Ride to a Better Year

I'd like to think next year would be a better year despite the odds. Learning the ways of an optimistic Buck. Take a train ride with me and let's make 2016 a positive one!

Dear Deer

Here are two white "deers" popping out of a Christmas tree. Love these but not very pleased because the photo is blurry. Taken with my ancient iPhone 5 because my one month-old iPhone 6S Plus with optical image stabiliser was snatched from me a few weeks ago - before I could complete my one month review. Still, I've got to get over it. There's nothing I can do. The phone was off before I could even activate lost mode. Besides, it's Christmas season!

Counting Down to Christmas

Christmas is just days away so my guess is lots of us are counting down for this great holiday of joy and fun! Coincidentally, I came across this Christmas decor placed against some floor level numberings which is quite representative of this countdown business.

Awaken by the Force, here is my take on Star Wars Episode VII

It felt like years since I’ve watched a movie in a cinema and if there’re any MUST watch movies this year, Star Wars: The Force Awakens has got to be one of them. I could forgo Spectre but I can’t miss this - just because everyone was saying Luke Skywalker will succumb to the Dark Side in this movie. I had one too many times argued against it. Nonetheless, the best way to find out was to watch it! 

The movie started off just like any other Star Wars with the standard opening sequence and the crawl text introducing the episode. You can also expect to have at least one very dusty and hot desert scene. :) 

With such a title, one would most certainly come to realise it was about the rise of the Jedi… heck it was how each trilogy started off anyway. The newbies in the movie did a great job portraying their first steps from trying to escape the past to the discovery of the Force.

The story was something you would come to expect of Star Wars - lots of stuff about the Force, lots of tension between the Republic/Resistance and the remnants of the Empire now known as the First Order, X-Wing vs. Tie Fighter battles (I was hoping 30 years would bring new fighters but I guessed wrong), weapon of mass destruction and the journeys of new (and young) characters. I was glad there was BB-8 - no doubt just as fun to watch as R2-D2. There was even an oversized Gollum-like Snoke that was, coincidentally, played by Andy Serkis.

It was a good move to bring back the veterans, namely Han Solo (oh yes! My favourite actor Harrison Ford may have aged, but he still portrayed Han Solo well), Princess (now General) Leia, Chewbacca, C-3PO, R2-D2 and, of course, Luke Skywalker. This would then certainly mean the continuation of the Skywalker family thread. And this was what the marketing of the movie was leading fans to think of - Luke’s turn to the Dark Side by not having Luke Skywalker in the trailers except for one scene that showed his robotic arm on R2-D2’s head.

And out of 5…

4/5: If you are a Star Wars fan, you would love this and there is no doubt this movie is better written than Episodes I, II and III. 

4/5: Anything with Star Wars, you can expect excellent CGI. One note - BB-8 is real. If you just came out of a cave, you can even purchase BB-8 from somewhere out there.

4/5: If you are an action fan, you will never feel bored in this movie. Action right from the beginning. Blasters blazing, trademark light sabres humming and hissing, classic X-Wings and Tie-Fighters battles and X-Wing trench run-like scenes.

4/5 Overall: Star Wars fans will love this. It’s Star Wars at one of its best though there are plot holes that I can’t quite fill up (but if I talk about it, then it will be spoilers). Maybe these were intentional?

3/5 Overall: Non-Star Wars fans might be puzzled about what was all the hype about and might not appreciate the continuity of the movie from previous trilogies.

Errr… so… did Luke Skywalker follow his father’s footsteps? Did any of the veterans die? That’s for you to find out!

The Story About Pixel and Low Poly

Embed from Getty Images

Can't help thinking that if pixelated games (there's even a movie) are flooding the gaming industry, what would be next? Low polygons? Will it be a repeat of the cycle all over again?

Embed from Getty Images

Ultraviolet Drink

Nothing can substitute my first post of this year's final month than a highly ultraviolet (to the point of being pink) drink with a yellow straw! It's dragon fruit juice! I heard it's full of nutrition! Stay healthy! It's a joyous month!

