Sheng Yuan Hulk Minifig [Toy Impressions]

The knock-off stakes have officially gone up a notch. It used to be that Lego (I'm not really comfortable typing it in all caps even though it's officially spelled in all caps) knock-offs, or Lego-compatible products if you're more PC, simply took the standard block sizes of original Lego pieces, made their own original sets, mass-produced them, and called it a day.

Those knock-off sets are still in vogue, of course, and they're becoming more and more common in lower-end malls and bazaars.

What's new is that some enterprising manufacturers have started to take aim at some of Lego's more popular pieces that gives them tremendous staying power with today's kids and kids-at-heart old-timers: licensed minifigs (adopted slang for Lego human representations).

Keeping Your Personal Data Secure on the Cheap [Tips]

Credit: Hinch Newman LLP

Some data are more sensitive than others. Whether it's some top-secret business documents or simply just baby photos you'd rather not let others see easily, keeping that data secure in your hard drive is of great importance and shouldn't be taken for granted. There's always the remote chance that a hacker might access your computer or some thief takes your hard drive, as what happened to a local celebrity recently. So what can you do about it?

It's the Journey That Matters... Right? [Game Postmortem]

I always had wanted to do my own game. It's a personal goal of mine, and truth be told, working on other people's games, while fun at times, isn't exactly all sunshine and flowers, as you always have to contend with extreme deadlines they put up, much more so with last-minute changes that they think are quick to implement but isn't. The crunch some of you read about in the gaming industry is very real.

Iron Man 2 Figure [Toys on the Cheap]

In my old blog, I had wanted to do light, casual reviews on the many thrift toys I see sold in Divisoria and the like. Well, I figure I'd continue doing that here. Why am I doing this? *shrug* Dunno, there's really no huge reason for me to do this, I just find it fun to see and share what's out there. Maybe it might even help along the way with giveaway or gift ideas, maybe prizes for parties and such.

The Lovers' and Haters' Guide to the 2013 NBA Finals [Sports]

(Credit: Tumblr)

So, here we are, again on the precipice of a yearly event that has been around for the past 50+ years already. No, I'm not talking about North Korea's annual saber-rattling. I'm talking about the penultimate series for basketball junkies, the best-of-seven affair that crowns the best team in the biggest basketball league in the world - the NBA Finals.

Controller Fun on Mobile

I have a certain fondness for controllers. Ideally, I'd be doing most of my gaming with a controller, except for decidedly touchscreen affairs like, say, "Cut the Rope". It's probably because I started video games on a generic Atari (i.e. clone unit) and the old NES, so, growing up, holding a game pad feels natural to me (this is different from being a naturally-good gamer, though - I'm just pedestrian).