Shelby Cup Won

Managed to win the last race some time back. Using the standard controller. Have hooked up the Xbox to my home theatre system and it rocks. Up to level 38 on Forza and races are getting real tough. The drivatar can be a real idiot on some tracks, getting stuck or repeatedly going off track.

Ford Shelby Again

I managed to win 2 out of 5 races and let the Drivatar win another 2. However, the best it could do for Silverstone was Silver/ 2nd, even after 2 hours of trying. So, for a lark, I tried Silverstone using the standard controller. Lo and behold, it's easier to control the bitch. I almost won the race but threw it away on the last (4th) lap. I guess that for really twitchy cars, the sensitivity of the Speedster steering wheel is wasted. And the relatively large inputs for steering are a minus.

Speeding Goods Vehicles

This is my pet-peeve. Goods vehicles in Singapore used to be restricted to 50km/h. This was raised to 60 and just recently 70. I've been going on and on for a long time about how the traffic police don't seem very interested in enforcing this limit. Of course, at 70km/h, this is academic on most roads and only relevant on the expressways.

I've always felt that they shouldn't impose a speed limit if they're not serious about it. I really hate being overtaken by a goods vehicle going at 100. It's the main reason I switched to my current car (more on that in another post), a Honda Accord 2.4. I actually wanted to get the 3.0 but they only had it in black, and my mom wouldn't let me buy black (go on, say it, mommy's boy).

However, even the 2.4 allows me to show those bastards who's the boss. I guess it all boils down to the fact that I'm a law abiding citizen and I hate it when other people break the law (and get away with it). Another thing I noticed relating to this issue is the fact that you hardly ever seen any traffic police on the roads.

I think that's plain stupid. With the number of law-breakers out there, traffic police would be revenue positive, not just self-funding. Please! Stop all that speeding.

Forza - Shelby Cobra

Arrrghhh! The Shelby Cobra is the worst piece of crap I've driven so far. I've won 2 out of 5 races with great difficulty. Even with traction control and stability management on, it's a real bitch to drive. The AI drivers seem to have no problems. I tried turning off TCS and STM, and using manual transmission to power-slide my way round but no dice. It's undriveable.

I tried switching to the TVR Tuscan series and won the first race handily, thus proving I wasn't losing my touch. Oh well, I'll just keep trying.

Enzer

This is a warning to anyone tempted by the low prices. In this case, as opposed to Bose (which is bad in the opposite sense), you get what you pay for. I recently bought an impressive-looking Enzer home theatre system from Carrefour, HT 1357 (or something like that). It was cheap, $399 with a free DVD player thrown in. In retrospect, I was stupid to buy on looks alone. :) But who would have thought that anyone could screw up basic electronic equipment like that?

The first inkling that all was not right was the way the tuner worked, or didn't, as it turned out. Firstly, there's no indication of what frequency you're tuned to. No digital or analogue dial or display. You tune the thing by pressing a button which jumps you to the next station. There's also no memory, you have to tune the radio every time you turn it on.

Another thing I noticed straight off was how bad the speakers sounded. The sound was rough and split. I'm no audiophile but the poor quality of the sound just jumps up and bites you on the ass. It's that bad.

After about 2 weeks, the volume knob went wonky. The volume would go from very soft to very loud with just a slight turn. It was effectively unusable. I had no choice but to send it in for servicing. The man at the service centre seemed to know exactly what I was talking about.

All in all, I'm extremely disappointed. Hopefully, this warning will save other people from making the same mistake. If you really have to buy any Enzer product, test it carefully before bringing it home. As for my Enzer home theatre, I'm going to relegate it to computer speaker duty. They'll be the biggest computer speakers in Singapore. :)

Bose

I've always felt that Bose products were way too expensive. And the guys (I won't name names) selling them are rolling in dough. Now comes proof from someone in the know. Read this article to find out more. http://www.intellexual.net/bose.html. I have to say that it's well written, authoritative, even. You just get the feeling that he can back up his statements.

Day One

Hell, I know no one will ever read this but finally, I get to say what I want. I have a voice.