Life is Good!

Mountain Biking again, after 16 years

2011-04-20T10:04:00.000-07:00

It's been a looooooong time. I've always loved cycling since I was a child. I remember watching E.T the movie and falling in love with those all conquering BMX bikes that did everything including flying over the moon. Haha. I pestered my dad for the longest time and he finally bought me a BMX. Datuk Ng Joo Ngan is a good friend of my dad's so my first BMX was naturally from Joo Ngan's shop in Pertama Complex. My dad didn't wanna spend too much and I got a no name generic BMX that looked like it would fall apart at the very first dirt jump. Haha.

After a while, I wanted a better bike and slowly upgraded the parts, bit by bit. I used to save my school allowance, wash the car, polish the car, wash the toilets and mow the lawn, just to earn money for BMX parts. I studied at St. John's Institution and I would walk to the legendary Sum Ming bicycle shop in Jalan TAR whenever I had enough money for BMX parts. After about 2 years I had completed my dream bike. My pride and joy was a Diamondback Harry Leary with all the nicest parts available.

I used to ride 3-4 hours everyday, after school. I was into BMX racing and also Freestyling. The Wilayah Day BMX race is one of the highlights of the year and I used to look forward to it every year. It all came to an end when I had to go to Australia after Form 5. It was one of the saddest days of my life when I took my fully blinged up BMX to Sum Ming to sell for cash. It was the end of my cycling days for many years.

I got back to cycling when I came home from Australia and my working life began. I was working in the family business in Seremban and it's one heck of a boring town back in the stone ages. There was nothing much in the way of entertainment in Seremban but there were some really nice oil palm and rubber estates just behind my housing area. I was thinking that the trails in the estates would make for some really good cycling. My friends in KL/PJ were also bugging me to get a mountain bike so we could go cycling in Kiara. All of them bought their bikes from KSH in TTDI so I bought my first MTB from KSH too. It was a Kona Sex One, one of the very few full suspension bikes available at the time.

Here's a picture of the Kona Sex One from a magazine advertisement. Looks pretty sexy for a bike from 16 years ago eh?

My friends rode Kona and Gary Fisher full suspension bikes too. Every time we went cycling, the other MTBers would stare at us as if we were aliens riding on UFOs. Haha. Full suspension bikes were extremely rare at the time. I certainly enjoyed my time in the estates behind my house and also the Kiara trails on the weekends when I came back to KL. It was so long ago that the main road going up the Kiara hill wasn't even paved yet.

After a while, life caught up with me and I stopped cycling again. Work commitments, the arrival of my first child, etc, etc. I thought of cycling many times over the years but I just didn't have the time for it. I'm sure many of you know the drill. It was all about money, money, money, work, work, work. I was a workaholic, working 14-15 hours everyday, raking in the dollars. However, my working life came to an end about 7 years ago when I got really, really, really sick. Many doctors were stumped. I was on the brink of death when a doctor at Subang Jaya Medical Centre finally diagnosed me with the Big C. Yes, it was cancer and my world came crashing down. I had all the money in the world but what was the point of having money if I had no life. So I quit everything and decided to just enjoy life as I didn't even know how long I had left to live. I thought of cycling again, to regain my fitness and to fight the Big C. I was much too weak though. My body had degenerated so much. I was a 5' 6" bag of bones at 50kg.

It took me a long time to get back to my normal weight of about 65kg. It was really difficult to regain my fitness as I had lost my left ear before being accurately diagnosed by the good doctor at SJMC. I had also lost all sensation on the left side of my body. My left arm, left leg, left torso, everything on the left was gone and it took me a while to regain some feeling. My left ear was beyond help though. There was nothing the doctors could do. This made it very difficult for me to exercise as I didn't have much feeling on the left and no sense of balance too. You guys who have both ears working perfectly better treasure it. You will be amazed to find out that you can hardly walk with just one ear because it's so difficult to balance yourself.

I managed to overcome all that after a while. I learnt to compensate for the loss of my left ear and sensation on my left side. I could run and go to the gym as part of my plan to regain full fitness again. I was just getting back to full fitness when my world came crashing down again....................... Talk about double whammy eh? This time I was diagnosed with a heart rhythm disorder. I had to have heart surgery and I had to stop exercising again...........

Anyway, it has been 2 years since my heart surgery and 7 years since the Big C. I'm now able to start exercising properly again. Problem is that I gained 10kg after the heart surgery so I started with a 9 week program to regain some strength. The 9 week program ended just before my birthday and my dearest wife bought me a mountain bike. It has been a rocky road but I will never give up. I will keep fighting whatever comes my way and I'm happy to be mountain biking again, after 16 loooooooooong years.

Nike Trainer 1

2011-03-28T23:25:00.000-07:00

Age really catches up and does a super hyperspace jump when you're near the age of 40. Metabolism drops, testosterone levels drop, muscles droop. The only thing that goes up is FAT! In my younger days, my metabolism was so high, I used to eat 4-5 meals a day like a lion and not gain a single ounce of fat. Those were the days.........

Anyway, I recently started on a 9 week program to get lean and fit again. Lotsa gym work involved and I needed some proper cross trainers. My Adidas Boost runners weren't gonna cut it in the gym. So I went out and got a pair of all black Nike Trainer 1s. I got home, unwrapped them and took some pictures before using them. Here's how it looks like.

Nike recently revived it's cross trainer series. It reminds me of the first Nike cross trainers I had when I was a teenager. It was during the days of the legendary Bo Jackson-The Ultimate Athlete. People from my generation will remember him. He was Superman, no less. Bo was a top player in the NFL and he also played in the MLB. Nike developed cross trainers for him and the whole cross training phenomenon took off. Nike cross trainers were selling like hot cakes. I also owned a pair of Andre Agassi cross trainers. I was so excited to see that NIke had revived the cross trainer series of shoes.

Anyway, let's get on with my new TR1. It's got Nike Free, Nike Air and Nike Flywire technology built into it. Nike Free is in the outsole and the technology and design allows the outsole to flex more freely in all directions like as if we're barefoot. This is the Nike Free outsole.

This is where the Flywire technology is. More stability at the side while weighing next to nothing I guess.

Here's the legendary Nike Air cushioning. I've tried many types of shoes and have come full cirlce and back to Nike Air. Nothing does the job better for me. Air is truly the best.

Nicely padded collar for supreme comfort. It's a mid height shoe so the collar is pretty important.

Manufactured to the exact specifications of championship athletes. Okaaaaaaaaaay, I guess it should be good enough for a mere mortal like me. Haha

Here's a few more shots from different angles.

It's a fantastic shoe for crosstraining. The stability is excellent for gym work and the cushioning is superb for running too. I bought it for only rm399(USD130) and nothing can beat it at this price in my opinion. There's a newer model called TR1.2 which looks the same but has an additional velcro strap over the front of the foot. Check that out too. I decided on the TR1 coz I liked the all black look better. They're both sold at rm399(USD130) so the choice depends on which fits you better or which color you like more.

GUN GUN GUN

2011-03-27T07:08:00.000-07:00

Don't know why I never wrote about this. It's one of my favorite things on earth. What is it? Shooting. I went to Phuket for a holiday with my wife in May 2008 and this was one of the things that was right on top of the to do list. I had seen the Phuket Shooting Club on a trip in 1992 but couldn't stop for some shooting coz I was on a tour bus. I promised myself that I would go back there on the next trip. Well, it' took me 16 long years to get back to Phuket. Haha.

There are two licensed gun clubs in Phuket. Phuket Shooting Club is the established one and most people will know or have seen it. It's between the Phuket airport and most buses or taxis will pass by the club on the way to Patong beach. The second club is a new club and was newly opened just before I arrived in Phuket for the 2008 trip. This new club is on the road that leads up the mountain that takes you to the other side of Phuket Island.

Let's get on with the pictures.

The gun rack at Phuket Shooting Club.

Howzabout a big mama?

The instructor giving me a quick refresher course. He asked if I had any experience with guns and I told him the last time I handled a gun was when I was in the college shooting team which was something like 20 years ago. So I needed a bit of help to get back in touch with the guns.

Some 45cal lovin.

Not bad for an old man who last shot 20 years ago eh? The first shot was pretty far out from the center at about the 5 mark. Was still getting a feel for the gun. After that, all the shots were tightly grouped in the black zone.

Hunting rifle with scope.

94% score with the hunting rifle. Hehehe. I was slowly getting back the feel.

The infamous terrorist gun. AK47!

My wife wanted to be a "terrorist" too. Lucky for me, guns are illegal in Malaysia and possession is punishable by death. Or else this is what my wife would do to me when I buy too many toys or gadgets. Haha

Moving on to the shotgun

I forgot just how hard a shotgun kicks and didn't hold the butt nice and tight. Look what happened to my right arm. See that big bruise? That's from the recoil of the shotgun. I'm loading the 9mm bullets into the magazine in this picture.

Cocking the gun and getting ready to unleash hell upon the targets.

This is the view of the targets from where I'm standing with the 9mm pistol. Look at how incredibly small the targets are!

Time to blast off a series of quick 9mm rounds Die Hard style. YippieKayYay Mother Fuckerrrrrrr!!!!!!!!!!!! If only they had Hans Gruber standing there as the target. Hahaha.

I thought I had enough of guns for the day after spending a ridiculous amount at the Phuket Shooting Club. How wrong........ I hopped on the bike with my wife to head on to the next activity for the day, bungy jumping.On the way there, I saw a newly opened gun club and I just had to stop and visit it.

Some guns at the cashier counter before paying for my time with the M16.

When I finally got my hands on the M16.

Unleashing some nice hot lead from the M16.

2 shots in the body to get the calibration right and then a full on assault on the "terrorist's' head. Can you say "BOOM Headshot! BOOM Headshot! BOOM Headshot! Haha

And............... to finish off the day, I finally got to the Phuket Jungle Bungy Jump.

I believe I can fly...................................

Here's the Youtube video of my time in the sky. Haha. I was supposed to do a tandem jump with my wife but she had a massive headache after being in the sun all day and decided against it at the last minute.

Here's the kicker. I actually had heart surgery just 2 months before. My surgeon advised me to refrain from any strenuous or sporting activities but I totally forgot about it and did the bungy jump on top of all that excitement with the guns! I'm lucky I didn't die of a heart attack while jumping. Haha. I came back to Malaysia for my scheduled check up with my heart surgeon and told him about how much fun I had in Phuket. He almost fainted when I told him about the bungy jump. Anyway, he laughed about it after the initial shock. He said I had just given my heart the ultimate post operation test. He said "If you survived the bungy jump then I can now certify that your heart surgery was a 100% success". However, he gave me a stern warning not to do such things again for the next 1 to 2 years to allow my heart to heal properly.

Gadgets of the year 2010

2011-03-17T03:18:00.000-07:00

Wow!! Time really flies. I didn't even realise the last time I wrote was in December 2010. This is now my first post for 2011 so........ Happy New Year! Hahaha

Anyway, I just thought I'd kick off my 2011 posting with my favorite gadgets which were bought in 2010.

Here's my favorite gadgets of the year 2010.

They are the Apple MacBook Air 11", iPad and iPhone 4. I use these gadgets on a daily basis and just cannot imagine life without them. With them, Life is Good! Without them, life would just SUCK! Haha

Brabus Mercedes Goodride????

2010-12-29T10:02:00.000-08:00

I took this picture a while back and forgot to share it. It really was a "WTF!!!!!" moment for me. This Brabus Mercedes had these unknown brand tires on it! I mean............seriously?????? How can someone spend so much on a car and then be so cheap to install Goodride tires??? Last time I checked, proper tires were called Goodyear. Haha.

Vapor 4, iPhone 4 case

2010-12-21T20:37:00.000-08:00

I recently bought this Vapor 4 case by ElementCase. It has got to be the sexiest iPhone 4 case on the planet. It's just about the most expensive iPhone 4 case at USD80!!! Only the Extreme Metals edition is more expensive than this. Those of you who want to buy it in Malaysia, it's being sold for about rm400.

There is an optional carbon fiber protector for the back glass which costs another USD20 but it covers up the Apple logo so I'm using a carbon fiber protector from another company which has a cutout to show the nice shiny Apple. The Vapor 4 is pure machined aluminum sexiness. I can never resist CNC machined and anodized aluminum parts. I gobble them up for my other hobbies like mountain bike parts, remote control car parts and so on. I absolutely looooooooooooooooove it. Here's some pictures of it on my iPhone 4.

Looks superb eh? I've owned many iPhone cases starting from the original iPhone 2G right up to now but none of them come close to being this sexy. The Vapor 4 is pure aluminum sex! Haha. It's ludicrously expensive at USD80 but I really didn't care. I had to have it no matter the cost. For all you women out there, this is a perfect Christmas gift for your dear boyfriend or husband. Hurry up and get one for him now.

There have been many reviews complaining about reception issues after installing the Vapor 4 case. A certain site even did a test that showed the Vapor 4 reducing reception by 99%! I was really worried about all those reviews and reports before deciding to buy it. However, I couldn't resist buying it as it's just so loooooooooovely. I just had to try it for myself.

I've been using it for the past 1 week and I'm happy to report that I have had no issues with reception at all. I have 2 units of iPhone 4 so it's very easy to check on reception. All I have to do is put both phones side by side everywhere I go. Both iPhones have shown identical signal reception all week long. I also had no issues whatsoever with WiFi, Bluetooth and GPS. I don't know why there are so many reports and reviews showing problems. Maybe those people were living in areas with really bad cell reception in the first place. I can only vouch for it, where I live which is Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Do we have brain frying levels of radio waves that negate the reception issues in other countries? I really don't know but I'm certainly enjoying my Vapor 4 case here in Malaysia. I LOVE IT!!!!!!! Go get one now if you haven't already drooled all over your keyboards. Haha.

