Long time post once

It's been really long since my last post. Originally, one of the reason for this blog is to clip some of the interesting stories that I found on the Net. Since then, Web 2.0 tech has developed that there are not better ways of clipping interesting stuff. One way is using Digg, but that too got rather old. Now, I'm simply using the "star" function on Google Reader. That has been really useful to keep track of interesting posts.

Well, since not many people read this blog anyway, it's time to sign off... till the next post.

Sightseeing in Liberty City - a set on Flickr

Nico Bellic is not the only star in GTA4. Liberty City itself, which is a replica of New York City, is also the key attraction in the game. Flickr user Matthew Johnston has done up a series of pictures comparing actual buildings in NY and screenshots of the same locations found in the game. The similarity is simply astonishing. If you're a fan of the game, you have to check out the Flickr photoset.

Posting to multiple places

Blog It by TypePad seems to be a pretty useful app. With it, you can use Facebook to post to several blogs at once, and also update status on multiple locations. I'm trying it out with my Blogger, Vox, and Twitter account. I wonder if it works on mobile.

Father of D&D Gary Gygax: RIP

I just read from a Slashdot post that Gary Gygax, the creator of the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game has passed away. This news filled me with sadness and a great sense of nostalgia. The influence of D&D is without a doubt far-reaching. Computer games won't be what it is today without the influence of the tabletop game. Come to think of it, would games like Baldur's Gate, Oblivion, and many other gaming classics be without D&D?

I played D&D during my secondary school days. In those days, I had little money to buy the player's handbooks. I borrowed them from my friends, photocopied them, and saved up so that I could buy a set of crystal blue dice. Those were the times when some alarmist folks would view D&D as a "satanic" game. Me? I just thought it was really fun to play a tough fighter or a powerful magic-user.

My fondest memory of a D&D gaming session was one where after battling some enemy (which I can't remember), there was a magical sword set in stone calling out to me. The greedy loot-grabber that I played as, my fighter reached out to grab the sword. Alas, it was a cursed sword and it was stuck to my hands! I then made a decision to actually chopped off my hands so that I won't be penalised with all the "minus" modifiers that came with this cursed sword. Ah, good times!

I would say that D&D contributed to my love of games, sci-fi and fantasy... mainly geeky stuff. It also got me interested in technology because computers started to have RPGs.

Goodbye Mr. Gygax! Thanks for all the dice-rolling memories.

Rat king in the year of the rat

I saw this on Boing Boing, and since it's the Year of the Rat, it's just so appropriate.

What you see here is known as a Rat King. According to Wikipedia, it's

said to arise when a number of rats become intertwined at their tails, which become stuck together with blood, dirt, and excrement. The animals consequently grow together while joined at the tails, which are often broken.

Gross to the extreme.

"Still Alive" in Japanese

"Still Alive" is the end song from Portal that I keep playing inside my head since it is so damn catchy. This one is a version sung in Japanese, and it's also cute.
Anyway, I've yet to play Portal, but I believe it'll be excellent. I've just completed Half-Life Ep 1, and I'm actually going through it again just to experience the developer's commentary. All I can say is that The Orange Box is excellent value and I'm having tons of fun with it.

LEGO Blackbird

A SR71 Blackbird forward quarter
Originally uploaded by Lego Monster.

Wow... an amazing Lego model of the Blackbird spyplane. This is done by Lego Monster and the full photoset can be found on Flickr here. I wonder how long this takes.