No one whole-heartedly loves tax, except those who collects them of course. Taxation is necessary to keep a government functional and that's fair enough. What is not fair is that we do not have enough control over the government's spendings. We paid our tax to the government according to our income, end of story. How that money was spent was never revealed (you wouldn't know whose money exactly these were, but the cases that did reveal spending of taxation money were scary, Craig Thomson uses it for his prostitutes, $16m stolen by a Queensland Health officer, millions spent on Labor's home insulation program which electrocuted a few workers and eventually more was spent to pull them all out, the list goes on). This tax system is corrupt and we need to demolish it and build it from the ground up again. This is where voluntary taxation should come in.
Of course a voluntary system would sound like no tax for you on first impression, but there are driving forces that would motivate people enough to pay (very realistic projects such as fixing the flood damaged road that you drive on every single day, installing seatbelts on your kid's school bus or funding research on breast cancer which just took the life of your aunt etc). The benefit is very obvious: you are only paying for what you would like to contribute to (often what's genuinely and promptly benefiting yourself) instead of what the government forces upon you, and the amount is completely up to you. Of course the more funds a project gets the quicker it would proceed, that, on itself, prioritizes what people wants the most to be accomplished sooner.
Think any aspect of a government function (diplomacy, defence, health, welfare, education, research, infrastructure or even the green movement), there should be people passionate enough to contribute their tax money for it. If no one's contributing to it, no one needs it. It's that simple.
People vote by their money, not a ballot. There is no need for empty election promises, because under the current system the elected candidate get control of your tax money and does whatever he/she wants with it, not under a voluntary system though. The account of any project should be available to be reviewed by everyone, or detailed to the ones who contributed and briefed to the ones who didn't.
Getting a project going is easy. When interest is expressed on a certain project, an empty account can be created by the government. People will contribute to this account until it gets enough money to kick-start, then it is the government's sole responsibility to get it done in a timely manner. There should be a time limit for raising funds though, preferably set case-by-case. If not enough fund was raised during that period (people are not interested enough to get it done at this stage) the money should be returned (without interest). Of course this failed project could be started again at a better timing.
As taxation is no longer enforced, the government body of enforcement of taxation (ATO in Australia) might even become redundant. The statistic work can be taken over by ABS.
Yes we might still be better off with a government to manage all those projects, a very restrictive one though. How do you restrict a government? Cut on the money given to it and refuse it to run into deficit. In a totally voluntary system, the surplus of any project can go to the everyday operation of a government, and that's it. If they do want some sense of security then a say 1% flat rate income tax/profit tax can be applied for individuals/companies. No people with higher incomes does not deserve to pay tax at a higher rate, they are paying a larger absolute amount already, and people with lower income do need to have a sense of responsibility to contribute to the society instead of winging and hating on the better-offs.
I think I ran into a bit too much detail on some of my points and not enough for some others, but this ideology has only recently hit me and I will need a bit more time to think about it more thoroughly. Hopefully I'd come back to this topic at some point with better sorted opinions.
Monday, October 29, 2012
Sunday, September 16, 2012
In Case I Do Forget
I have a serious case of a crush, again.
I figured you're way our of my league. Young, hot, sporty, hung. And you even have the same first name that one of my past crushes have. It was like a dream come true to catch up with you. You're gentle, you're tender, you're sensational. I can see myself falling for you instantly. I like you a lot, I told you. It's just that, you probably don't feel the same.
The thing is I couldn't get over this fact. I started dreaming of you, I still masturbate thinking of you, I tried to remember the cold and soft touch of you, I struggled whether to talk to you or not when I see you online (not that it matters now as you started to ignore my messages). I have butterflies thinking of you, even now, the painful sort of butterflies. I know I should be grateful for what we (more like I) had, which is one hook up, and move on.
It's not like I haven't gone for rebounds, I have. But it's just not the same (I know). This is by no means meant to be, and I will grow out of it eventually. Meanwhile, make me suffer.
I hope I'd be able to move on after posting this.
I figured you're way our of my league. Young, hot, sporty, hung. And you even have the same first name that one of my past crushes have. It was like a dream come true to catch up with you. You're gentle, you're tender, you're sensational. I can see myself falling for you instantly. I like you a lot, I told you. It's just that, you probably don't feel the same.
The thing is I couldn't get over this fact. I started dreaming of you, I still masturbate thinking of you, I tried to remember the cold and soft touch of you, I struggled whether to talk to you or not when I see you online (not that it matters now as you started to ignore my messages). I have butterflies thinking of you, even now, the painful sort of butterflies. I know I should be grateful for what we (more like I) had, which is one hook up, and move on.
