Ok,  I finally, gave in to temptation and put an order for a new notebook, better than gambling the money away lol  What pushed me over the limit is whenever I play max payne 3, I have lots of downloads going off those crappy http sites and when it finishes downloading at slow speed and write to hdd, it crashes my acer notebook and reboots.  I just cant live like this anymore so I went shopping online...

This is the one I ordered:
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Alienware-M17X-R4-nVidia-GTX-680m-2gb-CUSTOM-8gb-M4-256gb-SSD-1TB-NEW-/330771826149?pt=Laptops_Nov05&hash=item4d038985e5#ht_2010wt_1272
for US $2,598.00

As usual paypal screwed me over with fx rate.  AUD/USD is 1.05 as of today 31/7/2012 and they only gave me 1.01, the difference in dollar terms is almost enough to pay for the customs. F@#king paypal C#$ksuckers!!!

U might wonder why I  chose these, specs, well I did a lot of reasearch, 8gb ram is more than enough, 256gb crucial ssd to make windows fast (nothing worse than slow windows), I only play a few games at once so thats where it will get installed, 1TB 5400rpm is for storage.

"Since most 3D software is limited by the GPU and Intel's current product line-up sports high efficiency (performance per MHz), the average consumer will already be very happy with the cheapest variation."
http://www.notebookcheck.net/Alienware-M17x-R4-Notebook-Review.75292.0.html
The review also says the GTX 680m beats GTX 675m by 50%


What I did not like about the specs from reading is that it has a very reflective screen and high levels of fan noise.    I guess I will find out in a few days time.

Here is a review
http://www.laptopmag.com/review/laptop/alienware_m17x_r4_2012.aspx

It has the best graphics card gtx 680m for notebook
http://www.notebookcheck.net/Review-GeForce-GTX-680M-vs-Radeon-HD-7970M.77110.0.html

I could have got the 7970m version of the alienware with better processor and more ram for the same price, but I read about the amd enduro switching not working whereas I have got nvidia's optimus on my acer, so I know it works for sure.  The enduro technology was trying to emulate the optimus whereby if you are not using your graphics card, it will switch to the onboard intel graphics automatically to save power.  The GTX 680m is less power hungry than 7970m so since Australia has this bull$hit carbon tax, I want to save money on electricity ha ha

Talking about saving, I saved so hard to buy this the notebook, its like I photocopied all my university textbooks by borrowing from library or lecturer and standing in front of the photocopier for hours, just to save AUD $140 per book, books are so f#$king expensive these days, I remember my undergrad days when I thought the AUD 69.95 books were expensive, now they are like more than double the price with the same crap.  I even cut down my gambling,  I only have 50 bucks left in my online lotto account and I did not even bet on a single olympics event!.   I also just did my tax return and the stinking flood levy took a chunk of tax out of my pay.  If I had that money, I could have upgraded my computer with better specs.

If you are like me in Australia, and are thinking of buying a notebook from America, then you need to pay GST when it gets delivered, I started this post in whirlpool so you can read all about it.
http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/forum-replies.cfm?t=1959627

I will document the process in the post so everyone will know what happens the moment the notebook lands in Australia.  You have to pay GST on the shipping costs.  Despite 10% extra cost, you will find that you will save heaps (at least $500 AUD on high end notebooks on the after shipping and Australian taxes price) compared to buying it via Dell website or at JB Hi Fi local shop.  Also, the Dell website forces you to take expensive things you don't need ie I just want the base 3610 processor but their minimum is 3rd generation Intel® Core™ i7-3720QM and I just wanted 8gb of ram, so you will pay a couple of hundred here and there for things you don't need with no option to downgrade which is why America is the best place for buying powerful computers where everything is customisable.  U only need to buy a power cable for the power brick, and on ebay they only cost $4 AUD with free shipping here http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=130506113702&viewitem=&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWNX%3AIT#ht_2772wt_1140

I once made the mistaken belief of buying in Asia to save money because I was thinking Taiwan/China makes all the parts, so transport costs can be saved, but low and behold, the HK price was heaps more expensive than buying via ebay from America.  Same goes for Lowyat in Malaysia, they dont have the top end models available.

I can now see why Acer is the no 1 brand in Asia because it is cheaply made so it can sell cheaply to the masses.  They do not cater for gaming as evidenced by my mid priced Acer in front of me where the overheating of the GT540 graphics card fried the most important keyboard keys E D and C and the harddrive had indications of failure shortly after purchase.  The heat on the Acer aspire 5750g keyboard when playing max payne 3 is enough to fry an egg!

