Watching Friends on DVD

After all these years i still think that Friends is one of the most addictive and fun comedy around. Maybe because i grew up with it and can connect to each of the characters so well after watching them for so long. Its amazing when you see the consistency in their characters even after 10 seasons; it almost seems like they already grew into those characters. I remember David Schwimmer once saying that he wants ppl to stop calling him "Ross" but i dont think we can help it. If (very big if) I were to bump into any of the stars the first thing that will pop into my mind is their Friends character. I think even they themselves can get out of it when they act in other roles. Just look at the millions of movies that Jennifer Aniston has acted in and she is basically "Rachel" in every single one of them.

As a side note, i have discovered how to burn videos onto DVDs that can be watched on DVD players. I always thought that i could use Nero to burn these easily and never actually tried but i was wrong. It more complicated than that, you have to first encode the video files into a compatible format and then use another program that allows you to burn these type of files onto DVDs. Thankfully i googled around and discovered DVD Flick which is a freeware that easily does all these for you. Why do i even bother? Despite having a nice 19" widescreen LCD on my comp, theres nothing like kicking back on the couch and watching your favourite shows on a HDTV.

On the down side, a video DVD only holds 120 minutes, whereas a data DVD can store a whole season of shows. It also takes a whole hour to burn one of these babies and they chew up your CPU pretty bad so you are only limited to light activities on your computer.

PC gaming is impossible

I dont know whether the person who assembled the computer (one year old) conned my dad or not, but it really isn't up to my standards. I mean, heck, its even more lousy than the computer i bought three years ago in Melbourne. All the parts in the computer are like the cheapest available and i believe my dad had to pay premium price for it (lucky its company money) Its got the cheapest keyboard on the market, the slowest RAM, intergrated sound and graphics card and USB sockets in the front that doesnt even work. Dont be mistaken, I am very grateful to have a new computer but I would've hoped that my father consulted me before getting the computer because its almost like im changing every part inside of itwhereas it would be much cheaper if it was all in the new computer to start with. The more parts i add in the more harder it is for me to request a newer computer when this one gets outdated, which could be really soon.

Since last year, I've added a graphics card, 1gb of RAM, a new power supply unit, a DVD drive (old one broke) and a new cooling system. The only thing i havent touched is the motherboard and decent hard disk to keep up with current standards.

Having said that, even with all those i can't even run a 2 years++ game on this rig. Im sure it has something to do with the fact that the processor is not dual core, the RAM is still slow and not the highest end graphics card, but with all those money spent i expect to at least run an outdated game well. PC gaming really is impossible these days. Kinda sad really because i really want to experience next-gen games and i dont think my dad will ever approve me of getting a PS3 or xbox360. I probably could buy one with my gaji from the next few months, but i think i better save. Better not let greed take over. My cousin also promised to lend me his PSP for a while so i have more than enough gaming on my hands. Still, its not next-gen but i'll live with that for a while.

Tassie

Its a bit late now to blog about my trips and i might forgotten some things i wanted to say about the place but ill try my best to recall my goldfish memory. For those who didn't know my parents came over for half a month to attend my graduation while having an extended holiday. We decided to spend a few days in Hobart and a day tour through the Great Ocean Road and as usual, produced a wealth of pictures of the beautiful sceneries.

Hobart

Upon arriving in Hobart the first thing that strikes your mind is how beautiful the island is. Its really a very nice sight and very contrasting to the city life in Melbourne, it was very quiet and full of scenery and there is water everywhere. The first thing the cab driver told us was that Hobart is a city of fishes and if you don't like fish, you're at the wrong place. Thankfully im alright with fish, but we would end up eating fish every single day.....mostly at the same place too. But we didn't mind that much, that had a good enough variety of cooking style to keep things fresh for the few days that we were there; i ate lots of salmon, a blue-eyed trevalla, some prawns and a little lobster. They were very fresh but it was still pricey for a place where there's plenty of fish....roughly the same prize you would get them in Melbourne. I guess we were hanging out at a tourist place and as usual they will milk every penny out of you. It was not like we had a choice though, as the city is dead after 5 (literally).


Ahhh... The harbour....source of our very fresh fish

Apart from the usual scenery, there was a few interesting places that stood out during our trip. First was Mount Wellington, which provided a summit view of Hobart. It was pretty high up (cant remember exactly how much) that there was no greenery around, just rocks! But what made it memorable for us (for better or worse) was actually how windy it was out there! We could barely walk straight or stand still for pictures! Just look for yourselves.



Thankfully we didn't get blown away. I even needed my glasses to protect my eyes!

The Wildlife Park (cant remember the name...) was also quite fun surprisingly considering that ive seen koalas and kangaroos many times in my life. For the first time we really got to interact with the animals and even feed the kangaroos. Plus, we got to see the infamous Tasmanian Devil (disappointed that it doesnt spin though).


The cute little creatures were the star of the day

Next up was Bruny Island, which was both exciting and disappointing. We were supposed to go on a cruise to see the landscape of the prehistoric island and to spot some seals, dolphins and whales. What surprised us was the the cruise was actually on a speed boat! Travelling at 25 knots!!! It was cool alright, but it was freezing cold out there! I got seasick too but not as bad as my mom, she threw up into the ocean. Too bad we didn't get to see much for most of the trip, as the whales and dolphins season were over. What a shame. At least we got a great tour guide on the cruise.... he makes the lamest joke, LOL! (rival to Kafaii)


Left: Very dodgy tour guide Right: The most beautiful scenery ever....my DD

Every Saturday in Hobart they hold this umm Salamanca Market they call it. Basically its a huge pasar malam only that its during the day. Makes sense? They sold all kinds of stuff ranging from handicrafts and souvenirs to toys and....lotsa other stuff. I mainly went for the food though; had some german sausages, scallop pie, corn dogs (first time!) but I also managed to grab a sick wooden rubber band gun. But its really dangerous i accidentally shot deedoo with it (SORRY SORRY SORRY DEAR DEAR!!!!). I also shot Jack, but that was no accident =P


Salamanca!!! Got a nice ring to it

So yeah that kinda wraps up our Tassie trip. Oh and yeah before i forget, they make fantastic fudge over there. Yumm Yumm FATNESS!!!!