Proton Inspira

2010-11-29T20:28:00.000-08:00

Saw a Proton Inspira at the dealership while driving by today. It's got the hideous stickers promoting the stupid ass slogan thought up by imbeciles. The sales blurb goes like this- "Smart guys get it". Hahaha.

Smart guys wouldn't touch it with a 10 foot pole. It's a ridiculous car built by a ridiculous company run by ridiculous morons. This rebadged Mitsubishi Lancer actually costs more than the real Lancer which is imported all the way from Japan. Not by a small sum too, it's more expensive by about rm10k!

Big Boys Toys in Singapore

2010-11-26T23:19:00.000-08:00

Here's my loot from a recent week long shopping trip to Singapore.

Singapore is truly a shopping haven for gadgets and toys for the big boys. All the shiniest and latest toys are always in stock the minute it's launched. Kuala Lumpur is slow like a snail in comparison. It takes forever for cutting edge stuff to arrive in KL and the stock levels are minimal or even out of stock most times. Just imagine, the iPad is not even in Malaysia yet! How lame is that?

If you're a gadget freak like me, head on down to Singapore and go wild. Christmas is almost here and it's the perfect excuse for more shopping.

Gran Turismo 5 is here!!!!!!

2010-11-23T02:00:00.000-08:00

I have it in my hands at last. After 5 looooooong years of waiting! I guess I won't be sleeping tonight. Haha. Will write more about the GT5 experience later

Vacation Gaming Center

2010-11-15T19:58:00.000-08:00

Here's the gaming center I set up in my hotel room while on vacation. I was having withdrawal symptoms from not gaming during my vacation. So I bought myself the new XBox 360S 250gb n set it up with the TV in my room.

I also bought a whole bunch of games including the fantastic Halo Reach Legendary Edition that you can see on the floor below the TV. It's a fantastic limited edition release and I suggest all Halo fans get it before it runs out. I'll unbox it and take more detailed pictures of the Legendary box when I get home. The iPhone 4 camera that I'm using while on vacation, doesn't do it justice.

I'm all set to last through this long vacation with my gaming center all set up now. No more withdrawal symptoms. I can even get online with the XBox as I brought along my mobile 3G WiFi unit commonly known as a MiFi. Ok, time to sign out and get back to gaming. Hehehe.

Call of Duty:Black Ops

2010-11-06T19:05:00.000-07:00

Boy oh boy is the wait excruciatingly painful or what? I want this game NOW!!!!!!!!!! It's gonna be another day of mayhem the minute I get it home. I hope the local stores have it in stock on the 9th of November.

Check out the advertising video on youtube. Superb ad. Hehe.

Photographic Chef????

2010-11-06T10:47:00.000-07:00

I saw this restaurant signboard a while back. Just look at the words on it. I didn't know whether to laugh or cry when I saw it. The English is so bad it's like one of those Japanese car tuning company's slogans. Haha. It makes absolutely no sense at all.

After staring at it for a few minutes, I kinda looked at it from another point of view and maybe, just maybe the owner/chef is an avid photographer and is trying to convey his love of photography through his food? Haha.

What do you guys think?

Leica Flagship store in KL!!!!

2010-10-21T19:34:00.000-07:00

YES!!!!!!!!!! Leica's flagship store will be in Kuala Lumpur soon. I'm soooooooooo happy to hear this. Check out this video where Sunil Kaul(Managing Director of Leica) announces the new stores in Asia.

Old skool dumplings

2010-10-09T05:40:00.000-07:00

When was the last time you had some REAL dumplings. These are freshly made by the master himself, right in front of you. Hand made, fresh from the steam baskets! Soooooooo yummy.

The amazing thing is that it was on the street. It wasn't in a restaurant or anything. I've bumped into so many things I never knew about while out on my photographic trips. This is why I love photography so much. It's ironic how looking through the viewfinder shows us things we've never seen before with our own eyes eh?

Street Barber

2010-10-05T22:13:00.000-07:00

Here's a picture of a street barber I took recently. It's such an amazing sight. I never imagined I'd see such a thing in this day and age in a modern city. It really looks like a scene out of the 1940's. I felt as if I was transported back in time when I saw this. I almost had to take a look at the calendar in my iPhone to reassure myself that I was here in the year 2010. Simply amazing!

Leica M9 Titanium

2010-09-20T17:16:00.000-07:00

What an absolute beauty! The new Leica M9 Titanium has just been unveiled at Photokina 2010. Only 500 units have been made. It's been co designed by the people at Audi automobiles and it's quite obvious with the avantgarde design. It comes with a new LED viewer, new hand holding system, leather that's used in the Audi sports cars and a special 35mm f1.4 Summilux lens with a special hood. The price is a whopping 22 thousand Euros!!!!! Realistically, it'll be more like 30 thousand Euros by the time it hits eBay.

I think I'll just go back to sleep now and keep dreaming about it. As a mere mortal whose wallet isn't quite fat enough, I'll just continue using my good ol Leica M8 which cost me an arm and leg as it is. Haha.

Fuji Finepix X100

2010-09-20T09:18:00.000-07:00

Check out the video and tell me you aren't in love. Hehe

This camera looks awesome, sounds awesome and might even taste awesome. Haha. Just look at the specifications. A lovely Fuji 35mm f2 lens, APS-C sensor, manual Aperture ring and retro looking design. Boy oh boy is it a beauty. It's supposed to be available in early 2011. Just about right timing as my birthday present. Hehehe.

What do you guys reckon the pricing will be like? I'm guessing about USD1500.

Update: I just found this picture from http://enticingthelight.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/Fuji-X100-size-comparison.jpg

It shows the X100 compared to a few other cameras to scale. The X100 is kinda huge. Almost as big as a Leica M9! Looks like I won't be buying the X100 after all. It's pointless if it's gonna be so big. I might as well just use my Leica M8 with a superb Carl Zeiss 35mm f2 Biogon or a Leica 28mm f2 Summicron or the ultimate Leica 35mm f1.4 Summilux. I'll need to strike the jackpot if I wanna buy the 35mm f1.4 Summilux though. Haha.

Leica Emotion

2010-09-20T08:29:00.000-07:00

This video just about sums up how most Leica users feel. I still remember the day my dad first allowed me to touch and use his rangefinder. It truly felt like a holy object to me. I've always loved rangefinders ever since. There's no feeling like using the manual aperture ring, setting your own shutter speed, focussing the rangefinder and SNAP! It's one of the best experiences in life. All photographers should try out a rangefinder if they haven't yet.

Those on a tight budget can always buy a Voigtlander or Zeiss Ikon. Actually, you can get a Leica too. Just hunt around for a classic M3. It's cheap and built like a tank. Just imagine a camera built in the 1950's and still taking lovely photographs until today.
I'm very sure you will fall in love with the rangefinder way of taking photos. Don't blame me if you decide to move on to the MP, M8 or M9 though. They are extremely expensive and very bad for your financial health. Haha.

Converse Chuck Taylor

2010-09-19T10:56:00.000-07:00

These are the most beautiful shoes on earth. I loooooooooooove them to death. I've been wearing them since I was a kid and they're still my favorite shoes. I even wore it with a Tux at my cousin's wedding! They not only look good, they're the most comfortable shoes on earth. The more rotten it gets, the more comfortable it is.

A lot of people have boycott Converse due to Reebok buying out the company but all that is none of my concern. I couldn't care less who makes them as long as they keep making them, I will keep buying them. In fact I just bought a new pair recently, a classic black leather pair.

They're just as comfortable as ever. Try buying a new pair of shoes and walking in them all day. Most shoes require a break in period to truly feel comfy but not these beauties. They feel good the minute you put them on. If you haven't tried on a pair of Chuck Taylors, you're missing out on one of the best things in life! Go get a pair NOW!!!!!!!

Been away for a while

2010-09-17T17:52:00.000-07:00

I haven't been writing for a while. It's for a very good reason though. I've been shoppingggggggggggggg a lot of late and also just came home from a week's trip to Singapore. What an adventure the past few weeks have been. Hehehe. I think I even had Shopping Fatigue Syndrome while in Singapore coz I came down with food poisoning while I was there. Wasted a whole day sleeping in the hotel instead of shopping. :(

Anyway, lotsa new stuff sitting in my bags and I can't wait to share it with you guys. I need some serious rest and sleep first though. Gadget acquisition is a seriously tiring job................ but someone's gotta do it eh? Hehe. I'll be back with a lot of updates once I've recovered from my Shopping Fatigue Syndrome.

Black Leica M3!

2010-09-04T19:25:00.000-07:00

OMG! I just saw a lovely black Leica M3 on Youtube. I thought about buying an M3 many times but this black 1 really got me drooling. I know it's not the way it's supposed to be or anything but it just looks so looooooooovely. I might just buy it if I ever see a black 1 in a shop. The classic silver M3 is a beauty but this black painted M3 is just drop dead gorgeous. Here it is on Youtube. I will not be held responsible for keyboards damaged by saliva. Watch it at your own risk. :)

World's Most Expensive Lomo camera

2010-08-22T08:32:00.000-07:00

Saw this while I was out shopping today and I just had to get it. I now have the World's Most Expensive Lomo camera. Haha.

The small box is the Diana F to EOS adaptor and the big box is the lens set that includes the 55mm lens and a close up attachment. It even comes with a viewfinder for the Diana camera but I won't be using that on my camera.

Here's the World's Most Expensive Lomo camera!

A closer look at the Lomo lens on my Canon EOS 1D.

Can't wait to go try it out tomorrow. Hehehe.

MILF set for battle!!!!!!

2010-08-11T18:23:00.000-07:00

OMG! MILFs are about to go to war! I just saw this in the newspapers today. I'd love to be the war journalist in this battle. LOL.

New addition to the family

2010-07-31T19:41:00.000-07:00

Went shopping with my wife yesterday and popped into the pet store to buy some supplies for my dog called Buddy. And then................. my wife wandered off to the area where they sell puppies and absolutely fell in love with this gorgeous tri-color Shihtzu+Pekingese Hybrid(Shinese).

This is the gorgeous face my wife fell head over heels in love with.

I will take more pictures of her later. This 1st picture is kinda bad as she was really curious and active when we 1st brought her home. She was constantly moving and running around and I've misfocussed a wee bit on her nose. Hehe.

It's going to be a busy few months of housebreaking and training all over again. I also have to be very careful that we don't make Buddy jealous. So he's going to need equal attention as well. I really wasn't keen on going through all that again but my wife really loved this Shinese so I kinda had no choice. Hehe.

We haven't given her a name yet. These are the names we have shortlisted with the help of Google. They are Pinky, Coco, Cookie, Candy, Lulu and Bella. I'm currently in favor of Bella. What do you guys think?

Delifrance Amazing Spaghetti Deal

2010-07-19T13:14:00.000-07:00

This is something I've been enjoying with my kids for the past 2 weeks. It's an amazing deal from Delifrance. The spaghetti meals usually cost rm16 but during this promotional period they only cost rm6! You can choose from the 3 available types of spaghetti- Beef Bolognaise, Chicken Bolognaise or Chicken Forestiere. All 3 flavors are nice. We like them all and we're certainly going to take advantage of this promo till the end of this month. I proclaim this to be the month of Pasta. Hehe.

Here's the promotional leaflet.

Here's the Pasta Beef Bolognaise I had today. Don't expect 5 star hotel style presentation. It's quite sloppily presented but it tastes good and most importantly, it's damn cheap. Haha.

Gran Turismo 5 at last! Hopefully.....

2010-07-17T19:53:00.000-07:00

I just received this e-mail and they have announced a solid date for the arrival of Gran Turismo 5 at last! The date is November 2, 2010. GT5 was promised as a PS3 launch game but has been delayed for so many years. They also announced many times that it would be out by Christmas. Many years have gone by and we have been disappointed so many times. Let's hope Sony keeps their promise this year and delivers GT5 to us at long last and we will all have a super Christmas present for 2010.

Here's the email I received this morning.

Sony NEX FEVER!!!!!!!!

2010-07-10T10:18:00.000-07:00

I love the Sony NEX so much, I bought another one today. Hehehe. Decided to get the NEX-5 with 18-55mm and 16mm twin lens kit this time. I've had the NEX-3 for a few days now and am totally happy with the image quality and all so I reckon the 18-55mm will be good for backpacking holidays. My wife prefers a zoom lens with image stabilization and she asked me to get the 18-55mm for her. Since I have to go and buy the 18-55mm, I figured I would just go out and buy the whole kit today. Decided on the NEX-5 this time since I already have the NEX-3. Hehe.

I'll just use the pancake and my wife will use the 18-55mm when we go on our backpacking holidays. No more worries about damaging our expensive SLRs and also the fear of being robbed since we like exploring and taking pictures of everyday life in slum areas. The NEX is so cheap, if we damage or lose it, it's easily replaceable and we're back on track since most camera stores will be selling the NEX. I can't imagine damaging or losing our SLRs while on holiday. It will be a nightmare, financially and also photographically speaking. We will still bring along the SLRs but we wont be using them in the slum areas anymore. It's a bit scary, really.

Sony Fair at 1 Utama

2010-07-08T00:24:00.000-07:00

Here's the latest Sony Fair at 1 Utama. World Cup theme since Sony is one of the main sponsors of the World Cup. There are lotsa TVs, cameras and stuff you can try out. There's some pretty good deals on the Bravia TVs too. Go check it out if you're a Sony freak. Hehe. Let's get on with the pictures.

Here's the living area in my house.................

I wish. Hahaha.

View from upstairs. That football sphere at the bottom of the picture is where the 3D TV demo is.

View of the main concourse area.

All pictures shot with Sony NEX3 with the 16mm f2.8 pancake lens + VCL-ECF1 Fisheye converter lens.

The loooooooovely new Sony NEX 3 & 5 cameras are there on demo too. I just looooooooooove my NEX 3 so much. You guys have to go and try these little pocket rockets out. They're fantastic little cameras. Don't blame me if you leave the fair with a NEX and lighter wallet though. Haha.

