Conversations with the Conscience fellas

I've experienced so many firsts lately. During my brief trip to Miri last weekend, I've bought a couple of stuffs for the very first time. I also just realised that my blog has got its first follower, thank you Musa. Today I completed my first online sale, after sending off my Creative Zen to its new owner earlier today. I'm glad to say that all these "firsts" are quite sentimental to me. One of it is finally fulfilling a childhood dream.

Anyways, I've managed to get my hands on most of the stuff on my wishlist this year. One interesting item on the list is getting a DSLR Camera. For my recent trip to Miri, I planned to check out some of the DSLR models available, with no solid intention to make a purchase.

So I there I was, walking around in Bintang Megamall on a Saturday afternoon. Saw a couple of DSLRs, with one particular model that really got my attention.

The Canon EOS 1000D. I've done my homework on some of these DSLRs and the 1000D is one of them. You could say it's a nice entry-level DSLR. So there I was, standing, eyes fixated on the camera. The fact that none of the salespersons approached me gave me a whole load of fantasy-time. That also caused me to ponder on the possiblity of purchasing it there and then. As mentioned earlier, I have no plans on making a buy on this trip. But when you have plastic pals named either VISA or Mastercard going with you, tempting thoughts are bound to come up.

Still standing and gazing, my brain began its Business Meeting. There were some calculations going on up there, definitely. And the meeting was leaning towards making the decision to purchase the camera. Then Conscience barged in the meeting. You know, like what you see in cartoons, when the character has an angel on one side and a devil on the other?

When you have nobody beside you to ask for a second opinion, your conscience is your best bet. This is the best depiction of how we came to the final decision:

Angel Ben : Hey, this wasn't in your travel itinerary.

Me : I know, but I can afford this now.

Angel Ben : Perhaps you're right, but you ARE rushing into making this decision.

Me : I'm not.

Angel Ben : You are.

Me : As long as I can afford it, it's alright.

Angel Ben : Yes. But it will just add up to your card's debts in a short time span.

Me : I can afford the monthly repayment.

Angel Ben : Sigh, you're a ****head.

Me : So, do I get a 'Yes' or 'No' from you?

Angel Ben : Definitely a NO! Are you dumb? I just gave you valid reasons not to buy.

Me : Whatever man, the devil me would vote 'Yes', and that would mean 2 'Yes' votes to 1 'No' vote. So, devil me?

Devil Ben : What a ****head! Do you even need to ask? Go for it!

Me : *grins*

Yeah that was what happened. But it didn't end there. A few moments after ending that conversation, I walked away from the shop and did not look at any more cameras after that. As I was walking along:

Angel Ben : Hey, what happened back there? I thought you were going to buy the camera?

Ben : Nah.

Angel Ben : *smirks* So, you realised I was right afterall, huh.

Ben : Nah.

Angel Ben : ****head.

Devil Ben : ****head.


Moral of the story? You tell me.

Creative Zen Vision M 30GB FOR SALE!!!

I took a few minutes to think on how to start this particular post. I couldn’t think of any ideas so I’ll settle with this:

I’m putting up my Creative Zen Vision M 30GB (white) for sale!

This is not a drill readers, or should I say, potential buyers. This is real. The reason I’m selling my beloved and evergreen Vision M is that, I need to raise some money to make a big purchase. For the past couple of weeks, I have also rarely used the Vision M. In fact, I can tell you frankly that I have yet to use it for at least a week now. It used to be my best gadget buddy. I listen to mp3s on it, sometimes I watched movies on it and of course the occasional times when I tune to the FM. This device is about 3 years old.

Okay, I’ll now start my product introduction or description. As I have already mentioned, the item on sale is a white Creative Zen Vision M with 30GB of memory space. It is comparable to the iPod before the Touch generation. It’s direct iPod competition would be the iPod 30GB (5th Generation). The size is almost similar, albeit the iPod being the much thinner or slimmer device. The Vision M is almost twice as thick. While the iPod’s back is made of metal, the Vision M is plastic all round. Having said that, it is still very sturdy.

That’s the physical comparison. The iPod will certainly trump the Vision M in terms of brand recognition and sleekness of design. However, take serious note that the Vision M or Creative is not some China made imitation wannabe. The sound quality is up there with the iPod. The question of which is better would be quite subjective. But the area that the Vision M comes on top over the iPod is the display quality. The colours are richer. You can see the difference by looking at comparison pictures of the Vision M and iPod side by side (google it). So your movie/drama/music video watching experience is more pleasant.

Another plus of the Vision M is its ability to play various formats of music or videos. This is especially useful if you would like to watch movies on the device. Seldom will you have to convert the video format in order for it to play on your Vision M. I personally download movies from torrents in the AVI format and I have viewed them on my Vision M many times.

Lastly, you do not need any software like iTunes to manage your songs in your Vision M. You can just delete any song directly from inside the player if you become sick and tired of listening to that particular tune. However, should you want to create a playlist, you will need a software. I do not require playlists, so I have not explored the methods.

