blog.mchiu.com

Crazy, crazy, MMOGs

So I've been doing a bunch of research on the MMOG (Massively Multiplayer Online Game) this week for a report I'm writing. Ran across this interesting article how in China, a 41-year old man stabbed and killed another man for selling his virtual property (a sword in this case) in the MMOG Legend of Mir 3. My first reaction was, "Holy Shit!!! Legend of Mir 3!!!??? WTF??? I had no idea that a part 2 had come out, let alone a part 3!!!!" My this market moves fast... On a different note though, I know that in Korea, sometimes people will go and beat up other people for killing their character in the game, but to stab someone to death... yuck! How messy...

At the end of the article, there's a small blurb of how someone bought a virtual island in the game, "Project Entropia" for $35,000!!! But it also goes on to say that he could recoup up to $40,000 for charging players to come to his island to look for resources for use in the game. $5,000 from $35,000... I guess that comes out to be about a 14.3% return... not bad, not bad... but I guess he will really have to work to get that money... in the end, not sure if it's worth $5,000 after all is said and done...

Thoughts on the PSP

After spending the last day and a half or so getting acquainted with the PSP (and without reading the manual), I can say that like most Sony products, it's ease-of-use is pretty intuitive, and the manual is good for looking at features that I may not know exist or to give me a better understanding on how certain functions should work. So out of the four games I have so far: NBA, Need for Speed Underground: Rivals, Metal Gear Acid, and Lumines, I can say that the game I have spent the most time playing so far has been NFS Underground. I really wanted to get Ridge Racers since it got such good reviews, but according to my friend Jun, it's pretty boring game, so maybe I'll just wait until it becomes part of the PSP Classics collection or something.

One thing that I haven't tried yet is to go online and play, but I shall be trying that out shortly. It's too bad that it is only using 802.11b which means that if I wanted to play online over a WPA encrypted network, it won't be supported by the PSP, so I can only deal with WEP encrypted or non-protected networks.... which might be good in the case that I ever become tempted to play it at work...

Graphics are pretty damn impressive to me, as is the screen, but I guess I'll have to get an expert's opinion later from Kevio who seems to be much more of a connoiseur of this kind of thing. I tried out the Spiderman 2 UMD, and it plays pretty much like a DVD with menu selections for other audio streams and subtitles, but it has no special features... but I guess most people don't watch those to begin with (other than me it seems)...

All of a sudden, my poor Zodiac seems to be all neglected now that I have the PSP in hand... But one good thing about the Zodiac is that it is much smaller than the PSP, and it features a really nice analog stick control. It is also more versatile than the PSP, and uses the more standard SD cards for extra memory compared to the Memory Stick Duo.

I'm one in a million!

Upon closer examination, I guess I am one of the first 1 million Americans to purchase a PSP since it came with the Spiderman 2 UMD movie!!! Woo hoo!!!! I feel so lucky!!!! I should be in VEGAS!!!!

Contents of the box from ebgames

So after opening the box from ebgames, I discovered that I had received the PSP value pack, and four games: NBA, Need for Speed Underground: Rivals, Lumines, and Metal Gear Solid Acid.

Virus attack

So my parent's house is very big, so it's not very conducive for wireless networking. The DSL line comes in through the den, which happens to be upstairs in one corner of the house, and my bedroom is downstairs, on the exact opposite end of the house. Connecting by wireless would yield my a connection of about 10% on a good day. In order to alleviate the problem, I decided to use HomePlug technology where I take one port from the wireless router, and stick it into a HomePlug adapter that uses the electrical wiring in the house to pass the network connection. This worked for a while until I got a second computer in the room and then bought a note PC that is WiFi enabled. This being the case, I installed a second wireless router where I connect the HomePlug into, and I can serve WiFi for the downstairs area of the house.

In any case, 2 nights ago, the network seemed a bit sluggish, so not really knowing what to do, I just reset the wireless router and things seemed to move smoothly after that. But last night, it happened again, and then I noticed on my note PC a message from Norton stating that it just eliminated a worm. :O Well... at least I know that my note is protected, but checked out the other two PCs in my room. PC1's virus scan came up empty. Then checked PC2, and it had 1 instance of a worm. Still, the network connection seemed weird since it would be smooth for a few minutes, and then really congested... So I checked my brother's computer, but his last scan was done that day, so he should be OK. On to my dad's computer... I noticed that his definitions were way out of date... Uh Oh... More than that, his version of his anti-virus software was out of date, so I downloaded the newest version of Grisoft's AVG-Free software. After running the virus scan, he came up with 381 instances of worms and trojan horses!!!