 I don't bother repairing notebooks as the cost can go towards a new notebook and the repair centres are all out of the way in the middle of nowhere here in Australia and I have to take time off work to get there and another day to collect it.  Plus I don't want to waste time backing up important documents/wiping the harddrive etc prior to getting it repaired.

Also, using my Amex in Asia is a pain because they charge hundreds of dollars to convert to the local currencies for expensive purchases and give crap fx rate.  There is no way I will do a cash withdrawal on my credit cards as the interest in Australia on them is astronomical and they charge interest during the month and and a half billing cycle till the amount gets paid in cash.

If you are in Australia, the best place for buying USB or SD cards etc i.e.smaller computer equipment, is http://www.shoppingsquare.com.au/
Wait till they have a special eg they have $10 shipping cap so today I bought a keyboard vacuum (its very dusty where I live), JoyFlash 16GB SD Card Class10, Panasonic earphones (I buy these annually for hygiene reasons, don't want itchy ears or neck ha ha) for only 34 AUD inclusive of shipping.

If any of you are wondering what happens to all my old gaming notebooks eg my Asus G73JH, my wife's notebook power adapter brick died so I let her use it, but then she wanted it for herself since her old notebook was 16 inch but the G73jh has such a nice 17inch screen, for watching movies.  So I bought another one, and that went to my mother in law...  I did buy a new power brick for my wife's old notebook but she didnt want it anymore so I will give it to relatives.

Ok enough bitchin, I was seriously considering this MSI GT70 0NE-276US
for USD 2,600 ie same price.  I had asked one of the ebay guys if they would stock it just 2 days ago when I first saw the ad on the MSI website, and it would have been available today to order.  It turned out they did have it today (link is below).  I did want it because it has antiglare screen, steel series keyboard, blu ray burner (I dont watch any bluray so i dont really need it) & new super ssd technology, and 4gb more ram (ie 12gb) but it looks fugly and cheap even though it has such good components inside.  The Alienware I ordered has 1.2TB of storage too.

On top of that, I do do a lot of study and assignments and my courses are very maths intensive so I need a normal numberpad with a full zero key.  The taiwanese makers such as MSI and ASUS always have a right arrow key that eats up half the numberpad zero key, this alone pisses me off so much that I would rather settle for lower specs for same price alienware, just so I can have a normal numberpad....

However, if you do not do much data entry on numberpad, the MSI with steel series gaming keyboard keys, is definitely a good option.  They also have a 15inch version which you can get from the same ebay site below for 2,000 USD.

http://www.msi.com/news-media/news/1458.html
http://www.msimobile.com/level2_productlist.aspx?id=6

•	Intel® Core™ i7-3610QM Processor
•	Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium 64bit
•	17.3" Full HD Anti-reflective Display (16:9; 1920 x 1080)
•	NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 680M discrete graphics (DDR5 4GB VRAM)
•	Accelerated performance with MSI TDE Technology
•	Full-color programmable backlit keyboard by SteelSeries
•	Killer Game Networking
•	MSI Cooler Boost Technology
•	Dynaudio Premium Sound Speakers with THX TruStudio PRO™
•	128GB SSD + 128GB SSD RAID + 750GB(7200RPM)
•	16GB DDR3 1600MHz system memory
•	Blu-ray Disc burner
•	USB 3.0 for high speed data transfer
•	HDMI 1.4 (High-Definition Multimedia Interface) output
•	Built-in 720p HD webcam
•	Gold flashed audio jack ports with amplifier
•	802.11 b/g/ n Wireless LAN with Bluetooth

U can get it from ebay here
http://www.ebay.com/itm/MSI-GT70-0NE-276US-17-3-Matte-Core-i7-3610QM-NVIDIA-GTX-680M-4GB-Gaming-LAPTOP-/160855872756?pt=Laptops_Nov05&hash=item2573c1d4f4#ht_6731wt_1272

I have been really refraining myself from buying one of these MSI notebooks.  What stands out is the windows key is to the right so for gaming, the steelseries keyboard is the best on the market, and for less than 1600 USD, its a bargain considering it has 4 usb3 ports antiglare screen full hd, ie compared to asus's more expensive offerings, its an absolute bargain.

