Apple have sent me an email to say that my new iPad has been despatched, and it now appears to have left Hong Kong, so it should be in my hands on Monday or Tuesday.
I have already sold this iPad to a colleague, and another colleague queued for many hours at the Apple store to buy his. Meanwhile back in the real world I am about to watch the Malaysian Grand Prix, and then get ready for another big week at the office.
Sunday, April 10, 2011
Another David Oscarson pen
I had begun to think that my collection of David Oscarson pens would not see any growth for a while whilst I concentrate of building my Faber-Castell collection. So I was really surprised when my eBay automatic alerts notified me this morning that there was a pen going for about 25% less than then usual discount price. I didn't act on it straight away but mulled over it for most of the day. I do believe that the seller made a typo in entering the item, as the price in the text was the normal price, but the official buy it price was much less.
So after about 6 hours of will I or won't I, I did.
So after about 6 hours of will I or won't I, I did.
Friday, April 1, 2011
Kickstarter
I stumbled upon Kickstater.com a couple of months ago when looking for an iPad accessory. It is site that helps people raise money to undertake their pet projects. These projects cover an amazing range of topics, from making a documentary, to funding a local event, to writing books and to making things.
Kickstarter subscribers can subscribe to projects, and by doing so agree to fund the project in some way. Depending on the funding level the subscriber may get a thank you postcard, or a copy of the final product, or the final product plus an exclusive gift from the maker.
So last night I found two projects worth joining in. The first was for a stylus pen for the iPad. I know do all my writing using a stylus. If you go to the local electronics store they will charge $10 - 15+. You can get the same item via eBay from Hong Kong for $1 with free postage! however these stylus are short and thin and are completely lacking in style. They are so easy to loose to, which is why I ordered twenty from Honkers.
None of the major pen manufacturers have realized that there could be a good market out there for a stylus with style. So they is room for innovation, which is occurring on Kickstarter. So I have committed to buy two.
Then last night I also found another Kickstater project by two young kids developing a full working kit model of a trebuchet. It looked great so I joined that project too! It's called
trebuchette - the snap-together, desktop trebuchet.
So take a look at Kickstarter.com. It's quite and entertaining site even if you don't "invest".
Kickstarter subscribers can subscribe to projects, and by doing so agree to fund the project in some way. Depending on the funding level the subscriber may get a thank you postcard, or a copy of the final product, or the final product plus an exclusive gift from the maker.
So last night I found two projects worth joining in. The first was for a stylus pen for the iPad. I know do all my writing using a stylus. If you go to the local electronics store they will charge $10 - 15+. You can get the same item via eBay from Hong Kong for $1 with free postage! however these stylus are short and thin and are completely lacking in style. They are so easy to loose to, which is why I ordered twenty from Honkers.
None of the major pen manufacturers have realized that there could be a good market out there for a stylus with style. So they is room for innovation, which is occurring on Kickstarter. So I have committed to buy two.
Then last night I also found another Kickstater project by two young kids developing a full working kit model of a trebuchet. It looked great so I joined that project too! It's called
trebuchette - the snap-together, desktop trebuchet.
So take a look at Kickstarter.com. It's quite and entertaining site even if you don't "invest".
Sunday, March 27, 2011
More on Pen collecting
Have I said that I like a good pen?I love the feeling of a well balanced pen, a pen with a bit more width, length and weight than the usual pen. So I have my collection of a dozen or so pens that I use on a regular basis. I also have a few pens that I have purchased just because of their beauty. There are some absolutey gorgeous pens being produced nowadays.
New production techniquesv mean that an absolutely stunning pen can be produced for not a lot of money, but it also means that there are some fantastic artists producing top-notch pens worth collecting.
Here is a link to juts one example by one of the first pen manufacturers:
Faber Castell - 2011 Pen of the Year - 2011
New production techniquesv mean that an absolutely stunning pen can be produced for not a lot of money, but it also means that there are some fantastic artists producing top-notch pens worth collecting.
