FINAL FANTASY VII Wallpaper featuring Aerith and Tifa characters. Originally taken on FF Potion series cans with B&W setting. Then a tiny bit of photoshop.

Full resolution at 1920×1200 16:10 widescreen is on my flickr page, get it by clicking the above image. Enjoy.

Howdy guys, I know I have been neglecting on blogging recently but I just got busy with work (still at it..) and will be moving back to my country soon to take a chance on a new career opportunity.

So one last thing that I might get while still in Japan is of course the just released Final Fantasy VII Advent Children Complete + Final Fantasy XIII Trial Version Set (..so long..). I have posted some pictures of what you will get from the set first, review maybe in a day or few.

The back

Full set view, Left: FF VII AC, Right: FF XIII Trial

FF VII AC Inside

FF XIII Trial Inside

FF XIII Trial Manual

FF XIII Trial review soon (^_^). Oh all the pictures aboved are linked to hi-resolution version as usual.

(But.. but I want to see it now!!) If you can’t wait to see it for yourself, hit up on Kotaku post about it. (SPOILER WARNING!)

Ever since I have gotten my new Macbook Pro (Late ‘08/Unibody) I have been constantly worried about dust getting into the keyboard. As the keyboard is built in with the body, any cleaning or malfunction will require disassemble of the entire unit body then unscrewing tens of tiny screws and possibly void your warranty as well. I buy a laptop to be used, not constantly worried about it.

So I went and do what everyone would. Get a thin silicon keyboard protector sheet that will cover the entire keyboard. At that time, there weren’t many to choose from so I grab whatever comes first. I’ve tried from disposable single use thin plastics sheets to silicon cover. But it was not reusable, blurs/block lettering and backlight or gives you mushy feeling when typing.

I then came across on Moshi Clearguard when I was looking to see if anyone is having any problem with unprotected keyboard as I was giving up on the protector. I took the final bet on Moshi Clearguard as it looks like it was design without the issues I have with other keyboard protector.

See what I like about it and not after the jump.

There is one feature that I really like about it;

0.1 mm thin non-toxic engineering-grade thermoplastic urethane.

Crazy name for a plastics huh but it doesn’t have the dust magnet and mushy feeling of silicon, does not melt on high temperature, washable and only interfere a little with typing.

The thinness also allows really high transparency. You really wouldn’t know it was there until you type on it. I didn’t believe in the shots they have it on their website until I seen it myself. See some of the shots I took myself below.

How about the texture? Hm. It still have the plastics feels to it but a high-grade one like ABS but doesn’t interfere a lot with tactile feedback of the keys too much. It is shiny a bit. Oil stain can be seen easily. The non-sticky surface allows you to wipe it using tissues (yes! it wont stick like silicon).

As for the heat issues when using it, I have not seen any difference on my macbook temperature yet but I don’t think it is going to trap a lot of heat. I’m not sure about the air intake from keyboard though, is it true?

Of course nothing is perfect. With the thinness it also comes with a small flaw. When you press on the side of the key near the edge (especially corners) the sheet will lift up and letting some dust enter. It’s not a big deal as the underside is non-sticky so you can just lift it and blow the dust away.

So do I recommend this? Yup.

For me, it was either this or no protector at all.

On the side note to all my friends, family and readers alike. Happy Chinese New Year!

Update: There is some concern about the gap on the function keys, so I posted a photo showing the gap. Been using it for a few weeks, other then that hardly visible gap the protector doesn’t move around. Moshi said that it is like that as it was designed for not only the new unibody MB/MBP but as well for he old MB/MBP, MacBook Air and Apple BT wireless keyboard which had a larger function keys.

Slight gap (1mm) on top of the function keys

After a few months update: Reader RedSteven commented about a cloudy look which is difficult to wash off after a while. I had it on mine as well now and it is still there even after washing it with a bit of dishwasher liquid.

ClearGuard cloudy look after extended use

This seems to only appear on the ClearGuard and keyboard beneath still look brand new.

Keyboard is safe, no stain or anything

It still does it job, so I will keep using it. Just keep in mind about the cloudy look after a while.

