Everyone is excited by different things in life. I am always excited to go on a date with HY, to be near her and to just be with the woman I love; I am always excited to partake in my mother’s cooking and it’s almost certain that I’ll finish every morsel of food; I am always excited to converse with my sister (when she’s not moody) because she’s like the best friend I’ve always had (and knowing her, she’d puke when she reads this because she has affection-phobia towards me).

So, what always excites you?

Nowadays, I get excited by learning something new about God and knowing something more about Him. I get excited about preaching because I think it’s something that stretches and challenges me in my competencies. (On that note, I really think that my “season” of worship leading is over, well sort of.) I get excited when I am mentoring someone and imparting what I know and have experienced to him or her. I get excited when I meet my mentors and to learn from their many life experiences and stories.

So, what excites you today?

I think it’s imperative that we all live for a purpose greater than ourselves. It would be pure drudgery for anyone to have to drag themselves out of bed each morning. We have to be internally motivated by goals and externally driven by actions to achieve all the dreams that are birthed in our hearts. There is no salary high enough that could ever satisfy a man if it doesn’t challenge, inspire or motivate him to take a step closer to his given destiny in life. This is why I’ve always aspired to live the mundane in an extraordinary fashion.

You and I are no different. We have similar struggles and have as many victories as setbacks. We get persecuted as much as we get praised. I’d like to think that my life is a fulfilling one because I choose to approach it that way. I refuse to live a life of mediocrity and settling for second-best (unless God specifically instructs me to do so). While life (on earth) is short, it is also the longest journey (on earth) that we will ever embark on. So let us learn to remind each other to live our lives for something, someone, some event greater than ourselves.

And to close a less serious note, I do enjoy very much (“get excited” is an exaggeration of this sentiment) when I make people laugh or when they laugh at my jokes – there’s a sense of gratification bringing joy, fun and laughter to someone’s day. This is one reason why I have baptised myself as Asher – which stands for “blessed, joyful, happy”. I also enjoy it very much when I pull off a stunt that people will remember. Presenting to HY her 22nd birthday gift was one; suddenly deciding to leave Shanghai was another; appearing for the No One Else was something that is etched in my heart forever.

And for the most recent one, it was great to pull off something so crazy in my trip to Shanghai last weekend. Man, the look on people’s faces – priceless. Lovely.

The credit crisis sucks, especially because it minimized the probability that you can get away with getting investment banks and venture capital to underwrite essential purchases like the new Guitar Hero and kegs from Gordon Biersch. Luckily that might all be ending soon. Recently, movements in private equity and venture capital have started to show some indications that the most glamorous of Silicon Valley capital fountains has started to thaw. The cracks in the ice are undoubtedly motivated by the increasing demand for cleantech, technology designed to provide equal parts personal utility and environmental utility. But even if the opening shots are in the name of the environment, any sort of momentum to turn on the funding-hose will undoubtedly lead to watering the gardens of Silicon Valley with much-needed capital to thirsty startups and major enterprises looking to buy slick and undervalued intellectual property through M&A.

So yeah, there probably is another boom coming. But things feel a little different this time around. I moved to California in 1999, right as the major dot-com boom went from a quaint idea to a startling reality. My dad and stepmom ran a dot-com called Timesharevalues.com, a surprisingly resilient vacation real estate company that teamed up with eBay in their early years to sell vacation properties over the internet. Right before the boom took off (when both of them were transitioning from their jobs at other tech companies) it felt, well, crazy. Money for firms that had a relatively good idea was in such abundance after Excite and Yahoo! took off that it was literally impossible not to get funding if your idea wasn’t completely absurd and you knew how to use Powerpoint. Even then, the VC’s would sometimes come after you. My parents smartly decided not to take VC funding, but that didn’t stop the phone calls. Eventually we had to get another line and a secretary to deal with them and all of the other communication stuff (which was weird as hell by the way – coming out of my room half-dressed for breakfast during winter break and pretending to ignore some lady who’s working in your living room is always a surreal experience).  It was downright simple to start a startup, and clearly nothing could go wrong.

Nowadays, VC money is still hard as hell to get. Getting an appointment to pitch at Kleiner-Perkins probably requires a blood sacrifice. The credit crunch hasn’t just strained the budgets of the Sand Hill investors, it’s also taught them temperance. Recent history is filled with good ideas that go bad because of poor planning. And there’s cultural changes in the Valley too. The Millennials are starting to flood into technology, changing not just how we party but also how we compete and do business. The next boom, while a familiar thing to Silicon Valley, feels very, very different.

Here’s three of the big differences I see:

• It’s not about IPO: When you were a startup back in the day the IPO was the glorious “fuck-yeah” moment for everyone that got in before the cut. The glamorous millionaire lifestyle of Silicon Valley startups was predicated on the cash you’d get with your Initial Public Offering, and the young Gen-Xers that ruled the smallest and most disruptive startups were looking to IPO. That’s a lot different now.

