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January 22, 2007

Canon EOS 40D

Posted by xtian001@gmail.com at 05:50 PM

canon-eos-40d-webpage.jpg
Canon Hongkong site "mistakenly" placing 40D on their products page

Canon has the started the public rumor-mongering again as Canon's Hongkong site "mistakenly" the placed the Canon EOS 40D on their product line-up (page is already down but view image above). The Canon EOS 40D would serve as the replacement for the Canon EOS 30D which is an 8 MP camera. No pictures/ photos have leaked yet but then, that's not what is important. What are the specs of the new Canon 40D? A lot of speculation has been going round; 10.1 MP, Self-Cleaning/anti-dust sensor (much like the 400D), DIGIC III. Again, these are just rumors and don't have any basis at all.
 
My take on this, well, I've used the EOS 300D, 350D, and now using the 400D (though I'm not really in the mood to shoot nowadays- actually wanting to sell my 400D). These were/are the entry-level DSLRs for Canon so I really could not compare it to the 20D or 30D and 40D. However, what I would expect from the Canon 40D would be an upgrade that would surpass the 400D in many ways. I think the rumored specs would be true as they are the next logical progression especially if you compare the 30D to the 400D. I'm hoping that the sensor would be bigger and much better metering.
 
Anyway, the Canon 30D was released almost a year ago (September 2006) so we should expect the Canon EOS 40D to be released by that time.
 


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January 18, 2007

Amazon Shipping to Qatar

Posted by xtian001@gmail.com at 02:52 PM

You can apply for Amazon Prime which gives you Overnight shipping within the US for $3.99.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/subs/primeclub/signup/main.html/

You pay US$79 per year. Although you can share this with 4 other members. Amazon says that they should be in the same household but through experience, it doesn't matter where you ship your items; can be of any shipping address. So if you divide it to 4 people, you pay less.
You may also want to check your account in Amazon, then go to Manage my Amazon Prime. Amazon often times gives you a free trial of 1 -3 months using Amazon Prime. Just make sure that after you sign -up (for free if ever) that you go back to your Amazon Prime Setting and choose non-automatic renewal of membership after your trial expires.

Now, for US/UK delivery to Qatar, I suggest you use Aramex Shop and Ship. Details here...
http://lifeonthespot.com/blog/2006/11/aramex_shopship.php

Basically, once you apply for Shop & Ship services, they give you an address in the US/UK where you can send your stuff to, then Aramex delivers it to Qatar. You can pick up the items in their main office. The article also explains how it might even be faster and cheaper to use Aramex Shop & Ship instead of using Amazon shipping directly to Qatar.

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January 11, 2007

24 Season 6 Premiere

Posted by xtian001@gmail.com at 12:09 PM
24.jpg
Keifer Sutherland is back. I mean, Jack is back! Yes, Jack Bauer is back!

We last saw Jack being tortured in a Cargo vessel sailing for China last season of 24. A lot have surmised that the next season (well, this season) would deal on how to get Jack back from the Chinese. Apparently, it wasn’t so.

Fox’s 24 season 6 would start with a 2 night 4 hour gut-wrenching, action-packed, addictive premiere next Sunday and Monday (January 14 and 15). A lot of publicity has been going out for TV’s most successful TV series. And reviews from those lucky enough to be given DVD copies of the first 4 episodes, this might be the best yet; even besting last year’s Emmy-winning (Best Director, Best Actor, Best in Drama Series) season. The DVD will eventually be released by Fox as a special DVD which contains the first 4 episodes plus a preview of episode 5. However, somebody must have shipped the copies a little bit early in Asia and we suddenly get the episodes available on the Net almost a week ahead of it’s target premiere date. Everybody was surprised at this and were quite apprehensive downloading the episodes at first, thinking it might be a fake release. Eventually, it came to be that the leaked episodes are indeed copies from the said soon-to-be released DVD. Now I’m not sure if this is a marketing ploy by Fox but I really don’t think so. 24 already have its fan base and don’t need to preempt whatever they have planned out. Studios usually do ship out soon-to-be released DVDs in Asia ahead of the US release to sort out any problems with customs and the like.

Anyway, after almost a week of trying to ignore it, Mavis and I took the plunge last night. We agreed that we would just be watching 1 episode as we have to sleep early. So we did. Time passes by so quickly when watching 24 that when it finishes, you’ll feel that you only got to spend 10 minutes watching instead 40 minutes runtime of the episode. After hearing the last blip from the first episode, we were in denial that we wanted to watch the next one.  We proceeded to act as if we were going to sleep but kept talking about the episode and what’s going to happen next. Without really saying it, we did agree on watching the 2nd episode and I found myself pushing the A button on the Xbox controller to start playing episode.

I don’t want to give out any spoilers but based on the 2 episodes we’ve watched so far, this is going to be one hell of a ride for 24 fans. Jack is back. But is he the same person he once was? Or has 20 months in Torture land China changed something in him? Would he still have “it” in him? Well, catch 24 and I’m sure you won’t be disappointed.

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January 09, 2007

School Hunting

Posted by mavisrueda@gmail.com at 08:24 PM
I, along with our friends Sandro and Dimple have spent the last two days scouting for a school that our daughters would attend in September 2007.  There are actually a lot of schools around, the only problem is that it is very difficult to get a placements in these schools. Being British schools, they mostly give priority to British passports, especially DESS, as it is sponsored by the British Embassy. We are still in the application process, i.e. submission of application forms along with other required documents. For most of them, the processing of application as well as the assessment of applicants will only start in March. This is quite a dilemma for us since we are about to have our vacation in a couple of months. We can only hope for some consideration from these schools by giving us an earlier schedule of assessment. I really hope that our children will get a placement in at least one of these schools but I also hope that they get one in either of the better schools, as  parents, that is all we can ever wish for.

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January 01, 2007

Happy New Year!

Posted by xtian001@gmail.com at 11:56 PM

Last night, as it is every year, we waited for the coming of a brand new year. We invited our friends Marlyn, Mel and their daughter Mela over to celebrate the coming of the New Year with us. Instead of the traditional "media noche" though, we had dinner at around 9pm. We had bbq spare ribs, spaghetti with meatballs, quilo and fried chicken drumsticks with a special hot sauce. Then for dessert, there was the painstakingly cooked ube jam (purple yam) and baklava. Tian volunteered to cook and prepare the food last night as he preferred it to cleaning up the house. So he was stationed in the kitchen while I took care of the tidying up. Of all the things that he had to do, it was really the ube that proved to be the most difficult one. He had to cook it for 2 hours, continuously having to stir it, to make sure that it didn't get burned. But it was all worth it because everyone agrees that it was really delicious. I also thought that it was far more yummy than the one we cooked last Christmas. Even Xiane couldn't resist it. She had it for breakfast today and would tell us to just take small bites when we asked her if she could share it with us.

It was not the usual New Year celebration that we would have if we were in the Philippines, simply because it was minus the family and the deafening sound of firecrackers around you (which is actually good). Last night was a very peaceful kind of gathering, something that gives you a chance to enjoy food and have a nice conversation with friends. We finished eating at past 10 and spent the remaining hours just talking. They left at about past 12, as their daughter already dozed off.

We cleaned up a bit after they left then decided to hit the bed. Xiane slept but Tian and I watched "Survivor" until the wee hours of the morning. We were invited to lunch at a friend's home but we missed it because we woke up late and are so lazy to go out because it's so cold. So we might as well just chill out. But for sure we are going out tonight to go to church, to thank God for a wonderful year 2006 was and for the blessing of another New Year. So here's wishing you all a blessing-filled Happy New Year! 

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