zeroinitiate

Bloodline Champions - Ravener Trailer

2010-10-31T03:29:00.001+08:00

Funcom has released a new trailer and four fresh screenshots from Bloodline Champions, a PVP game with short, intense matches for up to ten players divided into two teams. Every player plays one of several different bloodlines with 7 unique abilities each.

Bloodline Champions - Ravener Trailer

Castlevania Lords of Shadows 2 Being Planned

2010-10-31T03:28:00.001+08:00

Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2 is already in development reports confirm.

Apparently the game is in the “advanced planning stages” and will once again be headed up by the developer of the first game, MercurySteam.

Castlevania Lords of Shadows 2 in advanced planning stages

World of Warcraft: Cataclysm System Requirements

2010-10-31T03:26:00.001+08:00

MINIMUM SPECS

Windows XP 32bit (SP3), Windows XP 64bit (SP2), Windows Vista

32bit (SP1), Windows Vista 64bit (SP1).

Intel Pentium 4 1.3 GHz or AMD Athlon XP 1500.

1GB or more of RAM.

NVIDIA GeForce FX or ATI Radeon™ 9500 video card or better.

DirectX-compatible sound card or motherboard sound capability.

25 GB free hard drive space.

You must have an active broadband Internet connection to play.

RECOMMENDED SPECS

Windows XP 32bit (SP3), Windows XP 64bit (SP2), Windows Vista 32bit (SP1), Windows Vista 64bit (SP1) Windows 7.

Dual-core processor, such as the Intel Pentium D or AMD Athlon 64 X2.

2 GB RAM (2 GB for Vista users).

3D graphics processor with Vertex and Pixel Shader capability with 256 MB NVIDIA GeForce 8600 or ATI Radeon.

2600 or better DirectX-compatible sound card or motherboard sound capability.

Broadband Internet connection.

Multi-button mouse with scroll wheel recommended.

Star Wars: The Old Republic: Site Updated

2010-10-28T21:04:00.000+08:00

The Holonet has been updated with a trio of new biographies: Bouris Ulgo, Diab Duin and the Imperial Spymaster "Keeper". The second feature is a Fan Friday update where the SWTOR community is spotlighted.

Star Wars: The Old Republic: Site Updates

Trion Worlds Reveals New Rift Classes

2010-10-28T13:03:00.000+08:00

Trion Worlds had just revealed three new player classes found in the upcoming MMORPG Rift: Planes of Telara! The game has a rather unique class system although sometimes you will be a little confused. Anyway, you are bound to find one of the four major MMO archetypes (fighter, cleric, rogue, wizard) and among them with the more specialized subclasses. The three newly-added subclasses are justicar, stormcaller, and warlord.

Trion Worlds Unleashes Three New Rift Classes

PlayStation Phone faked?

2010-10-28T02:03:00.001+08:00

A PlayStation Phone prototype has been leaked online and reveals a possible design for a future mobile phone that also would apparently play games (PSP Go games?) and uses the same buttons as a PS3 controller.

However Sony has officially commented that the leaked prototype is “definitely fake”. So take all this with a grain of salt.

PlayStation Phone prototype info leaked?

Comedy RPG DeathSpank Comes to PC

2010-10-28T02:01:00.001+08:00

Hothead Games’ DeathSpank is now available for PC via Steam.

Ron Gilbert’s return to gaming is a goofy action role-playing game that’s often described as Diablo meets Monkey Island. Playing as the eponymous hero, you’ll get to stomp around a colorful world while hunting down an item called The Artifact. Along the way, you’ll scoop up unicorn droppings, fight dragons, and stuff orphans into a burlap sack.

Comedy RPG DeathSpank Dispenses Justice to PC

Zeroinitiate.com Is Now Online

2008-01-23T23:25:00.000+08:00

I decided to make it official, folks. You can visit the new site below.

http://www.zeroinitiate.com

We're still ironing out the site design and all that, so pardon the bare bones look.

Ferrari Enzo Crash

2007-03-28T07:24:00.000+08:00

How to crash a million dollar car. I can almost feel the pain on this one.

Three Filipino Women

2007-03-20T14:45:00.000+08:00

3-4 years ago a friend of mine gave me a book as a birthday present: Three Filipino Women by F. Sionil Jose. It gathered dust in my bookshelf for that same amount of time. I would lift it occasionally and try to start reading, but I just wasn't interested because I simply wasn't into Filipino literature.

I don't know what compelled me this weekend but I found myself reading it. The book is a compilation of three unrelated novellas by Jose. The first story, Cadena De Amor (Spanish for Chain of Love), is a story about two childhood friends, a boy and a girl, and how they both grew up to become successful, and in the case of the girl Narita, powerful people. What I found striking, and later on, haunting, is Narita's strength, which I probably won't do justice if I try to describe it here. I found Cadena De Amor bittersweet, like a pleasant memory that turned out to be a lie. I prefer not to go on at this point. Just get the book if you can. It's highly recommended reading.

Game! March Issue

2007-03-12T16:14:00.000+08:00

Show me some love and get a copy of the March issue of Game! Magazine. You (hopefully) won't regret it!

Where I Bought My DS

2007-03-12T12:42:00.000+08:00

As you can probably tell from my last post, I recently bought a Nintendo DS lite. Following my friend's recommendation, we went over to Recto to buy it from a guy he met through an online forum.

Now, video game consoles are usually bought in Greenhills. There are a lot of shops there that offer competitive packages if you know where to look. Only the rich and/or the foolish buy consoles from Megamall or any of the major malls since the price tag literally spikes to a few more thousand pesos. Instead of going to Greenhills my friend suggested we buy my DS from his seller, so off to Recto we went.

Now, maybe I've been to Recto before, but I don't remember so I when I say I haven't been there it means I don't remember the last time I was there, if I ever was. When we got off the tram it was like stepping off into a war zone. My friend said 'kinda like Fallout, isn't it?', to which I agreed. Fallout is a video game set in a post-nuclear world, and while Recto didn't have any radioactive waste, it sure was reeking of something else. The buildings looked dilapidated and the streets were, I don't know. I can't say they were dirty because they weren't, but they weren't clean either. We passed through an open movie theater and felt the air conditioning coming from within. It was cool, but the smell was otherworldly.

When we got to our destination I called our contact to find out where we were exactly supposed to meet him. He gave us the directions to a compound and off we went. The place reminded me of the Math Building back in UP. It was a rectangular structure that had an open space in the middle. Corridors ran along the perimeter and people lived along the lines of the rectangle itself. Our contact told us to go up to the fifth floor.

The compound itself was clean, but it was really old. Both the paint and the tiled floor were chipping away and there was grime running along the wall. I found myself looking for lights because it was a little dark inside even though it was broad daylight. I wondered how the place looked like at night and decided that I didn't really want to find out. Considering the state of the building, I found it surprising that I couldn't smell anything unpleasant.

Our contact himself was kind enough so nothing wrong there. I bought my DS and went back as soon as we could. All in all, it was an uneventful trip, but I'm probably going to buy my next DS in Greenhills.

On Elite Beat Agents

2007-03-06T14:30:00.000+08:00

I'm addicted to Elite Beat Agents. It sounds so silly.

Elite Beat Agents is a Nintendo DS rhythm game similar to Dance Dance Revolution. Instead of stepping on your NDS you tap it with the stylus in time with the beat.

For once, it's not an RPG, RTS, FPS or any other gaming genre that I usually play. I now have a minor obsession with unlocking the Divas.

A Girl & Her Guitar

2007-03-06T13:33:00.000+08:00

A girl playing Guile's theme on guitar. Video game music is looking good.

Alicia Mayer Does PETA

2007-03-05T06:48:00.000+08:00

Yes, at some point I promise to post some real content. For now, just ogle at the veggies.

Tyra Banks & Katharine McPhee's Breasts

2007-02-25T18:43:00.000+08:00

LOL.

No More Heroes: More Violent Than Manhunt!

2007-02-22T13:04:00.000+08:00

A violent game for the Wii? Tell me it ain't true!

For those of you who care but don't know, Nintendo has a reputation of being the "kiddie" console maker. It stays away from violent games in general. Remember Mortal Kombat? It was an arcade game that was later ported to the Sega Genesis and the Super Nintendo Entertainment System for home gaming. MK was notorious for its vast amounts of blood and gory finishing moves, which included ripping heads off and pulling out vital organs. When it was ported, Sega retained the blood while Nintendo opted for "green sweat", literally changing the color from red to green.

Fast forward to today and we now have the Wii, Nintendo's latest console. Game developer Suda 51's Wii title No More Heroes is going to be "as violent, or even more violent than Manhunt 2!"

I'll believe it when I see it. Also, note that violent games doesn't necessarily mean good games.

No More Heroes trailer, courtesy of YouTube.

Source: Joystiq

Reading & Writing

2007-02-19T09:31:00.000+08:00

I already told you guys twice that I've been doing a lot of...well, you know already. A few weeks ago I was thinking about getting some reading done.

Before I go on, I'm going to tell you one of my secrets about writing. There's a lot of stuff out there that tell you how to write. Google "how to write" and you'll find a whole boatload of resources that you can use, from guides to tips to classes, lectures and whatever else is out there. Their actual usefulness really depends on you, but the best thing that I can recommend is Stephen King's "On Writing". He tells you how to write and, more importantly, how he writes. While King isn't my favorite author because his work has been hit and miss for me (Bag of Bones and Hearts in Atlantis were great, Tommyknockers was weird), I like his writing in a general sense. So in terms of actual reading and learning material, that book is what I recommend.

One of the things the book will tell you is that you can't write if you don't read, which is why I've been looking for a book. Writing is your output, your product. Reading is your input, serving as your fuel as you type on that keyboard or jot on your notepad. I haven't read in a while, which is possibly one of the reasons why I felt so uninspired last week. Possibly, I'm not sure. I read a book over the weekend and it felt good to finish it. I'm considering getting Gaiman's Anansi Boys next week.

A Valentine's Day Gift

2007-02-06T11:02:00.000+08:00

Got a lady friend who's lonely? Or someone who's naughty? Or maybe both, you lucky bastard. Anyway, here's the perfect Valentine's Day gift for your would-be paramour.

Quoting the website:

This discreet bullet vibe fits snugly in your panties, with an optional heart-shaped attachment to hold it in place. Let your lover know you're wet and willing for a Valentines treat!

Packing all the power of a bigger model with none of the hassle, this vibrating panty pal is discreet enough to be used in the office or supermarket but strong enough to deliver intense orgasms on tap.

Planning something romantic? Screw that! Give her an orgasm this Valentine's Day!

Source: LoveHoney

Dark Crusade: Tau Campaign Mode Guide 3

2007-02-05T15:06:00.003+08:00

The Campaign Continued

With Pavonis under your control you are now able to go to almost any province in the map. I recommend that you either go to the Eres Badlands next so you can get Fury, which will allow you to move/attack twice in one turn or the Vandean Coast, which will give you an additional 1000 resources at the start of each battle.

The Eres Badlands

To win this province you have to kill 70 opposing units. Your enemy has two bases, or so the report says. I've never been able to verify this because you can win this map by simply playing defensively. Start building your base the usual way and amass your forces nearby. Eventually your opponent will attack you. As long as you can keep yourself alive and kill his units faster than he can kill yours, you'll win this map.

The Vandean Coast

The game tells you that in order to win this map you have to gain 2600 power. What it doesn't tell you is that you can also win the old-fashioned way, by destroying your opponent's base. I'll leave it to you to decide on how you want to win. If you want to go the power route, simply build generators and play defensively until you reach the required amount. You can also increase your power-gathering by building a Thermo Plasma Generator (or equivalent) on the Slag Deposit above your base. You can also simplify things by simply walking over to the other side of the map with your army and destroy your opponent's base. Again, if you rush him early it'll be easy.

The Tau Commander

The Tau commander is one of the strongest commanders in the game because of his weapons arsenal, stealth and mobility. He can take out enemy bases single-handedly if you set him out early in the game. In terms of wargear, I recommend you get the stealth field first, followed by either the jetpack or the missile pods. The jetpack provides great mobility for an otherwise slow unit and the missile pods are good at destroying enemy vehicles and buildings. They also knockdown enemy infantry. Add the fusion blaster and the plasma rifle next. If you want to make him a solo assault unit you might want to get the advanced sensor array earlier than the other upgrades. Get the flamer before you get the drone upgrades.