The Twilight Saga

2010-07-07T07:57:00.000-07:00

Ok............we are now officially vampire show freaks. Me and my girls just looooooooove vampire flicks so much. We're gonna watch The Twilight Saga TWICE. Here's the tickets I just bought.

We're gonna watch the midnight show afterwards and then watch it again tomorrow evening. Are we mad??? Yes I guess so. Anyone wanna join us for both shows? Haha

Ninja Joe Burger

2010-07-06T05:45:00.000-07:00

1st of all, sorry to my Muslim friends ya, this is a non halal posting. Hehe. This burger is sooooooooooooooooooo delicious............. I just have to write about it and share with my non Muslim friends.

It's called Ninja Joe Burger. I think it's the only restaurant as I've never seen it anywhere else except in Tropicana City Mall. I was just walking around when I saw it and decided to give it a go. Boy oh boy, I'm so glad I tried it. It's so deeeeeeeeeeeeeeeelicious!!!!!

Anyway, this is how the restaurant looks like. It's got a very Japanese kinda feel to it.

Here's something you'll see at the cashier counter. It's a description of their product. I really appreciate that no "spare parts" are used in my burger. LOL

I ordered a 6 pack which is the cheapest combination at rm23.90. A single burger costs rm5.50. I also added on 2 pax of drink and fries for only rm3.50 each. There are 6 flavors to choose from. Original, Teriyaki, Oriental, Sweet&Sour, Black Pepper and Spicy. I liked Teriyaki, Oriental, Sweet&Sour and Black Pepper. The Spicy burger is really lame, the sauce is the kinda chili sauce you get with the typical chicken rice. See how small the burgers are? They're biscuit sized burgers in White Castle Burger style. Anyone remember White Castle? They went bust in Malaysia a long time ago but anyone who's been/from overseas will surely know about White Castle Burgers.

The burger doesn't look like much in this picture, I can assure you it tastes superb though. Hehe.

Big fat crinkle style fries just the way I like it. I hate those McDonald's skinny fries. The Ninja fries come out fresh from the hot pot of oil and it really is steaming hot. Awesome fries I tell you. I looooooooove it.

The aftermath. Haha

All you non Muslim burger lovers, go and try it now. It's deeeeeeeeeeelicious!!!!!

Sony NEX-3

2010-07-04T22:59:00.000-07:00

Wheeeeeeee! Finally got my Sony NEX-3 with the 16mm f2.8 pancake lens. I've waited so long for this lovely fella to be available at the shops. Been waiting impatiently since the NEX launch event I attended last month. It's finally here and in my pocket. :)

Here's a quick test shot after I brought it home. Just look at the lovely bokeh.

I've finally got my dream compact camera that's small, ultra wide at 24mm, has really high ISO capability and lotsa bokeh. I love my Leica D-Lux4 as a pocket cam but the thing about it is that it doesn't do high ISO and has absolutely no bokeh. This lil NEX3 is gonna be in my pocket all the time. I looooooooooove it. Will be taking a trip down to the beach now. Hopefully the weather is good so I can get some nice sunset pics with this new baby of mine. :)

RC5 for Canon

2010-06-30T10:26:00.001-07:00

A friend notified me about this thingy going for a song. So I grabbed a few for myself and also to give away to friends. It's a copy of the original Canon RC5 wireless remote for Canon EOS cameras. This lil fella cost me a princely some of rm10(USD3) only. Hehehe. Unbelievable eh?

It's very simple to use. Just go to the Drive mode on your EOS and select the icon with the clock and a wireless signal icon next to it. After that just select your AF point, click on the remote button and it will acquire focus lock and trigger the shutter. Take note that there's no 2 second delay like the original Canon RC5. It activates the AF and once focus lock is achieved, the AF confirmation beep comes on and it fires off a shot immediately.

TGIF Tex Mex SUCKS!

2010-06-30T09:06:00.000-07:00

Went for lunch at TGIF on Monday. Decided to try out the new Tex Mex menu. I ordered Chicken With Peppers & Mushrooms and it was utter bollocks! Just look at the picture of it. It's rm25 of soggy, tasteless rice. I didn't have breakfast, didn't have lunch at the proper time and finally ate this plate of crapola at 5pm. Things usually taste really, really, really good simply because you're so hungry but this horrible plate of.................. I don't know what to call it.............it's not even food! I asked for a doggy bag and packed it for my dog's dinner. I'm sure he enjoyed it but I certainly didn't.

I was so disappointed with that plate of crapola, I ordered something else. This time I was in no mood to experiment so I ordered my favorite Jack Daniel's Chicken. Uuuuuuuuummmmmm........... yummy yum yum. This is what I expect from TGIF.

Ordered my favorite starter too. Fried Macaroni and Cheese.

Luckily, the Mac n Cheese and JD Chicken were good. It would have spoiled my day if they were as bad as that plate of crapola.

Vuvuzela!!!!!

2010-06-29T10:28:00.000-07:00

Got my hands on a Vuvuzela. I can't believe how loud this blasted thing is. It's such a simple thing but the noise it makes is just..............................terribbblyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy LOUD.

Here's how it looks like.

It's just an empty plastic tube!!!!! How on earth does it make all that noise?????

I just tried it out and it really is terribly loud. It's 2am in Malaysia now, don't know if my neighbours woke up from the noise the Vuvuzela made. Haha. Anybody wanna experience some real World Cup atmosphere during the live telecasts? You can come over to my house and I'll gladly share the noise with you. Hehehe.

Griffin Elan case for iPhone 3G/Gs

2010-06-26T11:09:00.000-07:00

With all the hype surrounding the iPhone 4G release, I'm feeling a bit sad that I can't have 1 yet. So I decided to pimp my iPhone 3Gs a wee bit today. Saw the Griffin Elan Form Graphite and immediately fell in love with it. It's a carbon fiber lookalike material and it looks really classy with the black chrome trim around it. I really like it coz it maintains the iPhone look while adding some carbon fiber bling bling. Let's get on with the pictures.

The packaging.

Front of the case with the really nice black chrome trim. Take note of the matt black material inside the case. It's a nice rubbery material and prevents the case from scratching the iPhone

Back of the case

With the iPhone 3Gs in it. This is why I love this case so much. It still looks just like an iPhone but slightly pimped with the black chrome trim all around the front.

Different views of the black chrome around the ports and switches.

I've been using clip on covers all along coz I don't like the way the full protection casings cover up the chrome trim on the front. I have finally found the perfect case for my iPhone 3Gs. It fully protects the iPhone on the front and back while still looking like an iPhone and I don't have to worry about dropping the iPhone on the front anymore. I absolutely love it. Best thing is that it comes in this fantastic carbon fiber look which is just perfect for a car nut like me. I give it an unequivocal 2 thumbs up.

Pudu Jail is no more........

2010-06-23T11:27:00.000-07:00

Built in 1895, destroyed in 2010, 115 years of history GONE. This jail is such a big part of Kuala Lumpur's soul. It is right smack in the middle of Kuala Lumpur and most tourists will take a walk there to have a look at this infamous landmark. Now it's gone because of a few greedy people and politicians who wanna make a quick buck. One of the so called big shots even said "Pudu Prison is not something that should be made a national heritage", "for a historical building to pass ‘the heritage test,’ it must have significance and contributed to the welfare of society".

Pudu Jail can so easily be turned into a proper tourist spot with proper management like Alcatraz prison in San Fransisco. Alcatraz is a historic site operated by the National Park Service as part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. Only a so called Malaysian big shot would say that a 115 year old prison is not a historical site. Such clever leaders we have.:( If a prison doesn't contribute to the welfare of society then what does? It keeps the bad people away from the general population for god's sake, how does that not qualify as a contribution to society????

What are they gonna put on top of that big precious plot of land? Even the dumbest person would guess correctly, a big huge shopping mall and condominium. It's all about the money isn't it? Anyway, who in their right mind is gonna wanna invest in a shop lot there or worse still, live in the condominium. That place has witnessed the execution by hanging, of society's worst and most hardened criminals. I'm sure many have also passed away while incarcerated too. Would you wanna live on a plot of land that has been home to all those deaths? I certainly wouldn't, out of respect for those tortured souls and also out of fear. LOL.

Anyway, I better stop writing about the political side of the story for fear of Malaysia's ISA(Internal Security Act). I don't wanna end up in the new prison in Sg Buloh. LOL. I'll just post up the pictures I took of Pudu Jail on it's last night before the demolition men came along at 10pm on 21st June 2010.

I arrived at about 7pm to witness Pudu Jail's last moments. These are pictures of the area while it was still quiet and peaceful before the chaotic crowds arrived at about 10pm to witness the demolition men at work.

Some people appeasing the poor tortured souls.

Main gate of the prison with a full moon over it. Spoooooooky!

Graffiti on top of the former "World's Longest Painting".

Perimeter wall.

More graffiti

Grim reminder of Malaysia's tough stance on drug trafficking. Translated into English, it says "You will die by hanging! An unfortunate thing for your family as that is the only punishment for anyone caught trafficking drugs in Malaysia".

It's getting nearer to 10pm and thousands of people have turned up suddenly.
They even managed to climb to the top of the main gate.

Chaos!!!!!!!

Traffic and crowd control police at work.

One of the demolition men taking a cigarette break.

After I told him to stop smoking for safety's sake. I got a "sorry boss" and a big smile. LOL

Part of the wall that was demolished before the news crews and crowds arrived.

Guard tower as seen from within the broken wall

The site office??? Haha

A demolition man. Proud of his work.

The supervisors

In deep discussion

TV3 crew at work

Carnage! History in a million pieces!

Machine of Mass Destruction.

The last minutes of Pudu Jail.

The Machine of Mass Destruction is about to let rip.

Pudu Jail, R.I.P

Father's Day present

2010-06-22T17:20:00.000-07:00

Here's what my kids bought for me on Father's Day.

Nice t-shirt eh? Hahaha.

My new Uber L lenses and EOS 1D MkIV

2010-06-18T21:09:00.000-07:00

Just acquired these big white uber L lenses and new camera yesterday. Hehehe.

I'm in looooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooove.

Sony Alpha NEX Launch in KL

2010-06-04T12:17:00.000-07:00

I went for the Sony Alpha NEX launch event in Lot 10, KL today. It was nicely organised. Started right on time too. Only thing I didn't like was that only Sony cameras were allowed inside. I sneaked my little Leica point & shoot inside though. Hehe. The only Sony camera I have right now is a museum piece and cannot possibly handle the low light event.

Front entrance and registration counter.

Showing off and explaining the features of the NEX.

Blasting away at 7fps!

Fun and games for the guests

Crowded stage area.

Let's get on to the camera itself.

Insane Alpha NEX with the Sony 70-400G lens on it!!!! Just imagine the focal length. It's a mind boggling 105-600mm f4-5.6 lens on the NEX.

The Alpha NEX Gallery.

My thoughts on the Sony Alpha NEX

This little wonder lives up to every expectation and more. Sony has taken the big, bold step of being the 1st to market an affordable APS-C sensor compact camera and they deserve all the praises the NEX is getting now. I played around with it for about 45 minutes and loved every minute of it. This camera is just superb.

1st thing I tried out was the user interface. It's nice and simple. Just activate the Menu with a single button. You then navigate the menu with a dial which has a button in the middle of it. It's very much like the system on my Canon Pro SLR bodies. I got used to it in about 2 minutes and got down to snapping lots and lots of pictures to try out the image quality.

Once I started snapping pictures with it, I was totally blown away. It is simply the nicest little compact camera I've tried. The image quality was fantastic in the dark testing conditions there and the high ISO looked pretty good from what I could see on the LCD display itself. I will reserve final judgement on that until I get to see full size pictures on my LCD monitor at home though.

This lil fella does HD video too. The NEX5 does 1080i and the NEX3 does 720p. I had no interest in trying out the video modes though. I already have the best 1080p, 24fps capable SLR in the form of my EOS 5D MarkII. I'll just take Sony's word in this case. It should handle video nicely considering the vast experience Sony has with the Handycam video cameras.

The thing that blew me away was the bokeh. I have not seen any other compact camera delivering this level of bokeh. That APS-C sensor sure is paying dividends here. I only tested with the 18-55mm kitlens on it. Just imagine a fast lens on the NEX, the bokeh would be even more creamy then.

I was really interested to try the NEX with the 16mm f2.8 pancake lens but the lady who was in charge of it had seemingly disappeared. Haha. In my opinion, this is the perfect combination for the NEX. The pancake lens is a 24mm f2.8 lens in 35mm terms. That is just such a lovely range and speed on a small compact camera. This is the combo that I'm personally interested in. If I were to buy the NEX, this is it. I'd buy the NEX3 with the 16mm f2.8 pancake lens on it. It would be the ultimate vacation camera for me. Compact, light, wide, fast and amazingly cheap. Perfect, just absolutely perfect.

If I owned shares in Panasonic and Olympus, I'd start selling them soon. The Sony NEX is gonna kick some major m43 butt!!!!!

Customising the EOS 1D/Ds MkIII

2010-06-03T18:48:00.000-07:00

Here's a really useful manual I found. It's all about customizing the 1D/Ds MkIII. The manual shows us how to optimize the camera's AF to suit our style of photography. Good stuff.

Get the PDF file here- http://www.lensprotogo.com/media/EOS1D_1DsMark_III.pdf

Gadgeteer's Standard Operating Procedure

2010-06-03T09:31:00.000-07:00

Went out shopping today for some camera stuff today. I thought I'd write up a Gadgeteer's S.O.P(Standard Operating Procedure) to help all other married Gadget Freaks. As you all know, getting the wife to understand our obsession with gadgets is like trying to understand why they like bags, shoes and diamonds so much. So........... best thing to do is........... not to understand it but to go with the flow. Hehe.

My S.O.P is actually pretty simple. It's actually made up of 1 rule only. Make her happy and you shall be happy. Hehehe.

