Waiting For Storm

My Nokia N80 has been acting very weird recently, some of the navigation buttons (down, left, right and “Cancel”) don’t work when I use my keypad. This makes it rather frustrating since I have to slide the phone back to its original position in order to make changes or choose another function. I love my N80, it takes much better photos & videos than most other phones, compared to those in the same generation, and well, I am a Nokia fan. Oh, and I bought this phone in 2006 on D’s birthday, a gift for myself , so it has some kinda value to me.

D did want to get me the iPhone when it first came out, it was tempting and sweet of him, but I stayed loyal to my N80. Afterall I didn’t think the iPhone (the first one) was that great and besides I never buy 1st generation stuff… reckon there will be bugs.

But, but, I am so hoping my N80 will stay alive till this phone is released in HK. It is similar to the iPhone, but I like the techy gadgetry gizmozy look and is just so darn cool. D has been a Blackberry user since I dunno how long ago , from the very first simple straightforward blue one (I always wonder why RIM didn’t call it BLUEberry instead, and maybe if they do release a pink one to break into the cutey lil’ gals market, they should call it STRAWBERRY ) to the latest Bold.

D says Storm will be coming, maybe 1st quarter of 2009.

My B’day Pressie: Sea & Sea VX-PC350 Digital Video Housing

Some months ago while I was editing my ‘06 Bali diving videos, I had commented that the shots could have been clearer and sharper if I had used my newer Sony DCR-PC350E videocam (even tho’ I had bought it in early ‘05).

D googled for a suitable underwater housing and found one from Sea & Sea. As the PC350E is considered to be an old model now (compared to the HD ones), the Sea & Sea VX-PC350 Digital Video Housing is a discontinued model, which means the company doesn’t manufacture it anymore but will sell it if there is a set available. Luckily for us, Sea & Sea still had one last set in its US store but was wary of D’s HSBC credit card. Hence he had to ask his American friend to purchase the housing, paypal the money to him and ship the set to HK. The usual price was US$1700 but D got it for US$550. That’s about 66% discount.

Although I knew what my b’day gift was going to be, it was still a nice surprise to see it on the dining table on my b’day. In fact, on the morning of my b’day, I was kinda groggy walking to the kitchen to make TJ’s milk, when I took a cursory look at the housing on the table and wondered why D had not put the Ikelite back on the shelf. On closer inspection, I saw a birthday card leaning against the Sea & Sea, read the message and realised that this was my new toy. Later I learnt from D that he had woke up around 2am on my b’day to assemble the housing and wrote on the card.

Thanks babe… this will be more useful than the Cartier or Tiffany ring that I have been thinking about, but hey, there is always next year.

That afternoon while TJ was napping, I fixed my videocam into the new housing and tried out the controls. Suddenly the Ikelite looked really ancient.

And when D returned home from work, I was raving about the Sea & Sea while D fiddled around with the controls. Throughout the entire conversation, TJ was attentive and listened to everything we said and that was when D told TJ that when he is older, he would have many gadgets to play with.

The videocam which I had used during my dive trips was a 2nd hand Sony PC5 in a bulky manually operated Ikelite U/W housing. Come to think of it, the Sony PC5 and Ikelite housing were also my b’day pressie from D in late 2005. We had just learnt to dive early that year and were going on our first overseas dive trip in the Similans during the Chinese New Year of 2006.

Since I was into taking videos and video editing, D sourced around for a good buy and came across one on eBay. An American, who was a professional underwater videographer for a TV station, was selling the PC5 and Ikelite housing as this was his backup and he wanted to upgrade his main gear. The nice chap also threw in some extra lens, filters and the Pelican hardcase. The Pelican would have been expensive to buy on our own, so it was nice of him to give it to us.

Well, I was over the moon when I got these that year and since I was just beginning to dive and taking videos underwater, I didn’t mind 2nd hand gear as these would give me the necessary learning opportunities without worrying too much over “drowning” precious new gear. Accidents could happen, especially to dodos like me.

The PC5 and Ikelite had served me well throughout 2006 when we dived as much as possible, knowing that after we have TJ, I wouldn’t be able to dive much during the initial couple of years. I still can’t believe I manage to lug the heavy duty Ikelite around, besides my other dive gear, to places like Similans, Phi Phi, Dayang, various dive sites in HK and our final trip in Bali. 

As I am not going to dive in the near future, D is helping me to sell off my very well-maintained Seaquest Diva LX  and Mares V16 Proton Metal regulator (just went for its annual servicing). Anyone wanna buy? I reckon it will be at least another year before I dive again, and during this absence, these gear would just be hanging there and could deteoriate if not used on a regular basis. Besides, it would be good to get some $$ and later on, when I do return to diving, there will be new gear to purchase.

