Still Being Random

I haven't been here for awhile.Nothing different is going on with me. It's just that by the time I get back from work, I'm not thinking of the computer or the internet. My priority then is Athena. Since I spend all day away from her, I like to use the evenings to catch up on anything I'd missed out. Sometimes, I wish some people would remember that instead of assuming I am always available to run around like I used to.

It doesn't help that I have a baby who doesn't seem to believe in first words. She's tumbling headlong into first sentences and phrases. Her current favourite is 'I go.' Can you tell she loves going out?

I was telling some of my colleagues about her a few days ago and I happened to mention that she already has 8 books. Some of those books are classic like Peter Pan, We're Going On A Bear Hunt and Where The Wild Things Are. One colleague actually took a critical tone with me saying, "She's only a baby!!"

My reply was simple. "If you don't get her to like reading at an early age, when are you expecting to start?"

I didn't even want to share with this colleague that I used to talk to Athena when she was in my womb. Due to that practice, Athena now sleeps at 9.30 p.m. and wakes up at 6.30 p.m. Exactly the times I taught her to do so while I was pregnant. And since the day she was born, Athena always seemed to understand everything we said to her. So if talking to her while I was pregnant with her is stupid, then guess whose baby appears more intelligent compared to others her age?

Gette calls her an over-achiever. Trust me, neither Shook nor I pushed Athena to be so. So far, she has a penchant for music and she always looks like she's trying to figure out how things work. If this turns her into a singing mechanical engineer, so be it. But she loves flying, so aeronautical engineer? Who knows? As far as I am concerned, she can be whatever she wants to be, wherever she wants to be. However, right now, people find it hard to believe she's talking, crawling at super speed, walking while aided and growing her sixth tooth all at the same time.

I am spending the weekend with her in KL this week. We're hoping to meet up with some of her aunts and uncles, if we can. But I'm going to watch Merchants of Bollywood as well as attend a function so I'm not sure how much time I have to spare to meet up or go shopping. In addition, my parents are flying off to Perth on Sunday because my grandmother just passed away in Perth. But I'll be back on Sunday evening.

Other than that, I'm looking forward to the weekend and taking Athena to a whole new environment. I'm not worried since she's a good traveller.

So I went out and bought myself a new graphics card. Nothing too flashy. Just the NVidia 9800 GT. Pretty inexpensive at about RM569, I think. Only thing is it requires a bigger power supply as my current one is only running at 350 watts. The card needs at least a 550watts power supply. So I'll do that tomorrow.

I also got a 2Gb RAM so my pc is currently running on 3 Gigs of RAM and a 4Gb Kingston thumbdrive. It was pretty and I do need one to replace my old yellow mini fun thumbdrive which died on me last week. It was also on sale at RM69. The original price was RM119, if I'm not mistaken.

I did manage to test the new graphics card but didn't dare try it out for too long. I was worried about the power supply. But the weird psychedelic colours and strange Sims in black and white are not due to the card. I do believe now it's because of the missing data from the installation process. So I'll wait until my original copy arrives tomorrow and try it again.

Oh, I met Alvin and Jerome at Saberkas and when I told them about the Sims 3 I'm getting, Vinnie asked what language it was in. I told him that since it's an original, I could most likely find the language pack somewhere if it turns out to be in a Middle Eastern language and not English.

As of today, I have officially become a supporter of and contributor to Electronic Arts.

After much texting to my youngest sister in Dubai, she finally messaged me and said my mom bought me an original copy of The Sims 3. Even after I told her that I had bought a dubious copy already to test my system with. But since they've already got it for me, I guess I can now sign up at the website and download stuff. Yay! A perk!

As for my system, it works on my pc. However, I had an error message while installing it. One of the date files won't install so it crapped up my game. The game loads fast, plays well EXCEPT that I can't see the colours to some objects and my Sims are all either black and hite only. So I presume that's part of the data that went haywire.

However, just to be safe (and to stick to my tradition) I'm going to get a new graphics card tomorrow and then install the game on Tuesday when my parents get back from Dubai.

And then we'll see.

And, as a testament to her parents' obsession with games, Athena loves the Sims and keeps chuckling at the characters in the opening sequence.

I have been waiting for The Sims 3 since last year. Despite knowing how Americans write their dates, I was excited enough that I once got fooled by someone into thinking it was coming out in February instead of June.

I am serious enough about Sims that I am prepared to buy the original game. Not pirated, not copied. I figured since I love it so much, I should at least get one original version before I or it died. So I'm going to do just that.

And true to my tradition, I am going to upgrade my graphics card just for The Sims 3. Tomorrow.

I also (why, oh why?) downloaded a PDF of The Sims 3 Prima Guide. Why am I moaning? I am suddenly being reminded why I really, really want this version. Since I've completed by evil empire on Evil Genius, I can now make my own evil genius on Sims.

Either that or create a blonde, blue-eyed vegetarian cutie with a mean streak of evil in him/her.

How morbid is that!

ETA: I just saw this!!:It might be a bit small but you get the idea. I can create a kleptomaniac! Wow! I'd love to see that one at work.

