2017 Division

So here’s another quick runthrough for the month because I didn’t note as much as I wanted to (as I usually don’t).

PC Repairs and Non-repairs

There were Windows 10 problems with one PC at the office but I didn’t have the time to bother finding out why that happened and finding a solution other than formatting. Oh well. And so much for Windows 10 upgrades, the loophole closes today but I don’t seem to have any Windows 7 or 8.1 machines left to upgrade.

On more successful repairs, after the kinda good experience I had with repairs on mhae’s and papa’s netbooks (lcd and cmos battery replacement respectiveley) at metropoint, mhae and I brought gen’s old samsung laptop for a battery replacement. Alas, they easily found a replacement and it came quite cheap.

I also got to install Office 365 on my home pc but had to deactivate the intall on the downstairs pc as I can only install in 2 computers (the other one is the asus laptop). Looks like the 5-pc limit needs more than one individual microsoft account or I still actually have 365 personal in my account and not 365 home. I’m actually enjoying Office 2016 on this desktop.

As for the ASUS laptop, I still have yet to solve the WHEA logger errors.

Star Wars

Got to see Episode VIII and it was fun. Apparently, it’s another divisive film. Interestingly, just like last month’s Justice league, rotten tomatoes shows a disagreement on the critics and audience side, albiet with opposite cases.

I’m on the lookout for merchendise, though. Quite “lucky” I didn’t run into on-sale lego starwars microfighters that appeal to me.

PC Recommendation

No year-end build now. All I can say all three—AMD, Intel, and nVidia—had a blast this year and new builds would be good in almost any combo.

Oh, and apparently the Titan V launched. Wll look into that after the new year.

Phones

Got myself a yellow Nokia 3310 3G with Mhaelord’s support. Still have to get my smart and sun sims replaced/cut though.

Retro

In getting my mother a new am/fm radio, Mhae and I came across a Sony radio with a Cassette and CD player. Wow. I got really tempted to get it but passed. Got an RCA, though, apparently an even more retro brand. “Ganito brand ng radyo namin noon,” said mama. She was pertaining to when she was a child. No cassette and cd racks, though. I might, in the near future, get the sony.

Transformers

Passed by Toy Kingdom and saw Transformers: Titans Returns toys at discounted prices. Got tempted to get myself a blurr, kup, and even a scourge. Passed on the chance, though. Power of the Primes is on shelves now and I just found a pinoy reviewer on Youtube. Rodimus Prime reviews are kinda mixed, too, just like The Last Jedi and Justice League. I guess I’m inclined for the divisive.

The Year

The year in geekery had quite a number of divisions—mostly in geek movies, but also in tech stuff. This is a good thing for tech, as the “division” means more choices. For movies and hobbies, I think varying opinions make people who like, appreciate more, and those who dislike, get to refine their taste.

So yeah, I just had to put some concluding remarks. That’s the year 2017 in geekery, and it was good.

Repairs and Heroes

Something from the previous month’s post, the problematic file with the Insider Build was volsnap.sys. just wanted to note that.

Computer Hardware

On computer hardware stuff, there was official news on an upcoming Intel processor with AMD graphics and it was another one of those PC industry developments that make this year the best. AMD looks to be the PC industry MVP this year. Unfortunately for AMD, though, Radeon Technologies Group boss Raja something left and signed up with Intel. I was an instant fan of his when he dropped the RX480 in an exclusiv interview with linus last year. Nonetheless, all should get better in the industry as a whole.

Computer Backups, Updates, Repairs, and Turnovers

Mhae’s Samsung netbook suddenly gave up, and needed repairing, and it is a long nd ongoing/on-hold process. Initial procedures I took lasted more than a day, so after relaxing a bit, I settled to backup (which also took a long time, including the part where the process stopped because I think I chose to not ignore bad sector errors.)

