On The IV
I’m not one to get sick easily or even usually get sick, the flu doesn’t last more then two days with me, even with food poisoning I have handled it differently but this is something that took me down and kept me home for more then 5 days. Being stationary at home for five days didn’t stop work from coming home, too many things to do and a few people on vacation but still had some things piling up that needed to get done.
I caught a stomach virus from someone and the tough thing about it is that the doctor wasn’t sure which type was it, and they gave me a certain type of antibiotic and pain medication, worked for a few hours then later in the evening turning to an insane amount of pain which resulted in a hospital visit. After leaving the hospital at dawn I was hoping it would kick in quicker, but not until I woke up the next morning did I feel better. I have to say that even Mubarak Hospital is pretty well equipped and they have good people but they are overwhelmed. The recovery process is slow as hell and still recovering, the bathroom became my second home, and barely functional the first few days of the week. I didn’t even bother staying in communication online, wasn’t that coherent either, was just too exhausted.
Luckily I managed to catch up on a ton of tv shows, a ridiculous amount, but I know that work piled up for me when I get and I’m not fully recovered but still gotta to go in. The first thing I tried was a few different foods to see if my stomach had any disagreements but luckily two tests were successful but I’m not going to push my luck at all.
Recent Kickstarter Pledges – Piccolo LED & ORA IPAD SOUND SYSTEM
I have always been a fan of LED lights, but sometimes they are just too bright or not bright enough. Surprisingly the high quality LED desk lamps are a bit more on the expensive side, there are those that are cheaper but not that good quality. The Piccolo peaked my interest so I pledged for it, not just because it produces a warm light which is not meant to over power the ceiling lights, instead its meant to compliment it and the right type of light when you don’t want the lights above switched on. Also one other cool factor for me is that it is power by USB which I think it is a genius feature.
Link: Kickstarter
I use my iPad to watch a lot of shows and anime, the one thing about it that is annoying is the speakers, most of the time I’m using headphones which work fine but the iPad speakers are good enough for music and not watching media when you want it a bit louder then what its capable of. It looks like I wasn’t the only one thinking that, and that is the idea behind the ORA iPad Sound System. These people are passionate about sound and this Kickstarter project is an ambitious one, they are really aiming high with it. A perfectly fit case to make a great watching experience on your iPad.
Designed by a team that has created products for the likes of TDK, Intel, Vizio, and Nike, the aluminum case/stand packs eight front-spacing speakers (tuned by the former engineer lead of Bose) into the space surrounding the screen, giving you a far more immersive sound experience than you’re used to from your tablet.
Links: KickStarter
Vacation @ Home
There was one point in time where I was between jobs, so I had some time off and I took full advantage of it. I remember those days, I was getting a lot of work and errands done and meeting with a lot of people for potential work and yet having a lot of time to myself. I even remember riding during the week which was a lot of fun. That was a good time, but now it seems like a distant dream.
On The Back Burner
- Major Gaming – Halo 4 & StarCraft 2
- Playing the Games that are in still in their wrappers
- Watching Anime
- Cleaning Up My Office
- Catching Up With Movies
- Getting Some Computer Automation Done (Syncronization Details)
- Take A Cooking Class
Personal time is a luxury that I don’t really have, even sleep these past few weeks hasn’t been at the top of the list so there are days where I just crash, I just shutdown, even an earthquake couldn’t wake me up (I have slept through an Earthquake while traveling recently). I have been thinking about taking time off work for about a week and then telling everyone I am out of town and then just get things done at home while enjoying every moment of free time, but that probably won’t be happening. I would like nothing better then to abuse the internet I have at home, on this vacation I wouldn’t want to leave the house if possible except for Riding and food.
Riding In The Rain
When ever there is a chance to be out on the road we will be there and in this case it was a bit cloudy but that wasn’t going to stop me from going out on the bike. At least the weather was cool, we could ride without feeling the heat of our machines or the weather. It seems people thought it was going to rain so the roads were a bit empty and we got an early start to the riding on Friday and we were going at full throttle. This time around everybody who was riding with us is an experienced rider, just Duke was getting familiar with our style of riding but he is more then capable of handling himself and at times his skill amazed me.