Same rationale goes for my PC5 and the Ikelite, except I will be giving them to our dive instructor friend. He can then use it to teach underwater videography or rent the gear out to leisure divers when he leads oversea dive trips.

In terms of weight, both are hefty housings but it doesn’t make any difference in the water. Technologically, the Sea & Sea is more advanced than my Ikelite. Pretty cool gear.

Now I wondering when I could actually get to dive so as to use my new toy. By then, it will be quite an old toy … heheh.

Happy Happy B’day To Me…

GenPets… Very Disturbing

Freaky stuff I found on the Net the other day.

From the company’s website:
“Genpets™ are mass produced Bio-engineered pets implemented today. Each pet comes pre-packaged as a fully self-contained unit. GenPets™ learn and adapt. They are fully living pets, but better, modified to be as reliable, dependable and efficient as any other technology we use in our busy lives.”

Note that these are “fully living pets” which comes in two models, 1-year and 3-year lifespans . I sent the link to D and my bro… their reaction “What the hell?”

At first I thought it was just some kinda toy but having read their FAQ and the company’s Reseller Catalogue, I am very disturbed by the whole concept. This seems to be a case of science in the wrong hands of some corporation which wants to create a new product that has blurred and even overcome the forces of nature. I know I wouldn’t buy such a product, not just ‘cos it is gross but also inhumane to something that the company professes to be a living creature, even if it was created via artificial means. But that is just me, I am sure there are millions of consumers out there, who must get the latest in technology and this GenPets will just be next IN thing to own in our neverending pursuit of consumerism.

BioGenica also  seeks to get us to “REthink Nature”:
“Nature has never been a closed system, nor has it ever been balanced – we as a species have been affecting it for thousands of years. It has been our inspiration, and by choosing the best it has to offer we have been able to create absolute perfection. Patenting of living systems has become slowly accepted as our outlook on life has changed. As it is obvious that GenpetsTM have never, and would never exist in nature, it seems silly to even question them as a patented technology. Unlike other domesticated pets, GenpetsTM have not been torn from their natural environment and forced to quickly adapt to a foreign habitat; instead, they are fulfilling a pre-designed destiny. Now doesn’t bioengineering nature make far more sense? Nature to us, is nothing more than inspiration for rough parts. We have picked out the best of everything to create absolute perfection.”

That sounds like playing God, although their reply to that was “The collie, the poodle, the common house cat, the ferret, and countless other animals have been bred by human beings over the last few thousand years long before bioengineering.” But this GenPets is somehow different from the collie, poodle etc (as far as I know, those animals were “created” via cross breeding), as GenPets is, according to the company, created using the Zygote Micro Injection. 

So I was intrigued, and decided to find out more about GenPets when I stumbled upon another disturbing information.

That the GenPets is an urban legend actually and its creator, Adam Brandejs, is sculptor/programmer from Canada. Through GenPets, he has created the opportunity for people to question, where all these breakthroughs in Science is going for us humans; who is using them and for what purposes.

I suppose people nowadays, including me, don’t really question what we see or hear, maybe it’s ‘cos we are immune to any piece of news, that we don’t get as excited or worked up over something larger than our little individualistic minds, that something must be truly shocking before we are jolted out of our senses and question the validity and truth of things.

Urban legend or not (what if the urban legend is an urban legend in itself), I don’t really think it is impossible for a product such as GenPets to be a reality in the future, like in TJ’s generation perhaps. I just hope that such technology will be in the right hands and used for the right purposes, that those who have the power to make changes on a large scale will have the wisdom to do the right and ethical thing, and be discerning enough to know the difference.

New Toys: LapCool5 & LG 26LC7R

D was absolutely disappointed with the cheapo notebook cooling unit/fan that I bought at Comex on Thurs, ‘cos it was poorly made and worse, it didn’t work. He can’t understand why someone like me whom he thinks has a certain standard in things will actually buy something like that cheapo product. As my LCD TV would be delivered later in the afternoon, D and I went to Challenger to buy some component, RGB and PC audio cables, and of course, a better notebook cooling unit.

At Challenger, I saw what a good quality notebook cooling fan should look like.

The LapCool5, which is a sleek blue aluminum 2-fan unit and houses a 3-USB port hub. Cost: S$37 (Challenger Member price)

The LG 26LC7R LCD tv I bought at Comex on Thurs was delivered this afternoon, though the delivery guys were about 30 minutes late. D spent some time to set up the LCD, connected the compponent cables to my JVC DVD player; and we also connected my NB to the LCD. I am absolutely pleased that everything worked out well…

D showed me a neat trick to “extend” the screen of my NB to  that of the LCD so that the show (from my portable hard disk) will be playing on the LCD while I still have access to the various movie files in the folders as shown on my NB on the right.