It's not like I haven't gone for rebounds, I have. But it's just not the same (I know). This is by no means meant to be, and I will grow out of it eventually. Meanwhile, make me suffer.
I hope I'd be able to move on after posting this.
Sunday, July 1, 2012
Doomsday is Here
I am pretty sure I have stated my position clearly on the Australian carbon tax before. The deal has changed slightly since I wrote that article, but it does not change the fact that this tax is evil and goes against the interests of Australians.
They are now saying they are only charging the "biggest polluters" and compensate to consumers when those companies pass down the tax. Firstly, who is it to decide who are the "biggest polluters"? It is a socialist (Robin Hood) approach of the government to say that "we are ripping you off because you are rich". Secondly, the government claims that the tax will not hurt the consumers because it is compensating the tax collected back to them. If consumers get less compensation than they paid for the cost of the tax, they are without doubt hurt; and if they get equal or more compensation than what they paid what is the purpose of this tax when the companies raised their price and covered for the tax and the government compensate what it collected from those companies back to consumers (who paid the company), plus its handling/accounting charges etc and become worse off. Mind you, in either case those companies which the carbon tax was supposed to target are not the loser, they raised their price for the tax and got themselves covered no matter what. It is either consumers or the government itself that is hurt by the tax.
In other words, this tax is useless in terms of reducing carbon dioxide emission.
They are now saying they are only charging the "biggest polluters" and compensate to consumers when those companies pass down the tax. Firstly, who is it to decide who are the "biggest polluters"? It is a socialist (Robin Hood) approach of the government to say that "we are ripping you off because you are rich". Secondly, the government claims that the tax will not hurt the consumers because it is compensating the tax collected back to them. If consumers get less compensation than they paid for the cost of the tax, they are without doubt hurt; and if they get equal or more compensation than what they paid what is the purpose of this tax when the companies raised their price and covered for the tax and the government compensate what it collected from those companies back to consumers (who paid the company), plus its handling/accounting charges etc and become worse off. Mind you, in either case those companies which the carbon tax was supposed to target are not the loser, they raised their price for the tax and got themselves covered no matter what. It is either consumers or the government itself that is hurt by the tax.
In other words, this tax is useless in terms of reducing carbon dioxide emission.
Monday, June 11, 2012
My Country Life
I had been living in the city for what the whole of my life, that was until February that I took up a job in Clare Valley where I did a bit of wine making.
Well I loved my country life. I loved living on top of a hill and basically having no other houses from the front yard in sight, while only a bit more than 5 minutes drive from Clare where you can get almost all your everyday needs (except nightlife of course, but I don't care about it that much really). I also kept my place back in Adelaide where I can crash for most of the weekends so I don't get too alienated from friends and stuff (more like keeping the connection of me with the city). Although the 2 hour drive each way does lose paint after a while. I did spend some weekends up in the country and had fun, the thing is I don't really have people the share the fun with up in the country. My friends don't really wanna drive all the way up there to catch up with me and I have not made that many new friends outside of work. Well that's when the weekend drive back to the city comes to rescue anyway so it worked out fine.
My job is not as hard as I expected I guess, the winery I work in is a bit small and it doesn't run 24/7 even on the busiest of vintage, so the longest day I've had there was 7am - 6 pm and there was never night shifts, and I've heard people calling those shifts short while they usually take up 12-14 hours per day, and a lot of night shifts as well. The good side is that for a noob like me I don't feel too stressed out on my first vintage but the down side is obviously that I don't earn as much as expected due to not having too much overtime. It had been a pretty good experience for me and I am definitely going back in the country next year for another vintage.
The bottom line is, I didn't find country life that bad after all, and I don't really mind doing it more full on next time.
Well I loved my country life. I loved living on top of a hill and basically having no other houses from the front yard in sight, while only a bit more than 5 minutes drive from Clare where you can get almost all your everyday needs (except nightlife of course, but I don't care about it that much really). I also kept my place back in Adelaide where I can crash for most of the weekends so I don't get too alienated from friends and stuff (more like keeping the connection of me with the city). Although the 2 hour drive each way does lose paint after a while. I did spend some weekends up in the country and had fun, the thing is I don't really have people the share the fun with up in the country. My friends don't really wanna drive all the way up there to catch up with me and I have not made that many new friends outside of work. Well that's when the weekend drive back to the city comes to rescue anyway so it worked out fine.
