World Cup 2014

It does appear that Brazil will be the favourites. They are on home ground and they are traditionally the favourites. I have never liked the Brazilian team.

I would be cheering for Spain and Italy though the chances for the latter is rather small.

I have a soft spot for the German team as they have a lot of young players from the last World Cup.

Southampton FC

I suspect that Southampton will suffer in the next season. Every club has raided it. It did do well the last season. Oh well. It may be a relegation candidate in the coming season.

I hate seeing larger clubs raiding smaller ones which have potential, thus dooming them.

Last night, Sweetie and I saw two guys doing backflips at a MRT station late at night. It was impressive.

We also saw a lot of skateboarders in action on the public roads.

Afterwards, I saw another big group on the train, one of whom gave me a thumbs up when he saw me drawing.

Yummy yummy!

Banana gelato pie: hot fudge & candied hazelnuts, Butterscotch budino, Maldon sea salt & rosemary pine nut cookies, yummy yummy!

Thank you Sweetie!

Disturbed sleep

I am sleepy today. I was awaken up thrice last night by the heavy rain. Each time, I had woken to close the windows after I had opened them when the rain subsided.

The Decameron

I was in an exploratory mood earlier, so, I borrowed 'The Decameron' from the library. I wanted a look at this thick tome.

Wheeeeeeeeeeee!

Thank you Sweetie for such a wonderful time. It was perfect. Thank you for the presents! You made the day a perfect one.

Air International

Over the years, I have bought the occasional issue of Air International. I have always enjoyed reading Air International. In 2012 to 2013, I bought a number of issues as I had wanted more updates of the aviation world. So much has changed. The volumes of books that I own on aviation are somewhat outdated now.

Of Exploration, Cafés and Pies

Dearest Sweetie brought me to a wonderful café on Friday afternoon where we had dessert pies, tea, a kbb dish and an eggplant dish. It was a nice evening of exploration. Afterwards, we visited another café.

It was a place that I had always meant to explore some day and Sweetie brought me there!

Of useless applications and their removal

I am removing useless apps like WeChat and Telegram now. I don't need these programmes cluttering up my mobile, spacewise and also that of the visual space occupied on the screen.

Kallang River

I'm seeing my Sweetie tomorrow! Whee! I must sleep early tonight.

Review of privacy photos and blog posts

I have done an review of some of my albums and photos on Facebook and my blogs and have changed the visibility of some blog posts and albums to private. They will not be available for viewing anymore.

Further revisions will follow in the space of the next few months.

On the deletion of irrelevant or outdated information from Google search results

The very implications. Interesting. Not siding with Google nor the European courts. I can understand why the courts issued this ruling.

As for Google, it is hard to sympathise with this monolithic behemoth which is a law unto themselves. Google's power is unprecedented and dangerous.

Still, there are parallels with deleting history in a way, even then, are the parallels fair?

Dinner and drinks

Saturday was memorable, it was dinner and drinks with Sweetie marking a very special occasion.

Tales of Us

I went to listen to two music videos from the current Goldfrapp album, 'Tales of Us'. It is not as dire as I thought, there is some charm in the two songs that I heard. I think the album is worth considering.

La Roux

I have been meaning to listen to La Roux for a few years now. I finally heard two songs on youtube. Ugh. The voice, the singing, the songwriting. I will certainly not be buying any La Roux CDs.

Friday! It will be a long day today. Oh well.

Cheating in Battlefield 4

There are obviously people who cheat on Battlefield 4. They are either using Aimbots or Triggerbots. The instantaneous kills they score is simply humanly impossible. They would appear from out of line of sight and the killing burst or shot would be instantaneous. I am not a good player but I am sure that I am the victim of a number of cheaters. My ping times aren't terrible, it wouldn't be lag.

I saw that three thousand accounts have been banned on Battlefield 4 so far, at least according to a site that I saw. According to the same site, forty-three thousand accounts have been banned on Battlefield 3.

I went to a site which describes different types of cheats. It is appalling as to  the number of types of such programmes available and employed. The site advised cheaters not to be obvious about their cheating as the cheaters can get reported and banned. I hope the makers of Battlefield 4 can find the means to clamp down most of these cheaters. Cheating spoils the game for everyone.

Under the stars

Sweetie and I were walking by the sea last week. The skies were awashed with stars, more than the miserable usual average. It was magical.

Entertainment at its best

This has been one of the most entertaining football seasons in a long time. There were many changes at the top of the table. Hilarious. First, a Manure meltdown, then, an Arsenal meltdown, then Chelsea, now, a Liverpool meltdown.

