Made in Hell, Worn in Heaven

It's the state of business today - look for a country that offers cheap labour, set up shop and start the human conveyor belt to churn out products that are now cheaper to produce, sell them at inflated prices and rake in the profits.

Nike did something similar, and got slapped on the wrist for the exploitation of cheap overseas labour. The company said they've stopped this practise, and everyone was happy again. Nike's profits wasn't particularly affected too. A win-win situation.

So imagine my surprise when I spotted this inside a shoe - Made in Hell, Worn in Heaven. Perhaps an allusion to the sweatshops that produced these sneakers for rich consumers?


These sneakers were on sale. RM29 a pair. Yes, that's twenty nine Ringgit a pair. Quite a drastic price cut from the original price tag of RM179.

I sure hope these shoes weren't made in sweatshops. Exploitation of cheap labour will continue. I can yell all I want for better quality of life, but the world isn't listening. What I can do is to focus on MY life and make sure I live it, and not let others live it for me.

Taking care of business

My desktop on the iBook

This is the desktop on my faithful iBook. It's almost three years old and it's chugging along steadily. Since I see my desktop daily, I wanted to use it as my vision board. If you've read The Secret, you'd know what's a vision board.

So for a few months, I had a Mini Cooper wallpaper. After a while, it didn't work out for me because I wanted to put more things into my vision board. So I looked on the Internet for an application that would let me add tiny photos onto my desktop, and I found Photo Desktop. The latest version isn't free, and with our exchange rate, it's much too expensive. So I decided to do it the hard way, and turned to Pixelmator that I bought during the last Macheist.

But before that, I used Photo Drop to create borders around my vision pictures. Photo Drop is a widget that lets you add visual effects to your images, such as Tape and Pin that you can see on my desktop. I then used Pixelmator to combine the wallpaper and the vision pictures created by Photo Drop. And now I have a nice wallpaper AND have my vision board at the same time.

Other things I did to my desktop:

I keep my morning affirmation displayed on my desktop using Geektool.
CoverSutra gives me a quick glance at the music I'm listening to.
I keep an eye on my system resources with iPulse.
And use StickyWindows to keep TaskPaper always within reach for quick access.
Finally, the desktop wallpaper calendar is from Smashing Magazine.

The Work Table

Heather Champ style.

We try and try, but we hardly see our dining table.

Watches and guys

My first watch, the earliest that I could remember, was a Mickey Mouse watch. Mickey's hands were the hour and minute hands, and I wore it all the time. Then it was a steel Citizen digital watch that I wore for years before losing it on a beach during a hiking trip.

What is it about watches than makes men lust for them? Why are there magazines on watches?

Unlike women who have accessories to adorn themselves, men only had their watches. And men can only wear one on their arm. Well, if you're a rebel, you could wear two. But it is that single watch that men wear to differentiate themselves from the rest of the crowd. Why else would you find men wearing watches that were larger than their wrists. The larger, the shinier, the better.

Watches can be generally divided into two groups - Quartz and Automatic. I believe quartz watches are the majority because the mechanism is cheaper to produce and they keep accurate time. Automatic watches on the other hand have complex gears and springs that are powered by the movement of your arm, and aren't as accurate so you'll have to readjust the time occasionally. Naturally it didn't take long before the line between Quartz and Automatic watches are blurred and now there's a third group, the Kinetic watch, a Quartz watch powered by the movement of your arm.

It took me a long time before I appreciated the wristwatch. I prefer the Automatic watch because I admire the engineering behind the complex mechanism that allows the watch to be powered by my arm. There are no batteries yet it keeps time. That amazes me.
This watch is fine for normal situations. But a guy also needs a watch that can keep up with him when he's in the great outdoors. Able to be with him when he's scaling mountains, and fighting rapids.

When I'm in these situations, I wear my Swatch. Some may recognise this model because it's a gift from a HSBC promotion a few years ago. It's a surprisingly tough and reliable time piece that's survived freezing temperatures at Mount Kinabalu and the bumps and grazes from white water rafting.

So when a guy decides its time to get a new time piece, it's an important decision for him. It doesn't only keep time, it also defines him to society.

Moleskines etc.

Moleskines are very expensive in Malaysia. Not many can justify spending over RM50 for a small notebook. Now that the exchange rate is much lower, how come Moleskines still cost over RM50?

I use my Moleskine mainly as a journal, but recently several other interesting notebooks are popping up in bookstores. One in particular that I especially like are notebooks from Grandluxe. I found them at MPH and also at Borders. They're much cheaper than Moleskines at around RM12-RM14, depending on which type you buy.


