Rant 1068 / With Vocaloid, Who Needs Real Voices?

So I expected the Carrefour final clearance sale at the Singapore Expo to be quite devoid of anything really interesting.

Not really, but it was not what I expected.

Instead of walls of bottled water like I saw at Plaza Singapura, the sale turned out to be a bed accessories galore.

No bottled water, no netbooks and printers, nope.

Just mattress protectors, bed sheets, tiny 1m-long bolsters, bolster covers, pillow casings, cushion casings and etc.

And socks. Fucking socks. I wouldn't mind socks but they were all up to size fucking 12 like they were taunting me.

Seriously, every single pair of socks on sale were for size 7 to 11 or 12. Not one for size 13. Not even one.

And underwears and shirts, but I didn't need dress shirts since all I need were the ones I ordered on Kickstarter.

There were a few booths from banks but I needed nothing from those. Two tried to get me to get loans and savings accounts but LIKE I NEEDED A FUCKING LOAN TO BUY BED SHEETS!

One of them was particularly unforgettable because I think she was faking her squeaky voice. Either that or she had an unnaturally anime-like voice for a grown woman. Either way, it disturbed me.


Anyways I have never been to the Expo for sales before so it was kinda educational. For one, the queue was crazy, ie I will never go there again.

Another thing I didn't know was that they could share expo halls. There were several other companies there doing smaller sales in the same hall with Carrefour, like OTO with its own clearance sale which appeared pretty successful because it's area was... spacious. Lots of massage chairs and that sort of thing.

There were some cheap scented candles but one sniff was all I needed to understand why they were selling them at $3 for six 2" tall and 1" diameter candles. I wouldn't take them even if they were free.

TBH I did want to get a set of anti-mite bed sheets but the queue was so ridiculous I went back and put the pack back onto the wagon instead.

It's just a blue gun! WTF? How did it even come up with that price?

It sucks (for Zero)!

With that terrible ammo capacity plus a 2-ammo-per-shot handicap, relatively poor accuracy; and lack of special ability, I have no idea why it is priced at over $5000.

So I researched more into the subject of interior designers, whose service I already knew will be expensive.

Apparently, I will need to set aside at least S$20k for this, but I think I will consider something around double of that if my bro and I can afford it.

It may be a big sum, but I'm talking about the home we will be living in for many years, so it will be worth it... as long as we can afford it then and it turns out well.

This is going to be in the future though, probably in 10 years' time after we move to a new flat, so there's plenty of time for imagination.

We will most likely have to set aside a similar sum in order to stay in a flat that's on a similar storey, so it's something to keep in mind.

Rant 1067 / Bordercraft 2

The current situation in Greece and Spain sounds horrible. What happens when a pharmacy runs out of insulin and the diabetic patients are unable to afford it without government subsidies at private clinics or hospitals?

Charities?

Charities, AFAIK, run on shoe-string budgets even during good times, so what happens now?


























So I found this Shills thing on Qoo10 that's supposed to make the skin exfoliate when massaged with it. This will lighten any unsightly dark patches on any part of the body, eg ankles, back of knees, armpits and etc. It appeared quite popular there with several sellers trying to promote the exact same product, so I got one to try it out.

Tried it today and was kinda shocked by its effectiveness.

Initially I expected nothing. I mean, the only effective exfoliation product I know of is the Amethystory facial cleanser and other products that claim to have the same effect that I've tried do not work as well.

On my first attempt, since I expected it not to work well, I scrubbed hard, and the result was stunning to the point where I was worried I was going to see blood if I rubbed any harder.

Anyhow, I wonder what causes that effect in the foam. As far as I can tell, it doesn't seem to be friction because otherwise I'd get abrasions on my palms, so it's likely to be some kind of chemical reaction.























I can't avoid coffee - it is just so effective! Just sitting on my ass drinking half a cup of it after not taking it for some time perks me up within 15mins. Without coffee, the alternative to achieve the same effect would be some exercise, but seriously, who the heck likes to do exercise immediately after they get out of bed?

Moreover, I've stopped my exercises after the sinus treatment when my doctor told me not to breathe hard or get water into my nose for several days, and I completely lost my momentum ever since.

Now I can't start, hence coffee.