My job is not as hard as I expected I guess, the winery I work in is a bit small and it doesn't run 24/7 even on the busiest of vintage, so the longest day I've had there was 7am - 6 pm and there was never night shifts, and I've heard people calling those shifts short while they usually take up 12-14 hours per day, and a lot of night shifts as well. The good side is that for a noob like me I don't feel too stressed out on my first vintage but the down side is obviously that I don't earn as much as expected due to not having too much overtime. It had been a pretty good experience for me and I am definitely going back in the country next year for another vintage.
The bottom line is, I didn't find country life that bad after all, and I don't really mind doing it more full on next time.
Wednesday, May 30, 2012
Worst Week of My Life
I seriously could not think of any other week that is as bad as last week, and I am so glad that it is over now.
I got Monday and Tuesday off work because there wasn't enough work for me in the winery. Well I didn't mind I'd just stay in Adelaide for a bit longer and play my brand new Diablo III I thought. Then came Monday when dad texted me about grandpa being in a critical condition, his cancer had got to his lungs and he's totally relying on machines to breathe while the situation was worsening by the minute. Grandpa passed away early on Tuesday. I decided not to go back to China for the funeral in the hope that I could get a bit more of work experience. And then on Friday, I was told that I was no longer needed in the winery due to lack of work available at this time of year after the vintage has finished. It had already been too late for me to make it back to China for the funeral the next Monday.
Had they given me a bit more notice, I wouldn't be in such a horrible situation losing both my job and my grandpa in the same week and couldn't do anything about either of them. I feel useless and helpless at the same time. I did what I can and sent some flowers and a bottle of the best wine I have back for the funeral, the wine probably wouldn't make it on time but well what can I do anyway.
Now one week later I have moved completely back to Adelaide thanks to myself keeping this house and became jobless. I am a bit lazy to hunt for a new job - well it won't be easy anyway and frankly I have been working pretty hard for the last year and I do deserve a break. The thing is I have not saved much for me to have the luxury of a break, so yeah, I don't really have a choice except start looking as soon as possible.
Wish me luck.
I got Monday and Tuesday off work because there wasn't enough work for me in the winery. Well I didn't mind I'd just stay in Adelaide for a bit longer and play my brand new Diablo III I thought. Then came Monday when dad texted me about grandpa being in a critical condition, his cancer had got to his lungs and he's totally relying on machines to breathe while the situation was worsening by the minute. Grandpa passed away early on Tuesday. I decided not to go back to China for the funeral in the hope that I could get a bit more of work experience. And then on Friday, I was told that I was no longer needed in the winery due to lack of work available at this time of year after the vintage has finished. It had already been too late for me to make it back to China for the funeral the next Monday.
Had they given me a bit more notice, I wouldn't be in such a horrible situation losing both my job and my grandpa in the same week and couldn't do anything about either of them. I feel useless and helpless at the same time. I did what I can and sent some flowers and a bottle of the best wine I have back for the funeral, the wine probably wouldn't make it on time but well what can I do anyway.
Now one week later I have moved completely back to Adelaide thanks to myself keeping this house and became jobless. I am a bit lazy to hunt for a new job - well it won't be easy anyway and frankly I have been working pretty hard for the last year and I do deserve a break. The thing is I have not saved much for me to have the luxury of a break, so yeah, I don't really have a choice except start looking as soon as possible.
Wish me luck.
Saturday, February 18, 2012
What Made Me Different
I meant to write this one a week ago but well... Here I am anyway.
I left the Japanese kitchen that I'd been working for almost a year in Central Market, and started my new job as a cellarhand in Clare Valley. When handing me my last payment my boss included a thank you card in the envelope. My boss' wishes were brief and straight forward but his wife gave me a relatively long one, in which she said I was the first Chinese person she met that is reliable and modest when it comes to topics about China.
I was thrilled to be given such a comment, but I wasn't that surprised because I know exactly what sort of Chinese people she's talking about and I've met plenty of them. They are brainwashed going through the Chinese education system that aimed at anti-intelligence and reverse-elimination of elites. I would have been exactly the same had I not come to Australia to study. The thing is, those other Chinese people she's talking about also live in Australia, what do I have that is different?
