isasaifullah

[isasaifullah]

Long time no log in

Just wanted to post something on here, because I haven't logged on to Tumblr in a long time.

[isasaifullah]

Spider-Miles with Spider-Cat (and brief game review)

Haven’t posted on Tumblr in a long time, so I just wanted to share this photo of Spider-Miles with the ginger cat from Teo’s bodega, nicknamed “Spider-Man” by store owner Teo Álvarez (and even then, according to Teo, the cat was named after the original Spider-Man, Spider-Peter).

The game “Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales” is quite good, but, it’s a bit on the shorter side, in terms of completion time, certainly a lot less shorter when compared to it’s predecessor, “Marvel’s Spider-Man” (starring Spider-Peter).

“Spider-Man: Miles Morales” could have, arguably, just been another DLC for the game that came before it (Marvel’s Spider-Man [i.e Spider-Peter]), especially when considering that a lot of game data and assets from the Spider-Peter game are pretty much used again in the Spider-Miles game (especially Spider-Man’s movement mechanics and the playable part of Manhattan).

Still, it’s quite a good game, in terms of gameplay. I didn’t really like the story, but it didn’t really ruin the overall experience for me. I just thought it wasn’t written well. It’s as if the story was written quickly, just to justify the development of the game itself, but it lacked depth, in my opinion. I would go on about it, if I could be bothered, but I can’t be bothered.

Anyway, quick final score, out of 10. While I’d give the previous Spider-Peter game “9 out of 10″, I’d give the Spider-Miles game 7.5/10, which is still a respectable score. And, if you wanted to, you can round up that 7.5 to 8, but only because of the ginger cat known as “Spider-Man”.

[isasaifullah]

Playing games on Android.

I played Grand Theft Auto San Andreas when it was first released on the PlayStation 2, which was almost 20 years ago (Oh my, we aren’t getting any younger are we).

A few months ago, I suppose out of nostalgia and boredom, I bought GTA San Andreas on my Samsung Note 9. The phone itself is just over 4 years old now, given that it was released on the 23rd of August 2018, and I’m writing this article at 12:06 a.m on the 30th of August 2022 (local time, Kuala Lumpur), and that I bought the Samsung Note 9 on the 30th of September 2018.

This is the third time I’ve bought a copy of GTA San Andreas, and all of them have been on different gaming platforms. In order of oldest to most recent, I’ve bought GTA San Andreas on the PlayStation 2, PC, and Android (mobile phone). GTA Vice City is also another game that I’ve bought 3 times, following the same order and platforms as GTA San Andreas.

As for Final Fantasy X and Final Fantasy X-2, it was PlayStation 2, PlayStation Vita, and then PC.

The PlayStation 2 was the only platform on which I completed both GTA San Andreas and GTA Vice City at 100%. Truth be told, I have no intention to repeat full completions on PC and Android. And just to be clear, the PC version of these GTA games are the original/classic games ported to PC, and not the so-called “remastered” versions.

Using the controls for GTA San Andreas on a mobile phone is a challenge in itself, especially when it comes to commandeering vehicles in the game. Still, for the sake of convenience, nowadays, when I’m not at home, I’d rather just play games on my mobile phone, than carry a relatively bulky, heavy, and seemingly fragile gaming laptop. And gaming laptops are “fragile” in the sense that, one would consciously make sure that they are handled with care, as opposed to just throwing them on the couch/sofa or table, even in a laptop case, bag, or backpack.

There’s a time and place to play computer games, and I think that should really be in the comfort of your own home. Regardless of what the computer’s specifications are, computer games should be played at home, and that computer should be a desktop.

I’m not writing this as some sort of PC elitist that judges people who like to use gaming laptops, that’s not what this is about. It’s just that for me, I’d rather not carry a portable computer that’s relatively and significantly heavier than a simple lightweight laptop, not to mention all the worries that come with handling/carrying a gaming laptop, as well as the noise it makes from all the cooling fans, and worrying about thermals, and carrying more peripherals to supplement the gaming laptop...

I understand there are people who don’t mind putting up with all these things, but that’s not really me, or rather, that’s no longer who I am. Now, whether I’m in a coffee shop, or at the airport, and I want to distract or entertain myself for a few minutes, then I simply get my mobile phone out of my pocket, and play games such as GTA.

For more graphically demanding games, that’s what the computer desktop is for.

[isasaifullah]

I was quite the spiteful poet.

Not that I use Tumblr often, but I had an article that I drafted over 10 years ago, on the 15th of July 2011 (and as I am writing this, it is the 29th of August 2022). It was basically a rant against a housemate. I don’t know where he is, now, and deep down, I couldn’t care less. I don’t hold a grudge against him or anything now, it’s just that, it was a long time ago, and I’ve left that chapter of my life behind me. Anyway, without further ado, here is the “incomplete poem” that I drafted about him:

“It's no big secret that recently, I've been very very very unhappy, For having a housemate who's incredibly filthy, He can sweat in the summer and not shower for 4 days straight, And quite frankly that makes me quite irate, Especially when he spends hours in my damn bedroom, Releasing his ogre odour into full bloom,

For hours, in my room he plays on my PlayStation 3, And yet worries about the bill for electricity, By virtue of him using not a lot of his own electronics, He probably expects his share of the bills to be free, Oh, and he wants Sky T.V does he? Who's going to pay for that? Let's see... Me.