I also got myself to get Papa’s ASUS netbook operational again, and resorted to restore to Windows 7. It was a successful repair but needed a new CMOS battery. Since I’m not confident enough to open it up and can’t easily find a replacement, Mhae accompanied me to Metropoint and the trip solved the problem just in time for Papa’s trip the next day

I took it to myself to update windows 10 to v1709 at the office, and with Papa out of town, I got the chance to apply the update to the X3-pc with allowance for screwups. Good thing, none encountered. I also finally started going through with the office 365 adoption at home with the X3-pc. That’s where the problem occurred. Another win, though, thanks to the internet. Troubles in papa’s user account with Office 2010 and Office 2016 (via Office 365) installed side-by-side were easily solved with a simple registry entry a week after. As of this afternoon, Papa’s MS Word experience (still in 2010, though) is as smooth as it has been. Still holding off for the 2ng Gen i5 check and upgrade.

On the mobile space, Ate handed down to Mama an iPad mini for her birthday. I’m not sure, really, about the generation, but Mama’s having a good time with it, easily adjusting. Not two weeks later, the Acer tablet seems to be getting battery problems.

And on hand-me-downs, Gen is home from Europe for a few weeks. She brought home a Windows 8 Samsung laptop and her old iPhone 4. The iPhone 4 is apparently out of support so it’s not the best to get for a new user—not able to install common apps like facebook due to iOS version requirements. As for the Samsung laptop, it needs a battery replacement and I’ll try to get it to Windows 10 with the assistive technologies option.

Superhero Stuff

Justice League hype is over. Mhae and I got to see it on the first week and we had fun. Opinions and reviews are super divided, but I’m taking it as a good movie, simply because the justice league members are simply awesome and it felt like a good episode in a series.

And before the movie, I got to acquire a MAFEX Batman v Superman (Regular) Batman at playgiantcollectibles via ebay. Managed to get a best price despite the last price statement in the description. I think I’m decided on getting the Justice League “reissue” of Superman since the original BvS one is just too orange-skinned. I’m contemplating on getting the rest of the Justice League through the years with releases of their solo movies until Green Lantern.

On the TV side of DC, Crisis on Earth X was overwhelming. It’s a step-up from last year’s invasion. I’ve also accepted that I missed out on the DC Collectibles TV Supergirl and won’t be getting the Green Arrow and Flash combo. As for the regular episodes, about 2 months through, I must say each story is engaging and it’s quite a shame the season finales are airing next week.

Marvel’s Agents of SHEILD’s new season starts next week, though, so the gaps gonna get filled a bit.

Marvel’s Punisher is brutally awesome. Decided to start watching a couple of day ago. 3 episodes done, and still good.

And finally for superhero stuff, Avengers: Invinity War Trailer is epic. Nothing more I could say.

Other Movies

Mhae and I have completed out Star Wars extended marathon with The Force Awakens. It’s kinda cool that Mama’s selling me tickets for The Last Jedi. It’s for a fund-raising for The Legion of Mary. We saw Episode VII two years ago also for a different fund-raising activity.

Games

So I tried South Park Phone Destroyer and had fun for a few days. Haven’t gone back to it for a while.

NFS Payback’s release with meh reviews. I’m probably not getting it. Got to play NFS Most Wanted (2012) from time to time this month though, and that’s good enough for me.

Tech, Movies, Toys, and Interesting Transitions

Tech

I’ll start off with a recent problem with a windows 10 insider build. I’m not sure if I’ve encountered one before, but I experienced green screen screen errors a number of times. Gladly, I got to fix the error with:

• A v1703 bootable usb drive to access command prompt and replace the;
• Shift + Restart to access safe mode and do some research;
• Windows update to have the build updated as microsoft is apparently doing a good job, no joke.

I got a problem with the start menu earlier and seem to have gotten around it by disabling auto-log-in setting that I’ve been using for years now. I’ll have to check soon if this won’t be a problem with this updated build. I think that’s one of the downsides of being an insider, but the thrill of having to and getting to fix problems (with the help of the microsoft and non-reformat problem-solvers out there) is one of the upsides of it.

Mobile parts of AMD Ryzen with Vega grapfics got launched recently and they look promising. The laptop market is now starting to taste the Ryzen effect. On the dektop side, the release of Intel’s 8th‑Gen . Intel Core CPU’s is another evidence of the positive effect of AMD’s resurgence for the consumers. Once availability gets stable, it’s gonna be quite a thrill choosing a new build. Good thing I got mine mid-year and I’m still happy with it.