They did not open their eyes to what the Communist Party hadn't informed them. Although there are no heavy censorship of the internet in Australia (The fact that the government is proposing one enrages me) as in China many of those people are still voluntarily limiting their internet experience to what they were used to offered back in China, using the Chinese mimic of Facebook, Twitter etc instead of the real thing. I was like that for the first few months being in Australia, reading news from Xinhua instead of Reuters and other trustworthy news outlets.
But then I accidentally discovered a Chinese forum rxhj.net, which were set up by overseas Chinese who are extremely hateful towards China, Chinese people and the Chinese government. They hated the brainwashing education and came to realize it after going overseas and they set it up to tell the truth, reverse the brainwash process and try to educate people to adapt to a conservative Western life, they discuss current Chinese events on the forum but in a very different perspective than the official news outlets in China. I was pretty angry the first few times when I read about what they were saying, but I was also extremely curious so it started to become a daily task for me to check on there for new posts and see what they have to say about things. I started comparing their version of the story to what was told on Xinhua just to see how different people interpret or how they lie about an event, using my conscience instead of what I was told when it comes to judging. And gradually I dropped Xinhua as a source for news, and when it showed up on google I try to avoid clicking it. I realized I have been living in a big fat lie for such a long time, and all the Communist Party cares about is stupefying its citizens so no one voices up against its dictatorship. The result is immensely arrogant and greedy creatures that is not fit to be called human, and there are 1.5 billion of them. They do not have morals, they scream out their patriotism towards China whenever they can and they claim you being racist when you have anything against their views. It is until you got rid of every bit of "Chinaness" in you that you are reborn to be human.
Now I am living a China-free-wherever-possible life, simply to survive. Chinese people put toxins in infant formulas and heavy metal in toys, they produce vaccines that kill, cars that guarantee death during a collision and online chat clients that scan your computer for 'suspicious' files and report them secretly to the National Security. How could I trust anything Chinese? There are genuine and good quality 'made in China' goods out there but for now they have lost my trust completely and wherever there is a possible alternative to Chinese made goods I will go for it and I am willing to pay more for the quality and trust. I use English operation systems on my computers and avoid any Chinese software running on it as much as possible and I pay for German antivirus software instead of Chinese ones which themselves are like viruses. I buy Chinese books published in Hong Kong or Taiwan instead of the mainland. I own a $10 Swiss made potato peeler and a pair of $20 made in USA scissors (as opposed to Chinese made $1 peeler and $2 scissors), I am proud of them and they have never let me down. Anyone that got to use them have expressed surprise of how good a potato peeler can be. What I told them was that they are always supposed to be that good but the Chinese just never made it that good. People that fell for cheap Chinese made goods had severely cut back their quality of life.
My attitude towards things had also changed over time, I will focus more on human life above anything. For example historic events such as the Big Leap Forward and Cultural Revolution, Chinese people are too used to avoid the damage these events had done to them and only call them minor mistakes made by Mao Zedong that should not harm his glorious reputation. The fact is during the 28 year regime of Mao, which is a period of peace instead of war, more people died than the sum of casualty of the two World Wars. It is rightful to say Mao is eviller than Hitler.
I feel there are things here that I could expand further but I think I might do it later.
I left the Japanese kitchen that I'd been working for almost a year in Central Market, and started my new job as a cellarhand in Clare Valley. When handing me my last payment my boss included a thank you card in the envelope. My boss' wishes were brief and straight forward but his wife gave me a relatively long one, in which she said I was the first Chinese person she met that is reliable and modest when it comes to topics about China.
I was thrilled to be given such a comment, but I wasn't that surprised because I know exactly what sort of Chinese people she's talking about and I've met plenty of them. They are brainwashed going through the Chinese education system that aimed at anti-intelligence and reverse-elimination of elites. I would have been exactly the same had I not come to Australia to study. The thing is, those other Chinese people she's talking about also live in Australia, what do I have that is different?
They did not open their eyes to what the Communist Party hadn't informed them. Although there are no heavy censorship of the internet in Australia (The fact that the government is proposing one enrages me) as in China many of those people are still voluntarily limiting their internet experience to what they were used to offered back in China, using the Chinese mimic of Facebook, Twitter etc instead of the real thing. I was like that for the first few months being in Australia, reading news from Xinhua instead of Reuters and other trustworthy news outlets.