A photo posted by @ionbuck on Dec 2, 2015 at 7:40am PST

Drive Thru Nanotech

Last of the McDonald's NanoBlock series. A little delayed but here you go:

Tips and Tricks for People with Glasses

Very useful tips from Mashable for people with spectacles, especially this one:

Cyborg Plants

If you think the Terminator days are still far away or even just pure fiction, think again. It's all happening, just that not the way depicted in the movies...

first, the the researchers introduce a synthetic polymer called PEDOT-S into the rose through its stem. The plant sucks up the polymer using the same vascular system (xylem) that transports water. Once inside xylem channels, the polymer self-assembles into an “wire” that conducts electrical signals, while still allowing water and nutrients to move around. By connecting these wires with naturally-occurring electrolytes in the plant’s tissue, the researchers are able to create an electrochemical transistor, as well as a digital logic gate, a basic component of computer systems.

Every story has a beginning...

via Gizmodo.

Sausages on Paper

I was wondering if FiftyThree will ever add 3D Touch sensitivity to Paper's drawing tools and was I glad that they did! The pen, marker and water colour produce wider strokes on a deeper touch. A neat trick for the pencil - light touch gives light strokes while deeper touches produce darker ones. I did the sausages above with the marker: Thinner lines with a typical touch while the sausages were created with a deeper touch - all done without lifting my finger.

I was also glad that they did away with the restrictive two step zoom and replaced it with a continuous mechanism (this feature along with the next one was introduced prior to the recent 3D Touch update).

Paper's "Undo" had gone through a few iterations - from spinning two fingers anti-clockwise to just tapping the undo button to the current (which I think is its best yet!) tapping with two fingers. Continuous tapping will further undo more steps.

Paper is still by far my favourite sketching app (despite my poor skills). However, one big complain from me would be the sync capability between devices. At this current advanced stage of cloud storage I don't see why the Paper in my iPhone can't sync with the Paper in my iPad.

On my wish list would be giving non-Pencil (FiftyThree's own stylus is called Pencil - not to be confused with Apple's version) users blending capability and the ability to zoom in further won't hurt at all. Besides that how about the capability to choose canvas size?

My 5 Seconds with the iPad Pro

My moment with the iPad Pro was really brief but it left quite an impression. It was huge but it was light, almost like a toy. The screen was like anything Apple - great. Unfortunately, the price also had Apple's DNA built-in: Premium.

A Glimpse of the Future

From awesome free and unlimited cloud storage to the presence of the internet of things in everything, to printing everything with 3D printers and the imminent rise of blockchain tech, to the return of the shrinking mobile phone as implants and more that I couldn't begin to comprehend, the future can be exciting... and scary.

Based on what I've seen on CSI: Cyber, it will also be easier for dark forces to rule the future.

via The Business Insider.

Travel Photography and the Reality We Don't Quite See

All those lovely photos of tourist locations we browse through everyday online (in the case of this article it's Instagram) have a not so pleasant side to them. Those with billions of views have something real cropped out or intentionally framed out. What we don't see are the long queues, the overcrowded landscapes, etc. A disappointing reality indeed.

via The Telegraph.

The Two Towers

Last week's McDonald's nanoblocks featured McCafe and Cold Cup, both of which reminded me of ancient defense towers.

Another Day, Another 4" iOS 9 Device Rumour

View image | gettyimages.com

We've heard it before - a 4" version of the latest iPhone way back when the iPhone 6 was THE phone. Now, we're hearing it again - a 4" version of the 6s (without 3D Touch) and it will come as an upgraded iPhone 5s. Maybe this time it WILL happen because the prediction is coming from Ming-Chi Kuo, analyst with a high success rate of Apple predictions. Or maybe because of the appreciating US dollar which is turning even contracted iPhones in Malaysia to cost more than a Dell laptop.

I wonder if the smaller phone will go the way of the 5c because people are already used to the larger 4.7" but it's hard to say, especially when it comes in a cheaper package during these difficult economic times.