Halfway through our ride it started raining, and common sense says to slow down but with all honestly a lot of common sense goes out the window when the streets are empty and our bikes are revving nice and loud. Duke is used to London weather so he is used to riding in the rain, so as I was pushing it he was right behind me while a few of the guys slowed down (Kubayashi). There is a lot of construction going on in the Shuweikh area and that is pretty much killing me at this rate, new holes to deal with. There is another route we are thinking about exploring but we need to check it out on an alternative day. But we were enjoying the lovely roads while they were empty and its becoming a habit that we end our ride at Q Cafe for a quick bite. On the next ride I’m going to try out the Canon G15, these were the last pics taken by the Canon G12 before that nasty fall that rendered it useless.
Continue Reading…
Nexus 4 – Hands On
I couldn’t wait to get my hands on the Nexus 4, after scouring Ebay for days after selling out. Luckily one Ebayer got his hands on it and was selling it for $475 in North Carolina when everyone else was selling it for $600+ so I clicked the Buy It Now without a second thought.
Firstly the box was very simple to open unlike the Nexus 7 situation, just a charger and wire inside with the phone nothing else. I was happy the phone was fully charged and once I signed in my GMail account it started automatically downloading most of my Apps. One thing that Android does that I like is that it also copies the wireless profiles from your previous Android devices so after the initial wireless connection it seamlessly connects to your wifi from previous saved profiles.
First impressions:
- I’m liking Android 4.2 Jellybean – Nice Improvements and Even Smoother
- The Camera is pretty good in low light shots
- The phone is light, I’m forgetting that its in my pocket
- All the Apps are working with it
- I’m loving the Keyboard
Its gonna take me a day or two to fully configure all the Apps I have on it, I keep using one thing and jumping right into and forgetting to configure the others. Do I think Google made the right decision with LG, well time will tell but as off right now I’m loving the phone and if you are a fan of Android phones then you will love this. I like the Samsung S3 but I’m loving the Nexus 4, the operating system just feels so clean and it just wants to be used. I’m going to write a full review at a later stage but for now this is my first impressions after one night of using it.
Continue Reading…
Review: Total Recall
A factory worker, Douglas Quaid, begins to suspect that he is a spy after visiting Rekall – a company that provides its clients with implanted fake memories of a life they would like to have led – goes wrong and he finds himself on the run.
They took an Arnold Schwarzenegger and modernized it, I was a huge fan of the original with Sharon Stone so I had high expectations for this one. The cast line up was excellent and the previews looked good An excellent cast, I like how it revolved around a man losing his memory that he is a top notch secret agent. A little twist on the story helps and the characters were a bit different, it also took place on Earth this time not Mars, but still a very engaging story, there was no dull moment. There was a bit of a few confusing moments towards the end, but I liked the character that Kate Bakinsale played. It was a fun story and engaging but the slight confusion towards the end threw me off, for any Scifi fan this is something that you will enjoy but everyone else won’t be too keen on it.
Link: IMDB
Rating:
Review: Inside Apple – Adam Lashinsky
INSIDE APPLE reveals the secret systems, tactics and leadership strategies that allowed Steve Jobs and his company to churn out hit after hit and inspire a cult-like following for its products.
If Apple is Silicon Valley’s answer to Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory, then author Adam Lashinsky provides readers with a golden ticket to step inside. In this primer on leadership and innovation, the author will introduce readers to concepts like the “DRI” (Apple’s practice of assigning a Directly Responsible Individual to every task) and the Top 100 (an annual ritual in which 100 up-and-coming executives are tapped a la Skull & Bones for a secret retreat with company founder Steve Jobs).
Based on numerous interviews, the book offers exclusive new information about how Apple innovates, deals with its suppliers and is handling the transition into the Post Jobs Era. Lashinsky, a Senior Editor at Large for Fortune, knows the subject cold: In a 2008 cover story for the magazine entitled The Genius Behind Steve: Could Operations Whiz Tim Cook Run The Company Someday he predicted that Tim Cook, then an unknown, would eventually succeed Steve Jobs as CEO.
While Inside Apple is ostensibly a deep dive into one, unique company (and its ecosystem of suppliers, investors, employees and competitors), the lessons about Jobs, leadership, product design and marketing are universal. They should appeal to anyone hoping to bring some of that Apple magic to their own company, career, or creative endeavor.
