Boxing Day Purchase

This was my one and only purchase for this year's Boxing Day. I was actually unable to find this in the stores so I resorted to ordering it online at Amazon.ca.  I must say that even with free shipping, I managed to receive this item in two days.  I plan to marathon this trilogy during New Year's day as I have nothing planned anyway.

To be honest, I did went shopping for a laptop today but as luck would have it, my two selection was sold out.  So rather than settling on a laptop I wasn't planning to buy, I decided to just walk away.  Looks like I will have to look for one another time.  In the meantime, I really should get a BluRay player since my PS3 died several months back.  Otherwise, how would I actually watch the movies.

Ranma 1/2

I felt like I was 16 again when I watched this movie last night.  Ranma 1/2 is a live action remake of an anime I used to watch when I was much younger.  The martial arts/comedy story revolves around Saotome Ranma and his family, acquitances, friends, rivals, and fiance as they battle through many interesting situations while trying to improve their fighting techniques.  The only catch is that some of the cast would turn to animals when splashed with cold water.  They can revert back with hot water to their former selves.  Ranma on the other hand, turns to a girl.  Many hilarious situations ensue as they come to terms with this problem.

My only gripe is that not all of the characters made it to the live action transition.  Many of my favourites were missing, such as Shampoo.  She is a young girl who was promised to be Ranma's wife while they were both very young and have followed Ranma all over the place.  When wet, she turns to a pink cat.  Ryoga, Ranma's life long rival did not make an appearance either.  I guess it was understandable as they need to squeeze eight seasons worth of anime into a two hour movie.  Regardless, even a short cameo would have made me happy.

Fun Night at TTAC3

Last night, Stephen and I attended the final session of indoor airsoft of 2011 at TTAC3.  We both had a ton of fun as the action was fast paced, and it gave me a good workout.  Fortunately, I did not receive any bad shots although Stephen seem to take the full brunt of it.  I also picked up five PTW mags from Stephen and it was almost as if I was running a brand new gun when all my mags fed well without any problems.

Unfortunately, a good night of fun came at a price when I noticed that the glass on my Surefire was shot out.  I will try to contact Surefire directly to see if it can be replaced.  Otherwise, I may resort to getting a new, and expensive light.  Let's hope it doesn't have to come to that.

Nightwish

I have been listening to this particular CD quite a bit recently.  Usually grouped under the sub-category of symphonic metal, Nightwish is a band that my brother originally listened to but I never got into it until I heard their cover of The Phantom of the Opera.  I was too lazy to go through their entire discography, so I decided to just pick up their Greatest Hits album.  Its a two CD set and included their more famous tracks with a mix of the heavy stuff and the softer ballads.

The Last of the Year

It is now safe to say that today was the very last game that I could attend for outdoors airsoft in 2011.  The weather started out cold and stayed that way when we left the field around 1PM.  It was just too cold and too windy to even play properly.  The little time we spent there was still very much enjoyable.

Skyrim

For the last several days, I have been fully immersed in this game.  I purchased it for the 360 and despite my thoughts of my console breaking down, it seems like it was actually my copy of MW3 that kept making the system freeze.  I have yet to experience a single system problem with Skyrim.  It is great because I am completely hooked in this game.  I am still learning many things regarding this game despite the amount of hours I have spent playing.  At the moment, I am content with exploring the gigantic world and enjoying the awsome soundtrack of this game.

Airsoft Wish List of 2012

As 2012 draws near, I began to look at my airsoft collection and decided that I should try something different with regards to my purchases for the next year.  Rather than just buying things randomly, I will start to implement a list so as to stay focused with my purchases and in turn may save me from buying things that are not needed.  If all goes according to plan, this would save me money and keep track of my purchases throughout the year.  The list will exclude such things as BBs, batteries, and propane as I need them to play anyway.

FlagRaiders

Today, myself and some of the Ghosts attended an airsoft game hosted by Zeon.  In attendance was around 40 players and I saw much action.  Since this was to be my last outdoor game this season, I was very pumped to give it my all.  I prepped myself by going to the gym from two weeks before.  I pushed myself and my body is paying for it now.

