Okay, end of rant and back to the review.

I really like the NDS’s form factor. For those with smaller hands, the DS Lite holds very comfortably compared to the Sony PSP. The dual-screen display, of which one is touch-screen (and yes, it does look a wee bit jaundiced compared to the non-touch-screen one), and the integrated mic really cranks up the game play experience. The DS Lite has nice smooth lines and comes in a variety of colours. I like the white one best but the trigger buttons turned a tad yellow just after one week of intensive play by my friend and her sister. I won’t recommend getting the white one if you’re anal about keeping your stuff in pristine condition. If you are, and still insist on getting a white unit, go get a case that offers protection for the buttons (I think the silicone ones do but not the hard cases).

The NDS has pretty good battery life. If you’re a casual gamer, playing an hour or two a day on the bus ride to and from work/school, a full charge can last you a week if you lower the display brightness and volume.

A pristine long-lasting NDS is no good if there’s nothing to play on it. So on to the games, and there were a couple on the DS that were clear personal favourites. I’m not a professional reviewer by any measure so I won’t go into details (for that Gamespot is your friend).

• New Super Mario Bros.- Not much of a gamer growing up (I was mocked by said friend for not having much of a childhood), I have actually never played the original Mario games as a child. Understandably, I was embarrassingly bad at such an old classic. Still the game was fun, and even for Mario Brothers veterans (such as said friend), the game had enough to keep them playing.

  

• Yoshi’s Island - Again another classic with Mario-style game play, this was really entertaining. The levels feel larger than those in New Super Mario Bros and you can spend quite a chunk of time in each one . Most of the game sprites are really cutesy and not one looked truly villainous. Being the Mario-newb, I was fooled a couple of times before I was given this bit of advice: “Assume that they are all evil even if they look cute.” This is my friend’s favourite game currently and she’s quite hooked.
• Brain Age 2 - I haven’t had the chance to try out the original but I doubt I would get better brain age scores. I’m rather hopeless with the memory games and the best I could muster was to keep my “brain age” around the mid-30s. The game relies heavily on the touch-screen and mic but the speech recognition can be sketchy. For example, the Rock-Paper-Scissors game had consistent problems with the word “scissors” and it was incredibly frustrating when you know the answers and the game just won’t register. After a couple of tries, I switched to taking the non-verbal tests exclusively just to avoid getting really sad scores.
• Nintendogs: Labrador and Friends - This was a surprise winner because I thought it would be like Tamagotchi (of which I never got too fond of) for the NDS. The game really shines through the use of the touch-screen and the mic. You can “pet” and teach your puppy tricks using the stylus on the touch-screen. Better yet, like a real life pup, your on-screen pet responds to your calls and commands (after some intensive training). I really enjoy the game, but because of the reliance on voice commands, playing in public is out of the question.

  

Like so many others have said, the NDS (like the Wii) is probably not for those who want the best in graphics and technical specifications. The display is more than adequate for games like Mario Bros but for those who are used to hyper-realistic game environments, the NDS will probably disappoint. If you value sheer entertainment above eye candy, the Nintendo DS Lite is a great choice.

Images courtesy of Wikipedia.

1. Locate a piece of car decal.
2. Apply decal on laptop cover (remove backing, apply on laptop, rub down firmly, remove clear film).
3. Done. Sit back and admire.

Unlike real laptop skins, this offers no protection to your laptop. Nope. Nada. Zip. If you look carefully, you will see the scratch on my laptop near the right hinge — you’ve been warned. If you want your own design, go to your favourite car workshop and ask if they offer custom decal services as well.

The sticker shop at Autobacs does custom sticker printing for vectorised graphics but not bitmaps (e.g. photos or colour-intensive designs), other shops might be able to do so. Costs depend on the final size of the decal and the number of colours in your design.

In any case, my off-the-shelf S$6.50 sticker looks surprisingly good. The glossy sticker really stands out on the Thinkpad’s rubberised matte surface, and the overall effect is pretty sharp.

The downside is that the sticker is probably one-time use only because peeling it off will stretch the material. As for residue, I seriously doubt the sticker will leave any on a regular smooth laptop cover (it is meant for a car afterall). There was a very slight “mark” on the Thinkpad’s matte surfaced cover, but nothing that cannot be removed with a regular wipe. I’ve only had the sticker on for a day, so I can’t vouch for its durability. It does stick quite securely, so unless you peel it off intentionally, I don’t think it will come off that easily.

