- I did buy a few things from the stalls and those stuff will be highlighted in a compiled loot post after all these. =P
- I also went to the Moe Moe Kyun Maid Cafe again this year. The price went up a bit but luckily I can share the meal with my friends, else… We bought two sets with three people dining in.
- At any rate, I also took a photo with them. Those who know me on FB, can see it in my Mobile Uploads album.
- Random Note: I was called ojou-sama that day. >.>
- Since I didn’t go for the concert on this day too, I left by 7pm to have some time around Singapore and relax for the night before the next day.
Random Note: “Why is my burger so small?” That teaches me not to go cheap for food next time… darn you exchange rate pain! D=
To be continued…
Singapore 2011 – Day 2 – Universal Studios
Date: 11 November 2011
- This time around, I decided to tag along to Universal Studios at Sentosa Resort, Singapore as I went to Singapore a day earlier than last year. It was also made possible as I didn’t attend the Cool Japan forum on this day.
- We went in the early morning using the trains then the cable car and reached there around 10am. I’m technically afraid of heights but looks like I was able to suppress or even override the fear from this trip.
- Before officially entering the area, we had some shenanigans in front trying to get a good shot in with the spinning globe of smoking awesome.
- In a simple summary, we went to most of the rides, even the “extreme” rides such as the Cylon and Human roller-coasters from Battlestar Galactica. There were lots of side-stuff like professional cosplayers whom you can take photos with and live performances as you walk around the area. In a sense, there is always something lurking every corner!
- Great Scott! We had a burger-filled meal here. The price (SGD1X) was reasonable and the taste was good.
- We stayed there until closing – which was 7pm. A few timed events were missed and the water resort was unfortunately closed that day.
- At the end of the day, we went to eat with a friend from Singapore at a Ramen restaurant. Went cheap and got the most affordable set (SGD1X) while drinking the free plain water like no tomorrow due to dehydration (as I did not bring enough water with me for the fun-filled hot day).
The day’s point of interest was this ride. This is the second time we took it as we took the first one to time the camera expressions above. Spent SGD18 just for this one. ^^;
Random Note #1: I took a total of 5 roller-coaster rides.
Random Note #2: It was scary although my face says otherwise!
Random Note #3: Money, it disappears the moment you start looking at merchandises.
Random Note #4: You shall not leave Universal Studios, specifically the Battlestar Galactica section without a “WTF? – What The Frak?” t-shirt.
That’s all for now, more quick posts later on. =P
Recently I stepped into the world of cards again although this time I bought original cards instead of those fakes you can find in any discount shop around here. It was due to AFA 11 that I decided to get trial decks from Cardfight!! Vanguard as there was a pre-release for the English version. I’ll save the story for this one once I post up my Singapore 2011 trip later on. =P
This is a just a quick post before an actual write up so here are the bullet points.
- Went to airport early in the morning with two of my friends and travel buddies. We separated at the airport since we’re staying at different hostels.
- Reached Changi Airport by 11am safely and went to the hostel by 12pm. Thank goodness for ez-link.
- Went to Chef Daniels at iluma for lunch with friends who are staying at the same hostel. Expensive but nice. >.>
- Then we went to the core of today’s objective, going to Qisahn at Far East Shopping Centre with me getting a 3DS. The Flare Red wasn’t available so I went with the Aqua Blue option for the time being. Unfortunately, the clear casing ran out at that point of time so it’ll be protected by a screen protector only for now. Got two games as well but only one of them was a 3DS game since the ones I wanted were not in stock. Ah well, main mission successful, games can always be bought next time.
- We went off to the other Far East for my friend’s stuff.
- Now back to hostel to rest for a bit. :P
Temporary Hiatus
Just putting this quick message out that this secondary blog will be on a hiatus until further notice. Lots of stuff to do and prepare for in real life so I can’t find the time to maintain both my blogs.
Until the next post~
Gao Gao (TT Hongli) HG 1/144 Arios Review
Price: RM1X~RM2X
I didn’t really expect to make a review on this model kit since I initially lost a part (then it was luckily found) so it doesn’t have the proper photo-shoot for a full, usual review. However, someone did request me to do one and I decided to do one, at the benefit of further using my new phone’s camera though. Unlike the review on the BB Sinanju a few weeks back, this one is completely taken through my Samsung Galaxy S II‘s camera.
Please take note that I did not detail this model kit much due to the fact that I plan to do something to it later on although not within the near future. The most I did was paint the clear parts red and minor panel lining.
