Cordless LED reading light

Here is a reading light that is sure to delight many a serious reader. It runs on 6 AA batteries, which is supposed to last for 15 hours (or get a set of rechargeables if you like). There are 16 LED's, emitting a bright daylight white light. It has a flexible goose neck for you to adjust the direction of the light.

What I really like about this is that the light is of just the right intensity and it is highly diffused. You won't see any harsh shadow lines on your book. As it is cordless, you can carry it with you and place it wherever you want. Definitely a thumbs up from me. I got it today from Aldi for AUD$20.

What I did not see at the royal wedding

I watched the royal wedding of William and Kate with my family just now. I have to say that the camera crew did a remarkable job from behind the scene - not one of them was in sight! You can tell that the wedding ceremony has been shot from many angles in the Westminster Abbey. Yet not a single scene reveals where the cameras have been placed. Even the marriage vows of the new royal couple are clearly audible; so where is the zoom microphone? Out in the street, you can see the procession being shot from many places along the sideline, yet not a single time was any camera or reporting crew in sight.

The other interesting thing  I observed is the absence of flash going off. Watching the Beijing Olympics on my home TV in 2008, I could see the flash going off ceaselessly among the audience. Probably the guests in the Westminster Abbey have been asked not to take any pictures. Out in the street, even though it was bright day you would normally see a flash going off now and then, but I did not see any this time. That's unusual.

Oh yes, it was a great wedding. Here's is a souvenir shot of the royal couple. Since everyone is hyped up about the balcony kiss, I couldn't resist bringing out my camera to take this shot....on TV.

Kindle e-reader for US$114

It is official now. Kindle has lowered the price of its Kindle 3 Wifi-only version. See: http://blogkindle.com/2011/04/kindle-with-special-offers-shipping-today/

The Kindle 3 used to sell for US$139. With the $AUD now stronger than ever, you can actually get it for a real bargain compared to the time I bought a few months ago. The price is now US$114, which is close to AUD$104 at today's conversion rate. That's a whopping 30% off the price I paid! If you ever felt like swapping your newspaper for electronic newspaper (and save a few trees in your lifetime), now is your opportunity.

Recently I have the opportunity to compare my Kindle with an iPad 2 side by side. Together with the cover, my Kindle weighs 400g, while the iPad 2 weighs about 740g. When holding the iPad 2, I have to be extra careful because it seems like it will shatter if accidentally dropped. On the other hand, the Kindle with its cover feels like it can easily survive a drop or two. The Kindle is practically smudge-free. It has a matte screen and a matte bezel, while the iPad 2 has a shiny surface which is impossible to keep smudge-free. As for reading, I feel that the Kindle handles reading better because I can hold it in many ways and I will not accidentally get switched to another page.On the iPad 2 you have to be careful about touching the screen. For reading enjoyment, Kindle is still the best. It is easy on the eye and the battery lasts for weeks on a single charge. Having said that, I will still eventually buy an iPad or an Android tablet, but it is to replace my desktop and not my Kindle.

(Note: there are strong rumours that Amazon is working on an Android-based tablet. It could be something like the Nook Color from competitor Barnes and Nobles. I suspect that will complement Amazon's product range but not replace the e-ink reader)

Shielded TV cable actually works

Coincidentally, when I changed over from my old analog TV to a digital plasma TV, I also began to have a problem receiving all the channels. I thought it had to do with the antenna. After all, the new digital channels do call for antennae that are designed for the different digital frequency bands. I did start to look for a replacement antenna but fortunately one shop assistant suggested that I try one of the Monster TV cables. Well, to tell you the truth, I was not about to spend $35 just to see if that would work. A good new antenna would cost only twice that much.

However, by chance I came across a shielded TV cable in Bunnings that was described as "virtually noise free". For $10.50, it seemed like a safe bet. Sure enough, that did the trick. It has saved me the job of climbing to my roof, plus money and effort to replace the antenna. And then, that might not have solved the problem at all. So if you are having problems getting consistently good reception on your TV, you might want to look no further than the simple cable connecting your TV to the antenna socket.

(My Maths professor in college used to remind us not to bring out the big cannons before we have tried the simple ways to solve problems. This is one of those examples)

Landscape and portrait

I have never given these terms much thought other than how a page is laid out for printing, or how a camera is held when taking a shot. Now that I have joined the APS (see last blog) and signed up as member of the Portrait and Landscape folios, I realize that I am not sure what constitutes a portrait or a landscape.

This is what I have found after a bit of googling. A portrait is easier to define. It is an image where the main subject of interest is a person or several persons. This can be a face, a half body, or a full body picture. Many wedding portraits are shot full body and we can immediately identify it as a wedding portrait. However, without the bridal dress, a picture of the same pose and composition in a scenic background may simply be termed as a holiday snap. I think the criteria here is whether the subject of interest is clearly about the person in the picture.

I am convinced that a true landscape picture should be that of a natural terrain. It is a spread out scene; one you get when looking at an broad expanse of land some distance ahead and in front of you. The picture of a waterfall is not a landscape picture, if the waterfall is the subject. But if the waterfall is in the distant and is part of a scene, and the scene is the subject, then this image is rightly called a landscape.

I cannot claim that the above constitutes a universally acceptable definition of portrait and landscape. They are just my own understanding. There are grey areas that nobody has the right answer to but many have opinions on. For example, the image on this blog might meet some of the definition of a landscape, but it is not in "landscape" format (hence restricting the view of a broad expanse of land). Also, while the subject is clearly about the scene, yet the immediate focus is on some big rocks in the foreground. I am not sure if I can enter this in a landscape competition, even if it were an amazing shot.

The Australian Photographic Society

After mulling over it for several weeks, I decided to go ahead and sign up as a member of the APS. This is actually a wonderful opportunity for people who are otherwise not able to join a regular camera club. As a member, I also registered to be placed in a couple of the folios (Landscape and Portrait). This enables me to share my images with other people as well as comment on each other's work. This is similar to what we do at the Knox camera club, minus the outings and workshops.

My main reason for joining the APS is to expose myself to regular competitions and to collect points that will lead to awards, starting with the LAPS (Licentiate of the APS). Big deal, you might say, but this is the institutionalized way to gauge my own competence level and to learn from the experts along the way. There will be comments, critiques, and disappointments, but that is the name of the game.

The saving habit

It used to be that financial institutions give out piggy banks to encourage children to start saving from young. This builds up a saving habit in children. They learn to handle money in a responsible manner. It is a pity that we do not see so much of this anymore. Many banks have forgotten the important role they used to play in society.

People need to be able to save, no matter how much they earn. For the young, it is the habit that counts, not the dollars and cents. Some young people think that they will start saving when they reach a certain income level. They think that once they start earning a bigger salary, they can put away a lot more in a shorter time; that the small amounts they squirrel away now wll not make much of a difference the next day. That is just wishful thinking; the bar just keeps getting higher and the right time to save never comes.

As parents we need to cultivate the saving habit in our children, whether rich or poor. It is this habit that will see them though life long after we are no longer able to watch over them. We hope that they will not spend down to their last dollar at the end of every month. If the pocket money we give to our children disappears completely at the end of each week, we have failed in our duty.

Children, when you leave home as an adult, you gain some but not total independence. You will not be financially independent for many more years to come. That happens only when you have built up sufficient savings. You need to cultivate the saving habit now. You goal should be to have a savings account that grows every week, only to be used with utmost discretion. I hope my children read this blog and remember always.