City clinch title in dramatic finale to season
http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/sports/article/manchester-city-win-english-premier-league-title/

LONDON, May 13 — Manchester City claimed their first English title in 44 years in barely believable circumstances today as stoppage time goals from Edin Dzeko and Sergio Aguero snatched a 3-2 home victory over Queens Park Rangers.

Got this from my colleague. Seems like Manchester United also managed a cup for 2012…

Seems I have a parcel/ package. I wonder who has sent me a parcel/ package. I’ve not ordered anything recently and I’m not expecting anything from anyone.

It was about 7pm. I was curious to know who the sender is. Usually, I would ask to have items delivered to my office. Are ABX Express guys are still working at 7pm? I tried calling but no one picked up the hotline. I guess they are not working at 7pm.

I tried to track the package on their website. Maybe I will know who the sender is… Tried the Domestic Tracking service on the ABX Express website but no luck. I was advised to call the hotline.

So I called the hotline this afternoon. Many times. It seems their hotline is really hot. Either that, or they only have 1 person answering the calls. Out of about 10 times, I was told “All our agents are busy. Please hold”. But the funny thing is… ABX Express actually disconnected my call shortly after that. So much for wanting to hold on.

After many tries… I finally got through. Sadly, the person answering the hotline number was not friendly and polite. Oh well, I guess as long as I get my parcel/ package, that is all that matters.

I gave the HAWB number to the agent. She told me that the number I gave is short by 1 digit. Huh? I repeated the number (see photo above): 791013550. I was told the number is incorrect. According to the agent, my HAWB number is short by 1 digit.

The agent asked when I had received the note. I said yesterday — 7th May (though it seems like it could have been earlier, based on the scribbling on the note). The agent then asked to confirm my name. I spelt out my name to her.

She said there isn’t any delivery for me, based on the system. She asked me to just wait for a call from them…

OK, I’m just glad that I have never used ABX Express. I don’t think I’ll ever want to use them. If I have something important to send, how can I trust such a company. What the heck are they doing?!? Service is lousy. Customer support is non-existent. ABX Express is a joke!

This is ABX Express objectives (as per their website):
To be able to deliver to every address in Malaysia
To be the Best and Biggest Domestic player
To be among the TOP FIVE (5) Express companies in Malaysia

I wish them best of luck… They definitely need it… Unless there are only 5 courier companies operating in Malaysia… Hmmm…

I was disappointed when I was told that they ran out of pearls. I would need to wait about 90 minutes for the new batch of pearls to be ready. *sigh*

Decided to order other drinks instead…

The decor is fairly simple but nice.

They only have drinks. No food. I was hoping the shop would also serve finger food like fries. But I guess they don’t want us hanging around too long. After all, space/ seat is limited.

But all-in-all, drinks are decent. Drinks cost from about rm5.50 onwards (or something like that). Since they just opened, customers ordering large drinks were given a discount voucher (for the next visit). Will I go back again? Definitely… I still want my pearls!!!

We went window shopping today when I saw this interesting poster on the types of knives…

Different knives for different purpose… (click image for actual size)

Interesting…

Photos taken with my Samsung Galaxy Note.

Reference to the material and size?!

Reference to wider screen and faster processor…?!

Standing out from from…

I have to say… It is an interesting video and makes me really curious and want to know more. But alas, I’ve got what I need (and can afford)…

Anyway, this is the video:

Dark Legends is the latest game by Space Time Studios, the developer of 3D MMORPG like Pocket Legends and Star Legends. It is currently only available on Android and Chrome. The iOS version should be released soon (probably in 2-3 weeks time).

In the developer’s own words…

Dark Legends is a free vampire horror adventure and 3D Massively-Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game (MMORPG). In this dark, online world you’ll fight alongside millions of players from around the world in co-op or pvp action.

Graphics-wise, it is similar to what one can find on Pocket Legends and Star Legends. That means its good! I like this intro screen (though its not what you can expect in the game)…

Unlike Pocket Legends and Star Legends, game play in Dark Legends is slightly different. The storyline is linear. But once you have completed the missions, you can go back and replay them…

Also, there is now an ‘energy’ counter. This means your actions will be limited (until the energy bar gets replenished again). There are pros and cons to this. Good is… Every’s progress will be similar, unless one decides to pay for the refill. Bad is… If you have lots of time to spend on this game, then you need to wait. In this aspect, its very different from Pocket Legends and Star Legends where you can play until your phone battery runs out.

