Thinkers, do more. Doers, think more.

Sometimes, I wonder what happens if I just live by the edge. Break the rules (not the laws) to achieve my goals. Yes, part of me, part of the imaginative, romantic and melancholic me wonder. 

As a cautious person and a thinker, I try to be more daring, but first, I try to ‘do’ more and reduce ‘think’. It’s hard; not impossible but definitely hard (and you know where I stand in optimistic and pessimistic scale by this statement). Doesn’t mean I don’t try, though. Starting from small, tentative steps, I try to be not so cautious. Again, it’s hard (what, with the Anime/manga, novels, movies that always show the downfall of the great villain is mostly caused of being careless). It also sucks that to improve yourself, to achieve great things, the formula (that being repeated, repeated, and repeated again, almost like a mantra) is always one: process. Forget all the fairy tales you ever heard, there are never fairy god mother or magical potion that helps you to become someone great. It’s all about process. Repeat after me: it’s all about process.

In my opinion, if you want to achieve something, anything big, you must be either very brave or stupid. Preferably both. And I can honestly says I am many things, but definitely not brave, nor stupid. I’m cautious (which sometimes overlap with the word ‘coward’) and smart (book-smart, not street-smart, sadly).

That is why, I try. Not to change who I am, rather, to improve myself.

What about you? Are you reckless or cautious? Are you thinker or doer? Try to balance both of both of them (and no, both of both is not typo, probably grammatically wrong, though), try to use them in right place and right time -- which is easier to say, or type, for that matter -- than do. You will be impressed with what that little (but, again, hard to do) changes do to the course of your life.

Think about it (and yes, do what you need to do).

Coma -- An Unique Artistic Game

Hi, all. At least I'm updating this blog after what seems like forever. It's not I'm abandoning this blog, but more like my energy is sucked by university. With a super-powered 'energy-sucker'.

Well, anyway, now I have a short break and managed to find something worthy enough to share, I want to share one of the most unique game I've ever played. Not that I'm a gamer, there are only few old games that I bothered to finish (in the past, 3 or 4 years ago?). But lately I'm trying to find some light, casual games, and the best option is web flash game. No need to install anything and just try. Those games can only keep me for 2 days, in maximum, before I leave them, though.

Anyway, back to the game I want to introduce. The title of this game is 'Coma', and the explanation of the game stated that it happens in the subconscious mind of our character, named Pete. The playing of the game is quite simple. Just use arrow key to move the character and use mouse to click when there is conversation. And what makes it unique? All I can say is the graphic is simple but beautiful, together with the music, it creates some sort of fantasy, artistic place. Definitely my favorite kind.

The gameplay itself is... nothing much (for the lack of better term). You just walk and talk until an event happens, before you can continue. Sometimes it can get frustrating because all you can hope for the guidance is some sort of weird logic, and with a bit of luck, some random trying should get you to unlock the next event. The other characters, will give you items and advice as you meet them or do something for them. The advice can be very vague, and they only said it once. But again, some random trying and weird logic will get you fine.  The game is very short, I finished it in 15 minutes and I guess you should finish it in less than half an hour. 

What makes it truly beautiful, though, are the metaphors. It feels more like an interactive story that is full of metaphors. Even at the end of the game, it left me with a confused state. What exactly the game means? Some people try to interpret the meaning and there are some that make sense. I guess that is one of the beauty of surreal  art. You can interpret it how you like, as long as it makes sense. It  left me with some sort of weird feeling, though. Not sad, not happy, it is like when you see something beautiful, you want to see more, but it has ended.

Yup, if you are confused about what I'm spouting about, just play the game. It will be worth your time. And here is some screenshot. Play it here.

This is the start of the game. See that little guy over there? He/It is our character, Pete.

And this is one of the artistic outside world, the music here is nice. It's like someone is crying.

And this is one of the dark place. And for the curious one, the writing of the wall is "Wake up Pete", which the meaning has several interpretation.

Best Free Antivirus (Windows)

If you are using Windows in your computer, no matter what version it is, you will have a very high chance of needing an antivirus. And I am is one of the many that finds it is ironic that people use cracked antivirus for the program that is supposed to protect their machine. 

Free doesn't have to be bad. There are many antivirus that has been tested and hold on their ground when pitted against their paying counterpart. Some antivirus company is even nice enough to give their free antivirus same engine as their premium/paying one but only stripped down of the bells and whistles. That being said, most of the free antivirus is more than enough for protecting your computer. The additional feature of the premium suites like firewall and sandbox can be easily replaced by other free software.

But with so many options out there, choosing a free antivirus can be a challenging task. So, I am going to introduce you to three of the best free antivirus that have been tested, used, and found reliable by many people who swear by them. 

1. Avast! Free Antivirus

This is the antivirus that I decided to stay in my laptop, a rare honor for  program of any kind. 

(+) Most fully featured free antivirus among the three

(+) Has the nicest UI with elegant effects.

(-) Detection rate is lower than Avira

2. Avira AntiVir Personal

It's consistently one of the free antivirus that tops the detection rate of free antivirus and even surpasses some of the paying ones.

(+) High detection rate

(-) While the UI is not ugly, it loses against Avast! and MSE

(-) The big ad pop-up is really annoying

 
3. Microsoft Security Essential (MSE)

While it is a new kid and bearing the (mostly bad) name of Microsoft, it's suprisingly a solid antivirus. One thing to be noted is: it can only used by a valid Windows (you cannot use it of you use cracked Windows).

(+) Has the simplest interface; easiest to use

(-) Simplistic interface also means lack of customization

All of the three above is great free antivirus. Great detection rates, low on resources and not complicated to use. As long as you update it regularly and have a safe computing habit, your computer should be pretty much virus-free.

Oh, and if you still confused which antivirus to choose, I will suggest you to try Avast! :)