So this is what I did. Took her to a boutique and bought her a bag of her choice.

Waited for her to flash that big happy smile. Then it was my turn to get this at the camera store-

Everyone goes home with a big happy smile. Just remember- Make her happy and you shall be happy.

Canon CPS(Canon Pro Services)

2010-05-26T11:55:00.000-07:00

I've been a Canon CPS member for a while now. Here's how the CPS member's card looks like.

I haven't used the privileges until today. Had some specks of dirt in the viewfinder of 1 of my cameras. I also wanted them to calibrate my 17-40L to see if my own AF Microadjustment was spot on. The CPS service is simply brilliant. There is a service counter just for CPS members. We don't have to take a number and wait in line. Thank god for that, there was a long line of people waiting their turn, over at the normal customer service center. I just walked up to the CPS counter and the staff attended to me immediately. After leaving the camera with them, I proceeded to the CPS Lounge to chill and wait for my camera to be cleaned and calibrated.

I was most impressed by the CPS Lounge. It's an enclosed VIP room just for CPS members. I had to swipe my CPS card over the security keypad to open the door. Once inside, it felt like home. Everything is nice and comfy. I wouldn't mind waiting in there all day if I had to. Hehe. Here's a picture of the CPS Lounge.

Aaaaaaaaah the luxuries of being a VIP. Nothing like a wee bit of VIP service eh?. Life Is Good! Hehehe. Right at the other end of the room is a drinks machine that serves coffee, hot chocolate, tea, etc etc etc. There's lotsa nice food there too. There was a nice selection of donuts, curry puffs, spring rolls and a few other things. They also provide 2 computers to keep us entertained while waiting. I guess you could catch up with some office work at the computer but I'm a lazy fella, so all I did was surf the internet, lounge around the sofa, had some coffee and food. Haha. I also asked for some reading material and here's what the nice lady provided. I was handed 4 copies of the DCM/Mook EOS 40D Guide Book but I took only 3. 1 for myself and the other 2 for my friends. There's also a few other interesting books there, all for me to keep.

My wife and 3 kids were with me. Most times, they would go berserk if I make them wait with me at service centers coz it's just sooooooooo boring. The fact that my wife and 3 kids were having a blast in there shows just how good the service is. Nice comfy room, good food, nice drinks, computers with internet access and comfy sofas make for a supremely pleasant experience. Just 20+ minutes later, the lady brought my camera to the room for me to inspect it and make sure I'm happy with the service and everything. Can you say F.A.S.T? It took a mere 30 minutes from the time I stepped into the Canon Service Center to the lady bringing my camera back to the CPS Lounge, all cleaned up and calibrated. They gave the camera and lens a good wipe down too. I've never seen my camera and lens this clean and shiny except for the day I brought them home.

A most wonderful experience. I now call it my Camera Spa. Haha. My wife and kids said they wanna tag along when I go to the Camera Spa again. It's gonna be soon as I have another, rather dirty 5D MkII covered in lotsa dust and mud from the last assignment. Big thumbs up to Canon Malaysia for a most excellent CPS.

20 units of EOS 1D MkIV!!!!!

2010-05-26T10:45:00.000-07:00

Phwoarrrrrrrrrrrr!!!!!! Just take a look at this..........

That's 20 units of EOS 1D MkIV, 580EXII, 16-35mm f2.8L II and 70-200 f2.8L right there! That must be how heaven looks like. LOL. Actually, it's Malaysia's biggest newspaper The New Straits Times taking delivery of the new equipment for their photographers.

EOS 1D MkIII, Machine Gun!!!!

2010-05-24T12:06:00.000-07:00

Went shopping today. Dropped by my favorite camera store for some fun. Thought of buying an EOS 1D MkIIn for my daughter as she has been complaining that the 450D cannot keep up with her school photographic activities. She's the school OP and does all the events including sports events. Saw a good condition 1D MkIIn going for cheap and decided to try it out. I was impressed with the 8.5FPS and the 45 AF points and my daughter tried it out too. She was grinning and drooling, hoping I'd buy it for her.

Then my my wife asked the shopkeeper which model is the latest and greatest and he replied "1D MkIV". My wife then suggested that I get the 1D MkIV as she prefers that I get the latest and greatest every time we go shopping. I'm such a lucky guy to have a wife like that. I loooooooooooooove her dearly, she is the ultimate gadget freak's wife. Hehehe.

I was kinda keen to get the 1D MkIV too but I really didn't need the new features like the HD video and all since I already have the 5D MkII for that. Well, it's got 6mp more, much higher ISO and a few more AF cross points but my 5D MkII already has superb high ISO and 21mp. Only big difference is the extra AF cross points. I could live with the 19 cross points on the 1D MkIII and it's cheaper too. So I asked to try out the 1D MkIII. As soon as I tried out the 10FPS, I was in loooooooooooooooooooooooove. It's like a machine gun!!!!! I just had to have it and told the shop keeper it's a done deal. Asked him for a slight discount and he agreed. So here's my new Canon EOS Machine Gun along with a new SD card and multi card reader from Sandisk.

Went out to buy a 1D MkIIn for my daughter and ended up with a 1D MkIII. Haha. I may just end up using it more than my daughter.

Canon 500mm f4L IS for babies!

2010-05-20T07:34:00.000-07:00

Here's a picture I saw over at TheDigitalPicture.com. I hope to get a big white monster for my baby girl too. If only a bag of money fell on my head someday. I'll be sure to take a picture of my baby girl with her big white monster when that bag of money falls on my head. LOL.

I looove my new Apple MacMini

2010-05-18T09:20:00.000-07:00

Finally bought a new Apple system for my photo storage purposes. I was using an old PowerMac G5 previously. After buying my new MacBook Air and experiencing the power of the new generation of Macs, I just had to get a new Mac for my desktop. The PowerMac G5 felt absolutely glacial compared to my new MacBook Air.

I bought Apple's Aperture 3 software to go along with this new system too. I've been using it for a couple of weeks now and absolutely love it. Everything's just perfect now. I have enough power to edit photos and lotsa hard disk space for storage. Using the 30" ACD for viewing albums and editing pictures in Aperture 3 is just absolutely fantastic. Next up would be a ram upgrade to 8gb. Apple doesn't mention it officially in the spec sheets but the Mac Mini will handle 8gb of ram. That would be a really nice upgrade but I guess I'll wait a while more for the price of 4gb sticks to drop a wee bit more. The current price is a lil bit expensive at about rm650(USD200) a stick.

Oh I forgot to mention that I bought the Magic Mouse and Wireless keyboard too. The Magic Mouse is simply magical. I love the touch ability of the mouse and it's got a laser sensor for superb accuracy on any surface. It's a bit like the touchpad on my MacBook Air. It's so beautiful to look at. A marvel of industrial design. The bottom part is hunk of aluminum and the top is a piece of glass. The battery life is really good, I've been using it for about 2 weeks now and the battery level is still at 85%. The keyboard is lovely too, a solid hunk of aluminum. The battery life is still at 100% after 2 weeks! The mouse and keyboard costs a fair bit of money but it's worth it. I'd like the keyboard even more if Apple made it backlit just like the MacBooks. I don't see why they can't do it when they're charging us so much for it.

Free 3" EOS screen protector

2010-05-05T09:02:00.000-07:00

Check this out guys. It's a lovely Canon branded 3" screen protector for our precious EOS cameras and it's FREE!

It comes free with PhotoYou magazine. I think it's the 1st issue as I haven't seen this magazine before. It's endorsed by Canon Malaysia. As you can see, there's a big Canon logo at the top right corner of the cover.

It's a photography magazine that prides itself on being a magazine by women for women. The Editor is a woman. Looks like more women are getting into the photography hobby eh? Anyway, it is about photography after all and who says guys can't read it. After all, women have been reading "guy" photography magazines for years. So it's our turn to read their magazine now. Haha.

While I was at Borders, I also picked up the latest issue of Digital SLR, Malaysia edition. I was actually looking for Digital Camera Malaysia but it's not out yet. Anyway, here's the latest issue of Digital SLR.

Manilla Envelope for MacBook Air

2010-05-05T03:18:00.000-07:00

Remember the manilla envelope that Steve Jobs used at the launch of the MacBook Air? I love how he emphasized the thinness of the Air. It was kinda shocking to see the MacBook Air slip into a normal manilla envelope.

Anyway, I saw this MacBook Air case that looks like a manilla envelope on sale and I just had to have it. Hehe. It's made to look like manilla card. Here's some pictures of it.

Slipping the MacBook Air into it.

It's even got the authentic looking red tabs with string for closing the envelope!

MacBook Air sitting nicely in the manilla envelope. It looks just like a stack of documents eh? Good for some disguise when we're at Starbucks or Coffee Bean. I wish they didn't emboss the MacBook word on the envelope though. Still, it should reduce the chances of someone trying to steal it even if you leave it on the table while you go refill your coffee.

Ayrton Senna

2010-04-30T20:27:00.000-07:00

It's been 16 years since Ayrton Senna died on the 1st of May. I still remember it as 1 of the saddest days of my life. Senna was my idol and I was so confused on that fateful weekend. There were so many reports of death, accidents, serious injuries and then the death of Senna. I couldn't believe it as I thought they were reports regarding the death of Roland Ratzenberger who died the day before. I just couldn't believe it. Didn't want to believe it.

Until today, I take a few minutes to remember him on the 1st of May. I believe Senna is still the greatest Formula 1 driver ever. Though I really like Michael Schumacher, he would never have won 7 World Championships if Senna was still around. Senna was the greatest of them all.

Ayrton Senna, may you win many more races up in the big blue sky.

Buntut Soup!!!!!!!!!

2010-04-29T04:12:00.000-07:00

OMG! I was walking around The Curve and saw this on the menu outside a restaurant. This has got to be the 1st time I've seen a soup called Butt Soup. I wonder how Butt Soup tastes and smells like......................

Anyone care to try it and tell us all about it??? Haha.

Mobile WiFi hotspot modem, D-Link DIR457

2010-04-29T01:57:00.000-07:00

This is the coolest gadget I've bought in a while. I actually bought it for my iPad but I'm using it for all my devices now. It's a 3.5G wireless modem + WiFi router in a small little portable package the same size as an iPod Touch. It comes in a nice gloss white and matches all my Apple gadgets nicely too. Hehe

Here's how it looks like.

This is how it looks like with the back cover off. There's a replaceable battery, SIM card slot and Micro SD card slot for file sharing too. I put the puny 512mb Micro SD card there just for the picture, It's the only Micro SD I have at hand. Will get myself a nice fat 16gb card soon. Hehe

Size comparison with an iPod Touch. It's about the same size.

The internet speed is of course dependent on your service provider but I've included some sceenshots off my iPad using Speedtest.net. Here's the iPad running off the home wifi on Streamyx.

This is the iPad running on Digi Wireless off the D-Link DIR457.

I've been using it for a couple of weeks now and I'm really happy with it. It's awesome actually. Having a fast internet connection on all my devices, wherever I am is just fantastic. It can handle up to 6 connections and I've tried it with 5 connections and it handled it really well. I tried it with a MacBook Air, iPad, iPhone, iPhone 3Gs and iPod Touch all connected at the same time. All were flying along nicely while connected to the DIR457. Only problem I encountered was battery life. The spec sheet says up to 5 hours of battery life. As usual, battery life specs is a load of bull. All I get on a full charge is about 2.5 hours average. Not a major problem though. I can always plug it into the MacBook's USB and it will charge the DIR457 while remaining connected to the internet. I'll probably buy a spare battery pack for the DIR457 soon. That's the beauty of having a removable battery pack, I can buy as many batteries as I need and never run out of juice so I can stay connected all day long if needed. Hehe.

Setting it up is easy as 1,2,3. Just key in the APN settings as provided by your service provider and set up the WiFi router with your own SSID and WPA2 password. After that, just enjoy fast internet wherever you are.

Apple iPad. Can you say sexayyyyy?

2010-04-22T23:59:00.000-07:00

I promised myself that I wouldn't succumb to Apple's poison this time around. I knew the iPad was sexy as hell from all the magazine articles and online reviews BUT I promised myself that I would not be an early adopter this time. Being an early adopter is a huge pain in the ass. It drives us to bankruptcy. LOL

BUT.................................. what did I do???? I went ahead and bought 1 anyway. Haha. It's so damn sexy I couldn't help myself after touching and feeling it. All those people who say "it's just a giant iPod Touch", I say you don't know shit until you actually try it. Hehe. From the very moment you turn it on, the 10" IPS screen just blows you away. I fell in love the second I turned it on for the 1st time and saw that loooooooooooovely screen. Anyway, let's get on with the pictures of my new toy.

A closer look at it. Here's the docking port at the bottom.

The speaker at the bottom, next to the docking port.

Earphone port. Thank god it's not a funky 1 like the 1st iPhone.

I needed a case to protect my new toy and this is the only case available right now in KL. It's by Epik and they call it a resin case. It kinda feels like the silicone cases only firmer and better. It holds the iPad nicely inside and there's no risk of it falling out of the case at anytime. There's about 2-3mm worth of resin around the edges for some protection against drops. There's a few colors available- smoke, blue, pink and crystal clear. Mine is crystal clear as I dont wanna spoil the beauty of the iPad. Here's how it looks like with the Epik case.

I ordered a screen protector together with the Epik case too. The case and screen protector only cost me rm39.50(USD12). Excellent price for a nice combo. The screen protector was a little too wide though. The explanation being that Apple didn't provide the exact dimensions to the case makers earlier n this was a rush job by the manufacturer. It took me a couple of hours worth of slicing and fitting before I got it to fit the iPad nicely. Dealing with a screen protector install is already difficult but having to deal with cutting n fitting and all that dust flying around is too much of a hassle really, I wouldn't advise anyone to get the screen protectors at this stage, unless the manufacturer guarantees that it's a new revision that fits the iPad perfectly now. Here's how it looks like now.

