Optic

Speaking of awesome customer service, Taalen have you noticed how there is usually a lot more staff in McDonald's overseas compared to Australia? I think it comes down to expensive labour here down under...?

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="Taalen" data-cid="1846" data-time="1359538560] "I feel so original" said the hipster as he unpacked the same Ikea furniture that every other hipster purchased </blockquote> <div> You must admit their showrooms and displays are pretty inspiring. Even if you dislike it, Ikea has become a benchmark you can compare to. </div> <blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="chiefyamaki" data-cid="1857" data-time="1359644744] Ikea is for window shopping and food, to me. </blockquote> Now I wonder what the prices are like there in Malaysia?

Is that a Google Chrome theme? I haven't chosen a custom theme admittedly.

Out of curiosity: What languages can you speak and understand And also what is your proficiency? Any new languages you would like to learn? Have you spoken any basic phrases recently of another language (e.g. travelling)? My responses: What languages can you speak and understand and also what is your proficiency? English (native) Born in Australia so it's my first language. Australian English has it's own unique vocabulary and slang. Common ones include "Chuck another snag on the barbie!" and "Fair dinkum!" and "Fair go!" We also have a habit of adding suffixes to terms. Examples: Ambo (Ambulance), Sparky (Electrician), Fireie (Firefighter) and so on. Cantonese (basic) Parents speak it at home and it's the first Asian language I've been exposed to. I can understand most of it but I can only speak basic phrases. I love watching Hong Kong films that are in Cantonese! I would like to improve it one day. Any new languages you would like to learn? I would like to learn Japanese, because many of my Anime Blurays and DVDs do not have English subtitles. Those that know an Asian language can easily relate to how difficult it can be to translate certain phrases into English because the context can easily change from its core meaning so I do wonder how accurate English subtitles really are for fansubs and even official releases. In addition sometimes the closest English word doesn't match the translation fully. I don't have any examples in my head right now but when I remember I'll post one up! However a basic one that comes to mind is食飯 in Cantonese (sik-fan), commonly used to say it is dinner time. But literally translated it means to eat rice. Both are correct meanings but translating it directly in say Google Translate you will almost always get the literal translation... Have you spoken any basic phrases recently of another language (e.g. travelling)? During my Europe holiday in September 2012 I learned some Lithuanian! Some cute phrases, such as Labas (Hello!), Atsiprassau (Excuse me!) and the one that took me awhile to get right... Aciu (Thank you!) pronounced similar to "Ah-choo!" but without the emphasised 'h' in 'Ah'. Many of the younger people there knew English but the older people often did not so it was safer to start off in basic Lithuanian to ask if they spoke English. I think my Australian accent didn't help my Lithuanian pronunciation as I was misunderstood several times but they really appreciated the effort. How about you?

EA sent me a closed beta key and I had a chance to give it a whirl. Unlike other closed betas only a small portion of the game is available, one preset map/region and the Getting Started tutorial. A quick list of features encountered during my playthroughs: Budget time takes effect though in-game hours instead of in-game months Zoning is free but roads as you'd expect are very expensive to balance this. It builds upon SimCity's 4 road options with medium/high density streets and avenues. Mass transit was locked except shuttle bus depots. Service buildings (Power, Police, Fire, Clinics, etc.) can be upgraded via several modules. For example a clinic comes with one Ambulance bay, you can add another one for 10,000 and naturally this comes with an added hourly expense. Music soundtrack is AWESOME and matches dynamically with the pace of the game. For example slightly faster tempo on high game speed, different more upbeat tracks as your population rises, etc. Neighbour deals appear to be similar to SimCity 4, though I wonder how this will be implemented through Multiplayer across different cities/regions. You can follow service vehicles around with a Follow button (similar to Rush Hour though you can't drive them on missions). Each Sim you can click on to see their thoughts. The amount of detail is amazing, you can even witness crimes in progress such as a shootout and watching the Police response (or seeing the criminals get away if your Police response is too slow, likewise with fires). Same with Ambulances, hearing a patient beingdefibrillatedevery now and then when you zoom in towards a parked Ambulance with flashing lights adds to the... atmosphere. Sewage you now have to keep track of and dispose/treat. Addictive as usual! I really am looking forward to this when it comes out in March. Definite buy during the first week when it comes out for me. Any other SimCity fans here?