I briefly considered laser-etching but (i) couldn’t find anyone locally to do it, (ii) the effect on a Thinkpad is too subtle unlike on the Powerbook/Macbook where it looks incredible.

Still, for $6.50 and less than 10 minutes work, I’m pretty satisfied. I’m giving it a week or two to see if the sticker stays on. If all goes well, I will go and make myself a nice custom one.

Not everyone agrees with me though. We could tell that a gentleman sitting near us enjoyed it very much though, he laughed at every single punch line (and more) and you could hear him easily even from 10 seats away.

Apparently Broadway Beng star, Sebastian Tan, was in the audience that night. Now that was a brilliant comedy musical, brilliant script and an absolutely wicked performance. It made everyone laugh and celebrate the Beng (and Lian) in all of us. Taking off on the success of his first show, Sebastian will be staging Broadway Beng Returns in May this year, and I’m certainly looking forward to that one.

A duck in the US state of Florida has survived gunshot wounds and a two-day stint in a refrigerator.

A hunter shot the duck, wounding it in the wing and leg. Believing the bird was dead, he left it in his fridge at his home in Tallahassee.

The hunter’s wife got a fright when she opened the fridge and the duck lifted its head, a local veterinarian said.

This little duck makes Survivors look wimpy in comparison.
[via BoingBoing]

I volunteer with a group of friends on a semi-regular basis at the Gift of Love Home run by the Missionaries of Charity.

On the second Saturday of every other month, we make lunch for the residents. It’s a mad mad rush usually, especially when we decide to also do breakfast. I don’t usually take a lot of photos when we make lunch because there’s always plenty else that needs to be done.

A couple of weeks ago, we decided to do a little Lantern Festival celebration for the Home. I had the opportunity to take some photos but it was a little tricky with the lack of light. I had fun anyway, and we hope the residents did too.

Some friends of mine are raising funds for a Habitat for Humanity project through the sale of these beautifully made Angels. These are all handmade with love by the volunteers. Made from quality Swarovski crystals, these trinklets are available in a couple of colours such as blue, pink, green and yellow.

Available for sale in Singapore until November only. More information can be found at http://angels-of-blessing.blogspot.com/ so head on over and place your order.

To this

Inspired by this guy. I just wished I found a cooler PEZ dispenser, like this ultra cool Star Wars one. Not very “pro” since I didn’t have a drill, and so I just made do with my pen knife, tape, and some leftover corrugated plastic boards. And lots of hot glue.

Excerpt from the Straight Times, 23 July 2005

“The Moneytree Authority of Singapore (MAS) launched a brand new Singapore Dollar bill, which has been named the “Peanut Series”.

Each peanut series bill is legal tender equivalent to 600,000 Singapore Dollars, henceforth known as 1 Peanut.

The CEOs across the Republic have been quick to applaud the launch of the 1 Peanut bill. In an interview with a Mr.Durai, a CEO of a philanthropic organisation, who wished to remain anonymous, he said, “Now I don’t have to carry suitcases of money home. Prior to the issuing of the Peanut, I had to carry a whole suitcase of small change home every month.

This is because the people who paid me tend to do so in small amounts, like $5 dollars each time, and it can be very irritating. Now I am just paid 1 Peanut with a single bill, slip it quickly into my wallet and off I go. It’s very convenient!”

The reaction by the general public was however cool. Most said that it is unlikely that they will ever use a 1 Peanut bill. With a average national income of S$3000 (0.005 Peanut), the average Singaporean will need about 2 lifetimes to save a Peanut. Said a Mr. Tan, who is a plumber, “The other day, I installed a golden tap in some CEO’s bathroom and he paid me using 1 Peanut for the $1000 golden tap. I tell him where got enough change?

The new watermark can only be seen under an intense bright light and close scrutiny because of its extreme lack of transparency.

According to MAS spokesman, the added security features are extremely important given that 1 Peanut can probably buy three 4-room HDB flats, or 10 Nissan Sunnies, the average Singaporean will be very tempted to lay their hands on a Peanut.”