These are 2 products from Grandluxe that I like. The top one looks exactly like a Moleskine, but the cover looks rubbery. This is called the monologue Ruled Notebook. I haven't used this yet. But I did use the bottom one. It's a sketch book variety, and it's called the monologue Soft Sketch Book. I used this during my trip to New Zealand, and it was really useful. I liked the band that stretches across the middle of the notebook. It helps keep everything inside and not fall off. I like it so much that I bought another one as a backup.

I'm glad Grandluxe realise people want something more in a notebook. Sure there are cheaper notebooks out there, but how else can you explain sites dedicated to notebooks like Moleskinerie, Notebookism and Black Cover? (disclaimer: I added the link to Black Cover because there's a contest going on there, with a chance to win a Rhodia notebook.)


I probably won't buy another Moleskine... unless their prices drop. monologue notebooks suit me just fine. They're cheap (relatively) and good, and that's a rare combination.

Disney sneakers, and they're affordable!

The last time I visited Add-On at Queensbay, I was pretty put off by the high prices of Disney merchandise. But at our recent visit over the weekend, I was surprised by the price cuts. There was nary a sign boldly proclaiming "SALES", but clothes that were previously more than RM80 were now selling for less than RM40, and shoes that were RM199 were now selling for RM60.

Which was why SP "ter-buy" this awesome looking sneaker.

An outing at Pulau Jerejak

I decided to join the company outing last Friday in my attempts to recover from my slump. We were headed for Pulau Jerejak with plans for a paintball session and a go at pretending to be a flying fox.

It was my first trip to Pulau Jerejak and I didn't know what to expect. The ferry ride to the island was rather pleasant. I didn't get seasick, and everything was very orderly. Once on the other island, we had a pretty good view of the Free Trade Zone.

I couldn't sort what I felt. It wasn't a particularly attractive view since it's an industrial area, but I also felt an tingle of elation because I felt a disconnect from what the area represented - work.

So I decided to focus instead on the sky, which was quite attractive.


I didn't have any photos of my paintball session. Too bad, because I was particularly aggressive. The rules were, if you're out of ammo, you out. If you're shot, you're out. I certainly didn't want to go out without a fight, so within the first minute, I had claimed my 2 kills. Each kill was delivered by multiple shots to ensure without any doubt that it was a clear kill.

As I was preparing for my third kill, I got shot! In the head! I was pretty surprised because I was pretty sure I was hiding behind a wall. It was only later that it dawned on me that the "wall" was actually made of foam that didn't offer any protection.

Anyways, it was then time for the flying fox part. We had to cross a suspension bridge.


The flying fox was rather short, but thrilling. I wanted to go for seconds, but I wasn't allowed.

It was a fun trip. Tiring, but fun. I can't wait to have another go at paintball.

Patriotic

Cross-processed

Giving VLC a new look

Quicktime on the Mac doesn't let you playback popular Internet video files such as Xvid or DivX. Although there are plug-ins available for Quicktime such as Perian to support these files, I think the best and least problematic solution is to install VLC.

Most of the time, VLC works much better than Quicktime on my iBook G4. If there was one thing I wish I could improve upon VLC is how it looks. And thanks to the information at MacThemes, I can now turn the plain VLC from this:

to this - the Black Pearl skin.
Installing the skin is easy. First, download the zipped file from MacThemes. Unzip the file and you'll see these 2 directories.

This pretty much explains everything. Now go to your Applications directory where you've installed VLC.

Then right-click on VLC and click Show Package Contents.


Then just replace the files as instructed in the zipped file.

The skin still works on the latest version 0.8.6h VLC. And if you want to revert back to the default skin, just reinstall VLC.

Guardian of the door

Lomofied RAZR

These shoes are made for walking

Lomofied 838pro.

Today

I am disgusted by how work has taken priority in our lives. Yes, I realise we work for a living, but it's becoming clearer that we are living for work. Today I am told about a question posed by an interviewer at a certain multi-national company.

She said, and I'm paraphrasing here, "Do you plan to have children? Do you realise that many people who have children do not have the commitment at work. They have longer lunch hours, go home earlier and cannot put in the time for work."

This is clearly discrimination. How can our worth be judged by how much we can sacrifice for work?

Lomo - Got the film!

Back in SP's home town, and she found some film for my LOMO LC-A. The film is pretty dated... expired in 2002. Anyways... it's still worth giving it a try.



It took me a while to load the film... I guess I'm a little rusty. Now the film is in the camera, and it's time to adjust the ISO on the LC-A. I decided to go for ISO50 to compensate for the deteriorated film. Maybe it's gotten less sensitive to light, so setting a lower ISO might help out a little.