The Expendables 2

OMG!  That is all.

XBox 360 Woes

After initially thinking I bought a defective copy of MW3, it seems like it is my console that is having problems.  This comes after my PS3 break down a few months ago.  Perhaps this means that I should get off my ass and give up gaming for now.  As it stands, if the 360 does crap out, I don't think I will replace it right away.  I have yet to replace the PS3. I'd be stuck with a Wii and you all know how much I use that.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3

I was able to finish the single player campaign last night.  I am now enjoying the solo Survival mode.  Despite all these, I am having trouble with my copy of the game.  I kept getting a disk error message.  It takes at least five tries before I can actually play the game.  Sometimes, I would get the error during game play.  I will have to take some time and exchange this game sometime soon.

Infrared Glo-Toob

With the arrival of my infrared Glo-Toob, I finally have all the accessories for my Ops Core helmet.  At the moment, I am trying to figure out a way that would allow me to attach said Glo-Toob onto the helmet.  There are a few ways that I can think of but I need to make sure that once it is attached, it is actually secure.

2 VS 2 @ TTAC3

Tonight at TTAC3, Brian ran a 2 vs 2 competition.  I persuaded my longtime partner (no homo) and teammate Shawn to come out for this and we entered as a team.  The picture above is the result of our kick-ass partnership as we came in first for the competition.  Thanks to Carl from Airsoft Innovations for donating the Tornado Grenade.  This was truly unexpected.  We came out to have fun and fun was had along with a surprise prize.  It was very intense at times and I must also thank the other teams for participating and making it a great night.

Look What the Mailman Brought

It's like Christmas today as I opened my packages from TAD Gear and LA Police Gear.  I love the morale patches from TAD, especially the QR Code one.  And finally, after a few weeks, LAPG was able to restock the Princeton Tec helmet lights and promptly shipped them to me.  Now my helmet is almost complete.  All I have left is my infrared distress beacon to come in and I shall post more pics.

Halloween at Work

Just a bit of fun at work during Halloween.  Since I spent so much for my gear, why not use it for the occasion.  The ladies loved it.  I overheard one lady said "Oh, I just love you.  I wanna take you home!"  My coworker who had been walking behind me had a disgusted look on her face when she heard it and said, "That lady is so old!"  The rest of the people wanted to take pictures with me or of me.  They especially loved it when I had all my lights blinking since I had several on my helmet and some more on my vest.

V-Lite Substitute

Thanks to Stephen for pointing out the Night Ize lights being sold at MEC, I decided to pick up several of them.  Upon my surprise when I took the light out of their casing, they looked just like a V-Lite.  Although a little more naked.  In the meantime, I mounted one on my helmet using electrical tape, thanks to my ShoeGoo who decided to glue its cap permanently.  I will have to do a proper velcro treatment to the helmet and the light once I get a new adhesive.

My New Project

It has been on the back of my mind for a while but I think I made up my mind now to proceed with this.  I would like to go ahead and build my very own Proton Pack from the Ghostbusters movie.  I started with reading and researching at gbfans.com for much of the resources.  This is still early and I am just mulling over the details.  Supposedly, some of the plans can be created with around $100 and overnight.  I will post my progress as I make them.

Sword of the Stars

I might be a few years too late for the party but I just found out about this game.  Seems like my type of game.  Thanks to another game, Sins of the Solar Empire, I have become a fan of explore, expand, exploit and exterminate type of games.  With a selection of four races to choose from, I would have adversaries for some time to come.  At the moment, this game is on sale for $5 on Steam, including all the expansions.  Also, the sequel is scheduled to come out this month.  Hopefully I can play the sequel once I get my new laptop.  At the moment, I will be content with the original running on my netbook.

