Long Awaited Hunt For My New Keyboard...

Been looking around for a new keyboard for quite a long time now! WHY? Everyone is asking me the same question. Just because I'm using a iMac, and all the Mac accessories does not mean that the accessories are not flawless! Hahaha... Yeah, first, I made away with the magic mouse because I found it too hard to click! Next was the keyboard because it is constantly requiring me to change the batteries regardless what batteries I change it to! Quite irritating especially when you are doing some serious typing for work or for whatever reason and the warning pop ups telling you its low on battery!

Finally went down to Sim Lim to have a browse at some of the keyboards out in the market. My cousin Shawn recommended me the Rosswill mechanical keyboard and so did my Starcraft (Shifu)! Both recommended me the same keyboard so how wrong can this keyboard be? Well, it was the perfect keyboard  next to the one I actually reviewed online, the Steelseries 6GV2... Well balanced and easy to use plus a bonus super nice feel to use kinda keyboard! UNFORTUNATELY, it is not Mac compatible!

Ended up getting the only Mac compatible Mechanical keyboard that was reasonably priced (to me), the Razor Black Widow!

Why mechanical keyboard? I do throw in a couple of minutes every now and then when I have the time to play some starcraft 2! Yes, that is the only game I play... but it helps me a lot with lateral thinking and quick thinking! Very weird way to utilize gaming for real life situation but to me it really does help! I have read so much about mechanical keyboards and how nice it feels to be typing and punching keys on it. Decided to give it a try and as I type out this post, I'm actually doing it on the new Razor Black Widow!!!

So far all is good, except for one thing. I'm not used to the keys as they are much smaller than any other keyboards and the spacing is not as much as the previous Mac wireless keyboard. This means while getting used to the difference in button spacing, I will be prepared to have a lot more typo errors and have to backspace more often! A Temporary small price to pay I guess...

A small accessory that Apple gave me as a gift when I purchased my iMac last year in August, finally getting a handy boost to its uses! Might as well open up another 3 more USB ports since the 3 of the original 4 behind has been used! LOL...
 
A small minor problem is the size of the keyboard... it is practically as long as my iMac monitor, a very large amount of space is needed for the keyboard! Nevertheless, I am still trying to get used to the typing, and the speed at which I do my typing! Perhaps, writing up a few more blog posts could get me adapted to the new keys faster! (I hope)

New Toy for Work And Play

Introducing the new Babolat pure drive 2012 so I'm gonna do a review of it! Might as well since I haven't really bought anything for myself lately to write reviews about.

Had a swing with it this morning, with a higher tension than I normally play with (I did so because of the increase in strength and size since I last played at a competitive level) and hybrid strings. Had to get it restrung so the tension of my liking and playing style to optimize the racquet. Ended up with the black and white strings, looking very very striking indeed!

Switch in tech from a light racquet designed by Head, a tech which has kept me playing for the last 9 year at least, made me realize how old school I was! My old racquet was the best of the best during it's first release back in 2003, costing $800AUD, but today's competitive pricing between the racquet brands made the Babolat Pure Drive 2012 very affordable. Everything has a shelf-life but if taken good care of it, this racquet is going to last you easily between 5-10 years (strings restrung every 6-12months if possible)


The "virgin" shot I made with the racquet was none other than my favorite forehand down the line. Surprise surprise!!! A perfect centered shot which created such an orgasmic sound that echoed throughout the whole court!!! The control of the new racquet was excellent!!! Took many more shots and realized with maturity and experience in the game, I didn't need to take much time before I was used to the new racquet, despite the increase in weight of the racquet! (Honestly, after about 45mins, the difference of 25grams did play a slight difference but nothing I can't handle so far :P)

Although the racquet is about 25 grams heavier than my previous racquet, groundstrokes were so well controlled! The stability on the racquet is superb! Feels like I'm hitting the sweet spot every time despite me hitting off centre with some shots! Probably one of the key features of this racquet is the balance it gives the player every time a shot is fired off! A very satisfying feel indeed!

Serves and volleys too! Consistent power and accuracy! My serve speed actually went up 5-10km/hr... But that is probably due to the heavier weight of the racquet.

So this is it, just a quick introduction on my feel of the new toy. The specs of my racquet is as below...

String tension - 58/53
Frame size - 100
Length - standard
Grip - 4 3/8
Strings - hybrid polyester
I also add my traditional rubber band to absorb the string shocks


My overall rating for this racquet is as below

Balance - 4/5
Design - 4.5/5
Weight and Dimension - 4/5
Player's level - Mid - High (NTRP 3-7) not really suitable for beginners as they do not know or can feel the effect of the racquet.
Comfort - 4.5/5


My childhood idol Andy Roddick uses the same racquet btw... lol...

Rain Plus Rain Equals Cold

7am, I woke up and it was drizzling... not a very good start since work was suppose to start at 930am today! Nevertheless, due to the nature of my work, a little rain would not have matter as much but, the strong chilly winds was the difference maker!

It only made matters worse when the cold rain hit real hard and caused my whole day to be utterly freezing in and more so out of the pool!

Thank god it was only 4 lessons today... One tomorrow morning, gotta switch a couple of clients to Tuesday mornings due to other commitments! Tuesday is no longer going to be off day for me!!! Oh well... at least that couple of students taught in the morning will suffice for any expenditure wrapped up for the whole day. I hope...

Goodbye old home, hello new home... welcome back old blog!

It seems all ironic that I'm back to writing up my blog since the last post was set out in july'11, which makes it an 10 months hiatus!

But who cares, I'm back writing once again, not because I'm bored (well, just thinking about how "godforsaken" the place I'm staying could have contributed to me re-starting up this blog) but to help practice with my writing skills. (School sucks :( )

Massive operation on Friday, 4th May, the moving of the entire house from Bishan to Simei! YES CENTRAL TO THE EAST! It's kind of like my own journey to the EAST saga just that it is plain old house moving, no major SMACK, BAM or WHACK, if you know what I mean. 

Did our best to settle everything by Friday itself, but who the hell is able to? That would be superhuman powers involved? Perhaps... but we did settle everything including the storage of unopened boxes and cleaning up of the entire household by Saturday 2pm. Mom n dad did everything on Saturday as I had to work, so sad... but hey!!! WORK IS AN EXCUSE!!!

These photos were taken before everything was moved in. Including the one of my room (It's more than half the size of my previous room... :( )

All in all, its a new home for me, for the next 2 years until my new condominium completes construction. Make the most of it, enjoy the facilities and hopefully no major fights or problems in the estate :P