While we're at it, why not rumour about the 7, too? A10 processor with a bigger differentiating factor between the 7 and 7 Plus by RAM - 2GB and 3GB, respectively.

via MacRumors.

The Case of the Chromed Android

View image | gettyimages.com

The talk of the Android world recently was all about Google working towards a unified OS by combining Chrome OS and Android. Sounds really like a good thing. And then, Google mentioned they will still be developing Chrome OS for awhile more. Confusing.

But what really made me cringe was all these reminded me of the fate of Google's many apps, particularly Google Reader. Nothing is permanent, that I know but will certainly leave a bad taste. I hope the integration will be done well, especially for the sake of Chrome OS users.

James Bond Snubs "Smartphones"

The James Bond gang had turned down smartphone product placement offers in the tens of millions because those phones were just not good enough for his latest outing. Pity, I'd love to see Bond use a lovely rose gold fruit branded phone but there was no mention that the fruit company approached him. :(

via Cult of Android.

A Halloween of Photo and Sketches

Happy Halloween, folks! I don't know what got into me. I'm not one to celebrate this scary night but I've got more than a treat for you. I've got a photo and two sketches! Have a great trick or treat but stay safe!

Turquoise Smurf

When was the last time I shared something Smurf? I couldn't remember but can't help but to share this. Angry turquoise Smurf that I came across via flickr blog's "Catchy Colours: The Turquoise Selection":

Ground Break

A discussion today that somehow led to a site ground break prompted this sketch 😁:

Starship in a Flurry

The McDonald's Nanoblock of Food Icons continue with a McFlurry:

And an Apple Pie:

Looking at them close-up and at different angles, they could be anything, especially the apple pie which could have been a very blocky starship.

Previously, there were the French Fries and Big Mac.

My 2 Minutes with the iPhones 6S and 6S Plus

View image | gettyimages.com

What can one do when one craves for a iPhone 6S but holding back because of the high price courtesy of weakening Ringgit and introduction of GST? Well, one would visit a reseller and at least hold the phones for a few moments!

Besides holding and admiring the rose gold 6S and silver 6S Plus, the other thing I did was to test out 3D Touch. The expected Haptic feedback was really solid. A little of peek and pop here and there. The next thing I tried was to switch between apps using 3D Touch by pressing deeper on the left of the screen. First time didn't work but the second time it happened. Not 100% intuitive, then, but good enough to spawn rumours that the home button is on its way out.

I had to hit myself when I realised that I've forgotten to test out how deep pressing would turn the software keyboard into a trackpad (similar to touching the keyboard on the iPad with two fingers). Unfortunately, I was already miles away from the store. Another time, then.

Concluding: While I was all excited over how Apple introduced 3D Touch during the keynote, I left the store feeling both Apple and developers have yet to squeeze out the technology’s full potential. There are still some ways from "cool to have" to a "must have". But don’t get me wrong. If I have got the money, I’d get one and being masculine and all, I’d get the rose gold one. :P

Leaves of a Palm

A couple of days ago, while roaming around at a site, I came across some palms so I took a photo. Only just now I revisited it with Instagram and did some rotation, cropped and applied the Skyline filter. My first intention was to have a straight up vertical photo of the leaves but I did something like that in B&W with some other leaf recently so, yeah, I thought this would look nice, too.

Toxic Sungai Muar

Another river in Malaysia getting polluted beyond hope if nothing is done to stop the source of pollution:

Muar Fishermen Association chairman Zainal Abdul Jalil said this was because rapid development of industries, including factories which dumped chemical wastes and affluent into the river had threatened the survival of various species of fish.

I'm surprised that the news piece did not mention the need for action to be taken against the source of pollution.
via The Sun Daily.

Half a Mac, Nano-fied Fries and Nanoblock-ed Kitties

Here are two of the McDonald's Nanoblock series of Food Icons currently available for collection (each is RM6 with any purchase). The last I heard, these icons were sold out at a lot of places. Good luck finding one if you have not already done so.

