Monday, May 08, 2006
EAT YOUR HEART OUT, VALENTINO ROSSI!
Having seen a TV feature on this place, I dragged my best friend over to Talisay Funland to try out the sport Pocket Bikes.
The inherent difficulty of boarding such a tiny machine hit us the moment the attendants pulled out a couple of these pocket monsters for us to try. Pictures of clowns riding those tiny bicycles at the circus danced in my head. Since my friend grew up on motorcyles, I let him have first go. He got about 3 feet with his legs up in the air before he decided that wouldn't be a great way to go round the circuit.
Excitedly (can I even say that?), I grabbed the orange "Ninja" (hah!) and tried to ride it using the standard motorcycle posture. Needless to say, I couldn't get both feet on the footrests. You can forget the "easy rider" position as well.
So the attendant instructs me to keep my legs as wide apart as possible, and voila! I proceeded to enthrall anyone who cared with the spectacle of a grown man riding a motorcycle a quarter of his size!
After the usual "familiarization lap" at a new circuit, I cranked the accelerator up for a hot lap. I wish I could have pushed the bike to its limit, but the high curbs of the circuit looked like major trouble in case of a wipeout. No Max-X star do I wish to be. Besides, I didn't have the necessary kneepads to take the corners and there was this rather dangerous chicane with a downward slope that made the bike go faster even with my hand off the accelerator.
Having taken a too-long respite from racing go karts, I told the owner that the bikes would be great to race, but that the circuit wasn't ideal for that. She told me that they don't allow racing and that their circuit was purely for fun. Heck! Someone should tell her that racing IS fun!
Anyway, I'd like to take one of those babies to a circuit like Kartzone, where I'm not likely to break my ribs on a curb. But even if I don't get to do that, riding a pocket bike anywhere is still pretty enjoyable.
Would I do it again? Sure! I'd like to give Valentino Rossi something to worry about. :-D
The inherent difficulty of boarding such a tiny machine hit us the moment the attendants pulled out a couple of these pocket monsters for us to try. Pictures of clowns riding those tiny bicycles at the circus danced in my head. Since my friend grew up on motorcyles, I let him have first go. He got about 3 feet with his legs up in the air before he decided that wouldn't be a great way to go round the circuit.
Excitedly (can I even say that?), I grabbed the orange "Ninja" (hah!) and tried to ride it using the standard motorcycle posture. Needless to say, I couldn't get both feet on the footrests. You can forget the "easy rider" position as well.
So the attendant instructs me to keep my legs as wide apart as possible, and voila! I proceeded to enthrall anyone who cared with the spectacle of a grown man riding a motorcycle a quarter of his size!
After the usual "familiarization lap" at a new circuit, I cranked the accelerator up for a hot lap. I wish I could have pushed the bike to its limit, but the high curbs of the circuit looked like major trouble in case of a wipeout. No Max-X star do I wish to be. Besides, I didn't have the necessary kneepads to take the corners and there was this rather dangerous chicane with a downward slope that made the bike go faster even with my hand off the accelerator.
Having taken a too-long respite from racing go karts, I told the owner that the bikes would be great to race, but that the circuit wasn't ideal for that. She told me that they don't allow racing and that their circuit was purely for fun. Heck! Someone should tell her that racing IS fun!
Anyway, I'd like to take one of those babies to a circuit like Kartzone, where I'm not likely to break my ribs on a curb. But even if I don't get to do that, riding a pocket bike anywhere is still pretty enjoyable.
Would I do it again? Sure! I'd like to give Valentino Rossi something to worry about. :-D
ONLY IN THE PHILIPPINES
It could only happen in the Philippines. A VCD of "The Story of Jesus" being displayed together with three episodes of "Emmanuelle". The photo was taken at Odyssey in Ayala.
Reminds me of the story of a girl getting up early after a one night stand. Guy asks her why she's in such a hurry and she replies, "I have to go hear mass."