  It’s unlikely that the posterchilds of the new boom will IPO anytime soon. Neither Facebook or Twitter seem jazzed to IPO anytime soon, and I don’t think it’s just because the stock market sucks. Call me crazy, but I think a lot of it is based around generational psychology and sociology. To IPO is to yield control of your company to investors. We Millennials are a surprisingly difficult bunch to manage because we’re fiercely down with doing it our way. Having to listen to VC’s is bad enough; having a board of directors who “don’t get it” about tech and order you around seems extremely non-ideal. To sell out in an IPO has the potential to ruin all of the hard work you’ve done by leaving it all to someone else.

• You need a college degree: Being a sysadmin (system administrator) was a pretty glamorous job back in the day. Being on near-constant beeper-duty and having the potential of working like an investment banker if stuff broke sucked, but so long as you knew what you were doing you could be paid a lot of money without having to spend four years of your life whining about how your GE courses are taking time away from your major classes. With a bunch of certifications in your hand and some skill in technical interviewing you could talk your way into Yahoo! pretty well.

  This is not the case anymore. While the bachelors-less savants are still around, it’s a hell of a lot harder to sneak into these high paying administration jobs (when they even exist). Globalization and gains from specialization are partly to blame here. Paying a sysadmin in the United States, much less in California, is an extremely expensive endeavor. Outsourcing such duties to other states or other countries with less employment competition (which will raise wages ceteris paribus) and more lenient employment laws is more ideal. Coincidentally, in the US many of these states are also places where it’s cheap to build the data centers where admins are needed. Being in IT in the Valley now is becoming less about being a Reel Big Fish-loving data center junkie and more about being an extremely flexible strategic consultant. With the heavy lifting being outsourced, these new positions require all of the expertise and rigorous training that a Bachelors+ degree signifies.

  A college degree is important in another way too: prestige.  Silicon Valley is well-known for being a meritocracy, and where you’re from has largely not been an issue until the rise of Google. Google’s is very Ivy-minded, and there are more than a few urban legends out there about Sergei writing off capable employees because they studied at less prestigious state schools rather than the Ivies or Public Ivies. With the large amount of HR poaching,  many ex-Google HR staffers trained in this sort of prestige-minded filtering have spread throughout the ‘Valley and taken their prestige-minded ways of thinking and hiring with them.

• It’s not just about technology: Excite is a great case study on how being overly focused on “legit tech” may not be a good idea. When the internet portal first came out they were flooded with Venture funding. As one of the big incumbents in the Internet Portal business, Excite wielded stupid amounts of market power and could pretty much do what they wanted. But as the boom faaded and the bubble burst, it was clear that Excite was not making great business decisions. They invested heavily into something called Excite@Home, an early broadband ISP that they got in acquiring a cable modem company called @Home. This decision seemed to make sense at first: vertically integrate internet activity to ensure that you don’t stray far from the Excite brand when you’re online. It was also an opportunity to rapidly invest in new broadband opportunities – a factor that seemed more salient given the background of Excite’s board of directors.

  This turned out to be a very bad idea. First, Excite@Home posted a $61.6 million loss in its first quarter. Then the company, which existed as a subordinate entity of Excite proper, re-neged on a deal for auditing and ditched their accounting deal for a new relationship with PriceWaterhouseCooper. As a result, they incurred serious breech of contract legal wrath and were forced to hemmorage more money. All of these struggles hit home at Excite, and the company later joined some other great names in taking the long walk towards chapter 11 and obscurity.

  The valley seems to be learning its lesson with  this one. The death of the Wi-Max market is a great recent example of how cool technology can suffer without good business planning. Lots of big firms such as Time Warner and eBay have recently divested major purchases predicated on cool technology that didn’t fit well into their business plans, AOL and Skype respectively.  This also fits into a lot of the temperance you see with VC’s and gun-shy investment banking firms, both who seem to demand a higher amount of business planning and strategy from their prospects before investment. Basically, nobody wants to be like Excite or a Wi-Max firm.

–noun 
1.  an excited state or condition. 
2.  something that excites.

Excitement!  It makes you have butterflies in your stomach, and make you not think straight.  Today my dadddy came back from his business trip from korea.  Okay, I know.  Me and my dad always fight.  It gets really rough and scary sometimes.  But, the funny thing is, he was only gone for 2 weeks, and before he left, he was tottally mad at me and my mom.  But I misssed him so much!  Ew, I know.  But I love my dad&mom.  It’s good to have him back.  “With each ballet we know what to expect.  A pas de deux brings out a lot of excitement.  And a lot of Champagne.”  Life just doesnt feel full without my dad.  The strange part was when he left.  When he left to go to Korea, the weather outside was horrific.  When he went to Korea, the weather there was awesome and warm, but the day before he left to come here, the weather was getting cold in korea.  Is it symbolism?!  And notice how our weather got nicer?!  Speaking of weathers and such.  There’s going to be a meteor shower tonight at 12-4.  It’s going to be pretty, so take lots of pics!  It wont be here until another 33 years?  I’m not so sure about the numbers, but lets just say A LONG TIME.  Another excitement i am looking foward to this week.  NEW MOON.  The sequel to Twilight.  For your information, READ THE BOOKS.  I dont care if your a boy or a girl, you have to read this.  I love this book and the plot, the story, everything.  Edward Cullen, Emmet, Carlisle, Jacob Black.  Sexy.  Cant wait!  They have a new director, but i’m sure he’ll do a fine job.  If not, you know what we twilight-ers will do.  We will hurt you.  I’ve realized there are so many copies of the book and movie Twilight.  Such as The Vampire Diaries, or True Blood, and such.  How come they cant get their own series or plots!  It sorta bothers me, but oh well.  Nobody can replace the original Twilight. 