Enemy turrets can detect infiltrated units. To get around this you can toss a snare trap within range of the turret. The turret will start firing on the snare trap and when it does, the Tau commander will start attacking the turret. Similar to the Fire Warrior Bodyguards, the range of the Tau commander's weapons have a greater reach than his line of sight. Tossing the snare trap will extend his line of sight far enough to attack the turret from a safe distance.

The Campaign Continued

I recommend that you attack the Demes Northlands next so you can get another Fire Warrior Bodyguard honor guard unit. If you attack this province early in the game you'll only have to worry about one base. Wait longer and there will be two bases next time. Everything will be easier to rush if you have your commander and two squads of Fire Warrior Bodyguards.

Later on you'll be dealing with provinces that have two bases. Rush early and eliminate one base as quickly as possible. Should you ever be involved in a late game scenario, I recommend following the path of the Killing Blow. Hammerhead Gunships will make short work of almost anything that get in their way. Remember to build a Coalition Center so you can get the Ethereal unit. Aside from providing a global boost to the Tau, he can also summon Fire Warrior Bodyguards for free. Just right-click on the icon and he'll summon them as soon as they become available.

With the Space Port, Fury and Industrial Production under your control it should be pretty easy to go out and conquer new provinces. For the strongholds themselves, I suggest you consult NightmareHunter's excellent walkthrough for details.

That's it for now. I hope you found the information useful. I'm considering writing guides for the other races as well so you should let me know if there's a race that you want me to write about first.

Part 1
Part 2

Dark Crusade: Tau Campaign Mode Guide 2

2007-02-05T15:06:00.001+08:00

Playing Defense

One of the things you have to remember is that your provinces can be invaded by your foes. While you can choose to resolve such things automatically, I recommend that you fight it out so your commander can earn wargear.

When one of your provinces is invaded, any of the structures that you built the last time you were there will still be there. The key to resolving these invasions quickly is to build everything you need before you win a province. Let's say you're in the Agamar Desert and you're on the verge of winning. Stop. Destroy everything except your opponent's HQ. From that point, start building all of the structures you need and upgrade your listening posts. You may also want to capture additional strategic points and build listening posts on those as well. The point is that make sure that you have everything you need in case you need to defend that province later. When you're done, destroy your opponent's HQ to win the province. When that province gets invaded, you'll be ready because you'll have the resources and the structures needed to send your advanced units to the fray. Note that any technology available through research will have to be researched again, but at least you'll have the structures set up already.

Playing As The Tau

The Tau's strength is their range, which is pretty good in terms of power and reach. Their melee attacks are secondary, so even with the Kroot and the Vespid you're still going to have a tough time dealing with your foes if you go head-to-head with them in close combat. Always keep this in mind as you make your progress through the game.

Here's my recommended build order:

1. Create a builder unit then build a barracks.
2. Create 2 stealth teams and begin capturing strategic points.
3. Create another builder unit and build 2 plasma generators.
4. Create listening posts on the captured strategic points using the builder unit that just finished your barracks.
5. Create a fire warrior team from your barracks.

When you build your Barracks, press the F2 key immediately to set all units from that building to the Ranged Attack stance. You can also use this on the Vehicle Beacon when you build it. This way, units from those structures will engage foes within firing range but won't chase them if they flee. You don't want your Tau units to fight foes in melee. They're next to useless that way.

For starters, I recommend that you conquer the Agamar Desert first so you can get the Fire Warrior Bodyguard honor guard unit. Combine it with Pathfinders to maximize their line of sight and you've got extremely long range at the start of the game. Remember that their weapon range is longer than their line of sight, so don't forget to have some Pathfinders tag along with them. You can use this combination to annoy your enemy and prevent him from capturing strategic points. You can use a starting army of a squad of Fire Warrior Bodyguards, a squad of Fire Warriors and the Tau Commander to harass your opponent. Continue to build your base and fortify your army until your foe is defeated.

When you're done with the Agamar Desert, move your way two provinces up to get to Pavonis. Pavonis is a special province that holds the Space Port, which will allow you to go to any province on the planet except enemy strongholds. To win Pavonis, you have to find 6 Servitors on the map and keep them in your base.

Pavonis

To win this province you have to find 6 Servitors and keep them in your base. Your commander will keep you informed when you or your opponent finds one so keep track of things by using the counter on the right. There's a Servitor near your HQ, standing close to the upper strategic point.

Your opponent has three bases. There's one in the south corner, one in the middle and one in the northeast end. Although the map tells you to find Servitors, destroying your opponent's bases is a good strategy because it'll keep you from being overwhelmed later on. Remember, three bases equals three different armies that can gang up on you, so move quickly.

I recommend that you go after the one on the southern end first. Move your commander and your honor guard units to raid the base. If you do it immediately it will still be vulnerable by the time you get there. Continue amassing your forces in your base and have those troops join your commander's army and move on to the second base in the middle. There should be 2-3 Servitors in that base by the time you get there so capture those as well. Finally, move up to the northern end and destroy the base there.

Part 1
Part 3

Dark Crusade: Tau Campaign Mode Guide 1

2007-02-05T08:59:00.000+08:00

First of all, welcome to this guide. As the title states, this is a guide for the single-player campaign of Warhammer 40000: Dawn of War: Dark Crusade and it focuses on the Tau.

The Tutorial

Don't underestimate Dark Crusade's tutorial because each race gets its own custom tutorial. Aside from showing you gameplay mechanics, it also provides you with excellent information about each race: their strengths, weaknesses and distinct characteristics that differentiate them from the other races. If you're going to use an unfamiliar race, I highly recommend that you go through the tutorial first, even if you know the basics already.

The Campaign

Dark Crusade's campaign mode involves conquering the planet of Kronus. Each race has a stronghold or home province and a commander unit, represented by a banner and a commander "token" respectively. The commander tokens symbolize the movement of each race's army as they move across the planet. The colors of the borders dividing each province signify which race controls it.

Regardless of what race you use, I advise you to start small. Look at your potential target provinces and click on Attack to get a report about what you'll be facing. What you're looking for is the number of bases the enemy has. If it's only one base, go after that first. Normally, the smaller provinces have only one enemy base but that's not always the case. You can also consider the honor guard unit and planetary requisition you'll gain if you win the province. Planetary requisition are resources that you can use to fortify your controlled provinces and to buy honor guard units, which are special units that become members of your commander's army. They will accompany your commander as long as you can keep them alive after each mission. If they die, you can use planetary requisition to buy them again.

There are also special provinces that grant different kinds of bonuses.

Pavonis - Space Port - lets you ignore the adjacency rule and move to/attack any region on the map except for enemy strongholds.

The Eres Badlands - Fury - you can move/attack twice in one turn.

The Aceria Forests - Manpower - increases the squad and vehicle caps for your army, allowing you to produce more units.

The Hyperion Peaks - Forward Base - allows you to use planetary requisition to purchase buildings prior to a battle.

The Ariel Highlands - Bulwark - reduces the cost of reinforcing provinces.

The Vandean Coast - Industrial Production - gives you an additional 1000 requisition resource at the start of each mission.

Part 2
Part 3

Excuses

2007-02-02T10:23:00.000+08:00

There are two reasons why I haven't been posting lately. One, I can't connect to Blogger properly. Anything Google-related on my end has been having problems. There are times when I can't log on to GMail, Google Docs and Blogger. Two, I've been doing a lot of writing lately, more than I've ever done since I wrote my first article for PC Mag Philippines, which I'd like to mark as my semi-professional writing birthday. I'm not going to go through history, but right now I'm doing regular work for two blogs and one website, then semi-regular stuff for three magazines. I'm not bragging. I just thought about it earlier today and never really imagined that it would get this far. Don't get me wrong, I like what I'm doing. It's just that all the writing has kept me from updating this blog, which shouldn't really be an excuse since this is where I practiced my writing.

Part of the problem is that I really don't know what to do with this site. It started out as a personal blog that turned into an online notepad and then became a gaming-related website. My most popular posts so far have been the guides for Final Fantasy XII, which was fun to write. I'm currently writing another guide for a different game (Dawn of War: Dark Crusade) that I'll hopefully be able to post here as well.

My friends are going back to school to get post-graduate degrees. I thought about it for a while then told them that it would be impossible for me to keep my writing and my gaming if I go back to school. With my job, writing, gaming and school, something will definitely have to give.

That's it for updates. I consider myself a semi-professional writer/blogger since I'm not into this full-time. It's one hell of a ride though.

Writing Some More

2007-01-29T11:05:00.000+08:00

I've been busy doing a lot of writing lately. I just finished my review for Dirge of Cerberus and I'm also doing something for a local magazine. Hopefully they'll approve it by the end of this week. It's a 1500-word article that's been edited, re-edited and re-re-edited last week so I want to see the end of it by Friday. I just want it done and over with so I can move on to writing other things. The mild aggravation had me mentally asking is this worth it? I'm crossing my fingers.

I've been actively using Google Reader for my RSS feeds. I've known about RSS for a long time now but this is the first time that I've bothered using it. It's pretty good for news junkies (which I'm not). It's extremely useful for getting new information quickly though.

I saw a House marathon last Sunday to catch up on the Tritter arc. I stopped watching it ever since House got arrested so that I wouldn't get all excited thinking about what would happen next. The next episode's on the 30th so I'm waiting for that.

Lastly, I want a Nintendo DS!

Review: Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII

2007-01-26T09:31:00.000+08:00

You can read my review of Dirge of Cerberus here.

Hugh Laurie Wins Golden Globe Award

2007-01-18T06:41:00.000+08:00

Hugh Laurie won a Golden Globe award for his portrayal of Dr. Gregory House. Here's a video of his acceptance speech.

Colonic irrigations FTW.

iPhone Features

2007-01-16T07:03:00.000+08:00

From About.com

Mobile Phone:

Allows users to make calls by simply pointing at a name or number.

Syncs all of your contacts from your PC, Mac or Internet service such as Yahoo!

Construct a favorites list for your most frequently made calls.

Merge calls together to create conference calls.

Visual Voicemail lets users look at a listing of their voicemails, decide which messages to listen to, then go directly to those messages without listening to the prior messages.

A SMS application with a full QWERTY virtual keyboard with predictive text to send and receive SMS messages in multiple sessions.

A calendar application that allows calendars to be automatically synced with your PC or Mac.

A 2 megapixel camera and a photo management application. Users can browse browse their photo library, which can be synced from their PC or Mac, and choose a photo for their wallpaper or to include in an email.

A quad-band GSM phone which also features EDGE and Wi-Fi wireless technologies (802.11b/g) for data networking as well as Bluetooth 2.0 EDR.

Widescreen iPod:

Touch controls that lets music lovers scroll through entire lists of songs, artists, albums and playlist.

Cover Flow, which lets you browse your music library by album cover artwork. When navigating your music library on iPhone, you are automatically switched into Cover Flow by rotating iPhone into its landscape position.

A 3.5-inch widscreen display.

Touch controls for play-pause, chapter forward-backward and volume when watching TV shows and movies.

Syncs content from a user's iTunes library on their PC or Mac, and can play any music or video content they have purchased from the online iTunes store.

Internet Communications Device:

Features a HTML email client which fetches your email in the background from most POP3 or IMAP mail services and displays photos and graphics right along with the text. iPhone is fully multi-tasking, so you can be reading a web page while downloading your email in the background.

Yahoo! Mail is offering a new free "push" IMAP email service to all iPhone users that automatically pushes new email to a user's iPhone, and can be set up by entering your Yahoo! name and password.

iPhone will also work with most industry standard IMAP and POP based email services, such as Microsoft Exchange, Apple .Mac Mail, AOL Mail, Google Gmail and most ISP mail services.

Runs a version of the Mac Safari web browser for viewing web pages and lets one zoom in to expand any section by tapping on iPhone's multi-touch display with their finger. Also includes built-in Google Search and Yahoo! Search, automatic syncing of bookmarks from a PC or Mac.

Support for wireless Internet usage via Wi-Fi or EDGE.

