A New Computer

I finally made the plunge, after much deliberations on which parts to buy.  All thing considered, 15,100 baht wasn't too bad for an assembled computer: a case, two casing fans, CPU, mainboard, and power supply.  The new case is quite roomy compare to my old one, the new power supply will give enough power for my three HDDs,  and hopefully the new CPU will lasted me five years or more.  It is good that I can still use all my old RAMs.  That save me a few thousands bahts for not having to buy new RAMs.  It was temping though...  Maybe I will buy them when the 8GB RAMs are cheaper.  It will be probably be after buying new graphic card next year though.

Buying New Phone

After w810i and Nokia 5800, I am about to buy a new phone.  After waiting for a few months, I will buy Samsung Galaxy S II in a few days.

I choose Android phone over iPhone because I like the flexibility of it.  Plus the screen is bigger and the update is, hopefully, not long in the future (from Gingerbread to Ice Cream Sandwich).

With long holiday coming up, I will have the time to play around with the phone.  Rooting and maybe flashing it with good ROM.

Entering the age of 2TB

The time had finally arrived, my collective harddisks space is getting full almost to the brim. So it is time to break open my wallet and buy another harddisk.

I have been eyeing the 2 Terabyte HDD for quite a while now. And finally bought one today. Since my weekend start tomorrow, I can spend tonight moving files (almost 750GB worth of... stuffs... notti stuffs mostly and TV series). Windows 7 would made moving files a lot smoother than XP. The actual physical change of harddisk is not my favorite thing to do but it needs to be done...

Hopefully things will goes smoothly without a hitch.

New Curtains and Reading Lamp

Last week the photo-developing shop next door left their spotlights on all day and night, all weeks... Unfortunately my room is right next to it and my room got lit more than that I would like when I was trying to sleep. After I went to the shop to complain and got wrods that they were fixing the electrical panel and no one dare to mess with it.

I called my mom and asking for advice, while fantasizing how I would shoot the damn lights if I own a gun. She recommend a more peaceful solution, a new thick curtain to block out the light. As it happens I planned to visit HomePro to look for reading lamp. So that when I read in bed and ready to sleep, I could just switch the lights off without getting out of bed.

When I finally have a break on Monday we meet up at HomePro. The results? New deep red/brown velvelty texture set of curtains that completely block out the light. It claim to also block out heat too. Although when I first hung them up, I felt that the ventilation seems to cut down a bit. But the curtains still blown when heavy wind blew in. So far I am quite happy with the curtain, it really block out most of the light and make the room nice and dark.

Initially I thought about getting a desk lamp to put on the bed. With the idea that I don't have to get up to turn off the light. My mom veto that idea with the reasoning that it could be fire hazard. There was only one model of adjustible floor reading lamp. It looks quite alright, all chrome finish modern looks with dark bulb cover with reflector to reflect down all the lights. I choose the warm tea colour bulb instead of the harsh white. I placed it just behind my bed on the floor.

Overall I love the new setup. Now I could read, or maybe even play a bit of DS game in bed with the reading lamp on and then just turn off everything without getting out of bed :)

The New Member in My Electronic Devices Family

After much considerations and wantings, I finally succumb and bought a Kindle, a 3G one no less.
The reason is that I like to read. I began to read more novels than before and reading
it on my computer is less than comfortable. I did considered buying the tablet but since I planned to buy new phone anyway, I figured that I could do the things I might use the tablet for, such as web surfing, IMs, music player, and video player, on the new phone. I better get a dedicated e-reader with long lasting battery and not draining the device with reading while traveling. My Nokia 5800 was almost completely drained when I read PDF on it for about 2 hours...

Also the 3G on Kindle is free and internationally connected. Therefore I will be able to get on Google Map with Kindle regardless of the Wifi availability. Which happens while I was in New Orleans.

I loaded up many books from my collections onto my Kindle and even purchase the Arabian Nights one from Amazon store because it was well organized version of the ebook. I also apply the screensaver hack so I can use my own pictures as screensavers. The screen quality is really good at displaying all the different shades of gray from the colour pictures I added. I will be reading a lot for a while, until the release of new interesting DS games :P

250 to 1000 :)

It was more than a year ago since I last replace my harddisk. IT was ComMart show time so I went to buy it there.