MSI GE60 0ND-042US 15.6" Core i7-3610QM/8GB DDR3/NVIDIA GTX 660M Gaming Notebook

MSI GE60 0ND-042US 15.6" SteelSeries Gaming Notebook

for US $1,259.00

or the 17inch version for 40 usd more which is what I would go for personally  US $1,299.00 

MSI GE70 0ND-033US 17.3" SteelSeries Gaming Notebook

and if you want a better graphics card over the GTX 660m this one has GTX 675m for a couple hundred extra USD

MSI GT70 0ND-202US 17.3" Matte Core i7-3610QM/NVIDIA GTX 675M 2GB Gaming LAPTOP

MSI GT70 0ND-202US 17.3" SteelSeries Gaming Notebook

US $1,579.00

which is a bargain price if you consider what you would get here in Australia when you go to the local shop.

The thing is I keep telling me I don't need another notebook just yet, but if I do and nothing better is on the market, I will definitely get one of these MSI ones :)  I love shopping from America.  America is the greatest country in the world (after Australia) ha ha.  Our FX rate is going up again, so if it does hit 1.05, I might as well just go buy the notebook since my current acer has a f@#ked up keyboard hee hee, While I have got an external m$ keyboard connected to it, it is taking up deskspace so when my universitiy course starts again, i have nowhwere to put my books.  The issue is that paypal always lags when they update fx rates so when I bought my shoes, I was screwed over.

Anyway, if you are wondering what graphics card to buy for your notebook, the gtx 670 and 675 from nvidia are apparently based on old fermi architecture...
http://www.gaminglaptopsjunky.com/gtx-670m-vs-gtx-570m-vs-gtx-660m/
and
http://www.anandtech.com/show/5697/nvidias-geforce-600m-series-keplers-and-fermis-and-die-shrinks-oh-my/2

my conclusion from my 5 minutes of research on the nvidia cards that the 2gb gtx 675m beats the 3gb gtx 670m so I would go for the GTX 675m card as the price difference is negligible ie only 50 USD from the ebay links I put above.

The London Olympics is starting, I wonder who is going to win the mens' 100m, the reason I wonder, is my favorite gambling site http://tatts.com/ has got bets on the olympics :)  If you have any good tips let me know.
Not sure if it is just luck, but when I went to the newsagent to play lotto or powerball, i spent like 100s of dollars and never won anything, but when I do it via the tatts.com website, I have managed to win some small amounts.  After I discovered I could buy lotto/powerball/ozlotto online, I never turned back.  Those greedy newsagents charge an arm and a leg if I want to use my credit card for stuff like M&Ms so screw them!

I received my Nike Free run 4.0 v2 (as pictured above) and Nike air max ultra (all black) from Eastbay earlier in the week.  (I buy all my nike stuff from Eastbay.com because I have good experiences with them, delivery is only a few days all the way from America to Australia here)  It was raining earlier in the week so I only managed to try the Nike free run on Wed.  When I first put it on, I felt I was standing on a plastic mound, but when I actually ran in them, I loved it, I normally wear one of the reincarnations of air max (at work and out and about) so the Free run 4 was very light in comparison.  If you like sprinting, you will find nike free run 4.0 v2 a delight to sprint in.  I remember when I was 16, we used to sprint on the track after school, and as i did not have the spikey shoes, so I ran barefoot and it was rather uncomfortable and I ran shit times, if only nike free existed back then.

The air max ultra on the other hand, I chose all black so I could wear it to work in a suit without looking too strange.  I wear size 11 and have fat feet so it felt tight, on my toes when I was sitting on the train, the back of it is great as it does not rub against my achilles tendon.  The tongue felt a bit strange too.  I will wear it out a bit more at lunchtimes to break it in.  Other than that, the shock absorption is what you would expect from a nike air max and its going to be great cos I am always standing in my boss's office lol

My uni course starts again next week... I saved all the worst subjects for last eg Marketing.  I looked at the subject outline and it has a project with so many deliverable dates.  I like subjects that you just hand it in at the end rather than have to submit a draft, do a presentation and submit the final product all on separate dates.  To prepare for the subject, I woke up one morning and remembered there was a useful software I tried from the internet called business plan pro to help my sister in law with her assignment, and I recalled there was a software called marketing plan pro.  So I went to the official website and noticed they changed the name and then after a quick google, found an ok version so installed it. Palo Alto Sales and Marketing Pro US 11.00
http://www.hotfilesearch.com/download/27184642-425p011a425s011m-rar.html

Once I get my course instructions I will then create a lovely marketing plan with it :)  I just love these sorts of useful software because it removes a lot of useless thinking so you can focus on the things that matter :)

Of course, I got the business plan pro too just in case it might be useful for the marketing course.  I am a finance person so marketing is not my strong point.... speaking of which, I think I need to update my resume so I will now look for latest version of resume maker professional and winway resume maker deluxe and update my resume before my course gets into full effect by middle of next week

This is stuff I posted in a forum...