Built-in Google Maps, featuring Google's online maps service and iPhone's maps application, lets users view maps, satellite images, traffic information and get directions.

Expandable Summaries At Last

2007-01-12T22:05:00.001+08:00

Finally got expandable summaries to work, so I'll be updating a few posts from this point.

I'll also bring back the Final Fantasy guides to this blog instead of linking them to my Google Pages.

Review: Warhammer 40000: Dawn of War: Dark Crusade

2007-01-11T13:34:00.000+08:00

Here's my Warhammer 40000: Dawn of War: Dark Crusade review.

The iPhone

2007-01-10T07:00:00.000+08:00

It's time to giggle like a schoolgirl. Or a schoolboy, if you know one who happens to be particularly gigglish.

Quoting the news article:

Jobs called the phone a widescreen iPod, Internet communicator and mobile phone in one.

Apple's new cell phone runs OSX and enables a wealth of software-related options. It features iTunes and iPhoto, as well as the ability to easily synch music and photos respectively. An included 8 gigabyte hard drive allows the phone to store hours of digital music and photos. In addition, it can also playback widescreen movies -- simply flip the phone on its side and users can watch downloaded iTunes video content in its native 16:9 resolution.

There are two versions of the phone. A 4GB mode will retail for $499 and an 8GB model for $599. Both require a two-year contract with Cingular and will be available this June.

You can read the full article here.

The Internet is Wonky

2007-01-10T06:23:00.000+08:00

Finally! I've been unable to access Blogger for the past two weeks now because of the earthquake in Taiwan. My Internet access has been wonky since then.

I'm currently writing reviews for Marvel Ultimate Alliance and Warhammer 40000: Dawn of War: Dark Crusade. Dark Crusade has been fun, especially since I can't play Guild Wars properly right now. Hopefully, my Internet access will have some stability now so I can post more updates.

Review: Neverwinter Nights 2

2007-01-04T10:09:00.000+08:00

Here's my review for Neverwinter Nights 2.

Neverwinter Nights 2

2006-12-27T13:45:00.000+08:00

I started playing Neverwinter Nights 2 last week and decided that I would test a build first before plunging into the storyline. I don't want to go in blindly and regret things later on.

So, my search led me to this module. It's basically a trainer for your character. It grants gold, XP, items, etc. so you can plan accordingly. If you're looking for a character planner, here's an Excel file you can use. Remember that you can only edit the cells in white.

Happy Holidays to everyone!

Review: Okami

2006-12-22T07:09:00.000+08:00

My Okami review is in.

Gamespy's GOTY Awards

2006-12-21T07:50:00.000+08:00

Gamespy has released its annual Game of the Year award winners. The list is still incomplete, but the PC section is done.

PC Winners Recap

PC Game of the Year
Company of Heroes

PC Top 10 Games of the Year
1. Company of Heroes
2. The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
3. Half-Life 2: Episode One
4. Space Rangers 2: Rise of the Dominators
5. Neverwinter Nights 2
6. Galactic Civilizations II: Dread Lords
7. Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War -- Dark Crusade
8. Dreamfall: The Longest Journey
9. GTR 2
10. LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy

PC Action
Half-Life 2: Episode One

PC Adventure
Dreamfall: The Longest Journey

PC RPG
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion

PC MMORPG
Guild Wars Nightfall

PC RTS
Company of Heroes

PC Turn-Based Strategy
Galactic Civilizations II: Dread Lords

PC Sports/Racing
GTR 2

PC Expansion
Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War -- Dark Crusade

PC Mod
Oscuro's Oblivion Overhaul

PC Multiplayer
Company of Heroes

Best Graphics
Half-Life 2: Episode One

Special Achievement in Art Direction
Rise of Nations: Rise of Legends

Best Sound
Company of Heroes

Best Music
Dreamfall: The Longest Journey

Developer of the Year
Relic

Level of the Year
Hotel Escape (from Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth)

Best Story
Dreamfall: The Longest Journey

Best Character
Khelgar Ironfist from Neverwinter Nights 2

Best Use of License
LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy

The Game That Wouldn't Die
World of Warcraft

Most Improved Game
EverQuest II

Trends We Like
Great Strategy Expansions

Trends We Hate
Day One Patches

The 5th Annual "When It's Done™" Award
The Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar

Biggest Disappointment
Gothic III

Coaster of the Year
Bad Day LA

Click here to go to the main page.

American Gods II

2006-12-11T14:53:00.000+08:00

It goes without saying that all of the people, living, dead, and otherwise in this story are fictional or used in a fictional context. Only the gods are real.

- From the Caveat, and Warning for Travelers from American Gods by Neil Gaiman

American Gods is done. I expected to be amazed, for the lack of a better term, and I wasn't disappointed. Modern fantasy, modern magic, put it any way you like, that's Gaiman. Whereas Neverwhere sought to explain, American Gods is about the as is. Accept it. Or don't.

Final Fantasy XII: Weapons

2006-12-07T11:45:00.000+08:00

The guide has moved. Click on the link below:
http://zeroinitiate.com/?p=8

Review: Valkyrie Profile 2: Silmeria

2006-12-07T06:57:00.001+08:00

My Review of Valkyrie Profile 2: Silmeria for the PS2.

Mobiles Are Not Cancer Risks

2006-12-06T09:54:00.000+08:00

Saw this on BBC News today: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/6209960.stm

Hopefully, that will be the end of it.

Review: Justice League Heroes

2006-12-04T12:02:00.000+08:00

My Review of Justice League Heroes for the PS2.

Final Fantasy XII: Abysteel Leveling

2006-12-03T11:09:00.000+08:00

Here's a video I made using my digital camera. The quality's poor, but I wanted to try it out.

Anyway, the video shows you how to level up from Abysteel using Sleepga and Curaja. You can see my Gambit setup, with a little squinting on your part.

Final Fantasy XII: The Tournesol

2006-11-29T07:52:00.000+08:00

The guide has moved. Click on the link below:
http://zeroinitiate.com/?p=3

American Gods

2006-11-23T20:49:00.000+08:00

I bought a book today, partly because I wanted to cheer myself up, partly because I was going to do some waiting and for some reason, the JPod didn't feel like it was going to suffice.

I bought Neil Gaiman's American Gods. I went to National Bookstore first and saw Neverwhere, which I remember fondly because of how much I enjoyed reading it. I'm not a fan of stories (books, movies and otherwise) that have weak characters, which is what its protagonist, Richard Mayhew, arguably is. He spends most of his time absolutely clueless of what's going on. Yet he's witty and charming enough, so he's not exactly a lost cause. Hopefully, American Gods will also be memorable.

The Gaming Life

2006-11-23T13:13:00.000+08:00

I guess this is a late post considering how long I've been blogging. It's just that this week, a friend of mine told me that she found it hard to imagine that I played video games (specifically, Guild Wars. I know that some of you purists out there don't consider PC games as video games. I'm being generic here.) everyday. Of course, having lived that way since I was 8 years old, I find it difficult to think of myself existing without it. So the result is this, a post attempting to describe how gaming fits into my life. Be warned: this article has geek written all over it.

Each weekend, the first thing I do is turn on my computer. I proceed with the rituals of the online life: email, forums and a little browsing. An hour later (or more if I find something interesting), I'm done. I then launch Guild Wars.

So now I'm in-game. One of the things I've been trying to do is to clear up my quest log. Here's a sample screenshot:

Quimang's Last Stand, The Bog Beast of Bokku and The Captured Son are quests. Select one to view the details of the quest. In this case, The Bog Beast of Bokku is selected. The player has fulfilled the quest, which required him to "Find and defeat the Bog Beast of Bokku", hence the line crossing it out. When he receives his reward from Baasong, the quest will disappear from his log. With that explained, my goal is to see to it that my quest log becomes empty.

Some of the quests are not as straightforward. When that happens, I go online to find more information. For Guild Wars, I go to GuildWiki. Here's the entry for The Bog Beast of Bokku.

If you look at the entry, the picture entitled "Quest Path" is a screenshot of the game's map. The asterisk marks the location of the quest target. The crosshair represents your character's location. The arrow above the crosshair indicates the direction your character is facing, which is northwest. The red dots mark the path that you've taken so far.

So that's one quest. Having gone through all that describing, I have to admit that I haven't been doing a lot of questing lately. Instead, I've been helping a friend with his missions. In Guild Wars, missions are almost the same as quests except for one thing: when you finish a mission, you move the game's story forward. For the past week, I've been meeting online with two officemates every afternoon to help them out. I've been playing the game longer than they have so I'm their guide by default. We've been doing the joint game sessions for about 1-2 hours everyday this week.

When I get tired of using the PC, I turn on my PS2. I'm currently playing Final Fantasy XII on it. I found this excellent compilation of videos recorded during gameplay.

Take a look at this. At around the 1-minute mark he buys something called "The Sunflower" from the Bazaar. The Sunflower AKA Tournesol is one of the strongest weapons in the game, specifically the game's most powerful two-handed sword. I'm trying to acquire it. That can only be done through the Bazaar.

The Bazaar works like this: you have to sell specific items first for Bazaar items to become available for purchase. Think of it as a formula: X + Y = Z. For example, I can get two healing potions from the Bazaar if I sell 2 Cactus Fruit. In this case, the formula is 2X = 2Z, where X is a Cactus Fruit and Z is a potion. And where do I get Cactus Fruit? By killing Cactus-like enemies in-game.

Granted, it doesn't make a lot of sense. What the hell is a Cactus Fruit anyway? The question isn't relevant. When you play the game, you'll eventually run into a cactus-like enemy and you'll kill it. It'll drop something and you'll pick it up. The game will tell you that you picked up a Cactus Fruit. It's that simple.

So, what's the formula for The Sunflower?

3 Empyreal Soul, 3 Gemsteel and 3 Serpentarius.

OK, so I won't bother asking what those are since you said it's irrelevant. How do I get them?

You look for monsters that drop them, since drops are monster-specific.

OK, so what monsters do I kill?

Unfortunately, there are no monsters that drop any of them.

OK, are you shittin' me?

Yes and no. Let me elaborate.

There are no monsters that drop them directly. The good news is that all 3 components can be bought at the Bazaar, you just need the right formula. To get a Serpentarius, you need to sell 1 High Arcana, 4 Snake Skins and 2 Serpent Eyes. If you sell those components to a merchant, a "Jewel of the Serpent" will appear in the Bazaar. Buy that and you'll get a Serpentarius.

So I'm getting components to form components that will create Tournesol?

Yes.

Wait, that formula you just mentioned---it will only give me 1 Serpentarius?

Yes.

So what I really need is 3 High Arcana, 12 Snake Skins and 6 Serpent Eyes?

Yes.

Then you are shittin' me!

That's what I said, didn't I?

Where do I get those components?

Here. Go to the Tournesol section for details.

Bastard.

I know.

Sorry, I needed a break from the paragraph format. Anyway, I got the information from GameFAQs, my usual one-stop shop for gaming-related info. I currently have 3 Serpentarius and 1 Empyreal Soul. I will hopefully get the Tournesol soon.

As you can see, I have a lot of references when I play games. I don't just grab a keyboard or a controller and play whatever. I really spend time doing some research on things like how to finish a quest or how to get the most powerful weapons or how to gain in-game money the easy way. I don't know how all this sounds to a non-gamer, whether it's silly, stupid or just plain anal. Regardless, it probably sounds like a lot of work, and it is. I think the reward is well worth it though. And that's why I still play.

Sunday Morning

2006-11-20T07:22:00.000+08:00

Here in the Philippines, a Sunday is usually a "family day", a day reserved for spending time with your family. Most of the time, the pattern is predictable: attend mass in the morning then dine out afterwards. If you visit the malls at around noon you'll see them everywhere, which is why most malls also hold mass before their regular opening hours. Why go to a proper place of worship like a church when you can go to mass inside a mall? You'll be going there later anyway. It's the same thing, right?

Sure it is.

Anyway, Sunday morning I went out to go to the mall. Being the people-person that I am, I usually go out early on Sundays to avoid the crowds. If I leave the house at around 1PM-2PM, I'm going to have to have a hard time looking for a parking slot.