I end up going on Saturday. Arriving at the show I felt a little light headed, I guess because I haven't eat yet. So I went to the food court area to eat. It is my policy not to shop with empty stomach. I feels that I would be more objective on my full stomach :)

I eventually bought the 1TB harddisk, an external box and power cable, all from different shops. All to replace the 250GB one. Then I went to check the Adidas sales like usual. I do like some of shirt but nothing really caught my interest.

After I got home, set everything up for transfer, and fire up the computer, something wasn't right. I heard buzzing sound coming from the computer case. It took me a while to figured out which fan made the sound. I eventually figured out that it came from the power supply. I was not happy with this. Since a new one usually cost about a couple of thousand baht for a reliable one.

It keep buzzing the first night and I have to turn off the computer after unable to fall asleep due to the noise. I decided that if it still buzzing by Monday, I will take it to an IT mall to buy a one power supply. Luckily the buzzing stop, I guess the fan was finally spinning in the right way.

It was the right decision that I went to buy the harddisk on Saturday. This allow me to fully enjoy my 4 days off this week. I really need these time off.

The Delayed Inevitable

It has been finalized. My move will be postponed for a couple weeks in lieu of new computers being deployed. The idea is for me to monitor if the new computers will have any problem or not.

This news made me happy. As this also help me finalized my weekend plan to go to ComMart fair. So I will probably buy the 1TB disk, since the price has come down to about 3,200 baht. Which is significantly lower than the 1.5TB one at 5,050 baht. I am slightly worried whether my power supply can handle all these large size harddisks. If it doesn't then it will be a trip to one of the IT mall to buy new power supply. Luckily I have taken leave day next week which will make me have four days off :DDDD. I certainly need that.

The Actual Move

Due to some circumstances, I think my move will be push for a few more days. This is not my doing, since I have finish on my parts, but the IT manager. Not that I mind nor complaining :pp

But it is still inevitable. I would like to know the definite soon though. Since the ComMart fair will be held again from July 2-5. I need to know when will my weekend be. So I will have time to go to that fair and buy new harddisk along with the external box so I can transfer my data after the switch. That way I only have to open my case once and be done with it.

I know that I am just whining now but I need an outlet to whine otherwise I would have gone crazy.

I also went to see Transformer 2 today. It was an ok movie. I sensed some flaws here and there but it was not too glaring. The 'Bay Bang' was numerous and sometimes, in my opinion, excessive. The camera sway too much or move too fast sometimes and focusing on the expensive special effects of the robots. Overall it was worth the money. Next will be Harry Potter 6 :D

A Tearful Remedy

I have been feeling down for the pass several days. I would usually feels a little better if I gets to cry.

There was a time when I was really upset about something and I feels better after I got to really cry in cinema watching 'Nang Nak'.

So today I decided to watch some videos that I have that would make me cry, I was successful. Then I also got to cry a bit over Oprah's show about puppies mills. And again over something on TV which I forgot.

In total, I cried or shed tears three times since afternoon. I think I now feels slightly better after relieve some tension with crying.

I also buy some Euro money today, finally, as well as complete my sneakers order. That also help too, I think. I do understand how people find spending money feels quite therapeutic. I suppose it gave you a sense of control and power to be able to buy whatever you desire.

I like shopping for groceries, especially when my mom still haven't moved out. I will call her and ask what she would like me to buy and add a few of my own into the list. All of which will be cooked by her later. Nowadays though, I just buy various fruit juice to mix with my protein shakes. Occasional shower gels and shampoo and that's about it...

Anyway, I really needs to go to bed now... This week could be my last week at my current office. I better tries to savior the moment. Although I will be visiting again at least once a week...

The 24" Delivery

The monitor I ordered finally delivered today. The delivery truck came in morning instead of the afternoon, which is ok for me as well.

Now it looks triumphantly perched on my new desk. Everything fit nicely XP detect the change right away and change the resolution automatically, which is nice. I think it will take some adjustment to using it. Everything have more space to moved around. Video files looks a lot bigger now and more TV like. Although many of the video files are a little too small for resolution this size and turn slightly blocky but it sitll nice to be able to watch them this big. I would have to turn the brightness level down a bit to save my eyes.