Here is a link to juts one example by one of the first pen manufacturers:
Faber Castell - 2011 Pen of the Year - 2011
Saturday, March 26, 2011
A Day of Change
NSW State elections were held today and the result was very similar to what the polls predicted - the 16 years old Labor government was thrown out of office and will be lucky if they retain 20 seats out of the 91 seats in the lower house, the Legislative Assembly. The upper house, the Legislative Council, will take several weeks to decide my friend stood for the upper house and of course I gave him my first preference.
So today to celebrate the day of the long knives I watched The Godfather Pt 1. It is a wonderful film - very long, but always rewarding to watch. Al Pucino does a wonderful job as the younger son of the Godfather. I don't hold it in quite the same esteem as some Americans appear to do, such as Tom Hanks in "You've Got Mail", or Josh in the series "The West Wing", but it is a five star film nevertheless.
Now speaking of Italians, one of my old bosses stood as a candidate for a lower house seat. He stood as a Liberal candidate and needed a 15% swing to win. He got over 20%! So now he is a proper politician. Regardless of his new status, he looked better with his moustache.
U
So today to celebrate the day of the long knives I watched The Godfather Pt 1. It is a wonderful film - very long, but always rewarding to watch. Al Pucino does a wonderful job as the younger son of the Godfather. I don't hold it in quite the same esteem as some Americans appear to do, such as Tom Hanks in "You've Got Mail", or Josh in the series "The West Wing", but it is a five star film nevertheless.
Now speaking of Italians, one of my old bosses stood as a candidate for a lower house seat. He stood as a Liberal candidate and needed a 15% swing to win. He got over 20%! So now he is a proper politician. Regardless of his new status, he looked better with his moustache.
U
Saturday, March 19, 2011
The Fountainhead
This film and book by Ayn Rand is one of my favorite movies. I first saw it on TV many years ago just after I had left home and moved to the big smoke. At that time I felt so constrained by the conservatism of my parents. Being the youngest of four means having your life dictated to you by everyone around you and my upbringing didn't instill any sense of self-worth or self-confidence.
This movie helped me have that self-belie that I was crying out for.
The Fountainhead is the story of a young architect Howard Roarkn(played by Gary Cooper) who doesn't design buildings according to the traditional values of the time. Those values dictate that every building imitate classical Greek and Roman architecture. So he is thrown out of university and only gets a small number of commissions for houses. However he cannot earn enough to survive and goes to work in a quarry, where he is seen by a journalist played by Patricia Neal. A complicated love story evolves around Roark's struggle for his intellectual and professional freedom.
This movie helped me have that self-belie that I was crying out for.
The Fountainhead is the story of a young architect Howard Roarkn(played by Gary Cooper) who doesn't design buildings according to the traditional values of the time. Those values dictate that every building imitate classical Greek and Roman architecture. So he is thrown out of university and only gets a small number of commissions for houses. However he cannot earn enough to survive and goes to work in a quarry, where he is seen by a journalist played by Patricia Neal. A complicated love story evolves around Roark's struggle for his intellectual and professional freedom.
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Fountainpen Hospital sale
Fountainpn hospital is this wonderful little pen shop in Manhatten. I have bought a number of pens from them over the years. This week they held a big sale and I bought some very nice pens from them. No David Oscarsons this time as my bank account is still in recovery from the recent Los Angeles Pen Show. Fountainpen Hospital has one of the better websites. here is the link:
Fountainpen Hospital
Fountainpen Hospital
Memoirs of a Geisha
This was one of the first audio books that I received from Audible.com. I joined Audible when it first appeared and have been a member ever since. I have always loved audio books and had a large collection of books on tape. Before Audible came along I struggled with other music players, even a hard disc player that was as big as a portable cd player. The hardware was klunky, and the software even klunkier. But then Audible came along, and then the iPod and everything changed.
I had purchased my first audible player for some absurd price - it had 64 Mb of RAM. Memoirs of a Geisha came in 3 parts, each over 100 Mb, so the player could only hold part of each file. I thought I was near the end when we went on holidays to Tasmania. We decided to visit Maria Island and I was happily listening when the file reached it's end - but the book was far from over. I was so angry at the cruddy technology of the day. Later I bought my first iPod, was amazed by how advanced it was compared to all my other mp3 players, other hard disk players and cd players. I have been an Apple devotee ever since.