So I was on the road by around noon. I immediately noticed the lack of cars on the highway. It felt like my 5AM Sunday drives when we have to to go somewhere South. I made a comment about it and my SO, who was with me, said that maybe it was because of Pacquiao. Of course, her theory made sense. Manny Pacquiao was scheduled to fight Erik Morales that day.

Our trip to the mall only supported her theory even further. When we got there, there was a giant TV set up on the stage showcasing the fight. It made me wonder if they held mass that day, because they usually did, and it occurred on the same stage. That stage is where the mall holds its events and they usually set up plastic chairs around it whenever they do so. There were no chairs this time, so people sat on the floor, waiting for the main event. Still, for a Sunday, there wasn't enough of a crowd in the mall. Everyone must be really at home watching the fight.

Manny didn't disappoint. He dropped Morales in Round Three after a near-melee in Round Two. I caught a replay of the fight when I got home. It was brief and painful (painfully brief?). It's a good thing I didn't wait for it like the others did, going through all the earlier matches before the main event. I don't think I would've thought the wait was worth it.

Review: Final Fantasy XII

2006-11-13T14:54:00.000+08:00

My Review of Final Fantasy XII for the PS2.

Site Changes

2006-11-13T06:50:00.000+08:00

I edited the layout because I got tired of the almost endless code-juggling I was doing to make this site compatible with both Firefox and Internet Explorer. My default browser's Firefox and the site looked like it was supposed to there. Imagine my horror when I saw how mangled the layout was when I browsed it on IE. So, after a few hours of struggling with the code I just decided to change its appearance altogether. If it doesn't look right, let me know immediately by posting a comment.

I also put AdSense back. To all my readers (yes, all 3 of you), please show your support by clicking on the AdSense links on the sidebar a few hundred times. Thank you.

Actually, I want to see how it works. I hope all this commercialization doesn't put you guys off. I'll try to add posts of (dubious) value to make this site worth visiting.

Freelance Work

2006-11-10T13:21:00.000+08:00

As you can probably tell from some of my posts, I do a bit of freelance writing, mostly about tech-related stuff and, my personal favorite, games. You can find some of my work in the Philippine edition of PC Magazine, Mobile Philippines (formerly M|Ph) and Game! I am also a reviewer for XGD (www.xgd.com). Samples of the articles I've written are linked below.

My Review of God Hand for the PS2
My Review of Guild Wars: Factions for the PC

I enjoy doing the freelance work because it allows me to combine two things that I love doing: writing and gaming. So, in the spirit of shamelessness, let me know if my writing style suits you and we'll talk. We'll probably be able to come up with something.

A Cheesy Name

2006-11-09T13:32:00.001+08:00

I got an iPod Nano three weeks ago as a reward from work. It felt really good to finally see something work-related pay off like that. I've been using it as a replacement for my car radio ever since, putting the earphones on as I drive to and from the office. I'm still on day shift, for the second month in a row. The last time this happened was...actually, never. I've never been on day shift for two consecutive months. Of course, it doesn't feel as weird as it did on my first day. There's more work though. I have more cases to process because there are only two to three of us on this shift, as opposed to night shift where there's six to eight people.

Gaming-wise, my time's been divided between Final Fantasy XII and Guild Wars: Nightfall. I already submitted my game review for the latter and it really is the best Guild Wars yet. I love the diversity of the Heroes system. Two more of my officemates bought their copies so there's more of us online now. I wonder if we'll ever get a female officemate to join in. That probably won't happen though because, there are no girls on the Internet.

I gave my iPod a cheesy name. And I'm not going to tell.

Guild Wars Halloween Screens

2006-11-04T17:28:00.000+08:00

Continuing my Birthday Greetings post, here's my assassin Kei Shimizu along with the rest of the lineup.

This is how Guild Wars "celebrates" Halloween.

The peaceful towns of Lion's Arch and Kamadan are transformed into twisted versions of themselves, precursors of the Mad King Thorn's arrival.

You know something funky is going on when the moon smiles back at you.

It's a haunted house! With wooden braces!

Bow down to the King!

The Mad King returns every Halloween to crack bad jokes, play his demented version of "Simon Says", among other things. He bestows gifts throughout his visit, but not without having some fun for himself first.

I actually found that a little funny.

The Mad King commands us to dance, so we did. Yes, that's really a disco ball, courtesy of the robed figure below it.

Mad King Says! To err means to die!

Alignments

2006-10-12T06:18:00.000+08:00

I took an alignment test today. In the spirit of fairness, balance or whatever, I took three different tests to see if they would yield the same results. I've been thinking about taking one for a long time now to find out how far I've fallen.

You can view the alignment list here. Note that I've always thought of myself as Chaotic Good when I was in college. While some of its descriptions apply to me, I don't think I'm anywhere close to being "good" anymore.

And now, the test results.

Test #1:

Your Character's Alignment

Based on your answers to the quiz, your character's most likely alignment is Neutral.

A neutral character does what seems to be a good idea. She doesn't feel strongly one way or the other when it comes to good vs. evil or law vs. chaos. Most neutrality is a lack of conviction or bias rather than a commitment to neutrality. Such a character thinks of good as better than evil. After all, she would rather have good neighbors and rulers than evil ones. Still, she's not personally committed to upholding good in any abstract or universal way. Some neutral characters, on the other hand, commit themselves philosophically to neutrality. They see good, evil, law, and chaos as prejudices and dangerous extremes. They advocate the middle way of neutrality as the best, most balanced road in the long run. The common phrase for neutral is "true neutral." Neutral is the best alignment you can be because it means you act naturally, without prejudice or compulsion.

Test #2: (This test explains the answers to each question and how points were allotted to them. The explanations are too long to paste here.)

Law: 3
Chaos: 3
Good: 1
Evil: 5

Your alignment: Neutral Evil

Test #3:

You are 2.8% Good.
You are 7.7% Lawful.
Alignment: True Neutral

You do whatever seems like a good idea at the time. You don't feel any strong inclination towards good vs. evil or law vs. chaos. Some may say that you lack conviction, while others might admire you for your capability of remaining unbiased. You likely prefer good versus evil in society, since good people tend to make better neighbors and rulers, but you are not personally committed to upholding good in any abstract or universal way.

You are the stereotypical “Balancer.” You act in a way that is natural to you without prejudice or compulsion.

Examples of characters and people who fit into the same alignment as you include Linus Torvalds, Dr. Strangelove, Scott Evil, Mr. Spock, and the nation of Switzerland.

Neutral? That's unexpected.

Day Shift

2006-10-09T10:41:00.000+08:00

It feels weird to be on day shift. My shift's 5AM-2PM for the rest of the month. I wake up at 3:30, dress up, drop someone off at Cubao (violating almost every stoplight along the way) and then head to work. Mondays, it's quiet. The rest of the week's livelier because I run into the night shift people.

I like the shift. It's early enough to miss the morning traffic. Waking up isn't a problem either because I'm usually up by 4AM anyway. Getting home by 3PM gives me plenty of time to do things.

I'm stoked about Valkyrie Profile 2 and Final Fantasy XII. Copies of FFXII are spreading like wildfire since it was leaked a few weeks ago. Regarding the other game, a friend of mine compared VP2 to Star Ocean 3, which I was very much into as you'll see here, here and here. Considering that I finished the game a month after I started playing it only shows how addicted I was back then. When my friend said that VP2 was like SO3, I was instantly interested.

I got my PS2 working again. It had been malfunctioning for weeks thanks to its lens. I called a few shops asking about getting it repaired and was told that it would cost about 2000 to get the lens fixed. I could opt to install a modchip that would remove the need for a lens completely, but it would cost me 4500. I gave up after that. 4500 doesn't sound reasonable when I know I can get a brand new PS2 for 7000-8000.

So Friday afternoon found me opening my PS2 and taking matters into my own hands. I cleaned the lens with cotton buds and alcohol hoping that it would work. It was already broken so I had nothing to lose. A few minutes later and I found that sweet HDLoader screen. My console was back in business.

So. Day shift, VP2, FFXII and Guild Wars. House isn't going to resume until the end of the month so I'll have to wait till then. CSI's 7th season just started so that's also something to look forward to. All in all, October's looking good. It's going to be nice to actually look forward to something.

House

2006-09-17T07:51:00.000+08:00

I've been looking for a replacement for Justice League ever since the series ended. Although Numb3rs looks interesting, it's just that it's another crime drama series like CSI. It's one of those things that I watch when I catch it on TV but won't spend the effort to download it otherwise. It's the same treatment that I give CSI: Miami and CSI: NY.

In comes House.

Wikipedia:

House, also known as House, M.D., is an American television series. It is an Emmy award-winning medical drama that debuted on November 16, 2004 on the FOX Network and stars British actor and comedian Hugh Laurie as the titular character (for which role he won the 2006 Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Drama). Laurie plays Dr. Gregory House, a maverick medical genius who heads a team of young diagnosticians at the fictional Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital in New Jersey. This team goes to extraordinary lengths to accomplish a common task: diagnosing and treating unusual ailments. Nearly all episodes start outside the hospital, showing the events leading to the onset of illness for that week's patient.

The show's basically a whodunit except that the culprit is a disease or illness instead of a person. It's up to House and his team to give the correct diagnosis so the patient can be cured. What I like about the series is House himself, who has more personality than all the Las Vegas CSIs combined.

(click to enlarge)

See? Lovable traits galore.

Pictures courtesy of 4chan.

House quotes, courtesy of Wikiquote (I am so pimping those Wiki sites!):

Dr. House: See that, they all assume I'm a patient because of the cane.

Dr. Wilson: Then why don't you put on a white coat like the rest of us?

Dr. House: Then they'll think I'm a doctor.

Dr.House: Your wife is having an affair.

Orange-Colored Patient: What??

Dr. House: You're ORANGE, you moron! It's one thing for you not to notice, but if your wife hasn't picked up on the fact that her husband has changed colors, she's just not paying attention. Oh, by the way, do you consume just ridiculous amounts of carrots and mega-dose vitamins? The carrots turn you yellow, the niacin turns you red. Get a set of fingerpaints and do the math.

Dr. Cameron: You hired a black guy because he had a juvenile record.

Dr. House: No, it wasn't a racial thing, I didn't see a black guy. I just saw a doctor...with a juvenile record. I hired Chase 'cause his dad made a phone call. I hired you because you are extremely pretty.

Dr. Cameron: You hired me to get into my pants?!

Dr. House: I can't believe that that would shock you. It's also not what I said. No, I hired you because you look good; it's like having a nice piece of art in the lobby.

Dr. Cameron: I was in the top of my class.

Dr. House: But not THE top.

Dr. Cameron: I did an internship at the Mayo Clinic.

Dr. House: Yes, you were a very good applicant.

Dr. Cameron: But not the best?

Dr. House: Would that upset you, really? To think that you were hired because of some genetic gift of beauty not some genetic gift of intelligence?

Dr. Cameron: I worked very hard to get where I am.

Dr. House: But you didn't have to. People choose the paths that grant them the greatest rewards for the least amount of effort. That's the law of nature, and you defied it. That's why I hired you. You could have married rich, could have been a model, you could have just shown up and people would have given you stuff. Lots of stuff, but you didn't, you worked your stunning little ass off.

Dr. Cameron: Am I supposed to be flattered?

Dr. House: Gorgeous women do not go to medical school. Unless they're as damaged as they are beautiful. Were you abused by a family member?

Dr. Cameron: No!

Dr. House: Sexually assaulted?

Dr. Cameron: No.

Dr. House: But you are damaged, aren't you?

House rocks.

Mid-Boss

2006-09-13T00:43:00.000+08:00

The past two weeks have been hell. I've been working on this project for over a month now, one that was assigned to me by our Big Boss. In video game parlance, a boss is a foe that you meet at the end of a level, like Bowser from the Mario games. You have to fight through hordes of enemies to get to the boss, who is usually tough to defeat himself. The video game comparison isn't really about the Big Boss since I don't consider him a foe. It does, however, apply to the Mid-Bosses.

A Mid-Boss is a foe that is weaker than the Big Boss but is usually a challenge himself. Some games have a Mid-Boss that appears in the middle of a level while some have several Mid-Bosses that need to be defeated before the Final (Big) Boss can be fought. In my case, it's not really fair to say that the Mid-Bosses are my enemies but, throughout the course of the project, they haven't been supportive either. In some instances, I think they were downright antagonistic.