All my high price purchases are all done for about a year or two, not counting the traveling cost.

The New Phone

I finally bought new phone today. As planned, I bought Nokia 5800. Although I bought the red one instead of black, because they ran out of the black one.

I am happy with the big screen. But, for being tout as music phone, there is no button that directly play the music. I also have trouble making Garmin software works. Other than that I am quite happy with it. If only I have more reason to use it :p I do enjoy typing SMS more now, with the mini QWERTY virtual keyboard of the phone.

With bigger screen, it means that I have to redo most of my video conversion and upload larger wallpaper images from my collection. I am still learning how to best utilize it. Hopefully I will not have to change it again at least 2 years later.

The Desk Arrived and Now Waiting for the Monitor

The desk and the leather chair was delivered this morning. I was worried at first that the desk might be too small for the new monitor but once it is up to my room I can see that it will be just right. If not I still could shift things around to make room.

The chair is really really nice. I have made the right choice of the chair to buy the more expensive one for better back and head cushion. Although it did not tilt backward and stay there like the one that I looked at.

I also made the order for Dell monitor. It should arrive in 7-10 days. Can't wait :D

The weather also getting really really hot. It's like 39C in my room, right now. I also shutdown my computer when I am not in the room as well, to make sure it will not overheat. This Summer is Really Really Hot.

First Chunk of Purchase

I finally went to the furniture showroom and purchase the desk and the leather chair, office stlye, to put my computer set on. Oddly enough, the chair is more expensive than the desk :P

I am finalizing my decision on which monitor to buy. I have not found a nice one from Samsung or LG just yet but I have found a nice, relatively cheap one of Dell. I have also got a price quote from Dell as well for LED monitor. Which made me wondering what will LED screen looks like but after reading up soem review cnet.com, it wasn't that much better than LCD screen except for energy consumption aspect.

I think I will probably goes for Dell. The price is cheap enough and Dell have good gaurantee. I will have to decide before Sunday before they close the order.

Perception of Expensiveness

I realized that my sense of "Expensiveness" has change a lot from when I was a kid. Although not by much and I think I do think in relative terms more.

Even now I do find some certain things *expensive* for 100 baht, while at the same time think some certain things are cheap for the same amount of money. Thinking back when I was a kid, I saved up my allowance to buy an SD gundum figure. It was almost 200 baht and I did thought that it was Very expensive but I just could not resist.

Now I am considering spending 30,000s baht on new mobile phone, 24" monitor, new desk and leather chair. It made me shuddered how much I am planning to spend, considering that I will made a two weeks trip abroad this year as well.

Although these purchases will be of items that I will use for more than 5 years (except the mobile phone perhaps), it still make me feels uneasy about buying those. I think it is a good thing that I still maintain this reservation about money. It means that I am still quite grounded and not lost touch with reality yet.

I will probably buy Nokia 5800 in a couple of weeks.

New Item in my Home

This is the first times that I own a large electrical appliance, though I did not buy it myself. My mom gave me her old refrigerator.

She had bought a new bigger one as this one is not big enough anymore. Since she live quite far from the main road, she wants to stockpile more groceries. So I have got a hand-me-down fridge :P Which is nice, it is not that old yet. It not as big as the one we currently have, which is enough for my usage. It is about as high as my chin so it is not a large one.

I now kept my juice boxes in there. Now I am thinking about stocking some fruits and some snacks in there as well. I just bought a 6-packs of Pepsi Lemon today :)

Today I spend my day outside of my room, which is nice. I went to check the price of mobile phone at MBK mall and found that the price has gone down about 1,000 baht from its initial release. I will buy it soon, I think right after I am done with my bank statement for my visa application. I am sick of the current state of my smalltalk cable. I will just have to wait for about two weeks more.

Mobile Phone Reflection

To take a break from the mentally exhausting topic, I will post about my relationship with mobile phone.

About 10 years ago, when I started to earn my living, my mom began to push a pager for me to carried. After that I have a PCT, a quasi-mobile phone that connected to the home phone but with worse reception. I used to despire owning a mobile phone, thinking of it as an invisible chain that will yank by other people.

