August 27th, 2008 01:17pm
peterjang73
It’s no surprise that Canon has been doing well. Along with Nikon, Canon has been very busy pacing along trying to stay on top of semi-pro market. And they have been doing well. Now, they have a new monster out and it’s called Canon EOS 50D. What is so special about this camera other than its insane 15.1 MP sensor?! But Nikon has its monster handy dandy… it’s the new Nikon D90. Sure the sensor is only at measly 12.3 MP 
but…
For one, it’s the first semi-pro digital camera to have HD video capability! I can’t afford this stuff but I evidently have a lot of aspiring/semi-pro photographers and they all carry one! In addition, it’s promised with same low-noise performance as the higher-end DSLRs! Wow…
I’d get into this hobby if it wasn’t for 1) high cost and 2) the size! You can’t just lug this thing around when you have 2 kids! But anyway, I wanted to share this exciting bit for my photonut friends out there! 
August 21st, 2008 01:26pm
peterjang73
* Picutre belongs to Iacoski Design
I’ve always been a fan of Datsun 240Z and Nissan 280Z/300ZX series… Now, Nissan brought awesome GTR (though controversial with unfair horsepower reporting) to the fans…
Then I found these mouth-watering awesome concept designs on Datsun 240Z/Fairlady! If you recall, 240Z had long hood and was fairly quick to its feet in its time. I really hope that they bring this to reality… ’cause I’d buy one in a heartbeat! This is also reminiscing of 240SX, also known in Japan as Fairlady. Click the picture or head to Autoblog for more pictures!
August 18th, 2008 04:50pm
peterjang73
Gizmodo has a poll out….
So do you use electric or manual shaver? I use manual ones with replaceable blades. I know my dad and my brother both use electric… I just never gotten used to or liked the electric ones. Disposable ones have always been too crude and rough on your face. But the manual ones with replaceable blades have always been the best compromise, I feel…
What say you?
EDIT: To clarify Carlton’s point, no, I wasn’t referring to the old fashioned long blade. I mean the newer multi-blade manual shavers. 
August 1st, 2008 01:05pm
peterjang73
I have found my Gadget of the Year! What is it? A small company called P3 has made a device that measures how much watts any device uses when plugged into it. It’s called Kill A Watt, and appropriately so!
For only $15, I found out how much power everything uses… even when it’s OFF! Yes, friends and family, even when it’s turned off, devices still suck out power. For instance, I found out using this device that my TV and DVD player along with the PS2 and my laptop, uses 40W of power when off. The church laptop uses that much when plugged in!
I plugged in my vacuum and no surprise, it uses 1600W! Yikes! But what was the biggest surprise was that my coffee maker uses 1000W!! It must be that hot plate but dang! Lesson learned? Drink the coffee soon as it’s made, and TURN IT OFF! This device will help me to figure out what devices need to be unplugged and what is ok to leave it plugged in, what to turn off as soon as it’s done, etc. Electricity bills are high already… get yourself one to save money!
July 30th, 2008 12:41pm
peterjang73
I love any food, especially meat, smoked. And like many, there’s a good reason as to why.
We all grew up being a bit pyromanic… right? Didn’t we? Well, I know I did. 
I remember memories of making my own fire crackers… putting two matches head to head and wrapping the heads in aluminum foil and heating up the foil, you had instant crackers.
However, what was even more memorable was my visits to my grandparents’ place in Namwon. It is (at least it was when I was a kid) a small town about an hour away from Chonju, Soojin’s hometown, and 5 hours south of Seoul. Back when I used to visit, they still cooked food using wood. Rice was cooked in this big black pot that sat on top of fire. My (beloved) grandma used to let us feed wood to that thirsty fire, and my brother and I didn’t care how hot it was, we just kept feeding the fire to it.
Soon enough, I developed a strong liking to the smell of burning wood. When crop was good, there’d be days when my uncle would bring in peas and after they are dried in sunlight, we’d set the whole thing on fire and eat the cooked peas inside the pods. Boy were they good!
So every time I eat or smell either smoked food or burning wood, I always reminisce about the old days. Things were much simpler then… Cooking in fire was even cooler at night. Shucks… I wish I could relive that moment.
July 23rd, 2008 12:39pm
peterjang73
As some of you know, I had written an article on the cowboys and western movies and their impact on me. Well, I have also grown huge interest in sci-fi as well since I was a kid! So needless to say, if Clint Eastwood is the badass of the western genre, then Patrick Stewart is the badass of the sci-fi genre. Who the heck is he, you ask? Well, to the sci-fi nerds, he’s better known to us as Jean-Luc Picard. That’s Captain Jean-Luc Picard to you, by the way.
Capt. Picard was the captain in the The Star Trek: The Next Generation. Sure I liked the original, Capt. James T. Kirk. Capt. Kirk had his … interesting … pauses… in … his … speech, and a way with the ladies, but Capt. Picard was the leader. He made the whole concept of being a leader so amazing. Stern when needed, yet quite approacheable, Capt. Picard made me want to be a good leader.
Sure, you can laugh at my admiring a fictional character, but Picard always had a class and a way about his actions. I sure do miss the TV episodes… shucks. And of course, Patrick Steward did an awesome job creating the character. I still imitate some of his famous lines… “Engage” “Make it so, #1″.
Here’s to you, Capt… to the final frontier!
July 22nd, 2008 11:28pm
peterjang73
In this day and age, everyone wants things brand new. While that would be nice, it just doesn’t add up a lot of the times… especially if it’s technically aligned items. Their values hold worse than a car!
So what’s a guy to do? Be thrifty, that’s what. Koreans (in Korea) look down on buying used stuff. I disagree and good chunk of Americans disagree as well. What’s wrong with paying at least 1/4 to 1/3 off just because it’s been used a bit? I’m not ashamed to admit that I buy used things.
However, you can’t just blindly go buy things… you have to use your brains still. So here are some of my own tips.
- Check weekly ads (best comparison site is www.salescircular.com)
- See what they go for online and retail (My fav. site for that is www.pricegrabber.com)
- Then look for how much it goes for on eBay and Craigslist. (remember, Craigslist is under .org and not .com!)
- See who has the best price.
- Last but not least, I love one particular online forums site where there’s a LOT of FS (For Sale) traffic… Anandtech Forums.
Some safety pointers…
- Check seller’s feedback on eBay. For other sites like forums, there’s feedback system called heatware.
- If it’s too good to be true (on eBay and Craigslist), it’s very likely that it is.
- If you are buying/selling something locally, try to meet at a common public places to buy/trade!
- If you are selling something online, be sure to get good estimates on SHIPPING cost!!
- Sometimes, it IS cheaper to buy at retail stores!
- Set a price you want to buy it for and stick to it!
- You can haggle online forums and Craigslist.org for lower prices but be reasonable!
- When selling, avoid eBay. Sell via Craigslist first to avoid listing fees, selling fees, AND PayPal fees!
- If selling online other than eBay, and you take PayPal, setup a separate PERSONAL account and only accept non-credit card payments (otherwise, Paypal/eBay take another 4 to 5% of the fees!!
In the end, just use your head and common sense… :) Happy hunting!