When the Big Boss gave me the project, he mentioned specific objectives and asked me what my approach would be. I gave it to him. He liked it. When the Mid-Bosses started dipping their hands in the pot, things got out of control. I found myself trying to meet multiple goals given by different people. Input was coming in left and right. My objectives had sub-objectives. When I went looking for clarity, someone tried to shut me up. Even worse, that same person wanted to put words in my mouth. I literally felt like I was being deprived of independent thought, that some fascist was telling me not only what to do, but what to think. It was insulting.

But I went on. And before I continue, don't expect a happy ending. This isn't a success story. The project is nearly complete. Save for a few edits here and there, it's almost out of my hands now. The end result became something that was completely different from the objective given to me by the Big Boss. I just wish that when he sees it at the end, I can put up some sort of defense for what happened. Projects used to be fun. Now they're just ways for the Mid-Bosses to flex their collective might.

The Devil In My Dreams

2006-08-30T21:05:00.000+08:00

I don't know how it started, but I was in a bookstore along with a guy who looked like a priest. Then he appeared, instantly recognizable as the Devil. He told the priest that 48 out of 52 people within the nearby area were in stasis, frozen in time, completely unaware of his presence and the ongoing conversation. I was among the 4 people who were aware. I knew what was happening but I was unable to move. The Devil knew that. He taunted the priest to give in to his demands or he would make those who were aware suffer. He approached me and told me to renounce my faith. I didn't, reciting a spiritual invocation in the process. He laughed in my face saying that those things didn't work, that God wasn't real but the Devil was. After all, he was standing right in front of me. Then he said that I would feel pain in my hand. My left hand, specifically the index finger, began to hurt, a stabbing pain that shot from the tip and spread to the rest of my hand. Since I couldn't move, there was nothing I could do. He told me that he was going to change my suffering to something else. The pain disappeared, only to be replaced by an uncontrollable twitching. My left hand kept on moving and twisting and I had to focus to stop it. It took a lot of effort and he laughed at me while he was at it. He then returned his attention to the priest, taunting him again. Once again the priest was defiant. The Devil turned to another person who was also aware and asked her which person she would like to have his or her lips sealed. She gave him the priest's name. A spider appeared on the priest's face and began to spin a thick web on his lips, covering them. I woke up at that point.

I hate my dreams.

Birthday Greetings

2006-08-05T00:26:00.000+08:00

The reward for good work is more work. It's a once-dead scenario that's been rearing its very ugly head again during the past few months here in the office. While I try not to turn this blog into work rants, sometimes I just can't help it.

I'm currently obsessing over Manomano's Bigay na Bigay.

I'm still into Guild Wars. Jayna's turning one year old, making her the first character that I've played and maintained for a year. I've said before that MMORPGs are commitments, both in terms of time and money, and she's proof of it. There have been moments when I thought about deleting her because I wanted to play the game differently and, being the least flexible toon that I have, she was the easiest one to erase. Still, I can't help but feel a little sentimental. She's the first character that I really invested in. Deleting her would mean saying goodbye to hundreds of hours of work.

L-R: Fara Fairlight, Jayna Arkham, Rin Sayuki and Maleficent Sin. Not included in the set is my assassin Kei Shimizu. She isn't wearing presentable armor yet.

The game has a command that tells me how much time I've spent playing it. I've used Jayna for 360 hours over the past 12 months. My total in-game time is 1470 hours over the past 12 months. It's the anniversary of my video game character. It feels really, really weird.

The Mandatory Update

2006-07-11T06:24:00.000+08:00

Nothing much is going on. Probably for the first time in my life, I have too many writing commitments. I delivered three of them and I have two remaining (I think). Some work-related stuff, some not so much. That's why I've been slacking off in terms of posting anything here.

Work has been fun. We got reshuffled and I relocated to a normal-sized cube. I'm finally sitting next to people who I know fairly well and it's been a blast so far. We manage to get work done while having fun. It's been great. My responsibilities have grown a bit because of the reshuffling but I don't mind. The laughs are worth it.

I saw Superman Returns two weeks ago and was fairly impressed. I think Brandon Routh delivered both as Superman and as Clark Kent. Kevin Spacey was reminiscent of Gene Hackman's Lex Luthor, which was probably intentional. His Lex had a more diabolical streak though, so he did put a little spin into the character. What I didn't like about it was that it didn't kick as much ass as it could have. Most of his feats were focused on his strength (lifting the plane, the boat and that last thing at the end). It was amazing, yes, but it could've been more than that. Since this is a Singer movie, I'm just hoping that it'll be like X-Men and X2. X2 was the better movie, so I hope that when the sequel to Superman Returns (Superman Returns 2? Superman Returns Again? The Return of Superman Returns?) arrives, it will surpass its predecessor.

I should probably go to sleep now.

Nintendo Nostalgia Part 2

2006-06-12T20:26:00.000+08:00

The original intent of this whole Nintendo thing was supposed to be a rant. The next console that they'll be releasing is called the Nintendo Wii. It was originally called the Nintendo Revolution but they changed it a few months ago. It's pronounced as "we", "weee", or "weeeeeeeh". I think they intended it to be an expression of glee, but I could be wrong.

Have you seen its controller? It's basically a remote control that works like a magic wand as you wave in front of your TV to get the response that you want. I'm not going to bash it because I haven't tried it yet. My main gripe is with the name change.

Honestly, I hope that the Wii will not suck when they finally release it. I'm all for Nintendo succeeding this time around. One of the things that they have going for them is that they've always been innovators when no one else tried to innovate: they released the NES when home gaming was at its lowest and they created the Game Boy, bringing life to portable gaming. It's very unlikely that I'll actually buy a Wii when it's released (my inclination's with the PS3), but I'm still hoping that Nintendo will do better this time.

Nintendo Nostalgia Part 1

2006-05-19T07:56:00.000+08:00

Remember when you were a kid and the only console available was the Family Computer? I first got my hands on the Family Computer when I was eight years old, playing Super Mario Bros. and Contra in a nearby rental shop. Eventually we bought our own unit and it was the end of my outdoor activities. No more going to the playground or bike rides in our subdivision. I was glued in front of the television for most of my leisure time.

During my freshman high school year, my brother and I walked inside my parents' room and found the SNES my dad promised he'd send home. We literally wasted our high school life with it, playing whenever we could. My family didn't buy a Playstation so we continued playing the SNES during college. Of course, we neglected it as soon as we discovered the joys of emulation.

Sony's Playstation marked a decline in Nintendo's dominance of the console market, something that is better explained in this Wikipedia article. Their next console, the Gamecube, suffered the same fate, ending up last in the console race at the end of 2005. I was not compelled to buy either console. It's probably notable that I would not have bought a PS2 had it not been available at half its retail price. It was being sold for 12,000-15,000 pesos in 2003. I bought it at 7,500.

To be continued...

New Skillz

2006-05-10T00:52:00.000+08:00

I tried my hand at photoshopping last week. Here's the image I selected:

A friend of mine saw what I was doing and requested that I edit it so he could give it to his girlfriend. I thought what the hell and said yes. After a few days here's what I came up with:

It's pink by request. His girlfriend's name is on the plate. Note that this is my first photoshopped image ever, so don't be too harsh with your opinions about it. I consider myself to have absolutely no talent when it comes to visual art.

Title Changes

2006-05-03T23:25:00.000+08:00

Pardon the title change (again!). I'm considering an idea that's related to it. I'll let you know if it pushes through. It's not a big deal, by the way, so don't get too excited, lol.

A Year Has Gone

2006-04-30T11:33:00.000+08:00

I celebrated my birthday with family and a few friends. I took a day off work even though it was a Thursday, which was awkward considering that I could've moved the leave to Friday. But I've usually done it on the day itself so I didn't see any reason to break the habit. Going to work on Friday turned out to be very pleasant as I got the one thing I wanted for myself: Guild Wars: Factions. I was expecting to get it this coming week at best but my contact in the U.S., a friend of mine, said that he might be able to get it after work, which he did. I'm playing as an assassin now.

This year was a little different than the past 2 years. I usually dread my birthday because it forced me to evaluate how the previous year went, something I know some people do on New Year's Day. I found myself not caring that much this year. 2005 was pretty good. It wasn't exactly the best year and I know that there were some moments that certainly could've been better, but all things considered, it was pretty good.

I didn't know that I set posting comments under moderation, which meant that I had to approve all comments before they'd get published. I turned it off.

2006-04-22T01:02:00.000+08:00

Just finished the reviews for Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence and Tomb Raider: Legend for Game!, a new magazine from Hinge Inquirer Publications. I'm not sure which issue they'll be published in though.

A List of My Favorite Things

2006-04-14T07:49:00.000+08:00

AKA The Current Addictions.

1. Gaming. RPGs in particular.

2. CSI. The Las Vegas crew. Love Grissom's character. Miami's okay. Horatio kicks ass. I'm not too fond of Calleigh though. New York? Not yet.

3. WWE. Pro Wrestling. I know, I know. It's scripted. It's not a real sport. Heard it a million times. It's absolutely true. The winners are predetermined, the matches are choreographed. I watch it for exactly those reasons. The drama, the comedy, the choreography. I can tell when it's a good match and I can tell when it's a really bad one. What's real? The hits, the spills, the punches and the slams. Fake blood? No. The blood's real, folks. The match-induced cut on the head may not be real, but the blood certainly is (confused? Read this).

4. Comics. This is a new one. I enjoyed comics when I was a kid, but that was it. Now, I'm into Infinite Crisis. I browse Wikipedia for notable story arcs (such as Batman: The Long Halloween, Batman: Hush and Infinite Crisis). All thanks to the Justice League series on Cartoon Network.

5. Dream Theater. I still love their music. Musical technical proficiency at its finest.

What's yours?

April Blues

2006-04-04T08:02:00.000+08:00

I finished Resident Evil 4 over the weekend. It's the first RE game that I completed because I'm not into the horror genre, game, movie or otherwise.

Oblivion is here. It's open-ended, which means that you can do whatever you want. You don't have to follow the main storyline nor are you obligated to do anything that you don't want to do immediately. You're free to roam around, meet people, kill people, steal from people, kill monsters, loot houses, hunt animals, create potions, fight in an arena, become a vampire, cast spells, create spells, enchant items, etc. There's literally a ton of things to do. I'm going to try stealing a horse later so I can begin exploring. I wish I had another computer with me, though. It's difficult to ALT-TAB the game so I can go to a website and check on whatever game-related information I need.

Tech U came and went. I conducted a training session for it for the second time in my life. I had no illusions whatsoever that it would top the experience from the first one, but it turned out better than I imagined. I was given less than a week to prepare for a presentation with no adequate materials provided. Sigh. It's just another sign of the downward spiral.

Where the hell have you been?!?!

2006-03-21T06:54:00.000+08:00

(subtitle: pretending someone's asking)

OK, one post per month. That's probably not a good thing. It's not that I've been so busy that I haven't found the time to write. It's not a case of not having things to write about either. I'm guilty of being lazy and being a little out of it. Lord knows I've got a lot of stuff to write about, but if I did that, this blog will turn into a work rant. I don't want that.

Writing has been good. I've been more or less a steady contributor since December 2005 and I'm doing it for two magazines (going three, baby!). It's rewarding. I get paid for doing something I like to do. I was afraid that it was going to be a one-time thing the first time I did it. I'm glad that it's still ongoing and I'm hoping that it will continue.

Oblivion's going to be released today! Time to catch up on those vacation leaves!

Scratch One Show

2006-03-09T00:33:00.000+08:00

Justice League Unlimited is finished. The powers-that-be determined that the show wasn't getting as many viewers as they liked and decided to pull the plug. As someone who doesn't watch a lot of TV, this is the first time that I witnessed the death of a TV show. There are only 2 shows that I watch regularly (and by regularly I mean that I download the episode from the Internet on a periodic basis because it will take too long to wait for it to air on local/cable TV): CSI and JLU. CSI is still enjoying strong ratings so I don't have any fear of that show ending any time soon, but JLU's departure is a waste.