This was my first plane ride since I moved to Canada when I was one year old. I am 27 now so you can imagine my excitement. I couldn’t sleep at all, so I took pictures. Enjoy. I love the clouds

PM

SO HOW DID I SPEND MY HALLOWEEN WEEKEND????
im glad yo uasked
even if yo udidnt then whatevs
ANYWAY
school was sad
last day
okay im done with that
went swimming with cheez and FROGEYE
its so cute
and BLOONS 4 IS OUTT!!!!!
okay game nerd but whatevssss
and addicted to THAT SONG
at the time
THEN SCAVENGER HUNT@ BAIN ahhaa
THUS HANNAH IS BACK!!!!!!!!!!! +bro so cute
she had leather boots and everythingg
mr ngs workshop is v nice
okay and playing board ggaems on sun night reminded of last few days of school
munchkin blokus cards everythign
suck
AND NADIAAAAAAAAAAAA IN POSEIDON

Questa volta mi permetto una recensione insolita. Il volto non sarà nuovo agli affezionati della produzione dandiniana o ai blogger puri e duri; si tratta di Zoro, all’anagrafe Diego Bianchi. Ok ma chi è? Cosa fa? Il suo ruolo qual è? E’ un giornalista? Non solo. E’ un regista? Non esattamente. E’ un comico? Non proprio. A leggere i commenti ai suoi video su youtube, non passa inosservato che il termine più usato è “genio”. Zoro scrive per il sito di La7 (qui), per il quotidiano Il Riformista, ma soprattutto per il suo sito (“saltuario d’informazione e opinionistica estremamente personale” dal 2003), in cui sono archiviati tutti i suoi post, le interviste, e da dove è possibile scaricare due libri curati da lui. Ma il mio recensume si occupa prevalentemente di cinema, quindi segnalerò la cosa più cinematografica di Zoro: la rubrica “Tolleranza Zoro” trasmessa dal “Parla con me” di Rai3, ma godibile in tutte le puntate sul canale Youtube dell’autore (qui). Tolleranza Zoro è una raccolta di video-riflessioni sull’attualità, troppo girate e recitate per essere degli editoriali, troppo sul pezzo per essere dei cortometraggi. Diego Bianchi racconta magnificamente questo momento della storia d’Italia, lo racconta in maniera spudoratamente soggettiva, da una parte sola, quella di un quarantino di sinistra, romano e romanista, ma soprattutto lo racconta in maniera malinconica, cinica, grottesca, ma al tempo stesso appassionata, giocosa, divertita (e maledettamente diertente).

A chi desiderasse un assaggino della pietanza, prima di ordinarla, consiglio la puntata sulle ronde.

Does it interest the eye,

excite the brain,

move the mind to reflection,

and involve the heart? 

Julian Barnes

(1946-    )

English Novelist

Julian Barne’s Brisk Inquiry Into Death’s Meaning:

#mce_temp_url#

helloooooooooooo
himyms epi today is so funny
im watching gg
tomorrow is where i realise that i could not truly study while clubsnapping or lomotionsging
leightons songs are awesome but so mainstream now
anyway
monday i finally restarted baking again
like really
and i have not lost it hurhur
the party was awesome but i forgot to do so many things
tyred
today i was just tyred
having slept late
today was
well for school!
band was awesome
how can you move 2 years in 10 minutes?
well for me it was like that
and now its over
START OF SOMETHIN NEWWWWWWWWWWWWW
my back hurts like im an old man

EMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMA

today i feeel wooozy I NEED THOSE VITAMIN D PILLS
blair is so cutesy in this episode

Rhythm of a Year

A staccato beat pounds inside her head.
Unfamiliar words play to a strange tune
only she hears, she can tell from empty,
blank stares aimed in her direction – faces
she knows understand … almost … everything.

Faltering notes smooth out with distractions,
mellow to soft jazz behind tired eyes.
Others can sense a shift in the music,
the way her body moves and sways in time
to private thoughts, images they can’t see.

Quiet mystery hides her smile again
(unseen for the better part of a year).
Tempos untried excite and tempt her back
into the rhythm of her desires.

Siobhan
10-17-09

In this Huffington Post story, Henry Blodget examines the future of the social networking site MySpace.

A few years back, MySpace was the king of the social networking world. Everyone in high school had one and if you were in a band, you needed it to survive. The words Twitter and Facebook were part of a different language. Then something happened. We graduated high school and Facebook became the college myspace. Along with any other trend MySpace started to flame out. Other than MySpace music, it didn’t have any staying power. Facebook now dominates the social networking world and now people of all ages flock to it.

There are many reasons why Facebook and Twitter won the war, but one of the reasons is that they managed to stay relevant in the news world. A huge majority of news outlets today have both Twitter accounts and Facebook fan pages. No one is afraid to use these social networking sites as professional tools. More and more people are using these sites to get their news and to give it. Individual journalists often use them to communicate with readers and to market themselves and their work. Check for yourself, the New York Times does not have a MySpace page.