I switched to Mac recently due to my dying Windows laptop. Even though the new OS did alienated me for a while I got the hang of it soon after.

There is so many things to tweak on the already appealing desktop. So after hours of tweaking around some tools found on lifehacker and the awesome flickr community I found my desktop.

Behind the scenes:
- GeekTool
- BowTie
- Praedestinatio wallpaper by =taenaron

Configuration and references:
- GeekTool and BowTie config inspired by Dommm.
- Kinkless Desktop GTD by Ethan.

Some notes on Kinkless Desktop, I love it!
I used to have a very messy desktop (as in wallpaper of icons), now I only have 4 folders . I did not use the self deletion of file as suggested and do it myself. Once I see the item number increase in the inbox I tend to go in and clean it. I used this now for my Windows copy as well and so far, no messy desktop yet.

Sorry for the late post again, still busy with work ^^

Anyway, I went to my first Hobby Complex event last week and met up with TokyoHunter, KenLee, Danny Choo and Gordon. They have their coverage of the events too, check it out. Thanks to those also that link back to my blog despite my lack of update lately.

The event was much smaller compare to Wonder Festival, but still it is big enough that I only manage to take half of the booths before I’m tired and went back.

Too bad most of the stuff in the event are resin then pvc models. You really need a lot of time, dedication and skills to pull it off. Here are some videos on YouTube if you are interested. For me I prefer this type of event, as I’m more interested in taking photos. Resin kits are usually more detailed too which are great for macro photography.

The first image above is my favorite resin Gwendolyn (Odin Sphere) from the event, just look at the amount of detail went into it (semi translucent wings, armor, face).

For the rest I have hand pick the best shots I have from my collection. You can view the entire collection on my Flickr account (including some nsfw which need correct level to view). See the rest after the jump …

O_O' Please see this in full detail ... just plain awesome

See you next year and Happy New Year!

Looks like my experimentation with indoors photography works. Get a big ass flashgun, a flash diffuser and pump the flash EV. This gives you enough light to increase the aperture thus increasing the depth-of-field area so all the figure are in focus.

I thought all the photo where ok at best from my DSLR LCD monitor until I went back and see it on my MacBook Pro LCD that is was much better.

Alright, I got to start my final check before I fly back for holiday.

Happy New Year!

Ok… I’m suppose to be in my bed right now. But my nocturnal nature awaken when I saw this photo from TokyoHunter’s Jump Festa post.

So after a few hours of photoshop to try and get the right spot, I present to you Final Fantasy Dissidia poster wallpaper. Sorry for the only creating one resolution, if you want it on your size just leave a comment .

As for the size, 1440×900 is the largest size allowable. I’m pretty nickpick about quality . Unless someone can provide me with bigger picture.

1440 x 900 Widescreen (Fullscreen crop version)

1440 x 900 Widescreen (Letterbox full version)

Finally got back to blogging, well kind of. Lets leave that later

So I attended my first ever Jump Festa this year. I wasn’t really prepare for it and thought it was a small event (few people). Tokyo Hunter told me about the event and I decided to go with him. He has pictures and more information from the event, check it out.

Since I got no exclusive hunting to do, I decided to go there a little bit later hoping to avoid the crowds. But …

Hm.. nope.. I can't see the end of it on the front..

.. and I can't see the tail either..

Luckily that was for the “Original” section, I went to the other one which only took me about 10 minutes to get inside.

So I'm finally in ...

... but what is this!!

Do mind that is only a part of the entire Jump Festa. Just count the heads! er.. pixels.

There are so many Naruto stuff, but I think this is the best

Blue Dragon

Forgot which cosplay this was for..

Death Note cosplay

Other then the usual Weekly Shonen Jump comics stuff, there are also a loads of gaming booths around like Konami and Square Enix. I didn’t got to visit most of booth due to the insane amount of people (so much that I was sweating in winter).

Street Fighter IV booth was the only one I tried in the event. They have like a competition where you will get a SFIV cap by winning consecutive 5 fights against other contestant. I know I’m bad at fighting game with the joystick control, but to lose to a 10 year old kid using guile fighting like I have never seen before? *blush* (at least they did give something “before” the fight).