Yet I really dislike the inevitable cold turkey phase that comes after a week or two, which occurs as I never allow myself to have a daily coffee for longer than that because it eventually stops giving me the buzz.

I wish there's some way I can handle the cold turkey better instead of sleeping in the day and risk ruining my somewhat fragile sleep cycle.

Anyways, I also don't see how coffee makes people lazy like what that study I mentioned before said. From personal experience, coffee makes me more motivated to work due to the temporary buzz it gives me. For most people, it jumpstarts their engines; for me, it's about starting my engine at all.























Holy shit! Carrefour is having an final clearance sale from the 27th till the 30th before it closes! Common sense says there's going to be even bigger discounts.

I must go!

Hopefully they will still have a few bottles of Jack Daniel's left by then.
























So I already have a life insurance policy at NTUC Income and I didn't even know it.

Yeah, I'm to be blamed for this because I was never interested in what insurance my parents got for me. Back then, I didn't give a damn about any money matter.

So I got the SAFRA Living Care policy before I realized my life policy there basically covers almost the exact same things.

The differences, after some queries and reading, are as follows:

1) Living Care is a term policy that stops coverage at a certain age; life policy stays as long as I'm alive.
2) The term policy is much cheaper than the life policy, almost by half for my age.
3) If I cancel the life policy, I can get my money back. I don't get a single cent if I cancel the term policy.
4) The term policy covers hospitalization that the life policy doesn't.

I also confirmed with NTUC Income that if I ever get hit by something covered by both policies, I will be able to claim for both, except for the permanent disability compensation which is capped at a certain amount.

Which is fine with me because I'm only worried about cancer.

Still, if I had known I already have that life policy there, I'd have chosen another brand. Since it's already done and the rate is still perfectly affordable, I'm letting it be.

Also changed all my premium payment modes to annual payment because they all offer lower rates for that and I have absolutely no intention of cancelling any of my policies in the foreseeable future.


























So the Queen's Blade MMO website had been launched in Korea, and Aeria Games has been confirmed to be the US publisher of the game.

The best part?

It actually has porn.

Seriously, there's an "Adult Zone" in the Korean website where images of the characters in the nude exist. No hardcore action, just softcore porn.

And they are all available on Google without having to register at the website to enter the Adult Zone.

A mainstream MMO with actual nudity included. Welp, they have finally crossed the line and I'm sure everyone saw it coming.

There is, however, the big possibility that the porn won't exist in the US version because of their censorship laws. It's funny how it's ok for their kids to see how adults take drugs, blow up body parts but NO FEMALE NIPPLES ALLOWED!

I'm not sure what kind of horrendous effect the sight of female nipples have on non-adults but for some reason, I have this impression that seeing up close the effects of a shotgun fired at point blank on a human head has to be worse than it. Then again, I live in Singapore, so I can't really criticize their censorship laws.

In conclusion, now is a good time to learn Korean.



























Found a secret area accidentally when I spotted some oddly shaped rocks in the Caustic Caverns. While most rocks were irregularly formed, those were clearly carved cuboids.

So I jumped onto them and noticed a strange brown wall nearby. More intriguing was the fact that according to the map... I was not even in the map anymore.

And this was what I found when I got closer:

Looks very familiar, doesn't it?

Guns don't work on these.

They even made a special effect for this.

A second, harder wall!

I really didn't expect this. Simple walls were one thing, but creepers too?

 They even explode like real creepers.

 Of course there's a mini-boss, now that we've seen monsters here. And of course it drops special loots.
 


Yep, a secret Minecraft area in the Caustic Caverns. Borderlands 2 is filled with things like this, and I like it.

Rant 1066 / Disturbingly Perturbed

Was wandering around looting Firehawk's hideout after finishing the Enkindling quest when I looked at the screens.

Roland used to be different.



















Got iOS 6 on my iPad. Currently learning the uses and limitations of Siri.

So far the most useful function is the "Open " command, but the funny thing is that Siri can't close apps.

Why???

I have this habit of closing apps that I don't intend to use right after I'm done using them in order to conserve battery power, so if I'm going to get used to getting Siri to open my apps, it's not going to be that awesome if I have to close them manually.