It revived my interest in comic books. Both Marvel and DC comics are undergoing major changes right now, with Marvel's Ultimates lines and the events of House of M and DC's Infinite Crisis. Because of the show, I'm more into DC right now. Infinite Crisis promises to shake things up, even though the writing hasn't been all that great. It's not bad, but some segments have this "it could've been better" moments.

In a related note, there are more Superman Returns photos online. I'll admit that I'm more inclined to look forward to seeing Kevin Spacey as Lex Luthor to see how he pulls it off than to seeing the guy who actually plays the lead role. Singer's the director, so there's a lot of hope that the movie won't suck, after seeing how he handled X-Men 1 and 2. Have you seen the photos for X-Men 3? Do you know who's directing it? Fans of the first two movies, and of the X-Men in general, are worried.

Reminiscing Isko

2006-03-09T00:30:00.000+08:00

Taken from Mae Christ's Friendster Blog. I don't usually answer these things but this was about UP life. I couldn't resist.

anong student number mo?
96-XX524.

nakapasa ka ba or waitlisted?
passed. initially heard that i flunked, then heard that i was on the waiting list, then heard i passed but only for my second choice (of what course to take).

paano mo nalaman ang entrance exam result?
went to UP myself to find out. pasado naman pala ko eh. ampapanget kasi ng sources ko.

1st choice mo ba ang UP?
yup.

alam mo ba ang UPG score mo?
no.

ano ang 1st choice mo na course?
Political Science, UP Diliman.

second choice?
i don't remember, but it wasn't B.S. in Vulcanizing.

ano naging course mo?
Political Science.

nagplano ka bang magshift?
yup. i wanted to shift to English because i thought that i'd fare better there. the required average was too high for me, i think, so it didn't push through.

nakapagdorm ka na ba?
no. i lived near UP so it wasn't necessary. plus, on my 3rd year i drove my own car.

nagka-uno ka na ba?
hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha.
next question.

nagka-3?
may koleksyon ako nyan.

highest grade/lowest grade:
1.75/5. my academic records are in technicolor.

worst experience sa UP:
actually, i have three: math, math and math.

lagi ka bang pumapasok sa klase?
depends on the prof. i usually see to it that i don't exceed the maximum number of absences, which was 6 per subject.

anong org mo?
UP Sandigan, a socio-civic org. yes, socio-civic. as in social service. as in visiting and spending time with abandoned babies, orphaned children and people in rehab. i did that for three and a half years.

may scholarship ka ba?
of course. my dad provided it.

pinangarap mo bang mag-cum laude?
except for the laude part, definitely.

kelan ka nagtapos?
2001.

fave profs:
this is in random order:

1. Carmen Ventanilla - Span 2 - funny, full of life, very enthusiastic. there was never a sleepy moment in her class, considering it started at 7AM.

2. Emil Flores - Science Fiction/Fantasy and Comic Book Writing - that's 2 subjects for 2 consecutive semesters. he had this boyish gusto for the subject matter that made it interesting.

3. Roanne Mae Fabula - German 10 - her approach to the language made it easy to learn. plus, she treated me as a person (and not simply as a student) whenever we ran into each other in the hallway.

4. Tony Mabesa - Theater 100 - there was always something regal in his entrances. we had class in one of the stages they used for plays and he was always fashionably late. when the side door opened and he stepped in, i can almost swear there was some spotlight that pointed at him. he had the class enthralled using sheer presence.

fave subject:

1. Spanish 1, Spanish 2, German 10, French 10 - my european language subjects taught me that i had a knack for learning foreign languages. span 1 and 2 were fun because of the professors (maranan and ventanilla, respectively). span 2 was especially memorable because of the mornings i spent with rei. i found german pronunciation very rough compared to the others, but fabula made it endearing. french was just darn fun, even more so when my friend alisher spoke it. he completely murders the language whenever he recites, sending the entire class in howling fits of laughter.

2. Communications 2 - this is the class that isolated me from the rest of my block. what made it great was that the girls were with me. this is where i started hanging out with them. the relationships i developed with them are things that influence me until now.

3. ROTC - the formal subjects are MS 11 and 21. again, this isn't about the subject itself, but the people behind them. this is where i met the guys that became my post-college friends, the ones that you still see and hang out with every now and then.

4. Political Science 194 - my professor in this class (i remember his name but forget how to spell it. i'll look it up.) taught us how to think liberally. it wasn't the best class in the world, but he had a no-nonsense approach that was very down-to-earth. it was so honest that it was absolutely brutal at times, but i liked it nonetheless.

worst subject:

1. math 17 (college algebra and trigonometry) and math 100 (introduction to calculus) - UP's math building (yes, a building dedicated to math subjects) is synonymous with hell.

2. economics - i was required to take 4 economics subjects. honestly, what else did i need to learn aside from the law of supply and demand?

fave landmark:
Palma Hall - AS steps and the AS second floor - the steps in front of palma hall. good conversation spots.

fave building:
Palma Hall (AS), of course.

paboritong kainan:
Lutong Bahay - mura't masarap.
Beach House - panalo barbecue dito.

noong estudyante ka pa magkano ba ang binabayad mo sa jeep:
1.25 then later on 1.50. i started driving regularly during my third year in college.

Lagi ka ba sa Lib?
during my first year, yes. the UP main library was the unofficial tambayan of our block. we'd chat until the librarians rang the "quiet" bell, which would shut us up for about 5 minutes before we started talking again. after that year, no. i was always near the library, but rarely inside it.

nagpunta ka ba sa clinic nung minsang nagkasakit ka?
haha. no, but i do remember rushing a friend of mine there. the UP infirmary (AKA infirMATAY) is a fine example of red tape. my friend, who happened to be 6 feet tall and was having severe abdominal pains that day, asked me if i could bring him to the infirmary. his girlfriend and i somehow managed to stuff him inside my Kia Pride. i then drove to the infirmary. again, his girlfriend and i helped him out of the car and staggered our way inside the building. note that the pain was really bad. he was barely able to breathe correctly. anyway, so we went to the front desk and told the nurse what was happening. she then inside her desk and gave us a form.

nurse: please fill this out.

me: ahhh...nurse...my friend's really in pain here...

nurse: sorry, but we need that form filled out first.

me: ok...(starting to fill out the form for my friend)

me: (to my friend) pre, what's your student number?

my friend: (gasping) 9....6....1.....

it would've been really funny if it wasn't so serious at the time.

may crush ka ba sa campus?
of course.

bf/gf?
3 GFs. hindi naman simultaneously. hehe.

may balak ka ba mag-masters or mag-Phd?
balak, oo. pero balak ko ring maging milyonaryo so tingnan natin.

anu-ano ang mga naging PE mo?
PE 1, duckpin bowling, softball and weight training. bowling and weight training were fun. softball was OK. tinatamaan ko rin naman kahit papano.

kamusta naman ang block nyo?
it was OK. the guys were cool but the girls were cooler. the guys tended to study really seriously (except for me, of course). the girls were the ones who goofed around then crammed later, which made being with them more fun.

nakapanood ka na ba ng graduation sa UP?
yeah. i attended my college graduation but not the university one.

memorize mo ba ang alma mater song?
no. "UP naming mahal..." is all i remember.

member ka ba ng UP varsity team?
hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha. nakakagago tong tanong na to.

nakaperfect ka na ba ng exam?
yata. i'm not sure. malamang hindi.

anong ayaw mo sa finals week?
depends on what finals. if the exam's an objective type, i kinda dread it. if it's going to be an essay, which was the case for most of my major subjects, i wasn't bothered too much.

dito ka ba natutong uminom ng beer?
no. been drinking beer since high school. my drinking actually lessened when i got to college.

anong gusto mo sa UP?
the freedom. you didn't need to care about anything because no one cared about you. almost everyone had an opinion, so you never ran out of people to converse or argue with.

anong ayaw mo?
the violence. there was a time when almost every semester someone died. not beat up, but died. shot dead, suicide, etc. i also didn't like some of the leftist rallies.

maganda ba ID pic mo?
it's the same as my work ID. the generic frown is still there.

may ginawa ka na bang illegal sa loob ng campus?
wala no. ako pa.

Not My Fault

2006-02-03T23:35:00.000+08:00

I woke up 5 minutes to 9:00. I usually leave at 9:20. It's a Friday. I decided to just pace myself and try to get to work on time. If I failed at it, then I wouldn't cry over it.

I left the house at around 9:40. There was a slight chance that I'd make it if I drove fast enough and didn't have any problems with parking. Traffic turned out to be light so that was good. Things even looked better when I was near the office. Considering that today's a Friday, there were only a few cars around. I went to the parking area and found a spot. Again, no hassles there. The clock said 9:55. If I didn't run into a problem with the elevators, I was going to make it.

When I stepped out of the carpark, I heard a band playing a familiar song. There was a screen or monitor next to the stage that was wired to a camera. It gave a close-up shot of who they were.

It was Rivermaya. They were playing "You'll Be Safe Here".

I'm not a Rivermaya fan. I have issues with their history (the former keyboardist is now the lead vocalist and all of the original members have been replaced except for the drummer), but I'll be damned if I didn't stop to listen for a live performance of the only song that I liked from their post-Bamboo lineup. So I stood there and watched, feeling a little uncomfortable from all the couples who were together. I felt goosebumps because I actually liked how they were playing it and how good they sounded. Having a little experience with performing live myself, I've often had problems with how the instruments blended together, like the drums could be too loud or the guitars were too weak, etc. But not there. They played well and for the remainder of the song, I enjoyed listening to them.

I left when the song ended, not bothering to applaud them because the band history thing came back to me again. I headed for the office. I was late, but I didn't care. It was worth it.

The New Year

2006-01-20T03:59:00.000+08:00

I moved houses before December ended. My year did not start right because I lost my DSL connection for almost four weeks because of the transfer. What's good is that I got published again (2 reviews for the December issue of M|Ph). Being offline told me that broadband is an addiction. Once you lose it, you begin to long for it. I suffered from bouts of anger against my mom for the sudden move. My only condition for moving was that it have DSL by the time I transferred. I didn't care if it had a leaky roof, a clogged toilet or even if it had a resident ghost. I was content as long as I had my broadband. It didn't happen until January. I failed to get the Santa hat and deer antlers for Jayna.

You may think of it as a shallow reason for being angry, but remember no reason is too low nor too shallow to an addict.

More later, I hope. I have to finish writing a few things.

Christmas Party Blues Part 2

2005-12-30T05:37:00.000+08:00

I went home early that night (after all, 1AM is early). I was to report back at 2PM for the product briefing. I slept when I got home, woke up at 6-7AM then left the house at 10AM so I could go shopping. Spent around 8K-9K for everything. I rushed back home then went to the event venue, practicing my product demo lines in the car as I drove. I was wearing a new shirt, one that I bought a few months ago but decided that it was too formal to wear to work. I also brought my corporate jacket just in case I needed it. I had a feeling that it would be warm onstage with the spotlights and all, but I thought to hell with it. Deciding between comfort and looking good wasn't really a tough choice that day.

When I got there, I was told that things weren't going the way we planned during the briefing. A few last minute changes were made and then it was showtime. The program lineup was to have our CEO speak first, then have the two product demos immediately afterwards. There was more, of course, but those were the only parts of the program I cared about at that time. I was going to do the second demo, so it was to my advantage to observe what the first guy would do and watch for pointers.

I had the jacket on as I watched from the sidelines. It felt uncomfortably cold.

The host announced my name and it was showtime. When I faced my audience I was hoping that the spotlights would blind me enough so that I wouldn't see them. No such luck. I began speaking. My voice sounded a little hoarse but I went on. I intended the presentation to be brief, partially because the first one took too long. Plus, I wanted to get to the demo as soon as possible because that was the interesting part. I recited my lines, thankful for the practice I did in the car. About halfway through our CEO interrupted me and went onstage to mention a few things. I backed away a bit and then tripped. Yes, I tripped onstage.

I tripped on something, a bit of raised wood on the stage floor that caught the edge of my left shoe. I gathered my composure as best as I could, hoping that no one saw it. It was very minor. My knees didn't bend more than they normally would when I walk backwards, so it's possible that I got away with it. To ease my discomfort, I actually looked at my shoe, deciding that it was better to make it obvious rather than pretend it didn't happen. When I asked my friends later, they said they didn't notice it.