On the mobile phone side, with the disappointment of the unavailability of the XZ1 Compact and the availability of the XZ1 (vanilla), I’m settling with my XA1 for a bit longer. I’m getting accustomed to the XA1 camera which I guess has been satisfying coming from the Z1 compact. This is, afterall, if I’m not mistaken, the one used in the Z5 series.

One last thing on tech stuff and transitioning to movie stuff, apparently NCIX Techtips didn’t get to hang on with one host left. The last netlinked (for now) gave a bit of a heartbreak. But as long as LinusTechTips is still on—and it won’t be going anywhere as per WAN show that I have come to appreciate more, recently—all isn’t sad in the world of tech news.

Movies

And on movie stuff and Youtube, ScreenJunkies is pracically in hiatus given the controversy with its founder. No honest trailers (for now). Quite a loss, even moreso as it took over Clevver Movies (though unsatisfactorily for me).

A bit of James Bond news, and another loss, apparently Cristoph Waltz won’t be returning as Blofeld in Daniel Craig’s final outing as 007. So much for Waltz returning if Craig will. Oh well.

Mhae and I got to see Star Wars Episodes III and VI this month for our Star Wars movie weekends. Episode VII left before the theatrical release of Episode VIII in December. I think I’m a bit successful in avoiding the trailer that the director recommended to avoid. I’m guessing that’s not the one shown in Thor: Ragnarok.

Speaking of Thor: Ragnarok, it was a fun movie. I thought it was coming in Philippine cinemaes 1st week of November, but I’m glad it didn’t and we got to see it at once.

Arrowverse shows are having a slow start for me. Not sure if it’s because of the episodes themselves, or because of the other things that keep me occupied. Nonetheless, I’m glad they’re back on air, along with The Big Bang Theory. Inhumans is out of the question so I’m just waiting for SHIELD and hope there are a good number of nods to Thor. In the anime and cartoon departments, I got the episodes for the current Fate series but haven’t gone to see them, and I’ve been seeing South Park quite consistently recently—on Season 10 now.

Justice League hit theaters in a couple of weeks and that’s one I’ve been excited for for more than a year now. We went to the UniteTheFans exibit at glorietta last weekend but I chose not to get movie passes (and the poster) as the screenings would be in Trinoma. I did enjoy the displays and got even more convinced on acquiring the MAFEX BvS Batman (of which I found one available from an ebay seller earlier today) and the upcoming MAFEX JL Superman to go with me MAFEX BvS Wonder Woman.

Toys

I guess I’m a DC guy more than Marvel. And with the upto 50% Lego sale at waltermart, I got myself (after a few days of indecision) the Clash of Heroes set. It was a great deal at 40% off and so worth it, with the Batman and Superman minifigs. The only better set would have been the larger and more expensive Heroes of Justice… set that had Batman, Superman, Lex, Lois, AND Wonder Woman. even at 50% off, I think it was a good pass since I wouldn’t have had much space and fun with the batwing inspite of the complete character set. I am really satisfied, afterall, with the set that I got, one reason is that I got to do a superhero café reference with it and the double-decker couch set.

The recent Lego build brought about some nostalgia and some stories on may father’s Lego buying experiences when I was a kid and even when before I was born.

Probably planned to be in-line with the recent introductions of the Ferrari Portofino and FXX-K Evo, Shell finally had a new collection campaign, albeit a little complicated and in limited availability. Petron also had a 1:24 promo but less exciting (or maybe it’s just me) though simpler, less expensive, and looks to be wider in availability. My father and I passed on these after apparently losing to the space argument with my mother. Oh well. It’s nice to see Shell Ferrari collectibles again, though, and I’m actually interested in how things will go with Bburago, the new Ferrari scale model licensee after Mattel/Hot Wheels and Maisto (which interestingly, recently acquired Bburaggo) further before.