Like a lot of people I bought the autobiography of Steve Jobs after he passed away, but this book intrigued me at Heathrow Airport, it was the first one to feel like it really jumped into Apple’s secretive policies. I was expecting a book that would be bashing Apple nonstop for their tactics, but at least a view into Apple with a bit more perspective. This type of business book is relative only for a very short time and so I thought to read it within that time and just finishing it recently really was interesting. Surprisingly Adam Lashinsky praised Apple for a lot of their business decisions and how Jobs kept the entrepreneurial spirit in Apple going unlike many companies of it size. If you have any inclination towards Apple then you really have to read this book, I’m not their biggest fan but I do respect them and this book gives you more incite into them. An excellent read.
Link: Amazon
Rating:
My Canon G12 Bit The Dust
This is one of the final hits the G12 has taken and it looks like it was the last one. Canon G12 Series is heavy duty and can take a beating, but the other day I forgot that I left it on my bike jacket and pulled the jacket out of the car. It took a nasty fall onto concrete and I thought it wouldn’t work, but it worked fine but then it kept getting worse, the screen would only work if I pressed hard and took a picture, if I didn’t press on it the picture would be distorted too. I’m honestly very annoyed that I was careless, I have had this camera for so long and it has been best all round point and shoot I have ever had, and even now that I’m getting the G15 I still wanted to keep using the G12, I might be tempted to pick up a used one just because it really is that good of a camera. My G11 went out almost the same way so its frustrating to see these cameras just sitting there and the only place that fixes them is in the US and no where else.
What I’m Reading?
Posted in Books on 25 Nov 2012 at 10:24 am
The books I’m reading these days have nothing to do with each other and sometimes I just really want to read a book so I do. A long time ago I thought that I couldn’t read multiple books at one time, thinking that I can’t keep up with the story but turns out I just pick up where I left off, its surprisingly easy so now I do it more often, and this I finish more books then I would have before. This is the list of books that are currently on my reading pile.
Inside Apple – Adam Lashinsky
- Its not the Steve autobiography, and I thought it would take a more aggressive stand point, but honestly its an excellent look at Apple from a Forbes writer and very relevant. Books like these have to be read in the moment or a year later it would be dated, and its a pretty fun read since its like getting an inside view of Apple even though it is still so damn secretive.
The Jedi Path
- This book is for any Star Wars nut, so much information packed into it, you feel like your training to be a Jedi.
Ninja – John Man
- A Book about Ninjas, just couldn’t get any cooler, the original spies
007 Carte Blanche – Jeffery Deaver
- I have had it for some time, but jumped right into it after watching 007 Skyfall, can’t get enough of Bond, and the books never disappoint.
Nerd Do Well – Simon Pegg
- I’m taking this read at an easy pace, its a funny book about the life of Simon Pegg, he is a British Actor/Comedian, I do enjoy his movies.
Canon EOS M to G15
I’m a huge Canon fan and I have been using my Canon G12 for a few years now and it was a decent upgrade from the G11. I got the G1X which was supposed to be the top of the line monster from the G-line but it didn’t hold up to my expectations. The Macro distance was honestly disapointing, its fast but not as fast as the G12 feels so I didn’t use it as much. When I heard about the EOS M I was excited, a Camera from Canon that is the size of the point and shoot but with mountable lenses, and with an adapter you can use the Canon Lenses I have and that is what appealed to me.
After reading a few reviews they said that sometimes it took up to a minute for it to focus depending on the lens. That is a disaster, the first great mirrorless Camera from Canon and everything on paper said they got it right but if it can’t focus quickly then it would be pointless.
Now the G15 is here, and it is the perfect camera for my needs, fast focus, excellent macro, bulky and slightly smaller so its the perfect fit. A faster process so it takes better pictures, the perfect camera for my needs. Then there is the price, the G15 is $500 and the Canon EOS M is $850 and another $200 for the lens adapter to use the DSLR Lens on the Mirrorless camera. I was willing to spend $1000 for a point and shoot but it has to perform at that price, but in this instance the G15 wins on both price and performance.
Categories
