Cutting pay or cutting people?

The European Union wants Greece to reduce its runaway budget deficit by retrenching tens of thousands of workers in the public sector. They must be thinking that it is better to piss off a percentage of the voters (those who will lose their jobs), while allowing the rest to enjoy an ill-affordable level of pay. This is so terribly wrong. I think the right and decent thing to do is for all the public servants to receive a pay cut, with those on then highest bracket getting a proportionately bigger cut. In this way, nobody has to go hungry.

Unfortunately, the idea to cut the number of employees and not the level of pay, seems to be prevalent in the Western countries. Just watch what the U.S. and some other European countries are going to do in the next few years.

Civil service should be used as a buffer for employment. When unemployment runs high, the government should create jobs such as in maintenance and new infrastructure projects, or even cleaning the loo or sweeping the streets (for those incapable of doing anything else). Pay could be kept low until the country prospers again. Instead, governments nowadays play the private sector role. They remunerate their employees the same way as in the private sector AND retrench them in the same way too. So what happens to the government's duty as caretaker of the citizen's welfare?

Samsung Gio; my new smartphone

I have just bought a new smartphone (goodbye to my Nokia E71). At AUD$199, it is on the cheaper-end of the smartphone lineup. This is the first time I have owned an Android device and I love it! It does not feel like a phone; it is more like a small tablet with a phone function.

Unlike some previous phones I have had, this works right out of the box, I just popped my SIM card into it and off it went. Even the Gmail and Google browser were all set up and ready to go. This is the most seamless phone I have ever come across, in terms of applications. The apps store is simply amazing, as compared to Symbian apps which are far fewer in number and frequently have compatibility problems.

One of the first things I looked for is a good camera in the phone and I am not disappointed. The camera is far better than in all the phones I have ever owned. Here is a sample shot.

Forgiveness and humility

Many people seek redress when they feel they have been wronged. It is a natural thing to do, in order to try and get back into the "perfect" world we have created in our own mind. Of course, the damage has been done, a wrong word has been uttered, or a regrettable action has been taken. When the supposed wrong-doer has apologized, the relationship is supposed to return to normal. But of course it seldom does. Sometimes it lingers silently for years, while outward appearance belies inward feelings.

One of my favourite verses is Philippians 2:3-4: "Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others." I believe that in order to truly forgive others, one has to practice putting others above himself.

Whenever I find myself getting angry with someone, I remind myself that the problem is my ego (vain conceit). Once I have decided to humble myself, total forgiveness then flows easily. It might be someone who just cut in front of me while driving, or a young person who just acted disprespectfully. Or it might be a good friend who just said something hurtful, or a stranger who did not return due courtesy. If we expect to receive grace from God, we also must practice being gracious to others.

Note to myself: SB-900 flash compatibility issue

I recently discovered that when my SB-900 flash gun is taken off camera, the flash is weaker than when it is mounted on the hotshoe. At the camera club tonight, I discussed this with a couple of Nikon owners and I found something very interesting. Now I understand that the SB-900 is not fully communicating with my D90. The SB-900 and the D90 will both show TTL option, but unlike the higher end Nikon DSLR's, they will not show the Remote option. The Remote option is what communicates the Aperture and Shutter speed settings to SB-900, but not the TTL option.

In short, the D90 is not fully communicating with the SB-900 although it has the built-in Commander mode to control the flash wirelessly. Knowing this, the best option may be to use the Commander in manual mode (not TTL) when using the flash off-camera.

Nikon's new mirrorless cameras

Nikon has just announced their new lineup of mirrorless cameras, the J1 and the V1. The J1 and the higher end V1 come with an all-new 1" sensor, with a 2.7x crop factor. The new sensor format is called CX, and the new lens mount is called CX mount. This new sensor is significantly smaller than the Micro Four-Thirds and the APS-C sensors (shucks).

I think Nikon is taking a very big risk. It could trigger a backlash from Nikon loyalists, at a time when Nikon is already facing a declining market share. I think Nikon should have stuck to the DX format. Since the F-mount lenses can also fit into the DX-mount, many people would have happily bought into a mirrorless camera based on DX sensor and mount. By starting a totally incompatible line of CX-mounts, Nikon will be splintering its own customer base. Many Nikon DSLR owners will have no reason now to maintain undivided loyalty to Nikon. When purchasing  a small body DLSR system many will now start to look at Sony, Panasonic, or Olympus. Unless the new CX sensor is able to provide unprecedented image quality (very unlikely) and is proprietary to Nikon. Good luck, Nikon. All eyes should now be turning to Canon to see what they are going to do for a mirrorless camera. And I hope they will have the sense to stay with APS-C.

Nothing new under the sun

Ecclesiastes 1:9 says: "What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun"

The above is just as applicable to the internet. We can find answers to practically anything and everything.

In a way, the internet is like the supercomputer HAL in the Space Odyssey fiction. Armed with a smartphone these days, anyone could have his own HAL in his pocket. If one could travel 200 years back in time, and armed with a smartphone accessing the internet, he would be the most amazing walking encyclopedia around.

Cost of processing asylum seekers in Nauru

Tony Abbott proposes that asylum seekers be processed in Nauru. Julia Gillard's quick rebuttal is that it will cost the taxpayers AUD$1bil; therefore implying that her own Malaysian deal is less costly at AUD300mil. Now, take note that even though these figures are not well defined, Julia Gillard must be thinking we are a bunch of ignoramuses.

Let's assume that cost of living is a good indicator in this case. Just a quick check reveals that the cost of living indicator (where New York = 100) is 91.16 for Yaren, Nauru, and 71.82 for Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia*.  I can safely say that the cost, while slightly higher in Nauru than in Malaysia, is not three times, my dear Prime Minister. If you must exaggerate, please do it more plausibly.

* see: http://getrichfast.in/Chinese/nauru-international-cost-of-living-comparison-global-trends/