iPad 2 - Taking It For A Spin Today

Just want to share some images & initial thoughts about my iPad 2.

The iPad 2 is a pretty awesome gadget for those of us who always feel the need to stay connected.  Web browsing had never been easier, and the interface is very responsive and intuitive.  I can navigate thru a bunch of websites just as quick as I would on a PC.  The iPad 2 is slimmer than the first version, but it is still a pretty hefty device at 1.3 lbs (just 0.2 lighter than the first version).  It gets a little tiring after holding it with one hand for about 15 mins. or so. 

I can totally see myself using this to read thru my daily dose of hobby news & personal stuff.  Being portable, I can manage my blog & store on the go fairly quickly without having to carry my much more heavier laptop around or having to squint my eyes using my smart phone.  But at the end of the day, this device certainly cannot replace a PC when it comes to other tasks that I often perform such as photo editing or keyboard intensive tasks.

I own an Amazon kindle, and uses it frequently to read books & manga.  With the iPad 2, reading manga is a much better experience with the bigger screen size and colors.  However, for books... I am sticking with my Kindle, because the iPad reflective screen sometime cause glare especially under the sun.

There are certainly much more to the iPad 2 then what is mentioned here, but I will definitely need more time to play around with it to experience the full range of services that this device offers.  I look forward to taking this device with me to share my gunpla photos & Gundam videos with others.  For now, my first use today would be to using it to do story telling for my children sunday school class at church. =)

Thank You Ngee Khiong!

After reading the very long & meaningful good-bye post on Ngee Khiong's blog.  I was touched by his humble personality & his genuine love for Gundam & hobbies.  I really appreciates all that Ngee did for us... with just one mouse click we were given concise news and info of the latest & greatest in hobby land.  Ngee certainly did a great service for us all... and I want to thank him for that.  He shall be missed.

But at the same time, I am sure this is not the last we heard of Ngee Khiong.  We look forward to your return in any form.  Looking forward to reading his EX posts.

I am sure there will be plenty of other folks picking up the mantle to bring us consolidated hobby news... so we don't have to despair.  Gunpla on bros!

GG INFINITE - Email Services Are Back Online

Our GG INFINITE email services are back online after an overnight technical service.  We apologize for the inconvenience.

My Short Stay In Tokyo (Aug. 20th-26th, 2010)

So my trip to Tokyo began from Hong Kong.  I actually stayed in Hong Kong for 2 days before I set off for Tokyo.  After 2 days, most of my jetlag were fought off... and I was able to consistenly wake up at 5:00am every day to do some short run at the hotel's gym. 

 I left for HK Intl. Airport early in the morning after I had some breakfast at the hotel; I took the Airport Express railway to the airport.  In my own opinion, Hong Kong really has the latest & greatest transit system that I'd ever traveled on.  I was able to check in to my flight & my luggages at the Hong Kong MTR Station, so I don't have to carry all my luggages all the way to the airport... very cool.

 I flew on Japan Airline to Tokyo.... there were plenty of people who were sick on the plane.  The girl whom sat next to me coughed so much that I was yearning for a mask to wear.  Luckily, I got some Airborne with me, so I took one to boost up my immune system.  I know I know.... there are many whom believe Airborne doesn't work.  But what can I do..... thats all I had.

Once I arrived to Tokyo, Narita Airport, I had to ask around to locate Narita Express to take me to Shinjuku.  And I was able to easily located it and pay for my seat on the railway.   The ride to Shinjuku from Narita took almost an hour.  But I was entertained with the nice view throughout the ride.  And when I arrived to Shinjuku I was pretty tired out.

 

Once I got off at the Shinjuku Station, I was expecting chaos... since that station is suppose to be very busy with lots of people.  But thankfully I was able to locate my exit (New South Exit) pretty easily.  When I exited the station, I got my bearings by looking around at the placement of buildings (Thanks to Google map for providing me with street views so I know the detail directions to my hotel).  And I was able to walk to my hotel is less than 10 mins.

I stayed at the Hotel Sunroute Plaza Shinjuku.  Is a fairly nice hotel...but most importantly, it was near the railway station. =)    And I had a pretty sweet view of the city in my room.

I stayed at Tokyo for 6 days mostly to visit vendors & wholesalers for my hobby business.  Since I didn't know a lot of folks in Japan, I was by myself most of the time, which wasn't a problem for me since I liked the flexibility to do whatever I want at my own pace.

One of the biggest joy during this trip was to visit the 1:1 Gundam Statue @ Shizouka.  I think this was a second time I took the shinkansen (bullet train) in Japan, my first when I was like 7 years old.   That day was truly a special one.