Now that I use w810i as my main music player, I hardly left home without it. On a contrary to one of my friend's behavior. He often turn his phone off or divert his calls, he sometimes even left it at home. He prefer SMS over call while I am totally the opposite. Maybe that will change once I bought Nokia 5800.

Right now I am barely tolerating the condition of my smalltalk cable which broken inside and need to be in particular position to make sound on both side of the headphone. I planned to buy it after I have got the statement from my bank for visa application. Which means that I will mostly likely buy it in May.

The price has drop about one thousand baht since its release. Added that to the fact that there should be some newer released, the price should come down nicely by the time I buy it. I can't wait to buy new phone...

Finalized Price

The price of the mobile phone that I am planning to buy, Nokia 5800 XPreessMusic, finally been released. The initial price will be 13,520 baht.

This should means that it might goes a bit lower at unofficial shops. Hopefully the price will drop a bit more in May, since that's when I planne to buy this phone.

The price came from Nokia's official website so it is the official price release. I cna't open that exact page yet... Perhaps I have to open it from home.

Anyhow, I am happy that it is this price. It is moderately price and I am sure that many people will be happy :)

Shopping Dilemma

I am seriously thinking about buying new shoes and mobile phone. The shoes is, of course, a more pressing matter.

The shoes in question, is my work shoes. I current work shoes is of the brand 'Stonesheep'. I first buy it, partly because my younger brother said it is a good brand with good cushion. I tried it and it was nice so I buy it (at sales of course).

Presently, somehow my left foot create a hole in the cushion. The company refuse to replace it, saying that they will have to take them apart to replace it. I was told this after they have the shoes for two and half months for repair. Needless to say I will not be buying this brand anymore.

I am tempted to buy the Hush Puppy brand but it very expensive, even after the sales, which will end on November 23rd. I prefer the shoes with soft cushion, heels, maybe a little decor and most importantly, easy and fast repaired process.

I am tempted to buy Taywin brand again, it was my first dress shoes I ever had, which I got it when I enter university. But even Taywin brand is not that cheap either... The Stonesheep shoes that I bought was about 1,200 baht. The ones that I like from both brands are way more expensive... I should also added that I do not like them That much. Otherwise this decision will be a lot easier...

My cheapest option is to buy another cushion pad to replace the one I am using and already tored it at the same spot... I do not like this option because it make the shoes felt too snug fit for my taste. I still have a few days to decide at least. If not I am sure there will be planty of sales events in December.

Although I am still quite happy with my w810i, I am itching for a newer mobile phone. I am not resigned to the fact that my next phone will not be Sony Ericcson w902, which was panned as overpriced and underperformed. I am still deciding between Motorola ZN5 and Nokia 5800 Xpress Music. ZN5 have better camera and perhaps sounds but 5800 have better designs, has touchscreen, and video record capability.

There are still time to decide on this, obviously it will be next year before I made the purchase. Hopefully the price will drop some more or newer models will be released.

Buying Sneakers and Repairing My Work Shoes

I spent about 15 minutes investigating the sneakers I wants to buy. It was a good thing because the one that I want, with the color that I want, is not available in my size. I, however, found another cool looking one with higher flooring and a bit sturdier looks but it string tied sneakers and not the velcro type that I would prefer. I do not wants to fiddling aroudn with shoestrings but it seems that I do not have a choice.

I wants a black color pair, but the one I wants only available in brown and light brown, and too big in size or too small. I sort of made up my mind, about 90% already, and I will make the purchase after work. Then I will take my work shoes to the brand's store for repair right away.

My Second Camera

Tomorrow I will go to ComMart fair and browse and, may, purchase my second digital camera. I have narrowed down to two choices, between Panasonic Lumix FX-33 and Ricoh Calio R7. Hope to be able to test them both myself tomorrow at the fair. And I must not forget to buy the universal adapter for the extension so I can charge my electronics (DS Lite and mobile phone) while in London.

Today I had paid my ticket and got my confirmation. I have also found the sneakers I wants to buy but I will wait till I check out JJ market this Sunday before making the purchase.

It is nice to have an activities filled time.