My first iPod was a generation 2 hard disk unit. As I said, this iPod was fantastic, and I have been sold on iPods ever since. I was amazed by people's skepticism about ipods when I showed them mine.
I had this for about 2 years when I bought my second (an iPod mini) that I got as part of a telephone deal with Telstra. This became my portable device and the first one was confined to the bedroom! I eventually tossed it when the screen became so faint I couldn't read it, but mechanically it was fine.
After about another 2 years I bought a iPod nano which I lost on my China trip. I also bought an iPod Classic for the car which I still have.
Then the second revolution with my first iPod Touch 8 Gb (which I later sold to Marie). I used this when in Western Australia. I then upgraded to a 64 Gb iTouch generation 2, then a 64 Gb iTouch v3 with camera, which was later replaced under warranty.
But back to the film. Once more the book is so much more complete than the film, and the reviews when it irst came out reflected this, so I didn't go and see it. Now that I have seen it on DVD I can say that it is a good film, maybe a pretty good film, but not a great film.
What the film can do that the book can't is bring all those lovely kimono to life, and old Kyoto. The sumo, the dancing, the playing are all done remarkable well. I really enjoyed the movie, despite having read the book first. The movie does leave large chunks of the story out, but does a reasonable job in retelling the story.
I had purchased my first audible player for some absurd price - it had 64 Mb of RAM. Memoirs of a Geisha came in 3 parts, each over 100 Mb, so the player could only hold part of each file. I thought I was near the end when we went on holidays to Tasmania. We decided to visit Maria Island and I was happily listening when the file reached it's end - but the book was far from over. I was so angry at the cruddy technology of the day. Later I bought my first iPod, was amazed by how advanced it was compared to all my other mp3 players, other hard disk players and cd players. I have been an Apple devotee ever since.
My first iPod was a generation 2 hard disk unit. As I said, this iPod was fantastic, and I have been sold on iPods ever since. I was amazed by people's skepticism about ipods when I showed them mine.
I had this for about 2 years when I bought my second (an iPod mini) that I got as part of a telephone deal with Telstra. This became my portable device and the first one was confined to the bedroom! I eventually tossed it when the screen became so faint I couldn't read it, but mechanically it was fine.
After about another 2 years I bought a iPod nano which I lost on my China trip. I also bought an iPod Classic for the car which I still have.
Then the second revolution with my first iPod Touch 8 Gb (which I later sold to Marie). I used this when in Western Australia. I then upgraded to a 64 Gb iTouch generation 2, then a 64 Gb iTouch v3 with camera, which was later replaced under warranty.
But back to the film. Once more the book is so much more complete than the film, and the reviews when it irst came out reflected this, so I didn't go and see it. Now that I have seen it on DVD I can say that it is a good film, maybe a pretty good film, but not a great film.
What the film can do that the book can't is bring all those lovely kimono to life, and old Kyoto. The sumo, the dancing, the playing are all done remarkable well. I really enjoyed the movie, despite having read the book first. The movie does leave large chunks of the story out, but does a reasonable job in retelling the story.
My Love of a Good Pen
Celestial Limited Edition
The Celestial Collection is the eighth in the David Oscarson series of Limited Edition writing instruments. Produced in five color variations, each will be limited to production of 88 pieces (including fountain pens and roller balls). The Celestial Collection continues in the spirit of artistic mastery and the tradition of Old World craftsmanship by combining the centuries-old technique of Guilloché with the art and expertise of Hard Enamel. Each Collection piece is engraved with multiple levels of Guilloché, then adorned with multiple colors of Hard Enamel.