The demo was up and I went through it. It was over before I realized it so I thanked the crowd and walked off the stage. It was nerve-wracking fun. As I made my way to my table, my thoughts turned to the party itself, particularly what I was going to wear.

Christmas Party Blues Part 1

2005-12-17T03:12:00.000+08:00

The company Christmas party was held last December 10 at the Crowne Plaza. I wrestled with the thought of whether I should attend it or not for two weeks, finally deciding last Thursday morning that I would not go. That night, my manager approached our area and said the following:

"Who can conduct the product demo for our team? Jp?"

I blinked. Then asked, "Is that demo to be done in front of the entire company?"

"Yes," he replied. "You don't want it?" I could feel the proverbial glove smacking my face.

"No, it's okay. I'll do it," I replied. Bring it on, my pride said. What the fuck are you doing?!?!? My common sense screamed.

Text does not bring justice to how it was initially delivered, but let me tell you that it was never a question. It was an appointment. I realized that the decision I made earlier was now flushed down the drain.

The next horrifying thought was thinking about what to wear.

Trade Show Boy

2005-12-07T07:58:00.000+08:00

I went to a trade show yesterday in Ortigas. I was actually one of the booth presenters so it wasn't just a spectator thing for me. It was the first time I was going to be one and I knew I had to be accomodating, approachable and pleasant.

I'm not any of that at all.

I smiled, I talked, I tried to be friendly. A distant voice in my head kept on saying that I was beginning to sound like an Electrolux salesman but I tried my best to ignore it. Near the end of the show I was told that I was nice. Har har har. The deception was successful.

I did the booth thing for about four to five hours combined, after which my throat felt dry from all the talking. It was a tiring event. I'm glad that it wasn't something that I did on a daily basis. Still, the experience was very fruitful and it was a very welcome break from my usual work routine. It was new and even somewhat exciting. I know I won't mind doing it again some time in the future.

On a separate topic, our guild in GW, The Scions of Balthazar, has a population of nearly 50 members now. It's fun to have around 10 or more people online as opposed to 3 to 5 back in the old days.

Halloween Havoc

2005-12-07T04:54:00.000+08:00

I should've posted this a long time ago. Anyway, our guild won the tournament sponsored my AMDG, GW's local distributor.

Generally Bull

2005-11-22T07:49:00.000+08:00

I have a lot to rant about but I'm not going to post them here. Let's just say that I've gone more selective when it comes to learning things about development. The other stuff is just bull. Yes, I'm bitter. Yes, I'll get over it.

I'm just having trouble justifying that what I'm doing, plus the effort I'm placing on it, still matters. Though I'm ashamed to admit it, I need a little encouragement. I already feel bad by saying that.

The good news is that I might get published again, so that's something to look forward to. Also, I'm currently maintaining two stories. One is fan fiction for Guild Wars while the other is completely made-up. I'll post it here when I'm done. I haven't been updating this as often as I did before, but that doesn't mean I haven't been writing.

Save The World!

2005-11-10T02:27:00.000+08:00

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/4420820.stm

New Skillz

2005-11-08T23:27:00.000+08:00

I visit 4chan, an imageboard, on a regular basis. I always go to the animated gifs section first. Of course, that inspired me to learn how to make gifs of my own. Here's my second attempt, a Jayna avatar.

This is fun.

2005-11-05T10:57:00.000+08:00

.

This struggle is pointless.

Just Updates

2005-10-07T01:18:00.000+08:00

First off, Rei's blog is dead. She found love and killed her blog. While I don't understand the logic (and don't feel the need to understand it), I still gave her my congratulations.

Second, I'm still playing Guild wars. My list of pending games is growing.

Third, Final Fantasy VII Advent Children is a beautiful movie. Set two years after the events of the Final Fantasy VII, it's an excellent CG-rendering of one of my favorite games. I haven't written about it too much about it because I don't know where to start. Do I give you give you guys a summary of the game or do I just tell you about how good it is. I decided to do neither. You can read an FFVII primer here. When you're done, you can watch the movie. It's possible to see Advent Children without knowing the game, but I love FF7. Watching the movie hit me hard. I don't know how else to describe it.

Incidentally, I also have the soundtrack. Here's my favorite song from the list:

Advent: One-Winged Angel

Lyrics, in Latin and English.

Latin

Noli manare, manare in memoria. (x2)

Sephiroth, Sephiroth.

Saevam iram, iram et dolorem. (x2)

Sephiroth, Sephiroth.

Ferum terribile, ferum fatum.

Noli manare, manare in memoria. (x2)

Sephiroth, Sephiroth.

Veni, mi fili. Veni, mi fili.
Hic veni, da mihi mortem iterum.
Veni, mi fili. Veni, mi fili.
Hic veni, da mihi...

Noli manare in memoria.
Saevam iram et dolorem.
Ferum terribile fatum.
Ille iterum veniet.

Mi fili, veni, veni, veni, mi fili. (x4)

Mi fili, veni, veni, veni, mi fili.
(Qui mortem invitavis,)
Mi fili, veni, veni, veni, mi fili.
(Poena funesta natus,)
Mi fili, veni, veni, veni, mi fili.
(Noli nomen vocare.)
Mi fili, veni, veni, veni, mi fili.
(Ille iterum veniet.)

Sephiroth, Sephiroth.

Sephiroth.

English

Won't remain, remain in memory. (x2)

Sephiroth, Sephiroth.

Raging anger, anger and misery. (x2)

Sephiroth, Sephiroth.

Fierce terror, fierce fate.

Won't to remain, remain in memory. (x2)

Sephiroth, Sephiroth.

Come, my son. Come, my son.
Come here, give me death once more.
Come, my son. Come, my son.
Come here, give me...

Won't to remain in memory.
Raging anger and misery.
Fierce, terrible fate.
The second advent.

My son, come, come, come, my son. (x4)

My son, come, come, come, my son.
(By death's invitation,)
My son, come, come, come, my son.
(Painful tainted birth,)
My son, come, come, come, my son.
(Won't call the name.)
My son, come, come, come, my son.
(The second advent.)

Sephiroth, Sephiroth.

Sephiroth.

I think that's it, for now. I leave you with a few images from my GW sessions.

The Question

2005-09-16T14:52:00.000+08:00

One of my newer addictions is watching Justice League episodes. It’s more than just a good-versus-evil thing. The members of the league, superheroes in their own right, are often faced with very human decisions. I just love the character interaction.

Here’s the final dialogue between Hawkgirl and Green Lantern in the 2nd season ender. In the three-part finale, Hawkgirl betrayed the Earth and the league by turning out to be a spy for her race, the Thanagarians. She’d been sent to Earth to spy on its technology, particularly its resistance to an alien invasion. During her five-year stay, she’d been a full-time member of the league, even developing a close relationship with Green Lantern that blossomed into a romance near the end of the season. During the Thanagarian occupation of Earth, she is not only revealed as a spy, but also turns out to be engaged to Hro Talak, the leader of the invasion. The final scene occurs moments after she resigned from the league. Lantern finds her on a cliff, contemplating her future.

GL: You never asked how we voted.
HW: It doesn’t matter.
GL: So where are you gonna go?
HW: I don’t know. Some place where the fate of the world isn’t in my hands. Some place where there are no more secrets…no more lies.
GL: Was it all a lie?

Guild Wars: Glint

2005-09-07T11:17:00.000+08:00

Please let me introduce Glint, one of the game's NPCs (because she's on your side). GW players can only reach up to level 20. Glint is level 31, so killing her is considered a challenge.

DivX required.

Glint
Glint Fight

Click on the link.
Scroll down on the next page.
Click on Free.
Scroll down on the next page.
Download (or wait then download).

Here's Jayna's forums signature, created by our guild master Malleus Mundi.

Disconnections

2005-09-06T14:59:00.000+08:00

I haven't had a best friend since I was in fourth grade. I don't know if that's unusual or not, but it's just that I find it so natural to be alone most of the time. As long as I have my PC, my games and my books I know I'll be fine. My problem with this is that sometimes when I do have people I'm close to (like right now), I don't know how to deal with it when the negative shit happens. I mean, how close is close? Am I supposed to tell her that I find what she did unsettling even if she didn't do it to me? Should I tell him about what's bothering me? Do I tell them that I'm happy for them when I'm really not?

I think that part of a friendship is being privy to information. They tell you things about them that they wouldn't normally tell to other people, and I'm not talking about just the bad stuff, not about the dirty secrets. The personal perks, the good news, the significant events, the things they consider important. Those are the things I want to know from my friends. I want them to tell me about what makes them happy, especially if it's really good. It makes me feel that they consider me close enough to them to know. On the flip side, it irritates like hell when I find out from someone else.

Yes, this entry is just a rant about someone not telling me something that I feel should've been told from conception to completion. This is probably another reason why I don't have a best friend. Maintaining relationships is just too damn hard.

*sigh*

Dance!

2005-08-28T11:35:00.000+08:00

One of the things you can do in Guild Wars is to dance. Here's a video of my character Jayna dancing with another female elementalist.

It was fun trying to synchronize the whole thing.

Dance!

The video is approx. 5 MB, DivX required. If you can't play it, use VLC.

Instructions:
Click on the link.
Scroll down on the next page.
Click on Free.
Scroll down on the next page.
Download (or wait then download).

[BLEEP]

2005-08-20T01:37:00.000+08:00

I finished reading Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere yesterday. Although I have issues with the main character, it was an interesting read. I'm trying to go through Unbearable again, with minor success. I can never finish that book. It feels like I have to go through it in snippets. The ideas and the philosophy there is a little too heavy sometimes (and I never fancied myself as someone philosophical).

Someone here at work shared Justice League episodes and I've been watching them whenever I can. It's nice. A good break from the other TV series that I watch, CSI. Since I spend a lot of my time in front of my computer at home, I don't get to watch TV.

Speaking of which, I saw this preview on TV for a local show. They showed two actresses, one presumably wearing a low-cut top that showed her cleavage. Why presumably? Because her top was blurred. Yes, blurred. Pixelated. Whatever you want to call it. On local television.

I owe C for the idea for my thesis proposal back in college. I wrote about censorship, particularly the role of the MTRCB as censors for the country. I questioned its existence, its relevance and its validity as a board. Seeing the preview reminded me of that paper. So now I'm not allowed to view cleavage on local TV. I don't know, but I find the thought disturbing.

Guild Wars Clip

2005-08-13T07:28:00.000+08:00

I made this video clip of Guild Wars featuring my character Jayna. Yes, I have a female avatar. I used a male one before and he wasn't pleasing to look at no matter what I did.

The video is approx. 9 MB, DivX required. If you can't play it, use VLC.

Guild Wars Clip

Instructions:
Click on the link.
Scroll down on the next page.
Click on Free.
Scroll down on the next page.
Download (or wait then download).

The Psycho Bitch

2005-08-11T07:20:00.000+08:00

This is an article that took at least a year to conceptualize. I've thought about it, gnawed at it, almost bled for it and here's what I came up with.

The difficult part is defining it. By "psycho", I literally mean psychotic. However, it doesn't have to be clinically psychotic. I'm giving it a more liberal definition. If the behavior is irrational, illogical, and the person enacting has little or no concern for her own well-being, reputation, dignity or self-respect, then she is psycho. The "bitch" part is icing on the cake. When calling someone "psycho" isn't enough, feel free to add "bitch" to it.

A "psycho bitch" is an individual who loves or hates another excessively, often displaying behavior that is destructive to the other person's well-being. Since this individual is psycho, the acts are irrational, defying common sense and logic. Darwinian theory speaks about man's inherent nature of self-preservation. With the psycho bitch's disregard for her own well-being, self-preservation, maybe even Darwin, is thrown out the window.

You've seen them in real life. The stalker who knows your phone number and what you wear when you sleep. The co-worker who stabs you in the back while portraying a pleasant demeanor. The lover who copies all of the numbers on your cellphone without your permission. The friend who hacks your passwords. The seatmate who stole your old beau.

The only problem with this term is that it only applies to females. What do you call the male psycho bitch? We all know that the male is certainly capable of doing all the things described above, but "bitch" does not have a satisfying equivalent, unless my vocabulary is failing me again. Somehow, "Psycho Man-Whore" just doesn't cut it.

