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Right. So this will be a review of sorts for this keyboard.

I'm at work pecking at the keyboard for a good 12 hours a day and my wrists are pretty much crying for relief. The main culprit here is of course the nasty office keyboard made in hell. Designed to give your wrists the fullest amount of torture possible, they are mass produced and are shipped globally with all new pc's.

Light typing is fine but when you face your pc for long hours every day, you begin to realise that your fingers and wrists aren't made up of bendy bits of rubber and they sure can't bend it like Beckham can. Nor is it as straight as the rows of alpha numeric keys on the keyboard. Take that and compound it with bad keyboard habits (pressing and holding the control key with your pinkie comes to mind) will kill your wrist faster than you can type whodunnit.

Enter the world of ergonomic keyboards. They're designed to suit the contours of our hands and can range from a couple of bucks to hundreds (Kinesis Countoured Ergonomic Keyboard comes to mind). Trawling the internet for ideas, I narrowed down my choices to two, the Logitech Wave and the Microsoft Natural Keyboard. I was initially leaning on the Logitech as I wanted the unifying dongle seeing as I already have a Logitech mouse. 2 peripherals and one dongle equals one more usb port (hurrah!). But a quick visit to the local tech store in Low Yat Plaza yielded nada. They weren't in stock. Not a single store there had them. And you're supposed to be able to find just about any IT peripheral there. How about that?

In the first shop I entered, I saw the whole range of Logitech products on display except for the Wave. Asked the sales person and I got was a blank look. Perhaps he couldn't comprehend the word ergonomic. Maybe if I told him I wanted the most expensive keyboard money could buy, he would've been more helpful. Who knows?

After searching for a few more minutes, I threw in the towel but on the way out, I decided to stop by the Microsoft section to try my luck once more. Again the sales man there wasn't very helpful. All he knew about keyboards were if they were wired or wireless. Where do they get these people?

But then I saw it. Tucked away in the lowest shelf was the only ergonomic keyboard there. Unfortunately, there weren't any demo units to test. So there's no way to actually find out if the spacebar is that difficult to actuate (it is. but it depends on where you strike it). So I made a mental note of the price so that I could revisit it in the event I couldn't find an alternative. A couple of stores later, I found the same model selling at a slightly lower price than the first shop but with the Wave nowhere in sight, I decided to take it home with me. Stiff spacebar or no stiff spacebar.

Got back, opened the box and man, is the keyboard huge. Its substantially large than my current one at home. It comes with a wrist rest which is rather handy as you can use it to elevate it so that you're typing at the correct angle. The keys feel kinda mushy though. There's little feedback from the keys and the keys don't register until you reach the bottom of the keyboard (bottom out). I suppose that's why some people go for mechanical keyboards. Plenty of short cut keys on the keyboard with a next to useless zoom rocker in the middle. Who uses that anyway? (a quick hack turned it into a more useful scroll rocker instead. thanks unknown keyboard warrior!). And the spacebar is a wee bit stiff but its not all that hard to use. Its not like you need a hammer to actuate the spacebar...

Overall, the design is pretty good but the real test will be done in my cubicle. Whether or not paying top dollar to reduce wrist fatigue remains to be seen but I remain hopeful...

Another family gathering at my place.
As usual, I pulled out all the stops for this one since my gears were close at hand. :D
Experimented with several lighting setups and camera placement and as usual, the low light caused the camera's auto-focus to misbehave. I'll probably have to find a permanent solution to this but for now, I'm stuck with having to pre-focus before shooting.



Defying gravity.



Power punch!



Power split!



Ryan putting on his cute face.

After putting up with driving at night with dim head lights, I decided that I couldn't take it anymore. Something had to give. So I turned to the interweb and found three solutions: i) Change the bulbs to aftermarket ones which are brighter but have a shorter lifespan (RM120) ii) Replace the halogen bulbs with HID ones which are waaay brighter (RM160) iii) Retrofit projectors into the headlamps (RM480) Now, the first option is the cheapest but for a wee bit more, I can get a HID kit which is brighter than the any of the aftermarket halogen bulbs. But there is a problem. HID kits which are fitted into normal headlamps are glaring to oncoming traffic and it is a known fact that the local enforcement (JPJ) are on the lookout for this type of modification as it is illegal. So the only feasible option is to retrofit the headlamps with projectors.


CCFL in action.

After more hours of research, I decided to go with EA Autowork's retrofit due to the competitive pricing and their reputation. Similar retrofits can go as high as RM850 and although they use a higher quality projector, in my books, the price gap does not justify the difference. Plus their projectors are bi-xenon with CCFL lights and the price is inclusive of the HID kit.

The whole process was pretty simple. Dropped Howie of EA Autowork a personal message, set up an appointment and rolled in to get it retrofitted. The whole process took about 1.5 hours as the headlamps needed to be opened. No modifications was done to the stock headlamps so I can return it to normal if there is a need to.

