1 TERABYTE?!? HELL YEAH!!!

Flickr announced a few days ago that ALL users would be getting 1 terabyte of space for pictures and videos FOR FREE. Great news.

I've had a Flickr account since around 2005, when this blog started. I got a 2 year Pro Account once, as a gift from some friends I met via Flickr. Then last year I got a three month Pro Account as a gift from Flickr. At that time I backed up all photos from the site, anticipating the time I would return to the normal 200mb account.

For those not in the know, Pro Accounts gave you gigabytes of space and all your pictures could be viewed. The normal account gave you 200mb a month free space, plus only the latest 200 pictures you posted would be viewable.

Now no more problems about space. I can post as much as I want, and I can view all the pictures I've uploaded. It's just a shame because whenever I went back to the normal account I used to delete pictures I didn't "like" anymore. So I've lost my fair share of pics from Flickr. I know I backed them up on a CD-R or DVD-R but I can't seem to remember where I put those pics.

So a big thank you to Flickr, and to Yahoo (who own Flickr if I recall correctly). My passion for photography is growing back.

The downside to the 1 free terabyte is all the people who subscribed for a Pro Account recently. What happens to their purchase? Do they get another terabyte?

Out.

Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX7 (Sorta) Review

Early this year I bought myself a belated Christmas gift. It was a Panasonic Lumix LX7 (or LX7 for short). I've used it quite a bit since, and I can say I am extremely happy with its performance. Here now is a very unofficial review.

Please take note that I have barely scratched the surface of its features. I prefer either shooting in intelligent Auto (iA) or Aperture priority (A) and not fiddling around with anything else.

First off, let's check out the aesthetics. It looks great, it's white (because the shop that sold it had no stock of black, though I don't mind), it's easy to carry around and the buttons and knobs are easy to reach. It doesn't feel flimsy or fragile, but I have no desire to put its durability to the test.

There's also a switch on the lens that allows you to choose the aspect ratio of your pictures, from 1:1 all the way to 16:9. I usually just switch between those two, but for those interested, you can still have 2:3 and 4:3 aspect ratios.

Second, the performance in iA. The images are clear, crisp, and beautiful. Autofocus is fast, and so far I have no complaints about how fast it takes pictures. Macro is also decent, and the "analog" zoom (because I forgot the actual term) is also nice. I don't really need digital zooms so 3X magnification is just right for the type of shots I take.

Third, the Aperture priority performance. It's almost similar to iA, except digital zoom doesn't work here. I think. I prefer using this setting since this is the usual setting I used when I was still using my DSLR. I just need to read the manual to figure out how to use the manual focus. The picture below was shot in Cebu using Aperture priority. I have resized this image to a smaller size from the original image.

Fourth, the SCN mode. This I just discovered this weekend while quickly skimming through the manual. Specifically the panoramic shot. I love it. You have four options, left to right, right to left, down-up, and up-down. No need to take a shot, twist your body, try to get good synch with the previous photo, and keep repeating. You just have to pan or tilt the camera and the camera does the stitching for you. Really amazing, and you can still fix exposure and white balance levels before taking the shot. Here's a sample of the panoramic down-up shot, taken in Tagaytay. I have resized the image to a smaller size.

Fifth, image playback on the LCD. Images are crisp, the LCD has a decent size so you can clearly see the images and words.

Sixth, user-friendliness. It's pretty decent to figure out the controls without using the manual if you're a camera buff. But there are still a lot of features you probably will miss or improperly utilize if you don't read the manual. Don't be like me. Read the manual.

Seventh, video quality. Full HD 1080 videos, little to no pixellating, and great quality audio. Perfect for taking home videos of precious memories I want to remember. It sounds cheesy, but it's true. Below is a sample video I took of a plane landing. Of course I've edited the resolution so I could upload it to youtube, but the quality is still great.

Finally, my conclusion. This camera is worth every single peso I paid for it. I am glad I bought it, and I already have plans to buy a filter adapter for the lens and a PL filter to improve my landscape shots.

My biggest "beef" with the camera is the lack of a manual focus ring. That's the only thing I miss from my DSLR days - the ability to control the focus with the twist of a ring. The manual focus controls are a bit slow, but I rarely use it with the good autofocus.

The three biggest threats my LX7 has right now, if I had the money to get another camera similar to it, are the Olympus XZ-2, Fujifilm X20, and the Canon G15 in that order. The XZ-2 because it HAS a manual focus ring feature. The X20 because of the neat looks and the built-in viewfinder. The G15 because I still have a Canon flash that I can mount on that camera.

Fortunately, I don't have spare cash to get a new camera. AND more importantly, I am very pleased with the LX7.

Definitely a buy.

Out.

And Now for Some Relaxing Stuff

Early April my family spent a long weekend over in Shangri-La Mactan.