What genre does this come under? For some reason I put this in Slice of Life/Romance but it looks like it's more Supernatural. o_O

See-Saw - Anna Ni Issho Datta No Ni (Gundam SEED first closing theme). There is a slight difference in the intro of the song and tempo in the remastered version compared to the original. In either case it's a very beautiful song.

Do you have an IKEA in your region? We have one in Western Australia, in the middle of nowhere: <img src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-SuxoNR6LG4I/TY70A4PgJDI/AAAAAAAAASA/jM3yK-6zkrs/s1600/SAM_2362resized.jpg" alt="SAM_2362resized.jpg] Credit to this blog. Nah it's not actually a desert. Just a vacant block of land that's been vacant for... ages! If you've been to IKEA: <ul class="bbc][*]What have you purchased there? [*]Do you get it delivered or take it home? [*]How do you find the food experience in your IKEA? [*]How do you find the general atmosphere at your store? My responses: <div>What have you purchased there?</div> <div>Desks, coffee tables, computer chairs, bar stools, cabinets, cups, a sofa, LED lights and plastic storage containers. That is quite a bit!</div> <div></div> <div>Do you get it delivered or take it home?</div> <div>Fortunately we've always had access to either a nice big 4WD vehicle or hatchback vehicle in the family which makes transporting even flatpacked cabinets a breeze. If I brought my Subaru Impreza sedan though... well... I'm sure I'd have some trouble. And if you have a tiny small car sedan, forget it. </div> <div></div> <div>How do you find the food experience in your IKEA?</div> <div>The signature meatballs with gravy and cranberry is heavenly. Free refills for soft drinks and coffee mugs is a nice touch too. Other dishes available include chicken schnitzels/skinless breasts, salads, fish, soup, sandwiches and for dessert a big variety of tarts and cakes.</div> <div></div> <div>How do you find the general atmosphere at your store?</div> <div>The nature of IKEA is you have a bunch of displays and a big main path to explore them all with a few shortcuts. It can feel quite cramped when it's busy. The self serve for retrieving your purchases is well labelled with decent trolleys, no complaints there. Assistants can be hit and miss in terms of visibility (can be difficult to find if you need one).</div> <div></div> <div></div> <div>How about you? </div>

This site was originally based on Digimon Frontier yet...we don't have any discussion topics for it yet?! Lets start some discussion! How do you find Digimon Frontier compared to the other Digimon Series? Your favourite Digidestined and why? Your favourite Hybrid and why? How did you find the ending? My responses: How do you find Digimon Frontier compared to the other Digimon Series? Unique. It's the ONLY Digimon series where the Digidestined turn into Digimon themselves with the hybrids. And it's this reason I believe many people either love Digimon Frontier or hate it was a passion. Since then Savers and Xros Wars have superseded it but I think Frontier still holds its own ground with the hybrid concepts, though I wish the plot could have been better towards the end which I will explain later. Your favourite Digidestined and why? Koichi, he had the most intriguing past which of course linked him to his corrupted dark spirits and the issues he had tracking his twin brother Koji. Your favourite Hybrid and why? Zephyrmon and MagnaGarurumon! Zephyrmon for pure elegance and her sharp determined looks. Those blue eyes! (Though there was a couple scenes when I was taking screenshots where I noticed they were black, animator errors! .___. And MagnaGarurumon for his ridiculous amount of mecha style armaments. And he is light blue. How did you find the ending? I think most people would agree it felt rushed. You only had 50 episodes in Digimon Frontier whereas Digimon Adventure had 54! It would have been nice to have another episode that focused more in the real world once things were back to normal, I felt Frontier was missing this element which Adventure and Zero Two really did well. Sure we got a few quick stills of the Frontier Digidestined showing how they would improve their lives after succeeding but it would have been extra nice to have them to meet up again in the real world and discuss their adventure. Or maybe even find a way to communicate with the hybrids! Ugh, maybe Frontier needs a follow up or spin off series. Come to think of it if they had shortened the Royal Knights arc by a little bit I'm almost certain they could have fitted another episode in to achieve this. How about you?

Awwhh.... Kira and Lacus reunited. Strange seeing him in a ZAFT uniform though. BUT wait wait wait wait... Why does Shinn and Lunamaria have that "Huh?!" look when Kira and Lacus hug each other. I'm just nitpicking now. And great to see Lacus back in ZAFT. In other news according to RagnaRulZ, looks like Destiny will be getting the HD Remaster treatment too. Exciting.