Reminds me of the story of a girl getting up early after a one night stand. Guy asks her why she's in such a hurry and she replies, "I have to go hear mass."
x64 DRIVER FOR THE EPSON STYLUS PHOTO RX510
Users in the Philippines will go bonkers if they download the x64 drivers for the Photo RX510 from the Epson Philippines website. Turns out the "RX510" drivers are actually drivers for the U.S. equivalent, the RX500. Well... they DON'T WORK.
Since the RX510 is the Asian version, I looked up the Singapore and Hong Kong websites to find that Singapore had posted the same thing and Hong Kong didn't have any. I then left a message at the Hong Kong website asking about x64 drivers.
Thankfully, they responded quickly. The driver can be found at the Epson Australia website. I have half a mind to post them at TISOY.COM for easy access. Send me a message if you don't know how to get them.
Since the RX510 is the Asian version, I looked up the Singapore and Hong Kong websites to find that Singapore had posted the same thing and Hong Kong didn't have any. I then left a message at the Hong Kong website asking about x64 drivers.
Thankfully, they responded quickly. The driver can be found at the Epson Australia website. I have half a mind to post them at TISOY.COM for easy access. Send me a message if you don't know how to get them.
x64 FREEWARE SECURITY APPS
Browsing Windows related forums, I noticed that mixing the free versions of AVG Antivirus and ZoneLabs' ZoneAlarm Firewall had become a popular combination. Well, who can blame Windows users? Both do a decent job of what they're supposed to do, and more importantly, they're both FREE for the personal user.
But what about if you have Windows Professional XP x64 since neither of these two applications are native 64 bit?
I had hoped to install the upcoming commercial version of Windows Live OneCare but found out only U.S. and Canada users are entitled to the special upgrade price for beta testers. So I guess I have to wean myself of it come May 1 (a hex on Bill Gates!).
The good news, of course, is that Windows x64, like XP Service Pack 2, comes with Security Center, so you have a "good enough" firewall built in. However, Security Center doesn't have a built in antivirus.
Searching the internet, I came across avast! Antivirus at http://www.avast.com. Like AVG, it is free for the personal user but it's main product is native 64 bit. One interesting feature of this antivirus is that you can "skin" it, just like Windows Media Player or WinAmp. There's even an almost poignant "Pirate" skin (Avast! Ye slimy virus!).
Although highly rated for detecting viruses, the jury still seems to be out on how good it is at removing them.
Apart from avast! (yes, with a small a) Antivirus, all you really need therefore is an AntiSpyware program. Microsoft has a 64 bit version of Windows Defender so you should be safe... for now. Remember OneCare goes commercial in May and ominously, the offer to beta testers boasts integration with Defender, so we might see Defender disappear as an independent application.
If that happens, and you still want to scrimp on costs, your only choice may be Tenebril software's SpyCatcher Express that, although 32 bit, Tenebril claims is fully compatible with Windows x64.
But what about if you have Windows Professional XP x64 since neither of these two applications are native 64 bit?
I had hoped to install the upcoming commercial version of Windows Live OneCare but found out only U.S. and Canada users are entitled to the special upgrade price for beta testers. So I guess I have to wean myself of it come May 1 (a hex on Bill Gates!).
The good news, of course, is that Windows x64, like XP Service Pack 2, comes with Security Center, so you have a "good enough" firewall built in. However, Security Center doesn't have a built in antivirus.
Searching the internet, I came across avast! Antivirus at http://www.avast.com. Like AVG, it is free for the personal user but it's main product is native 64 bit. One interesting feature of this antivirus is that you can "skin" it, just like Windows Media Player or WinAmp. There's even an almost poignant "Pirate" skin (Avast! Ye slimy virus!).
Although highly rated for detecting viruses, the jury still seems to be out on how good it is at removing them.
Apart from avast! (yes, with a small a) Antivirus, all you really need therefore is an AntiSpyware program. Microsoft has a 64 bit version of Windows Defender so you should be safe... for now. Remember OneCare goes commercial in May and ominously, the offer to beta testers boasts integration with Defender, so we might see Defender disappear as an independent application.
If that happens, and you still want to scrimp on costs, your only choice may be Tenebril software's SpyCatcher Express that, although 32 bit, Tenebril claims is fully compatible with Windows x64.
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