But then I accidentally discovered a Chinese forum rxhj.net, which were set up by overseas Chinese who are extremely hateful towards China, Chinese people and the Chinese government. They hated the brainwashing education and came to realize it after going overseas and they set it up to tell the truth, reverse the brainwash process and try to educate people to adapt to a conservative Western life, they discuss current Chinese events on the forum but in a very different perspective than the official news outlets in China. I was pretty angry the first few times when I read about what they were saying, but I was also extremely curious so it started to become a daily task for me to check on there for new posts and see what they have to say about things. I started comparing their version of the story to what was told on Xinhua just to see how different people interpret or how they lie about an event, using my conscience instead of what I was told when it comes to judging. And gradually I dropped Xinhua as a source for news, and when it showed up on google I try to avoid clicking it. I realized I have been living in a big fat lie for such a long time, and all the Communist Party cares about is stupefying its citizens so no one voices up against its dictatorship. The result is immensely arrogant and greedy creatures that is not fit to be called human, and there are 1.5 billion of them. They do not have morals, they scream out their patriotism towards China whenever they can and they claim you being racist when you have anything against their views. It is until you got rid of every bit of "Chinaness" in you that you are reborn to be human.
Now I am living a China-free-wherever-possible life, simply to survive. Chinese people put toxins in infant formulas and heavy metal in toys, they produce vaccines that kill, cars that guarantee death during a collision and online chat clients that scan your computer for 'suspicious' files and report them secretly to the National Security. How could I trust anything Chinese? There are genuine and good quality 'made in China' goods out there but for now they have lost my trust completely and wherever there is a possible alternative to Chinese made goods I will go for it and I am willing to pay more for the quality and trust. I use English operation systems on my computers and avoid any Chinese software running on it as much as possible and I pay for German antivirus software instead of Chinese ones which themselves are like viruses. I buy Chinese books published in Hong Kong or Taiwan instead of the mainland. I own a $10 Swiss made potato peeler and a pair of $20 made in USA scissors (as opposed to Chinese made $1 peeler and $2 scissors), I am proud of them and they have never let me down. Anyone that got to use them have expressed surprise of how good a potato peeler can be. What I told them was that they are always supposed to be that good but the Chinese just never made it that good. People that fell for cheap Chinese made goods had severely cut back their quality of life.
My attitude towards things had also changed over time, I will focus more on human life above anything. For example historic events such as the Big Leap Forward and Cultural Revolution, Chinese people are too used to avoid the damage these events had done to them and only call them minor mistakes made by Mao Zedong that should not harm his glorious reputation. The fact is during the 28 year regime of Mao, which is a period of peace instead of war, more people died than the sum of casualty of the two World Wars. It is rightful to say Mao is eviller than Hitler.
I feel there are things here that I could expand further but I think I might do it later.
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
Goodbye Adelaide
I'm leaving this Sunday and the new job will start from Monday.
For the time being I'll keep my room in Adelaide while renting another one up Clare, but if I do get ongoing positions in Clare Valley I'm planning to take a house up there for my own, so that I could either rent spare rooms out or keep it for myself. Things have been planned out and I'm getting oh so excited.
I've been in Adelaide for 2 years now. It wasn't as good as what I imagined before moving here from Melbourne. I still think I met way more scumbags here in Adelaide than in Melbourne and generally people are just not as nice here. I'm gonna keep my expectations low for the country this time and hopefully I wouldn't disappoint myself too much.
What will I miss in Adelaide?
The friends that I made over the years of course. But well I'm not going that far away so hopefully I could still catch up with them once in a while. I'm heading out this Saturday night in the hope to see as many as possible of them though.
There's not that much to talk about in the city really. The dedicated CBD area is only 20% built up and there are still plenty of old villas and houses wait rotting. The city feels dead, you will be able to find stores that are clearly no able to hang on in the heart of Rundle Mall, which is absolutely ridiculous. Shopping experience is pretty limited, needless to say, Rundle Mall itself is small, and the stores are just mediocre. I'd rather hunt around either online or to Harbour Town (factory outlets that occasionally gets good stuff cheap) to shop. There are a few charms here and there though, such as the Chocolate Bean, their chocolate filth (better be shared though in concern of diabetes stroke) is the bomb!
Although the city of Adelaide has been quite boring I did find the surroundings of Adelaide pretty enjoyable. Forget Glenelg, go further to beaches with fewer people is always a better choice with clearer water and purer sand but the same undiscriminating sun tan, at times you can even own the whole beach for a while. There are a lot of wicked places hidden in the Adelaide Hills too. Hahndorf is not really considered hidden btw. Try the cheese factory just off Woodside, their 'Monet' is the most beautiful cheese I've ever seen and the taste is not bad at all. Hunt around for pick your own fruits or (if not in season) shed doors to get outrageously cheap and amazingly fresh fruits - peaches, cherries, strawberries, apples, nectarines you name it they have it. Cafe Acqua in Mt Barker, although being franchised, has the best veal (juicy and tender in a creamy sauce to die for) I've ever had for around $20, the likes of Fasta Pasta just can't get anywhere near it at around the same price. Of course there's the bakery in Lobethal and various tiny wineries surrounded by vineyards setting up ridiculous slopes.
