General

All Souls’ Day

Today is All Souls’ Day which commemorates the departed in general as opposed to yesterday All Saints’ Day which commemorates those who have attained sainthood. But strangely, the whole bunch of people went to cemeteries yesterday on Nov 1 instead of today. Probably it was because Nov 1 is usually declared a holiday.

On any ordinary day, I don’t like going to cemeteries, a childhood full of horror stories and flicks sort of ruined it all for me. Plus the reality that many cemeteries here are overcrowded with the dead. But Nov 1 makes the cemeteries overcrowded with both the living and the dead. And it is the living who pretty much completely spoil whatever remaining charm cemeteries may have. They turn what would otherwise be a solemn and somber memorial into a raucous and rowdy circus.

Besides, I like to think the dead are up in heaven rather than under the ground. Or maybe in hell, in which case I don’t want to have anything to do with them.

Old Spice

I used to use Old Spice. Mainly because my dad used it. Later, I found that girls whose dads wore Old Spice liked it. That’d be quite a few of my friends and acquaintances. But even back then, it had this reputation of being an old spouse‘s scent. But I’ll be if these Old Spice videos didn’t make it even just a wee bit cooler. I use Old Spice.

Butterfly

I sometimes bring Jeanne with me when I go out in the morning to fetch the car from the parking building. It’s a good opportunity to spend a few extra minutes together before leaving for work and for her to breath some fresh air and soak in some sunlight. I also get to show her things along the way. This morning we saw a yellow butterfly as it fluttered randomly around one of the pocket gardens between buildings. Reminded me of back when I was a kid we when we would go around the garden catching butterflies. It was a fun experience (though not for the butterflies) and I hope Jeanne will be able to experience it.

Wherefore Art Thou Samsung Galaxy S?

Globe supposedly has the exclusive right to sell the Samsung Galaxy S but I’ve been to several Globe business centers and I haven’t seen one. One business center told me it’s not in stock. Another told me it’s on reservation basis with a possibility of delivery in 1-2 months (vs the Apple iPhone 4’s 1-2 weeks). Yet another told me it has been phased out. What is the story really? I wonder if Globe was required by Apple to sell so many iPhone 4s that they’ve decided to curtail sales of its most potent competitor.

Nokia N8 First Impression

Had the chance to play around with a Nokia N8 display unit. Build is very good. The body is mainly made of anodized aluminum. It’s not stainless steel but it’s reasonably tough. The display is covered with Gorilla glass so it should also be tough. Even the plastic ends and port covers seems to be of a durable material. No flimsy rubber here like that on the E51. It comes in many colors but no black. Only a watered down dark gray.

The camera is great. The main selling point of the N series has always been the camera and it doesn’t disappoint. The lens is Carl Zeiss and it has a Xenon flash. It is good for general purpose shots and even has macro. The shutter is a two-stage focus then shoot button. It also takes 720p video at 25fps. There’s supposedly a hack out there that makes this 30fps. The trade-off is that the camera module is quite big and significantly protrudes from the back.

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