Shrinking is not a problem because if Siri can be opened on top of apps, I can open whichever app I want without exiting the app, as long as I can remember the app.

Another is that it can send emails for me. Granted, it is unable to understand a number of terms I've tried so far, like local street names, because it's using UK English but it can handle the simple stuff.

Finally, it can set alarms, reminder and timers for me. Kind of useful, but mainly just the timer for the times when I leave something to cook while I wait at the computer.

The alarm volume is the same as the sound volume I set for the tablet, which means it's very soft. Kinda pointless. Reminders are useful because they are displayed on the lock screen. Could make decent shopping lists.




















US$100k for the death of whoever made the terrible anti-Islam film?

Either the minister is stupid or he's too emotional, and therefore, again, stupid.

Bounties don't work in today's society.

The problem with it is that it's impossible to trust complete strangers to identify the target correctly. This is especially true when the filmmaker is currently not confirmed to be the guy under arrest by the US police.

Hence, it can cause unnecessary violence among innocent civilians.

This minister is basically inciting violence in the US, and I'd be surprised if he's still a minister by the end of the year.




















China doesn't want the Nexen deal to be politicized but that doesn't even make sense!

The deal involves a Chinese state-owned company proposing to take over a Canadian energy company.

How can politics not be involved at all?























If humans ever come into contact with aliens, and these aliens have some form of religion, some religious humans are going to compare their religion(s) with the aliens' and find common points as evidence that their deity or deities exist, unless of course those points don't conform to their doctrines.

Then again, in almost all religions, things are selectively interpreted either literally or otherwise so they will find what they want to find.




















After all these time, despite all the advancements in psychology, it is clear nobody really understands each other. Even though it is scary how the marketing people of commercial corporations manipulate their victims, IMO they're only barely scratching the surface of what is possible.

The reason is that even today, nobody really knows how to make a successful film or game. Some film studios, TV studios and game developers can somehow nudge the probabilities in their favour, but none of their methods have succeeded constantly.

The fact remains that we still don't know what we like. The best of us have only a vague idea, but nobody seems to know for sure what will be popular until the product is released.
























Borderlands 2 rapes my FPS so bad sometimes, even though I'm not setting everything to High.

Still, it's an interesting game.

"Explosive Fuster Cluck"

Another weapon I'm using, the Critical Shotgun 1340, is both powerful and entertaining to use. It probably also helps that I focus on Critical Damage skills, originally to get more damage from headshots, since it has already 50% more Crit Dmg. The gun's one of two possible rewards from a sidequest so any player can get it easily.


Seriously, it's the little things like this that makes a game a lot more fun.

This game is not a serious one. As far as I can tell, none of the characters are actually the cool, serious sort that are common in other FPS games. Even Zero spouts memes, like sometimes when he uses his power, he goes,"How hilarious! You just activated my trap card!"


























The thing about Iran's desire to use nuclear energy as a power source only leads to two possibilities:

1) Its oil is running out.
2) "Peaceful purposes" my ass.

If 1 is true, then Israel is being a complete jerk by trying to stop Iran from having a future.

If 2 is true, then Israel may be right.

Except it's a fact that Israel is a complete jerk, although this doesn't prevent 2 from being true.

Rant 1065 / Borderlands 2 Is Pretty Good

According to the timescale of the Creationists, dinosaurs went extinct in 1927 AD.

The first multi-celled creature found in fossils was from around 1188 AD.

This may or may not be accurate. Creationists believe that God created the world in 4004BC, so whoever made that chart merely simply shrank the most widely accepted (by the scientific community) version of the history of Earth into the 6000 years of the Creationists' timescale.

It would probably make more sense if the Creationists squeezed all the dinosaurs into the earlier parts of the history and was nowhere proptional to our version, but then again, I'm not familiar with their version at all.



























Went to Plaza Singapura today for multiple reasons, one of which was to take a look at the closing Carrefour ex-supermarket.

The selection, for a supermarket, was... no longer in existence. There were roughly 10 shelves and wagons of products plus 2-3 shelves of fresh products, and that's it.

All the good stuff have already been stripped but I managed to find a simple lantern for $2.

Normally I wouldn't buy such a thing but because of the price and because I don't have any lanterns for my candles, I took one.

