Trinoma Finds

I went to Trinoma with Tubs, Joan, Lea and Emir to watch Shrek 3 and Pirates of the Caribbean 3. The mall had an Ayala feel, because it is :)). Around 30% of the shops are still closed but most of the essentials are already up and running.

Find 1: Negi Ramen. There is a Japanese food resto there named "Oki Oki" and I found Negi (Spring Onion) Ramen in their menu and decided to try it. I know about it from the Anime Series Full Moon wo Sagashite as the Shinigami duo's name. For 180Php you get lots of spring onions, pork cutlets, giniling, miso/curry and spices. A bit spicy for me, but Tseri would probably like it.

Find 2: CD Folders. A shop named "JapanHome" sells most/all of their goods for 88Php. I found a shelf full of these babies but restrained myself and just bought 4. If there's something that I'm OC about, it's optical media. I was once desperate enough to Comix brand folders @ 250Php because I couldn't find anything else. I also thought that moving to DVDs will reduce my filing problems but looking back, that was a premature conclusion.

Highlander: The Search for Vengeance

I was a fan of the Highlander TV series back then and sort of enjoyed watching the movies. During a routine check of things to download, I found one for the animated movie Highlander: The Search for Vengeance . I just watched it and I'd say it is kinda cool.

An alternative story line about another McLeod, Colin who seeks revenge for his beloved wife who was killed by another immortal. Colin tries and tries through the centuries to kill that person but always ends up failing... but surviving.

It is directed by Yoshiaki Kawajiri (Ninja Scroll, Vampire D Bloodlust) and if you've watched those, would see his hands all over this one. Fight scenes are cool, moderate use of CG, a tasteful (but short) love scene and of course the Highlander myth gives life to this movie.

I was reminded of a couple of movies: ninja scroll, fist of the north star, 300, braveheart, gladiator and some more. Watch this if you're in the mood for a bit of action :)

Shot til I can't shoot no more

Skuld(canon eos 350d) and I took around 500 shots last week at 5 different locations/events. I think I broke some self limit by participating in all this but felt sort of fulfilled.

I went to hidalgo and bought myself a reflector. The moment I saw the 42 inch one, I knew I wanted it. It took a while to decide between 2-in-1(950Php) or a 5-in-1(1800php), but the gold side won me over. In the image is the reflector and a dvd for size comparison.ePLDT UCCP Shoot [2007.05.17]
Mika YMd last week asking if I was free to do a shoot for one of their poster/ads. I was a bit hesitant in agreeing because I felt I wasn't ready and it would be my first paid photoshoot. When I got there, I saw some familiar faces and the models/employees were very game and cooperative. The shoot took a while but it was fun :) Other pics.

Spoof version of the Ad

Pisay96 BookDrive Part2 [2007.05.19]
Continuing our batches' projects, I went to the event held at BigSkyMind. RockEd handled a lot of the stuff including band lineups.
We transfered to Bl_e without U to drink some more and sing videoke. Other pics.
Cosplay Shoot [2007.05.20]
Jayvee(ABuggedLife) started this as a single post and grew exponentially as a lot of people were interested in it. Jerry Polence and Rossette Yabut were the models and there were lots of photogs. Other Pics.
Family Pic [2007.05.19]
It is incredibly rare to catch my family in one place at the same time so I took the opportunity to take an informal picture.

pineApple aka bryMacBook

Inspired by Ouran's spoof of Apple's Logo, I created my own :P

AYUMU... NEO Empriva 630nvp2 (HGL30)

NEO Empriva 630nvp2
Quick Specs:
Intel® Core™2 Duo T5500
1.66 GHz, 2Mb, 667MHz
Intel® 945PM chipset
1.0Gb DDR2-667MHz
80Gb SATA Fujitsu MHW2080BH
SlimType DVD Dual
14in. Wide (WXGA) / 1.3MP camera
nVidia GeForce Go 7600* - dedicated 256MB VRAM
Intel® PRO Wireless 3945ABG / 56Kb
Finger Print Scanner
SD/MMC/Stick Reader
Windows Vista™ Home Premium

What Vista has to say:
I was sort of proud that I'm buying from a local brand. I was then a bit surprised that this NEO is a rebranded COMPAL lappy. It is also known as internationally as HGL30 and marked like this:

The mix of specs and features is pretty good. To test it out, the first thing I did was set it up to dual boot Vista and XP using this guide. I plan to use Vista as a test platform and XP as my staple development comfort zone.