Op Deadfall

This past weekend, Stephen and I decided to attend the annual Operation Deadfall airsoft game.  This year, the 24 hour military simulation game took place in Muskoka.  We opted to arrive on Saturday morning so we could take the second half of the game.  For myself, I could not take the Friday off from work.  In any case, I did not feel like doing the whole game anyway since it is much too cold for my taste.  Besides, I have done several of these games in the past and I know my limit.

The Devil's Rain

The Devil's Rain is the newest album from the horror/punk band the Misfits.  It has been eight years since their last release, Project 1950, a punk remake of oldies songs.  That was a pretty awsome album as I still listen to it from time to time.  The Devil's Rain from my initial listening seems to follow their usual sound although I still need to listen to it some more to see how much I like it.  So far though, it seems pretty good so far.  The album art is pretty awsome too.

One Step Closer to Skynet

A University of Tokyo and Technische Universität München robot named PR2 was recently upgraded with a new semantic search capability.  When it was asked to fetch a sandwich, the robot went to the fridge to look for one, could not find one, so it took the elevator down, went to Subway next door, ordered a sandwich, and brought it back.  That is pretty cool.

On another note, rather than preparing for the zombie apocalypse, maybe I should switch to a robot apocalypse instead.  It will be only a matter of time before they rise up.

A Package Has Arrived

There seem to be a package for me.  I wonder what it could be.

Dark Souls

I picked up this game for the XBox 360 yesterday because of my love for the first game, Demon Soul.  The premise is simple, the player explore the realm while the game kicks your butt over and over again until you succeed in whatever challenges the game presents.  All the while you collect souls as you defeat your foes and use the souls as currency, among other things.  From the several hours spent on this game, I can tell you that it is difficult.  Rage inducing, throw the controller to your TV while swearing at the top of your lungs difficult.  I love every minute of it.

My Old MP3 Player

Pictured above was my very first MP3 player, the Diamond Rio 600.  Purchased back in 2001, this baby was packing 32MB of  storage.  It was small, it was light, and I could carry around 10 of my music files.  At the time, I thought of this as the best thing ever.  Up until then, I was carrying around a portable CD player that I continually break.  I decided to get a new device when I left my CD binder on the subway.  I used this for a bit until one day when I saw a Sony CD player that actually play MP3 files.  Then that became the best thing ever.  Then I caught wind of the iPod.  The third generation iPod came with the touch scroll wheel and 10GB of storage which at the time was actually larger than my desktop HD.  That thing is still with me as it held many sentimental value.  It is the only Apple product that I kept after my Apple meltdown.

Dragon Age II

I am pretty late to this but I was finally able to play and finish Dragon Age 2.  I really enjoyed the first game and although many people were displeased with the second, I find it still pretty enjoyable.  Going into this, I was worried that this game may go the Mass Effects 2 route where the game was severely dumbed down by removing much of the options going into the sequel.  In DA2, much stayed the same but there were many things that changed, thankfully not as drastic as the Mass Effects series.

Faster Than Light

What am I reading?  I do not understand.  Anyway, the scientists at CERN have clocked a neutrino that traveled just slightly faster than the speed of light.  Do they know how they did it or did they divide by zero?  Who knows as I don't understand a single thing in their press conference.  Einstein's theory of relativity says that nothing can go faster than the speed of light.  What this means for us is unknown at this point.  Time travel?  Warp travel?  Probably not.  I'd say this is the key to opening a transdimensional vortex that would release hellish demons upon the earth.  Kinda like in Doom.

Revision BATLSKIN Helmet

Painting my Ops Core Helmet

It's Sunday and I was bored so I decided to paint my Ops Core helmet.  Took a few minutes to cover the velcro parts with masking tape and tucked away the straps and covered the inside with newspaper so I would not get paint inside the helmet.  As for the paint, I went with 3 cans of Krylon camo paints; tan, dark brown, and olive green.

FlagRaiders Skirmish Day

On Saturday, I attended my first airsoft game in three months.  It felt good to be back out and seeing all the team members again and shooting too.  I had a lot of fun and my body is paying for it today.  My muscles are sore, my joints hurt, and my my bones are cracking.  All in all it was a good day.  Colin (pictured above) was a gracious host and the day had gone without any problems.