Straight from the box

Ready

$2 for a glass-in-steel lantern. I'd say that's a steal.



Later I found that The Body Shop was having a sale at the atrium on the first floor, mostly for shower gels and body butters (moisturisers for everywhere but the face) and stuff like that, but there was also a section for fragrance oils.

$14.90 for two 10ml bottles!

So I picked a Sandalwood & Ginger, and Aloe & Soft Linen.




Also went to Allercare at Tanglin Shopping Centre to get some anti-mite products. My sinus treatment does not have a permanent effect. According to the doctor, if I continue to be exposed to allergens, the symptoms will return anywhere between several weeks to over a year.

That treatment cost me $500 and gave me quite a bit of inconvenience for a few days, so I'm reluctant to risk doing it all over again.

Hence the anti-mite laundry detergent, spray and pillow casing.

Chose Allercare because it was advertised in the booklet given to me after the allergy test by the hospital, instead of other cheaper alternatives.

$223 for all that, mainly for the detergent that cost over $100. A bed sheet would have been another $200+.

The detergent was 1-litre though, and I'm going to be using it every month or two, so it will last for at least a year.

The pillow casing and bed sheet both can last for years, so they're not that expensive from that perspective. Still, I'm kinda reluctant to blow over $450 at one go on this sort of thing.




The entire trip under the late morning and early afternoon sun managed to make me perspire so much by the time I was done and going to the nearest taxi stand to go to work, my bandanna was literally dripping, especially from the knot behind.

I did consider changing my bandanna on the spot but decided I was going to cool down in the cab soon anyway so it wasn't necessary.


...


I really wonder why some of the older shopping centres are still around at Orchard Road.

I accidentally went into one and found myself taking ancient narrow elevators that only fit a single person on each step. Any place using such elevators can't be new at all.

And it was mostly dead. Few shoppers were around, some units were vacant and the lighting was terribly dark.

Why aren't they demolished and redeveloped yet?

I am curious because those plots of land have to be really valuable. It just doesn't make much economical sense to me to waste them like this.

Tanglin Shopping Centre, my final destination before I went to back to the office, was only slightly better, although the number of Arab rug shops suggests it can't be too bad. I'll be back when I am willing to spend over a thousand bucks on a rug.

TBH I wouldn't mind getting a small one to be placed under my desk. Would be nice to get that carpeted feel under my feet whenever I'm at the computer.


























I don't really blame the Americans for making that film; they're just ignorant. Not all, but enough of them to make stupid nonsense like that.

But the French magazine, for making the cartoons that mock the violent reactions to that film?

Seriously? The French have free university education for citizens, so there's no excuse for ignorance!

Then the editor defends himself by comparing his situation with a woman wearing provocative clothing encountering rapists.

Are you fucking kidding me?

More like he's pouring kerosene on a house that's already on fire! Barrels of it!

No woman wears provocative clothing specifically to taunt and mock rapists!

So initially, none of the Europeans were getting any shit. Most of them were only worried as they watched the Americans burn.

Now the French are going feel the heat, and I'd be surprised if the French government doesn't do something to that magazine.

I mean, the potential property damage from the protests could have been completely avoided if they hadn't published the tasteless crap, not to mention the possible loss of human lives. In addition, shutting down all those schools and embassies in those 20 countries surely will cost them a lot of potential revenue.

I have the impression, after reading all the news, that not all the protesters are out for blood, but when mobs gather, accidents can happen and things can get out of hand. It just takes one crazy guy throwing a molotov cocktail to give courage to everyone else in a mob holding one but didn't dare to throw.

Sometimes, people have to recall how WWI happened. It wasn't because of any single events, but was the result of the accumulation of many issues. The assassination of the Austrian Archduke was only the final straw, an event that lead to a cascade of other events that became decent casus belli for some to throw the first punch in a fight everyone was prepared for.

Now, everyone is preparing for a fight again.























No I'm not even going to state which parts were typed on which days.






















Played some Borderlands 2. Not a bad game, and I've been starving for a long time. NS2 is only going to be playable next month so I have at least another week with no new games.

Tropico 4 is fun but, as anyone can see from the recordings currently on autopilot on my stream, it lacks excitement.