Next... to take some lomographs.

Old friends at Telok Tempoyak

SP and I arrived early, so we went on the wooden bridge that extends way out in the sea. Both of us don't swim, and I was really nervous about walking on the bridge. It didn't help that as we went further out into the sea, the wood seemed more worn with numerous gaps where wooden boards have rotted away.




Quite possibly the last shot we took before the sea turned rougher, and the sky got darker. I thought a storm was coming, but as most things in life, what you think might happen may not happen at all.

6 years ago - Top of the world

Moments like these come rarely - when you're struck dumb by the awesomeness of life.

Trying something new

This is a poor attempt at recreating what Heather Champ has done on her site.

LOMO LC-A - Finding myself

I am a different person from who I was a few years ago. 3 years ago, to be a little more precise. Back then, I was tearing down hilly slopes on my mountain bike with nary a care in the world, and every thing around me was an exploration of my artistic eye to be captured on film.

I'm not going to talk about who I am today, but I do know that I want to recapture that zest that I've lost. And my first step is to rummage through my closet to find a long lost friend, my LOMO LC-A. This was the camera that rekindled my love for photography, and led me to buy my first digital SLR. What better way to find myself than to start from the beginning.


The LOMO LC-A is no longer made. At least not in its original form. Even so, I'm not really sure how "pure" is my LC-A. The LC-A stood for LOMO Compact - Automat, a compact, unassuming, simple automatic exposure camera from St Petersburg, Russia. It would have probably faded in history if it were not for the marketing skills of the people behind the Lomographic Society. They made the low-tech camera attractive to people who have gotten jaded by Japanese automatic cameras that produced sharp, focused, accurately exposed photographs. Retro was cool, and the LC-A with all its retro gears and capacitors became cool.

However, all good things must come to an end, and the LC-A is no longer made in Russia. Like many of today's corporations, the production of the LC-A has been moved to China and is now called the LOMO LC-A+. The "+" is added because some subtle tweaks have been added. One addition is the MX slider for multiple exposure shots. Multiple exposure is possible with the original version, but is made much easier on the LC-A+. Perhaps the most radical change is the support for lens accessories on the LC-A+ with the addition of grooves on the camera.

Now that I've dusted off my "original" LOMO LC-A, it's time for me to exercise my artistic muscle. First, I have to get some film, and that's my first obstacle. Film...

A quick trip to Tesco and I came back empty handed. Tesco used to sell store branded film, and I wanted these since they should be cheaper than the branded ones. Nope, no luck. Tesco doesn't sell film any more. A peek at the Kodak Express store, and I balked at the RM11 price tag on the Kodak Max 200 film cartridge. It seems that film prices hasn't dropped at all. I guess I should be thankful that prices haven't increased because so few people use film nowadays.

I try looking around in KL on my next visit. Maybe I'll score some cheaper priced films there.

Converse and Pallas, a tale of two shoes

The purple Chucks.

The last time I wore canvas shoes was in my primary school days. Then came Nike and Reebok with their high tech shoes fitted with pumps and air cushions, and slowly canvas shoes weren't so attractive anymore.

Fast forward some 20 years and I find myself wearing a pair of canvas shoes - the Converse Chuck Taylor All-Stars, or as fans would call them, Chucks.

I didn't specifically look for Chucks. I actually wanted a pair of Pallas shoes, that in retrospect, look very similar to Chucks.

As I'm wont to do after any purchases, I did some research online and discovered the rich history behind Chucks. It seems that many Americans grew up wearing Chucks and today, they're still attracted to them. It's probably due to nostalgia, but it could also be because Chucks have a down to earth appearance. It's simple and reminds people of simpler times. It also doesn't hurt that many famous people wear Chucks and that Chucks appear in many movies.

This led me to wonder. Why didn't the Malaysian made Pallas shoes achieve similar status in Malaysia? They look like Chucks, even down to the pattern on the soles. Most Malaysians would have probably worn them when they were young. Perhaps the only difference is that no rich and famous Malaysians wear them.

Chucks on the left, Pallas on the right.

It's quite a shame because the Pallas Jazz-Star is every bit as attractive as the Converse. It's definitely not as well made nor quite as comfortable, but at RM24, it's a good compromise.

My red Pallas Jazz-Star

Maybe it will take 100 years, as Converse celebrates its 100 year anniversary this year, before Malaysians begin to appreciate our very own, home grown, ever fashionable, ever humble pair of canvas shoe - the Pallas Jazz-Star.

I did my part. I bought a pair of Pallas Jazz-Star to complement my Chucks, and enjoy wearing them every day at work.

Wish I was back there