Just to top it off, he expects me to lend him some frigging money, So he can go binge-drinking, get pissed and pretend to be happy, What a poor loser, meant in every aspect of the phrase, It's hard for someone like him to receive any praise,

I know I too, waste money, I have my own vices, But that doesn't mean I have to pay for his prices, Just because I have more money than him, Doesn't mean he can ask for some at his whim, Just because I've distanced myself recently, stupid sunuvabitch thinks I'm a loner, This is the same loser whom no female will ever satisfy his boner, And lest we forget, it's my room he enters to kill time, As he smears my PS3 controller and laptop with his snotty slime, No really, with such passion he picks his cheese-filled nose, As passionately as a romantic plucks the petals of a rose, Then eats h...”

“Then eats h...” I think I know what I would have written then, and it would be something along the lines of “Then eats his booger”, and I’m not going to pick up where I left off, because it doesn’t really matter now. It’s just that, I was quite amused when I saw the incomplete draft written by my former self, from all those years ago.

[isasaifullah]

GPU lineup, as of July 2022

From top to bottom, NVidia RTX 3080 Ti OC 12GB by ASUS RoG (Strix), AMD Radeon RX 6900 XT 16GB by Sapphire Nitro+, and finally NVidia RTX 3060 OC 12GB by ASUS TUF. Currently, I have 3 graphics cards, but only 2 desktop PCs. Both NVidia cards are in the 2 computers, and so the spare is the AMD graphics card.

I took this photograph (16th July 2022) right after I collected the AMD card from my local computer shop. Last year, in late February 2021, I bought computer parts for a self PC build, which included an AMD Radeon RX 6900 XT by Sapphire Nitro+. The assembly of the computer, or the PC build itself, was a success. However, when it came to using the PC, particularly for gaming, the computer would shut down when the graphics card demanded high power draws, especially when I tried to stress test the card with benchmark tests that come with certain games.

For context, the RX 6900 XT is meant to be a 300W card. With a bit of overclocking, it should be able to pull even a few dozen Watts over 300, and yet, given the diagnostic tools I used, I noticed that the card itself never pulled over 130W at the time.

I hypothesized that it must be due to the PSU (power supply unit), which could have been faulty, even though the PSU should have been sufficient for the graphics card (and overall PC system), since the PSU was rated at 850W. The final straw came when the computer shut itself down, while I was simply browsing Google Maps.

I swapped that 850W PSU with another 850W PSU of a different brand, and lo and behold, no more unexpected shut downs. At least, it seemed that way for the first few months after swapping the PSU with a better one, even though the Wattages were the same.

After I swapped the PSU, I decided to stress test the RX 6900 XT with AMD’s very own Radeon software. I noticed that at most, the graphics card pulled 285W (not exactly 300W), and over the next few months, the graphics card’s maximum power draw went lower and lower, until it couldn’t go beyond 220W or so, and that every now and then, stress testing with AMD’s very own Radeon software would lead to unexpected shut downs.

That’s when I decided to hand over the RX 6900 XT to the shop (23rd May 2022), and trigger the warranty. I bought a 3080 Ti OC to fill the void left by the faulty RX 6900 XT as it was sent back to its manufacturer. I bought another graphics card, the 3060 OC, for a different computer build. I am happy to report that, as far as I’m concerned, both the 3080 Ti OC and 3060 OC performed very well. In fact, the 3080 Ti OC performed beyond my expectations, and the PC which it resides in, has never suffered from an unexpected shut down, despite drawing significantly more power than when the RX 6900 XT was at the helm.

Almost 8 weeks after I sent the RX 6900 XT back to the shop, I received an email informing me that I could collect my AMD graphics card again. According to the salesperson at the shop, my RX 6900 XT was swapped with a new one, and so the RX 6900 XT that I received is not the same as the one I sent back. It certainly looks that way, from what I saw through the anti-static plastic wrap.

I haven’t got round to testing the “new” RX 6900 XT. I never even removed it out of its plastic wrap, because I’m happy with the 3080 Ti OC that is in the PC that the old RX 6900 XT was once a part of. I can’t be bothered to momentarily swap them in and out of the PC, because I’d rather not go through what I deem to be unnecessary hassle.