Used Salvador at first but noticed that by the time I finished off Flynt, I'm using the sniper rifles more often than any other gun, even though the recoil actually reduces the more I spray. Heck, I was sniping so much I was doing headshots without scoping unintentionally.

It didn't make sense for me to go on with Salvador once I confirmed that my preferred playstyle is to snipe everything, so I switched to Zero. It's just the first chapter of the game anyway.

As for the initial nausea, a few tweaks of the graphics options solved that.























Made aglio olio fusilli. I was supposed to use spaghetti but the closest thing was vermicelli which was too thin IMO. So instead I used fusilli. The other alternative was macaroni, which I believe is even more suited for recipes involving gravy than fusilli.

The garlic was slightly overcooked and got a little more than just golden brown but it turned out ok.























Never really got why ionisers are popular at all as a type of air purifier.

Ionisers produce ozone as a byproduct, the gas that is easily detectable by its smell. In fact I associate office photocopiers with the smell of ozone.

The problem with ozone is that it's a known respiratory irritant and long term exposure has been linked to bronchitis, asthma, and heart problems.

Another study I read long ago also found that ionisers can kill dust mites because of the ozone they produce (not because of the ions), albeit very ineffectively compared to UV radiation and heat.

Even at minute levels, I don't see why I should risk long term exposure when there are several other affordable alternatives that can provide the same benefits, like air purifiers using HEPA filters and carbon filters. Though these are more expensive, they don't cause any issue outside of the wallet.

Rant 1064 / The New Robocop Looks Like Gray Fox From MGS

They see me rollin', they hatin'.























Bought 24 cans of F&N soda water aka club soda just because they were so cheap and convenient. At $13.60 (free shipping), that's $0.57 per can.

At the Shop N Save near by place, which is the only shop selling such beverages consistently, it's sold at $4.75 per half-dozen. That's roughly $0.79 per can.

Which also means that the budget store was selling it at $0.60 per can.

Except even if all of them are selling it at the same price, I'd still order from that online store just for the free delivery.

I had also considered ordering 24 cans of tonic water but my gin's running out and I'm not planning to get more during my next three trips to duty-free shops in the airport. Gin and tonic is nice but I don't like it enough to spend that kind of money on it. Instead I'll just get other stuff.

Since soda water is a neutral mixer, I don't have to worry about it being useless.

At worst, if I can't find anything I really like, I'll just mix the rest with whatever syrups I feel like getting and make common soft drinks out of them.

Also got a can of solid fuel.

Fun stuff. Found out I couldn't just blow out the flame but I used a syringe of water to put it out. It was only later that I realized I could have just put the lid back on to smother the flame.

Dangerous, but I guess it's safe enough if the lids are kept closed tightly.

I want to use it as a replacement for my dwindling supply of tealights but I'll have to find a way to make it burn with a smaller flame.

I'm left with less than 25 of those and the last time I asked the store, the next batch will arrive only in the next month.

This time, I'll get two boxes.


























> marriage
> 2012


























Oh wow I just an even better alternative to the $0.50 stickers to use cart coupons with: the free cleaning cloth. It's completely free of charge - shipping included!

I'm currently testing it but until I find it in my mailbox, I can't confirm that it will work. This is because it appears to be meant as an optional freebie for buying other stuff. My guess, logically derived from the "Added order" phrase in the line, is that the seller is stingy enough to want to bury this freebie in the list so that fewer people will ask for it.

The free cleaning cloth is a little hard to find but it's definitely buried under Accessories.

Yea it's ridiculous but if the seller allows this to happen, I'm so bookmarking this loophole.

Otherwise, I'm ignoring this bugger forever because the marketing gimmick employed by this shop is only inches away from making it a legit scammer. A single cent is used as the official price but every single item, except for the cleaning cloth, has additional costs so that the prices are actually similar to those offered by other stores.

The cleaning cloth, as shown in the image, is priced at -$0.01 so it's completely free.

...

Welp, they cancelled the order with the reason "Out of stock" and a memo saying,"other item needed to be purchase to include this in".

It was worth a try :P
























Found this game called "Epic Mafia" which is all about lying and exposing lies.

In the vanilla setup, there are Mafia members vs villagers.

Nobody knows which side everyone else is on and they can only guess who is really their team member.

