Statistics show that travel peaks during holiday periods – and we are at the season where one holiday comes after the next. Those who have traveled at least once during a holiday period would know that while the trip may be fun overall, the actual transit time may give you the biggest headache you’ve ever had.

Good thing for us, we can find all sorts of gadgets and toys to lessen the headache that traveling can bring. Here are some of my favorites – some I have and more on my wish list. Read the rest of this entry »

Thanksgiving is less than a week away, and for those who celebrate this holiday, things are probably getting quite hectic at this point. For those who do not really give a darn about Thanksgiving, why not take the time to reflect and think about what you have to be thankful for?

I actually got the idea from Matt Blum over at Geek Dad, who came up with a list of 10 Geeky Things To Be Thankful For. It inspired me to create my own list – albeit a shorter one, with a couple of items similar to his. Here goes. Read the rest of this entry »

Brave and the Bold #29

J Michael Straczynski has done it again. Every time he slips from my attention, he comes out with another superb story.

I wasn’t even born when Brother Power the Geek #1 first hit the stands, my first exposure was in the pages of the original Who’s Who in the DC Universe, just as I was learning my way around the DCU. I found the idea of him, well, quirky to say the least. Kitsch. A symptom of the post-Werner (Seduction Of The Innocent) sillyness that swept the comics industry. Endearing maybe if you read it as a child, a very young child, but not for a young teenager in the Eighties. Happy days. I was so sure of my maturity, a good sign that I possessed very little of it.

So when I finally encountered the animated mannequin; given life by lightning and the gift of “wet and bloodied ‘hip threads’” hung upon it by a pair of hippies squatting in a tailors shop; it was at the capable hands of Neil Gaiman, in Swamp Thing Annual #5, way back in the early nineties. Gaiman turned him into a form of elemental, returning to earth after being fired into space by Govenor Ronald Reagan. Yet another being created by the Earth to defend itself, Power was now a doll elemental, connecting with human simulacra such as dolls, dummies, statues, etc. He could be called a toy elemental, or even a trash elemental. I remember a scene where Brother Power was leading a herd of lost socks, in fact that has alway stuck in my mind.  I never looked at laundry in the same way again. He returned in another Vertigo one shot, and then was never seen again.

And after a very long wait, he returns this week in Brave And The Bold #29, teaming with Batman. One may think that this is an unusual pairing, but it is not the first time they have encountered each other.

The highlight of the issue for me is more the contradiction between the two personalities, rather than between the two eras of today and the sixties. Still, Brother Power is based upon an idealised version of the sixties hippy culture, and the flashbacks are quite illuminating. The story walks a fine line between kitsch and relevance, if tending to the preachy a little.

However, this is what I enjoy about the current DC. Unlike the eighties they no longer throw the baby with the bathwater. After all, there was a reason why they didn’t go out of business in the kitsch years, and the preponderance of super boys, girls, cats and monkeys has a certain charm when handled right.

So I will be looking for a herd of crime-fighting socks in the future! I hope it’s not too long.

I just love this concept from Evil Mad Scientist: make your own drinks coasters based on various characters in a range of fonts.

You can read up on the whole process, but basically the idea is to blow up fonts to large point sizes, print and then cut them out of some kind of material (MDF, cork, plywood, etc.)

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It’s the time of the WoW Calendar when people are getting bored because there’s no new content and everyone is restlessly waiting for the new patch. People either take a break from WoW, or they start on a new alt just to keep themselves occupied.

I can’t say I’m an expert alt leveler, but I can definitely say I’m experienced in leveling an alt very fast, all by myself! I’m sharing with you guys 10 tips on how to get your alt to level 80 ASAP!

• Use a leveling guide. If you have money to spare, get yourself a leveling guide. The less time you decide which quest to do first, the faster you’ll get to 80.
• Use Light-Headed. With leveling add ons like Light-Headed, knowing where to go will be easy as pie. Just click the link of the coordinates and you’ll find where you need to go next.
• Use Heirloom Items. The faster you kill things, the better. And 2 pieces of the Heirloom Items (the chest and the shoulders) will give you each 10% more experience points when you kill mobs and when you submit quests. That’s 20% additional more experience points!
• Skip Group Quests. Unless you have a big bad level 80 nanny with you, then looking for groups to do group quests will definitely slow you down. Skip them.
• Arm your toon with bags with the most slots. The less times you go to town to sell stuff, the better!
• Don’t bother  with leveling your profession yet. Like I said, while leveling you need to tunnel vision! Level, level, level!
• Buy Cold Weather Flying Book at lvl 70. After the last patch, the Cold Weather Flying Book is now bind on account. You can actually buy the book with a level 80 toon and mail the book to your level 70 alt. Questing with a flying mount will definitely make going around way easier and faster.
• Use Auto Loot. Again, like I said, tunnel vision. Kill, loot, kill, loot, submit, quest, quest, quest.
• Always log off at an Inn. Blue Bar is GOOD, Purple Bar is Bad!