The five breathtaking color pairs featured on the caps stand in bold contrast to the translucent midnight blue hard enamel on the barrels. The sun and sunburst designs featured on the Celestial cap require multiple levels of engraving; the rays of the sun remain in high relief while the sunburst pattern in the background features occasional omissions in engraving, reflecting heat and solar flares. Most remarkable perhaps is the three-dimensional face of the sun engraved on the tapered and rounded surface of the cap. The level of difficulty involved in the moon and stars featured on the Celestial barrel equals that employed on the cap.
The four phases of the moon (new, quarter, half and full) are outlined in high relief while the stars are represented in various widths and depths. Three different diameters of stars are featured in high relief and three in low relief (above and beneath the midnight blue enamel) as a reflection of the midnight sky.
The Celestial Collection is the eighth in the David Oscarson series of Limited Edition writing instruments. Produced in five color variations, each will be limited to production of 88 pieces (including fountain pens and roller balls). The Celestial Collection continues in the spirit of artistic mastery and the tradition of Old World craftsmanship by combining the centuries-old technique of Guilloché with the art and expertise of Hard Enamel. Each Collection piece is engraved with multiple levels of Guilloché, then adorned with multiple colors of Hard Enamel.
The five breathtaking color pairs featured on the caps stand in bold contrast to the translucent midnight blue hard enamel on the barrels. The sun and sunburst designs featured on the Celestial cap require multiple levels of engraving; the rays of the sun remain in high relief while the sunburst pattern in the background features occasional omissions in engraving, reflecting heat and solar flares. Most remarkable perhaps is the three-dimensional face of the sun engraved on the tapered and rounded surface of the cap. The level of difficulty involved in the moon and stars featured on the Celestial barrel equals that employed on the cap.
The four phases of the moon (new, quarter, half and full) are outlined in high relief while the stars are represented in various widths and depths. Three different diameters of stars are featured in high relief and three in low relief (above and beneath the midnight blue enamel) as a reflection of the midnight sky.
Mr Smith Goes To Washington
I finally got around to watching this film last night. It's been in my collection for years but for some reason I had't bothered to play it.
It was interesting to see a very young Jimmy Stewart and to see Claude Rains as an American politician instead as a Brit.
The film is about corruption in American politics, and how elected officials are servants of the people that control the purse strings and the power. The film doesn't have a complicated plot, and fairly simple character development.
Three stars.
Storyline
Naive and idealistic Jefferson Smith, leader of the Boy Rangers, is appointed on a lark by the spineless governor of his state. He is reunited with the state's senior senator--presidential hopeful and childhood hero, Senator Joseph Paine. In Washington, however, Smith discovers many of the shortcomings of the political process as his earnest goal of a national boys' camp leads to a conflict with the state political boss, Jim Taylor. Taylor first tries to corrupt Smith and then later attempts to destroy Smith through a scandal. Written by James Yu
It was interesting to see a very young Jimmy Stewart and to see Claude Rains as an American politician instead as a Brit.
The film is about corruption in American politics, and how elected officials are servants of the people that control the purse strings and the power. The film doesn't have a complicated plot, and fairly simple character development.
Three stars.
Storyline
Naive and idealistic Jefferson Smith, leader of the Boy Rangers, is appointed on a lark by the spineless governor of his state. He is reunited with the state's senior senator--presidential hopeful and childhood hero, Senator Joseph Paine. In Washington, however, Smith discovers many of the shortcomings of the political process as his earnest goal of a national boys' camp leads to a conflict with the state political boss, Jim Taylor. Taylor first tries to corrupt Smith and then later attempts to destroy Smith through a scandal. Written by James Yu
Monday, March 14, 2011
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
I first saw this as a film whilst on the way to the USA in September last year. I loved it. This was just after the sequel, The Girl Who Played With Fire, was released in Australia and received a poor review on At The Movies.
I then bough the books, and the audio books and released that the second book/film is best read as the first part of the finale The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet's Nest which also received a poor review when it was released in early 2011 in Australia.
The books are far better than the movies, but I thought that the movies were a fair presentation of the books. It is bleedingly obvious that David and Margaret had not read the books before seeing the movies, otherwise their comments about the storyline would have been different.