The goal of the game is to eliminate the opposite team.

During the course of the game, the time is split into days and nights. In the day, everyone attends a village meeting to discuss who the Mafia members are and can vote to lynch someone.

At night, Mafia members attend their own little meeting in which they discuss and vote on which innocent villager to kill.

This is the vanilla setup which nobody seems to play because there are like a hundred roles other than Villagers and Mafia that a host can choose from.

Which is part of the reason why I thought it was a confusing game for a newbie. I have to learn on the spot what every role does in each game because I can't be bothered to read through everything in the wiki.

The other reason for this impression is that everyone there uses a lot of game-specific jargons that I didn't understand, to the point where after 8 games, I'm still clueless about what half the discussions were about.

For example, it took me like 3 games to understand what "claim" meant, and "cc" in 5 games. To claim is to announce your role and "cc" means counter-claim, implying that the first claimant was lying.

This concept, in conjunction with all the different roles, makes the game a lot more complicated.

In one game with 4 players remaining, I was a hunter and there was only one Mafia left, and someone called for everyone to claim.

A hunter's ability is that he gets to shoot someone if he gets lynched in the village meeting.

I said I was the hunter (only one in that game left) and then someone also claimed to be a hunter.

Apparently, that guy picked the wrong role to lie about because someone immediately deduced that this conundrum could be solved by hanging either one of us, the logic being that if they lynched the real hunter, he could just shoot the liar, who obviously would have been Mafia.



Anyway the game is still confusing as fuck to me and I'm not sure if I'll continue playing.



























Finally, someone who can outsmart a bullet!

Rant 1063 / Topless Photos Are Overrated

Whoa!

Whoa!Whoa!Whoa!Whoa!Whoa!Whoa!

The main selling point is the developers' resumes:

We are an independent video game developer specializing in role-playing games.  We were founded in 2003 by five industry veterans from Black Isle Studios: Feargus Urquhart, Chris Parker, Darren Monahan, Chris Avellone, and Chris Jones. While at Black Isle we worked with BioWare, the creators of the Infinity Engine, on the development of the Baldur's Gate series, and were responsible for the creation and development of the Infinity Engine-based Icewind Dale series and Planescape: Torment game. Also at Black Isle we created the first two titles in the award-winning Fallout series: Fallout and Fallout 2.
At Obsidian we have created great games like Fallout: New Vegas and have many amazing people who will work on Project Eternity, including Tim Cain (Fallout, Arcanum, Temple of Elemental Evil, etc.), Josh Sawyer (Icewind Dale 1 and 2, Fallout: New Vegas), Scott Everts (Level creator on Fallout, Planescape: Torment, and Icewind Dale 1 and 2 and Fallout: New Vegas), Brian Menze (Vault Boy artist extraordinaire, Artist on Planescape: Torment, Creator of Darth Nihilus), Dan Spitzley (Lead Programmer on Planescape: Torment) along with dozens of other talented artists, programmers, and designers.
Together we have been developing computer role-playing games for a very long time, and to this day there is still nothing we love making and playing more than RPGs.

The image representation of their collective resume found on the KS page:

As for the game itself:

Project Eternity will take the central hero, memorable companions and the epic exploration of Baldur’s Gate, add in the fun, intense combat and dungeon diving of Icewind Dale, and tie it all together with the emotional writing and mature thematic exploration of Planescape: Torment.

Combat uses a tactical real-time with pause system - positioning your party and coordinating attacks and abilities is one of the keys to success.

That's probably one of the best sales pitches designed for the older gamers.


Unfortunately, by the time I publish this, the early bird $20 copies should already be sold out or very close to that. This has only opened for less than 24 hours and over 10,000 slots have been taken out of the available 25,000.

The rest have to pay at least $25 for a copy of the game when it's released, but they will also get an item that the early birds don't.

Also because of the big names behind the project, they have attracted some huge donations, with sixty-nine backers at the $500 level, thirty-seven $1000, three $3000, a $5000 and two $10,000.

Within about half a day, it has raised over $625,000 out of the $1.1M they're asking for.

Screenshot taken at 9.20am (+8 GMT) on the 15th of September 2012

The reason that an established studio like Obsidian is doing this on Kickstarter is that no publisher is willing to fund games of this type anymore.