Almost two years ago, I've also managed to snap a photo of a few Nanoblocks Hello Kitties while walking around a local shopping mall. Here it is again:

Nature Rules Along the Road in Style

In my quest (hahaha, sounds like a great mission) to be more human, along the way I discovered nature never stops to balance itself in this planet, despite humanity's destructive behaviour. Given time, nature will win. 

Previously on a similar topic here.

Shadows and Pie

I can't explain what got into me but today, I tried to venture beyond my usual sketches - I tried putting shadows into a pie. As you can see, I've got big problems with applying shadows. Really need to go back to classes! :X

Well, I can always say that in this world, shadows don't appear as they are but that could be quite lame. :D

Stuck in a Jam

Traffic was really bad today on my way home from work. I was not pleased to be in this condition considering toll hikes are on the horizon. To relief the displeasure, I had this done:

What do you get when you keep forgetting to take your pineapple home?

A very ripe pineapple. My colleague left his pineapple in the office over the weekend and didn't turn up to claim it today. The normally greenish skin is turning yellow and gold. It's got to be very sweet now!

A photo posted by @ionbuck on Oct 12, 2015 at 8:36am PDT

Early end for this papaya leaf.

This papaya leaf was probably grind into its current state by some vehicle tyres but it did look kind of artistic so there you go if you were guessing why I took the photo. The papaya leaf had gained some traction lately in Malaysia ever since the dengue outbreak and an official recommendation from the Health Ministry.

A photo posted by @ionbuck on Oct 10, 2015 at 8:59am PDT

Zite Integrates into Flipboard and I discover a Dude Who Spent 18 Hours in a Starbucks

I love Zite because it learns to show me the news that I like to read. I also like Flipboard because it's presents news in a nice layout. I had wondered when will Flioboard do the inevitable after it acquired Zite - 2 become 1. Well, I'm sorry to say I found out about it only today because I've not used Zite for a long time. I could hardly finish my Feedly "Must Read" news!

I might have been too lazy to post this but the newly formed Flipboard-Zite relationship actually thought I would like to know a Huffington Post dude's experience when he decided to spend his 18 hours in a Starbucks, from open till close. Well, Flipboard-Zite was right. I did read the whole thing and now you could, too, if you decide to click here.

Swamped with Work

It's been crazy lately. Being swamped Swarming with work inspired this sketch today:

中秋節快樂!

Happy Mid-Autumn Festival (and that's what the translation say in the subject)! Took this photo at Jaya Shopping Centre - The Heart and Soul of PJ. I suppose it was the heart and soul of Petaling Jaya once before but after a few visits since its launch, I'm quite worried that it might not last because it's always (too) peaceful there.

There are just too many shopping complexes these days and there might not be anything that makes Jaya special. Thankfully there's TGV cinemas there and I'm glad the place still looks clean and nice. I really want the place to succeed because, after all, it brings back much memories (all good ones, I'm happy to say) before the original complex was demolished and finally rebuilt to what it is today.

A photo posted by @ionbuck on Sep 27, 2015 at 7:45am PDT

Call it corn or maize as you wish but do you know if it's a veggie or a fruit? Hah!

Whatever you choose to call it, corn is never my favourite but what interest me today was is it a fruit or a vegetable? The first search result from old faithful Google came up with that it's actually both a vegetable and a fruit and can be categorised in the grain category, even:

Corn seed is actually a vegetable, a grain, and a fruit. Corn seed is a vegetable because it is harvested for eating. (Usually sweet corn when grain is harvested at the milk stage.) Corn seed is a grain because it is a dry seed of a grass species. (Usually field corn when harvested after the grain is relatively dry.) Corn seed is a fruit because that is the botanical definition. More details follow. Corn (Zea mays) is sometimes called a vegetable grain. Corn is a monocotyledon with only one seed leaf like grasses. The easily identified "grains" (or cereal plants/grasses) such as wheat, oats, and barley are also monocots. A grain is defined as the harvested dry seeds or fruit of a cereal grass, or the term can refer to the cereal grasses collectively. Field corn that is harvested when the seeds are dry would thus be considered a grain. Sweet corn when harvested before maturity is usually considered a vegetable. It is grown to be eaten fresh as a tender vegetable rather than as a dried grain suitable for grinding into flour or meal. A vegetable is defined as a plant cultivated for an edible part or parts such as roots, stems, leaves, flowers, or seeds/fruit. If you want to be very precise, all cereal grains could be called vegetables, but by convention we separate the cereal grains from the rest of the "vegetables" such as peas, lettuce, potatoes, cabbage, etc.