On the eastern side of toy geekery, I got to claim the Revoltech EVA-02 that I ordered in August. I got a bit less from what I expected from a Revoltech figure until I realized that the shortcomings are actually to be expected from a Revoltech, and even more from an older model. Even still, it was a fulfilling buy as I have quite completed the EVA Rebuild 1.0 & 2.0 collection I’ve been vaguely thinking off since the EVA 1.0 gasha. Wow, that was 6(?), 7(?) years ago.

I got to plan and more or less laid out the Rebuild and Robot (Gundam, Virtual-On, Eva, and Transformers) Collection calendars. I got 2 months to shoot and print them for the upcoming calendar year.

And lastly for this lookback, Gundam 00 was released 10 years ago earlier this month. Wow. That led me to some collecting memories and I must say it was fun. I think I’m closing my collections but being able to look back does give a good smile. Just realized, that is really good naming for Good Smile Company.

It appears that because of the holiday, I found a lot of time to write about all those. Nice.

Superheroes, PC Geek Hero, Hero Phones, and Tech News Heroes

No superhero movies this month. Inhumans doesn’t count, and the bad reviews make it an easy exclusion from the MCU experience. The Arrowverse shows are showing in less than 2 weeks from now as well as Agents of SHIELD so that’s gonna be filler enough until Thor: Ragnarok and Justice League arrive in November.

Mhae and I got to see Star Wars Episodes 1 and 2 this month on the laptop and I think we’re on track in our preparation for December’s Episode 8. We have Episodes 3, 6, and 7 left.

Found some time to play NFS Most Wanted (2012) and finally enjoyed the gaming PC nature of my PC. I still have to figure out why the hangs. And that didn’t last long.

Before the month ended, I got triggered by a post from a friend asking for advice between a gaming laptop and a gaming desktop. There were actual answers of a gaming laptop, and none about ryzen. Naturally, I had a couple of ellaborate comments and I’m happy he’s now choosing between a gaming pc or an xbox one x. PCMR in me is actually less concerned about an xbox one x for gaming than a gaming laptop. One thing I found out in doing research, though—the geforce 10 series mobile parts are actually decent compared to all previous and even amd’s current mobile graphics parts. As for the intel core i7’s for “mobile gaming”, still not so sure.

The Note 8 and iPhones 8, 8 Plus, and X (ten) were released this month. Meh. What’s a big deal for me is the realization that the Xperia XZ1 Compact won’t be officially available here in the Philippines. I’m now looking for alternative phones to buy or considering getting the XZ1c from unofficial channels. Incidentally, my old Z1compact automatically updated a google service and did that restarting thing again. I got to fix it by doing the clear data trick but since some google account settings were also reset, some apps got to update themselves. At any rate, it’s been running fine since that mishap.

I’ve been experimenting with other audio recorders because audio recording is one of the two things I’m unsatisfied with with my current, supposedly temporary phone, the XA1. The second one of course is the size. I proved myself right in my clumsiness and real need for handy phones and extended warranties when I dropped my XA1 on a stair step at the office entrance one night. Amazingly, it falling flat on its back, the phone doesn’t seem to be damaged. Thank God, really.

Lastly apparently, the changes in NCIX Tech Tips are bigger than I thought with only one host left. I sure hope for the best. They, along with Linus, are my current tech heroes, quite the same way Leo Laporte and Patrick Norton were back in the TechTV days.

Quick Geek Bits Again for August

Live-action comics, computers, cellphones, some movies.

Marvel’s the Defenders was fun and filled that long weekend (1 of 3) well.

First time to test a UPS and I was genuinely excited and thought—why didn’t we got one until now?

Got lots of usb type-C cables and adapters (and bent one already) as the month started. By the end of the month, got news at last of a new Xperia Compact. Hoping it lands here on the Philppines, this time.

On local cinema, saw 100 Tula Para kay Stella. Not bad. On international films, got to catch up on 3(?) recent action films—John Wick, F8, Logan. Really good ones.

Xperience and Red Team Resurgence

I did have a lot to blog about but I got to procrastinate a bit more this month. Two things are highlighted, though.