One of the best weekends we've spent. The resort was beautiful, the beach and the pools were nice, and the food was great. It was the perfect weekend getaway.

So now for some highlights.

• Black Pepper Squid in Cowrie Cove. This was the best meal I had in the resort. I'm serious. It's just the best. It was delicious, the squid was not tough, and the pepper gave just the right amount of oomph.
• The man-made (?) beach. Not sure if it was man-made, but I loved spending five to six hours a day there. My parents and I would arrive around nine or ten in the morning, and we'd leave there around three in the afternoon. Then I'd spend time with my wife in one of the pools, since she doesn't want to get tan.
• The service. Quality hotel with quality service. Worth every centavo paid. I never felt that the greetings the staff gave me were forced in any way. They were all warm and friendly.
• The relaxing mood. What else can you do there but relax? Wake up early. Have some buffet breakfast. Get back to the room to freshen up. Hit the beach. Grab some lunch in the beach. Get back to the room. Go to the pool. Have dinner. Sleep. Lather, rinse, repeat.
• The free toiletries. L'Occitane branded soaps, shampoos, and lotions. Wow.

Of course there were some lowlights.

• My daughter got sick with tonsilitis. The doctor's fee was expensive, and my wife and I got quite a scare until after she got checked up.
• The price. Yes it was worth every penny, but that doesn't hide the fact that it was expensive to stay there. Had it been cheaper I would have asked my mom to spend an extra day or two more.
• Inaccessibility. My wife and I never left the resort. We could have taken the shuttle or the taxi into Cebu City, but the resort was pretty far away. So we just bummed out at the resort.

That's about it. It's a shame I had to write about it only now, a few weeks after we spent our vacation. Maybe next time when we go on another vacation I will write about it as soon as I return to the "real world."

Out.

No Comparison

When you hear older people say that they had it tougher during their time, when you hear that our generation (and the succeeding generations) are "quitters" because they never experienced anything harsh, is it fair? Can you really compare it?

I think not. Times change, and situations change also. You cannot compare how life was like when you started working twenty years ago to the time I am experiencing now. Why? Because the people that surround me are not the same as the people that surrounded you.

So why I am writing this? Because I am honestly nearing the end of my straw. I don't consider myself a quitter, but I don't consider myself stupid either. My emotional state is being greatly affected by things I can easily point out, does this make me weak if I want to cut ties with it? No.

The only thing preventing me from shedding this source of negativity is the fact that I haven't found an exit plan yet.

But another thing is making me wonder, perhaps it's all me? My lack of self-confidence, my lack of a backbone, could those be making me this neurotic person I am now? Do I think too much?

I have no idea, but I do know that based on how I see things, I was set in this path with very little room for error, and very high expectations. Either from myself or from others. But it isn't helping me out one bit.

Perhaps I bit off more than I could chew? But even if I did, I asked for a way out as early as January, only the asnwer to my request left me stuck between a rock and a hard place.

So I guess I'm a quitter, if I push through with my plans, right? Nope. Because I never quit on my family, and I am looking for better opportunities so we can live a better life. I've been patient the past five years, always being nice and trying to negotiate for things I feel I earned. I never got them, so I guess that makes me stupid. I've been denied at least four times I can remember, and I still stuck to my guns.

I just need a new opportunity.

Out.

Stuck in a Quandary

Quandary - "A difficult situation; a practical dilemma."

I'm stuck in a quandary. I've computed my family's monthly budget. I've computed it with all major, mandatory, monthly expenses (including putting some money in our savings account). The sad truth is we are not earning enough.

This is not right. I promised myself when I was younger that once I started working I would earn (or make, if I decide to go the entrepreneur route) enough that I would not have to compromise the lifestyle I grew up in. Neither will I compromise the lifestyle I wish to give my wife and daughter.

Don't take me wrong, we don't live any extravagant lifestyle. I just want to be able to take my family out every weekend for a good time and eat some good food. I want to be able to take my wife out for dinner once in a while. I want to have enough spare cash available that I can buy some stuff I want, whatever that may be. And I want to be able to pay for whatever needs my daughter may have - education, health expenses, hobbies.

Right now I can't do that. Even if my wife and I combined our earnings, it's not enough.

What sucks is my wife already has a part-time job. It's stressing her out so much that I find it frustrating that I can't even be the main breadwinner in the family.

On the bright side, I didn't factor in my wife's income from her part-time job in our budget. Meaning there could be a little more leeway. But I do not find that acceptable.

I want to earn or make enough money that my wife and I don't need to look for other sources of income. I want to earn or make enough money that we can afford to live totally independent, with enough spare cash to take nice holidays, buy cool stuff, or learn some hobbies.

The only way to do that is to find a better paying job, or move abroad. And I am seriously considering both options.

Out.