Malaysia's 99 Speedmarts Have a Origin Story Worth Telling

Wheelchair-bound, can't speak English and only six years of education but Lee Thiam Wah owns 175 of mini mart 99 Speedmart to prove that he can and will overcome those obstacles. Forbes offer a glimpse of his life story.

Firm and Bouncy

Some friends and I were talking about butts and I've came out with a quick stick man sketch intending to show a dude with a firm and bouncy butt doing the flying kick just like Van Damme in those 90s movies. Alas, my not up to standard skills instead came out with a dude with oversized balls, it seemed. XD

Who Killed the Cupcake?

Who? A Croissant Squad Investigator is on the case. He detected some traces of chocolate flour. He will send some samples back to the lab for DNA analysis.

To be continued...

Shivers, Batman - First Impressions of Paper by 53 for iPhone

Was shivering from fever and guess what came to mind? Drew this with the newly released iPhone version of Paper by 53. Don't laugh! It's a big deal for me to be able to draw a Batman lookalike!

I was thrilled when I heard a iPhone version was on the way because up until now I've still not found the ideal drawing app for the small screen. If anyone can, I guess 53 could. They did a great job with the iPad version.

First impressions were it is still difficult to draw on the small screen. Probably that's why iPhone 6 Plus exists. The worse part was the iPhone version does not sync with the iPad app. That was kind of disappointing. However, all the drawing tools were the same and I like the undo better than the iPad one where you need to go in circles with two fingers. And now it's possible to take photos or import one in to doodle on.

What I didn't like the most was the zoom. There was just one level of zoom. If you wonder how it works with the Pencil, well, I don't know. I don't got no money to own one yet. :(

Note: The halftone dots were done using the Halftone app.

Another Abstract Attempt

No matter what I can't seem to get the abstract thing right. This looked more like an old photo than anything, huh?

A photo posted by @ionbuck on Sep 8, 2015 at 8:59am PDT

Just how many "species" of cupcakes are there on Earth?

I think the cupcakes boom had only just begun! And check this out. It's officially Instagram without the square format.

A photo posted by @ionbuck on Sep 6, 2015 at 5:07am PDT

Return of the Oreos

Before I started sharing my Instagram photos here (before I discovered Instagram has an embedding feature, that is :P), a "Mr. Oreo" once made an appearance:

A photo posted by @ionbuck on Apr 11, 2012 at 7:06am PDT

Now, he's back... and with a vengeance! This is what sequels are about. Return with more of the same! :D

A photo posted by @ionbuck on Sep 4, 2015 at 8:47pm PDT

Balloon Weightlifting

Inspired by today's event, I'd say if you leave it to kids, weightlifting balloons will become an official sport. A game changer in the Olympics even.

Drawn with the iPad app Paper. I'm glad that such an app exists. Otherwise, I wouldn't be able to share my thoughts graphically through my limited drawing skills. I'm fascinated that the previously iPad only app will be coming to the iPhone soon. It would be interesting to see if the developers could make the app work as well as it did on the iPad.

Rust in the Sky

Even the sky can get rusty sometimes. Taken while traveling on the highway.

Siri vs Google - The Jicama Wars

I interrupt your daily reverie to report that today, when I asked “Siri, define jicama”, Siri searched the web for "G" instead. After some light cursing, I launched the Google app for iOS and asked to “define jicama”. The correct results came flooding in.

It means:

ji·ca·ma

hikəmə,ˈhē-/

noun
the crisp, white-fleshed, edible tuber of a Central American climbing plant of the pea family ( Pachyrhizus erosus, family Leguminosae ), cultivated since pre-Columbian times and used especially in Mexican cooking.