Xperia

As my Z1 Compact failed late last month, I was bound to get a temporary replacement until a new xperia compact gets released later this year (hopefully). I got myself an Xperia XA1 and a new SBH70 bluetooth headset. I’d also like to mention that I got Mhae a much less expensive wireless headphones—Soundbytes HBS-800. The transistion between phones was not the smoothest because of the proble with the Z1 Compact. Amazinly, I found out that it was in one of the non-default apps and I got to get the phone running as I wanted after a good number backup and restore schemes. i should detail this someday for reference.

AMD

Of the geek stuff I follow, AMD releases probably got the most completion before this month ended—others being Transformers, James Bond, comic book shows and movies. Kinda sucks, though, how the new Ryzen 7 pc at work got pulled out for service due to a faulty power supply. As for my Ryzen 5, I hope it keeps running this well. Anyways, props to AMD for their Ryzen 3, RX Vega, and Ryzen Threadripper releases/unveilings/announcements.

Wonder Woman, Agents of SHIELD, Megatron, and Ryzen

Wonder Woman was a great movie. It wasn’t simply a good female superhero movie; it was a good superhero movie. And it wasn’t simply a good superhero movie; it was a good movie.

Finally completed Agents of SHIELD Season 4 and it wasn’t bad at all. It gave a warm feeling to have some characters a sense of closure, albeit being simulations. The threat of the last 3^rd of the season was quite grand and the return of Robbie Reyes/Ghost Rider for the finale was spectacular, tying in really well the first part of the season. And speaking of the first part, its relation to the cancelled Agent Carter felt good. Back to the ending, the (not so) subtle relation established to Dr. Strange was a grand bonus.

The Megatron Chronicles DotM/G1 2-pack colors weren’t as I hoped, but both look better from afar and in pictures. It’s still a very satisfying get—finally having a DOTM and a G1 Megatron to display against my Optimus Primes. G1’s robot mode is a challenge to pose but transformation is really great and certainly much more enjoyable than Optimus Prime’s. Voyager class DotM Megatron is probably the best of the 4 when it comes to articulation, and like their G1 counterparts, the transformation is more enjoyable, though not by so much.

So far, the new PC is running really well. I’m settling with this config for now and will think about the red fan and front panel card reader and USB 3.0 port some other time. I’m well decided on not getting an aftermarket cooler given that the stock cooler runs as quiet as my CoolerMaster V8 did, and I’m not planning on overclocking. Probably the best thing that happened to the PC is the reactivation of Windows. It was also an almost effortless task to have the reactivation problem fixed via Microsoft’s Chat Support.

Quite amazingly, this month has a good number of geekery updates. Even more amazing, is that I got to take note of them. I’m cutting this for now and hopefully find the time these coming days continue on the updates.

Oh, and it’s amazing that I’m using Open Live Writer now. Using a blogging client is really better.

Open Live Writer

Testing this to replace Windows Live Writer. Hoping the link to Blogger is ok.

Build-up to Completion

On phones

Quickly… Galaxy S8/S8+ and HTC U11 are out. Dara got herself an S8+. Long screens—started by LG—are probably going to be the trend.

I got to use mobile data at last! It was a matter of setting the globe prepaid APN correctly.

No more Sony Compact phones…or no more mid-range Sony Compact phones like the X Compact. 4^th quarter Premium Product announcement/releases from Sony will keep me hoping for the latter. I’m not yet ready for a bigger phone.

On TV Shows

Iron Fist complete. Agents of SHEILD got interesting and I’m catching up. Big Bang Theory finale was WOW. Flash and Arrow built up to good finales. I have yet to see the second part of the 2-part finale of Supergirl—I’m ok with it so far. All-in-all, the DC TV shows gave me good “TV” times. I’m not sure though if I’ll celebrate with action figures. Restraining myself. Attack on Titan is still pending on my watch list.

Transformers

Cash constraints are keeping me from getting Megatron and I think that’s a good thing. I’m rethinking the Generations Movie poster after successfully posing Ultra Magnus ang finding out the Arcee is still available and Titans Return Blurr looks so much like the cartoon version. i’d still go for the older (released) Kup for the robot mode despite the newer one having a spot-on pickup truck mode. Ultra Magnus poseability is really great, and I kinda hate it because it’s making me think how cool it is to do the poster when I already decided before that I won’t.