Blodget describes how Rupert Murdoch was seen as a genius for purchasing MySpace for only $580 million. He had supposed huge plans for the site but was really looking to dump it before its value completely collapsed. He might be too late. A source suggests that MySpace did only $500-$600 million of revenue last year and actually lost money in the process. There’s a small chance it can be saved but that window is closing. Blodget compares it to former internet juggernauts, Lycos, Infoseek and Excite. I can’t even remember these names or what they did. Like Myspace and Murdoch, they were purchased at their peak of internet existence.

Luckily for Murdoch he didn’t spend as much as these companies did. I believe Myspace will soon be a distant memory, if it isn’t already.

Eccomi qui….dopo le fatiche della (seconda) mudanza, ho cambiato casa, beh questa nuova situazione mi piace, e spero che qualcuno posso davvero leggere le mie parole e i miei pensieri. Tocca presentarsi, per chi non mi conosce, beh in me condividono varie identità, che ben mi rappresentano: la pestifera Zazie (non a caso immagine di questo blog, già perché nelle vecchie versioni nella url c’era scritto proprio ask for zazie, chiedi di Zazie), la triste Adèle h., l’incompresa Amélie, e beh, la sommatoria di tutte quante dà la chica de bolsillo o la fille de poche, una ragazza tascabile del titolo….così piccola da metterla in un taschino, come una moderna – meno odiosa – minù famosa per essere una vecchina rompi con il suo cucchiaino gigante…o una moderna sissi (alta solo 1,40 cm). beh, per ora è anche troppo… lasciatemi riprendere dal mio personale infinito jet-lag….

“Questi aveva trascorso anni alla ricerca della donna giusta, una donna dolce e minuta quanto lo era la sua cara nonna scomparsa, un donna tanto piccola da poter stare in un taschino“.

Da Gatto nero, gatto bianco di Emir Kusturica (1998, tit. or. Crna macka, beli macor).

Bisoux,

la fille de poche

(originally posted on 03/01/2005 – modified on 12/10/09)

Bisoux,

la fille de poche

Email is one of the most basic services, yet it is also one of the hardest to manage. There are the old stand-byes, the new up starts, the social media centric services, and then of course there are the services that are suddenly gone. Of course you could pay for a “premium account” with a provider….but if your going to do that why not just self-host?  The choices are endless really and it is a minefield full of hazards.

In the next few posts I am going to look at the main options for email. The hope is to provide you with a knowledge base to make an informed decision about choosing providers. Along the way I will share my own trial and error…well mostly error in this department.

However I would love to hear your stories, so do please be sure to comment about your own experience with Email. Whether its a horror story or a glowing review I look forward to hearing it.

Looking to learn more about Shaklee?  There are some great opportunities coming to a city near you!

WELCOME TO THE EXCITE FALL 2009 SESSION

Come and meet our CEO, Roger Barnett!! Roger will be at the Los Angeles and New York City Excites!  He will be giving the Opportunity Presentation on Friday Night!  Come and find out how now is the perfect time to get involved with the Health And Wellness Industry!  As a gift for attending you will receive a 10 day supply or our #1 selling product Vivix!!  Don’t miss out, it is free to attend on Friday Night! Contact me for more info!!  You don’t live near Los Angeles or New York City? ~ Don’t worry there is an Excite close to you, check out the other locations!!

Double The Value – Half The Cost! – Now Only $15 Per Person to Register!

We want to help you succeed in building to Executive Coordinator AND in reaching even higher to the coveted rank of Presidential Master Coordinator so we’re bringing EXCITE to a city near you in a new format designed to help you sponsor and train new people…all at a lower cost!

NEW Friday Opportunity Presentation – Friday night of EXCITE weekend will kick off with a FREE, open Opportunity Meeting. This is a perfect time to introduce new prospects to Shaklee in a fun and lively setting where they can hear from your EXCITE guest speakers and Shaklee Home Office Staff.* Get out your contact list and bring everyone you know to hear why we’re so EXCITED about Shaklee and how they can build a national and international home-based business.

Saturday One-Day Training – Come back with your team on Saturday for an all-day training session where you’ll learn the fundamentals of building a Shaklee business that will focus on becoming an Executive Coordinator by building Directors and above within your team. This is a must for your entire organization! And now more of your team members will be able to attend at the new, lower $15 in advance ($25 at the door) cost!

WHO SHOULD ATTEND?

The Executive Coordinator rank is an important step on the path to Presidential Master Coordinator, the highest rank in Shaklee. If you want to reach Executive Coordinator or you want to develop Executive Coordinators in your organization, you should attend EXCITE.

Even if you’ve attended an EXCITE training before—come back, this time with your prospects and new builders. With your greater level of experience, you’ll hear things in a new and different way. EXCITE is also a great opportunity to learn how to incorporate all of the new programs launched at the 2009 Global Conference to build your business. And your new people will benefit too.

EVERYONE IS RAVING ABOUT EXCITE!