Pushing things a bit, I installed the last game that I liked: Need for Speed Most Wanted. Playing it at highest quality settings was astounding for me, because my desktop pc (Rebirth) had to scrimp on the quality a bit. I also used this opportunity to train the battery, played NFSMW on just batteries (only above an hour), recharged to 100% when it got low, then repeated the process.



Likes:

• Core 2 Duo allows it to run a virus scan without pulling other activities down.
• The HD is SATA and 5400rpm. There are tons of perf gains from those.
  
• The finger print scanner saves me the trouble of entering my long password.
• The display is hinged at only 2 small areas, but the friction/force required to tilt it is very reassuring. (I'll forever be scarred by HP Omnibook 6100's terrifyingly brittle hinges)
• Camera seems like a good one.
  

Dislikes:

• The DVD drive feels like the slowest point in the lot. Poor reaction time.
  
• Onboard speaker output is weak and sounds like crap.
• TFT is normal, meaning at an angle vertically, viewability sucks.
• Although the processor is supposedly geared for lower temps, other parts of the system aren't. Which is fine by me, power has its trade-offs.
• Haven't throughly tested the mic, but it has been weak so far.
  

Over all... I love this! It is going to be crucial in the path that recently, I have been really considering.

AYUMU... The Birthday Gift That Took Too Long

The long story quoted below was written with hate and spite. In retrospect, the harder it is to get something, the more you cherish it.

The owner of the shop talked to me and testified that the model I chose was extremely hard to procure. Retailers probably have to go the extra mile to nick one from the suppliers. For my patience, I got a 1k price cut(because of the processor?), an optical mouse and a 1GB Apacer Flash Drive. I'll write a review for AYUMU on the next post.

At last, a proper gift... 11days after.

What takes 11 days to buy?

An island? A palace? A car?

April rolled in and I knew what I would buy myself for my birthday... a laptop. I wanted one to unshackle myself from being tied to working from the house.

During the third week, I nailed the brand and model I needed: NEO Empriva 630NVP2. On April 20, I called PCEvotech but they said it would take one day to order. So I decided to buy it from the site I was browsing from, PC Corner. I called them up and asked if they had it in stock, they said they had one so I hurt my bank and scurried to Gilmore.

When I arrived, they said it wasn't there anymore. Shucks, I specifically went there because they said they had it. They were pimping me other brands but was fixed on what I wanted. I talked again to the salesperson and what they can provide is a temporary replacement laptop (Asus A8JR) that will be swapped when the actual one arrives. I turned this one down because I didn't want to use a laptop that wasn't really mine (or wanted). So I just left a generous downpayment for the 630 (either NX2 or NVP2 would be fine) and left a bit downhearted.

Three days went by fast as I had a great time in Pangasinan. I called on April 23 to check up on it, but my contact said they need 3 more days. I can wait... 3 more won't hurt that much.

I called again on April 25, my contact was absent so I talked to another person. He said that there will be a delivery at 5pm and I should call again. At 530pm as I was going home from MOA so I called from my mobile (something I rarely do). The same guy answered and with bite of impatience told me to sit quietly and wait for them to call. *insert tons of curses here*

April 27: I received a call from my original contact. I wasn't expressing anger or spite but she was all apologetic and cowering as she told me to give them one last chance and that she'll get me my laptop by Monday(April 30). She was going to throw in a Flash Drive for all my patience (*wow, flash drives can now quell all suffering*).

April 30, 500pm: I suppressed all the boiling anger and called. I got hold of her but she was running around and made me hold the line for 5mins. Another guy talked to me and said "For delivery on Wednesday" WTF! I firmly said that Wednesday would make it 13 days, and asked to talk to the girl again. She said she'll call me in 5mins. She did call and told me that it wasn't there yet and but will definitely arrive at 7pm.

I flew at full haste and arrived there before 8pm. After more waiting(it arrived 930pm), the laptop I have been drooling over finally arrived. As pretty as it was, it fell a bit short. The supplier plugged in a T5200 processor, where I specified a T5500 at least. They said I can bring it back the next day and they'll replace the processor.

I went back the next day and finally got it as I wanted. 11 days.