Monthly Archives: February 2011

Mini Workstation

★ Posted on at 11:18 pm ★

20110219-0009

Alfie at the park. Love how the sun at the edge of the picture gives Alfie a sort of hair light. Still trying to find new ways to be creative with how I frame and shoot photos.

* * *

WordPress 3.1 finally came out and I decided to upgrade it. Doing it through WordPress broke the installation itself. Tried some suggestions I googled, and ended doing it the old fashion way using an FTP client to upload the files one by one. Heh, typing this post out means I fixed it.

The new version of WordPress has some improvements, like an admin bar at the top of your site when you are logged in to have quick access to creating new content and managing comments. I’ve seen this implemented on other blogging software before, so this is sort of a catchup for WordPress.

Other than that, I haven’t really noticed any new features, so I will take some time to go through the new admin interface. Upgrading the website to be HTML5 and CSS3 compliant will be something I will work on for the next few weeks.

* * *

Vyanne’s cousins are staying over at our place, so access to my desktop has been restricted, as the study has also been converted into a guest room, so I’ve converted the Eee PC (which I’m typing on now) to be a more useful tool.

It dawned on me that Dropbox can be used to sync simple applications like a basic text editor and an FTP client, allowing me to work across all the computers I have without worrying about syncing between machines or worrying about file locations. Dropbox is very transparent and does this for you. The 2GB they provide for free is adequate for most of the things I need to sync so it keeps things simple for me. Next stop is setting up a basic web server on Dropbox and I already have some ideas on how to do that.

* * *

Just some comments on the Eee PC, as I’m always keen to find out what’s the most productive equipment I can use for doing my work. I’ve had it for a couple of years now and the stuff I have used it for has definitely justified the cost for it.

I like that it is really portable at 1.1kg, it really gives me a computing device with many options while on the go or just around the house. The battery has degraded from 6 hours to about 2 and a 1/2 but even with the weakened battery, it still has enough juice to allow me to be productive on the go. I also like that replacement parts are easily accessible from eBay as I have replaced the keyboard before and could also get a new battery if I wanted to.

The 8.9″ screen was adequate before, but as I try to be more productive with the Eee PC, the screen becomes more of a hindrance. Heh, the Atom processor is ok for almost everything I need it to do except for the occasional high definition web video or editing photos.

* * *

So for me the ideal laptop starts off with the weight. Anything above 1.3kg would be a dealbreaker for me. There are currently laptops with 11.6″ screens and a high enough resolution to be productive on and this is the largest I would go as anything more probably wouldn’t fit in my camera bag. Anything faster than an Atom processor would fit my usage requirements for a portable laptop.

The above criteria narrowed it down to a couple of choices, the Apple Macbook Air and the Lenovo X120e. The form factor of the Macbook Air is ideal and the Core 2 Duo is still a decent performer. $1,199 for the form factor isn’t half bad considering laptops of this class a few years ago were above $2,000. The proprietary nature of Apple hardware meant I wasn’t going to be able to do any repairs of my own. The alternative would be the Lenovo X120e, which unfortunately, isn’t currently sold in Australia (global businesses with regional market targetting) has a processor that’s close to the C2D’s performance, a nice matte screen (dislike the glossy screens of current laptops) and lots of I/O options. Even specced out, the price is pretty decent but the weight balloons to about 1.5kg.

So still in search of that ultra portable computing device (an iPad doesn’t quite count) that would help me do stuff away from my desktop.

Heh, this post has got a bit too wordy for my liking.

Now

★ Posted on at 07:17 pm ★

20110219-0022

Flowers are everywhere. It’s summer even if the weather isn’t quite indicative of it. The GF1 and the 20mm pancake make creative photos, and one thing I have learned from using the Hipstamatic app on the iPhone is that you can always tweak the colours to give it a nostalgic look. It’s not always about great dynamic range, end to end sharpness and the like. Pictures should convey moods and elicit an emotional response. If you have an opinion of the picture, then maybe I’ve succeeded in expressing it to you.

* * *

Since coming back to Melbourne, I’ve just tried to keep busy, doing everything that comes to mind. I usually procrastinate with stuff but these days when something pops up, I will do it immediately or try to get it done at the next available moment.

Perhaps now I feel that life is too short not to express yourself. I just don’t want to wait too long for things to happen. I feel old now, and I’m hesitant to be as carefree as I used to be. Heh, if you read back through the blog, you’d find that I was more free spirited back then. These days I feel like I have more responsibilities, ideals that I have tacked onto myself so that I don’t regret the things I don’t do later on in life.

So I’m adjusting to it, getting things done. Not writing them down somewhere and waiting to do it later. Now I write them down and finish the tasks at hand.

* * *

On a side note, the house is starting to show signs of age. Things are breaking down from normal wear and tear. A visit to Bunnings should solve the inventory problem of replacing older stuff. I might need a hand with fixing things at home, but I don’t think it will be too difficult.

Heh, one is never too old to learn a new skill.

In Memory

★ Posted on at 06:58 pm ★

_1020896

The ginger plant outside the house with a single blossom. Mom was always an avid gardener and would make the house look alive with all the plants and greenery.

* * *

It’s been a long month. Mom passed away peacefully a week ago after battling hard with the complication of her cancer. In a way, it was all very sudden, as we didn’t discover the problem until late December. I went back to Melbourne with a heavy heart, and hadn’t planned on going back to see her until maybe March. In a way, lots of events aligned themselves and I decided to go back to celebrate Chinese New Year with my family. It would be the last time I would get to spend time with her. I was told that she had a good 5 days while I was around before her admission to ICU on the first day of Chinese New Year, as she had been administered with the drugs from chemotherapy and was feeling the ill effects of it. I could only imagine how horrible it was when I spoke to her a week before I came back home. Mom was tired, but alert and still able to eat and talk to me. I never got the chance to give her a hug until she was gone, as I was afraid of giving her an infection due to her compromised immune system from the chemotherapy.

Cancer is a scary thing, and you really never think about it until it has afflicted someone you love dearly. Mom was strong and she really wanted to get well, and was also looking forward to visiting me again in Melbourne during the autumn period. I really believed that she would overcome it, that I could spend another year, 5 years, or even 20 years with her. Alas, her body conspired against her and I will never get to hear her words of advice or see the warm, sweet smile and hug she gave me everytime I came home.

Mom used to read this blog diligently and it was how she knew what I was up to in Melbourne. I miss her a lot, and while we did talk, I found out more about her after her passing than before. She always wanted the best for us kids, but I guess this finally took a toll on her health.

* * *

Mom, love you lots. We will always love and remember you.