Maybe I should get him to switch over to AOL... They seem to be pushing their services as being spam and virus free these days... yeah, right!

1 year anniversary

So today marks the one-year anniversary of my closing escrow on my house. After 1 year, I have so much to show for it too!!! :O It is still empty, messy, and I haven't moved in yet, but according to my friend Mike Meyers, traditionally, you should have a house-warming party within 1 year... Although I haven't moved in, I guess the rule still stands, so I guess he's taken matters into his own hands, and now I am having a housewarming party on 4/1... Good thing I live down the street from Jake's pizza, so I guess we'll meet up at Jake's, stop by the Stop n' Save for some quality Keystone beer, and bring it over to my place... It's totally a BYO everything party, including your own chair, TV, stereo, etc... At least I can break in the new house finally... :D

Farting and Giggle Loops

So since I have had a topic on farting and another on giggle loops, I just remembered that I was in such a situation a few years ago when I first started working at my company.

Back then, when we were in another building, I was in the men's room, standing in front of the urinal, and this Indian dude comes up and uses the urinal next to me. As we're taking care of business, he lets out a high-pitched fart, but not just one, but multiple ones that it sounded like he was blowing a horn or something.

Then it started... I was trying not to laugh, and found myself in a giggle loop. I held in my laugh, and then thought how funny it would be if I did laugh, which caused me to hold in a bigger laugh, which then made me think how funny it would be if I made that last laugh, and so on... By the time I got to the second loop, I was only halfway through taking care of business, and this guy is still letting them out. I quickly washed my hands, bolted out the restroom, and ran back down the hall back to our office, and let out a long, 1-2 minute laugh, as the receptionist is looking at me strangely. It took me a few more seconds to catch my breath, and I explained it to her and my other co-workers, which caused me to laugh even more. Amazing what the mind can do to you...

MY PSP HAS ARRIVED!!!!

After much trouble and waiting, my PSP has finally arrived today!!!! It was really weird, and had me worried for a bit because I had it sent to my new house (which I don't live in yet) so I was wondering why the tracking page said it was delivered, and now I have yet another reason not to ebgames in the future, but the UPS guy didn't need a signature for it, so he left it on the front doorstep!!! :O :O :O

But luckily, when I drove up to get the mail, I decided to check the front door, and lo and behold, there was a box from ebgames waiting for me!!! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah, Hallelujah! HALLE-LU-JAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!!

Guess what I'm going to be busily doing for the next hour or so?

Beijingers sound like chickens when they talk

I used to think the Filipinos sound like chickens when they talk because everything they say sounds like "cluck-a-luck-a-cluck-a-luck-a-cluck-a-luck-a-BOK!!!! a-cluck-a-luck-a..."

Now, I think that a lot of Chinese people sound like chickens when they talk. It gets worse when they speak in English, and they really sound like chickens.

So some of the people I deal with come from Beijing, but I am always left listening to them trying very hard not to laugh my ass off!!! I guess it throws me into a "giggle loop". I guess it's because they're used to stressing certain words in a sentence, or certain parts of a word in English. My favorite one is how they say the word "semiconductor" which sounds more like "seh-mee-kahn-DAHK-ter".

How to piss me off...

So most people who know me know that I don't really get pissed off too easily... I guess after living in California for most of my life, we tend to be pretty laid back anyway. Well... at least I don't show signs of being pissed off anyway, even though I actually could be...

