Motorola Atrix

Oh Motorola. It looks like we’ve come full circle. My very first cellphone was a measly Motorola V2288 (no vibration, CLOCK!! WHAT?! BUT it was the first WAP phone available in New Zealand). It also had bright, interchangeable rubber “skins”, which always reminded me of Batman (funnily enough, the Motorola logo reminds me of Batman’s too) LOL. Served me well for just under 2 years. Now it seems like my next cellphone may very well be another Motorola.

- 1GHz dual core processor
- 1GHz DDR RAM
- Up to 48GB of memory intotal; 16GB on-board memory, also takes MicroSD cards up to 32GB
- 4.0″ qHD capacitive touch screen (16 million colours)
- 5-megapixel camera with dual LED flash
- 720p video recording at 30fps
-  WiFi-N support
- Huge 1930mAh battery
- Front facing VGA camera
- Doubles as a media centre (play videos, show off photos, music, etc.) and a laptop via optional extra peripherals
- (many more functions, which I can’t be bothered listing)

What’s not to like?

New “Eyes”

I realise it’s been over month again since my last post. What’s happened since then? Well, I had my 24th birthday on the 12th March 2010, and just finished off the first of two sets of intern training days (which I THOROUGHLY ENJOYED, BTW! Managed to learn heaps of new things while having fun through role-playing, and getting to catch up with some uni mates was great). My birthday fell on a working Friday, so I spent the day working as usual, but managed to go out for some ice cream at “Casa de Gelato” in Ponsonby with Jenny Snickers ice cream for me, Ferrero Rocher (sp?) for her

The following Sunday was where the actual festivities occurred. Dill and Steph kindly shouted me, Jenny and mum to Nickie’s in Newmarket. ‘Twas a very enjoyable dinner, and I thoroughly enjoyed the company! Thanks, guys!

Presents-wise, Dill got me “Batman” (the 1989 Tim Burton one, that is) and “The Last Samurai” on Bluray, Steph got me a nice t-shirt, and Jenny got me a limited edition Gran Turismo PSP-3000 Thanks so much, Bobo!

My 24th birthday present from my parents was contact lenses. Now that may not sound like much for most people, but I’ve been bugging them for contacts ever since I started wearing glasses way back in first year uni (2004). I headed off to Sylvia Park for some information-digging. Three shops were available there; OPSM, SpecSavers, and another one whose name has just slipped my mind lol… All three stores had the same $200 deal (which includes a full eye checkup, trials for different types of contact lenses until the most suitable one is found, and up to 4 or 5 consultations). I opted to go to OPSM, as the optometrist on duty (James) actually knew what he was talking about.

It’s been nearly two weeks since putting on my first pair of contacts (14th March 2010 marked the first time haha), and all I can say is WHY DID I NOT GET THEM EARLIER?! I’ve tried three different brands/types so far. The first pair were some Acuvue Oasys contacts (not sure which ones exactly), the second pair were thicker and the company/brand has completely slipped my mind (I think they were made by Ciba Vision?), and the third pair are once again Johnson & Johnson Acuvue Oasys, but this time, specifically the ones for astigmatism (which I suffer from). The first pair were pretty good, although they dried out my eyes a bit. Nor did they correct my astigmatism (no wonder my vision blurred out whenever I was reading fine text or a computer screen!). The Ciba Vision pair were less drying than the first, but they were significantly thicker than both the Acuvues, so you could definitely feel them more in your eyes; astigmatism was fixed somewhat more than the first. My eyes also took a while to adjust to them, and they stung for a few minutes when first put in. The astigmatism-correcting Acuvues I went to pickup on Thursday night after work, and have been wearing them since then. They are by far the most comfortable, AND they don’t seem to dry out my eyes at all. I wore them for around 14 hours today, and only just before I took them out did my right eye feel a bit raw/dry, which was almost certainly due to me dozing off on my bed with Jenny after dinner

Will be going back to OPSM for another routine checkup tomorrow (28th March 2010) around 1:30pm, and will definitely be sounding my support for the “Acuvue Oasys for Astigmatism” ones!! Will hopefully be getting another pair of Ray-Ban aviators as well; the RB3025′s

Smallville Season 8 Finale

“Smallville” has come a long, long way since Season 1. I took a break from it during the fifth season because it was getting too slow and repetitive. I picked it up again when season 6 rolled along, and found renewed interest.

I was always skeptical about not having Lex Luthor in the picture, because as far as I know, Lex Luthor is to Superman/Clark Kent like what The Joker is to Batman/Bruce Wayne. You can’t have a decent Superman storyline without good ol’ Lex. What I found, however, was that most of season 8 worked reasonably well, partly thanks to the introduction of villain Doomsday (who’s also Davis Bloome, a paramedic).

The season finale however, was in one word (or is it two?), a SHITSTORM (or SHIT-STORM, which would be two words). The climactic battle between Clark and Doomsday, which I’m sure many of the Smallville faithful were eagerly awaiting, was mediocre; not to mention it only lasted around two minutes. He’s also dead by the time two minutes is up. Isn’t Superman supposed to be killed by Doomsday, and not the other way around?