“Attending EXCITE really took me and my group to another level. We learned how to set goals and create concrete action plans to reach them and we got the inspiration we needed to step out of our comfort zones and be more effective.” Margie Shipp (Senior Director, AL)

“Every EXCITE we attend produces growth. Why? Because no matter which location you go to, you and your team are being trained by the best of the best! These powerhouse Leaders have achieved what you are trying to achieve and they pour out EVERYTHING they know to give you every advantage.” Diane McCracken (Executive Coordinator, PA)

REGISTRATION:

We heard your requests for lower costs and now we’re offering the same great training you’ve come to expect for $15 per person (In advance, $25 at the door.) Your registration fee includes the seminar and workshop materials. Please feel free to bring your own lunch. Depending upon your location, there may also be restaurants available on site.

KEEP YOUR CITY EXCITED!

By keeping participation in your location at a minimum of 100 attendees you help to ensure that future EXCITE trainings will visit your city! No EXCITE meeting will be cancelled due to low participation, and those with greater attendance will receive priority status for all future events.

Find out more here!

What a great way to learn more and boost your business at the same time!

Got Question? Contact me!

Independent Shaklee Distributor

Looking to learn more about Shaklee?  There are some great opportunities coming to a city near you!

WELCOME TO THE EXCITE FALL 2009 SESSION

Come and meet our CEO, Roger Barnett!! Roger will be at the Los Angeles and New York City Excites!  He will be giving the Opportunity Presentation on Friday Night!  Come and find out how now is the perfect time to get involved with the Health And Wellness Industry!  As a gift for attending you will receive a 10 day supply or our #1 selling product Vivix!!  Don’t miss out, it is free to attend on Friday Night!  Contact me for more info!!  You don’t live near Los Angeles or New York City? ~ Don’t worry there is an Excite close to you, check out the other locations!!

Double The Value – Half The Cost! – Now Only $15 Per Person to Register!

We want to help you succeed in building to Executive Coordinator AND in reaching even higher to the coveted rank of Presidential Master Coordinator so we’re bringing EXCITE to a city near you in a new format designed to help you sponsor and train new people…all at a lower cost!

NEW Friday Opportunity Presentation – Friday night of EXCITE weekend will kick off with a FREE, open Opportunity Meeting. This is a perfect time to introduce new prospects to Shaklee in a fun and lively setting where they can hear from your EXCITE guest speakers and Shaklee Home Office Staff.* Get out your contact list and bring everyone you know to hear why we’re so EXCITED about Shaklee and how they can build a national and international home-based business.

Saturday One-Day Training – Come back with your team on Saturday for an all-day training session where you’ll learn the fundamentals of building a Shaklee business that will focus on becoming an Executive Coordinator by building Directors and above within your team. This is a must for your entire organization! And now more of your team members will be able to attend at the new, lower $15 in advance ($25 at the door) cost!

WHO SHOULD ATTEND?

The Executive Coordinator rank is an important step on the path to Presidential Master Coordinator, the highest rank in Shaklee. If you want to reach Executive Coordinator or you want to develop Executive Coordinators in your organization, you should attend EXCITE.

Even if you’ve attended an EXCITE training before—come back, this time with your prospects and new builders. With your greater level of experience, you’ll hear things in a new and different way. EXCITE is also a great opportunity to learn how to incorporate all of the new programs launched at the 2009 Global Conference to build your business. And your new people will benefit too.

EVERYONE IS RAVING ABOUT EXCITE!

“Attending EXCITE really took me and my group to another level. We learned how to set goals and create concrete action plans to reach them and we got the inspiration we needed to step out of our comfort zones and be more effective.” Margie Shipp (Senior Director, AL)

“Every EXCITE we attend produces growth. Why? Because no matter which location you go to, you and your team are being trained by the best of the best! These powerhouse Leaders have achieved what you are trying to achieve and they pour out EVERYTHING they know to give you every advantage.” Diane McCracken (Executive Coordinator, PA)

REGISTRATION:

We heard your requests for lower costs and now we’re offering the same great training you’ve come to expect for $15 per person (In advance, $25 at the door.) Your registration fee includes the seminar and workshop materials. Please feel free to bring your own lunch. Depending upon your location, there may also be restaurants available on site.

KEEP YOUR CITY EXCITED!

By keeping participation in your location at a minimum of 100 attendees you help to ensure that future EXCITE trainings will visit your city! No EXCITE meeting will be cancelled due to low participation, and those with greater attendance will receive priority status for all future events.

Find out more here!

What a great way to learn more and boost your business at the same time!

Got Question? Contact me!

Independent Shaklee Distributor

Jamie was trying out for a part in the school play. His mother told  me that he’d set his heart on being in it, though she feared he would not be chosen.  On the day the parts were awarded, I went with her to collect him after school. Jamie rushed up to her, eyes shining with pride and excitement.  “Guess what, Mom?” he shouted,  “I’ve been chosen to clap and cheer!!!”

Primeiramente, eu gostaria de dizer que esse é um jogo de lançamento do Wii, mas que poucos tiveram a oportunidade de jogar,  talvez por ter comprado o console tempos depous do lançamento e ter muitos jogos com mais nome pra se jogar ou por outro motivo qualquer. Esse Review é um apelo para que olhem para trás e jogue essa maravilha de jogo que talvez possa ter passado batido.

Antes do Review uma breve restrospectiva!