So a few weeks ago, my boss tells me that she is planning a visit to Japan and wanted to meet some high powered execs out there. I tell her that my old boss from a previous company would be a good starting point, and we invite him over to have a chat. Everything goes well, and I follow-up with him about a week later. Basically, we were going to have her meet up with the president of a company I had previously worked for, since he seems to be very well-connected to top Japanese companies' CEOs that she's looking for. Unfortunately, my boss has also created a very bad reputation for herself in this community, and so the president of the company said that he would meet with the other person that my boss was coming out with, but not her. Now this isn't the first time I have heard anything like this, and with my boss' reputation, it is understandable that there are people out there who would refuse to work with her. Of course, her rage was partially directed at me, but mostly at my old boss. Moreover, she starts telling me that he's a totally dishonest person, that he's dispicable, etc., and that I shouldn't talk to him anymore. That's about the point that I start losing it... I mean, she can scream and kick all she wants about not getting the meeting, but to just come out and say all these negative things about my old boss, who had nothing to do with it, just pissed me off... What she probably doesn't know though, is that my old boss is more or less a personal mentor to me, so if anything, I'd abandon my current boss faster than I would of my former boss.

Anyway... needless to say, I let off a little steam as a result, but I still have my job... Someone, please fire me!

Noisily eating...

There is always something interesting when you hear the people in the cubes next to you eat at their desks. Take my farting co-worker for instance... I can always tell what she's eating... If it's noodles, since she slurps it up voraciously, it sounds kind of like she's giving a ... actually, I don't want to think about that... or listening to her chomp down on an apple is interesting to since it sounds like she takes these enormous bites because after biting into the apple, the audible on the subsequent bites goes on forever... but that woman is like a cow! I think she eats constantly at her desk, and I guess she cycles food between four stomachs or something since the constant sound of her chewing, chomping, slurping, etc. is seemingly endless!!! I seriously am beginning to wonder if she regurgitates her food from one of her stomachs, and chows down on it again to put into her remaining 3 stomachs...

Another boring weekend...

So I don't have a whole lot to say about my weekend... Started it off Friday night next door to my office at Pedro's for a happy hour with some friends that eventually lead us to the Outback in Cupertino, and then the Peacock Lounge in Cupertino... Nothing too exciting... The one thing about my friends is that we seem to always end up at dive bars like the Peacock Lounge... and everytime we go to one, we keep talking about our "Bar Decathalon" which we never end up doing, and the events in the decathalon change from time to time, but one of these days, we'll do something with a lineup like this:

1. Pool
2. Darts
3. Foosball
4. Driving video game
5. Pinball
6. Air Hockey
7. Golden Tee
8. Shuffleboard
9. Photo Hunt (Megatouch)
10. 11-ball (Megatouch)

Went out and played 9 holes of golf on Saturday, and I still suck... I think I averaged around 10 strokes per hole, but stopped counting after a while... Not sure if I'm gonna play in Vegas for Garret's bachelor party next month now... I then had to rush up to San Francisco to introduce Tony to Christina and her biz partner, but since I was so late, they intro'd themselves to each other. Tony, by the way, also has an interesting blog site, which you find here.

So the main excitement of my weekend was on the drive back from SF. I had no idea that the 101 changes speed limits between the city and down to South City, from 65 to 55 to 50, and then back up to 65... So I was coasting along at 70, when I see the lights behind me... FUCK! I'm getting pulled over for being 5 mph over the speed limit!!!! or so I thought...

They told me not to stop at the side of the road, and had me pull off the freeway onto some dead-end road. The cop tells me that I was going pretty fast, and I said that I was just slightly above 65, when he explained to me that I was in a 50 zone, so I was way over the limit. In any case, he asks for my license and registration, but before I could grab my registration, he just asks me to turn off my car, and step outside. He wants to make sure that I am OK to drive. Apparently, the reason he pulled me over was because I was "swerving" because I crossed the yellow line on the left side twice. Unless he told me, I would never have known that there was a yellow line over there, and there definitely were not any rumble strips to alert me to the fact that I was over the line.

Anyway, I get out of the car, and he asks me to follow his fingertip with my eye, but without moving my head. He does these crazy movements with his fingers, but my eyes pretty much catch up. Then, I had to close my eyes, hold up my arms to the side, tilt my head back, and count up to 30 seconds. The last thing I had to do was take the breathlizer. Luckily, the whole ordeal took me about 5 minutes, and they let me go. Between 8:00 pm and 11:00 pm, I had a total of two drinks, so I doubt they could get me for anything... whew! but it was still a bit annoying... Guess I'll have to be careful when I'm driving down the 101 and near the Cow Palace.

