Classic One-on-One!

I was about to sleep a couple of nights ago when I decided to check up on messages sent through my yahoo messenger. Ever since I discovered facebook and google talk, I gave up on ym (as we all call it). It's a separate program that places extra strain on my rig even if it has a web-based version. Anyway, I checked my ym and it informed me that there's a new Mac version. At first I thought I'd pass since every time I try to update in the past, it always doesn't push through screwing up my ym and had to re-install with the last known stable version. Surprisingly this time, the update went ahead with no hitch. I noticed that the new Mac version is closely imitating that of its windows based brethren. And with the new feature, I saw the news making me extend my state of browsing zombie-ness.

We all know Michael Jordan was inducted to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. A few highs this month with Derek Jeter's new Yankee record but taking a dive with Kanye West's infamous on-stage breakdown at the recent MTV VMA earning him a "jackass" tag from Obama himself!

In his acceptance speech, he managed to make a stir by mentioning the likes of Bryon Russell. Read the story Russell to Jordan: Game on by Marc J. Spears .

Though Bryon Russell accepted the speech in a positive tone. He's quite fired up and is ready to pound on Michael Jordan... if he'd have the chance on the court. It would be one interesting game that I believe should be done in a one-on-one street basketball fashion with all the trash talking on both sides amplified for all of us to enjoy!

Whose side are you on? I already made my choice 20 years ago!

3D, Marvel, Disney and my wife’s caldereta

Last weekend, I had an interesting mix of entertainment choices, which is somehow relevant to the times. One night, I finally watched “Punisher: War Zone” and the following day “UP” in 3D, the former from Marvel and the latter from Walt Disney/ Pixar. Relevant… since before the weekend, Walt Disney has acquired Marvel. Though the union has been greeted by mostly dissatisfied loyalist of Marvel, I believe good things would emanate from the merger.

Punisher: War Zone

I have a knack for Marvel movies and my favorite aside from Spiderman 2 is Daredevil (they say it flopped but I hope there’s a sequel in the works). And if video games have in-game mini games, in Marvel movies there such a game I call “spot when in the movie will Stan Lee makes his appearance.” Oddly though, I didn’t see Stan in this one… or I missed it? The second Punisher (actually it’s really not the second one based on IMDb.com) movie has been on my list for some time even though the movie did not stir that much fanfare in my part of the world. The movie is definitely war and it is more violent than the first Punisher movie that starred Thomas Jane. I should have not eaten my wife’s “caldereta” for dinner, as blown heads and blood was throughout the movie. To give credit to Ray Stevenson, the new Punisher, he was badass in the movie who can show emotion quite better than Thomas Jane, which in effect humanized the character.

Up (3D)

My wife insisted that we watch the new animated movie from Pixar, Up. I was really not planning to watch it in the big screen but she insisted that we go since it’s in 3D. Hmmm sarcastically I replied, we are going to watch a 3D animated movie in 3D? Used 3D twice in a sentence! Looks like it’s a rip off if you ask me. And one thing more, we’re going to use 3D glasses, which have to be wiped after another person used it… thank you very much! But luckily we have free tickets because of a Citibank card promo, which amounts to 130 pesos so we just add some more to cover for the 300 pesos a pop movie ticket. Cheaper than going to an Imax movie I believe is the consolation. So here we go I said to myself, my first 3D movie experience. Even in no 3D, Up is a delightful movie in the tradition of the way things are done by Pixar. But using 3D technology made it more enjoyable however I was distracted by my curiosity in taking off the 3D glasses at times just to check whether which parts of the movie is in 3D (blurred screen) or not and of course the unscheduled trip to the restroom midway through the movie.

I was impressed with the 3D movie technically and if all movies would be in 3D and if they lower the viewing fee, people might again watch movies in theaters more than in the confines of their homes. However, a technological threat is fast approaching to the dismay of film companies I guess but to the delight of home theater enthusiasts. 3D television, which has been with us since 1983 (prototype by Philips http://news.cnet.com/2300-1041_3-10001486-7.html?tag=mncol) is definitely coming and it’s only a matter of time when people again skip the big screen experience but would surely increase the sales of large LCD TV.

3D TV related links!

http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-10345950-1.html

http://news.cnet.com/2300-1041_3-10001508-6.html?tag=mncol

http://news.cnet.com/2300-1041_3-10001506-12.html?tag=mncol

http://news.cnet.com/2300-1041_3-10001508-8.html?tag=mncol

http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-10345496-1.html

http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-10344653-1.html

Tamer Safari

I don't remember when was the last time I used Safari. All I know is that when a lot of features were added like "top sites," to catch up with Mozilla's Firefox, it has become unmanageable to use. Number one on my irk list is the amount of resources it takes just to run Safari which causes my Macbook fan to spin wild as cpu temperatures goes up.

So I went on a quest to find a browser that would fit my needs. I noticed that Firefox is also experiencing the same problem so I tried other browsers. I almost end up using Opera which is fairly good and it doesn't look like as they call it a light weight browser. But I was surprised when I used the latest release of SeaMonkey. It's fast enough, remembers things I allowed it to remember and of course it did not use that much resource. It also uses WebKit, the same web browser engine used by Safari.