I just hope they can deliver what they promised.

...

It's 16 September Sunday morning 7.40am +8GMT, which technically is still 15 September for the Americas, and it's exceeded its goal by 45k.

There are still 4500 vacancies at the $20 pledge level though.


As for the higher level pledges, there are:

- 62 $1000
- 5 $3000
- 3 $5000
- 2 $10,000

So other than the $1000 level, the rest have remained unchanged. My guess is that the top 3 levels are contributed by the few big-name developers who frequent the site after successfully raising funds from their own KS campaigns.
























So they said they were going to publish topless photos of Kate Middleton...

Well, fuck, so am I.

(Not original content)























































The EU hates Romney.

The PRC hates Romney.

The Middle East now hates Romney if they didn't before.

Half the US (Democrats) hates Romney.

So who loves Romney?

Romney.





















Got my copy of NS2. Now I'll have to wait till the release date next month to play.


























The latest iPhone is always better; even if it's not the latest iPhone, it's still better than the latest iPhone.






















Have to watch it from the beginning till the end to see what's happening.

Rant 1062 / It Isn't Easy Being Santa

Money clip.

That looks like a good addition to the iPad cover.

Though this is meant to hold bills, I've never thought it to be a good idea in that way. I'm just not rich enough to afford to go out with nothing but paper bills, leaving all the coins at home.

There was a time when I tried doing that; my piggy bank filled up really quickly and my stack of $10 and $50 notes ran out even faster. After that I made many taxi drivers really happy (because they love coins).

Now, however, I'm thinking if I should use these clips stuff on the cover.

On second thought, never mind. It might scratch the screen.





















Started checking out Taobao's mall website, Tmall.com because it sounded logical that things would get cheaper if I get them closer to the source.

Except the prices are only slightly cheaper for the items I've been looking at, inclusive of shipping. I am amazed at the profit margins those guys must be setting.

For example, I know for the fact that bandanas only cost US$0.20-$0.30 each to buy directly from manufacturers. This only applies for orders like 10,000 pieces minimum.

That's about S$0.25-$0.35.

Lowest price for a bandana I find on Tmall was RMB4.00. That's S$0.80. With shipping, S$3.20.

I am not amused.

Lowest price on Gmarket was S$3.50 with shipping, except there was only a single black design for 55cm*55cm.

The strange thing was that the seller charges the same amount for both EMS and normal surface shipping, or RMB80 for 7 bandanas.



























Instead of a simple loop for the hand, I'm thinking that I should have a longer shoulder strap that will turn the iPad casing into a flattened messenger bag. It will basically be a shoulder bag except the bag is just the iPad case.

The iPad cover will hang on to the strap by its spine, but the problem is making sure it stays there as I move and when I open it.

Looks like I'm going to need two straps at least - a shorter, thinner one for the spine to rest on, and a longer thicker one for my shoulder. I'll probably use a camera strap for the former and a normal shoulder bag strap for the latter. Hopefully there are some lying around somewhere in my home.

As long as both have some sort of loop or hook at each end, the rest should be easy.

However, I still need something to fasten the whole strap to the casing that won't look too ugly like a clip.

...

Got a lanyard instead of a camera strap because I need something narrow for the spine to rest on. Still working on how to fasten it to the spine.

Also, I need to find a way to protect it from water.

...

It may appear that getting a small messenger bag would have been a better idea, except I want the tablet to be easily opened, like when I need a map. I suck at navigation in unfamiliar territories, so I will need to keep opening the map app in my iPad frequently.

Gaben - the deity of choice for gamers.

I'm not sure why marine biologists love these things. Then again, I don't get why anyone would fap to BBW porn either.




























C9 - I installed, I played, I deleted.

It was just bad. I really wonder why it was allowed to be on Steam at all.




























ARE YOU READY FOR THE RUFFNECK BASS?























Just found a way to throw in a cart coupon when my order is filled with items that have time sale or whatever special discounts applied to them. These discounts prevent buyers from using any coupon, so if the whole order consist of these items, there is no way to apply a cart coupon... or so it was supposed to be.

Since the smallest cart coupon is $1, this method will always work:

Buy something that costs less than a dollar with shipping included, like this handphone sticker that is free of charge but costs $0.50 for postage.