ExciteBike

Este é um jogo de que você pode encontrar no NES, se trata de um jogo de Motocross, onde o objetivo do jogo é fazer o percurso num tempo inferior ao estimado.
Para isso se deve fazer manobras para pular sobre os obstáculos, usar o nitro para ganhar velocidade e impulso, e tomar cuidade para o motor não ferver!

O jogo não era de chegar em primeiro lugar (apesar de que, se vc fizesse um tempo menor que o estimado era considerado como primeiro lugar) e vencer os oponentes, e sim de ter uma boa performance nas pistas e driblar o tempo!

Existiu uma sequencia para o Nintendo 64, onde esse sim era focado em vencer os oponentes.

Excite Truck

Excite Truck é um jogo de corrida onde você é premiado pelos feitos durante as fases, não é um jogo que se define por colocação na hora da chegada, apesar disso ser extremamente importante se quiser ter uma boa pontuação!

Vou explicar melhor isso…

Cada fase exige um número mínimo de estrelas para ser “completada”, e essas estrelas são pontuações que você ganha durante a corrida de várias formas, que vai de 1 até 5 estrelas.

Pontos por aéreos

Quanto mais tempo você permanecer no ar, mais pontos!

Pontos por manobras aéreas

Girar o carro no ar também rende pontos, quanto mais voltas der, mais pontos ganha!

Combos aéreos

São a sequencia de Nitro no ar!

Porrada no Adversário

No maior estilo Burnout, a pontuação varia de acordo com a violência da porrada no adversário

Anéis

Quando você habilita o evento (!) de anéis, surgem 5 anés no ar onde se deve passar com o caminhão no meio, cada anel corresponde a uma estrela.

Drift

A pontuação aqui depende do tempo da sequencia de Drift

Passar no meio das árvores

Se tem uma coisa que torra o saco nesse jogo é bater de frente numa árvore, é bom evitar, mas quanto mais tempo você conseguir ficar correndo no meio delas sem bater, mais pontos você ganha.
Existe um item POW que faz o caminhão ficar imune as árvores e aos oponentes por um tempo, utilize isso pra arriscar um passeio entre as “malditas” ou pra porrar um oponente

Chegar em primeiro lugar rende 50 pontos, segundo 25 pontos, terceiro 10 pontos, quarto 5 pontos e por ae vai…

Existem vários eventos durante a corrida (simbolos de exclamação “!”) que podem ser bastante estratégicos quando o jogador pega a manha do jogo!

Alguns eventos:

• eventos que geram os anéis, como dito mais acima;

• eventos que  geram curvas em lugares molhados, o que facilita o Drift

• eventos de atalho, bom para aquele momento que vc já tem uma pontuação perto do estimado e uma colocação melhor faria você estourar as pontuações e ganhar um S bonito.

Por falar em S, existe um Ranking para cada pista, D, C, B, A ou S.

Parte técnica

Os controles são ótimos, mas os comandos não são fáceis de aprender, isso pode gerar uma frustração aos jogadores novatos, mas depois que se domina todos os comandos básicos o jogo flue perfeitamente. Existe um tutorial bastante monótono no começo do jogo, mas que é obrigatório para quem quer começar tendo um desempenho mínimo.

Os sensores fluem muito bem e a Monster Games soube fazer bom uso dele!

Os gráficos contribuem bastante para a sensação “Wohoooo” que o jogo passa, com efeitos vertiginosos, cenários bonitos que se passam em vários lugares do mundo real (muralha da China por exemplo). E os eventos que geram destruição nos cenários, fazendo carros voar pelos ares! Avalanche, Erupção Vulcânica e Terremotos de deixar Disaster Day of Crisis com inveja!

O som é um rock carregado, solos de guitarra comendo solto e contribuindo para o clima radical do jogo, mas se não faz o seu estilo, tem a opção de importar qualquer musica do SD Card e botar pra tocar durante as corridas.
Tu tem a chance de fazer a trilha sonora do seu jeito!

Os contras do jogo

• Ter um modo versus fraco e robótico que não chega aos pés do Single, a falta de um modo para 4 jogadores logo na estréia do console mais família da geração.

• Poucos temas de pistas, que não chega a ser um contra, mas seria muito bem vindo e aumentaria o valor do jogo

• Também senti a falta de uma melhor customização dos carros, os bixos são bacanas, mas só poder trocar a cor é tão pobre!

Esse é Excite Truck, o sucessor espiritual de Excite Bike, onde você é premiado pelo show que dá durante a corrida, que não é nenhuma mão-na-roda, ao contrário, é frustrante para os novatos!

Recomendação: 90%

It isn’t everyday that you see something that catches your eye and makes you pause.

It isn’t everyday that a chance occurrence becomes a memory to savour.

And it isn’t everyday that you see something that simply makes you smile.

But why shouldn’t you? Everyday brings with it the possibility of something unique and different. Something that catches your eye and maintains your gaze. These remarkable moments lie dormant until they can bring intrigue, mystery and possibly joy to a chosen individual. It may be a beautiful flower that you pass on the walk to work, or even a bird whizzing past your ear. It’s the little moments like these that keep us living.

Sometimes though you need to take a break from the monotonous lifestyle that is work and search out for something that you find unique and different. When you find it, you’ll know. Simple things such as helping a friend out, or catching up for lunch can bring a smile to your face and a great feeling inside. No one should be feeling down constantly. If it’s getting to you then take a break. Try something different. Experience the un-experienced. What you discover may surprise you.