By the time the retrofit was done, it was already nightfall. The best time to test out the new projectors then. :D The lights now are significantly brighter and with the high light on, I can see even further than before. Perfect for those dark roads and annoying pikeys with glaring headlamps breathing down my neck. I'll just let them overtake, switch on my high light and follow behind them.
Have a taste of your own medicine!

p.s. Workmanship was top notch. Everything was sealed back perfectly as there was no condensation in the lamp on cold mornings.

After driving the Iswara for a almost a year, someone pointed out to me that the tyres were over 6 years old. (!) Although the tyres still had thread on them (about 70% left), rubber hardens with age which reduces grip. Not wanting to find out the effect of driving with old tyres, I went to the a trustworthy tyre shop along Jalan Ipoh (Kean Lee Hin) to get them changed.
New tyres and rims. I had initially wanted to upsize my wheels to 14 inchers but at the spur of the moment, I went with 15". I paired the new rims with Kumho KU31 195/50/R15 tyres. At RM190 a pop, they weren't cheap but the performance isn't too shabby either. Dry grip was good although it doesn't perform as well in the wet while road noise is minimal. Overall, the performance was substantially better than my old tyres. The whole process took almost 2 hours from the time I got there to the time the car was ready to go. Overall I'm please with the car's new look as well as the service provided by Kent.
Another angle.

Not that this is a review of sorts but I love this machine!
But don't get me wrong, I'm no coffee addict. I drink coffee whenever the mood takes me so having this at home is easier than me having to drive out to the nearest Starbucks to get a cuppa.

The only downside is that it doesn't do iced beverages and the choices of beverages are limited to 4; Latte Mocchiato, Cuppuccino, Espresso and Mocha. We now have more varieties (!).

I guess the guys Nestle has finally decided to add several other flavours to their lineup (What took them?). Best part is, we now have iced cappuccino although all the other drinks need to be served hot. Oh well, maybe next time we'll have what the Americans have eh? 

Just the other week we were on a 'hunting' trip for hogs. We kicked it off at the Hungry Hog in Subang Jaya. The pork burger (it goes by the moniker: Three Little Pigs) was sinfully good. It is stuffed with bacon, ham and a pork patty. Awesome combination of all things pork. Served alongside with chunky cut fries and a salad, it makes for a satisfying lunch.



Three little pigs @ The Hungry Hog Subang Jaya

Dinner was at Euro Deli where we were supposed to tackle the Matterhorn.



It didn't seem that big from the pictures but trust me, it's bigger in real life. Thankfully we came prepared and brought backup, 6 guys in total, to take on the Matterhorn. You might think that 6 is way too many but we just barely managed to finish it.

After this stint, I'm swearing off pork for at least a week.



The Matterhorn


Pork powah!

The old workhorse finally kicked the bucket due to a broken ribbon which is a common problem for the Nokia N95. After being fed up with repairing the phone so many times, the broken ribbon was the straw that broke the camel's back.

Ironically, several days before I was reading reviews on the Samsung Galaxy SII. Its funny how things work out.

The new phone is miles ahead of the old one but the only problem is its terrible battery life. Medium usage will see the battery empty itself slightly over 12 hours. Of course, light usage will get me through a whole day and then some but then again, hardly anyone with a smartphone will use the phone just to tell the time. The only workaround was to buy chargers and make sure the phone remains charged throughout the whole day.

A new toy dropped into my lap the other day courtesy of Canon Malaysia (Thanks Canon!). :D



Took it for for a quick spin around the house and from the initial impression is pretty good. The flash output is probably one stop less as compared to the 430 EX II but it loses out in terms of the flexibility in rotating the head.

Another gripe is that the settings cannot be adjusted on the flash itself but must be controlled via the camera's in built menu. On the plus side, it offers ETTL or manual control on the power but again, one mus go through the menu to set it although I've read that the newer bodies (ie. 60D & 7D) can control the flash remotely.



Also, the AF assist isn't the red grid, it's the retina searing flash burst (great way to annoy those who you don't really like because you can blame the camera for it :P). Not very discreet and definitely not subject friendly unless your subject is impervious to flashing bright lights in which case, they'd ought to be seeing a optician.



As for now, I'll probably use it off camera rather than having it sit on my camera as the 430 EX II allows me more flexibility even though the 270 EX II is lighter.

Entering 2012 with an attitude.

Merry Christmas to all and Happy 2012.

Its always nice to sit down and catch up with your old mates from college. The reunion was small but no less interesting. So much has changed over the years but one thing still remains, our friendship still remains as strong as the good old days.

Also had a chance to take Anthony's 60D out for a spin. The camera was definitely an upgrade from my current body and is similar to the D7000 I tested earlier although I must say that the swivel screen came in pretty handy at times.

Had an amazing BBQ at Vincent's place last week. Rang up the usual suspects as well as some friends whom we haven't seen in a while. Everyone was very polite and mild manner during the evening but all hell broke out as the night progressed. Throw some beer into the fray and watch the party come to life. :)

Usually the bane of BBQ's are the lack of food but not this one. Food was aplenty with no less than 100 chicken wings in a bucket and ready to be grilled by our sous chef; Richard. I myself had a good time by getting into everyone's faces and taking their mugshots. :D


The main course.


