TechCOW - The Geek Within

I really have some inkling with African American women that I never could explain. I am Hispanic and Asian looking so it would be quite difficult for me to get a solid match in this side of the world. It is so amazing how technology today can span countries and goes through barriers which were actually so literally unimaginable a few years ago. Internet has been the best medium for romance; it makes everything look so easy!




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A friend of mine asked me this morning about the CANON 550 Rebel 2ti and frankly I did not know that much of it because I am a loyal NIKON user. I researched about it and found out that this is the greatest camera CANON has in terms of the Rebel series. This is the camera that they released to challenge the NIKON 7D in power and performance. The camera boasts of higher HD quality and resolution with the additional ability to crop videos on cam. Before I forget, this camera is at 18MP so you kind of understand how clear and crisp the photos would be.

I told him to get it but he was worried about what lens he should get. 50mm lenses do have very good depth of field and so does the 35mm. If you get the 1.4 aperture lens for the 50mm it will be well worth it for portraits and glamor shots. I have seen it also perform under low light conditions and it did get quite good photos too. This goes the same with the 35mm or with any prime lens at that fact. The only draw back I think is the ability for you to take the shot. On some instances you need to be a little near the subject before it focuses. Manual focusing is easy but then again it would not pick up what most sensors would be able to. I have seen a sample of the video capability and it seems that even the FLIP video can give it a run for its money. It has the zoom capability with the L Lenses they have but it looked so ordinary with the camera shake HD cameras still have. Is it worth the price? I don't think so. Would I choose this over the NIKON 7D? Not either... in the end what matters most is your preference and what you plan to use it for in the first place.

I have been downloading lots of games from different sources and it is not going to stop soon. I currently am a little addicted to MEGAMAN and the series he has for my console which is the PLAYSTATION PORTABLE. I love the game play and without the constant reminder I am a little old for this, I run out screaming for more ISO and CSO games. I could not kick this habit because when life found me I was already playing arcade games religiously. I championed several games when I was in high school and specifically no one can beat me in SAMURAI SHOWDOWN. I was a professional in STREET FIGHTER II but of course with the millions playing that game there are some who are better than me. Until now, I still have that gut feel to play this game all throughout my lifetime and I wouldn't be doing that by buying and spending thousands of dollars for a single machine. I turn and look for a search engine that would be able to get me information about these file types and the corresponding simulator so I can play anywhere, anytime!

I usually get them for free on sites like RAPIDSHARE, MEGAUPLOAD, MEDIAFIRE and FILESBAY.NET. I love how they can do this with options of purchasing a different connection for a couple of dollars. It makes you want to jump for joy every time you get a file off their servers and play it instantly on your computer or console. The rapidshare search engine also performs quite well under these circumstances. The comments sections that they have are also very helpful in determining what is safe or not for your computer. If all else fails, there is a torrent search engine you can go to so you can get these files from other people in real time. The live connections and seeds are all there for you to get! You just have to search for it and it's yours!

Since I was in the Hidalgo area last Thursday I had the chance to canvass for my well wished 35mm Nikkor lens. It did actually surprise me that it goes around 11300 to 11500 pesos which is a little higher than the one in MOA in Camerahaus. I had a slight feeling and urge to buy it from them but that simple price difference stopped me. Aside from that, a friend of mine from the same photography club took photos of me too using a 50mm plastic lens from the same manufacturer. I was impressed about the output just check these out!

See how creamy the bokeh is on this one?! I had similar shots seen from my peers who use the same lens and I must admit I like the way how it looks. I will be trying it out in a few hours from now because I will borrow the one my officemate is using. I hope the images turn out well. I had another shot but my small bulges were showing I wouldn't want you to see that LOL.

So the question is, should I go with the 35mm I was wishing for since I started all these things or should I go with the 50mm one which is way cheaper in price too?! Help!