Really happy with the new slider on the front page, I reckon it's a great improvement over the old one. On another note, also worked on galleries and now we're on 20 Digimon Frontier galleries with 1788 images so far... :cool:

I have never broken a bone or had a serious physical injury. The worst I've ever done is something I'm sure every kid has done, tripped over whilst running and grazed themselves on concrete. For me this happened on my leg just below my knee. It left a nice scar there. :mellow: It does make me wonder what it feels like to have a fractured bone, I was taught how to treat them in First Aid but it would definitely help if you've experienced it before... On that note, your dislocation does sounds very painful. I've heard stories of people asking First Aiders and Paramedics to get their dislocated shoulders fixed on the spot! Needless to say, here it's strongly discouraged and you'll almost always be taken to hospital for that.

Bacon and rice?! What the! Is this really a winning combination? :huh: I wonder if any places would serve that? Might need to check out a buffet or cook myself.

In Australia Maccas the McChicken is slightly spicy. And yes it seems the mayo is popular because lots of people order the Mayo separately in a tub for 50 cents to use for dipping their French Fries. Australia Day this Saturday and McDonalds the last few weeks have made the following menu changes: Return of the McOz: 1:4 patty, lettuce, beetroot (yum! ), ketchup and cheese. Fish and Fries: well this is interesting... three pieces of pre-battered fish. About fist sized in width. The tartare sauce you get with it is really nice.

CY you make a good point. I think Nokia's main issue right now is they've changed platforms many times so of course application developers became extremely fragmented. Apps on iOS are definitely more popular given the well documented platform. Though I never used Symbian, my understanding is there were a number of different variations of it. My current Nokia phone is a Nokia N9 which uses MeeGo, but Nokia discontinued it after a year. I knew it was likely they would discontinue it but I really liked the design of the device at the time, buttonless home screen and Swype interface. I must admit I am reluctant to get a Windows 8 phone from Nokia, waiting for the prices to drop down a bit more. If they change platforms again I think that will probably be the end of Nokia.

You make some good points, now that I think about it I think I'm just being nostalgic. Regarding Facebook looks like I've reached a nice compromise for the IM nostalgia I've been getting. Facebook offers a "Messenger for Windows" app: https://www.facebook.com/about/messenger It basically runs only the Messaging function of Facebook as a toolbar icon and mirrors the right Chat sidebar from the web interface. You also get fancy pop-up notifications for Facebook notifications such as getting tagged, etc. I think it's great using it old IM style having Facebook chat conversations in a separate window as opposed to leaving the web interface open all the time.

Well Nami, if you end up loving it maybe we'll see some Xros content on your fansite? My understanding is a dub is on the way too this year.

Well sadly I lost interest in Season 3 after the second episode, maybe the toll of the main characters dying are getting to me or maybe I'm just wishing we would see more signs of an outside rescue or more survivors in other countries. They did hint another country was working on a cure for the infection back in Season 1 during the CDC. I'll probably get this one on DVD or Blu-ray when it is ready.

Loving the interesting responses so far! <blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="Ishtar" data-cid="1802" data-time="1358421991] It was that good you have seen 3 times, or that good you saw in the cinema twice? </blockquote> Saw it in the cinema twice. Third time was on Bluray. <blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="Taalen" data-cid="1793" data-time="1358357726] Does a wall of girls in front of us texting with their screens on high thinking they're being discrete count? </blockquote> You know, I experienced the same thing at uni with laptop screens in the rows in front of me. Discrete... they really should have lowered the brightness and angle it downwards, or leave it off! But perhaps for them it couldn't wait. <blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="Nami" data-cid="1798" data-time="1358383207] Yes! I don't know why but they are constantly changing the volume! When there's an explosion in the movie they turn down the volume a little. When I watched James Bond it was really annoying, since Bond is an action film x,x </blockquote> They tamper with the volume?! How bizarre! Are they worried it's too loud? You must keep us informed about this Nami, maybe more people will complain about it and it will appear as a news article. Does it happen at your local cinema or have you noticed it in other cinemas too in different suburbs? <blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="Fab" data-cid="1805" data-time="1358652585] ...One big bag and a trip to the nearest supermarket or any snack shop will do. Just smuggle them in, its way cheaper than getting stuff at the candy bar. </blockquote> What kind of snacks do you usually get Fab? Chocolates, candy or both? I know one of my friends used to do this, I had fond memories of sharing his M&M chocolates and candy snakes.

Would it kill you if I said I've never watched a single episode of this series? :unsure: Where would be the best place to start?