Heheh… these are times when I am thankful that D knows what to do when it comes to tech stuff like this. Before marriage, I would be the one to set up all these TVs, Hi-fi sets etc for my dad, cos he is 90% lazy to do it and 10% not sure what to do. Now that I am married to D, I don’t need to do all this anymore, unless when he isn’t around.

Sigh, he will be returning to HK tomorrow afternoon, and I will not get to see him till the last weekend of Sept. The next few weeks will be a drag, and I just hope that nothing konks out on me, and praying hard that no cockroaches will be flying into the toilet at night when I am about to take my shower. This last thing happens all the time when I return to Sgp, but thank God, D is always present to sort that out for me.

Drats, I am missing him already.

Bought The LG 26LC7R @ Comex

I was at the Comex Show @ Suntec yesterday afternoon with a good friend and it sure was crowded even though this was just the 1st day of the exhibition and a Thursday. Imagine the crowd this weekend.

Since my old TV popped on Monday, D and I reckoned we will just get a LCD TV instead, as long as it is within our budget (less than $800) and the space constraints (20″ or 26″) in our room. We are splitting the cost, 50:50.

On Monday night, we saw one at Courts Tampines Mall that caught our eye and at S$645, the Olevia LT26 looks like a good buy. Compared to similar models from Toshiba, Sony, Samsung, LG, this was the cheapest and the contrast ratio was the highest. Of course it is an old model, and not HD ready. At that time, we reckoned the price was the clincher, but we needed some time to think about it. If you visit the click on the link (given above), you will not even find the model.

Just a lil’ info on Olevia, it is actually the LCD arm of Syntax-Brillian, an American co. that also owns Vivitar, and listed on Nasdaq. Its LCDs are made in Taiwan, and we reckon that the brand is quite reputable then. Although most of us will associate electronic products like LCDs with more well-known brands like Samsung, Sony, Pioneer etc and somehow have this assumption that their products are better.

Anyway, since my friend invited me to go to Comex with her yesterday, I thought I should just check out if there is any good buys there. As usual, Sony, Samsung and Pioneer ones are way too expensive. Out of these 3 brands, the cheapest was Sony Bravia 26″ U-series (newly released model) at S$949. Too ex for me.

We walked to the LG stall and saw 2 models, LG26LC4R and LG26LC7R. The former is cheaper at S$790 and given the marketing gimmick of limited sales of 10 sets per day, it seems to be flying off the shelf. By the time I was there, there were only 3 available sets. The Ah Beng salesman recommended the one besides it, the LG26LC7R, a slightly better model but more expensive at S$890 and told me if I buy the LC7R, I would get at S$100 NTUC shopping voucher, which will actually come in handy since 100 bucks can buy quite abit of diapers for TJ.

Anyway the LC7R is indeed a better model in terms of the specs, the looks and the picture is sharper than the LC4R. Mr Ah Beng salesman highlighted a simple test for me to compare the display quality of the 2 LCDs: Squat before each LCD and look up at the screen; there will be darkened images on LC4R whereas the images on LC7R will still remain the same no matter which angle you are viewing. My friend did the test for me and she said it’s true. Actually I find squatting a bit difficult with my growing tummy, but tried it in the end and well, it’s true.

And compared to the Olevia one, the LG 27LC7R is HD ready, and technology-wise, it is definitely much better than the Olevia. Moreover, I can plug and play my notebook to it via the RGB and PC audio cables. Excellent. I can also watch CSI NY and The Tudors (which are on my portable hard disk) via the LCD instead of the notebook.

By the way, Mr Ah Beng salesman actually tried to dissuade me from using my credit card to pay for the TV, saying that I will have to pay an additional 2% (S$15), think it is some merchant charges, and that his profit margin is already very narrow for this model etc. And when I asked about delivery, he mentioned that the earliest would be next Tuesday, which I wasn’t that keen about cos I wanted D to see the LCD that we bought and at least use it for a day or 2 before he returns to HK this sunday.

Anyway, I decided to take some time to consider and did more shopping at the next floor, which incidentally feels like the entire Sim Lim Square has moved its operations to Level 5. My friend had just gone to Sim Lim prior to the Comex Show, and commented that Sim Lim was quiet. Anyway, I bought a 120gb external hard disk for another friend (S$129, Western Digital hard disk, 5400 rpm) and a notebook cooling unit (S$19), which incidentally was a disappointment ‘cos D found out later at night that the quality sux and it doesn’t work. Haiz.

After almost 2 hours of walking around at Comex (about the same travelling time that I took on the stoopid Express Bus 518 from Pasir Ris to Suntec), my friend and I went to LG again.

Since Mr Ah Beng salesman was busy with another couple, I spoke to his colleague and asked him about paying by credit card, although I didn’t mention anything about the 2% extra charge (which I was prepared to pay anyway since it is not like $50 or $100). This guy told me it wasn’t a problem and I didn’t have to pay any stoopid extra 2%…. just the $890 as stated on the LCD.