The performance is fantastic. It's like a turbocharged iPhone 3Gs. Everything's bigger, faster, sharper and..................... it's just fantastic really. Go get 1 now if you don't mind the exorbitant prices the Malaysian dealers are charging for it right now. I paid a lot more as an early adopter but I'm loving every minute of it.

Leica V-Lux 20

2010-04-22T23:16:00.000-07:00

OMG! This new Leica compact camera looks absolutely delicious. It even comes with Adobe Photoshop Elements 8. Just look at the specification-

1. Vario Elmar 25-300mm f3.3-4.9 ASPH lens.
2. 12mp resolution
3. 3" LCD screen with 460k dots
4. Built in GPS
5. 720p video

Anybody wanna send 1 over to me for a quick review or comparison with the Panasonic equivalent? Hehe. I haven't heard about the Panasonic equivalent but I'm sure there's 1 out there. I wish a bag of money would drop from the sky soon so I can go grab 1. Haha.

MacBook Air, I'm in looove

2010-04-13T10:32:00.000-07:00

I've been thinking about getting a MacBook Pro or MacBook Air over the past few days. My Acer Ferrari's been with me for about 6 years now and it's time to retire it. The Ferrari was the most highly specced laptop in the world at the time and is actually still very nice to use. I have no complaints even after 6 long years. I really loved the Ferrari coz it just looks so special and they're also my favorite team in Formula 1. Here's how my old Ferrari laptop looks like.

The problem is, parts were slowly failing. The 1st thing to fail many years ago was the Super DVD drive. I got around that by using an external DVD drive. Then the 4 USB ports died and I got around it by using a PCMCIA USB card. Next to fail was the Multi card reader, battery and recently the bluetooth module. The bluetooth module was the last straw as I use it for tethering to my iPhone 3Gs so I can connect to the internet. I thought of just adding a USB bluetooth dongle but it's not gonna be very stable as the PCMCIA USB card doesn't handle multiple things very well. Anyway, the Ferrari still works very well with Wifi so I guess I'll just use it for serving up online recipes in the kitchen.

After spending a few days thinking about it, I decided on a MacBook Pro 13". I wanted something small and compact for mobility as I spend a lot of time in coffee shops. It has to be reasonably powerful so I can do photo editing while I'm out enjoying my coffee. So................off I went shopping for a 13" MacBook Pro. I knew there were strong rumors about the new revision MacBook Pros coming out on 13th April but they also mentioned that the 13" model wouldn't be revised. I'm happy with the current specifications and it's not like any new revision is gonna make my web surfing more enjoyable or even make my photo editing faster by light years. I'm too high on caffeine while at the coffee shop to be doing any high speed editing anyway. Haha. However............... the MacBook Pro 13" was completely out of stock at the Mac shops around my place. They all had the higher spec 2.53ghz model but the price was already at the MacBook Air level. By then I was all set to take a new laptop home, I wasn't gonna go home empty handed. I couldn't handle the thought of using the old Ferrari for another day. Hehe.

So........... I decided to take a looooooooovely, sexy MacBook Air home with me. I only needed a few minutes to decide after holding them both up. The Air felt so much nicer and lighter. I love the thin construction. It's absolutely beautiful. Here's my sexy new laptop at home. Hehehe.

It's so sexy, I just had to keep her looking good at all times with a wee bit of protection. Here's the speck SeeThru case I bought. I chose the translucent 1 so it doesn't alter the nice aluminum look of the MacBook Air.

Here's how it looks like with the speck case.

I've spent the past 2 days learning my way around Mac OS X Snow Leopard and iPhoto 09. My Mac experience started with the original iPhone a few years back. I loved it so much, I got myself a G5 PowerMac for my desktop. I never really got down to using the G5 seriously as it's kinda underpowered and I never learned how to use iPhoto on it. After spending the past 2 days digging around and trying it out, I absolutely love it. It's just perfect, the way a computer should be. I'm in looooooooooooove.

National Geographic store in Kuala Lumpur

2010-04-11T17:02:00.000-07:00

It's finally here after months of anticipation. I went to the store yesterday to see how it compares to the store in Singapore. I was pretty dissapointed when I got there. It's a really small place compared to the 1 in Singapore. I reckon it's about 1/10 the size of the Singapore store.

This is the whole front. That's it! It is that small.

The photo gallery only has about 10 pictures. Just a small corner on the left side of the store. Soooooooo disappointing.......... They dont sell the prints either, unlike the Singapore store. Worst thing about this Nat Geo store is................no photographic equipment for sale! The Singapore store had lotsa camera bags, tripods, monopods and such.

There's no cold room for us to experience antarctic conditions, the Singapore store had 1. There's a section with a reasonable amount of books for sale, the rest of the store is mainly selling bags and clothes, and finally a corner for the kids. It was a really underwhelming experience. There's 1 good thing about this store and it's the cafe. The Singapore store doesn't have a cafe so I guess this is the redeeming feature of the KL store.

The cafe is really nice and cosy. It's decorated with antique furniture and a plasma TV hanging over the bar showing none other than the Nat Geo channel. A very nice relaxed atmosphere for a cup of tea or coffee. I spent about an hour there with my wife and kids after ordering some cheese cubes and samosas to go with coffee. I thoroughly enjoyed the hour there. The food was good, coffee was good and we enjoyed watching the Nat Geo channel while we were there. The menu is pretty limited right now as the kitchen is not fully operational yet, so dont go there for lunch or dinner.

Here's a pic of the yummy cheese cubes, samosas and coffee we ordered.

The food and coffee was good and the service was excellent. Be prepared to pay though. I didn't mind the pricing but I reckon most Malaysian's will find the pricing pretty steep. It's more expensive than Starbucks/Coffee Bean which is already pretty steep by Malaysian standards.

Overall, it was really disappointing to see such a small store but the cafe saved the day. Hehe. Those of you who haven't seen the big Nat Geo stores will probably like it but those of us who have been to the big stores will be just a wee bit disappointed.

Super LED flashlight

2010-04-08T08:22:00.000-07:00

I bought this super LED flashlight a few days ago. It's made of anodized black aluminum. Here's how it looks like.

It cost only rm12(USD3.50). The packaging said it's a 3 watt LED. That's the thing that got my attention. I've been thinking of getting a Surefire flashlight with the optional 3 watt LED but that flashlight costs a bomb and the LED option costs almost as much as the flashlight itself. I had doubts about the 3 watt LED specification since it's so cheap. At such a cheap price, I had to give it a try.

Here's how the bulb looks like.

It runs on 2 AAA batteries that fits into a cartridge.

Those of you looking for a flashlight, you have to try this flashlight. It's awesome. It's really, really bright. It's actually brighter than my Mini Maglite with a Katzeye LED conversion bulb. For rm12(USD3.50) this has got to be the best flashlight I've ever bought. Not only is it super cheap, it performs superbly too. I bought it from a shop called Mr Hardware. I'm sure many other hardware stores have it as well. Now, go out and get 1 for yourself.

Sepang F1, 2010

2010-04-03T13:38:00.000-07:00

Wheeeeeeeee! Can't believe the race is back in KL. Been looking forward to it coz my favorite driver(Schumacher) is back. After experiencing the torrential rain last year and having my car stuck in all that dirty mud at the carpark, I've decided to go by bus this year.

My favorite seats in Sepang are actually at Hill Stand C1 or C2 coz I can see the whole back half of the circuit. After experiencing the lightning storm last year, I'm gonna sit at the Grand Stand this year. I don't wanna become Kentucky Fried Chicken up on the hill, when lightning strikes. LOL. Looking forward to the Fatboy Slim and Wyclef Jean concert after the race too.

I hope for rain again as it makes for really exciting racing. Hopefully it doesn't rain too much though. Don't wanna see the race stopped like last year.

PS3 Slim 250gb

2010-03-27T11:23:00.002-07:00

I've been thinking about buying an Upscaling DVD or BluRay player for the past 2 weeks. It's to be used with the 42" Plasma TV in my bedroom.. Such a headache............so I decided to end the headache and just buy another PS3 today. It's incredibly cheap now. So much cheaper than the fat PS3 I bought a few years back. It's slimmer, lighter and quieter. It's a hell of a lot quieter actually. The fat PS3 I have in the living room sounds like a jet engine with full afterburners on. LOL.

I also bought a few games including the awesome God of War 3. Just reached the 1st save point and I'm absolutely loving it. Will clock a few more hours of the game before I write more about it.

Anyway, here's today's loot.

Here's the new lean, mean machine out of the box. I prefer the looks of the old, fat PS3 though. The shiny fat PS3 has a really avantgarde look to it. The new PS3 Slim just looks like a cheap black thing.

Anyway, it's so cheap now, I really don't mind the cheap looks. It's gonna be sitting inside the TV cabinet anyway. Can't complain much when it costs about half of what I paid for the old fat PS3. Hehe

Ikea Hot Dogs are back!!!!!!!

2010-03-24T04:26:00.000-07:00

I'm sooooooooooo happyyyyy. After dissappearing from the Ikea menu for about 3 months, it's baaaaack. My favorite hotdog is back. I'm so happy, I ordered 2 eventhough I'm not hungry. Hehehe. I hope it doesn't dissappear from the menu again. It's been a sad 3 months without my favorite hotdog.

Movie Marathon

2010-03-23T00:23:00.000-07:00

I've been so busy with the house renovation for the past 2 months. It's a really tiring thing to go through. I'm sure I'll be really happy once everything is done but right now, it's a huge pain in the ass and leaves little time for anything else.

I was feeling a bit rundown so my wife suggested a movie day. Off we went to watch Green Zone. After we came out from that, there were Daybreaker posters all over the place. So......... bought the tickets and went back in for another movie. Hehehe. It was a pretty good day. Both movies were good. Green Zone was excellent, Daybreaker was pretty good too.

Being a Monday, I had the luxury of picking out our favorite Couple's seats for both shows, right in the middle of the back row. Hehe. Check out the tickets.

It's been a looooong time since we had a movie marathon. Next time, we'll try n make it a 3 movie day. Hehehe.

Pioneer Plasma TV at McDonald's. OMFG!

2010-03-18T19:18:00.000-07:00

Holy Moly mother of TVs......... I just noticed this looooovely TV while having my breakfast at McDonald's. It's an uber Pioneer Plasma TV at McDonald's of all places. Most commercial places like restaurants and shopping malls use Samsung but this McDonald's is 1337. I've never seen any other restaurant using Pioneer TVs.

Here's a picture of the Pioneer TV at McDonald's.

Free breakfast at McDonald's

2010-03-18T18:54:00.000-07:00

Check this out. I'm sitting at McDonald's now having this wonderful Sausage McMuffin with egg breakfast and it's freeeeeeeee.

I got the coupons a few days ago during lunch at McDonald's The Curve. Thank You McDonald's Malaysia. Hehehe

Eco friendly lawn mower

2010-03-01T08:36:00.000-08:00

I decided to do my bit for the environment by going green. I bought a human powered lawn mower to save the planet. No need for electricity or fuel. A nice fat pizza and a can of Coke after mowing the lawn will do. Hehehe.

It takes a fair bit of effort but it's good exercise so I'm not complaining. I get to save the planet and keep fit at the same time. The only guy who's not gonna like this is my gardener. I've told him to stop mowing my lawn and he's lost out on the income he derives from mowing my lawn. Haha.

It's a Bosch AHM30 and it cost me rm334(US$100) including the optional grass catcher. They're called Push-Reel Mowers. Anyway, here's how my new lawn mower looks like.

The mower with optional grass catcher sitting on top of the box.

Opening up the box.

Tadaaaaaaaaaaaa. Here's my contribution to saving the planet. Hehehe.

I think it's superbbbbbbbb coz it doesn't make any noise like electric and gas powered mowers. I can mow my lawn anytime or day, even early on a Sunday morning if I so wish. Mowing the lawn with an electric or gas powered mower on a Sunday morning will get you killed in most neighbourhoods. LOL.

5D MkII at ISO-12800

2010-03-01T07:45:00.000-08:00

1st time I used ISO-12800 out of curiosity. Turned out pretty usable I reckon. This was shot on JPEG and straight out of camera without any editing. If it was shot in RAW and cleaned up a wee bit with something like Noise Ninja, it would most definitely be usable.

What do you guys think?

Ikea Clock for rm3!

2010-02-24T22:40:00.000-08:00

I went for the Ikea member's preview sale this morning from 7-9:30am and got some really nice deals. This rm3.30(US$1) clock takes the cake. It's just such an unbelievable deal. I can hardly believe it even after buying it. I mean, what does rm3 buy these days? We hardly get a hand full of sweets.

I bought this clock for my kitchen and the design is nice and simple. It's a basic round shape in translucent white plastic material. Perfect for most decor since it's so basic. Here's a pic of it.

Those of you who need a clock, hurry on over to Ikea and grab those clocks.

Quiksilver Camera T-Shirt

2010-02-09T23:03:00.000-08:00

My wife actually bought this for me a while back. It was 1 of the Christmas presents she bought for me. Took me a while to write about it as December, January, February and March is an extremely busy period for me. We always go for a year end vacation then it's Christmas in December then New Years day on 1st January then it's all about planning and executing lotsa birthday parties coz my 2 older daughters and me get older in the month of February. It's also Chinese New Year in February so lotsa activities during CNY. Then it all ends in March after my youngest daughter's birthday party in March. Busy, busy, busy. It's a hell of a whirlwind we go through every year but it's all fun and games so it's worth every minute of our time. Hehe.

Anyway, here's the Quiksilver T-Shirt.

I think it's a limited run that's sold only in Malaysia coz "Quiksilver Malaysia" is printed on the sleeve. The cotton is of extremely good quality and it's really cool and comfy. I looooooooooooooove it. You photographers out there who like it better go grab it before it runs out ya. It costs rm119 if I remember correctly.

