I am actually getting tired of people inviting me to join this social network or that social network. I am already a member of more social networks than I can manage - from Flickr to Facebook and so are most of my friends. Yet every now and again someone invites me to join yet another social network.

What is the fascination behind social networks? I mean, (ranting at no-one in particular and everyone in general) I already connected to you through Facebook, Twitter and Linkedin. You have my address, email, phone number and even updates on what I am doing daily via Twitter. So why do you think you need to connect to me via another medium? Enough with keeping tabs on me already.

Now don’t get me wrong, I do not have anything against social networking, I just don’t see why you need to be connected to people via every social network you can find. Has it become a thing of pride, or something to brag about? You hear people say, I have 10,000 friends on Myspace or 500 friends on Facebook. I bet you you do not talk to all your 500 Facebook friends, or can even remember half of the people you are connected to on Myspace? So what is the point. The whole point of social networking is to connect to people you are actually interested in either professionally or personally, not just every Tom, Dick and Harry.

What started this little tirade was an invitation to join Plurk, which as far as I can see is just another twitter. Since i am already on twitter, I do not see any reason to become a “plurker”. Well unless they come up with some features that blows twitter out of the water, they will just another twitter to me.

On second thoughts, I do like the look of the advance plurks and the fact that you can share media with it, so inspite of the tirade, if you find me inviting you to follow me on plurk, let’s pretend the first few paragraphs do not exist .

Image from wittysparks

I recently decided to move to London as part of a career change I am thinking of doing. As part of this process, i decided to use Gumtree to get a feel of what sort of places are out there, how much they generally cost and which areas seem to have the nicer places. About half way through my searching, I came across this beaut of a place, looking at the pictures display, I was expecting to see an asking price of £300 - £400 a week. you can imagine my surprise when I saw £175. My first reaction was disbelief, followed by a healthy dose of skepticism. There must be something wrong with this house for it to be this cheap, however, due to prompting from my girlfriend I contacted the seller to hear what he/she had to say.
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Now, I am talking with regards to a particular race… blacks although it might apply to all races, but as I am black, they are the only ones I can talk about. Anyway, along the way, romance seems to have become the least important thing in the grand scheme of things. Not that we blacks are not romantic, it just seems that voluntarily expressing our affections sometimes can be seen as a sign of weakness. Now, I am just as guilty of this as every other guy, and it can take some prompting and prodding for me to attempt to do anything romantic. Although I do have to admit that seeing the smile on your girls face when you eventually do can make it all worth it.

Just curious, are you guys romantic by choice or demand?

So at approximately 12am on Wednesday, I finished Metal Gear Solid 4 - Guns of the Patriots. As I put down the pad, a feeling of fulfillment filled me. It was everything I thought it would be and more and I could finally lay Solid Snake to rest in my mind.

Metal Gear Solid had always seemed more of an interactive movie than a game to me. While this final series is no different, it does take game story telling to a different level and half way through the game you find yourself caught up in the intricate story lines as well as bonding with the characters through their personal struggles, doubts, fears as well as courage. While the cut scenes can be long, i didn’t find them boring (except for the mission briefings) and sometimes was reluctant for them to end. The soundtrack complements the game completely and can sometimes makes you start reminiscing of the original metal gear solid games (for example, when you go back to shadow moses island). While some songs make you think for an instance that you are in a James Bond movie (Final fight with Liquid).

In my opinion, Hideo Kojima has succeeded in creating a total immersive experience that blurs the line between gaming and Hollywood. All the questions you could possibly have are answered in this final installment of the Solid Snake series and there is no higher note to say goodbye to Solid Snake than Metal Gear Solid 4.

Everyone who knows me, knows that I am a complete Apple fan boy (I really do hate that word… fan boy ). While I do not hate Microsoft, I’ve just seen the blue screen and the four rings of death too many times to support them (Windows and Xbox 360) wholeheartedly and I am yet to see any screen or rings of death on any of my non Microsoft products, but that is another story.

Even with all that,  I cannot help but be impressed by the new Microsoft initiative that is Microsoft Surface. Microsoft Surface is basically a table surface that is fully interactive with the environment you are in. For example, imagine you are in a restaurant with your friends and have just finished your meals, your bill can be viewed on the table and if you put your credit cards on the table, you can basically drag your meals to your card and pay for it in that manner. Also, according to a BBC article, you can also flirt, chat and exchange pictures with people in the same restaurant and on different tables. No more awkwardness of walking up to a girl and having the whole restaurant witness your discomfort if she says no . For all you gamblers who need their fix anytime anywhere, there will also be gambling versions.

It’s all well and good… as long as we do not get the Blue Microsoft Screen of Death. Now that will be a scary table to have your meals on.