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.