Let the truth be told, Siri lost not because it didn’t know what jicama was but because I’d pronounced it wrong in the first place. It’s “hic-ca-ma” and not “g-ca-ma”. Google won because it actually knew that “g-ca-ma” was the wrong pronunciation of jicama and yet gave me the right results.

Well, there has to be a reason why Google is where it is today, right? :)

View image | gettyimages.com

Nature Balances Itself

I believe that nature will always try to balance out life on earth and I've got two evidence that I found at the same area on the same day. One is vegetation will grow on gutters... well, that's most probably when it was clogged up. Second one is vegetation growing out of a man made structure.

Nature rules!

A photo posted by @ionbuck on Aug 18, 2015 at 6:22am PDT

Can you feel the power?

Can you feel it? Transmission towers are by no means any construction marvels by today's standards but I bet without it, there won't even be this post or the photo below.

A photo posted by @ionbuck on Aug 14, 2015 at 10:21pm PDT

Nation First

In the midst of all the crazy, logic defying things happening in Malaysia, it's refreshing to hear something that is rational.

"Malaysia must come first before anything else. The interest of the country must be above everything else." - Lim Kit Siang, opposition. 

"What is the use of being favourable to the opposition but not to Malaysia? If the economy is not favourable to Malaysia, I don't think it helps anyone." - Lim Guan Eng, opposition.

via The Malaysian Insider.

Under the Highway

Found abstract under a flyover... a very huge flyover, judging by the amount of support there.

A photo posted by @ionbuck on Aug 8, 2015 at 8:03am PDT

Vertical videos are BAD for you!

I wouldn’t AND couldn’t deny that I hate vertical videos, i.e. videos taken by people that hold their intelligent phones in portrait mode. I tried to tell my family not to take videos that way. I tried to tell my close friends not to take videos that way.

Alas, somehow it just happens. Don’t tell anyone but I’ve accidentally done it a few times, too. I was just holding the phone in portrait mode and without thinking, opened up the camera app, switched to video and just... just... did it. I only realised when I replayed the video much later. Shameful, but I think it happens to most of us. Not many would intentionally want to do that.

Why I hate this kind of videos? Because if I play them on the computer screen or on a TV, I see very little of the video which will be in the middle and the rest are just plain wasted space. Yucks!

I would feel very sick and uneasy if these videos become generally accepted. Please don’t make me puke! Pleeeeeeeaaaaaaaaase!

To be clear, I don’t have any problems with vertical photos though in certain instances horizontal might look nicer.

Half of the Very Big Window

And here's the Instagram version of yesterday's very big window:

A photo posted by @ionbuck on Aug 5, 2015 at 7:10am PDT

A Very Big Window

This is a very big window just outside the lobby at Berjaya Hills and it's so big that it caught my attention.

Nose Hair, Fart Kung Fu and Slug Battles

I thought I've lost my mind when I was watching through Disney XD's snippets of two of its anime - Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo and Slugterra. The former has its characters fight with nose hair and farts while the latter is a fight between good and evil... with some bad ass mighty serious slugs.

View image | gettyimages.com

I was totally lost for words.

Humpty Dumpty

Today's events in the country reminded me of a childhood nursery rhyme - Humpty Dumpty.

Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall,
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall.
All the king's horses and all the king's men
Couldn't put Humpty together again.  

View image | gettyimages.com

 

A Villa in Days

Here's how to build a double storey villa. Prefabricate modular pieces off-site using 3D printing and then assemble at site in less than 3 hours. All done in 10 days vs. half a year while being able to withstand a magnitude 9 earthquake. Fireproof. Environmental friendly. That's technology. That's a progressive China.

via Inhabitat.

A Coconut Tree in Sunway Pyramid

I really like this coconut tree. Despite being fake, the trunk really attracted my attention. Part of Sunway Pyramid's Hari Raya decor, this "coconut tree" appeared to be reaching for the "orange sun". The original photo only captured the tree as a silhouette but using Pixelmator for iOS, I've lightened the trunk and cropped the image in 16:9 aspect ratio.

