k r i s a n d r o

I’ve been blessed for the last 2 months with a review unit of LG’s new line of LED Backlit LCD Monitors and got no less than the super wide 24″ version, the LG W2486L.

I’ve been using a Samsung 19″ monitor and the immediate reaction upon unboxing the LG W2486L is the sheer size of the screen. LG has been striking on the right notes for the aesthetics of their products and the LG 86 series of monitors maintains the same note with its sleek looking monitor and still packing punches with it’s specifications.

• Display Type: LCD display / TFT active matrix
• Depth: 7.8 in (19.81cm)
• Height: 17.4 in (44.2cm)
• Weight: 9.7 lbs (4.4kg)
• Display aspect ratio: 16:9
• Image Contrast Ratio: 2000000:1 (dynamic)
• Video Format: 1080p
• Color Support: 24-bit (16.7 million colors)
• Response Time: 2ms
• Signal Input: 2xHDMI, 1xDVI-D, 1xVGA

 

It’s sheer size had me demoting my 19″ monitor to the side as a secondary display and using the 24″ LG W2486L as my primary display. As much as I love PC gaming, it’s tough trying to find time to play games on my computer. But I definitely tried to play games like L4D2 and Dragon Age:Origins just to compare the gaming experience on the new monitor. The size, widescreen ratio (16:9), contrast ratio and response time definitely makes it a great monitor to consider if you are into gaming and I definitely wish for more time to play games and harness the quality and screen estate it can provide.

I spend the bulk of my time at the computer juggling between work, socializing and watching videos (I know what you are thinking but let’s not go there). The LG W2486L definitely meets every need that is required of my daily tasks and it definitely increased my productivity with the amount of information I can see with it’s wide ratio and resolution.

If there is a bone to pick, I wish the monitor screen could swivel more freely so that I can find a more optimal angle for my eyes in relation to my computer desk.

The LG W86 series of monitors are available in Singapore selling at the following recommended retail prices:

• S$388 for the 22-inch W86L
• S$498 for the 24-inch W86L

Thanks to Mariko and Aaron for the trial unit!

[Disclosure: I am one of ten only bloggers in Singapore who got to try the LG W86 series before it's local launch date. The unit is passed to me for a trial period for 2 months and I will be offered to purchase it at a discount at the end of the trial and the money will be given to a charity of LG's choice. All opinions in this post are of my own and are just as true when I say "I think I am pretty lame", which might or might not be true to you but definitely still of my true opinion.]

10 Better Things You Can Do With 130 Minutes Than Watching Twilight: New Moon

1. Watch paint dry.
2. Twiddle your thumbs.
3. Count the number of seconds in 130 mins. All 7800 seconds.
4. Masturbate till you get sores.
5. Stand outside any ticketing counter and watch trailers.
6. Hunt for vampires.
7. Attempt to lick your elbows.
8. Attempt to bite your own neck.
9. Get a crowd to watch you try to bite your own neck.
10. Anything else other than watching Twilight: New Moon.

 

The only time I ever detested a movie at the cinema this much was when I fell asleep watching Nim’s Island. And frankly, I will actually rate Twilight much lower than Nim’s Island.

Bad acting. Horrible plot. The director might as well have just asked the good looking cast to stand around half naked for 130 minutes and do nothing but stare at the cameras. It would still have been a great movie for those who liked it.

Please save your money and don’t pay to watch Twilight: New Moon please. Don’t even waste time watching it even if it is free.

You have been warned.

A colleague of KuKuNehNeh (KKNN) forwarded her an email with the image above informing her of Rasa Sentosa Resort’s half price promotion and she immediately pounced on the offer and asked me to do the necessary bookings. Few women can resist things sold at half price. Not that I am complaining as she offered to pay for the stay.

It’s my 1st time staying at Rasa Sentosa Resort and KKNN’s 2nd and we chose the Panoramic Room which was priced at $227.50 after 50% discount.

