Ryanair

I know it is pointless writing about Ryanair here as their management has made it pretty clear that they hate us lunatic bloggers. Still I thought I should. Having never flew on Ryanair before, I can honestly say I am glad I never did. More hassle (and hidden costs) than its worth.

Dollhouse

It is still early days for Joss Whedon's new series. But so far I do not have much hope for it. Like Firefly I expect its days are already numbered, but whilst I loved Firefly almost immediately; I can't say the same about Dollhouse, which first two aired episodes haven't exactly courted much positive opinions.



The primary reason for my dislike so far is the lack of genuine characters. I have trouble caring for Echo (Elisha Dushku), the main character whose memory is wiped clean at the end of every episode; nor do I feel any sort of connection between her and her handler - the only person who is supposed to have that connection. The script is also too serious for its own sake - there are no witty dialogue apart from forced conversations filled with cliché. I also dislike the formulaic and episodic standalone nature of the series so far. Editing could also be better as scenes seems to be put together rather haphazardly.

I do believe it has potential and for now I will continue watching because I still have some faith in Whedon delivering the goods. Regardless, this shows needs more Romo, Helo and good writers; and less Elisha Dushku. Oh, and cast Summer Glau stat!

LittleBigPlanet, MotorStorm: Arctic Edge coming to PSP

My PSP has been gathering dust for some time (although much less than my DS Lite and Wii). Anyway news that versions of LittleBigPlanet and MotorSotorm will finally make its way to Sony's first portable console is a huge positive development. I love LittleBigPlanet and arcade racing games in general, and as I am the type of guy who actually prefer to play games in bed, I am really looking forward to these two titles. Assassin's Creed will also be making its way to the console. Judging by their DS effort, I can't honestly say I am looking forward to this.

Finally and more importantly, Atlus has also confirmed that the first Persona game will be ported to the PSP. The port will feature an updated interface, new music, cutscenes and a new localisation effort (hopefully with the original Japanese character art intact).

With these new announcements, Patapon 2, Disgaea 2, Prinny and Dissidia, perhaps it is time to get excited about the PSP again.

Battlestar Galactica: Deadlock

As expected the final five Cylons finally reunites, and just as we were starting to warm up to Ellen, she goes all sluttish on us again. Still at least we have Boomer back! Oh, I can't wait for a Boomer/Athena showdown, though I do not mind her getting back with Galen. Speaking of Galen, I found him to be out of character in Deadlock when he voted with Tory that the Cylons should abandon the fleet.

Overall a pretty weak episode, in my opinion. For example Adama arming Baltar's cult seems to be a rather foolish act by the Admiral. Hopefully this is merely a set up for a grand final episodes.

Canon G9 impressions

I am still getting to grips with the Canon G9. Coming from the Casio, I am not really impressed by the Canon UI, but I am getting there. It isn't easy to unlearn four years of UI bias. There are a tons of options available at my disposal and so far I guess I've only took advantage of 10% of them. It will be some time before I come close to taking full advantage of the G9.

At 370g, this is one heavy camera which built quality rivals that of a digital SLR body. It is very well built and feels solid. The screen is lovely and despite using the second lowest brightness setting, it was viewable outdoors in the sun. Buttons are appropriately placed. The shutter release is placed on the top of a zoom rocker (similar to the one my P600) and gives good tactile feedback. The G9 features a 35-210mm (35mm equivalent) lens (6x optical zoom).

The battery life seems to be pretty good. I took 379 pictures at the highest resolution/quality before the camera shuts down, and that includes some flash photography and fiddling around with the settings, deleting pictures and stuff.

Some pictures:








Wide angle (35mm equivalent):



Telephoto (120mm equivalent):



Macro shots:

Canon G9

The Canon G9 may be old news, but it is still an impressive digital compact camera. So impressive that I've decided to replace my trusty but ageing Casio P600 (which I have been using since 2005), with it, even despite the new Canon G10. Still, with £200 separating the two models I can't justify myself to get the latest and greatest compact when I can easily get a new well regarded entry level digital SLR for less.

Battlestar Galactica: No Exit

So it has finally come to this. For four years we have waited and finally today the history of Cylon skinjobs was revealed in this episode. The revelation that the final five, who originally hailed from Earth, were creators of the Cylon skinjobs is pretty plausible even if it is pretty obvious that the writers are sort of making them up as they go along...

The relationship between Ellen, the brain behind the technology, and Brother Cavil (whom she refers as John) is particularly intriguing. The episode features some memorable scenes such as when Cavil in his best Agent Smith of The Matrix persona attempts to justify his hatred and vengence against the human race, hating his organic and limited humanoid ability in contrast to his other Cylon ancestors (the Centurions).

It would be interesting to see where Battlestar Galactica heads next. The fact that the ship itself will be repaired using Cylon basestar biological material itself will no doubt be used as a plot device within the final five episodes. I also can't wait to see Adama's reaction when he finally comes face to face with Boomer.

Then there is the revelation that there is yet another boxed 13th Cylon model (number seven) dubbed as 'Daniel', whom many has speculated to be either Starbuck or Baltar. I have my theories which you can read on my Twitter feed.

Epic God of War III trailer

The new God of War III trailer has been released today. Apparently the video was rendered in-game, meaning in real time. The whole scene took place on a Titan's back (probably Gaia) while it scales upwards towards Olympus! It's like Shadow of the Colossus on steroids. You can download the 1080p trailer here.