This will get the buyer at least a $0.50 discount.

I just find it interesting to think of ways to get more discounts than the seller appears to expect.
























Went for the radio frequency treatment at NUH. Cost about $500+ excluding the doctor's consultation fee.

The procedure was quick and simple - I was out within 45 minutes of arrival and on my way to the pharmacy for my medicine.

It began with a check of my sinus followed by a spray that was supposed to sting and taste bitter. The last time that was sprayed into my nose, I felt nothing, so I wasn't prepared for the incredible stinging sensation in my nose that came almost immediately.

It was so strong I was tearing a little within seconds.

Then he explained the whole thing to me together with what I should and shouldn't do after this.

After about 15mins of waiting I was brought back inside for the actual procedure. The general anaesthesia he injected into my nose numbed almost everything so I felt almost nothing. Almost nothing. I felt some stinging sensation and a little pain once during the process but overall, it was nothing.

Or rather, that was all I felt. The reality was that I was bleeding inside and I couldn't even feel anything flowing down my windpipe. However, I did get a lot of phlegm after so that was how I realized it.

The doctor had also covered my face with one of those green cloths so I couldn't see a thing. TBH I think that was a great idea because I really didn't want to watch as he stuck whatever it was into my sinuses to cause the pain that I could feel in spite of the anaesthesia.

After that, my mind was significantly more sluggish than usual. I think that lasted half an hour, till I reached the pharmacy. That's my guess because about 10mins before I left, I had difficulty reading the news on my tablet and it took me forever to come up with a reply when the nurse told me my nose was bleeding through the gauze.

At the pharmacy I was given more drugs than expected. In my previous sessions I was only prescribed that nasal spray containing steroids, so I didn't think I was going to get 5 sets of pills and 2 sprays. Due to the fact that I knew my mind wasn't working properly, I told the pharmacist to split them into two bags - one for those I must take regularly, and one for those I take only when necessary.

Not all of the labels say "when necessary", so that was necessary.

At least they weren't expensive, only about $25.

Also bought a packet of chia seeds for my bro. It was $14.80 for 300g, and it's supposed to be used at the rate of 2 tbs daily. My rough estimate at the moment is that it was only last two weeks.

Still, $14.80 is perfectly affordable if it works, and my bro will find out for me if it does.

Since he has borderline high blood pressure, he's going to take it every day for a month before he goes to the private clinic nearby for a blood pressure test while, at the same time, get some travel medicines for me.

If it runs out before the 30 days, I have an appointment again in two weeks so I can easily get another packet then.

If the chia seeds work, I will buy in bulk from a friend since she's the importer of that brand of chia seeds they sell in that hospital. I would have bought that packet from her but we're not close enough for her to want to sell individual packets to me. However, I'm sure there will be a discount when I buy from her since the minimum order is $100.

The other item I got was a 10ml bottle of marjoram essential oil. I have this impression that if something is sold in a hospital pharmacy, it's probably more trustworthy than the stuff I find online.

This is why even though this bottle is so much more expensive than the brand I'm used to, I still bought it.

Online, I get a 15ml bottle for $13 each, with $3 delivery charge for any number of bottles.

This bottle is $33.90 for 10ml.

The difference is likely the concentration. From what I've read, cheaper oil are usually diluted with other oils, with the cheapest option being petroleum-derived chemicals.

Without knowing for sure how diluted the cheaper essential oils are, I can't tell how bad it is. On the other hand, with the residue I've observed in the diffuser, I'm very sure it's mixed with those petroleum chemicals.

Moreover, if the price is any indication of its quality, it has to be at least twice as effective, taking into account the commissions the hospital charges.

Still doesn't exactly makes it worth the money but I'm trying it nonetheless.




Now I'll have to live with a rather blocked nose because I can't even blow it for three days. All the dried blood in my nose doesn't really block it but I'm sure I won't like whatever happens when my nose itches at night.

I'll also have to wear a piece of gauze under a mask whenever I go out for these three days because my nose can get runny at any moment and sometimes, it's bloody.

I'm just glad I'm living in a humid place; it would definitely suck if I'm living in an area with dry air; I'll probably have to get a humidifier just for this.