Hmm well it's not really that hard to go back to anything that I miss here though because Clare is only 2 hours drive away, and I'm willing to drive anyway.
Turns out it's not really a proper goodbye Adelaide yet? We'll see.
For the time being I'll keep my room in Adelaide while renting another one up Clare, but if I do get ongoing positions in Clare Valley I'm planning to take a house up there for my own, so that I could either rent spare rooms out or keep it for myself. Things have been planned out and I'm getting oh so excited.
I've been in Adelaide for 2 years now. It wasn't as good as what I imagined before moving here from Melbourne. I still think I met way more scumbags here in Adelaide than in Melbourne and generally people are just not as nice here. I'm gonna keep my expectations low for the country this time and hopefully I wouldn't disappoint myself too much.
What will I miss in Adelaide?
The friends that I made over the years of course. But well I'm not going that far away so hopefully I could still catch up with them once in a while. I'm heading out this Saturday night in the hope to see as many as possible of them though.
There's not that much to talk about in the city really. The dedicated CBD area is only 20% built up and there are still plenty of old villas and houses wait rotting. The city feels dead, you will be able to find stores that are clearly no able to hang on in the heart of Rundle Mall, which is absolutely ridiculous. Shopping experience is pretty limited, needless to say, Rundle Mall itself is small, and the stores are just mediocre. I'd rather hunt around either online or to Harbour Town (factory outlets that occasionally gets good stuff cheap) to shop. There are a few charms here and there though, such as the Chocolate Bean, their chocolate filth (better be shared though in concern of diabetes stroke) is the bomb!
Although the city of Adelaide has been quite boring I did find the surroundings of Adelaide pretty enjoyable. Forget Glenelg, go further to beaches with fewer people is always a better choice with clearer water and purer sand but the same undiscriminating sun tan, at times you can even own the whole beach for a while. There are a lot of wicked places hidden in the Adelaide Hills too. Hahndorf is not really considered hidden btw. Try the cheese factory just off Woodside, their 'Monet' is the most beautiful cheese I've ever seen and the taste is not bad at all. Hunt around for pick your own fruits or (if not in season) shed doors to get outrageously cheap and amazingly fresh fruits - peaches, cherries, strawberries, apples, nectarines you name it they have it. Cafe Acqua in Mt Barker, although being franchised, has the best veal (juicy and tender in a creamy sauce to die for) I've ever had for around $20, the likes of Fasta Pasta just can't get anywhere near it at around the same price. Of course there's the bakery in Lobethal and various tiny wineries surrounded by vineyards setting up ridiculous slopes.
Hmm well it's not really that hard to go back to anything that I miss here though because Clare is only 2 hours drive away, and I'm willing to drive anyway.
Turns out it's not really a proper goodbye Adelaide yet? We'll see.
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Cameras
I've never complained about my camera, well maybe I have, but it wasn't like that. This would be a wannabe photographer's amateur review, which means it's my own opinion only.
I have been using a Canon IXY 910 (the Japanese version of IXUS 860) for a few years now, it never really fails to satisfy my needs (which is not that much, usually I take a lot of macro, landscape and embarrassing moments in parties). I've only been using 5MP of the 8MP its sensor provided in a less compressed (superfine) mode. The colour that this little guy gave me has been amazing even without tuning, and I got compliments for my photos when I upload them on facebook. It's quick, silent and to the point.
Then I came across this Nikon S9100 that my parents brought when they came visit me, I've heard good things about it and my parents are willing to swap it for my Canon. I actually loved my Canon but I wanted to see what difference this Nikon can make so I accepted the deal (part of my superficial reason is that now even my phone has an 8MP camera, but the 18x optical zoom comparing to 3x on my Canon makes me drool too). From the photos my parents took with them I could easily tell that they didn't use the camera right. There was two shots with very little difference in time and position taken, one is completely normal but the other is totally redded out. I assumed they might've set something wrong on the camera.