There are several versions of the audio book available. The best version is that read by Simon Vance. Through Audible.com I was able to buy the first two books with Simon Vance as the reader, but the third book was read by someone else.
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo was the first movie that I bought through the iTunes store!
I then bough the books, and the audio books and released that the second book/film is best read as the first part of the finale The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet's Nest which also received a poor review when it was released in early 2011 in Australia.
The books are far better than the movies, but I thought that the movies were a fair presentation of the books. It is bleedingly obvious that David and Margaret had not read the books before seeing the movies, otherwise their comments about the storyline would have been different.
There are several versions of the audio book available. The best version is that read by Simon Vance. Through Audible.com I was able to buy the first two books with Simon Vance as the reader, but the third book was read by someone else.
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo was the first movie that I bought through the iTunes store!
Narnia - The Dawn Treader
I watched this film on the weekend. It wasn't as "big" a film as the previous, which was a plus. However the personal conflicts that are at the heart of the book were not effectively developed. For example, Eustace's struggle to become human again was poorly done. Big expenditure on CGI, not always to good effect.
Two and a half out of five.
Two and a half out of five.
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Seed box & net security
I have decided to bolster my Internet security in a number of ways:
1/ upgraded my Giga account to platinum to include VPN security
2/ subscribed to aVPN service for general browsing, and
3/ subscribed to a seed box for those times when I use Bit-torrent.
Consequently I went a little overboard in downloads to the seed box!
1/ upgraded my Giga account to platinum to include VPN security
2/ subscribed to aVPN service for general browsing, and
3/ subscribed to a seed box for those times when I use Bit-torrent.
Consequently I went a little overboard in downloads to the seed box!
eBay this weekend
Made three purchases this weekend:
1/ a small pocket magnifying glass for $3 posted.
2/ a digital USB microscope for about $70 posted, and
3/ a better quality stylus for about $30 posted.
1/ a small pocket magnifying glass for $3 posted.
2/ a digital USB microscope for about $70 posted, and
3/ a better quality stylus for about $30 posted.
Drobo
This weekend I had another attempt at hooking my original Drobo onto the Drobo FS. I tried this when I purchased Drobo 2 and the FS networking box but for some reason it didn't work, so Drobo 1 has been languishing as a USB device on the Coolmaster. Meanwhile Drobo 2 was getting near capacity and I have been looking to buy another Drobo FS.
So I was very relieved to see that Drobo 1 can now operate as a network storage device and I live again!
In the meantime someone in Melbourne is selling an exact replica of my new setup (I.e. A Drobo FS with 2 storage storage boxes. The starting bid is $400, which is what I have bid. It seems to have been running for 4 days with no other bidder, so I might be in luck. It ends Wednesday at noon.
So I was very relieved to see that Drobo 1 can now operate as a network storage device and I live again!
In the meantime someone in Melbourne is selling an exact replica of my new setup (I.e. A Drobo FS with 2 storage storage boxes. The starting bid is $400, which is what I have bid. It seems to have been running for 4 days with no other bidder, so I might be in luck. It ends Wednesday at noon.
John Zachmann
George and I went to the John Zachmann seminar last Thursday, and I got a lot more out of his talk than I ever expected. John is now 75 and he has so much energy. He has obviously refined his thinking about enterprise architecture and the place of his framework in relation to other EA thinking.
He now refers to his framework concepts as "primitives" and other concepts, such as "services" as "constructs". He referred to TOGAF as a "process".
John introduced me to the term "reification" - to reify is to make a concept into something concrete. It made me think about what my team does, and I later spoke to David Yee about changing the mission and structure of TOS to be in line with ITIL, which has a lot in common with the concept of reification.
Side note: To get to the seminar I drove over to George's and went in to the city with him. Later I stayed and had dinner with George and Helen.
He now refers to his framework concepts as "primitives" and other concepts, such as "services" as "constructs". He referred to TOGAF as a "process".
John introduced me to the term "reification" - to reify is to make a concept into something concrete. It made me think about what my team does, and I later spoke to David Yee about changing the mission and structure of TOS to be in line with ITIL, which has a lot in common with the concept of reification.