I know all this sounds philosophical, but it’s such a good feeling when you put on the optimist glasses once in a while. Society nowadays is so hung up on putting everyone down. It’s a problem commonly referred to as the ‘Tall Poppy Syndrome’, and it’s rife within the community. As soon as you succeed from stepping outside of the norm and trying something different, you are ridiculed. The problem though, is that this act of ridicule stunts innovation and discourages future endeavours. As human beings we are really only limited by how hard we want to push ourselves. Peer support is so important in so many aspects of life, and when it is taken away at a critical point in success, we seem to spin in circles and nose-dive.

Therefore if you wish to succeed then you need to create your own identity and build your confidence around it. Confidence is too often looked upon as being too excited, or egotistical, and for these reasons often the most confident person may be looked over for a position of importance. Why is that? Since when is being confident in yourself such a bad thing? In making this comment I am aware of the top end of the confidence scale which is ‘ignorance’. The last thing that anyone wants is a stubborn and ignorant person working with them. But these traits should not be tied in with confidence. It is great for someone to be confident in themselves. Sometimes such self belief can bring out the best in a person. Constantly I’m trying to get this message across to kids that I coach and assist. Self belief is where you need to start. Without the basic ability to believe that you can use your abilities to succeed, you will struggle to accomplish much.

Chuck a smile on your face as you go around work or talk to people and notice how it rubs off really easily. Everyone wants to be happy and have a laugh, but with all the sources of stress nowadays we seem to forget to smile once in a while. By smiling you make yourself happy and display your a more optimistic view to those around you. Try asking someone to do something while frowning. Fat chance they will rush to get it done. Although it seems so simple, a smile can brighten your’s and someone else’s day.

So go on. Once in a while put on a smile. You’ll be surprised how good it feels

ABOUT this blog: Ever find those really neat bars or restaurants or used book stores or underground vinyl shops, boutiques- etc? And you ask yourself, why haven’t I heard about this? And where can I find more places like this? Well, that’s the objective to this blog! We will be venturing out around Cape Town to bring you an extensive list of the Around the Corner places that you just don’t normally see advertised widely. We promise to bring you great stuff! No more going to commercial conglomerations every Friday night! YAY! 

Finding new things are exciting! We hope you are ready to see what’s Around the Corner.

Cheers,

Melissa & Claudia

OKAY THESE ARE THE INSTAX’s of annabels MUJI PLANNER THAT SHE WILL USE EVERY SINGLE DAY
the photos are lousy cause i was rushing
thank you everyone who was willing to take a photo
i love the martini one the light leaks are so exciting since its an instax and its not normal film so yeah its something new
to explain why they are what month
august (four verakin students of 2F09)- the verakin students came then
september (shirlyn) – her birthday
october (nancy and nicole) – nancys birthday
november (martin) – he looks dubious (streaming this year)
december (eunice yafan jia le me) – december children
January (aggshay and amos) – aggshay birthday
february (meipeng) – her birthday
march (MRS JEAN HO) – thats when she was nicest
april (lung kuang) – aprils fools
may (maxy) – WHEN IS JUNE GOING TO COME
june (nainai) – her birthday and I MISS MY FRIENDS so i write letters
july (headless yafan) – WHO AM I phase therefore the light effects (which in instax is always green somehow)

yesterday i was sexually harassed my “my dear” crystal
this is out of order but im watching golden star bell with sonyuhshidae last year when kissing you was a big hit
and even the muriel girl sounds like muriel
yeah crystal lin you suck
gold star went to trombones and percussion
and the verakin students are so cute
i still cannot forget the 南西过来一下下！
with the finger crook
ahaha okay i love crystal tohs buddy who only tlaks to girls (i wonder why)
and they are leaving tomorrow
anyway i hope they will delete the photo of FHM practicing!!
anyway band was awesome FHm had fun BUT HAIQAL WAS MISSING and BI QUN HAS A BLOG ( HAHA MAYEEE DONT THINK I FORGOT I WILL FIND OUT SOMEHOW)
today mass walk was stupid
school was okay just tyred from reading at night
i stil cant believe joanne left onl three days ago it doesnt register
after school was remedial and i must say mrs ho is
yeap
AGGSHAY IS A COOGER MAN

I wish someone would sing HAHA for me (okay snsd)
and i think i
nevermind
ive been writing in my journal thingy so i dont have to say it here

Companies need to delight customers to gain a competitive edge. The delight is referred to as a profoundly positive emotional state that results from having  one’s expectations exceeded to a surprising degree. The type of service that results in delight is “positively outrageous service”—that which is unexpected, random, extraordinary, and disproportionately positive.

A way that managers can conceive of delight I to consider product and service features in terms of concentric rings. The innermost bull’s eye refers to attributes that are central to the basic function of the product or service, called musts. Their provision isn’t particularly noticeable, but their absence would be. Around the musts is a ring called satisfiers: features that have the potential to further satisfaction beyond the basic function of the product. At the next and final outer level are delights, product features that are unexpected and surprisingly enjoyable. These are things that consumers would not expect to find and are therefore highly surprised and sometimes excited when they receive them. For example, in your classes the musts consist of professors, rooms, syllabus, and class meetings. Satisfiers might include professors who are entertaining and friendly, interesting lectures, and good audio-visual aids. A delight might include a free textbook for students signing up for the course.