Luminox 20th Anniversary, Navy SEAL watch

2010-02-04T20:41:00.000-08:00

I've been looking for a nice, simple and cheap watch for daily use. I need it to be big, chunky and tough like the rest of my watches but I needed a cheap watch this time. I also wanted it to be a quartz movement so I don't have to wind and reset the watch everytime I want to wear it.

Most importantly, it has to be all black. I've wanted an all black watch for the longest time. I've been wishing Rolex would make an all black Explorer or Explorer II so I can partner it with my black face Explorer II but until today, Rolex has stuck with the classic stainless steel look. :(

Looking at all those criteria I set kinda makes life difficult eh? Well, my wife did it! She found 1 that met every criteria I had set. She bought a Luminox 20th Anniversary, Navy SEAL watch and gave it to me for my birthday today. Wheeeeeeeeeeeee!

I absolutely loooooooove this watch. It's nice, it's lovely, it's black and best of all it's cheap! Hehe. I don't have to worry about getting robbed while wearing expensive watches now. It's pretty scary to be wearing an expensive watch during this gloomy economic period. Lotsa robberies going on and I don't intend to be a victim anytime soon. Hehe.

Sooooooooo............ here's a quick picture taken with my iPhone. I'm rushing out to celebrate my birthday right now. I will take some proper pictures of it once I get home. Hehe.

Game Play air freshener

2010-01-17T04:43:00.001-08:00

This is sooooooooooooooooooo cool. I looooooooooooove playing pool. It's a favorite pastime of mine. I even have a pool table at home. So............. .when I saw this at the shop, I just had to have it. It's an 8 Ball air freshener that bobbles with motion. Hehehe. It's made by the Little Trees company. You know those little green pine tree air fresheners? Hehehe.

Here it is.

Just insert the clip into the back of the triangle and it's ready to go.

All that's left to do is to clip it onto the air cond vent.

I looooooooooooove it.

Meet EOS 1D MkIV event

2010-01-16T21:02:00.000-08:00

It was held in the Heritage Hotel. Heritage Hotel is in the old Kuala Lumpur train station. It's a legacy of the British colonial days. It's a really old and spooky place if you ask me.

Here's a picture of the elevator lobby. I deliberately took this shot to mimic the way it looked to our eyes while standing there. Spooky eh? It certainly made the hair on my back stand right up.

Anyway, let's get on with the event. This was the most poisonous event I have attended in a long while. It was officially called a member's night for the Photomalaysia forum members. It most certainly was not a member's night. It was like a slaughterhouse. We were being herded like cash cows(pun intended)towards the financial slaughterhouse by Canon Malaysia. There was constant poisoning with the 5D MkII and 1D MkIV. Canon Malaysia is EVILLLLL!!!!!! :)

Let's get on with the pictures. I took lotsa pics of the slide show while Mr Kamarul(resident Canon Pro) was speaking about the 5D MkII. This is the entire slide show for those of you who missed out on the event. So here goes.

Here's some interesting apps for the iPhone. I'm gonna get them for my iPhone. Hehe.

Mr Kamarul also shared a video clip with us. This was done with an 800mm f5.6L on the 5d MkII. Take note, it's a raw and unedited video clip. He wanted to show us just how good it was, that it looked that good even without any editing. Pardon the hand shakes ya, it was me holding my 5D MkII with the 70-200 f2.8L IS. Very heavy combo to be doing video without a tripod. Hehehe.

That's it for the slide show from Mr Kamarul. It was a most informative talk from him. He shared a lot of tips and tricks from his years of commercial work. He also uses a remote helicopter for his work and it's called a Dragan. Here's a picture of it in action.

Next up was the EOS 1D MkIV introduction by Mr Teoh Peng Kee. Here's the slide show.

Mr Teoh spreading the 1D Mk4 poison. 1 of the things that struck me during Mr Teoh's talk was about the Weather resistance of the 1D MkIV. It's rated to withstand 1cm of rain in 3 minutes. The rain test is approved by the JIS(Japan Industrial Standards) so it's not a bullshit test or anything. The 5D MkII is also rated by Canon to withstand the same 1cm in 3 minutes. Soooo..... now we know for sure that the 5D MkII is built to the same weather resistance standard as the EOS 1.

My friend Eddie(Event Official Photographer) in deep thought during the 1D MkIV talk by Mr Teoh. Hehehe.

That's it for the night. After all that, it was time for the touch and feel session. Canon Malaysia brought along some rather nice toys for us to play with. I was so happy to see the 100-400L and 28-300L amongst the group of lenses. I'm thinking of getting either 1 of them to add to my collection.

Here's the table full of goodies. I was like a kid in Toys R Us. LOL.

I dug right in and went straight for the 28-300L.

Here's some test shots with the 28-300L on my 5D MkII. I took some test shots of the star of the show 1st. The 1D MkIV.

More shots taken with the 28-300L on my 5D MkII. Check this shot out. I used the 28-300L at 300mm with a super sloooooooooooooow shutter speed of 1/50. The IS is really good. I loooooooooooooove this lens.

This was also taken at 300mm and 1/50. The IS is really amazing.

Trying out the DOF of the 28-300L at 300mm. Niceeeeeeeeeeeee.

Pictures of the toys available on the table.

In my opinion, this was the star of the night. Hehehe. I was hoping to try out the 300mm f2.8L but only the 400mm f2.8L was there.

Weapon of Mass Destruction? Hehehe. Just look at how massive the front element is. It's the 400mm f2.8L.

Me, trying out the the 400mm f2.8L. It was incredibly heaaaaaaaaaaavy.

Me, trying out the 100-400L.

After all that, I finally got down to trying out the 1D MkIV. It was rather surprising to find the 1D MkIV is actually pretty light. I thought it would be really heavy just by looking at the size of it. Here's a picture of the 1D MkIV next to my 5D MkII for comparison.

Trying out the 10fps machine gun mode. Hehehe. From the sounds of it, it was most likely firing at about 6-7fps though. It was too dark for 10fps. I should have pointed it straight at the light on the wall to really try out the 10fps. Oh well.........

And................. that's it. It was a most excellent night out even though I had consumed lotsa Canon poison. LOL. I look forward to the next event by Canon Malaysia. Big thanks to Photomalaysia and Canon Malaysia for organising this event.

True Broadband internet......in Singapore

2010-01-13T21:02:00.000-08:00

Here's a picture I took in Singapore recently. It got me so angry about the state of Malaysian broadband.

Just look at the speeds they're getting in Singapore! 100Mbps!!!!! That is why Singapore is now a 1st World Country and Malaysia is still in the dumps. Silly Malaysian government keeps harping about reaching out to more people, to connect more Malaysians to the internet. What a load of bollocks. They really should sort out the infrastructure 1st before trying to spread themselves so thin and trying to get more subscribers for Streamyx.

As it is, Streamyx can hardly cope with the current subcribers at 1Mbps speeds. I wish they'd sort out the system and get the speeds up to proper broadband by today's standards before trying to get more and more subscribers throughout the nation. 1Mbps is no longer called broadband, it's TortoiseBand if you ask me. We have 10 years to go before Wawasan 2020(Government's vision of making Malaysia 1st World) and we're still crawling along at 1Mbps. :(

Darth Vader in Death Star Canteen

2010-01-10T09:00:00.000-08:00

I couldn't stop laughing and rolling on the floor while watching this Youtube video. All you Star Wars fans MUST watch this. It is absolutely fantabulously freaking funny!!!!!!!!!!

Leica M6 Titanium with Ostrich skin leather

2010-01-09T05:19:00.001-08:00

OMG!!!!! Just look at this sexy beast. I just saw it for sale over at Photomalaysia forum. Look at the pristine condition it's in. It even comes with the 35mm f1.4 Summilux titanium lens. Arghhhhhhhhhhhhhh, if only the trees in my backyard had money leaves. It's going for rm13k(USD3800)!!!!

Those of you with money trees in the backyard and wanna buy it, take a look at it here- http://photomalaysia.com/forums/showthread.php?t=109385

Uniross Battery Case

2010-01-03T05:09:00.001-08:00

I've been wanting to get a battery case for my AA rechargeables for some time. I've seen them at DG Color before but they're really low quality generic stuff. So my spare batteries for the flash have just been rolling around in one of the pockets of my Lowepro Flipside 300.

I recently found this looooooooovely battery case from none other than Uniross. Not only is it nice, it's branded too. Hehehe. Best thing is that it's sooooooo cheap at a measly rm5.90. Unbelievable eh? Here's a picture of it.

Here's a couple of picture with my batteries in it. See that red color thingy on top of the box? It's a switch that we can use to mark if the batteries are full or empty. An extremely useful feature.

I like it so much, I'm gonna go grab a few more units in the next few days. Then I'll keep my spare Sanyo Eneloop AAs in it.

Doing HDR with LX3/D-Lux4

2010-01-01T22:27:00.000-08:00

I just realised not many people know about this feature in the Panasonic LX3/ Leica D-Lux4. It's a really useful feature and I'm surprised that so many people don't know about it. Anyway, here are the steps required if you're too lazy to read the manual. Make sure the camera is mounted on a tripod before doing it.

1. Go to Menu.
2. Select Multi Expo.
3. Select Start.
4. Set EV to -2 and take the 1st picture.
5. Select Next.
6. Set EV to 0 and take the 2nd picture.
7. Select Next.
8. Set EV to +2 and take the 3rd and final picture.
9. Select Exit.
10. Voila! You now have a quick and easy HDR shot done in camera for you. There's no need for any software like Photomatix or any editing on our part. Just a quick and simple HDR shot in JPEG.

Here are some sample shots I did with my Leica D-Lux4. Dont mind the lousy picture, it's just a quick picture of a perfect spot to show the dynamic range coz of the dark shadowy area. Hehe.

This is a normal single shot in P mode. See how dark the shadow areas are? No good eh?

Now this is done with the Multi Exposure mode for HDR. Big difference eh? Good stuff.

Now go out there and enjoy lotsa easy HDR shots.

If you liked this article or found it helpful, please check out the advertisements ya? You can also buy the cameras from Amazon using the links below. Your support is much appreciated. :) :) :)

Toshiba High Speed 8gb SDHC

2009-12-30T05:37:00.000-08:00

I just bought this Toshiba Micro SDHC card recently. It's actually a Micro SD card but comes with an SD card adapter. It's about time I upgraded from the puny 2gb card I had in the Leica D-Lux4. I was using 2 units of 2gb cards and it was a huge pain in the butt. I had to keep deleting stuff throughout the day and only keep the really nice pictures. I'd rather do that after I get home. The capacity was terrible for 720p HD videos too.

With 8gb, I now get about 1700+ JPEG shots at maximum resolution of 10mp or about 11 minutes of 720p video. I've been trying it out for a couple of weeks now with stills+video and it's been totally reliable so far. It comes with a 5 year warranty from the local distributor too. Be sure to register online if you get 1. It's really cheap at rm69(USD20) and the Toshiba brand provides peace of mind. Good stuff.

MILF

2009-12-28T11:15:00.000-08:00

I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw this spaghetti strap top while doing my Christmas shopping. LOL. The 1st top that caught my eye said "One Hot Mama", then I saw this

Most Malaysian's don't even know what MILF means. Just imagine what the Americans and Europeans will think when they see Malaysian women walking around with tops like that. Will they receive any indecent proposals??? LOL.

Gadget Freak's Ultimate Hotel Room

2009-12-18T10:15:00.000-08:00

Check this out guys. It's the ultimate gadget freak's hotel room. This is my favorite hotel in Penang. It's called Shangri-La Golden Sands Resort. 3 generations of my family have been here. I try and make it to Penang at least once a year or even more if my schedule permits. I'd heard that Golden Sands Resort is going through some renovations and was almost completely done when I went there.

Boy oh boy, was I surprised when I opened the room door. It really is a whole new look and it's a gadget freak's dream come true. Let me show you guys around the room.

This is the 1st thing you see when you open the door. Nice and cosy ambience, just perfect. I loooooove it.

The bed is a ginormous King size bed as requested.

Another view of the room.

Howzabout some flat screen TV goodness eh? It's also got a DVD player in the cabinet.

There's a really nice work table in the corner. This is my favorite part of the room. I'll get to that soon. The door next to the work table leads to my kids' room. It's exactly the same except that it has 2 single beds. My kids are gadget freaks too and went gaga when they realised what I realised.

Now, let's take a closer look at my favorite part of the room, the work table.

Nothing special eh??????

Open sesameeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! Check it out! It's got a kinda command center thingy under that door. I discovered this thingy about the same time as my kids and I could hear them jumping up and down going "wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee, we can connect our Asus EeePC to the internet and TV!". And they could here me jumping up and down saying the same thing. LOL.

Close up view of the console.

This is why I call it a gadget freak's room. It has 2 power sockets, 2 USB power points for iPods and stuff that get recharged using USB ports, free internet broadband connection and it allows us to plug in the AV wires from our laptops to the flat screen TV. It's absolutely brilliant. It truly is a gadget freak's dream come true away from home.

Part 1- Fun In The Sun

Snow in Malaysia!!!!

2009-12-16T18:50:00.000-08:00

I was doing some Christmas shopping a few days ago and guess what happened? It snowed in Kuala Lumpur. I guess those crazy people who predicted a snow storm in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia were right after all. Hehe.

Here's a picture of Pavilion just before it started snowing. Oh, by the way, that's the silly fountain that cost rm7 million and which they claim is nicer than the legendary Trevi fountain in Rome, Italy. What a bunch of morons! It's nothing like Trevi fountain. That silly bowl fountain looks even worse in the day. All you see is 3 bowls stacked up. LOL

And then it started snowing!!!!! In tropical Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

It doesn't look as good in the photo so I made a video clip of it. It's in full 1080p HD for those of you with HD screens.