Real Sword Type-56 Family

I have finally took the plunge and bought myself a Real Sword Type 56-1.  With this final purchase, I can say that I am now the proud owner of all the Type 56 models.  In the picture from left to right is the SVD, Type 56-1, Type 56-2, and Type 56.  I am a sucker for anything AK and I just could not resist the full steel and wood construction of Real Sword's products.  These babies are heavy and rugged.

100% Complete

My Master Grade Hi-Nu Gundam is finally complete.  All the pieces are in place, and all the decals have been applied.  Please excuse the bad lighting of my pictures, as my light box was accidentally thrown out.  I had to make due with my room's inadequate lighting.  Overall, it was a pleasant change and I was glad to get back into building one again.  I had been almost two years since I last built one.  I am hoping to tackle a simpler kit next time but I will have to see what is available at the store.

Gundam is done.

My newest Gundam kit is finally done.  All that is left to do is complete the weapons and add the decals.  Perhaps I will continue the work tomorrow.

13 Assassins

I had the opportunity over the long weekend to watch this movie that I had for a while now.  13 Assassins is a Japanese samurai movie based on real events that took place in 1830.  It tells the story of a government official who attempted to assassinate a Shogun's son before he takes office.  A vicious and sadistic man, Matsudaira Naritsugu is set to take a high ranking position after he makes his annual pilgrimage home.  The first half of the movie showed how the sadistic nature of Naritsugu as he kills and mutilates on a whim.  The task to kill him fell on an old samurai named Shinzaemon.

Gundam is standing

I have just completed this Gundam.  It is now standing and ready for decal application.  All that I have left to do is construct its pack and weapons.  In all, I would say I am just slightly over 50% complete.  Decal application is something that I don't look forward to as sometimes, the tiny markings are very difficult to orient and apply.  But it cannot be helped as it really add to the detail of the kit.  Luckily, this particular model does not appear to have too many.

Gundam Under Construction

Construction of my newly acquired Gundam model kit is proceeding smoothly.  Pictured above are some of the blue pieces ready for painting.  The nubs have been trimmed and sanded.  I chose Brilliant Blue as the color which is just slightly darker than the blue the parts are molded in.

Back to Gunpla

After almost two years since I last made a kit, I went and bought one today.  This is a way for me to cheer myself up over the long weekend.  I have nothing planned and since I am staying home, I might as well do something with my time.

One final piece to complete the puzzle

After a long career in airsoft, it has come down to this.  One final rifle to acquire that would complete my Real Sword Type 56 collection, the Type 56-1. A Chinese manufactured derivative of the iconic AK 47.  As an owner of the Real Sword Type 56, Type 56-2, and the SVD, I have been spoiled by the real steel and wood construction of these rifles.  It is just a notch below owning an actual one.

My dogs being dogs

Going Back to Gunpla

I have yet to play airsoft for two months and with no certain date for my return, I have contemplated going back to building Gundam model kits to pass the time.  It has been almost two years since I last built my last model, so I am quite eager to get back.  I always find it relaxing and I could spend several hours cutting and sanding without realizing it.  There are several new kits that are quite expensive that I want to get, but I may go with an older and cheaper kit to get kinks out first.

RoboCop Figma

I have been a fan of RoboCop since I saw the movie in the theaters as a wee lad of eight.  When I first saw pictures of this toy, I knew right away that I must have it.  I was quite surprised that it was a Japanese company that made this and even stranger is the toyline that this came under.

Replacement Kindle

My replacement Kindle arrived today via UPS and I can finally resume my reading.  All I have to do is wait for the email from Amazon so I can send the defective one back to them. I will also need to check my credit card to make sure that they refund the second Kindle.  As can be seen in my blurry picture, the one on the right is the broken one where the top 2/3 of the screen is stuck on Agatha Christie and the bottom 1/3 is the working screen.  Had it been stuck on Emily Dickinson, I would probably declare it haunted and not touch a Kindle ever.  I hope the next update will allow users to customize the screensaver images.