Computers

Getting ASUS laptop back was one of the highlights this month. Seagate diskwizard won’t work though because the new drive is a Hitachi. Didn’t bother with restoring anymoer. Mhae and I just used it as a new laptop again.

Getting Ryzen 5 outside bundle was a bigger highlight and successfully completing my upgrade build.

Ryzen office PC request is on it’s way with my old i5’s (the office’s first?) harddrive failing today.

Lego

Speaking of building, it was nice looking getting Lego nostalgia with mhae getting to build her first offcial Lego.

Movies

And tomorrow, we’ll probably see another hero for mhae. Wonder Woman movie looks good. And we’ve started preparing for December with the Star Wars monthly.

Build(Pause), Fix, Catchup

So, our Asus laptop failed. It looks like a problematic harddrive, eventually not detected by the bios after not booting many times after I forced restarted it while taking a long time to restart installing updates. Trying to backup the harddrive (that was taken out by the kind service center guy), bad sectors wer found in a “hidden” partition. At least I got to do a backup after leaving the drive connected to the pc via esata. The usb interface took so long…though the esata connection took a youtube video’s length, too.

Oh, speaking of external drives, I was amazed that my father got himself an external harddrive.

Ryzen 5 was launched and is currently available in the local market…but has to be bundled with an MSI or ECS motherboard. That sucks for me because I’ve gotten myself some ram, a week before, and a motherboard, just before I found out about that. I’m now waiting for unbundled availability or will have to resort to expensive measures. *evil laugh* but of course, I don’t want to go through the expensive measure of buying an building a Rzen 7 system to sell at breakeven or probably less.

My father’s MyPhone MY32L’s screen got broken last month, I think. I finally had it repaired with a black front instead of the supposed white. It looks good so I think the hassle of going to mcs earlier than I could have picked it up and returning the next day to actually get it is just fine. I also got to buy a tempered glass screen for the first time though that was for papa’s phone. I’ll see if it is a good moving forward thing.

Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans ended and I had mixed feelings at it endings. It was a satisfying series, though, all-in-all. The void would have been filled by Shingeki no Kyoujin S2, but I’m still waiting to watch. I did give some time to catchup with DCTV shows and The Big Bang Theory. It kinda helped that the shows had a couple of weeks off so I’m back on track with those shows. I’ll catchup soon with Shingeki and Agents of SHEILD as well as completing Iron Fist. I’m wondering how SHIELD ties up with Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.2, or if it does.

Speaking of movies, mhae and got to watch Power Rangers earlier this month. It was fun.

I realized that the DC Collectibles has 7” action figures and that the DCTV subline is more or less in that scale. I’m passing on the Arrow Flash 2-pack available at playgiantcollectibles at glorietta. Seeing it in real life, I don’t know, I don’t think I’m really an meant to be and action figure collector afterall. In fact, I still have my MAFEX Wonder Woman LBC-boxed.

As for collections, I did some updating on my anime shelves. I finally put the eva portraits and revoltechs to their display place. My werstern/american shelves aren’t assembled yet, so the transformers (technically, japanese, but not anime) are still on the right side with the anime figures. Maybe

MP-36 Megatron has been released and it’s nice seeing Alexis post a couple of pics with that and MP-10. After restraining myself from ordering for 40days, I think I’m going to start purchasing the Megatron 2-pack to go with my G1 and DOTM Optimus Primes.

Also after 40days, I communicated with the Lego Double-Decker Couch seller. After a couple of weeks, he’s found the set and is ready to transact. I’m looking to get the set this coming week. I’m counting that as an April transaction. Megs will be my May transaction.

I have no other toys/figures/collectibles in mind. Looks like I’m finally closing my collecting…until further retriggering of interest. Ack, just remembered the gundams I have to build. So, no purchases planned after May, but I still have to build some gunpla before finalizing my display of a decade (well, less) of collecting.

So that’s April in Geekery for me. Those were quite some updates. Hoping the loose ends this month would be closed by next month.