 

 

 

The view is quite lovely from the balcony I must say and the window that opens to the tub is quite cool but that is probably just a couple of the good things I have to say about Rasa Sentosa Resort.

I entered the room and just did a rough inspection just to make sure that everything is in order and part of that routine is to check under the bed for dead bodies. And though I didn’t find any, there was an empty bottle of the hotel’s complimentary water bottle left under the bed.

Not like the water bottle is chucked deep under the bed but it was near the edge and the attendant who cleaned the room prior to our check-in completely missed it.

And then a question comes up. Which 4-5 star hotel doesn’t have LCD TVs these days? I brought my HP Mini laptop along hoping to plug it in to an LCD TV to spend some of our time watching movies but I end up facing a stone age CRT TV with the wrong connectivity cables.

Hoping to better our stay at Rasa Sentosa Resort, we checked out the highest rated restaurant amongst the 2 that were listed down for the 50% promotion which was Barnacles Restaurant for dinner. We ended up heading for the other restaurant (which was almost fully booked by the way) because it was fully booked till 9.30pm. Rasa Sentosa Resort should have informed us of the popularity of the restaurants so that we could have made plans. It wouldn’t hurt to tell me during my telephone booking or included as a few lines of text in the email confirmation.

Dinner was settled at Silver Shell Cafe with a seafood buffet.

Nothing tasted awful but in fact, nothing tasted good as well. It’s one of those meals that you won’t remember eating after a few days.

And the worse thing about the whole stay? I was almost overcharged by at least $70 by Rasa Sentosa Resort. The bill looked suspiciously high even after a 50% discount for both the room and the buffet dinner and after checking it further, I realized that Silver Shell Cafe overcharged me by twice the amount I was supposed to pay. It was lucky that I kept the receipt from Silver Shell and checked the final bill before I left the resort.

The stay at Sentosa Resort and Spa was SO MUCH better. Weird thing is that KKNN and I still enjoyed our stay very much despite all the screw ups. Having each other is all that matters.

On that note, I’ll convince her that I’ll pay for the next weekend escapade at a cheap hotel. WAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!

On behalf of Hasbro Singapore, a PR consultant contacted me and offered to send 2 of their newly launched games from Parker Brothers (a subsidiary of Hasbro) to me so that I may share the joy with you guys. One of these games that I got from the mail man was called the Monopoly Deal Card Game.

Monopoly, being the most commercially successful board game in the world has little effect on KuKuNehNeh. Thinking about it, she is probably the only person that I know who hates playing Monopoly. So it took a miracle for her to sit down and play a few games with me and it probably helped that Monopoly Deal is actually card game instead of a board game.

The game is played by drawing and trading cards till a player manages to collect 3 full sets of property cards. As simple as it sounds, I actually realized that Monopoly Deal requires less of luck and more of strategy when compared to the board game. With 2 players in my case, the games are short, which lasted around 15 to 20 mins per game and are pretty fast paced. All players get to stay in the game until a winner emerges and players who are seem to be on the verge of losing can actually turn around the situation with a little luck and some strategy. If not for the fact that we had to turn in earlier for the night, we would have carried on playing past the 4th game that we had.

The only cons that I see is that the ‘Shuffle Shaker’ that the game provided seemed to be more gimmicky than functional.

 

It was super noisy when I tried shuffling the cards with it and the cards are much better shuffled if I do it manually.

The above doesn’t take anything away from the fact that Monopoly Deal is a compact card game that you can easily carry around to provide a fun and fast paced game for 2 – 5 players. KuKuNehNeh thoroughly enjoyed the game although it may also be attributed to the fact that I lost 3 games to her out of the 4 that we played that night.

Monopoly Deal Card Game (with Shuffle Shaker) is sold at Toys “R” Us and major departmental stores in Singapore at S$21.90. For ages 8 and up!

Watch out for the next game that I will be reviewing from Hasbro!