So, for now, I have a spare AMD graphics card. I always told myself, in a not urgent manner, that if I were to build another PC, I’d like it to run on Linux, and I think it’d be too much, or out of place, for an RX 6900 XT to be used in conjunction with Linux, considering the limited number of games available for Linux (roundabout emulators notwithstanding). Besides, part of the appeal of Linux is that it can run efficiently on “economical hardware”, which is what I intend to do, should I buy another set of computer components to build a Linux computer, which means a more “economical” and low-powered graphics card would be more appropriate. Although, as mentioned earlier, building another PC isn’t exactly an urgent matter.

[isasaifullah]

Sweetie’s Sister having breakfast

When I see cats in the car park of the apartment that I’m staying at, as well as the house in the country side, I feed them, since I tend to have cat food (wet cat food in packets) and disposable plates in my car. This is Sweetie’s sister.

Sweetie was sweet a female kitten that I fed for around a month before she was kittynapped, almost 4 years ago (at time of writing this article). Sweetie was a sweet, fluffy, cream-coloured kitten that craved affection. The cat in this picture is her sister from a different litter (I have reason to believe that they share the same mother). While the kitten that I miss dearly is called Sweetie, her tabby-furred sister is simply known as “Sweetie’s sister”.

Because I move back and forth from the apartment in the city to the house in the country side, I don’t encounter Sweetie’s sister in the car park of the apartment building as often as before, since, as a stray cat, she tends to wander around and presumably covers a large radius, for the sake of her own survival. It would be nice if I could manage to adopt her, but due to the circumstances and schedule that I have to put up with at the moment, adopting this sweet cat, Sweetie’s sister, might not be an option, currently. Besides, she knows how to take care of herself, and I think it’s best not to make her feel anxious by removing her out of her comfort zone. In any case, I always make sure I have cat food whenever I encounter her. She knows that when she sees me, I’ll be there to help her, in terms of food.

[isasaifullah]

Casual dream of my own pizza place.

I was rummaging/perusing through game screenshots that I’ve taken over the years (I do that sometimes, looking back at them, that is). Saw this pizza box from Borderlands 2. Thought to myself “Wouldn’t it be nice if I had my own pizza place”. For the record, this *isn’t* my “ultimate dream or ultimate goal”. My ultimate dream is to be happy, live comfortably, be kind (and naughty sometimes), as well as come to terms and find inner peace, y’know, that sort of stuff.

But every now and then, I’d think “You know, if I was very financially stable, to the point where I could ‘invest just for fun’, I’d probably have a go at my own pizza place. Or a place that sells a small selection of good food, pizza being one of them”. Easier said than done, as always. In any case, It’s never been a priority, but it’s a nice thought to have once in a while.

[isasaifullah]

GPU Boxes, NVidia 3000 series

I wish I was rich, like I had lots of money, just so I could buy more of these bad boys. I love them so much. I mean, the graphics cards are nice, but so are the boxes. Everything about the product, including the packaging, is very aesthetically pleasing to me.

[isasaifullah]

My Newcastle kits from ages ago.

A few of my Newcastle United kits that I found in a pile of clothes in boxes and bin bags while I was in the process of moving house.

The kits, from bottom to top (or closest to furthest from the camera), according to their season, are 2011/12, 2010/11, and the Virgin Money kit was for the 2012/13 season. I never bought another kit after the Virgin Money one. I guess that was my protest against the FCB that is Mike Ashley, although the recent takeover has me tempted to get a new kit, since the future of the football club looks a lot better now.

I wish I had taken better care of my old Newcastle kits. My favourite, of the three, is the one from 2011/12 (bottom), but as you can see, the logo has definitely seen better days.

[isasaifullah]

[isasaifullah]

PC Parts so far 001

Just wanted to make a list of all the manufacturers/companies that I’ve bought from for my PC Parts. Some are good, others have a bit left to desired. In any case, here’s a list of them, including screen monitor and peripherals, so far, in no particular order: AMD, MSI, Corsair, Sapphire Technology, OCPC, NZXT, Western Digital, Montech, Logitech, Asus, Nvidia, Cooler Master, BenQ, and Kingston.

So, that’s the manufacturers that I’ve bought PC parts from, so far. Oddly enough, I’ve never used a Samsung product in my self-built PCs, although I’d very much like to. Hopefully I’ll be able to soon, with another PC build, heheheh.

[isasaifullah]

Well, maybe life isn't too bad after all, considering that I have all the components I need for another PC build. Not exactly "flagship", but good enough for what I want to do, which is a bit of light gaming, digital art and video editing.

[isasaifullah]

Life is so shit fukken hell lmao.

[isasaifullah]

Redownloaded Fall Out Boy

Just bought Under The Cork Tree. Again.

[isasaifullah]

Rediscovering Tumblr

This could be my safe space, for now. Not that I know how to navigate around Tumblr properly, but hopefully, with time, I’ll be better at utilizing this platform.

[isasaifullah]

Back on Tumblr, after over a decade or so, not that I was ever active here in the first place.

[isasaifullah]

WHAT IS YOUR EARLIEST HUMAN MEMORY?

Making cakes with mum and grandma.