Bits and pieces of a childhood gone by

It's 3pm in the afernoon. Way past the mid day food break where everyone would have gone home, changed, and ate grub. We gather up in the air-cooled hall, staring blank at a black box, complete with ice-chilled drinks and crunchies on sides. Fingers move rapidly. 'blip - blop - blip - blop' Stares become more intense. Taunts are thrown. 'kaching' Laughter persists. These are the days hulled up in front of the TV, playing video games with school mates.

If you were born in the late 70's or the 80's, you would most probably remember the emergence of digitized 8-bit pixels and sounds growing in homes all over the world. The age of console gaming just started. The Atari, Super Famicom, and its clone, the Micro genius; all had homes in almost every kid's heart during that time.

The Micro genius - my first console

This little bastard made it's way into many homes of the 80's, filling them with laughter, hours of frustration getting the cartridges to work, amazing family times, and the lies of 1001 games-in-one-cartridge where only 4 games actually work. This mofo lasted till one fine day when my cousin decided to pass the mother of all consoles at that moment of time - The SEGA MegaDrive.

This black lump was the most sought after console that filled magazines, posters, shops, and hearts during that time. It introduced a whole new genre of games which were fast paced, a little bit more exciting, and definitely nicer to stare at. Remember the good days controlling a blue hedgehog running around green and brown pixels, and fighting evil robot eggs by rolling into them.

Soon, the world saw a new revolution in console gaming with the birth of the all mighty Sony Playstation.

Since finding a home at my place, the Playstation offered gaming experience on a whole new level. The graphics blew everything else out of the water, and many hours were wasted playing Gran Turismo driving around in circles and building skylines to race on dirt; flying on rocket powered hover bikes in Jet Moto; blowing and beating up friends in Wipeout, Mortal Kombat, and the ever-fun Twisted Metal; as well as losing sleep by reading up on walkthroughs for the Final Fantasy series. The fun continued with the purchase of the Playstation II.

It seems that the days of hanging out with good mates, all with controllers in hand are almost over. Miss the days holed up in the hall playing games with friends and family. Miss the moments trying to get cartridges to work by shaking, cleaning, and blowing air into them. Miss the times hammering the controller with blistered palms and thumbs. Miss the nights staying up trying to beat 'just-that-one-level' before retiring for the day.

Good are those days. Good are those times.

VIDEO: For everything else, there's Zipties!

Zipties (aka cableties) are one of the most ingenious inventions ever. It is lightweight, easy to carry, easy to apply, and most of all, strong as hell.You can use them for almost any application, whether it be fixing your car, random wires hanging around the house, the broken spade in the shed, your file cabinets in your office, or just to tie a friend up for the lulz.

Here we see how you can prolong the life of you car's bumpers with the use of this miracle plastic strip. 




The only other thing which beats the cable tie in terms of application and ease of use is duct tape!

Rumour Roll: May 1st price changes

RUMOUR ROLL - obtained via forums.

" PUTRAJAYA, Jan 8 - The mechanism for fuel pricing in Malaysia has finally been finalized and controlled under one mechanism, which also takes the
high and lower income group people into consideration, according to Finance Trade Minister Tan Sri Anuar Ali.
"From May 1, the fuel will be pegged at RM 3.90 per litre for RON97,while RON95 will increase to RM 3.70 per litre.
However, the prices of national-made vehicles will be lowered by at least 40 percent.

For example, a full-spec family sedan Proton Persona 1.6 litre engine will cost around RM 23,000.00 excluding road tax and insurance. Import tax and excise duty will be revised to only 30 percent, from the current 200 percent.

Imported vehicles such as the new Toyota Camry 2.4 litre engine will cost around RM 65,000.00." he said.

The mechanicsm has been said to be undertaken by a team of experts from Australia and Canada who were earlier briefed on the issue of subsidy in this country, whereas after consideration by the transport minister, they have signed the constitution that the system will be made on May 1, the day it goes into effect.
under the new system, there will be a major effect on the existing consumers who have already purchased a vehicle and to those who are inthe midst of repaying the loan of their vehicle to their financial institutions.

Ahmad Tajuddin said the government might also re-introduce a cash return annually to Malaysians who own a 1,500 cc and below vehicle. The amount have yet to be decided but he assured that the amount will compensate the price of fuel by at least half to eligible Malaysians based on bumi quota."