Our sous chef.


David getting 'high'.


Our 'Bersih 2.0' couple.


Candid shot.

A tiring day out and my first photoshoot outdoors.
Its funny how we like to plan how the day's events would turn out only for it to completely go absolutely haywire later on.

In the midst of all the chaos, I was preoccupied with getting the settings right and missed out on the little details such as the exchanging of rings. At one point, I totally forgot about the flash sync speed which left me scratching my head on why only one quarter of the picture was lit. Fortunately I figured it out but the strong sun wasn't helping my cause. Thankfully, the clouds rolled in and gave me some wiggle room. Next time around though, I'm going to work with the sun and get myself a reflector instead of trying to overpower it with a strobe.

The D7000 was a joy to use especially its autofocus mode which was very advanced compared to the prehistoric dinosaur which is employed by my Canon. The large viewfinder was a joy to use too. Switching from the Nikon to my Canon was like trying to compose a picture through a blinkers. Unfortunately I didn't manage to use the 70-300mm much which was regrettable as the bokeh was pretty nice although at 300mm, I was so far away from the couple that I had to resort to using hand signals to communicate.

In any case, congrats to both Billy and Jojo and thanks for putting up with my test shots throughout the session which was probably took up about 20% of the shots taken. :D

Some of the better pictures that day:

Did some testing the other day to see if the DIY stabiliser worked.
What's the best part about the stabiliser?
Its totally free!
Check out the video to see how it fared.

Did some impromptu shots around my workplace as my colleague wanted a new FB profile picture. The lighting was tough as I could only work with one on-shoe flash which meant getting creative in finding ways to soften the light. Of course having an umbrella available would have been nice but I left it at home. Plus this short photo shoot wasn't planned so I had to make do with the available equipment.

Despite the lack of equipment, I'm pretty pleased with the results. :)



Reaching in.




The best portrait of the lot.

It was a toss-up between the PS3 and Xbox but I ended up with the Xbox because the PS Move was pretty expensive in the long run.

The Xbox package came with the Kinect and a free kinect game; Kinect Adventures which was good but not brilliant. Thankfully I bought the Kinect Sport which was more engaging than the Kinect Adventures. However, it has to be said that a motion sensor can only be so accurate. Certain moves like smashing the ball does not really translate well into your avatar's actions. Nevertheless, it was still great fun as you don't need the controller to play.

All you have to do is to jump around and wave you arms like a mad man. :)

Another year, another wedding and another chance to practice. Besides, the 17-55mm f/2.8 needed breaking in so it was the perfect opportunity.

Needless to say, my keeper rates were pretty low but at least I managed to get some pretty decent shots from the wedding.

D7 @ Sentul East is indeed a work of art especially when its bathed with a soft purple spotlight at night. However, for security purposes I never really went and photographed it. But since I had my cousin tagging along this time, I decided to take a stab at it. At least when I'm busy shooting, I'll have someone to cover my behind in case some mat rempit decided to pull a fast one on us.

The shooting went without a hitch. Even the guard who came over out of curiosity didn't stop up so we carried on for a few more minutes before calling it an night.

A few days back we were having a family gathering at my place and as usual, I was the un-official family photographer. Not that that minded though because I could finally test out my new gears (an umbrella and light stand) on my family members. (Cue the evil laughter).

Teenagers are pretty easy to work with as they don't really mind having their pictures taken. Some of them even relish having their pictures taken. The older generation were adamant of not having their photos as they were worried about their wrinkles and crow eyes showing up in the photo. The only consolation they had was that the pictures were digital so if they didn't like it, they had to liberty to delete it.

Working with off camera lighting was rather challenging especially when you are using two strobes. Gravity nearly killed my 430EXII as the silly umbrella was too busy being seduced by the light breeze to care about the poor speedlite. Thankfully, my cousin managed to grab the light stand in the nick of time. Otherwise, I'd be looking at a pretty hefty repair bill.

Since I only had one light stand, grabbed another cousin to hold the other strobe while pointing in the general direction of the subject. So with one cousin taking care of the light stand while the other was holding the strobe, I set about increasing my shutter count.

On hindsight I should have bought the lens hood as flare was appearing everywhere in my photos. But then again, the lens flare was the least of my problems as the camera was an absolute pig at focusing in near darkness. In fairness, I wasn't terribly great at manual focus but having the lens hunting for focus was driving me up the wall. So I had to shift the subject to somewhere brighter.

A new body might solve the problem but then again, I'll probably get a Canon ST-E2 to solve the issue. The other alternative would be to pack an portable light source to light the subject so that the camera can focus accurately.

It was a run of the mill department lunch and as usual I lugged my gears along. Got several shots of my colleague and then I tried to mimic Dave Hill's post processing which didn't go too well since I only had one flash to do the heavy lifting rather than a gazillion lights going off at once. After all, imitation is the highest form of flattery no?