I should have asked the officer to take a picture of me doing the tests, and the thought did occur to me, but I figured that it would have been better not to ask him, even though he was pretty good-natured during the whole thing... so unfortunately, I don't have any pics of it all... oh well...

Farting in the office

So I tend to have a lot of discussions with Kevin over IM about people farting in the office. This morning, Kevin was talking about how someone near his cube let out a silent but deadly one, and it was making him noxious. For me, the co-worker on the other side of my cube is pretty notorious for her farts. It wasn't as bad before, but now she has one of those Aeron chairs that has the wire-mesh cushion, so every once in a while througout the day, I can hear her belt out some nice, juicy ones... It's actually pretty disgusting... :O I think she needs to take back the cushioned chairs so she can hide the farts in the padding, but even then, I could totally hear the farts anyway... *sigh* guess there's no way to win...

Creative kinda blows...

So I have been using this Creative Zen Micro for the past 2 months or so... It's not a bad MP3 player, but I hate the fact that them damn Singaporeans at Creative want to kill Apple so bad, that the Zen Micro ships with those gay-ass white headphones to make it look like an iPod.

Anyway... While using the Zen Micro the other day, I noticed that the sound started going in and out, as if I had a bad connection. I pulled the audio plug out and put it back in, but it was still the same. Oh well... So for the duration of using it while at the gym, I had to adjust the plug every once in a while to get a better connection.

So when I was able to get on the Internet, I went to Creative's support website's public forums, and realized that this was not only a common problem, but a problem that extends to all of their MP3 players!!! I can't believe that they have let this one slide for so long!!! :O People even report that after sending their units back in for RMA, they have had to send it back multiple times!!! Unbelievable!!!

Needless to say, after getting mine RMA'd, it's going out on eBay... Hello iRiver... This is what I want next...

The PSP is coming!

So after all the waiting, I'm finally going to get my PSP! Woo hoo!!! Just checked my shipping status on ebgames.com, and it is on it's way! :D My main gripe with ebgames.com is that I had pre-ordered over 2 months ago, and then they sent an e-mail asking which games I wanted to include in the bundled deal. I chose Ridge Racers, Lumines, FIFA 2005, and Metal Gear Acid. A few days later, I received an e-mail from them telling me that my order is processing. A week later, I received an e-mail saying that my order has been CANCELLED????!!!!! WTF??? I called back customer support asking what was up, and they said that maybe I didn't return the e-mail back on time. Huh? I sent it back as soon as it had made it's way into my inbox!!! Within 10 minutes is too slow??? So I had to re-order, which really sucked because they were sold out of Ridge Racers and FIFA 2005, so I had to settle with NBA and Need For Speed Underground: Rivals. It's too bad that EB fucked this one up. This will probably be the last time I order from them in a very long time.

So when my friend Jun was visiting here the other day, he showed me his, and it looks pretty awesome. I tried them out also at E3 and Game Developer Conference, but too many people around, so I really couldn't play them for a very long time, but now I'm about to get my very own!!! Mua ha ha ha... Can't wait! Argh!!!! But still have to wait until Monday!!!! :( :( :(

Jun and friends at the Row

So my friend Jun was visiting from Japan a few days ago, and for some reason, out-of-towners seem to love Santana Row... probably because it's about the only place in the Silicon Valley that shows signs of life over here. So some Kiwis asked us to take a photo of them at the Row, and in exchange, they took a pic of us. Pretty good looking group of people except for Kevin who seems to clash with the beauty of everyone else in the picture... :-p

Dinner at Xin's

So Tony, Tom, and I had dinner at my friend, Xin's house. We had some Vietnamese food of wrapping up vegetables, noodles, and meat into those wrappers that are used for the Vietnamese spring rolls. I had no idea that the wrappers are made of tapioca, and that they are hard at first, and then you dip them into water to make them all gummy... Interesting...

Frankie at Za Zang's

So my friend Frankie and I keep passing this one restaurant that advertises having both pizza and noodles. We find out that it's called Za Zang, and when we got in there, it definitely was a za zany time! We were probably the only customers in there that ordered a pizza, let alone ordering pizza and noodles... It's almost as good as having chicken and waffles! :D

Xin flipping me the bird

Everyone loves to give me the bird. Here's my friend Xin flipping me the bird on St. Patty's Day...