Now we move on from the general view of the product to a more specific description of this very Vision M that is on sale. I will make this brief and as clear as I can.

Package includes:
1x  Creative Zen Vision M 30GB
1x  Original Creative earphones
1x  Philips SHE 9700 in-ear phones
1x  USB cable/charger
1x  3-pin wall charger/power adaptor

Price: RM 370 (Negotiable)

Delivery charges: FREE        Delivery method: Poslaju, courier services
Payment:

Maybank2u or over the counter transfer to my Maybank account.

**A brand new unit is retailing at around RM 900 - 990

NEGATIVES
- No warranty, of course.
- Low battery life (due to its age). You might need to do some research on how you can get its          battery replaced. At the moment, you can watch 2 hours of a movie or around 4-5 hours of            listening to songs.
- Some scratches, nothing major, I think.
- No manual booklet (although I think you don’t really need one)
- No car charger


POSITIVES
- Still in very good working condition.
- Screen has been protected by the plastic/sticker protector.
- Apart from a USB cable/charger, you also get a wall charger/adaptor. So you can plug it into          any 3 pin power socket if the batteries are low. You can also solve the short battery life while        watching movies by plugging the adaptor at the same time.
- I’m throwing in my old Philips SHE series in-ear phones, besides the original Creative                    earphones (which sucks to be honest). One side of the Philips is having some problems anyway,    so I guess you need to shop for a new pair of earphones if you don’t have one.
- Besides the player itself, you will also get a total of 3400 songs already in it. Yes, you read              that right, 3400 songs!!!
- Besides more than 3000 songs, you also have 2-3 movies included in the player. I would                provide you with the list of movies that I am able to include should you require that.
- Free shipping/delivery.

What I recommend you to do should you intend to purchase this from me:
- Find out if you can get the batteries replaced. If you can do so, I think this Vision M will be a          steal. As for me, I live in the far corner of Sarawak in a little town, so it’s tough for me to do          such things.
- Get a new pair of in-ear phones if you do not have one yet. I recommend Philips if you want          something that produces nice quality sounds at an affordable price. You can easily get a decent    pair for about RM 80-90.
- Read various reviews of the Creative Zen Vision M 30GB for more product knowledge.

All that for RM 370. But I’m a reasonable guy, so the price is still very much negotiable. The transaction or process is pretty much Lelong.com.my standard. Just in case:
1. You email / sms me that you are interested.
2. We agree on the price.
3. You give me your mailing address.
4. I pack the item.
5. You complete the payment.
6. I send the item.

So should you be interested to know more, email me at bxnjamin@yahoo.com or sms me (hp number will be given upon request). Thank you. 

I've been wanting to have my windows tinted, according to JPJ specifications of course. But one thing that have been bugging me is the law of another country. Their law prohibit vehicles from having tinted windows. This is one screwed up dung. I mean, I want to tint my windows according to the specifications that my country permits me. But, I also can't because a foreign country prohibits such things on vehicles travelling on their roads. 

Why would I give a dung about that foreign country you might tell me. Well, I live in a town that is almost separated from the rest of the state and country, being sandwiched by an oil rich country. I will need to drive through that sultanate should I wish to go to Miri and beyond, or Lawas/Kota Kinabalu and beyond. I do not want to end up at a roadblock on foreign soil having some foreign cops telling me to tear down the tint or even pay the fine in their currency which is more than twice the value of ours in the exchange rate.

Therefore, I will have to drive without tinted windows that would be able to keep the interior of the car a little cooler. But you can put up blinds what? Or you can also use a RM15 Rayban immitation what? Blinds will put up more blindspots and gives you a lesser all round visibility and a RM15 Rayban immitation, well I think I don't need to say much about this one.

I do not know what this country aim to achieve by making tinted windows illegal. Their citizens drive like they have 9 lives. They can't park their car for shit. This is the truth, is it so hard to manouver your vehicle into a 45 degrees angled space that is more than reasonable for one car? Do you actually need to have your car parked in two bays? You are depriving people like me who have our constitutional right for a vacant parking bay.

So I hope one day the government of this neighbouring country will come to its senses and allow cars (Malaysians at least) to drive on their roads with tinted windows. God bless you.

Resident Feline

Most workplaces such as mine, seem to have their very own resident feline. A cat that roams/stays in the school compound. And to some extent, a cat that is 'officially' taken care of by the school.

My school has a resident cat. The name's Garfield. Don't get too excited as the only resemblence to the famous cat from the comics is its habits, that is sleeping and eating. Come to think of it, it does share some similarities with myself.

This is Garfield.

He is seen here sleeping on the cement floor, beside where I used to sit.

This is Garfield, again.

Here, you can see that he is, sleeping, again. This time on the sofa in the staff kitchen/dining room.

Garfield is a big sized car really. Weighs about 2kilos. My colleague, Nadira feeds it everyday with Friskies, and she's also the cat's unofficial mother. And the two of them does have a unique human-cat bond. That is all I have to write about Garfield.