Delighting customers may seem like a good idea, but this level of service provision comes with extra effort and cost to the firm. Therefore the benefits of providing delight must be weighed. Among the considerations are the staying power and competitive implications of delight.

Staying power involves the question of how long a company can expect an experience of delight to maintain the customer’s attention. If it is fleeting and the customer forgets it immediately, it may not be worth the cost. Alternatively, if the customer remembers the delight and adjusts her level of expectation upward accordingly, it will cost the company more just to satisfy, effectively raising the bar for the future. Delighting customers does in fact raise expectations and make it more difficult for a company to satisfy customers in the future.

The competitive implication of delight relates to its impact on expectations of other firms in the same industry.if a competitor in the same industry is unable to copy the delight strategy, it will be disadvantaged by the consumer’s increased expectations. If you were offered that free textbook in one of your classes, you might then expect to receive one in each of your classes. Those classes not offering the free textbook might not have high enrollment levels compared to the delighting class. If a competitor can easily copy the delight strategy, however, neither firm benefits (although the consumer does), and all firm may be hurt because their cost increase and profit erode. The implication is that if companies choose to delight, they should do so in areas that cannot be copied by other firms.

My Consultancy–Asif J. Mir - Management Consultant–transforms organizations where people have the freedom to be creative, a place that brings out the best in everybody–an open, fair place where people have a sense that what they do matters. For details please visit www.asifjmir.com, Line of Sight

photos first
OKAY COTINUED THIS IS YET ANOTHER WEEK POST AN I HAVE SUCEEDED I MEAN USING ONLY LIKE 6 TAGS
MONDAY
BAND REHEARSAL AT VCH
I LOST MY WALLET
I WANT TO DIE
TAKE THE MONEY I DONT CARE
I WANT MY NOTES
INSTAX’S AND OTHER STUPID StuFF
I STILL HAVEnT FOUND IT
stupid
okay
then tuesday and wednesday performance
i lvoe the song
i will upload it
ahaha with niggole singing so loudly
and OUR DORMMM
the videos ahahahahaha
i wmight upload one or two
and truth or dare on the last night
and stupid games
and lousy packets dinners
and the DUNGEON aa murder house
paedophille
yeah and everything
i love night of stars
awesome shizz
thursday
debate
sucked
i mean erika was captivating and so interesting yet she was kinda gross cause her top strap was like sliding off all the time
at that point steph didnt seem cool btu jsut some asian girl hahaa
anyway
ANGEL
she still hasnt replied me
i am still v scared
stupid paavan
ANGEL COME BACKKK
anyway
fryday was
oh yeah gh has atg joannes house
it was fun
nancy is okay
hareez= nothign
ck = pro
jamie = didnt reall do much too busy with her bf
jireh = pro
joanne = ahsbdkasdb
anyway jamie is a girl gone wild
i wonder who was the person who makes good girls go bad
too bad shes still flat
anwyay
fryday joannes house seemed so different
wasnt just lazing around doing nothing
so wierd
anywayyyy
school in general was just tests
and nothign much
oh and thursday we went to our table with joanne FOR THE LAST TIME ahhaahah
with dt
it was wierd
someone was insanely jayelous
and yeye and nainai forever
anywya friday night we had a discussion
more family stuff
and yf whih was boringy
anddd saturday
FAMILY
DAY
SUPET DUPER
FUN
I WASTED WELL TANYEAH CAUSE SHE BOUGHT THEM
WASTED 5 INSTAX’s
BUT THEY WEre WORHJT IT
ALL OF THEM
ANYWAYY
so fmaily day was awesome
i loved it
not to mention the kareoke session
i love anyhow singing
to songs
relieved hairspray and hsm
and everythign
then went home exhausted and smelling like puke
frolickkkk
wang jun and kangping are so fascinating
tiredd
then i did somethign i cant remember
thenn sleep
then cg
which IS FINALLY THE LASTTT JOHN ONE
YEAHHHH
and caleb is so awersome
his voice is so nice i swear
all the guys in our class cannot sing
espacially soh zhi en
anyway
the song was so nice
and gideons voice is just as ncie
but his voice is so much lower
sunday was okay i guess
sunday school was tiring i slept
we took two polaroids for shawnas thingy
and then we we we we we we we we we went up
av was fun
i finished star wars
then I SAW ANG CHAIS WEDDING PHOTOS
WHICH I WILL TRY TO UPLOAD NEXT WEEK
and i got caught ahahaa
like he saw it somehow
so wier but he didnt think it was me
anyway then we went to funana
havent been there in like a year
i miss it
no jean:(
caleb is very condescending
well he called us kids and like dissed pepper lunch
food there is soo exx like red ruby was 2.50!!!
anyway
went home and slept
and thennn
holland v crystal jade for no reason
AND WE SAW DEBORAYE ON HER FIRST DAY AT STUPID COLD ROCK
so ex
anywayyy
the above [hotos is her serious im a buisenesswoman face HAH
okay
thats all i guess
i am sstupid and am toyed by books
ck has an obsession for houses