007 Skyfall. Pretty good! I loved MI6's depiction in London, the chase scenes within the Underground Tube! One scene in particular really made me laugh, when Bond slides down the escalator in the middle lanes. Those that have taken the escalators there know how LONG the slope is. I admit during my visit the thought of doing the same thing crossed my mind. <blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="Fab" data-cid="1806" data-time="1358652738] ...the movie is way long, almost hitting the 3hr mark. </blockquote> The longest film I've ever seen was Saving Private Ryan. 3 hours though... gosh. :mellow: <blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="Taalen" data-cid="1807" data-time="1358672072] I recently watched Total Recall, the new one. </blockquote> I haven't seen this one yet, waiting for a Bluray release. I must ask though, did you watch the old one?

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="Agunimon" data-cid="1723" data-time="1356997900] German^^ Do you used a translator? </blockquote> Studied it for a few years in High School. But I haven't spoken or written it for so long. German is quite a popular language option to learn here in Australia, others include Japanese and Italian. <blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="Agunimon" data-cid="1723" data-time="1356997900] Mir geht es gut^^ Und dir? </blockquote> Sehr gut, danke. <blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="Agunimon" data-cid="1723" data-time="1356997900] I hope Kaiser Greymon will get one too later, it's my favorite evolution besides Agnimon. </blockquote> Absolutely, we used to have a gallery for KaiserGreymon/EmperorGreymon before as it was also one of our member's favourites! I'll add him to the list of new gallery DVD screenshots to make. And I really must brush up on my German... <_< Re: Xros Wars... Es tut mir leid, ich nicht verstehen dich! Englisch bitte?

I've been thinking... During the dialup days here I remember there were much less options to communicate online. IRC chatrooms, Instant messaging clients (MSN Messenger, ICQ, AIM, Yahoo), email, forums... they were all a lot more popular back then. Then social media and sharing platforms came along. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr, Reddit, the list goes on. All these are integrated with Smartphones now, all with their own unique feeds. Even if they're all merged into one centralised feed, that's one heck of a lot of information to filter through if you use all those services. And don't forget the traditional mobile phone functions: SMS and making phone calls. Ever get the feeling all these services are screaming at you for your attention, making you decide which ones to use from time to time often?

Lets talk about Cinemas, also known as the big screen! Answer the following questions: How often do you go to the Cinema? Typical pricing to see a movie? Do you usually buy food and drink from the Candy Bar? Ever experienced a disruption? (e.g. fire alarm, technical fault) Your most favourite movie at the Cinema? And my responses: How often do you go to the Cinema? On average once every 2 months, I tend to wait until the Bluray/DVD comes out for most releases. Having dinner at the shopping centre and watching a movie afterwards is a great combo! Typical pricing to see a movie? The biggest Cinema chain in Australia is Hoyts. Other big chains include ACE and Greater Union. There are a few small independent cinemas too that have a different atmosphere. Adult prices range between $10 to $17 depending on discounts and loyalty cards. 3D movies will always attract a surcharge of around $2. If you're a student you can get under $10 ticket pricing. There is also a premium option, for Hoyts they call it La Premiere and for ACE they call it the Gold Lounge. Pricing is around $60 for a two seater couch and features include more comfortable seating, hot food which can be brought out to you at your preferred intervals and access to alcoholic drinks. Do you usually buy food and drink from the Candy Bar? Yes, despite it being absurdly expensive -- I usually go for a regular popcorn and Coke combo, which can easily reach $10. It's where they make most of their profits as I believe they don't get much profit margins from ticket sales alone. All the Cinemas here stock the usual snacks and chocolates Ever experienced a disruption? (e.g. fire alarm, technical fault) Thankfully nothing major. Had a technical fault where the aspect ratio was messed up (video image was completely squashed), it was fixed within 2 minutes. On a more recent occasion when I saw 007: Skyfall with a friend there was a family who brought a baby and was crying throughout the whole first 15 minutes of the film. Naturally the loud explosions and gunshots startled the poor thing! Probably not the best place to bring a baby... and it was quite distracting trying to listen to the dialogue scenes. Another viewer got really angry and got up from his seat and started swearing at the family. :(The two then argued with each other whilst the rest of us just wanted to watch the film in peace. Eventually the family with the baby left, definitely a situation that could've escalated quickly. Your most favourite movie at the Cinema? District 9. It was the only film I've watched in the Cinema twice, and again on Bluray. It was that good. Look forward to your responses!

Blue is taking the lead! ...... who voted purple? :mad: All good...