And when I asked about delivery (again I didn’t mention what Ah Beng salesman told me earlier), this nice chap asked me when I would like it to be delivered and I mentioned Friday, which wasn’t possible and he suggested Saturday. Gee, that is good. I was thinking, thank God, Ah Beng salesman was busy with other customers.

In the end, I paid $890 for the LG 26LC7R (found out that the retailed price for this model in HK is about HK$6K or S$1.2K), and it will be delivered tomorrow afternoon around 3pm.

Drivemocion

Check out the website. Apparently shipping is worldwide.

Actually D and I used to say that we should maybe devise a horn or some audio device for the car that would indicate our feelings whilst driving. E.g. when faced with an idiotic driver who doesn’t care if his/her car is holding up traffic, I could just activate the audio device which will shout out “Bugger Off”. We could tailor the audio effects accordingly, or maybe people can just record their own messages which could be played when necessary.

Ah, but this Drivemocion will be best, it will reduce any noise pollution that comes with incessant horns but gets the point across. If only I can have a pic that “gives the finger”. Hehe

Cool Christmas Gift

In order to spread some Christmas cheer and make their employees happy, Big Images combined the iPod Shuffles, US$100 notes and some snazzy origami to create this Christmas gift.

You can click here for more details & find the pdf doc that shows how to fold the “box” with the dollar bills.

Makes me wish to be their employee too. Sigh

My Xmas Pressie From D… iPod Video 30gb

 My pressie, the black iPod Video finally arrived  (I wanted to take actual fotos of my set but there is just too much reflection).

 Since engraving is free when buying the set from the Apple online store, I had the following engraved on this new set “Christina Tan Psalm 34:4” (Similar to my old iPod Mini, except that the verse on that set was Psalm 18:2“)

Even though it’s bigger than my iPod Mini, but it’s thinner and sleeker too. I am pleased and happy with this new toy, especially since I now have 30gb of memory space to dump my songs, pictures and videos into.  If there is one minor issue I have with the iPod Video, it will have to be its shiny silver back. ‘Cos all that fingerprints just stick onto the metal, quite unsightly u know, especially since I am quite an OCF (i.e. Obsessive Compulsion Freak).

Ah, I need to look for a nice casing (btw the set comes with a simple black pouch, but one which I will have to take the iPod Vid in and out to use the Clickwheel), to protect the set in case I drop it and also to prevent fingerprint smudges.

Updates (14 Dec 06):

I went to Wan Chai Computer Mall this evening after my driving lessons to look for a nice casing and screen protector (HK$40). I bought the blue plastic casing (HK$98) which not just protects my iPod Video from scratches but has a lil’ stand to prop my iPod Video upright too.

I just spent the last 2-3 hours uploading the following stuff - 500 songs (I have lots more in my HTPC but am tired of most of the songs) , 19 videos (mostly Chris Sharma’s bouldering clips) and the movie, Shrek 2.

So now, D and I will be glued onto our  Zen Vision M and iPod Video respectively while on the bus, MRT or plane.

Thanks D… love the pressie. Yeah

Winterbells … A Nice Game For The Xmas Season

Found this Christmasy game on the net… I like the music and the cute bunny

D’s Early (Bo Pian) X’mas Gift

Why early?

‘cos I just bought D a black Zen Vision M (30gb) at the shop we usually patronise at Wan Chai Computer Mall today after we returned from Macau a few hours ago. Price: HK$1998 (about HK$200 cheaper than buying from the Creative Store)

Why Bo Pian ? (English equivalent/explanation: “Can’t be helped”; contextually speaking, it was something that had to be done)

‘cos D lost his Zen Micro last night. He only found out that his little pouch containing his Zen which he clipped onto the shoulder strap had disappeared. After searching his bag and everywhere else, D concluded he had lost it, exclaimed a little and resigned to the fact that it is gone. Some lucky chap who has picked it up is definitely very gleeful with his find, but D mentioned that it has been giving him problems anyway (takes about a minute to boot up and hangs a few times).

Well, he has been looking at the new Zen Vision M just last week and showed it to me when I asked him what he wanted for Xmas. At that time, he wasn’t sure if he wanted another MP3 player cos he still had the Zen Micro. Like me, I was looking at the iPod Shuffle and my Mini crashed on me the 2nd time. Is there a lesson to be learnt from this? Do machines know that their time is up, that they may be unwanted and therefore exact revenge on the owners either by going kaput or leave their owners?

Anyway, I hope D likes his gift… It isn’t exactly the gift I wanted to get him, I had thought of buying a pair of Force Fins for him actually. But then again, I could still get the Force Fins for him during normal times, other than special occasions.

As for me, I am still using the Creative Muvo… not quite sure if I want the iPod Video even though D will get it for me as my Xmas gift. Will wait and see if D can fix my Mini after getting the hard disk replaced.