Pete's Write

I have clocked about 250 hours on the Samsung now, and I decided to get a professional calibration. So we planned for a night mode, plus a semi-day mode and a 3D calibration. It took us about 3 hours to get it sorted, and I also decided to do some cable management today along with my TV calibration. I stuck a Audioquest HDMI cable direct  to the TV for pure video, and ran a Aiborg HDMI cable from the HDMI 2 of the Oppo into my Denon for video & audio . That way, I enjoy the benefit of the Oppo's Qvideo chip for video, without any adulteration from the Anchor Bay Video chip built into the Denon. I don't think it's merely a cable change, but more to do with the calibration, but the colors are sweeter now, and it's an upgrade in viewing experience. The Samsung has many video adjustment modes, and it's a bit tedious as you can't copy and paste, so you have to keep doing it for all 4 HDMI inputs of the Samsung. After calibration, you can get about 30 FL...

Ok, I just had this for lunch at the Balmoral plaza... Halibut and chips for $24... A real letdown, not enough taste, chips were flaccid, and the only saving grace was that the fish was of good quality. But definitely not worth the asking price. If you crave this, go to the Fish and Chips place in Greenwood instead. Much better. A branch near Tanjong Katong too... Smith Fish and Chips Where: Smiths @ Boat Quay, 50 Boat Quay, Singapore 049839 (Tel: 65367316). Other outlets at Balmoral Plaza and 230 Tanjong Katong Road. Setting: Tiny eatery below a fight club in the famous row of eateries and bars facing the Singapore River. Functional furniture, open kitchen, UK symbols and incongruous music add to the irreverent English vibes. Must-nibble: While fish and chips is the main event here, grab the Beef and Guinness Pie if you have little time for lunch. Filled with meat chunks in a mellow stout gravy, the crusty pie with mushy peas and chips should fortify you ...

This is one place which gets neglected, as most spend a lot on the living room and other areas. But consider that this is the place where you let your guard down, and strip down to your barest and wash away the sores, aches and dirt of the day. The toilet is very intimate and a place you spend quality time. Think of a mood or theme you want for it, Balinese wooden, modern light clean surfaces, hotel sombre, or natural material with many wooden surfaces. Or one particular one that I liked - using the same tiles from the London Subway ( http://www.johnsonusa-tiles.com/subwaytile.html ) So the whole color, feel, touch of the handles, shower heads etc are very important.Some prefer a light color theme, others a more sombre, hotel styled darker mood. The texture of the tiles is also very important, and your bare skin touches many surfaces here, unlike other places. Lighting is key for the right mood. It should be bright enough for tasks like shaving, washing up, yet we s...

Watching Blu Ray Discs on your Mac What do you need? - Blu Ray software - USD 59 http://www.macblurayplayer.com/features.htm - a Blu Ray Drive: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B006X2HD2M/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER Although officially there are no BR drives for your Mac, you don't need to install any drivers, and I am using this with my OS 10.6.8 on my iMac and MBP. This drive is recognised instantly. You can use vpost to ship it or other means. Install the software, and viola you are in business. It plays all regions and the interface is very similar to VLC. You get full support of lossless sound and with a HDMI out adaptor you can patch this into your home theatre system too. I have no financial interest or other interests in any of the items / events I write about.

  Goonies - movie review It's the 25th Anniversary of this show, which is summed up as a Indiana Lite (in fact the kid "data" in it was Short Round in Indiana II). But the lightweight PG 13 kind of feel suits the mood of the show well and gives it an uplifting atmosphere. Sean Astin in days long before he was Samwise 'Sam' Gamgee in LOTR, was already involved in adventures down the West Coast of Oregon, in Astoria. Their homes are about to be demolished, and Mike aka Sean stumbles onto a map of hidden treasure. The rest of the movie involves them trying to find it, whilst evading the desperate Fratelli family hot on their tails. Stephen Spielberg knows how to spin such an adventure yarn, being fresh from his Indy creations and makes this a pleasure trip down memory lane as you see the childhood versions of some famous stars. The BR discs offers pretty decent quality for an old show, and the sound isn't half bad too. Worth a watch and a keep...

Red Tails Took my time on this one, since the initial moviegoer's reviews weren't sterling. The Tuskeegee Airmen have a legendary status, proving black men could fly, fight and flourish under pressure. This movie attempts to bring this piece of WWII to the big screen, and despite a number of award winning stars, plenty of help from George Lucas, the whole glorious struggle of these brave men somehow does not take flight.. There is plenty of action, which is clearly CGI, for practical logistics, since few WWII planes exist. But the acting is wooden, the dialogue is cliched, the characters are rather two dimensional. HBO made a short series prior to this and that manages to shot down this blockbuster despite a more modest budget and if you want a WWII air battle story with a gripping human element, look no further than the older Memphis Belle, made in more than 10 years ago, with real planes and much better acting. However, if you are just an action buff, there is pl...

  The Amazing Spider-Man m ovie review Movie makers have become fond of using a franchise reboot to get a popular movie juggernaut on track and from recent efforts, this has largely worked. Sam Raimi and Tobey MaGuire have done a tremendous trilogy recently and in particular, Spiderman II has shown that sequels can be better than the original, but producers have deemed it necessary to reboot the series anyway, and introduce Andrew Garfield as the new Spiderman and bring the storyline a little further back to when Spidey was a teenager in high school. Does the rehash work? Well, this story has it’s strengths and weakness. First, I will venture to suggest what could have made it better. IMO, they should have just gone for Spiderman IV, and continued where Tobey/Raimi left over. Thn intrdocue Lizard Man as a nasty villain, and he was indeed a formidable opponent in this show. Instead, they had to re-tell the story of how Spidey came to be, and the loss of Uncle Ben,...