And the most important tip…

DO NOT TALK TO ANYONE. No guild chat, no PM chat or any other chat. Every second you type out something in chat, adds a second longer to your levelling! The only people you should talk to when you’re levelling are the NPCs and yourself, hehe.

Words on the streets are saying that Cisco who bought Pure Digital makers of the Flip Mino camcorder are coming up with a new version of their flagship pocket video recorder, something that would have Wi-Fi connectivity features.

If you’ve owned one of these ultra-pocketable camcorders that lets you capture short videos that you can share with your pals via YouTube and other video sharing site, you would certainly be excited about this. Read the rest of this entry »

I really should check the shipping lists rather than just working through my pile of comics.

I had totally forgotten that S.W.O.R.D. #1 was coming out last week, and so it was a pleasant surprise when I found it. When I first saw the advert for it, I thought ‘Hmm, that sounds ok’, not really expecting a lot. The art seemed alright, nothing special, but Kieron Gillen’s ‘words’ as attributed in the credits touched parts of my inner geek that other comics haven’t reached. (Words? WORDS? What happened to plot? Script? Writer? I know Marvel can be patronising, but still…….!)

The issue starts with our beloved Henry Peter Gyrich being his usual paranoid, xenophobic manipulative self, trying to usurp Agent Brand simply because she is half alien. I’m sure that the fact she is sleeping with a mutant doesn’t help either. You know, I do remember the odd Avengers story where Gyrich had a good side, his own moral code of right or wrong, however twisted he may be. I can’t see him viewing Norman Osbourne as anything other than another freak, just like the Avengers or the X-Men.

However, Gyrich’s usual antics are not what arose my geek, but the appearance of a character who has been away for far too long. Preeeeeeeeeee-senting…

S.W.O.R.D. #1

Now Death’s Head I has a rather convoluted history. I missed his first appearances in Strip, but rather first encountered him in the Transformers UK comic (which is a different timeline to Marvels US published Transformers, long story but has a little to do with Spider-Man among other folk). Then, as here, he appears in gigantic form, pursuing Galvatron, the future (erm, that would be past now, surely? 2006?) form of Megatron.

Subsequent to this, he was shrunk to human size by the Doctor. Yes, that Doctor, in the pages of Doctor Who Magazine. But in this issue, I don’t think that has happened yet, if at all. However in the pages of the Official Handbooks, Marvel do now seem to recognise published history for characters they no longer have the license for, such as Rom, Micronauts and more importantly here, Transformers and Doctor Who, both now living at IDW.

On that note, how is Bug still in Marvel and a member of the Guardians of The Galaxy? Can anyone tell me? What on Earth went on with the licensing there?

Death’s Head irreverent nature make him an extremely annoying character in his own strip, but when juxtaposed with other characters I think he is a lot of fun, and a welcome return to the Marvel Universe. IMHO, he performs the role so much better than Deadpool does.  I wonder if he came through The Fault? The return of Monarch Starstalker shows that The Fault can now help throw strict continuity to the wind, and return to fun continuity. Lords knows, as good as Dark Reign is, it was well named, and Marvel needs a bit of fun. And may Stan Lee wash my mouth out, I no longer mean X-Babies.

Speaking of The Fault, this week we see Realm Of Kings #1, and Realm Of Kings:Inhumans #1. Let’s see what other rabbits can be pulled out of the hat.

Are you a budding DJ? I remember taking every opportunity I had, regardless of what hardware or even music I had around me, to create “proper” mix tapes and voiceovers. I’ve even DJed a few private parties, though I’m certainly no Armin Van Buuren.

I just love having the ability to mix together music and play around with it, but I’ve never invested in turntables which is why I love software-based mixers or the amazing Pacemaker.

Now, from the developers of noise.io, an amazing iPhone-based synth, comes Touch DJ, an amazing piece of software that lets you mix music without the need for headphones.

Read the rest of this entry »

If you’re an iPhone user, you probably wouldn’t care, but you might get something out of this anyway. I just discovered this web site called Accessory Geeks and they claim to “kindly and persistently apply our geeky image to enhance our customer service, provide unconventional products, and build A Geek memory with all our customers only available at Accessory Geeks. We firmly believe in our motto Geeky people, Geeky service, Geeky experience.” Read the rest of this entry »

Who would want to see Steve Jobs in his birthday clothes? How about Bill Gates? Well, I know I wouldn’t! But we have to admit – there are geeks who are smokin’ hot, and this is what the Nude London Tech calendar has to offer everyone.
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Fans of the Touhou series are surely going crazy over Griffon Enterprises’ releases of popular characters as 1/8 scale PVC figures. For those of you wondering what Touhou is, it’s not an anime but a series of pc games. Touhou games are of the shoot ‘em up genre, but instead of piloting a spaceship or other type of craft, you’re a cute little anime/manga-style girl fighting other girls (which could be humans or demons). I’ve played some of the Touhou games myself and they’re certainly a lot harder than regular shoot ‘em up games. If you don’t believe me, just look up some videos on youtube.

