I have started playing Warbook on Facebook.

This morning, I went for a leisurely swim again. 20 laps. I do need more exercise.

Esplanade Park and Marina Square

Some images taken with my sister's Canon IXUS a week ago.

The Restaurant Boat

A floating restaurant of some kind moored off Harbour Front.

What a fine day. I think I will be heading down to the Esplanade later to sketch the skyline again.

Dueling in the Pits: The End of a Good Experience



Playing Duels has become pretty much meaningless. From what I see, mages and druids can kill with one shot with Blast Wave or Feline Ferocity no matter what kind of a warrior build I go for. A build based on stamina may stand a chance but it is very specialised. Now, with an absorption-based/axe and shield build, I don't even get a swing of my sword or axe and I am dead. My former dual-wielding build was even less competitive. As such, I have stopped duelling mages and druids, leaving only the occasional skirmish with them. I have also stopped fighting except against NPCs and lower level warriors.


Meanwhile, Colin, Wilson, and Cedric have stopped playing. I suspect Willie and Anthony ceased playing too. Currently, only Alex (Thugg) plays. I won't be promoting this game amongst all my gaming friends. It's not worth it.




This is one of the most short-lived gaming experiences I have had. I think the developers, meaning Oxygen Games, should fix the imbalances. However, I don't see any action. Some have mooted openly that the game is broken in the forums. I expressed my dissatisfaction with the one-shot kills which I thought were ruining the game.

Addendum

I won't be discussing different warrior builds on my blog. Dual-wield, shield-bearer, fist-weapon, etc. It's moot. Pointless. My energy will be better served in other games.

I also did buy two noblestones early to "re-spec" my character. As mentioned earlier, it's a waste of money.

I need to sleep now. I gotta work in the morning. Oh well.

I sat at the Esplanade Park this evening and made a fast sketch of the skyline. I was also doing some preliminary sketches at a Starbucks at Marina Square earlier. The view from this Starbucks was nice, overlooking a large open area. No noisy credit card promotional booths with horrid DJs blasting stuff.

Weapons of the Burmese infantry

BBC Photos:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_pictures/7017413.stm

On first appearance, the AK-47/AKM derivative wielded by the soldier seems to be a Valmet Rk 62. However, the weapon seems to lack a tubular stock. Instead, it has a folding stock of some kind.

Valmet Rk62:
http://world.guns.ru/assault/as43-e.htm

Can it be yet another derivative of the Chinese Type 56? I can't make a clear identification of the assault rifle. If you can identify them, do let me know.

I have also seen Burmese troops wielding M16A1s in other photos. Those are likely to be Chinese-made CQ imitations as China has been a supporter of the junta. The pistol grip may be indicative.

CQ:
http://world.guns.ru/assault/as79-e.htm

The Burmese troops were sporting both AK-47/AKM (7.62mm x 39mm) and M16 (5.56mm x 45mm) type rifles. This may be indicative of a lack of standardisation of calibres due to arms embargoes and so forth. Again, hard to say.

According to the BBC report, Halo 3 has earned US$170 million in its first 24 hours! That is simply scary! 1.4 million people played online. 4 million games logged in the last 24 hours! Scary scary.

I haven't played anything from the Halo series yet. Hmm... Interesting.

It's already Thursday! Wow!

Getting away with it

If the drivers, Hamilton and Alonso, were racing in cars that were rigged based on unfair information, it would be unfair to the other drivers involved. The drivers and not merely McLaren should also be penalised.

Man Utd 0 Coventry 2

Right. Man U drops out of the League Cup competition. This is so deliberate. Clever Fergie.

One fine day

Oh well, it doesn't look as if Chelsea will be a serious contender this season. Liverpool is still adept at drawing. I think Arsenal lacks depth to go the whole distance. Man U will probably take the title this year. It's a bit early but it looks that way. Oh well.

My eyes are utterly red now. The concentration of chlorine in the water was much higher than I was used to. 20 laps at a leisurely pace this morning. I feel so refreshed.

I was at the library at Ngee Ann City for the first time last night. Nice place. Pity about the impending closure though.

It's a pity that it did not stock any copies of Janes' Defence Weekly.

Borders Coupon

Buy any full-priced DVD and get a second for half-price. Cardholders get another 10% off the net purchase price.

Coupon valid until 4th October.

Spurs is finally winning. In Europe! Hahahaha.

It's been a long long day. I need some rest now.

Just who is Avram Grant? Intriguing.

Tag

Since Anne nicely asked, I will do this tagging thing for once. Heheh. It's really not my thing.


Four jobs I have held in my life:

1. IT Analyst/Senior IT Analyst
2. Producer/Technical Producer
3. Project manager
4. Business manager and fire safety manager


Four places I have lived:

1. Singapore
2. Northern California
3. West Yorkshire


Four countries I've had a vacation in:

1. Italy
2. France
3. Germany
4. UK


Four favourite food:

1. Steak
2. Pasta
3. Ice-cream
4. Potato chips


Four places I rather be right now:

1. The Great Outdoors
2. Home
3. At a bookstore
4. At a cafe


Four friends I am going to tag:

1. No one as I am not into this tagging business and I won't subject others to it. Heh.

Mourinho leaves Chelsea!?! What on earth? Astounding! This is developing into a very interesting season!

I am elated. I discovered a stack of Janes' Defence Weekly at Bishan Community library! Hurray! I don't have to go down to the SAFTI library to read them!