Lie to Me

I have been pretty sick for the past week so I have not been doing anything at all at home.  Since I cannot go to the hospital for a visit either, I decided to watch a Korean drama titled Lie to Me.  I have been waiting for the subtitles to be completed and my method is usually a marathon of episodes.  Too bad work got in the way, otherwise I would have finished it.

My Ops Core Base Jump Helmet

So my helmet came in a few weeks ago, but I only managed to post this now.  What a relief it is to not use the Protec with my broken mount anymore.  I ordered the urban brown version, although once I have the time, this helmet will be painted.  At the moment, I don't have any fancy gadgets to put on the helmet other than the PVS-14.  Realistically, that is all I need, really.

T-ara's Roly Poly Music Video

I have been enjoying the latest single release from Korean pop group T-ara.  Posted above is the music video of the song.  Titled Roly Poly, the song is a catchy pop song with a touch of disco to it.  This is the title track from their latest mini album titled John Travolta Wannabe.  The mini album consisted of two new tracks and five remixed tracks from their previous mini album, Yayaya!

My Kindle

My Amazon Kindle 3 finally arrived today via UPS.  I was quite happy to read using my smart phone on my way home from work on the subway until I got into the Game of Thrones and its subsequent novels.  I realized that I may go blind before I could read all seven of them.  That and it was actually quite bothersome reading in the hospital room with my phone tethered to its power source.

Zelda 3D

To cheer myself up from the events of the last several weeks, I decided to buy the newly released Zelda game for the 3DS a few days ago.  I thought it would be a good distraction for my long stays at the hospital.  Besides, the 3DS has been in neglect ever since I finished the game I bought with the system's release, Ghost Recon: Shadow Wars.

New grips on an old pistol

Here is my 1911 with a set of new grips courtesy of Bernie of Nierbee Custom Grips.  He does beautiful work and this one is no exception.  It's a little different than the norm of smooth wood as grips.  I like the texture of it.  In any case, if anyone feel the need of a new set of grips for whatever pistol you have, give a shout to Bernie.

One More Weekend at Picton

Another weekend means another night of airsoft at Picton's Craig Complex.  This time, it is just a plain old game without fancy rules and one hundred plus players.  Chris was again the host for the game and he just wanted to run some simple scenarios.  There was over twenty players in attendance and half of them were Ghosts.  I am the one with the skull balaclava with Colin on the left and Patrick and Tom to the right.

Ops Core Helmet

After several weeks of mulling it over in my head, I went ahead and ordered the Base Jump Military Helmet by Ops Core.  I came to know this product through another airsoft player and fell in love with it when I tried it on to size it.  It was extremely light and the strap system is quite innovative.  After further procrastination, I went with the urban tan color.  I intended to order black initially but after a while, the tan started to look good too.

So Much Rain

After I finished work today, the sky took a turn for the worse and I know that a downpour was not far.  The wind picked up quickly and I can see flashes in the distance.  I managed to get inside just moments before the first rain drop fell.  After that, I could see lightning strike every few seconds for several minutes.  Then everything just stopped.

New Console Revealed

So there you have it, the new Nintendo console, revealed this morning at Nintendo's E3 press conference.  Not too much was revealed though.  Some of the information speculated before the reveal was confirmed, such as the 1080P output and its actual name.  The Wii U.  Yup, that is the name.  Seriously, Nintendo.  Wii U?  Really?

Zombie Game of 2011

Finally, after an all nighter, I am back safe and sound and I think I've rested enough to properly write.  Saturday night, I attended a zombie themed airsoft game at the abandoned Picton hospital.  The game was hosted by several of my teammates.  I spent the whole night running away from the zombie horde while low on ammo, only to finally join the undead ranks.  Overall, the aches and pain all over my body meant that I had a good time.