When Shook came home for a break this last week, he showed me an episode from the show Deadliest Warrior. It was the Green Beret vs Spetsnaz episode. I found it very interesting. I'm not sure if they've ever had a face-off in real life but on the show, they did. This was episode 6. There has been about 9 or ten episodes so far. I've only watched the Green Berets episode and the Yakuza vs Mafia episode.

I don't know much about the Green Beret or the Spetsnaz but I do know about the Prohibition-era Mafia and the Japanese Yakuza. As far as I am concerned, this match-up makes more sense than a few of the others in the show. Mafia and Yakuza are very close in terms of purpose, methods and armament. They might differ in terms of refinement and profile but that's about it. So, for them to go head to head is acceptable even if I did find it very testosterone overloaded. I'm not sure if it was for dramatics or real but at one point in the show, the two younger members from both sides looked like they were about to go into an impromptu brawl right on the set. The older guys, being veterans of the 'game', held back. And I was impressed that both the older guys were real soldiers of their organisations. The mafia guy was the cousin to Joe Bonanno. All Mafia fans know Joe Bonanno - head of a Mafia family in the 1950s/60s, I think he was shot while at the barber's. The Yakuza guy was also a real member. They listed him as a Yakuza descendant who openly said it was a way of life for him and his family. His brother's in it, his son's in it. Notice how he used his brother's and not his brother was or is.

The only problem I had was the situations for some of the tests. One example was where they tested the Yakuza ceramic grenade against the Mafia Molotov cocktail. The ceramic grenade was tested in an open area with 3 dummies situated at varying distances form the grenade which is tied to a string. It is then triggered and the computer calculates the distances, affect and power. The grenade does what the Yakuza wants it to - basically injure, disorientate or confuse the people it is aimed at. Then, tested against this is the Mafia Molotov cocktail. However, the situation given is that it is thrown into a car with two dummies in it and then the effects are measured. Do you see my problem with this? One is in an open space while the other is in an enclosed space. The premises/aims of the two are not taken into account. Is it to cause fatal injuries, is it to just scare or is it merely to distract?

Then later, they test the short range weapons; the Mafia sawed-off shotgun against the Yakuza Walther P53, I think. I can't get my head around it. How do you test a shotgun against a handgun?! Granted I was very impressed with the Walther. The Yakuza guy (who was pretty hot, by the way!) let off one shot through the test skull's eye socket and the bullet blew the back of the skull off. The Mafia guy went in pointing his shotgun and blew half the test dummy's body off! Again, what was the point? As far as I am concerned, you want to get the job done but don't have any skilled shooters, yes, the shotgun works. You only need to aim at the body and the pellets do the rest. It's also noisy. You want low profile and finesse and skill, you go for the Walther.

Then they tested the Yakuza nunchakus against the Mafia baseball bat and the Yakuza Sai against the Mafia ice-pick.

After each test, the simulator expert will key the results into his computer and then run a simulator programme at the end of the show. The programme will show the events and the results of a face-off between the two sides.

I enjoy the show because I love to see how each weapon fare against each other. Then the simulation at the end is like watching a little fight which might/might not have happened. I'm just wondering what premises they use when they decide which warriors fight against each other. Is it like economics where all other matters remain constant or do environments and situations play a part? Some of it don't seem very fair or logical.

So far they've done Apache vs Gladiator, viking vs samurai, spartan vs ninja, pirate vs knight, maori warrior vs shaolin monk, William Wallace vs Shaka Zulu and IRA vs Taliban.

I don't understand half of the pairings. Like spartan vs ninja. It makes no sense. Ninjas are stealth while vikings depend on brute force and scare tactics. I would have paired the Vikings with the Pirates as they both depend on their vicious reputations to precede them as well as their seafaring skills. I would also have pitted the Apache against the ninja as they both use stealth, gladiator against the spartan and samurai against the knight.

But that's just me. However, I do enjoy the show. If you can, try to catch the show. But only if you're a history nut or a weapon freak or both.

I went to watch Terminator Salvation yesterday with Shook. I've been planning to watch it this holiday anyway so yesterday we took time out from Athena and went.

All I can say is that the fourth movie in any series tend to get to me. I used to watch movies a lot with my father so movies like Terminator, Predator and Rambo were the norm.

When I watched Rambo 4, I cried at the end. It is sad when you think about it. Worst if you watch them all continuously. John Rambo's only thought in the first Rambo was to go home. And he only reached home in the fourth movie which took place almost twenty years later.

Then you watch Terminator Salvation and you think about the first Terminator movie. Especially when Kyle Reese meets Sarah Connor for the first time and tells her what she is meant to do and the son they both create. Then you watch Salvation and there is the adult John Connor whose one thought is to save his father who is a teenaged Kyle Reese at that time. It kinda boggles the mind. Even without watching the Sarah Connor Chronicles on TV.

So following these movies like I do, it's no wonder I can get emotionally involved. Some people may not understand as they most likely don't think this genre of movies can evoke any real emotions. But if you pay attention and you give them a chance, these movies make more sense and have a better storyline than a lot of dramas out there.