Now I know this is only a TV show, and not a big-budget movie, but when we finally get a good look at Doomsday up close and personal, he’s pretty damn disappointing. He’s basically a muscle man in a rubber suit with horny/bony appendages, who drools a lot. The whole idea of Clark blaming himself for Jimmy Olsen’s death (yes, Jimmy is killed of by a super-jealous Davis Bloome, and dies in Chloe’s arms after the two rekindle their love. But not before he impales and kills Davis too) is a bit silly, and the fact that he acknowledges that “Clark Kent is dead” is completely out of place.

Season finales usually leave you hanging high and dry, eagerly awaiting the next season. Unfortunately for “Smallville”, this season finale blew it, and I’m not exactly looking forward to season 9. Even if it means General Zod is the new villain.

Smallville season 8 finale: 6/10

On other TV series news, “Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles” has officially been canned and won’t return for a third season… *sniff sniff* I was looking forward to it returning…

Another Update, Some Purchases & Reviews :)

Time flies when you’re busy with something. Especially if it’s uni work. My FOURTH week, I repeat, my FOURTH week has just come to an end. The first four weeks sure went by fast! Uni will definitely get more and more busier, with dissertation slowly picking up steam, and the assignments for each paper are rolling in too.

It also seems like when Mum and Dad are gone, Dill and I tend to go on an internet shopping spree lol. Dill just got his two Batman belt buckles in the mail today, and to his disappointment, they were not as big as he thought they would be. What’s more, one of them had a huge scratch on it lol… Luckily, the seller was pretty cool, and he’s sending Dill some replacements.

I on the other hand have gotten a Freddie Mercury t-shirt from the UK, and an iPod dock/stereo from 1day LOL. Pictures to follow. The Freddie Mercury t-shirt was from the official Queen website, and it’s bright yellow (just like Freddie’s Wembley jacket), and part of the profit goes towards the AIDS foundation that was started after his untimely death, the Mercury Phoenix Trust.

The iPod dock/stereo I bought off 1day is an Altec Lansing inMotion iM7 stereo, which is very impressive considering it’s smallish size. The bass it pumps out is simply amazing. I got it for $149.99, whereas shops sell them for around $399.99, so even though it was quite an impulse buy, it was a steal nonetheless. 9/10 (good price, charges the iPod, and excellent sound quality + build quality, but it would’ve been nice to be able to see what level of bass/treble I was at).

It’s also been just over two weeks since Mum left for Taiwan. Dill and I have been surviving well, I reckon haha. Then again, it’s not the first time we’ve had to look after ourselves!

I’ve also been on a bit of a movie marathon today. First I watched “Quantum of Solace“, then watched “The Strangers“ and “Punisher: War Zone“ with Jenny and Dill.

First up, “Quantum of Solace“. I really don’t know why it’s been copping so much flak ever since it was released, but I found it just as enjoyable as its predecessor, Casino Royale. Sure, the story might have been pretty cloudy and slow at times, but the raw action sequences, the spectacular car chases, the awesome one-liners more than makes up for the shallow, slowish plot. Not to mention that I reckon Daniel Craig is the best Bond, period. The previous Bonds were portrayed as being too perfect and charming to be believable. A very solid 8/10 (same grade as Casino Royale), and I look forward to Bond 23 (it’s yet to be named).

Next we have “The Strangers“. The first 10-15 minutes or so was great. It was shaping up to be a great looking horror/thriller, but after that, the movie went downhill pretty damn fast. What a SHIT-STORM. The three antagonists’ motives are never explained clearly, the suspense was lost, and the ending was downright awful. It didn’t explain anything, and I cannot believe they’re making a sequel… I’d give it a 4/10, and that’s being quite generous.

Finally, there was “Punisher: War Zone“. The violence and gore was brilliant, but that’s about it. Ray Stevenson may look more like Frank Castle than Thomas Jane, but I believe Jane captured the brooding, anti-social, remorseless persona of Castle much better. Stevenson simply had a little bit too much emotion. His build/physique and looks were spot on though! Other than these strong points, the movie was quite a big letdown. The plot was weak, the villian (Jigsaw and his brother Loony Bin Jim) weren’t menacing enough, and Jigsaw’s over-the-top accent pissed me off. But what bugged me the most was that for the most part, the whole movie was really corny and cheesy. Kind of like that other shit-storm from 1990, “Dick Tracy“. It definitely doesn’t suit the Punisher universe. A 6/10 at most (mostly thanks to tbe violence/gore, and Stevenson’s looks).

Bright yellow, Freddie Mercury picture & signature. What more can I ask for?

All for a good cause.

After taking off the delivery wrapping, I'm left with the iM7, still in its new & boxed glory!

Halfway through unpacking!

All setup, ready to go, with my U2 iPod Video 30gb sitting snugly in the iPod dock/cradle!

Shot of the back. Rubber grip/handle for easy moving, nifty little cubbyhole for the remote, S-Video, RCA, power plug, headphone jack, AUX-in plug.