For those of you who don't know, it's actually fake snow. Pavilion is doing this every night at 8pm. It goes on for about 30 minutes. It's quite a nice experience for those who have not been fortunate enough to experience a real white Christmas. I really enjoyed it even though I have experienced a real white Christmas. So those of you who haven't, hurry up and head on out to Pavilion to experience it. I'd recommend you guys to be there early at about 5-6pm because the traffic there is just pure madness when everyone is trying to get in there for the 8pm start.

Anyway, I wanna wish all my readers and followers a very merry Christmas and may Santa bless you all with lotsa gadgets this Christmas. Ho! Ho! Ho!

LensCoat

2009-12-15T18:42:00.000-08:00

Here's a lil something I bought recently. Didn't have time to write about it. It's a neoprene protective cover for the lens. I had this on my Sigma 70-200 f2.8 last time. The Sigma was a black beast so I kept to the theme and used a black LensCoat on it. Here's how it looked like on my Sigma.

What I really wanted was the Camouflage LensCoat when I got myself a Canon 70-200 f2.8L IS. So I bought the Forest Green Camo LensCoat just after buying my new Canon lens. Hehe. Here's how it looks like.

I absolutely love it. It provides really good protection from minor bumps and scrapes. It will also help keep prying eyes away too. I hate walking around with a big white lens while on vacation as it attracts unnecessary attention. I don't mind when normal looking people are staring but when shady characters start staring, that's when I get worried. I don't wanna get clobbered on the head and the camera stolen, just because every Tom, Dick and idiot knows that a white lens costs big money.

It costs a bomb. I paid SGD135(USD100) for it in Singapore and it hurts the wallet just a wee bit but I'm happy with it and that's all that counts. Hehe. I kinda like the Digital Camo color too but that wasn't available when I bought mine so I might get that next time so I can match it to the new digital camo Crumpler Industry Disgrace strap I just bought. Looks kinda funny with forest camo on the lens and digital camo on the strap now.

Kingston Elite Pro 16gb CF card

2009-12-15T07:58:00.000-08:00

Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!! Just bought this for my EOS 5D MkII. It's a Kingston Elite Pro 133x CF card. I will no longer crave for more capacity.

I've been suffering with 4gb cards all along. A 4gb card is waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay short of capacity when used in my 5D MkII. I loved that card though, it was fast and reliable. That 4gb card is a Kingston Ultimate which is supposedly twice as fast as the Elite Pro. I've been wanting to buy a 16gb Kingston Ultimate for a looooooooooong time but the local shops haven't had it in stock for some reason.

I got fed up and decided to just grab an Elite Pro 16gb for now. I really, really need the capacity. You know what? I'm glad I did coz I've been playing with it the past 2 days and it's great in my 5D MkII. I tried burst shots, 1080p videos, RAW shots, JPEG shots and it took it all in stride. Best thing is, the Elite Pro is half the price of the Ultimate card. I bought it for only rm144(USD40). I can have 2x 16gb Elite Pro for the price of a single Ultimate card. Good value for money I'd say. lucky for me the local shops didn't have the Ultimate 16gb in stock. Hehehe.

Photography bookshop in Singapore

2009-12-14T10:24:00.000-08:00

This is the coolest bookshop I saw in Singapore. It's called Riceball and it specialises in Photography books. I love bookshops with all kinds of books, but this bookshop that specialises in photography books is like heaven. I loooooooooooooooove it. Naturally, I couldn't help myself and bought a few books in there. Hehe. The guy who works there is a photographer too. So it's really nice to actually talk to someone who knows about photography rather than just a normal salesperson. I give it 2 thumbs up, and my toes too if I could. Hehe.

If you visit Singapore, you really must check this bookshop out. It's located on the ground floor in Funan Digital Mall. How to get there? Check out my article called "Best camera shop in Singapore". There are instructions on how to get there from Orchard Road(main shopping street in Singapore).

Canon EOS 450D so cheaaaaaaaapppp

2009-12-13T20:33:00.000-08:00

OMG! I went shopping today and saw that the Canon 450D is extremely cheap now. It's only rm2100(USD600). I just couldn't help myself and brought 1 home. I was actually thinking of getting a Canon G11 as a daily use compact camera that I can walk around with wherever I go. I liked the idea of the G11 coz I can use my Canon Speedlites and the ST-E2 wireless commander with it. However, my daughter's been bugging me to get a small SLR coz she loves photography too, and the 5D MkIIs that I have are really heavy for her. So I decided on the 450D since it's so small and compact. It's practically the size and weight of a point n shoot cam. LOL.

It's a nice lil camera really. I've tried a few shots with the 18-55IS kit lens and the picture quality is pretty good. I even think it's nicer than the 40D I had. The AWB is certainly much better than the 40D which tended to be really warm. I will torture it in the next few days and also try it out with my L lenses to see just how far this lil fella can go.

Anyway, here's the new baby in the family. Hehehe.

It's so cheap now, you guys who are still suffering with lil Point n Shoot cameras better hurry up and go grab 1 of these lil beauties for Christmas. Life is Good, make it a good Christmas. Hehehehe.

Holy SHIT!!!!!

2009-12-13T09:07:00.000-08:00

Holy SHIT!!!!!! That's all I could think of when I saw this recently. It's like OMFGBBQSAUCE! How could you allow your car to get like this and not wash it. It just boggles the mind. Why on earth do such people exist? It's like OMG, can't you at least send the car to an rm8 carwash or something if you're too lazy? It's just absolutely disgusting. I mean, I know it's a shit car(Proton Saga) but does it really have to be full of shit???? He or she probably deserves it if they catch the bird flu or something of the sort. LOL.

Corsair CMXAF2 vs OCZ XTC2 ram fan

2009-12-10T11:11:00.000-08:00

I was in a dilemma deciding between these 2 ram fans while I was at the PC shop so I decided to take both of them home. I was previously using the old Corsair fan that has 3 small fans in it. It was a hell of a noisy beast with those 3 lil fans spinning at about 6000RPM.

Let's take a look at the fans now. Here's the new Corsair CMXAF2 fan.

Here's a picture of the old and new Corsair fans together.

Here's the new OCZ XTC2.

It has foldable legs.

Bling bling lights.

Here's the Corsair and OCZ fans next to each other for comparison.

The OCZ is very nice with a lot of bling factor due to the blue lights. It also has a high and low speed selector on top which is really handy. However, the speed selector is a rather pointless thing as I find the fans are too slow on the low setting so it's most likely gonna stay on high for most people. Due to the height of the OCZ fan, it has to use thinner fans which produce less air pressure. Not only does it have less pressure, it's also a lot higher up from the rams so it's not gonna cool the rams very well.

The Corsair fan has better build quality, thicker fans with more air pressure and sits right on top of the rams. You can also see that it has thicker blades. All that adds up to a lot more air flow over the rams.

After testing both, I decided the new Corsair fan is much, much better. It's a simple and fuss free design with good build quality and good airflow. The decision to keep the Corsair fan was a no brainer. The Corsair fan wins this match with a knockout punch. However, if you don't really need tons of ram cooling then the OCZ is a viable choice for it's good looks and variable speed selector.

If you liked this article or found it helpful, please check out the advertisements ya? You can also buy the product from Amazon through the links below. Your support is much appreciated. :) :) :)

EOS 5D MkII bag tag

2009-12-10T01:08:00.000-08:00

Here's something I bought recently. It's really cool for Canon EOS fans or 5D MkII owners. It's a bag tag in the form of a 5D MkII with an EF50mm f1.4 lens on it. It's made of 3D rubber. It actually feels like a mini camera, just thinner. Hehe. I should have bought 2 so I can have 1 on each of my camera bags.

Canon Sports Photography day.

2009-12-09T03:15:00.000-08:00

I recently went for Canon's Sports Photography day. The event was held at the Sepang F1 track and we were allowed to go around the areas reserved for the Press and Media people. It was a really fun day. The instructor for the day, Mr Ruddiee Khaw was superb. A very down to earth and practical Pro with 20 years experience. He kept telling us to trust the camera that we've paid so much for and don't listen to smart Alecs who keep telling people to use Manual mode. The camera get's it right over 90% of the time. Ruddiee says those noobs don't know shit and their advice is bullshit. LOL.

It was a fantastic day out with 50 other Canon SLR owners. Thank you Canon Malaysia for organising a great day out. I will be looking forward to join more of these events in the future. Anyway, here's my shots for the day.

The Car Park pass provided by Canon. This pass allowed us to park right behind the pit area.

I'll start with the girlie girls. Hehe.

Don't know what happened to the chic on the right of pic. She must have tripped or something just when I snapped this shot. LOL

Now to the cars.

I loooooooooooove this classic Monster Mustang.

Motorised ballet!!!!!

Pure concentration before the start.

Nice sunny day at the track with bright blue skies and puffy white clouds.

Battle scarred Porsche

A very looooooooooooovely, very exclusive Porsche Gemballa GT.

Check out the size of those wheels! 335/30/20!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The End. Podium session to end the day.

Game over. Time to pack up and go home.

Canon EOS 1D MkIV speeeeeeeeeeeeeed

2009-12-07T00:53:00.001-08:00

Here's a video I just saw. It's made by Ole Jorgen Liodden of www.canonfieldreviews.com.

Canon 1D Mark IV Frame Rate from Ole Jørgen Liodden on Vimeo.

This is how it looks like through the viewfinder.

Canon 1D Mark IV from Ole Jørgen Liodden on Vimeo.

Just look at the speeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeed. Listen to Ole Jorgen Liodden's reaction at the end. LOL. This 1D MkIV sure is making me itchy. If an armored truck or something overturned and exploded with money bags strewn all over the road, I think I'll grab a few of those bags and get myself a 1D MkIV too. Hehehe. It would complement my 5D MkII perfectly.

Best camera shop in Singapore Part 3

2009-12-01T09:59:00.000-08:00

I was sorting through the pictures I took in Singapore recently and came across these pictures. I totally forgot to write about them. So I decided to write it as Part 3.

This is a really cool camera shop to go to if you're into old classic cameras. It's called Ron's Cameras. It's located in Adelphi Lifestyle Mall. Adelphi is just across the road from Peninsula Plaza. I've given the directions on how to get to Peninsula Plaza in Part 1 of this article.

Ron's Cameras has got tons and tons of old, classic cameras. Just look all those looooooovely Leicas in the window display. Unfortunately for me, it was closed for some reason and I didn't go back there again so I can't tell you guys what other goodies were in there. :(

This next shop is my favorite camera shop in Singapore. It's called John 3:16 and it's located inside Funan Digital Mall. Funan is directly across the road from Peninsula Plaza too. Just get the directions to it in Part 1 of this article.

The owner, Samuel Gan is a fantastic guy. Really friendly and helpful. Beware though, I call him the Witch Doctor as his poison is extremely potent. He will poison you with lots of fantastic gear until your knees go weak. LOL.

Sam's got a pretty interesting story too. He once scolded a customer in his younger days and his father was so embarassed by his son's behaviour, he told the poor customer to pick out anything in the shop and he could take it for free! What the old man did to Sam after that is anyone's guess. LOL. That's the day he learnt about supreme customer service and I bet his father gave him a lesson he never forgot.

This explains the superb customer service at John 3:16. The customer service in there is the BEST of all the shops I went to in Singapore. Sam is a guy who knows his stuff and he will give you advice on what to buy based on your budget. Don't expect to get the lowest price in Singapore though. Sam readily admits that he's not the cheapest shop around but he assures you the best service possible. I can attest to this fact. They really are the friendliest shop. Do not miss this shop if you're in Singapore.

So........... did I buy anything from John 3:16? You bet I did. I asked for the Canon EF 17-40 f4L and a EF 70-200 f2.8L IS. Unfortunately, the 70-200 was sold out on the day. It was Singapore F1 week and everyone was buying up the fast zooms. I decided to buy the 17-40L and look for another shop with the 70-200 the following day. I took a few test shots with the 17-40L before paying for it.

The obligatory lens cap shot. Hehehe

Random test shot.

Trying out the 17-40L's Ultra Wide Angle goodness outside.

As for the 70-200 f2.8L IS, I went out the next day and found it at Cathay Photo. I quickly bought it before more of the F1 fans came looking for it again. Hehe. Didn't take the obligatory lens cap shot this time as the MFD is 1.5m which is a pain in the ass when it comes to shooting a lens cap. So I went outside and took some shots with it.

Trying out the legendary bokeh at 200mm.

All in, it was a most productive shopping trip as I managed to get 2 loooooooooovely lenses. Hehe.

Best camera shop in Singapore- Part 1
Best camera shop in Singapore- Part 2

If you liked this article or found it helpful, please check out the advertisements ya? Your support is much appreciated. :) :) :)

Landscape Photography Guide Book

2009-11-30T08:21:00.000-08:00

After getting FOGGED UP by the weather today and not getting any landscape shots done. I came back down to KL City and got a Landscape Photography guide book. Since I can't shoot landscapes today, I might as well read about it. Hehehe. Turns out, it's a pretty nice book. It's a magazine format actually. It's printed by the same people who do the magazine called Digital SLR Photography. I thought I'd share some of the contents with you guys.

Nice eh? It's a nice fat magazine with 143 pages of great info. Those of you who are into Landscape Photography, GO GO GO get it at the local bookshops now. It's only rm19.90.

I've been FOGGED!!!!!!!!!!!!

2009-11-30T08:12:00.000-08:00

Arghhhhhhhhhhhh!!!! I made a trip up to Genting Highlands today to do some landscape photography. All I got was fog! It was totally fogged up. I've been FOGGED UP!!!! LOL. I was hoping it would clear up at night so I could at least get some nice night shots of KL City from up there. Guess what? This is what I got at night.

The fog was as thick as soup! :(

LYN Photographers gathering

2009-11-29T08:39:00.000-08:00

Just came home from another great session with the guys from Lowyat.net photography section. Canon, Nikon and Sony gangsters were in attendance. Unfortunately Nikon gal couldn't make it and Pentax boy didn't come. LOL. Finally managed to get a Sony guy to come out. I used to be the only Sony guy at these gatherings. We finally have another Sony guy sporting enough to chill with us. Thumbs up to you William.

