Airsoft

It’s been a while since I last posted something, this has been mainly due to work related reasons. I had a little break in my work schedule yesterday so I decided to hop on the subway and make a beeline for Technomart Sindorim to purchase an airsoft rifle. I had recently joined a group of airsoft enthusiasts based in Anyang, most of them are American and Canadian, but there are a number of Filipinos too which is great. 

Airsoft or ‘Survival games’ as it’s called here on the peninsula, is a game where you shoot a gun that fires plastic BB rounds. The game is based on the honor system and calls on a players honesty to admit when they have been hit and remove themselves from the playing field. The sport is also quite popular in the Philippines.

I’ll be having my first game with the team this weekend, weather permitting.

Below is a photo rifle that I purchased. Its a Western Arms M4 rifle similar to what is issued to the U.S. Special Forces.

For all intents and purposes it feels like a real gun and works like a real gun with the exception that it fires plastic bb’s. 

The team is called Ghosts Airsoft and anyone is welcome to try out the sport since the club has two loaner guns. If you’re interested check out the club homepage here.

Information Superhighway at 35,000 ft

In most computer related diagrams the internet is often referred to as the cloud and this couldn’t be more true with the launch of Gogo.  Gone are the days when a 14 hour transpacific flight was as fun as a trip to the dentist to have a root canal. These days even cattle class passengers have all the tools to entertain themselves, from video games for the kids to keep them from asking ‘are we there yet?’ to the latest feature blockbusters at their fingertips. Now internet junkies no longer have to put off their need to be online as Gogo launches an internet service for passengers on American Airlines and Virgin America. This isn’t a new thing as a company called Connexion launched a similar service between 2005-2006 albeit was not successful. My guess is that it was too expensive to maintain as Connexion used satellites for connectivity whereas Gogo employs ground based stations in the continental United States. For the rest of us living elsewhere I guess we can forget about shopping online at 35,000 ft for now as most of transpacific and regional flights have to cross vast bodies of water.

Is it safe in Seoul?

I would have to say that Seoul is one of the safest cities to travel or live in.  So safe in fact that my kids go to the mall with their friends without any adult supervision as early as eleven years old, something that I wouldn’t let them do in Los Angeles.

One of the reasons could be that the city is practically blanketed in both private and goverment CCTV’s (Closed Circuit Television). I’m pretty sure that the cops won’t drop down on you the instant a thief is spotted but more importantly it serves as a deterrent to a would be criminal as there would now be evidence to aid the authorities in apprehending him or her.

The other reasons could be because of the constant patrols of cops through the city streets and more importantly because you can’t own a gun. Heck even the police only carry at .22 cal, a gun thats probably got as much stopping power as a BB gun. I can recall asking my colleagues if bank robberies occur in South Korea and he said rarely. I just thought to myself that it wasn’t because of all the CCTV’s but probably because you would have to cart off a whole truck load of cash to make it worthwhile.

So the next time you’re in Seoul always remember that Big Brother is watching!

Nukes no more!

The North Korean goverment has finally decided to abandon its nuclear ambitions by dismantling its nuclear facility in Yongbyeon. Their nuclear program had already been disabled under the six-party talks that have been going on for the past two to three years making this demolition a purely symbolic gesture.

Are we really safe from nuclear attack now? The North has not disclosed the amount of nuclear weapons it already has and until the time comes that we can be certain it wouldn’t hurt to err on the side of caution by snuggling up in your own set of nuke proof jammies eh?

I found these anti-radiation suits designed for first-responders at Radshield. The neat thing about this suit is that instead of utilizing lead to block out those harmful radioactive rays it employs cutting edge nanotechnology to block out radioactive, chemical and biological contaminants, unless of course you happen to be in ground zero. The material is heavy too weighing in at 60 lbs. for a 36″ x 30″ sheet, so instead of radiation poising I’ll probably die of exhaustion.

The suit however doesn’t come cheap at USD 1400 but if you’re the paranoid type by all mean whip out the plastic and place your order here.

Peace of mind, priceless.

Food Court survival

When we first arrived in Seoul in what seems like eons ago, we often had our meals at western restaurants. We didn’t have a choice at the time since only restaurants like TGI Fridays and Outback provided bilingual menus. This resulted in a very dramatic increase of our food expenditure compared to Singapore where we had previously lived.

This time around I put my back into learning how to read Korean so that I would be able to read the menus of Korean restaurants, something that I couldn’t be bothered with five years ago. I also conditioned myself not to crave for Western or Filipino meals and snacks.

Ordering at most food courts in South Korea is different from those in United States or the Philippines, though there are some places that are like what we are used to such as the COEX or the Technomart Food Court. You normally place your order at the cashier who handles everything for the entire food court. Behind the cashier is a board showing all the food stalls with their offerings, the caveat is that most food courts have their menu boards in Korean, so being able to read Korean will definitely come in handy at this stage. If you don’t read Korean most cashiers are usually kind enough to help you through the process especially if they are not that busy.

After your order is placed and punched in, the cashier hands you your receipt with a queue number on it, which is flashed on a screen when your order is ready to be picked up.

If you’re with your friends or colleagues it would be a good idea to learn this phrase : 맛있게 드세요 - Maske Juseyo, which is the Korean equivalent of Bon Appetite.