Invites
Posted on September 30, 2009
Whenever there’s a press event on the horizon, it’s not uncommon for the company involved (or more accurately, the communications/media agency the enlist) to send invites with a twist. I guess its a ploy to grab attention and generate interest, which is paramount as a press event with no press would be rather disastrous. Earlier this week I received this small package from Sony regarding the upcoming PSP go and Gran Turismo. My first thought was lollies.
Guessed wrong. Inside the paper bag was a miniature pull-back Mini, which makes sense as the event’s about playing GT on a down-sized portable device. Sadly clumsy old me dropped it right after taking this photo, so the rear wheels are now toeing to one side and the pull-back doesn’t work anymore.
However one of the coolest invites I’ve seen was for Bridgestone’s Adrenalin launch. Playing on the tyre’s name, Bridgestone sent out Polar heart-rate monitor watches along with their invitations. Very clever! And judging by how much they sell for on eBay, quite an expensive marketing exercise as well! The cheesiest I’ve seen was when a car audio company, on the eve of their new line-up, mailed me a light bulb. After scratching my head for a moment I realised it was meant to symbolise a great idea. Maybe not.
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Sooner or later
Posted on September 28, 2009
Spent this weekend cleaning up the mess left by Sydney’s dust storm. I knew there was plenty of dust on the balconies, but it wasn’t until I had mop in hand did I realise just how much there was. It was in every conceivable spot - even managing to get through the little gaps beneath the barbecue’s hood - and took ages to clean. Mopped everything three times, cleaned the windows twice and spent twenty minutes on the BBQ alone. Knowing my luck, another dust storm will hit tomorrow!
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Mushroom cloud
Posted on September 25, 2009
Never seen a burning candle slowly morph into mushroom cloud… until now.
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Read between the lines
Posted on September 25, 2009
While doing research for my column I came across a stack of press releases from last year’s Singapore Grand Prix (which coincidentally is on again this weekend). Even if you’re not a fan of F1, you’ve probably still heard about the whole race-fixing controversy that’s currently plaguing the sport, and so I sifted through them to see if I had collected the post-race release from Renault. Sure enough I found it.
Although there’s (obviously) nothing blatant in the press release, now knowing what really transpired puts a totally different spin on it don’t you think?
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And then
Posted on September 24, 2009
Normality returned. Were it not for the layer of dust covering absolutely everything you see and own, you’d think it was all a dream.
“Quaid, start the reactor”
Posted on September 23, 2009
Woke up on Mars this morning. As I opened my bleary eyes I immediately noticed that something was amiss: my bedroom was cast in red. And peering behind the blinds I saw this.
Took a few moments for me to realise I wasn’t dreaming and that everything out my window was indeed red. Turns out that Sydney (and in particular the eastern suburbs) had been blanketed by some kind of freak dust storm.
Here’s the view from one of my balconies. The red tint turned to orange by 7:30AM, and at the moment it’s now a thick, white haze. Luckily I shut the windows before going to bed last night!
Trinkets
Posted on September 22, 2009
Angus has just returned from a holiday in Japan and was kind enough to bring back some small gifts for everyone in the office. He bought me this Astro Boy LED-powered lantern because back when we were housemates I used to have spiky hair that reminded him of the cartoon.
Since Hons is a bit of a gym junkie, he received this Rocky Balboa figurine. You plug it into a USB port and he starts doing crunches, although I must say it can be interpreted another way altogether!
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Geek day
Posted on September 19, 2009
There’s an influx of racing games coming onto the market and so I spent the day reviewing them for a future Issue of ASM. It’s been almost a year since I last used my Logitech G25 steering wheel + pedals combo and it took almost an hour of rummaging through my storage room to find it.
Considering how popular the G25 is (one of the few to offer a clutch pedal and H-pattern shift), I’m still shocked to find that new games still have compatibility issues with it. One of the games I reviewed today went haywire when I connected the wheel, even though there was a preset option for the G25. After having to force quit the game five times because of the glitches, I installed an unofficial patch which seems to have rectified it.
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Excess
Posted on September 18, 2009
Going to a wholesale outlet tends to be a rather dangerous thing for me, as I take the term ‘bulk buy’ a bit too literally. What was meant to be a quick trip with Hons to Campbells Cash & Carry to pick up some Gatorade (which was on special) saw me leave with a trolley heavier than my own body weight. Between the two of us we spent nearly $300; perhaps we should open up a little corner store within the ASM office?
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At least the tea was good
Posted on September 17, 2009
Recently two of our Melbourne friends, Helen and Danny, came up to Sydney for a couple of days. After a bit of a debate, Will, Hons and I decided we should take them to Mamak, the restaurant everyone seems to love. My sister’s a big fan of this Malaysian restaurant, which always has a never-ending queue of people waiting for a table. I had been once before and although I didn’t find it particularly special, I dismissed my doubts. I mean, a restaurant this popular has to be good. Right?
Took 40 or so minutes before we were seated. They also forgot our drinks order, but after such a wait we were starving so we only cared about food. Their fried chicken was a tad pink inside and the two curries were sent back because they were cold in the middle.
Finally our drinks arrived (after we reminded two waiters). Stretched tea rocks!
Finished off the night with roti tisu. Anyone with a sweet tooth should definitely try out this crispy, paper-thin dessert!
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About time
Posted on September 16, 2009
Finally put that A0 photo of Gilles Villeneuve to good use in my office. Because it’s mounted on 5mm MDF it’s pretty damn heavy, so to make sure it wouldn’t come crashing down we hung it off a 4-inch Dynabolt. That should do the trick!
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