I need a couple of files and music tracks so I could start editing my videos. I also need some templates and action files for PHOTOSHOP. The ones I saw on line were all being sold for a fee and I haven't been surfing that much to find the perfect treatments I have to do with the photos and videos I have right now. I stumbled upon a download forum called RAPIDSHARELIST.NET and it looks very promising. Now I have everything I need in one roof and even have other people to interact and ask when I need to do some effects but have problems with the software I downloaded. The latest music I enjoy is also linked there and I'm sure I would find the right song for my projects in no time!

There are a lot more communities that have some of the features that they have but this one is really complete. If I had to choose between paid and the free downloads that are available on that site, I'll choose this one and you know it!

I am actually downloading console games right now as we speak. This is just awesome!





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I had a wonderful time with my co photographers a while ago. We went to the camera capital of the Philippines called HIDALGO. I had this featured on my other blog here. But to tell you the truth I kinda hate the place because of the stench. The street though is full of awesome camera shops that would make the mall stores cry about their prices. My bro got this lens.


It's a Sigma 2.8 and it is really big and heavy. It is a sure way of getting those bokeh shots perfected and it evidently showed on his test shots. Although I could not post process them yet as of now because I have lots of things to do. If i finish these and the couple of restaurants I have for food review, then I will surely start post processing that for him.

Oh and did I mention that I already have the Flip Video Ultra HD on hand now?! Yeap! I'm so happy I got it this morning! I'm surely going to make more things with it including videos of our photoshoots and gatherings! Weee! ^_^

I'm trying to look for the perfect storage solution so I can get all my photos into one drive. I am an expert on network storage devices once and so I thought this was going to be easy. But you know how you also know the flaws on your own expertised device if there was such a word. I kinda am hesitant to buy this one because I have heard a lot of people complain about it already.

I am trying to look for more options as far as external storage is concerned. I need it to be portable and I need it to be ridiculously large since I will be archiving my photos on it. If the photography hobby would take me years before I get to the point of quitting it or handing it down to the next generation, then it would also be sufficient to say that I need a few terrabytes of storage and also one that I could carry around easily.

I think I saw some 1TB storage devices from western digital. This was also being marketed by one of our photography peers and I must say that design wise it was very sleek and cool looking. It had candy like outer covers on it so just imagine how much it would cost too because I see it generally expensive. I hope I get discounts for it since the guy from the photography magazine I frequently buy is now working there too. If they struck a deal then that would be just awesome!

Technological advancements in cars and trucks have been really a sight to behold in shows that I have been to in the last few months. I even have seen monstrous cars in a drifting championship circuit for amateurs and professionals in this side of the world. I was excited to see the trucks jazzed up with full body kits and large shiny rims while doing the drifts just this weekend. Everyone was at awe how this large vehicle was outperforming the ordinary cars too. I am not surprised if pretty soon some American cars like the DODGE would suddenly be in the event complete with awesome dodge truck accessories. I would love to shoot photos all day in the barriers but things were getting very dangerous as it was getting darker. They only had foam and a couple of metal strips as protection inside the circuit. Imagine these trucks spinning all the way in while we are just a few feet with these frail barriers. It was really frightening!

I love how the truck looks like now but in the near future I'm sure there would be more sponsors. They will get their trucks awesome door handles, all made of chrome; billet fuel doors and grilles. It is pretty hard to source these things locally. They can get it easily from on line stores like REALTRUCK.COM and it would really be better, faster and stronger in the track when the next lateral drift season comes!





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I am planning to get a Flip Ultra HD that would be able to get me 2 hours of recording. I also wanted to swap my Flip since I think I saw that it had no HD capability. I am going for HD since I am gunning for the clearer picture. I plan to use it for video coverage too so if I would be editing something like a wedding perhaps I would get crisp images on it like what I was thinking when I got one in the first place. Someone just gave it to me and making this on on HD via a short swap (because they prefer a MINO) is indeed going to be great!

The 8 GB storage would definitely matter and since it is dedicated it will regulate itself as far as battery life is concerned. If I use regular rechargeable batteries it would have 2.5 hours worth of recording but if I use Energizer we would have 6.5 hours instead. Now isn't that lovely! Hehehe.