Chinups are bad for wrists and elbows (but pullups are ok). If you do do chinups, doing them on rings is better for you but then you might not have enough grip strength as a beginner. (U should have seen the brent guy on american ninja warrior stage 3 finals, so kewl  he had really good grip strength)

 This is similar to barbell curls with heavy weight being bad so they recommend using ezcurl bar.  U can research in google on this.. Chinups are easier for beginners but once you can do 10 pullups, you should can start these 7 week programs to switch to pullups only:

If you want to improve significantly, these 2 ebook

http://www.rlslog.net/7-weeks-to-50-pull-ups-strengthen-and-sculpt-your-arms-p2p/

http://www.rlslog.net/7-weeks-to-100-push-ups-strengthen-and-sculpt-your-arms-abs-chest-back-and-glutes-p2p/

they are all web links so you need to wait for countdown timer to download.

What I would recommend is that you combine the 2 routines.  Dont underestimate the beginning phase as you need to do low reps at the start to get yourself used to training 3 times a week.  If you find that you cannot get the reps they indicate, start the program from week 1 all over again.  I guess this is a form of periodization.



for example, you would do one set of pushups, one set of pullups, on set of push ups, one set of chin/pullups, one set of pushups etc following the rep number.

I could already do 60 pushups, so I did not start from the beginners workout but rather chose an intermediate one so by week 4, I was doing 50 pushups in the 8th pushup set 3x a week (if I recall correctly)

the pushup routine has 5 to 8 sets while the pullup routine has 5 sets

The pullup routine is a killer so make sure you do everything with strict form and slow, no kip or swing.,elbows to the sides at the top and sqeeze, or you will not be able to make the rep counts in the later weeks ie if you cheat yourself, you end up the loser...

when they say neutral grip, they mean palms facing each other or using rings. With rings you will develop great grip strength. I still cannot believe only one guy made it to stage 3 of american ninja warrior finals.

Also, if you can afford it, get some of those post workout powder recovery drinks where you mix with water.  You will find you can drink tonnes of that  stuff compared to water and it does help.

My first post using transformer prime (my ASUS tablet)

Update: Nov 2012 - I finally received the GPS thing last month or so.Have not had a reason to use it yet though.
--------------------------

It has been a while since I blogged.  Now I have my tp, I can blog anywhere :)
I had too may award points on my credit card and I pay a package fee of 365  to cba so I might as well get something in case they change their program.  they have tonnes of goodies.  If I had known, I would not have gone an bought my nikon s3100 pocket camera for cash from paxtons. for AUD 130

The Nikon S3100 is a great little camera which takes pictures super fast and its zoom is also the fastest out of all its competitors' similar models I tried at the shop, so I highly recommend it for all the features for its size, which is very small. To give ou an indication of how far the zoom works, it can see all the way across the Sydney Harbour. Its major annoyance is the screen at the back which needs you to look at it directly and not at an angle, and it is a smallish screen.  However, it is a small camera so you can expect everything and for me, speed is everything as my baby wont wait even an extra second for a camera to focus :)  IT has a BSS mode (best shot selector) where the speed of taking photos is increased significantly without sacrificing quality, so if you ever have a need for speed, this budget point and shoot camera will deliver the goods.

I aleady have panasonic  gf3 which is also super fast at focusing, but I find having to change the lens and carry the lens annoying when I just want to take photos of my 2yo when I am on the go.  The gf3 is also heavy and bulky (once you get used to the Nikon s3100)

Obviously the photo quality of the Nikon s3100 is heaps better than my mobile phone nokia n95, it is heaps lighter and thinner than then n95.

I had a choice of getting an iphone 4s with my points but I decided against it as I already have a working phone,and my current home Acer notebook keyboard started not working,  so the TP is the next logical option. 

I hate typing on the tablet surface so I didnt want an ipad2 or new ipad.  My American friend had a kewl ipad keyboard cum case that would have a keyboard that split in half when folded up.  Now I dont know where to buy that so my best alternative was to get ASUS Transformer prime 201 (TP).
4
The TP is simply amazing.  It is a combination of a notebook and a tablet so when playing games like angry birds, you can use the screen, and for blogging, I can use the keyboard.  It has 18 hours of battery life if you have the tablet docked to the keyboard dock.  The dock's battery is first used before the tablet battery.
My only complaint is the keyboard is missing a delete key lol.  Asus always have something lacking in their keyboards eg for normal asus (& MSI) 15 inch or bigger notebooks that have a number pad, the number pad zero has a right arrow key that eats up half of it, which is why I hate those MSI and ASUS notebooks with numberpads ie if it was for work, I would buy a toshiba or acer since I use my thumb to type the zero on the numberpad (not my middle finger) and I hate hitting the arrowkey with my thumb lol.
 