With Touhou recently enjoying huge success, Griffon Enterprises (a Japanese figure company), has taken this opportunity to profit from Touhou’s popularity with its lineup of figures:

Reimu Hakurei

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How do you obtain legal software? Do you go out to a local computer store and buy off the shelf, order it from an online retailer, direct from the vendor, or do you download it?

According to a recent study (for Microsoft, no less) downloaded software is eight times more carbon efficient than its boxed equivalent.

Some interesting UK-based statistics suggest that if the 16 million units of software sold last year had been downloaded instead, there’d be enough electricity saved to power 12,000 households for a year. Imagine what the stats in the US would be.

Read the rest of this entry »

Three years after launching its Zune entertainment product, Microsoft has finally realized the need to make it international. Financial Times is reporting that Microsoft is about to launch its Zune entertainment brand outside of the U.S. Obviously, Microsoft has finally realized that they can’t compete with Apple’s iPod brand if the Microsoft Zune HD remains within the confines of the U.S. market. Read the rest of this entry »

Confession time. I hang my head in shame, although not entirely unexpected.

The idea of the X-babies meeting up with the characters of the late Star Comics is far better in concept than it is in execution. I should have known.

IDW's Doctor Who #5

Still, I have had my fill of ludicrousness with last weeks Marvel Zombies, so I am happy. Funnily enough, the reprint of Planet Terry’s first issue offered in X-Babies #2 as a back up strip was far more enjoyable than the story itself.

Realm Of Kings: Imperial Guard had a good start, even if the Guard were suddenly mysteriously at ease with following Gladiator’s Majestorship (oo, look, I made a word!). Nothing really happened in this issue, it was just a primer setting up the interpersonal politics and dropping the bombshell that a team is to probe into The Fault, alongside the Starjammers, who only appear on the final page. Still, it shows promise.

The only thing that surprised me in this issue is the characterisation of Hussar, who all of a sudden has revealed a kinder, more reasonable side to her personality. We’ve not seen that before, she had always seem to be cut from more bloodthirsty cloth.

But for my recommendation of the week, I’m going to depart from the Big Two, and look to IDW.

Now I have been a Whovian since I first learned to hide behind the sofa from pepperpots with sink-plungers sticking out of them. I followed the Doctors adventures when he was cast into the wilderness by the BBC and the license was picked up by Virgin. If you didn’t know, the eighth Doctor had quite the career in books and audio plays before the relaunch four years ago with Christopher Eccleston as the Time-Lord. I saw Gallifrey split into duplicates, and saw Faction Paradox learn how to break every law of time. You could say that on this I was a continuity buff, proudly wearing my anorak for no-one to see.

IDW’s Doctor Who series, now on its fifth issue brings together elements of both the original Doctor(s) and the relaunched version. In their current storyline, they have the Krillitane making a bid to dominate or overthrow the Shadow Proclamation with thelp of the rhino-headed Judoon, all newer elements; while the Sontarans, Draconians and the Ogrons are all caught in the crossfire. The latter two I don’t think we have seen since Jon Pertwee travelled the corridors of the Time Vortex.

In fact, the defeat of these other races at the hands of the Doctor in the past make them very unwilling allies in the current plot, and I love it. If you fondly remember the years of Jo Grant and Sarah Jane Smith (the first time around), then this is a series not to be missed.

For Dell, a mini-computer with powerful features doesn’t have to be expensive. Hence, their new Zino HD mini-computers can be had for only $299 for the basic configuration. This price can go as high as $799 if you opt for a more powerful mini-computer. Read the rest of this entry »

I would say that my biggest noob mistake happened during Vanilla WoW days. My former guild was still raiding Molten Core back then and we’ve been spending weeks and weeks trying to get Ragnaros down. These were the days when summoning stones didn’t exist and every time you wipe, you have to run ALL the way back to wherever you wiped. These were the days when shaman ankhs and warlock soulstones were called “wipe-prevention tools”.

So after 3 hours of raiding on day 2, we reach Ragnaros. The Raid Leader briefly explains the fight for those who aren’t familiar. We all buff up (I remember the days when buffing was only group wide! Talk about spending so much reagents!). Soulstones weren’t given out yet since we had a couple of shammies in the raid.

We pull. Phase 1. Good!

Come Phase 2. We all /faceplant.

But that’s fine. A shammy anks up and starts ressurrecting people.

Take 2! Take 3! Take 4!

By this time the Raid Leader has asked the warlocks to put soulstones on healers. On the second to the last pull, the Raid Leader said, “Soulstone on Veeka pls. Make this pull count, it’s the second to the last!”

We pull. We all /faceplant.

I click the soulstone button, and pop up. I target another healer, click my ressurrect button and wait for the spell to finish.

Spell finishes.

And I get hearthed to town.

AUGH! Apparently, my res button was beside my hearth button and I clicked it accidentally!

So that’s my biggest noob mistake EVER.

Lesson learned: Never place your resurrect button near your hearth.

Luckily for me, my guildmates were forgiving enough that they found it quite funny. Or else I would have probably cried if they started screaming at me on vent.

Thank the geek gods I’m a female gamer!