Also different from Pocket Legends and Star Legends are the types of ‘missions’ available. Some of these missions don’t actually involve any MMORPG elements. These missions are very similar to those Facebook games where you just click and wait for the results (yes, some missions only get completed after a certain time — I’m just almost midway through this game and the longest I know off is 24 hours wait period). But other missions will require you to go hacking away MMORPG style.

L-R: The click-style mission and the MMORPG-style mission

But I have to say that these changes makes the game fun and makes one gets into the game. I actually appreciate the storyline, something that was sorely lacking when I was playing Pocket Legends and Star Legends. I didn’t know what was going on in Pocket Legends and Star Legends other than go online and whack every enemy you see.

Speaking of ‘whacking’… These are some of the actions you can expect from the game…

As your character grows in the game, you can select the skills to learn. The number of skills available is not as extensive as what you can find in RPG games like Zenonia 4 but it is still good enough, imho.

Dark Legends also provides a PVP (Player-Vs-Player) arena which I have yet to try out — partly from the fact that I know I’m going to get beaten up, so why go?!? Besides that, the Vampire District (a ‘location’ in the game) also offers players the opportunity to interact with other players, go shop for accessories, etc…

Like many games these days, there are two types of currency used in the game. One is the common gold and the other is called platinum. Gold can be earn from missions and can be used to purchase some of the items like weapons as well as customisation such as clothings, etc… However, platinum is the more important currency but you can’t earn platinum from the missions. Platinum can only be purchased OR from doing the ‘offers’ (usually means installing some other apps).

But good news is… Unlike some other games, you can actually play and enjoy this game without the use of platinum. Having platinum just means you have access to more items and can progress in the game faster than others.

So far, I’m enjoying this game. It’s online. It’s hack-and-slash (you know, sometimes we just don’t wanna have to think too much). It’s FREE. It runs well on the Digi data network. It is still fast even on my 512k Streamyx connection. Only complain I have, if any, is that the MMORPG-style missions can be too short when I play in the Multiplayer mode. Every happens too fast for me!

Update 1:
Just sharing some promo codes I found… But it’s been noted that although the weapon names are different, the weapon stats are the same. So, these are just really ‘promo’ weapons and taking up inventory slots.
stsforums20120410
ststwitter20120410
stsfb20120410
pocketgamer20120410
droidgamers20120410
massively20120410
mmorpg20120410
girlgamer20120410
gameruk20120410
148apps20120410

But it’s no carbonated water!

I watched the water and after about a minute or so, it cleared up.

L-R: Bubbly water slowly becoming clear…

Not sure if this isdue to water treatment plant problem that caused water disruption a few days back (and low water pressure this morning).

Safe to drink? I decided to pass… Will only boil water tomorrow morning instead.

Wau is the Malay word for kite.

There was a kite making workshop. But the main attraction was of course, the kites. It was quite a hot day, so we didn’t spend too long there. But it was a… Colourful event!

So last night, when my sister-in-law asked if we were interested to go for a day trip to Genting Highlands, we said YES!

It was a quick trip. We just wanted to try something different and break the routine. Had lunch there, did a quick walk and we were on our way back home.

But I think Gabriel was quite excited during the whole trip. I believe it is actually his first trip out of our normal hang-outs…

This time around, we didn’t try out the rides, etc… Seems the only way into the theme park is to buy the day pass. Not worth going in this time around, we figured.

But we noticed… GENTING HIGHLANDS IS NOT BABY-FRIENDLY!!! Lots of stairs and escalators and almost no elevators anywhere. We had quite a difficult time moving around with a stroller. I guess this place is meant primarily for gamblers (adults).

On the way back, we stopped by the Chin Swee Caves Temple. A lot has changed from what I can recall… Wow… This temple even offer accommodation as well. We plan to drop by again and stay here. It looks nice and peaceful.