Spectre Will Return

If you're a James Bond fan (especially the Sean Connery - George Lazenby - Roger Moore era), you would know that SPECTRE is a prominent criminal organisation in the film franchise. It's unsurprising that the people behind the Daniel Craig reboot would bring the organisation back, much more updated, no doubt.

Official press release and latest trailer:

A cryptic message from Bond’s past sends him on a trail to uncover a sinister organisation. While M battles political forces to keep the secret service alive, Bond peels back the layers of deceit to reveal the terrible truth behind SPECTRE.

The trailer has all the Bond elements and implies an unusual connection between James Bond and the villain. Can't wait.

Golden Ketupat

I've been meaning to post these golden ketupat in conjunction with Hari Raya but I've only managed to get to it now. A belated Selamat Hari Raya to all the folks out there that celebrate the festival and to those who don't, I hope you had a great rest.

Treated differently with both the flickr and Instagram versions. Both cropped and enhanced using their respective mobile apps on iOS.

A photo posted by @ionbuck on Jul 22, 2015 at 6:37am PDT

Radiation Drink II

The radiation drink returns! This time in the form of chilled cucumber with a sour plum inside. Together with some light streaming in from the back, voila! Recipe for a glowing green drink that's full of "radiation" goodness.

Return of the glowing green drink.

A photo posted by @ionbuck on Jul 18, 2015 at 11:19pm PDT

Batman v Superman Comic-Con Trailer

I've been meaning to post this a few days ago since it came online but time wouldn't allow it. Finally, here it is for those few people who do visit this site, and who still have not watched it. It's definitely much more than the teaser (pretty oxymoron if you search the meaning of "teaser") a few months back:

What could be the cause of this versus between two of DC's greatest superheroes? Why is Wonder Woman in the picture? And what is the all new Lex Luthor's plot? I dare not speculate.

I would share with you X-Men: Apocalypse and Deadpool teasers, too, but there's no official ones on YouTube that I can find. Bummer.

It's a Leaf

Didn't know this big leaf texture can look so interesting when cropped in the 16:9 ratio. Converting to B&W using the "pigeon" filter together with the "magic wand" in the flickr app made it look even better.

Transformers: Devastation Brings Back the Gen 1 Guys

It's amazing that someone out there actually do know there are people that love the first generation Transformers after Michael Bay's "devastation" of the series with his own version. Hence, the upcoming game Transformers: Devastation by Platinum Games and publisher Activision. The short story from its official website:

Optimus Prime and the Autobots face off against classic Decepticons when Megatron discovers a way to harness the enormous power of Plasma Energy to Cyberform Earth. Fueled by the Plasma Energy, the Decepticons are stronger and more powerful than ever. Can the Autobots stop them?

Based on the trailer, it's a hack and slash kinda thing in 3D with cell shading. I'm not into this genre but would love to play the original Transformers. Unfortunately, it's only available on Windows, XBox and Playstation platforms. None of my current Mac nor iOS platforms are included in the launch. I doubt there will be a Mac but one can hope a mobile port to iOS (and if there's iOS, most likely there will be Android) in the future, no? I'm quite sure the current generation of hardware can cater to those graphics. Well, I'll just watch the trailer again and again while waiting for an eternity.

The game will be released to those lucky people on 9 October 2015.

Durian... Wine!

View image | gettyimages.com

My colleagues are going crazy over durian all of a sudden and there's a special Whatsapp chat group all about organising an event (yeah, totally agree that Whatsapp should be used for this and not for work!). For no apparent reason, I went to search for fermented durian and came across a Time article about a university in Singapore having created durian wine years back.

Just in time for this year’s durian season, a research group at the National University of Singapore’s Food Science and Technology Programme has announced that it has cultivated a clear durian wine with 6% alcohol.

And even, papaya wine.

Those not brave enough to stomach durian wine might consider papaya wine, which the team has also been cultivating over the past five years and expects to be more widely accepted.