A glitch (probably not considered a serious one but) that immediately annoyed me about this Nikon S9100 is that when in review mode of the photo just taken, the shutter refuses to work, on my 4YO Canon you can just take a photo blindly and immediately in review mode. This prompted me to disable the review function, but the difference this made was marginal, because it wanted to go over the focusing process again every time, while the Canon would just use the last known setting (either that or the Canon's focus works extremely fast that you barely notice). It is the moment that's important, not the review of what you've taken, Nikon people!
On the telescopic side of lens, very slow and inefficient focus, even in sufficient light, which sort of destroyed the purpose of the telescopic lens. The IS is probably not good enough for my shaky hands on the telescopic end too. During focus generally, it tends to make noises all the time shifting lens even when the green in focus label is present instead of telling you "I'm ready" in a click and stayed there, I'm not really sure whether this is a good or bad thing.
On the image size selection, only the full 12MP size offers a "star" option (equivalent to "superfine"), which means when I use my normal 5MP setting the image would be quite heavily compressed. I'm a bit concerned but I'll see if shifting to normal 8MP mode covers the problem by increased canvas size.
I noticed I took a lot of ghostly photos under low light with the Nikon, and found out that the auto ISO selection is not really doing its job. The manual did say when you set it to auto it would shift up to ISO 800 in low light, so why were all my ghostly photos taken at ISO 200 or even 160 and at shutter speed of 1/3s to 2s? That doesn't make sense, 1/10s at ISO 600 would solve the problem beatifully.
On the plus side, the colour is pretty neutral comparing to the Canon. The build of the camera itself is very sturdy (I dropped it a few times already, don't tell mom). Noise level of low light shots are relatively low. Also I liked the design that the flash needs to be separately lifted up because I'm never quite a flash person unless I absolutely have to use it. Video taking now have a dedicated button, which is good too, the thing is I don't really make a lot of videos. The manual focusing system lets you move the cursor around to focus on the object you want to focus (a step forward than my Canon which you have to focus a few times until the AF guessed what you wanted to shoot right, especially in macro mode which I use a lot), but a touch screen as seen on Sony or smart phones would actually do a better job.
I didn't have this camera for long enough to discover too much good things about it, well I hope I would later. For the time being I am a bit disappointed about it, because on the overall experience it is hopelessly losing to my 4 year old Canon. I can't imagine why Canon came up with a slick and witted camera 4 years ago while this new Nikon is still struggling to catch up (if it cared to at all) and it just feels sluggish. Canon and Nikon were both supposed to be very good brands I thought? Maybe only in professional (D)SLR areas. Nikon doesn't seem to care too much about the user experience of their consumer cameras (Maybe the developers were too good to use a camera like this? Then why is this thing even on the market?). Canon on the other hand took care of everything and the experience is just smooth.
A bit of hope, a firmware upgrade could definitely address the shutter and ISO problems, but that's only if Nikon's up for it. Second thoughts, do people to custom roms for cameras?
I have been using a Canon IXY 910 (the Japanese version of IXUS 860) for a few years now, it never really fails to satisfy my needs (which is not that much, usually I take a lot of macro, landscape and embarrassing moments in parties). I've only been using 5MP of the 8MP its sensor provided in a less compressed (superfine) mode. The colour that this little guy gave me has been amazing even without tuning, and I got compliments for my photos when I upload them on facebook. It's quick, silent and to the point.
Then I came across this Nikon S9100 that my parents brought when they came visit me, I've heard good things about it and my parents are willing to swap it for my Canon. I actually loved my Canon but I wanted to see what difference this Nikon can make so I accepted the deal (part of my superficial reason is that now even my phone has an 8MP camera, but the 18x optical zoom comparing to 3x on my Canon makes me drool too). From the photos my parents took with them I could easily tell that they didn't use the camera right. There was two shots with very little difference in time and position taken, one is completely normal but the other is totally redded out. I assumed they might've set something wrong on the camera.
A glitch (probably not considered a serious one but) that immediately annoyed me about this Nikon S9100 is that when in review mode of the photo just taken, the shutter refuses to work, on my 4YO Canon you can just take a photo blindly and immediately in review mode. This prompted me to disable the review function, but the difference this made was marginal, because it wanted to go over the focusing process again every time, while the Canon would just use the last known setting (either that or the Canon's focus works extremely fast that you barely notice). It is the moment that's important, not the review of what you've taken, Nikon people!
