Author: Wilfrid

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Game Reviews

Crusader King 3 – Chiefdom of Baol

This originates from a game called Crusader King 3. It was my first play through.

Geer Pateh

The year was 867AD, in the era of tribal, I was the ruler of Baol. Boal is a coastal country in Africa, in today’s west of Senegal. My name was Pateh, Geer Pateh of Baol, in the House of Congin.

Our faith was Roog Sene, which outlines the way of the divine, the path to living a spiritually fulfilling life in honor of one’s ancestors and the creator of the universe, Roog. Our culture was Wolof and we spoke Senegambian.

Geer Pateh of Baol

I was born timid and did not enjoy being challenged, or scared. I enjoyed things in moderation and am also greedy. I possessed a keen sense for all matters relating to stewardship and was an administrative force to be reckoned with. Not a natural leader, but I had to rule. In my younger days, I had taken up the call of the wild and enjoyed hunting. These were the highlights of my legacy.

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Diary

“If you don’t buy the package, I know you won’t be back to see me”

I can count on my 10 fingers the number of people I have been in touch with for over two decades. AY, my senior whom I met in my university days. 33 years. BP, my ex-gf’s elder brother has become my brother-in-law. 29 years. Had I kept in touch with his sister, my ex-gf, that would have been a 32-year relationship. Unfortunately, we don’t keep in touch. The last time I saw her was at a funeral. RC, my ex-manager during my first job. 28 years. Believe it or not, I just met him earlier this month. He found a new job. And he is doing well. As someone older than me, in today’s market condition. I am impressed. Consider the fact that I am still in touch with my ex-wife, due to the joint custody of our dog … 26 years. ML, my partner-in-crime from video gaming to web hosting and all things in between, my ex-bandmates JL and JT, all of whom I still keep in touch with, thereabout 20-ish years.

So, where does my hairstylist SE, or rather, ex-hairstylist as of this moment, stand? 28 years.

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I See I Write

Horrible Experience at Café&Meal MUJI Plaza Singapura

I had one of the most humiliating experiences at MUJI Plaza Singapura, no fault of mine. It was so absurd that it took me a meal’s time – not at MUJI – to internalize.

I enjoy the food menu at MUJI. It strikes a good balance between tasty food and healthy food. The price is more premium. But once in a while, it is OK.

It was during a weekend. Faced with a table shortage during lunch hour, I joined a queue. In front of me was a big group of young people. Further down, there were tourists from Indonesia. The queue was long. And I was queuing alone. Since I had no one to talk to, I looked at my phone most of the time. I recalled the waitress passed by and asked, “Table for how many?” I said two. She quickly moved on. She looked stern, in her late fifties. Highly efficient.

To control the crowd entering the cafe, there was a barrier. It was closed when the cafe was full. And it was open when tables were available.

I was looking at my phone when I sensed the big group before I had entered. I saw the barrier was opened. I presumed that it was my turn. So I entered, looking for a table. But there was none. The cafe was full.

Naturally, I returned to the front of the queue. The barrier was opened. As I rejoined, a woman in her thirties stopped me and accused me of queue jumping. Then out of nowhere, the waitress appeared and testified that she did not see me in the queue! I was speechless. I told my side of the story. The barrier was opened. I thought there was a table available. Hence, I walked in.

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Diary

Highlights of 2023

Over dinner, GZDJ asked about my 2023 highlights. The first thing that came to my mind was snorkeling at Tioman Island. It was something that before this year, I would have never wanted to do. It was too adventurous for my liking. But in the spirit of YOLO, I joined a diving trip with my friends. I didn’t dive, not that adventurous yet. The experience was exhilarating. Floating in the open sea, with eyes on the ocean bed, seeing sea creatures living their lives entirely different from mine. The cold and warm current, the buoyancy. I could float the whole day and not get tired of what I saw. Plenty of small colorful fishes. Then came a few large bumphead fish. Corals, live and dead. Urchins and plenty of other sea creatures that I was not able to name. That trip was the highlight of my 2023.

I had no idea that snorkelling can be that much fun!
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Music Reviews

Roger Water’s Dark Side of the Moon Redux is a Cringfest

Roger Water’s re-recording of Pink Floyd’s 50-year-old classic without any of the Pink Floyd members is very unpleasant to listen through. His long-winded spoken words are a constant distraction. And when he sings, he does so in such a low-key that makes me cringe all the way. The only part that is remotely enjoyable is when Roger Water neither speaks nor sings. The music is okay though I miss the real music from the original setup. Some parts are quite enjoyable, like his bass line. And then he sings, that spoils everything.

Album artwork

I forced myself to listen to the entire album in one setting. Because I am one huge Pink Floyd fan. My verdict: the original classic is so much more epic than this.

Sorry Roger, David is way more talented than you. You probably thought that this “Redux” album would prove otherwise. The truth is, Pink Floyd was fine without you. You are not good without Pink Floyd.

Categories
Observing Life

Yes, Go For 32GB RAM

It is a common struggle. Should I spend more money to get 32GB of RAM or would 16GB suffice? Today, I played Diablo 4 while letting my video editor run in the background. Yes, my laptop utilized more than 16GB of RAM. I suppose, 32GB RAM is … justified?

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Diary

Finally Upgraded to a Meshed Router Network – Asus ZenWiFi AX (XT8)

When I moved into this current home thereabout five years ago, mesh routers were expensive. And I opted to set up my home network with two routers. One was set up as a router and another one as an access point. With dual-band, I ended up with 4 SSID, which was a nightmare to connect. It also made my Sono connectivity kind of wonky as I had to connect all my Sono devices – Playbar, Sub, two SL One, and Roam – onto the same network and kind of defeated the purpose of a router/access point setup. I should have opted for a mesh router network solution when all SSID collapsed into one!

Paired, from the factory.

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For the Geeks My YouTube

Diablo 4 Early Access First Impression – It’s World of Diablo

In this blog post, I would like to share with you my first impression of Diablo 4. And at the backdrop of this video, I have recorded a recent legion event at World Tier 2 difficulty. It took my character a long walk on foot to reach the very southern end of the map. But it was fun nonetheless.

In a nutshell, does Diablo 4 Early Access meet my expectation? I would say yes. Does it worth its price tag? I still think that Diablo 4 is a very expensive game. But it also has a lot more content compared to its previous iteration released 11 years ago. Compare to recent AAA game launches, I would say Diablo 4 is very stable. I have not encountered any bugs or problems logging into the game. 99.99% of the time, the game runs smoothly. Except for some rare stuttering perhaps due to other players joining the area online.

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Game Reviews

Warhammer: Chaosbane – A Review

Surprisingly, in the universe of Warhammer, there aren’t many real-time action isometric or 2.5D role-playing games. There is Inquisitor and there is Chaosbane. To summarize, Chaosbane released in 2019 is a casual aRPG, very accessible to players who are new to this genre, and very easy to pick up. Just that, you shouldn’t expect Chaosbane to be on par with other mainstream aRPG such as Diablo 3. The storytelling is basic. Voice acting has its hits and misses. Maps and enemy types are limited. But what I really like is the multi-stage boss fight that is epic and fair. The combat is fluid. Last, but not the least, you wouldn’t need to invest a lot of time to progress well in this game.

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Diary

When Thunder Rolls at Five

C moved out about a week ago. The exact date was April 21, a Friday. There is no good or bad timing. I had a one-week medical leave and was there almost full-time through the process. During that week, I was counting all the remaining moments with Bailey. Because Bailey would be moving out as well.

A picture of Bailey taken on that Friday late afternoon, home alone, just he and me. He probably didn’t know that I wouldn’t be moving out with him.

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