I am frustrated. There is simply a lot to do for the fire safety ratifications and also building administrative matters.

No easy solutions yet.

Mr. & Mrs. Smith: Craptacular!



I knew this was a 2005 movie and I just saw it on DVD just this evening. This really took the cake as the worst movie that I had watched this year. Contrived, unfunny and full of plot holes. There were a few alright action sequences in this torpid action-comedy. It couldn't come any worse. ARGH! I could feel my life draining away and my brain cells dying in droves!

Army Open House 2007


An amount of equipment were displayed at the Army Open House at the Pasir Laba camp over the course of four days. These include AFVs, small arms, artillery and more:

Mech IGLA (Short Range Air Defence System) I


Mech IGLA (Short Range Air Defence System) II

Mech IGLA (Short Range Air Defence System) III

Leopard 2A4 MBT I

Leopard 2A4 MBT II

Leopard 2A4 MBT III

Leopard 2A4 MBT IV

Mortar Tracked Carrier (MTC) I

Mortar Tracked Carrier (MTC) II


Mortar Tracked Carrier (MTC) III

Bionix Launch Bridge I

Bionix Launch Bridge II


VSAT (Satellite communications)

Boeing AH-64D Apache Longbow I

Boeing AH-64D Apache Longbow II

Pegasus (Light Weight Howitzer) I

Pegasus (Light Weight Howitzer) II

Light Strike Vehicle (LSV) I

Light Strike Vehicle (LSV) II

Bronco All Terrain Tracked Carrier

Boeing CH-47 Chinook

Infantryman with the SAR-21 Assault Rifle

Sniper with the Steyr SSG 69 Sniper Rifle

Advanced Combat Man System I

Advanced Combat Man System II

Bionix II Infantry Fighting Vehicle I

Bionix II Infantry Fighting Vehicle II

Bionix II Infantry Fighting Vehicle III

Singapore Self-Propelled Howitzer 1 (SSPH 1) Primus I

Singapore Self-Propelled Howitzer 1 (SSPH 1) Primus II

Singapore Self-Propelled Howitzer 1 (SSPH 1) Primus III

Singapore Technogies Kinetics SAR-21 Assault Rifle

CIS 40mm Automatic Grenade Launcher

CIS .5 Heavy Machine Gun

Steyr SSG 69 Sniper Rifle

Unimog Maintenance Vehicle

Personal photos

The other exhibits were uninteresting in my opinion.

Army Open House 2007: Bionix II Infantry Fighting Vehicle III

Army Open House 2007: Bionix II Infantry Fighting Vehicle II

Army Open House 2007: Bionix II Infantry Fighting Vehicle I

The Bionix II has a 30mmm Bushmaster automatic cannon instead of the previous 25mm standard.

Army Open House 2007: CIS 40mm Automatic Grenade Launcher

The locally developed CIS 40mm Automatic Grenade Launcher (CIS 40 AGL) has been deployed on many of the army's M113 APCs.

Army Open House 2007: CIS .5 Heavy Machine Gun

This locally developed 12.7mm heavy machine gun has been mounted on the army's M113 and Bionix AFVs.

Army Open House 2007: Steyr SSG 69 Sniper Rifle

The sniper rifle was dressed up for the show. Otherwise, it would not be in this state.

Army Open House 2007: Singapore Self-Propelled Howitzer 1 (SSPH 1) Primus III

Army Open House 2007: Singapore Self-Propelled Howitzer 1 (SSPH 1) Primus II

Army Open House 2007: Singapore Self-Propelled Howitzer 1 (SSPH 1) Primus I

The locally developed self-propelled howitzer first entered service in 2004 and was armed with a 39 calibre length 155mm howitzer.

The SPG was apparently mounted on a modified M109 chassis.

Security Tags

I was browsing at Popular Bookstore at Junction 8 one afternoon when I found these security tags stuck in the middle of a book. Well done. Stuck smack in the centre of the page.



It was apparently not possible to remove the tags without damage the pages. I went on to discover that most of the books there had tags that were stuck in the centre somewhere.

From then, I knew that I would not be purchasing a single book from Popular Bookstore.

I bingoed on my first tile lay and I thought I had a chance against Benita in Scrabulous, an online Scrabble game on Facebook. Doh. She bounced back and defeated me narrowed with a word GENA. Whatever that means. Grrrr.... GENA. That 'see ge na'. Grrr....

I will be down at NYDC at the Heeren this afternoon, nursing an ice chilled coffee and sketching. I was able to complete three sketches last night and I will be preparing a few new ones.

I was at Borders last night when I saw this effeminate guy whom I have not seen for eleven years. He was into facial creams and Diana Ross then. I doubted that the facial creams had done him much good as he looked aged and worn.

I stopped by Burger King for a quick bite when I met Wan Sie. I had had fleeting chance encounters with her over the years but I hadn't looked at her carefully. Last night, she looked unchanged from a decade ago! Astounding.

Finally, at eleven, Siu Hean sent a message. He was at Borders, browsing. Liz was too tired to make it down. Siu Hean was very excited over the episodes of Blake's 7 on U-Tube. We also reminisced over old eerie British SF/Fantasy TV productions like Sapphire and Steel and Children of the Stones.

Friday! YES!

Army Open House 2007: SAR-21 Assault Rifle

The variant with the foregrip and a video sighting system.

The variant with the 40mm grenade launcher. Note the quadrant sights which can be set to 400 metres.