                          

All in all, it was a satisfying trip.  Some highlights of the trip:

- Getting to meet GunGai (Gaijin Gunpla), BusterBeam (Plamo Addiction) & ASM (An American Salaryman in Tokyo), going to visit the 1:1 Gundam at Shizouka together, and having an all you can drink meal afterwards.  The 1:1 Gundam was really a sight to behold....it was truly a gundam fan's dream come true.  All the pictures that I took does not do the actual statue justice at all, you have to go yourself to see the Gundam in it's full glory.  I was able to get my hands on some limited edition merchandise too! =D  Afterwards, we took off to a local restaurant for an All-U-Can-Drink dinner meal....and our conversations which we began from the usual gunpla talks to very extreme next level stuff.  LOL

*** Not sure whether the guys want their face shown on my post, so I will leave everyone blurred. ***

- Had a nice short meet with a penpal from facebook.  Took me to visit a few department stores that carried niche items like stationaries (Anime artist supplies) and other cute little things.  Gave me some ideas about what else I should carry with my online biz.

- Visited Hobby Link Japan @ Sano.  GunGai gave me a tour of HLJ and took me to eat a famous bowl of Sano's ramen.

- Met with a lot of wholesalers @ Taito-Ku, Tokyo

- Visited Akihabara and went to stores like Yodabashi Camera, Asobit City, Craftsmen Kotobukiya store..etc.

But one thing that sucked was the fact that I had to eat most of my meals by myself.  I ate food from convenient stores to better food at restaurants.  I even went all out eating a sushi take-out from the Keio Plaza mall.

Getting around Tokyo wasn't much of an issue for me.  Having a Suica card was very convenient when taking the rail system.  I didn't get lost even once, thanks to the friendly workers at the rail station (they spoke pretty good english). 

It was nice to have my Amazon Kindle with me during this trip, as I was able to check my email on the go via Amazon's FREE wireless network (Whispernet), visit my favorite websites like CNN, facebook..etc., and read newspapers & novels.

I will most likely go visit Japan again next year since I will be there for the Tokyo Toy Show.

Today I visited the Gundam Cafe @ Akihabara

Gundam Guy In Hong Kong...

I've made it to Hong kong...got here @ 4:30am.  I bit tired right now...so gonna kick it at the hotel for awhile before I meet up with some relatives & vendors.

Happy Mother's Day!

Be sure to be kind to your Mom not just on this day..... but everyday.

Flowers for my Mom (and no I didn't make this one)

My Blog Resumes Starting Today!

Hi everyone! Hope to find you all well... Is been months since I have stopped updating my blog due to a family emergency. Basically I had to take care of a family member who was diagnosed with cancer.... and it is going to be a long battle.

Anyhow, things are back on track, and I have time now to share my Gundam hobby with everyone again. So the Thanksgiving / Christmas holiday was not much of a holiday for me...obviously. And I also didn't get any Gundam related Christmas presents (unlike someone...BusterBeam *cough*) But I did acquired for myself some well deserved loots after the holidays.

Here are some goods directly from Hong Kong:
- MG Exia
- HG Kshatriya
- HG Full Armor Gundam 7th Unit
- Modeling Tools (Hagasewa Tri-Tool & Tamiya Polyester Putty)

I had also recently found a great vendor, whom I visited today. The owner was very nice and gave me a little tour of his warehouse, which is stocked with lots of Gundam stuff. You can search for his items on Ebay / Amazon (Search Robot4Less). His pricing is very competitive, so if you are in the U.S., you should really check out his online stores. And I got the following goods from him:
- HG Unicorn Gundam (Unicorn mode)
- HG Unicorn Gundam (Destroy mode)
- HG GM Quel
- 2 bottles of Mr. Hobby - Clear Red (Which is very hard to find locally)
- 6 cans of topcoat products & some Gundam Markers

A Merry Belated Christmas for G.G.

Another expensive item I got for myself this week was a GPU (Graphic Processing Unit), or simply a graphic card for my computer. My old card died on me during the holiday, and it was a pretty good card too (Geforce GTX 8800 Ultra). But now I got something even better, faster, and prettier... the Geforce GTX 295.

The card itself has the weight & size of a brick.

And stands quite tall compare to the MG Hi-Nu Gundam. So now I can Game On!!!

I plan to get back to my long overdue HG 0 Gundam and other kits, hoping to finish one kit by the end of this month. And I will then mainly focus on Unicorn series kits afterwards. So more updates coming soon.

1/1 RX-78 Gundam Project Assembled

The life sized 1/1 RX-78 Gundam project at Odaiba, Tokyo is nearly complete. Is a wonder to behold such a sight. I must say...is looking way better than I had previously thought it would, and the details are amazing. I had hoped that I can be in Tokyo to see the finished project in July, but most likey I will be vacationing in Canada instead.

For those who would be lucky enough to be in Tokyo or would be traveling there this summer. Here are the directions for this attraction:

1.) Take the Yamanote line (Shinagawa, Tokyo, Ueno, Shibuya, and Shinjuku JR stations all are on the Yamanote line) to Shimbashi station.
2.) At JR Shimbashi station, follow signs to the Yurikamome Line. It is in a seperate building.
3.) Purchase a ticket for 310 yen for Daiba station.
4.) When inside Daiba station. Take a left and look out the window. You will see it. Just get ground level and head that direction. I perfer to take the North Exit and the right stair case down. But you can also take the stairs near the statue of liberty and make a left.
5.) The Gundam is in North Shiokaze Park.

Here are some updated images, Enjoy:

Images & Info from Punynari