Volkswagen Has A "Bug"

Who wouldn't love a Volkswagen Beetle, especially when it's yellow and it's a special "Bug" Edition?! Posted both on my Instagram and flickr, they were the same car back and front but with filters and edits unique to the apps.

A photo posted by @ionbuck on Jul 4, 2015 at 2:23am PDT

Hung Up On Mac App Store Updates

View image | gettyimages.com

Since yesterday, I had some problems updating to OS X Yosemite 10.10.4. Once after launching the Mac App Store and selecting the Updates tab, the pinwheel will kick in and spin forever and ever with the 10.10.4 and GarageBand updates hanging there longingly to be installed into my Mac Mini.

Many restarts proved unsuccessful. The same scenario will appear. I also noticed that my Mac Mini actually became quite warm. Very uncharacteristic from its usual cool self. After a few searches, I finally came to a solution from CNET that worked. There are a few steps and here they are. Hope it works for you. For a more comprehensive explanation, visit the CNet link.

Disclaimer: Remember to backup all your data before proceeding! Don't hold me responsible for anything bad that may happen!

1. Look for the Macintosh HD/Library/Updates folder and delete everything in it.

2. Open Terminal, type and run this command: open $TMPDIR../C 

When the window with all the cache files opens, search for folders beginning with com.apple.appstore and send them to the trash.

3. Repeat #2 but this time open the Temporary Files folder: open $TMPDIR../T

4. Launch Disk Utility and Repair Permissions for the Macintosh HD root drive.

5. To be on the safe side, I restarted the Mac and software updates functioned as normal. My Mac is also cool again.

Phew! I was worried I needed to resort to reinstalling the whole OS... something I've done a few times while using Windows.

LGBT Pride Colours

View image | gettyimages.com

As I noticed more and more people/publishers/etc. replace their social media profile photos with supposedly lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) pride colours to join in the celebration of legalised same sex marriage in the US, I wonder if some of them knew what the colours meant and if they got the correct representation because for one, I didn't until I did a search today.

The ever awesome Wikipedia had the answer, so check it out here to get it right. The original pride flag actually had 8 colours as below while subsequent versions became 7 and eventually 6:

hot pink: sexuality

red: life

orange: healing

yellow: sunlight

green: nature

turquoise: magic/art

indigo/blue: serenity/harmony

violet: spirit

While we are at it, did you know there are other symbols that represent LGBT? Once again, Wikipedia had the info. Did you also know how the word 'gay' eventually mean homosexual? Today I Found Out had this covered.

Polaroid Cube/Cube+

View image | gettyimages.com

I got all excited when I first heard of the Polaroid Cube and subsequently, the follow-up Cube+. It's small, it's US$100 (US$150 for the Cube+), it takes videos and photos, it's small, lightweight, shockproof and weatherproof. The Cube+ even makes up for the original's shortfall, that is it comes with Wifi and accompanying app for iOS and Android that allows the smartphones to be the viewfinder (the Cube/Cube+ do not have any means of a display). Sounds like it's got everything that a guy that's interested in photography and some video should get one to play with.

Unfortunately, after reading the reviews here and here, and after my mind started to cool off, I can't find any reasons for me to consider one. Video quality not too good, no stabiliser, and photo quality can be better. Sadly and most importantly, no spare cash. No doubt that if I have loads of cash, I would surely acquire one to just go around snapping photos at random. Would be interesting to see what the results could be at the end of the day when I plug it in.

Well, this toy is just not for me... yet.

Blue X

Part of a very blue grill. A very, very blue metal grill.

A photo posted by @ionbuck on Jun 27, 2015 at 6:56am PDT

Hot Chocolate Art - The Milky Way

It's amazing how latte art actually spread to soup and hot chocolate. I was quite sure I saw our very own Milky Way Galaxy in there.

A photo posted by @ionbuck on Jun 26, 2015 at 7:09am PDT

Radiation Drink

Here you go. A bottle of glowing green liquid.

A photo posted by @ionbuck on Jun 22, 2015 at 6:26am PDT