Side note: To get to the seminar I drove over to George's and went in to the city with him. Later I stayed and had dinner with George and Helen.
84 Charing Cross Road
I watched this movie last night. I can't recall seeing the movie before. However I have very strong memories of seeing the play so many years ago. Leonids Theale played the lead male role - he had such a beautiful voice. I cherish my 2 CDs of him reading Australian poetry.
Anthony Hopkins plays that role in the movie, and I enjoyed seeing the movie. However I like the play better.
Three and a half stars.
Anthony Hopkins plays that role in the movie, and I enjoyed seeing the movie. However I like the play better.
Three and a half stars.
The Japanese Earthquake
A short note to record that the 5th largest earthquake ever recorded devastated Japan 3 days ago. The resulting tsunami was 10 meters high and swept away many towns and cities. One city of 10,000 people was swept away. At this stage they are reporting a thousand deaths, but the figure will probably be many, many times that.
There is also a pending nuclear disaster with the damage to the nuclear reactors.
The pictures on TV are so shocking. It is claimed that parts of Japan have moved 8 feet.
So sad.
There is also a pending nuclear disaster with the damage to the nuclear reactors.
The pictures on TV are so shocking. It is claimed that parts of Japan have moved 8 feet.
So sad.
The Green Mile
Recently I finally watched "The Green Mile" and I found out that what everyone had said about it is true. It is remarkably well written, well directed and well acted.
I later found out that it was written by horror writer Stephen King, so I went looking for the book, which I found at Amazon for the Kindle. I think this was the first book I bought for my new Kindle.
I was then able to buy the audiobook through Audible.com which I have now listened several times. It is read by Fracnk Muller who is one of the very best audio book readers. The audio book is thirteen hours long, so there is more in it than the movie, but not much more. The movie is true to the book, and it's main differences with the movie are mainly to do with what happens at the retirement home.
I give "The Green Mile" 5 stars.
Post-note
I have realized that the screenwriter for the film used a trick to tie the film together that wasn't in the book. At the beginning of the book there is a scene at the retirement home when everyone is watching reality TV. One old man gets up in disgust and changes the channel, and eventually turns to a channel showing a Ginger Rogers/Fred Astaire movie, with Fred Astaire singing "I'm in heaven". Later this film is being shown at the prison - but presumably not to those on the green mile. Then when John Coffey is asked for his final wishes, he requests to see a movie, and that is the movie. Neat writing! In the book the first two didn't happen, and John's only last request is for meat loaf.
I later found out that it was written by horror writer Stephen King, so I went looking for the book, which I found at Amazon for the Kindle. I think this was the first book I bought for my new Kindle.
I was then able to buy the audiobook through Audible.com which I have now listened several times. It is read by Fracnk Muller who is one of the very best audio book readers. The audio book is thirteen hours long, so there is more in it than the movie, but not much more. The movie is true to the book, and it's main differences with the movie are mainly to do with what happens at the retirement home.
I give "The Green Mile" 5 stars.
Post-note
I have realized that the screenwriter for the film used a trick to tie the film together that wasn't in the book. At the beginning of the book there is a scene at the retirement home when everyone is watching reality TV. One old man gets up in disgust and changes the channel, and eventually turns to a channel showing a Ginger Rogers/Fred Astaire movie, with Fred Astaire singing "I'm in heaven". Later this film is being shown at the prison - but presumably not to those on the green mile. Then when John Coffey is asked for his final wishes, he requests to see a movie, and that is the movie. Neat writing! In the book the first two didn't happen, and John's only last request is for meat loaf.
The Start of a New Blog
There is so much happening that I need to record it so as to overcome my failing memory!
I love listening to my audio books, I love watching a good movie, and I love reading, be it a magazine, or newspapers or a good book. So this blog is to record the best of what I read and watch, with maybe a few other things thrown in for balance.
I love listening to my audio books, I love watching a good movie, and I love reading, be it a magazine, or newspapers or a good book. So this blog is to record the best of what I read and watch, with maybe a few other things thrown in for balance.
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