Note 1: I got this model kit as a leftover from the GG HG 1/144 Arios GNHW/M from a fellow blogger and friend - Souji Shinogane.
Note 2: It doesn’t have the display base because of that. So I’m using an action base also from TT Hongli/Gao Gao which works very well.
Note 3: You can refer to an older quick review on the Bandai version.
Note 4: Being very close to the window doesn’t fare well for the phone camera sensor. ^^;
Xbox Phone (Xbox Portable Madness Continues)
In continuation of my “WTF am I thinking?” line of posts starting from here, here is the Xbox Phone.
The idea came to me after playing “Game Dev Story” on my Android smartphone. The portable gaming space is actually quite large when you factor phones into the picture especially with their capabilities nowadays. I mean, look at the Sony Ericsson Xperia Play and nVidia’s Tegra 2. Another thing to consider is the growth of smartphones in the market recently, thanks to Google’s Android OS especially. Too bad battery technology is still growing way too slowly to cover the needs of the power hungry smartphone (if you’re gonna utilize it fully I say). A day worth of use is normal but it normally doesn’t extend further than that unless you’re calling and messaging lightly… but you won’t be doing just that with a smartphone.
Windows Phone 7 isn’t that popular in the charts as compared to the larger contenders, but maybe that could change. I mean, we like to play games on Windows, right? ;)
Another factor to consider from Microsoft is their integration of the Xbox platform for gaming purposes. Extending it (further) wouldn’t be so far-fetched, no? There’s that contract with Nokia as well.
Designed by me out of pure randomness. Inspired by the Sony Ericsson Xperia Play and HTC Incredible S.
In terms of design, I can’t say much. I’m not a professional designer nor someone in a related profession. At any rate, here’s my rough idea. Overall, to have a very clean look, I think touch sensitive keys are the way to go. It is more riskier as it doesn’t provided the ye-olde feedback but an optional vibrating feedback could do (something I noticed from my Samsung Galaxy S II). The design here is looking to a 3.3″ screen size slide form factor. Basically, the screen resolution would be around 640×360 (16:9) at least. However, looking at the official specifications of Windows Phone 7, it looks like the native resolution should be 800×480 (5:3). Not so far-fetched but a larger screen (required for this resolution unless a high PPI density screen is in order) will take up more power although becomes more comfortable for some, if not many, smartphone usages.
Controls would be physical LR shoulder buttons and touch-sensitive analog/d-pad, action pad, home, back and start buttons. Touch-screen will be utilized for lack of a full control pad. Something like that. Imagine scrolling the menu using the touch-screen directly or even panning the camera via gestures on-screen. If you had played on a DS, you’d understand.
Touch input gaming is the norm in the smartphone world now but as seen from the niche Xperia Play, things could be different and more versatile. Some genre of games can’t really work with on-screen controls as out thumbs awkwardly block most of the screen. Thus, an optional game pad could ease and open up further gaming possibilities. Or it could just be me wanting some big adventure RPGs on my phone. Fighting games can be a go too.
With smartphones being in more pockets, I don’t see why there shouldn’t be an expansion in this niche. The form factor suggested here is rather “fat” but that can be reduced if the bulging expansion isn’t required to increase the battery capacity (as anything lower than 1500mAh may not be long-lasting enough). I really wish battery technology expand faster, real soon.
- Penetration Model (<U$D300)
- Minimum CPU and GPU requirements.
- 3.X” screen at a resolution of at least 640×360 for minimum widescreen goodness.
- Market competitive standard features such as Accelerometer, Gyroscope, A-GPS and so on.
- Front-facing camera can be skimped or limited to VGA. Rear-facing camera should at least be 5MP (with or without flash).
- LCD or S-LCD screen.
- Standard Model (>U$D300)
- “Snappy and smooth” level of CPU and GPU combo.
- 3.X”~4.X” screen at a resolution of at least 800×480. Recommended to be 854×480 for WVGA screen proportion (better suited for media).
- Market competitive standard features such as Accelerometer, Gyroscope, A-GPS and so on.
- Front-facing and rear-facing camera are market competitive.
- S-LCD, IPS or AMOLED screen.
- A “fuller” control scheme?
That’s all for now. I better get started on more important things soon as my final paper is drawing ever so close. ^^;
Disclaimer: I DO NOT work for Microsoft or any game company. I’m just a student with too much stuff on the mind when close to exams.