It is so nice how the advancement of eye care technology here and elsewhere in the world has helped thousands of people who wish to get their vision back into its old shape. Famous Ophthalmologist Dr. Thierry Hufnagel has also been doing these procedures for a few years now in the STAHL Eye Center (an institution with 35 years of experience) and I am quite impressed with its results. It is both life changing and easy to do. I have some friends who already went into doing LASIK surgery and in about a day or two; they can already see clearly. Whoever made these surgeries possible should be granted knighthood in the UK and vested heroes and honors in the US.

I know there will be thousands that will benefit from this procedure. Most patients just have to endure a few days of rest and pain is very minimal. It is important though that you have to go to reputable clinics and hospitals so you do not have to go through the dangers of fly by night ones. This is very delicate and should be handled only by experienced doctors. I prefer those who graduate from reputable Ivy League Universities and the likes of John Hopkins, UCLA and Yale. If ever my eyesight gets worse soon I will consider taking this as an alternative to wearing thick eye glasses. I have to make sure I maintain great vision while I am still a professional. I wouldn’t be able to work efficiently when all I worry about is how to read or see my own work. Advancements in eye care should be immediately brought out to the public so that more people would benefit from it. Good thing STAHL Eye Center continues to bring eye care innovations to the world and does a pretty good job at it!



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Today I edited something on the FLIPSHARE Software that came with my Flip Video Recorder. It is performing quite well and doesn't hog that much resources on my computer. I plan to have this together with the Windows Movie Maker software on my computer when editing videos. The Flipshare software has some small problems particularly branding the video itself, the start and end credit function on it is too big and you cannot put that much content on it aside from that default text. The flip logo at the end was good though and you can choose to and not to use it. I have the option to add audio to it but since youtube and facebook detects problems with audio properties, they ask you to either remove it or replace it with whatever they have on stock. Without taking credit on the audio that is just one big drawback!

I want to do video editing professionally and will try to do it on this one first. Let's see what this would perform once I get to see events on it too. Low light performed okay but it is not like infrared that can see in the dark. It is pretty much just like the naked eye and for that, it seems okay.

My Aunt from Irvine is actually moving to San Diego in a few days. Aside from that, she needs to get her things packed so she can go back to the Philippines and spend a few months for a family vacation. I know how she worked hard for some IT corporations and it is high time she takes a break from all that stress. The manufacturers of home and small office networking devices (where she works) are located in the same area where she lives and the plan was to get some of her office mates to help her out. Then again there was Irvine movers on stand by so some of the high ticket items are going to be transported safely. I'm sure they did it nicely since my Aunt is happy when she called in.

I hope they do more good transfers just like the Carlsbad movers which I read off reviews on a moving site. They know what they are doing because they are professionals after all. I am quite optimistic that if she plans to move out again in the next few years (because this has been a habit for her in the last decade) it won't be quite a burden for her anymore. I'm sure she can handle it even if we're not that much available to help her. They did a good job now if ever she plans to have San Diego movers do the next one, I would be the last one to worry about it. Thank the heavens for moving professionals; they make life for IT workers like my Aunt easy as pie. Everything is high tech today anyway!





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I think there are already some smuggled IPAD's that got in the Philippines. I'm not surprised but I think the deal is they have these on open line so you can literally use them on other networks aside from the ones in the US like AT&T. I would love to have this for my photos so I could use it to my clients when the need arises. Most probably this would be beneficial for presentations but a cool second gadget other than a laptop. It is not a good substitute but is well worth to be a second gadget.

The current price range for the IPAD runs 37 thousand pesos for the 16 Gigabyte and around 47 thousand pesos for 32 Gigabyte. Most probably people will tend to run for the larger one because of the price difference. I wonder what generation of this device will come out in the next few months. As far as the kindle battle goes, it looks like this is a better device because it is colored but we would need to wait how it fares once the downloads over at amazon goes.