Some Thoughts from the Singapore F1 Grand Prix 2011

Thanks to my mom, my dad and I were lucky (and very, very thankful) to be able to watch this year's Singapore F1 Grand Prix live and in person. It was a great three day event, and there were other support races aside from the actual F1 race cars. There was the 911 Cup and the JK Formula cars - but I'm not sure those are the proper names. I wasn't paying attention too much on the names.

My dad and I were seated at the Bay Grandstand, Zone 3. Light blue section, row 9 seats 15 and 16. Great views.

I'll try and post pictures eventually, but first I have to pic the best ones out of hundreds I took. So for now, I'll just share some of my thoughts about my experiences in watching this amazing event live.

• Watching on TV does not give the sound of the F1 cars justice. To hear it live is just amazing. After a few practice laps on Friday I was already wearing the ear plugs you can buy at the event. Trust me, you need the ear plugs.
• Sebastian Vettel is just that damn good. Period. An amazing driver with an amazing car equals an almost guaranteed win every race.
• Trying to follow the F1 cars speeding all out on the (relatively) short straight made me dizzy.
• The smell was also something else. A mixture of burnt rubber, burnt clutch, fuel, and, sadly, sweaty people.
• The F1's safety car also has an amazing engine sound. Like a very angry rumble.
• The McLarens are really shiny silver. It's not the common silver you see on normal road cars, but a mirror-like finish. Shiny under all the lights.
• The Ferraris were also great to hear. Whether on a high RPM sound or a low RPM sound, it was just fantastic.
• The audience was a bit tame, not as wild as other grand prix where people react more lively. There were some groans and sporadic clapping, but the crowd could definitely liven up. The decibel level of the crowd during the race was too quiet, if you ask me. Even when Vettel passed by doing his victory lap the crowd still didn't go as nuts as I thought they would.

So far that's all I can write about. I will try to write another post related to my F1 experiences, and hopefully I'll also be able to put a link for some photos.

Out.

Getting in Shape

I've posted something about this before, but I just want to post about it again.


I'm doing my best to brisk walk/jog at least once a week. Once. How the hell can I improve my stamina if I only do my brisk walking/jogging once a week?

Basketball.


Last week my two "cardio workouts" were going brisk walk/jogging and playing basketball. Both are cardio workouts, both have different intensities. It felt good to get a (relatively) good workout.


This week I started trying out doing barbell complexes (or whatever it is they're called). Instead of going at it straight with a barbell I'm doing it "a capella" for now. No barbell yet, I want to make sure my posture and form is right so I don't wreck any body part. And I don't plan on using heavy weights when I start. After all, the barbell we have at home has only two ONE POINT TWENTY FIVE KILOGRAM weights on it.


I do plan on getting more weights eventually. First I have to force myself to incorporate this barbell complex exercise into my daily routine. And I have to make this into a habit. I can't just go all out for a week or so and get bored.


All in the name of losing weight and becoming more healthy. I'm just glad (and blessed) to have officemates who share the same goals of getting healthy and losing weight. Although from the looks of it, I'm the one who needs the most work out of all the "serious" ones in the office.


Out.

What's Up With the Weather?

The title says it all.


It still feels like summer. It is super-freaking hot. And humid. The weather isn't even cool. It's beach weather.


No, I don't want the super strong typhoons to hit the country non-stop, but I was also expecting it wouldn't be this hot at this time of the year. And the weird thing is at night there are times when it starts raining like a storm is here. Strange.


I hope this has nothing to do with a) climate change, b) a vengeful god who wants to punish us, or c) the 2012 end of the world predictions.


Oh crap, Tropical Banter's about to start.


Out.

My Ideal Computer Setup

(Quick note: I am not a tech expert. I'm not up-to-date on the latest processors and what-not. So this post will be very generic. If you need help setting up a computer, don't ask me.)


I'm a 3D artist. I have a relatively powerful desktop at work, and right now I own a laptop computer. I haven't done any freelance work - yet. I hope to be able to do some eventually. But I have come to one important realization: I have found the ideal computer setup for myself.


What do I mean by this? I mean what gear I would ideally own that would be a perfect mix of practicality, power, and easiness-to-carry. The answer is simple: own a netbook and one desktop.


The netbook would be my travel computer. I would use it to store my demoreel, other work files, and other miscellaneous files. It would not contain any work related software and would be used exclusively for surfing the net and file storage. And maybe the occasional game or two.


Why not a tablet? I've got one simple answer why not a tablet. Connectivity. Sure, you can connect via wifi or bluetooth (do tablets have bluetooth?) but I'm not sure about it's USB connectivity. How easily can you connect your tablet to a digital camera? An external hard drive? A card-reader? Exactly. The netbook can still handle those things and it's still small enough and portable enough that it won't be that much of a hassle.


The desktop would be the powerful computer. I would use it for the more hardcore games and hardcore gadgets, er, and of course I'd try to put work-related software into it. It would be powerful enough to run the latest games, and still handle the latest 3D artist related software (if I have to put any into it.)


As for synching files between the two computers, it would be easily done using my home wifi network.


So there. One netbook for portable stuff, one powerful desktop for doing freelance work (and games, of course, and games). Plus I'd be able to save on the electric bill because if I just need to surf then I can just use the low energy netbook.


Out.

Musings

So many thoughts, so little time to write.


I've been working overtime at work since Monday. No, I'm not complaining. I've done overtimes before. This is nothing new to me. So now I really want to blog, but usually when I get home I'm too tired to write.


Not tonight. First, I took a power nap during the afternoon break at work. Second, I don't plan on doing overtime tomorrow (to rest and recharge because in all likelihood I will be doing overtime this Saturday and Sunday - again, something I've done before). And finally, my wife and I will be hitching a ride with my mom tomorrow so I don't have to wake up early to drive to work.


Yes, I'm tired. I rarely do overtime in the game industry. I used to do a lot of overtime in the advertising / post-prod industry. But now? Rarely. Plus my body clock is adjusted to sleeping early and waking up early. So I'm sort of adjusting.


Anyway, I'm sort of surprised at my new mindset at work. I now make a conscious effort to not be a source of negative energies. I try to get along with all my teammates, and I try to be a positive influence around them.

I have no idea if it's because I'm becoming better as a lead, or if I'm just getting older, wiser, and more mature. Maybe it's all of the above. Maybe that seminar on positive attitude worked even better than I expected. I have no idea.


* * *


I also regret this week that I have had no chance to go jogging. It's frustrating because last week I was able to go 500m non-stop on a slow jog. This is a big deal for a fat-ass like myself. I've been pushing myself every week to increase the distance of my jog and this was a major improvement. I used to be able to do 1.5 laps around the park my officemates and I jog at. That's about 250m per lap.


* * *


I can't believe that I learn more from "bad influences" than from good ones. If I see examples of bad attitudes or whatever from people, I tend to remember those more than the good examples. And I do my best to avoid doing those bad things.


* * *


That's all I can write tonight. I had no plans of writing so basically I just wrote what my mind rambled.


Out.