Current

In one day, I upgraded Windows 10 to version 1703 (not yet RTM until a few more days later) on my desktop (via insider slow ring), canvassed for a laptop (for mhae and me), and bought that laptop—a 15” Asus Vivobook with a 7^th Gen Core i3 and entry level Radeon Graphics. Interestingly, I never thought I’d buy an i3 and a 15-inch laptop. Papa’s netbook is still unuseable and I have yet to cleanup mhae’s netbook. My convertible is running a little less than ok when not using the dock. Getting a new laptop with mhae feels really good—especially if it’s a really good deal.

Before getting the laptop, I’ve transferred my current tv shows to my desktop and have started my catcup with the DC shows. Still quite a lot to go, though. I’ve been quite consistent with Iron-Blooded Orphans (which is getting heavy, nearing its conclusion) and The Big Bang Theory (which is still ok, I guess, but I really wish the series would end this season).

By this coming month, or in May, I think it would be about time I get myself a major desktop upgrade with a Ryzen 5. CPU releases haven’t been this good for so long. With that upgrade planned, and definitely happening, I’m wondering when my Z1 compact will have a worthy upgrade. Hopefully before the year ends.

Smartphone launches are pretty nice this month starting with the less popular but astounding LG G6 (although I think it was introduced in the last week of last month, I just didn’t notice) and ending with the immensly popular Samsung Galaxy S8 and 8+. The Koreans are delivering.

On the “collector” side of my life, with 2 out of 4 shelves in place, I found myself revising my plan. Wow, I also remember how difficult it was to get the MG Strike variations displayed; and the quick acceptance that Mio’s attachment to her base was really fragile. I’m also set to getting the Megatron G1 and DOTM duo since the Generations versions of “Team Ultra Magnus” only has Kup and Blur left available. I guess the plan for me to decide which to get worked.

Refresh, Revive, Resurgence

The month was full of anticipation with MWC starting before the month closed and the actual AMD Ryzen launch.

As expected, the Sony Xperia announcements are incremental with a couple of key feature additions/improvements from last year’s offerings. XZ to XZs, XA to XA1, XA Ultra to XA1 Ultra—makes sense. Show stealer would be the XZ Premium which is more of an upgrade from and almost 2-year old Z5 Premium. And it’s gonna launch much later. The Sony releases really do make sense. I’m still bitter with the absence of the X Compact in the official Philippine market, though.

The modern version of the Nokia 3310 isn’t as many have expected, but I’ll give it a passing mark. It’s unfortunate that it won’t have wifi, and it could have been better off with a more current gen network. The design has just enough references to the old one and people seem divided. Again, I’ll give it a passing mark. I’m still inclined on getting one…or two. Maybe next year, they’ll upgrade it a bit and release a 3315. Ah, yes.

And AMD Ryzen 7 is officially launched and will be available here soon. Benchmarks and Philippine SRP’s make it a win. I’m hoping availability will be just right. Midyear, I should be prepared for the Ryzen 5 launch.

On other geekery, the Lazada mishap delayed my collection display “closing” so more on that next month.

Slow and Steady(?) Start

On the tech side of things, I can’t say there really is something significant. We got more details on AMD’s Zen—now Ryzen—and Vega, but we don’t even have model numbers. Intel did release the 7th Gen Code processors but those in themselves are pretty minor upgrades to the 6th Gen from more than a year ago. Well, I recently got to recommend an i5-6400, and JT’s build is finally complete.

I haven’t really gotten back to watching the DC tv shows and SHEILD though they have already returned after the midseason break. Gundam Iron-Blooded Orphans, I’m just one episode behind, and I think I’m updated with the Big Bang Theory. I’ll probably be consistet again with my tv shows after the Otaku Expo gig for which I am procrastinating with practicing my parts.

Gundam Wing—Glory of Losers is updated with the 12th volume. Eva—I’m serously considering getting rebuild of evangelion portraits 8 and the revoltech mark.06. Transformers—I managed to find the generations release of Arcee, Springer (Takara version), Kup, and Blurr on ebay to go with my Ultra Magnus from Yonni last year, all to recreate the 1986 movie poster/sticker book cover. Not to mention, I got the G1 reissue Optimus Prime this month. I think successfully acquiring that triggered the urge to complete my nostalgia collection. I need new shelves…and to fix my room again.