There was only a 32gb tp model on cba's rewards site which they apparently sourced from JBHIFI so Since I got it with points I decked it out with accessories, I got a 64gb sandisk sdxc card for the dock as well as a 32gb sandisck fit usb for the usb port.  I got a cheap microsd 32gb card for the tablet so overall I have 160gb of storage in total which is sufficient for what I need to do :)  I get  99% of all my computer related stuff like USB SD card etc from shoppingsquare.com.au.  Its great because they have the best prices in the whole world :)  I got my sandisck ultra 30mb/s 64gb sdxc card for $64 AUD


I dont need to use the usb port because the charger cable has a usb end that can plug into my notebook for easy file transfer from tp to my asus notebook.  My asus notebook keyboard keys stopped functioning recently so this tp was a timely fix :)  At home, I have my old microsoft pc keyboard connected to my acer notebook as the acer warranty has expired and I dont want to pay to get it fixed. 
I was going to buy a new notebook just before I got my tp and had looked at the asus gaming series again, g55vw its 17 inch big brother, but once I got my tp, it is just so much better than those bulky notebooks as I carry it with me everyday in my backpack.  My university course starts again in 2 weeks so I can use the tp to take notes :)
I suspect the graphics card gt540m toasted the keys on the left side. on my acer notebook at home  I am playing max payne 3 in the middle of my sleepless nights on the acer.... back to the TP
Unfortunately, the latest ice cream sandwich android os does not let me root it so I cannot install the apps i want.  So far, I installed angry birds space and some other games I found on the internet as well as quickoffice pro which supports the xlsx and docx formats from microsoft office.  Everyone says how good mxplayer pro is and to preserve battery life, should not use ad supported version with ads, so I found this one works with tp without needing luckypatcher since i have no access to root:

MX Player Pro v1.6h

I love how everything android is integrated easily with google's apps such as google calendar and the task list since once you login everything is logged in.

btw, if you have a young child, a tablet can do wonders if you install some basic games on it :)



Today I went to eastbay.com and bought 2 pairs of shoes, a nike air max ultra black colored which I am going to use to wear to work since we are smart casual and all the ladies wear joggers all the time and our old HR fashion police ladies have now left our company.
The other shoe was a nike free 4.0 as I always wanted a pair.  the price inclusive of shipping was USD 230 the shoes themselves were only 89 USD each.  If I was to buy them here, it would have cost at least 150USD  each.  (AUD/USD fx rate now is 1 to 1 for paypal which shows how much paypal rips you off on the exchange rate, in real life it was 1.039) 

I already have a lot of nike shox and air max 2011 which has great cushioning, so I wanted something light like nike free 4.0 which is only 7.9oz and is supposed to fit like a glove for sprinting and running.  Hopefully, I will get it before friday next week so I can use it during my running day on grass intially :).
My workout currently is Mon wed FRi
I downloaded a ebook from rlslog.net which has 100 pushups in 7 weeks and 50 pullups in 7 weeks so I combined both workouts on a weekly basis. ie all 3 days have got 5 to 8 sets of pushups and 5 sets of pullups/chinups
If the pushup number is 10 reps or less, I substitute bar dips instead.  When I miss a workout, I do the missed pullup routine reps to the following workout as pushups for me are easier than pullups so I dont want to lose progress
the workout is very intensive and in order to have enough energy for the workout 3x a week, I started buying recovery drink powder (those bodybuilding type massive plastic containers) from the discounting vitamin shop at Wynyard train station.  IT really helped :)  Its price was 66 but the discounted sale price was only over 50.  It was really tasty and much more drinkable than normal water. I cannot fathom why this could be.  For me, I dont even get this feeling drinking gatorade type drinks but with the recovery drink, I gulped down the whole 350mls in a few seconds!

 The  other thing is sleep, having naps during the day really helps keep up the energy levels.
To get high reps on pullup bar, I found this routine is the best because my back is worked out a lot.  Also at the last rep of the last set, I do a long freeze with muscles flexed at the top of the final rep.... ok this weekend is tax return time.