Here's a group photo...........................................................
of the hardware. Hehe

That's like rm70,000 worth of hardware right there maaaaaaaaan. If a few more of the regulars had turned up, it would have easily exceeded rm100,000!!!!!!!! LYN members are some really loaded buggers eh?

Added on December 1st: Someone ABUSED my 5D MkII!!!!!!!! I don't know which crazy fella took these shots with my 5D MkII last night but he sure abused it big time and showed it who's the daddy. He whipped my camera upside down at ISO 6400. LOL. All these pictures were shot at ISO6400!!!!! You god damn ISO Abuser! Whoever you are, I'm gonna get you next time. LOL

lwliam & Mrs.

goldfries

myjunk

Some1's friend(please update me on his name if any1 here knows).

kapalterbang737

nairud

iPhone external battery pack

2009-11-26T11:15:00.000-08:00

Here's a gadget I bought recently that's a real life saver. It's an external battery pack for the iPhone and it's called the FastMac TruePower IV. As we all know, the iPhone battery leaves a lot to be desired. Continuous usage of Safari will kill the battery in about 2-3 hours tops. I was always charging it in the car via a car charger whenever I had the chance, or the iPhone would just die on me. When I saw this gizmo, I didn't have to think twice, I grabbed it immediately and said "hallelujah!" It's a lil pricey at rm239 but it's a very small price to pay when I get to stay online all day long. Let's get on with the pictures.

Here's how the packaging looks like.

Here's how the TruePower looks like. The black color is kinda like a rubbery type of paint. It's got a soft, grippy feel to it.

The 2 holes at the bottom magnifies the sound from the speaker and also allows sound to go into the mic.

There's a USB port on the back. You can use it to charge all types of portable devices even while charging the iPhone.

Here's how it looks like with the iPhone in it. Take note of how the bottom part looks smaller. That allows the TruePower to sit in the original iPhone Dock. Very useful bit of design there.

There's a notch at the top where the camera is so it doesn't affect the camera usage.

Here's a really useful feature. It's a very high power LED which can be used as a camera flash or flashlight. Just flick the switch located on the side and it turns on the LED.

There are 2 buttons on the back. The button with the lightning bolt is used to check on the remaining power in the TruePower. 4 green LEDs show full power, 1 green LED shows it's time for a recharge. The power button on the right is used to turn the TruePower on or off. You can leave the iPhone in it and just switch off the TruePower with this switch so it doesn't recharge the iPhone.

This TruePower battery pack is a really nice gadget to have. I use it almost everyday as I'm a heavy user of the iPhone. I'm online all day long and can't live without the internet. LOL. TruePower's capacity is pretty good. Based on a completely flat iPhone, it can charge it up to 100% and then if you run it flat again, it will charge the iPhone up to about 50% before going flat itself. So that's 1.5 charges right there. TruePower charges the iPhone on quick charge mode in about 1 hour. Quick charge takes the iPhone up to about 90%. Then it takes about another hour for the last 10%. Once the TruePower goes flat, it takes about 6 hours to recharge. So make sure you top up the TruePower at night or you'll be caught with a flat TruePower in the day.

It's very big and bulky but that's a small price to pay considering the amount of power it packs. I keep it in the car glove box at all times so it goes wherever I go. I hardly get stuck with a flat iPhone after getting the TruePower. Another unusual thing about it is that it's made in the USA! How often do you see stuff that's still "Made in the USA" now eh? It truy is an awesome product. I highly recommend this product to all iPhone users.

Added on 29 December 2009.: I just got myself an iPhone 3Gs and I'm happy to report that the Truepower pack works with the 3Gs too.

If you liked this article or found it helpful, please check out the advertisements ya? You can also buy the product from Amazon through the links below. Your support is much appreciated. :) :) :)

Canon vs Sigma 70-200 f2.8

2009-11-25T11:49:00.000-08:00

Since I have both of these lenses. I decided to do a shootout to see the difference in image quality. Here's how the lenses look like standing next to each other. I've also included a Canon 17-40L, 24-105L, 50mm f1.8 and a Sigma 50mm f1.4 in the picture to show the relative scale of the lenses.

I tested them by putting my Canon 5D MkII on a tripod and shooting at 70mm, 135mm and 200mm at f2.8. Image Stabilisation on the Canon lens was switched off. Here are the results. All pictures are straight out jpg with no editing at all. I just cropped off all the white space around the pictures at 70 and 135mm.

Canon at 70mm f2.8

Sigma 70mm f2.8

Not much difference between them at 70mm eh? Let's move on to 135mm.

Canon at 135mm f2.8

Sigma at 135mm f2.8

The difference is starting to show at 135mm so I cropped right in to the center for a closer look.

Canon at 135mm

Sigma at 135mm

Let's take a look at 200mm f2.8 now.

Canon at 200mm f2.8

Sigma at 200mm f2.8

Center crops to show the massive difference in IQ.

Canon at 200mm f2.8

Sigma at 200mm f2.8

It's a a huge difference in image quality as can be seen in the comparison pictures above. I now know why Canon charges us an arm and a leg and maybe even a liver too. LOL. I guess the Canon lens is well worth the extra money though. So if you have the money, don't waste time thinking about getting the Sigma 70-200 f2.8. Just go ahead and get the Canon 70-200 f2.8L IS.

If you liked this article or found it helpful, please check out the advertisements ya? You can also buy the product from Amazon through the links below. Your support is much appreciated. :) :) :)

EOS 5D MkII weather proof?

2009-11-23T05:43:00.000-08:00

Here's some proof for those who believe that silly Antartica article somewhere on the internet. The way that guy said it, was like the 5D MkII would fail at the slightest hint of water.

I've read an article somewhere that Canon specifies the weather proofing to be rated at 1cm of rain in 3 minutes. That's a whole lot of rain in 3 minutes. Anyway, I recently tried it out myself and am totally confident in the 5D MkII's weather proofing now.

I was on holiday in Penang Island recently. That's a tropical island and when it rains, it really pours down by the bucket loads. I was there for a week and it rained every single night. I took my 5D MkII out anyway and continued using it in the pouring rain without a care. It survived a week of tropical rainstorms.

Here's some pictures I took of my camera getting soaked. Sorry for the bad quality, these pics were taken after a walk in the rain. I sat down to have dinner at the food court and took these pics with my iPhone.

I've since taken the 5D MkII out on a few more rainy adventures and have had no problems at all. In fact, I went out for a sunrise shoot by the sea this morning. It was pouring down and I kept clicking away. Hehehe. So........... all you 5D MkII owners, stop hiding when the weather gets bad. Take your camera out and have fun!

Added on 17th January 2010- I just attended a Canon event a few days back and the Canon representative was talking about the weather resistance of the EOS 1D MkIV. He said it was rated to withstand 1cm of rain in 3 minutes. That is a JIS(Japan Industrial Standards) approved test. The 5D MkII is also rated to withstand 1cm of rain in 3 minutes. So now we know for sure that the 5D MkII is built to the same weather resistance standard as the EOS 1 series. Anyone heard or read about whether the new 7D is also rated to withstand 1cm of rain in 3 minutes?

Media Recover software

2009-11-23T04:32:00.000-08:00

pHWOARRRRRRRRRRRRRRR! Kingston Ultimate 266X CF card rocks I tell you. It's my favorite CF card and it's even saving my skin right now. Mine came with a thingy called Media Recover. I've never had to use it until now and it's recovered 781 pics from my formatted SD card. Thank You Kingston.

Those pics were backed up to my HP Mini notebook while I was in Penang last week. I then formatted the card so I could use a fresh SD card while in Penang. I then had problems uploading pics to the HP Mini. On the very next day, it wouldn't even boot up. All 781 pics GONE!!!!!!! I tried to recover my pics from the HP Mini HDD by connecting it to my desktop PC but it wouldn't even show up in "My Computer". I was getting desperate as I really wanted those pics back. Luckily I remembered that my Kingston Ultimate CF card came with that fantastic software. Some of the recovered pics are corrupt but most of it is intact and it's much better than losing all of them forever.

Anyway, here's how the software looks like when you open it up.

Just follow the provided instructions and you should see this at the end of the recovery scan.

You can then browse the recovered files and decide which files to save.

Thank God I had this Media Recover thingy. It really saved my skin. I had a lot of important pictures in there for articles which I have yet to write about in this blog. I can now continue writing those articles with the proper pics. Hehe. Hopefully this article will help some of you guys in the same predicament as me.
Big thumbs up to Kingston for including this software with the Ultimate CF cards.

If you liked this article or found it helpful, please check out the advertisements ya? You can also buy the product from Amazon through the links below. Your support is much appreciated. :) :) :)

One dead tree

2009-11-21T09:50:00.000-08:00

I'm sooooooooooooo happy. I've been wanting to photograph a single dead tree for about 2 years now. Never managed to find 1 coz I live in a big city. I finally found it today. I decided to take a drive out of the city for some photography today and boy am I glad I did it. Not only did I find a dead tree with nice twisted branches, it had the best background possible with nothing behind it except the sea and the sky. Hehe. I'm over the moon right now. Finding something after 2 years gave me such a high. This is why I love photography, it's such a simple pleasure. I had a big huge smile from ear to ear and most people who saw me then would have thought I struck a million dollar jackpot. All I got was a single dead tree. Aaaaaaaah the simple pleasures of life, Life is Good!

Beware the Super Wide Angle lens

2009-11-14T06:28:00.001-08:00

Becareful when you use a super wide angle lens ya? Don't be like this fella in the video. I just saw it and it's really funny. LOL

Fun in the sun

2009-11-11T07:28:00.000-08:00

Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! After spending 2 weeks sitting at home............ in pain. I've finally recovered from the oral surgery. I then decided to have some fun in the sun. Let's just say it's my Operation Recuperation Vacation. LOL.

I wanted to go to a Tropical Island Paradise for 2 weeks. Was deciding between Phuket and Penang. My favorite hotel in Phuket didn't have any rooms available. My favorite hotel in Penang called Golden Sands Resort, Shangri-La Hotel had 2 rooms available for 1 week so I figured 1 week is better than none.

So here I am in the Tropical Paradise Island. Got here early today and immediately went down to have some fun in the sun. Aaaaaaaaaaah a nice sunny day.

As the sun started to set, it was time for a nice cup of coffee by the sea at my favorite part of the hotel. It's kinda like a boardwalk cafe. Aaaaaaaaaaaahhh this is life. Life Is Good!

A most wonderful way to end the day, watching the sun set with a nice cup of coffee.

Sorry for the low quality pictures. I only had my iPhone with me at the time. The SLR was in the room. I took a few pictures of the hotel room when I 1st got here and I can tell you, it's a gadget freak's dream come true. Hopefully I'll be able to upload the pictures from the SLR to my laptop coz I tried it earlier and I had some problems with my card reader. Will try and get the pictures uploaded tomorrow so stay tuned. :)

Part 2- Gadget Freak's Ultimate Hotel Room

Arghhhhhh PAIN!!!!!!!!!!

2009-11-02T21:38:00.001-08:00

I've been out of action for a week. So much painnnnnnnnnnnnn................ Had oral surgery done last week to remove a wisdom tooth and I can tell you it's absolute hell. My wisdom tooth is the worst kind to have. It grows out horizontally so the surgeon has to cut the tooth into 4 pieces and also cut into my jaw bone to get the tooth out. Here's how the tooth looks like now. Gruesome isn't it? Now just imagine what the surgeon had to do to my jawbone to get that tooth out.

I went to a highly recommended surgeon who did a really good job. He put me on IV so I'll be kinda sleeping and I won't feel or remember anything happening during the surgery. When everything was done, I was taken to a very nice n comfortable, personal recovery room with a big lazyboy chair and nice soothing music to sleep off the drug I was given. I don't know how many hours I slept in that room but it sure felt like an eternity. I really slept like a baby with all that medicine in my blood.

The pain really hit me when I woke up. It was like PHWOARRRRRRRRR!!!!!! PAIN PAIN PAIN PAINNNNNNNNNNNN!!!!!!!!!! So they gave me lotsa codeine to take the pain away. Good stuff that codeine. It must have been industrial strength codeine good enough for elephants I guess. LOL. It only took about 15 minutes to kick in and my jaw felt totally numb after that. I was given enough codeine to last for 3 days only. After that it's down to ponstan which is nowhere near as effective as codeine. We're not allowed to take anymore codeine than needed as it's highly addictive according to the doctor. So I've been relying on ponstan since then and I've been in pain since.

It's so painful,that every meal is like going to hell. I can hardly open my mouth. It takes me about 1.5 hours to get through a hotdog! Worst thing is..... after that hotdog my whole left jaw was swollen like a grapefruit. It was incredibly painful but I just had to have the hotdog after many days of liquid diet. Was the hotdog worth the pain? Hell yeah! It was my favorite Ikea hotdog. Hehehe. Anyone wanna share my lunch? Hehehe. Don't worry I didn't eat 6 hotdogs. It was for my family of 5. LOL

I did regret a lil bit after the hotdog though as the swelling stayed and I had to ice pack my jaw the whole night. The swelling only went away the next day. Guess what I did after that? I went to Carl's Junior for my favorite Chilli Dog. Haha, I guess I'm a glutton for punishment. With a Chilli Dog deal like this, I just couldn't help myself. A nice fat Chilli Dog with unlimited refill softdrink for only rm9.99.

After that, I had to go see Mr Icepack all over again. Was it worth it? Hell yeah! LOL.

Don't throw rabbit!!!!!

2009-10-30T00:40:00.000-07:00

ROFLOLMAO. I saw this yesterday in a shopping mall. It was written on a TNB meter door. Check out the English! Simply unbelievable, lol.