So, how many psycho bitches do you know? And do you have any suggestions for the male Psycho Bitch?

MPh July-August

2005-08-09T06:45:00.000+08:00

MPh published my MMORPG article in their July-August issue. I've been waiting for it since July, so the delay was a little agonizing. I was wondering whether they'd actually print it.

So what have you been up to lately?

2005-08-05T07:22:00.000+08:00

I've been busy with Guild Wars and my PS2. The network adapter worked.

Pictures of my PS2 with the network adapter, the hard disk drive and the HD Loader screen that shows the list of games.

My character on Guild Wars. I created a new one this week and used a female avatar. I designed the cape myself.

Overhaul

2005-07-28T13:38:00.000+08:00

I gave the site an overhaul because of several reasons, one of which is making the difficult decision of actually advertising this blog. I'm not referring to paid ads. I'm thinking of, for example, linking it to my friendster profile. Ever since I got published, the idea popped in my head. Yes, I'm giving the thought of mentioning this site in my published material some serious consideration. I mean, I have the means, so why not use them? I'm still giving it some thought.

You'll also notice that I've done a lot of other editing aside from the looks, but you'll only see that if you know what to look for.

Going Home

2005-07-20T23:54:00.000+08:00

I had a bad case of the shakes two days before my flight because I was dreading the solo trip home. The San Francisco stopover did little to ease my worries considering that there was a ten-hour gap between my arrival and departure there. I was carrying two heavy pieces of luggage with the intent of using one of them as a hand carry. The zippers on that bag seemed to be straining to hold themselves in place though, so I had my doubts about it fitting on the overhead storage compartments. Philippine Airlines calls them stowage compartments. It's an actual word, but if you've got a nasal-sounding voice announcing it on the PA system of a 747, you'd swear it was an Elmer Fudd imitation.

"Please make sure that your bags are properly stowed on the stowage compartments."

"But what if there's a bunny wabbit?"

At Logan Airport, I presented my bags and asked if I could bring one of them as a hand carry. She told me that they were both too big and that I would have to check them in. I grabbed my GBA and then handed both bags to her. She gave me my boarding pass and I went to the assigned gate to wait. It was then that I realized that I wasn't carrying anything except my jacket where I had my travel documents. The books I read always said that people who were used to traveling did so with little baggage. That made sense, of course, but I'm hardly a seasoned traveler so I was not paying any attention to that when I did my packing. However, there I was, waiting for the boarding call with nothing on my hands. I had become the expert traveler.

Getting from Boston to San Francisco proved to be uninteresting. My seatmate was a pretty girl that had a habit of sleeping with her mouth wide open. Not just barely, but wide open. When I got to San Francisco, I decided to go to the baggage claim area to check if my bags were going to show up. The airline personnel at Logan told me that I could pick them up at Manila, but considering my previous experience, I decided to make sure.

They didn't show up. I thought that I better check where the PAL counters were before I do anything else. Again, thanks to my previous experience, I was a little familiar with the airport already. The counters turned out to be near the food area, so I had my lunch then. It was around 12:30 Pacific Standard Time when I did that. My next flight was at 10:00 PM. I bought a book and visited a few shops. I was really tempted to buy this official WPT set from the Discovery Channel store:

I like watching WPT on cable, learning how to play no limit Texas Hold 'Em in the process. I would've bought the set if I knew that I had people to play with, but I don't so I left the store feeling torn.

I sat near the PAL counters and started reading the book I bought (Tom Clancy's The Teeth of the Tiger). I think I read for about an hour, then went to find a nearby payphone and called the office in Manila. It was during support hours, so technically I was dialling an 800 number. I was soon speaking with a newbie and asked to be transferred to a friend of mine there.

Although there was no established routine, I did fall into the pattern of distracting myself after doing 30 minutes of reading. I'd talk to anyone who sat beside me, asking them mundane questions (though never about the weather). I looked at more shops, bought myself iced tea, spoke with even more strangers, etc.

The PAL counters finally opened and I fell in line with the rest of the people. Well, people and their boxes actually. The ones who were in front of the line had around 5-6 boxes behind them, then another person, followed by even more boxes. Of course, being the expert traveler that I was, I had nothing.

After getting my boarding pass I went to the gate and did even more waiting. I was more than halfway through the book at this point. I went back to the shops that I passed by before going to the gate. Most of them were closed because it was already late. I thought about getting a magazine to read and that's when I saw that porn mags were also available. I was tempted to get one, but I suddenly had this image of dropping it accidentally and people would look at it, then stare at the pervert who would pick it up, so thanks for the temptation, but no.

The plane ride back home was peaceful. I slept longer on that one compared to the PAL flight going to the US. Again, I spoke with the guy who was beside me and we ended up chatting quite a bit. We said goodbye to each other before we left the plane, shaking hands once again, a rather formal goodbye. I felt a little nervous while I waited for my bags to appear in the claim area, but they did, thankfully. I think the last experience was traumatizing enough.

I'm back. Finally.

Final Nights

2005-07-11T08:12:00.000+08:00

I'm going to be leaving two days from now. I packed whatever I could and then finish it tomorrow. I'll arrive in Manila on the 14th, hopefully after two uneventful flights. The thing that really bothers me right now is the waiting I'll be doing in San Francisco. The connecting flight to Manila is going to be a ten-hour wait. I have to make sure that my cellphone, Game Boy Advance and digital camera are recharged for that ordeal.

Packing was tougher than I thought, but it's more or less done now. The usual jitters are back, like getting to the airport on time, making sure that I don't leave anything behind, that my luggage doesn't go missing--- any number of different things that can go wrong.

I'm looking forward to going home and seeing my family and friends. I want to open the things I bought for myself, like the Dream Theater DVDs. I could've opened them here. Both the office PC and this laptop I'm using now have DVD drives, but I want to relish opening them so I'll wait. My last day at the Braintree office is tomorrow and I'm going to take a few pictures of people. I'll definitely miss this place. It's so peaceful here. I'm not worried about a political takeover because the president has lapses, for example. The politics isn't perfect, but it's just so much better.

It's 9 PM here. Two nights away from the flight.

Bookstore

2005-07-06T11:44:00.000+08:00

I love the bookstores here in Boston. I went to the fiction section first and found a lot of interesting titles. What really got my attention were the sourcebooks. A sourcebook (AKA a rulebook)contains the rules for playing a pen-and-paper (PnP) RPG. For example, the sourcebook for Vampire: The Requiem is not only informative, but also beautiful. Roughly the size of a large encyclopedia, it's hardbound cover encases text in hues of black and gray written on glossy paper. Its pages are painted blood-red on the edges. The artwork gives emphasis to the world it tries to build in your imagination, a world where vampires co-exist with humans, always hiding, always manipulating, always conspiring. I'll stop here before I get in the mood too much.

What stopped me from buying it was the fact that I knew that I wouldn't be able to use it to its full extent. I can read it, but it's still a thing meant to be played. It was designed for playing RPGs, not just for reading.

Sleep

2005-07-03T10:45:00.000+08:00

I brush my teeth and turn off the lights. I adjust the temperature to 67 degrees Fahrenheit. I don't bother with the conversion to Celsius. I just know that it'll be cold enough for me to fall asleep. Already I'm afraid that I might get used to this, that I won't be able to sleep right when I get back home.

I turn the TV so that I can see it from the bed, then I go under the covers. I switch to a sports channel, preferably one covering baseball because I have little interest in it. I turn the volume down to a whisper and close my eyes. I just want to be able to hear the TV. It gives me the false comfort that I'm not alone.

^_^

2005-07-02T09:58:00.000+08:00

PC Mag's Special Gaming Issue, July 2005.

Quoth the Raven

2005-06-30T01:26:00.000+08:00

A bastardization of one of my favorites.

The first part of the original:
Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered weak and weary,
Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore,
While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping,
As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door.
`'Tis some visitor,' I muttered, `tapping at my chamber door -
Only this, and nothing more.'

And then, the following:
Once upon a midnight dreary while I porn surfed weak and weary
Over many a strange and spurious site of "Hot XXX Galore"
While I clicked my fav'rite bookmark, suddenly there came a warning,
and my heart was filled with mourning, mourning for my dear amour!
"'Tis not possible!", i muttered, "Give me back my free hardcore!"
Quoth the server, "404"

You can read the original here.
You can read the spoof here.

Saturday Stroll

2005-06-28T23:43:00.000+08:00

Shot

2005-06-25T20:56:00.000+08:00

Me, waiting for a cab, then a shot of the T station from the office window. The train's a really practical solution to the otherwise expensive commute around here. I went to Harvard yesterday and I'll probably come back this weekend, armed with my camera and a few concepts for good shots. Which reminds me that I should log off now and recharge that thing.

Booze Cruise

2005-06-25T20:47:00.000+08:00

Bo and Tom, the two instigators at the office that I have lunch with, told me about the cruise the company was going to have on Saturday in celebration of the acquisition. I wasn’t really looking forward to spending an evening with total strangers but since they extended the invitation I said yes.

Bo and Sheryl picked me up at the hotel and we went to Boston Harbor, which is outside of Braintree and into the city itself. So that was my first exposure to Boston. Bo and Tom were psyched with the event because it was going to be a booze cruise. I was mildly prepared for a night of drinking. There was supposed to be an appetizer thing at some restaurant but we couldn’t find it so we went to a place called Legal Sea Food instead. It’s a restaurant, but I couldn’t help thinking about the name. So there’s a place for illegal seafood? A black market, perhaps? I kept the thoughts to myself, of course, and ordered my first beer of the night, something called IPA. I think I’ll compare it to Red Horse or Colt 45 because of how strong it was. I felt it hit me when I was done with it. I didn’t take it as a good sign because it was my first drink and I was already mildly tipsy.

The cruise ship was pretty big, but not the size of a commercial ferry that could hold hundreds of people. It had three decks. The lower deck was where the bar was. The band was setup on the upper deck while the top deck had a view that overlooked the sea. The ship went around in circles around Boston, lasting roughly around two or three hours. With an open bar, we were all pretty wasted by the time we got off the boat. They wanted to go to a pub called the Black Rose so we did that and drank even more. We went home around midnight. My last conscious thought was that I drank more on my first week here than any week since I started working. I really pushed myself to the limit that night, close to the point where I would have been horribly drunk.

Plans, I think...

2005-06-24T10:24:00.000+08:00

The first day at the office was spent trying to get to know the office and its people. M became my primary contact and my pseudo-boss. It’s a little hard to determine which person to follow over here since I’m not directly under anybody, but I help her out with a few things. Since she takes orders from V, I try to mix tasks, just prioritizing which things are more important than the other. I’m also going to be taking charge when I present how things are done from our end, since I am part of the parent company and all.

Near the end of Tuesday I went to K-mart and bought the things I needed that I couldn’t bring over, like a razor for example. On Wednesday night, Bo, one of the guys from spyware research, and I went to TGI Friday’s for dinner. It’s more of a pub/diner over here, which is different from the medium- to high-end restaurant that it is back home. I had a beer and a cheeseburger. Thursday was uneventful. Friday night, I went with Bo to meet his girlfriend Sheryl and they took me to Bugaboo, another restaurant here for dinner. We went to play pool afterwards. I felt awkward at first, of course, playing the third wheel (again. I’ve been the third wheel so many times in the Philippines I feel like I should be used to it by now.). My humor helped though. I think I may have seen to many American TV shows and movies, but I can make them laugh, which is comforting. At least I know I’m good company. Anyway, I got to the hotel by 10PM.

I’ve been trying to go out as much as I can because I don’t want my stay here to be hotel-office-hotel-office. I’m in the US, for crying out loud. I’m supposed to be seeing things. Besides, I’ve got enough of the hotel-office routine back home.

I am thankfully within my budget, so I’m not worried about that. I want to have a good amount of money before I leave so I can buy stuff, particularly a copy of Guild Wars and maybe a few DVDs. If I’m lucky, maybe I’ll have enough to buy a gadget for myself.

Show Me The (Fictional) Money

2005-06-21T21:29:00.000+08:00

Just a little FYI on the richest of the rich. Would you want to be Batman if you had 6.3 billion?