35.5 degrees

The temperature on Saturday afternoon hit 35.5 degrees. I cannot remember a time when it was this hot in Singapore.

Battlefield 4 first impressions

I started on Battlefield 4 six months after its release in October last year. I started late. Most of my friends have all stopped playing.

I thought most of the people who bought the game might have stopped, leaving only the hardcore players who had had lots of practice and are very good.

I was extremely rusty and I did not know the maps. I was massacred when I played a few games on Sunday. However, I gradually began to get some kills of my own. My weapons lacked accessories but it was my gameplay that was lacking. I was never as good as the average player in the past despite my practice, I had to rely on hiding and then shooting and then hiding again. That was the only possible means for me to even the odds.

I tried a few maps and the impressions were that that it was very open, it was hard to defend any point. The graphics was alright, it could have been better, and my entry level graphics card could do so much. My mouse appeared to be ill-suited for gaming as the buttons do become stuck at points. Oh well.

The infantry models and the weapons modelling seemed to be similar to the previous incarnation, Battlefield 3, in fact, it seemed to be simplified. On the other hand, the website seemed to be much improved. One could change settings on the website itself which was wonderful.

Wheeled infantry carriers

I have been drawing wheeled infantry carriers, infantry fighting vehicles and armoured personnel carriers. I drew over twenty-six of them last month. They were imaginary ones of a science fictional nature. They were fun to render.

La Liga title

I hope Atletico Madrid lifts the La Liga title. It would be great to see an underdog beat the mighty Real Madrid and Barcelona for the title.

Atletico is in control of their own destiny. If they win all their matches, the title is theirs.

Raffles - February 2013

The lingering death of Blu-Ray discs

It is hardly surprising. It seems that the Blu-Ray medium the sales of the Blu-Ray discs are dropping. The medium will die a slow death, like many other physical mediums eventually.

It is quite obvious.

The physical store carrying CDs, DVDs and Blu-Rays has become a rarity.

Firefly

Sweetie and I spotted a firefly at the wooded area near the coast a week ago. It was a marvel.

Titanfall first impressions

I tried Titanfall for the first time on Saturday night. I finished the tutorials. Then, I played in one game, managing two kills and a few deaths. It was fast-paced, allowing very little time for thinking. It appears to be a game of manual dexterity and hand-eye coordination. How do I play smart in a game where people are faster and more skilful? I would have to devise strategies. Right now, I know too little of the game system and maps as to be able to make an assessment now.

First impressions, the mecha designs was exciting as were that of the individual pilots. The controls were straight forward but mastering the gameplay would be a challenge.

The combat is fast and furious. Even if one were in a mecha, one could get taken down in seconds. I managed to get in a titan or mecha twice in that one game. My titan was taken down in less than a minute.  Hmm..

I have only seen the one map, which is the training map. I wonder how the rest will be. There are few hiding places in that one map.

All in all, in that short game I played, it was frantic and relentless. It was fun in a certain way.

I am not sure as to how long I would play this.

John foxx & Louis Gordon - Camera (album track) -audio only-

Battlefield 4

I started on Battlefield 4 on Saturday night. I played one game. It brought back many happy memories of Battlefield 3. I played a few more on Sunday.

I had played the following in the Battlefield series:

• Battlefield 1942
• Battlefield 1942: Secret Weapons of WWII
• Battlefield 1942: The Road to Rome
• Battlefield 2
• Battlefield 2: Special Forces
• Battlefield Vietnam
• Battlefield 3
• Battlefield 3: Back to Karkand
• Battlefield 3: Close Quarters
• Battlefield 4

I had missed the following:

• Battlefield 2: Euro Force
• Battlefield 2: Armored Fury
• Battlefield 2: Modern Combat
• Battlefield 2142
• Battlefield 2142: Northern Strike
• Battlefield: Bad Company
• Battlefield Heroes
• Battlefield 1943
• Battlefield Online
• Battlefield: Bad Company 2
• Battlefield Play4Free
• Battlefield 3: Armored Kill
• Battlefield 3: Aftermath
• Battlefield 3: End Game

Some, I had obviously missed because they were console titles, others, I had gotten tired of the concept. I could not play a lot of the Downloadable Content (DLC) in Battlefield 3 as one of the updates had messed up my system and Battlefield 3 became inaccessible. It was a pity as I had paid for the DLCs. I have also paid for all the Battlefield 4 DLCs.