Until, Safari 4.0.3 came about... I was hesitant at first to upgrade but i went with it anyway... At first just for the sake of upgrading the browser. Then I tried it for a couple of hours and see what it can do... To my surprise... it's at par or maybe even better with Seamonkey in terms of... again, cpu utilization. But first thing i did was to disable "top sites" which i realized I can live without. I don't know when they actually added some toolbar bar items but i find create new tab (at last!!!), toggle bookmark bar, show bookmarks and zoom very helpful. Regarding zoom in and out, before, only the text gets smaller/bigger but now the whole page does. I guess guys at Mozilla are somewhat pissed with this.

I'll be using it for now but still needs work according to InfoWorld .

Hamilton's Gambit

I am busy these days and so my two blog sites Pinoy Technocrata and Couch Potato Journal are on indefinite leave.

I’m a Ferrari fan at heart… and also an Alonso fan boy but this season gave me two additional teams to watch out for… and that’s Toyota and Brawn GP.

I said early on when F1 teams were just beginning to unveil new cars due to a lot of rule changes that Ferrari’s F60 is definitely the sexiest car on the track and McLaren, the big fat bus. I still believe it’s the sexiest car even though they lost the first race to Brawn GP. But of course, the Brawn GP001 is the talk of the town. It looks simple in white maybe due to lack of sponsors. All I can see during the race was the “Virgin” logo of Sir Richard Branson! Hmmm I guess things are about to change for Brawn GP… dramatically.

Brawn GP, the team that was formerly known as Honda is the new “backstreet boy” of the pack and they have displayed tremendous power and reliability at their maiden race. Jenson Button dominated the race all throughout and never looked back till the checquered flag. Rubens Barrichello, Jenson’s teammate could have made it difficult for Jenson to win if only he got a good start from the grid and minus some mishaps. I think Rubens could have won the race but hey all is well… Australian Grand Prix is a Brawn 1-2 victory! The Honda guys might be scratching their heads when Jenson and Rubens both got a podium finish after a long time with Honda. This gives me doubts about Honda engines as the Brawn GP001 car’s body is believed to be designed by Honda way ahead of the 2009 season but the engine was replaced with a Mercedes Benz.

And so Brawn, if all goes according to plan, is set to capture this year’s Constructor’s Cup and Drivers’ Championship. Then a development in the F1 world woke me up from blog slumber as I read the news from F1-Live.com (click here!)

And so the reigning world champion Lewis Hamilton pulled some strings and will be suiting up for Brawn GP in the Malaysian Grand Prix! I think Rubens is definitely going to be out of the line-up if this really… pushes through. I feel sorry for Rubens, after complaining for some time with the Honda Team, he is now on a competitive car only to be booted because some sick brat wants the better F1 car! I was already beginning to admire Hamilton as a driver but it seems he’s desire for winning is beyond the boundaries of ethics. I guess Alonso was right in leaving McLaren which he helped built to be competitive whom Hamilton benefited. The real looser is McLaren and for a short span of time, lost two of the best drivers! Alonso leaving McLaren was viewed to be a bratty move but at least he’s got some pride and definitely… class…

Hamilton! You truly deserve to be called BLEWIT SHAMELTON!!!

Ferrari F60: Sexiest F1 car for now

The 2008 F1 season ended with a bang in favor of Lewis Hamilton and McLaren (though they lost the Constructors’ Championship). For the upcoming 2009 season… the bang is even louder even if the season hasn’t started yet. And why is that? Even though Honda as of this writing is not going to participate for 2009’s season due to economic reasons (see the entry list)… new cars will one by one roll out from each competitors garage, to some a much needed update and to some to fully exploit changes in the rules. Ahead of the pack and to dispel “who copied who?”… the race gods from Maranello released the uber-sexy Ferrari F60!

I’ll leave it up to you people to spot the changes!!!

F60 shown below its predecessor

More pictures at the Official F1 site… click here!

For 2009 F1 Regulations click here!

Transformers: What caught my eyes

In my “recent movie greats” list, which partly translates to my “greatest movies of all time” list, Transformers is on top and finally… it landed on HBO last month, December.

The movie has all the elements of greatness… hmmm… like Megan Fox!… and there’s so much going on that you’ll forget to blink from time to time. After watching Transformers for the very first time it was so damn good that I forgave Michael Bay for not keeping Bumble Bee as a Volkswagen Beetle.

The timing is just right. It's December! A time for chilling around the house with couch potato mode turned on! And so... I’ve watched Transformers twice on HBO… so far. And then I saw a scene that made me wonder! I don’t know how this scene could have escaped Michael Bay… so here goes…

The scene is where the military Special Forces tried to hide/smuggle the “all spark” by going into the city. They stopped upon seeing an F-22 Raptor appeared on top of the city which they believed came from the US Air Force as reinforcement/support. They popped smoke to signal the Raptor but Iron Hyde and Bumble Bee realized that the incoming Raptor is none other than the Decepticon… Star Scream. Seeing imminent attack from Star Scream, they put up a makeshift cover using a truck, which Star Scream hit with missiles resulting to Bumble Bee losing his ability to walk… With what just happened, Jazz, which is a Pontiac Solstice, was oddly just around and not in robot form and worst… not joining the action nor helping Bumble Bee… Sam (Shia Labeouf) even told him to move.

Check the following screen captures…