Cos-players will jump for this

Ok now, I know I have been literally missing online and have not blog for a long while. It’s just the combination of work, games, toys, sleep, and some of laziness on my part. As for 2008, I still have yet to post the Hobby Complex event which I will pretty soon. After that I will be going back to my country for a short 2 weeks holiday.

Sorry for those readers that worried about me (since I haven’t post anything after my trip to Hachijojima, and possibly lying at the bottom of the seabed). I try my best to pickup the last remaining few days of 2008 and Happy Holidays!

The is a public holiday for Japan on Monday. So I decided to go for a 3 day vacation at Hachijojima.

12 Sept – 21:44

Lining up for the ferry – trip is going to take 11 hours to reach.

On the ferry now

That is the Odaiba famous Rainbow Bridge.

Moving away from Tokyo.

Passing under rainbow bridge now

Lots of people!!

Signal is weakening.. Hope there is signal on the island so I can continue to blog.

Awesome view.

Moving around 30 km/h around Tokyo Bay

Midnight moonlight..

13 Sept – 00:42

Me – Blue dot
Hachijojima (八丈島) – Purple pin

13 Sept – 05:00

At Miyagejima now

Sunrise!

Hachijoujima Ahoy!

Our camp site

Sea!

Mini palm trees

Mini cars!

Some engrish

The burger shop

Going to see glow in the dark mushroom tonight

14 Sept – 00:00

Glow in the dark mushroom postpone till tomorrow. We went into a lava tunnel instead, I only went in part of as I didn’t bring my headgear and sneakers.

Some more photos before my iPhone battery is dead.

This is the Part 3 of Chara Hobby 2008 coverage and the final one which will cover those not covered in the previous parts. Most of them are the dolls, cosplayers, random items and the event itself.

This year Chara Hobby was pretty much the same as the last one, but I think it is smaller this time around. Probably because I went on different day/market.

The People

The queue before the event opening (small part)

The front line

The Event, Cosplayers and Babes

AK48 were also there as well

Do they really need 48 idols?

In a world, where mobile phones are alive...

What is this?

You ride it... and erm..

Military Cosplay?

Hm.. what is in the red box?

The Goodies and Others

I wonder if this stuff is still popular

Zaku head charger or something

Old Snake

The Dolls

There are a lot of dolls maker started to get into the figure market by creating dolls based on anime. They look ok (not my cup of tea), but some of them are well price over 50,000 yen (US$500~) for one. I can get a new DSLR or a premium headphone for that price!

All these are from VOLKS ^^

If I can get one for free, then maybe this or...

... this ^^

Clothes for dolls

They even have this? (O_o)

Most of the dolls are very cute, maybe more for female buyers? I still think nendriods do a better job at that.

So, that’s Chara Hobby for you. Even though the event was smaller then Wonder Festival, I managed to get more photos on Chara Hobby. Maybe because I wasn’t shopping around and there is more space to move around.

If you have missed the last 2 parts visit here:

• Chara Hobby 2008 Part I
• Chara Hobby 2008 Part II

Here comes Part 2 of Chara Hobby 2008 event. Time for some mecha photos. Oh and the photo above is the Gunpla maker as you can see. If they can just do a 144/1 scale of it …

I didn’t take some of the Bandai stuff as most of them already appeared in my Gundam Expo 2008 coverage.

I spend more time now to group related photo together, it literally took me hours including the filtering (-_-) and it’s 4am now (*_*). Hope you don’t mind if there is any photo misplaced. I will try to put more information later on.

As usual all the photos are in my flickr account as well.

Bandai

The new Bandai ROBOT Spirit figures.

Kyaaa!

Kotobukiya

Linebarrel

Emi Kizaki from Linebarrel

Vardant

Yamato

Dengeki Hobby

This is just a poster, but still kickass

There are so many Unicorns here

Hobby Japan

Volks

Isn't that the best looking Gurren Lagann?

If not, I don't know what is

From, Kurogane no Linebarrel

One of the most detail action-figure yet I have seen

Pre-ordered it right away...

Final look

Others

Bye Bye..

And about time for me too. The sun is rising.. LOL.
So that is all? – Nope. There is still some left like the dolls, girls and others.