---

This is like a repeat of 2008's incident just even more absurd. Not only fuel will go up. food, necessities, and the lot will also go up. Seriously, its fucking expensive to even go out and have a decent meal nowadays. I guess they are doing this cause they wanna squander off more $$$$$$$ before leaving the stage. Chicken rice will balloon to RM7.50 for regular plates, Teh Ais will sky rocket to RM2.50 per cup. Best of all.......our wages never go up.

Such a sad thing....what has our country come to?

You know, we are the only damn country is this whole wide world that discriminates cars to fuel. We as tax payers should be entitled to get the same priced fuel regardless of what car we drive. Should we be discriminated against our choice of cars?

To make matters worse, this is such a big blow to foreigners and middle income groups alike that FDI in our country is going to dry up so fast its not funny. And not only that, we will be listed all over the world in travel guides as:

"Travellers advisory: Malaysia controls its petrol prices according to your nationality, so please be aware that you may or may not be able to get petrol anyway if you rent or buy a car if you are not able to be verified by the 'reliable' computer systems. Malaysia uses the MyKad system to judge whether one is fit or unfit for automobile juice."

Sooner or later.....God forbid, that petrol will be controlled by the colour of our skin! For fucks sake people please realise that our beloved country is turning into a shithole and our economy is going down the drain with these retarded quarter-baked plans.

Indonesia has already overtaken us in wooing FDI, Vietnam is growing rapidly, Singapore continues to be the main hub for South East Asia - so where does this leave our country which still argues over simple matters like word usage?

Maybe one day greys will come...

There has been so much buzz around regarding our frail sense of unity and tolerance. One would wonder when would we ever learn how to get along together. This not only happens in our fair country but all over the world; minus all the views through the rose-tinted glasses of media and general globalisation. Sci-Fi fans would admit that humanity will only accept one another when a greater and more significant 'other' emerges.

It's the law of distraction. Put a bigger distraction and people shift their heads automatically. If, say one day, aliens from worlds beyond arrive and say hello to us; bringing their brethren along to 'share' existence on our blue planet - humans, will slowly learn to understand that we are not that much different from each other as compared to those interstellar hipwickies. We drink the same H20 composition, and procreate in the same manner. We all have hair that sprouts from the place where the sun don't shine, and we all sneeze and laugh for the same kinds of reasons. So what is there to be xenophobic about? Yes, the argument would be that languages and culture get in the way but that all can be fixed by one thing which all of humanity should have the privilege for - education.

Maybe one day bright lights will descend on us, opening our eyes to life outside of our blue speck. Their existence will override all that we have learned and know about ourselves - and possibly, maybe we can soon learn how to move forward and accept 'ourselves'.

Change

Change. Everyone is scared of it.
Oh how we love to wallow in the simplistic view that things should just be the way they are. How we love to glue ourselves to the things that provide comfort and security. How we gaze endlessly at a future where things remain static based on the idea that shifting winds bring calamity and mess; and a bound storyline brings us happy endings.

Stuck is many because of this notion. Stuck they are in an endless cycle of robotic chores, pre-programmed banter, and anticipated outcomes. Nothing rich, nothing stupefying, nothing worth remembering.

Accept and acknowledge change. Embrace it's hand in writing your story. Move with it and maybe, just maybe, our aquariums may just seem a little bit more like oceans. 



This song talks about change and runs a very infectious beat. It's currently on loop in my playlist cause I can't get it out of my head! Nonetheless a great song for drives and neverending gazes out the window for self-reflection.

We have failed.

As of today, it marks the turning point of tolerance in my fair country. Masks unveiled the 'open truth' about our country's societal mentalities. It is sad that we can't seem to bring ourselves forward with the times and embrace differences. The modern world will turn their heads and leave us to our pathetic antics. Losing out to the rest of our neighbours is inevitable. Those who have once looked up at us are now spitting in their cups with disgust. We are a prime example of humanity 'on the journey to the deep end'.

Condolences to those who lost, are lost, and remain lost.

The Self Destruct button has been pushed. 

As of 2010, we are all going to the deep end

 

I wish people would stop feeding peanuts so we don't get anymore monkeys.
Our country is in for a societal paradigm shift! For the worse!