On the telescopic side of lens, very slow and inefficient focus, even in sufficient light, which sort of destroyed the purpose of the telescopic lens. The IS is probably not good enough for my shaky hands on the telescopic end too. During focus generally, it tends to make noises all the time shifting lens even when the green in focus label is present instead of telling you "I'm ready" in a click and stayed there, I'm not really sure whether this is a good or bad thing.
On the image size selection, only the full 12MP size offers a "star" option (equivalent to "superfine"), which means when I use my normal 5MP setting the image would be quite heavily compressed. I'm a bit concerned but I'll see if shifting to normal 8MP mode covers the problem by increased canvas size.
I noticed I took a lot of ghostly photos under low light with the Nikon, and found out that the auto ISO selection is not really doing its job. The manual did say when you set it to auto it would shift up to ISO 800 in low light, so why were all my ghostly photos taken at ISO 200 or even 160 and at shutter speed of 1/3s to 2s? That doesn't make sense, 1/10s at ISO 600 would solve the problem beatifully.
On the plus side, the colour is pretty neutral comparing to the Canon. The build of the camera itself is very sturdy (I dropped it a few times already, don't tell mom). Noise level of low light shots are relatively low. Also I liked the design that the flash needs to be separately lifted up because I'm never quite a flash person unless I absolutely have to use it. Video taking now have a dedicated button, which is good too, the thing is I don't really make a lot of videos. The manual focusing system lets you move the cursor around to focus on the object you want to focus (a step forward than my Canon which you have to focus a few times until the AF guessed what you wanted to shoot right, especially in macro mode which I use a lot), but a touch screen as seen on Sony or smart phones would actually do a better job.
I didn't have this camera for long enough to discover too much good things about it, well I hope I would later. For the time being I am a bit disappointed about it, because on the overall experience it is hopelessly losing to my 4 year old Canon. I can't imagine why Canon came up with a slick and witted camera 4 years ago while this new Nikon is still struggling to catch up (if it cared to at all) and it just feels sluggish. Canon and Nikon were both supposed to be very good brands I thought? Maybe only in professional (D)SLR areas. Nikon doesn't seem to care too much about the user experience of their consumer cameras (Maybe the developers were too good to use a camera like this? Then why is this thing even on the market?). Canon on the other hand took care of everything and the experience is just smooth.
A bit of hope, a firmware upgrade could definitely address the shutter and ISO problems, but that's only if Nikon's up for it. Second thoughts, do people to custom roms for cameras?
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Make a Wish
I don't consider myself Buddhist but I went to a Buddhist temple today. And it wasn't the best weather for that visit either as it's been raining and stuff.
I actually wanted to visit this temple two times and failed after I first visited it with my housemates. The first time I couldn't find it and the second time it was closed. It was like an hour drive from my place and it wasn't that easy for me to visit it, that's part of the fun I see it.
The reason I wanted to visit back this temple is that I made a wish on my first visit and then the wish came true. I need to go back to it to thank Buddha for granting it. Well anyway, that's the idea. The fact that my wish came true doesn't necessarily have anything to do with Buddha, but I still feel like I need to at least come back and thank him. And of course I made a new wish this time too, and I will surely come back when it came true.
I Got News
I actually got it for a while, but now that it's confirmed so that I could safely tell, I got a new job and I'm moving away from Adelaide.
I'm pretty glad that I finally did that. At least it is my professional area that I will be working in, instead of feeling like a wasted talent every single day at work. I feel lucky that both my current and new boss are very supportive.
And yes after two years (I know it hasn't been but it will be by the time I move out) spent in Adelaide and barely even left I'm moving on. Well, I have been moving to smaller areas constantly. From Guangzhou, China with 10m+ population to Melbourne with 5m to Adelaide with 1.2m now to a small town in Clare Valley with only a few hundreds. I think I really am a country boy at heart though, and now I'd be officially in the country. 2 hours drive from Adelaide I think I'd still be visiting back quite often. I'm all excited about this whole new life anyway.
I'll see you there.
I'm pretty glad that I finally did that. At least it is my professional area that I will be working in, instead of feeling like a wasted talent every single day at work. I feel lucky that both my current and new boss are very supportive.
And yes after two years (I know it hasn't been but it will be by the time I move out) spent in Adelaide and barely even left I'm moving on. Well, I have been moving to smaller areas constantly. From Guangzhou, China with 10m+ population to Melbourne with 5m to Adelaide with 1.2m now to a small town in Clare Valley with only a few hundreds. I think I really am a country boy at heart though, and now I'd be officially in the country. 2 hours drive from Adelaide I think I'd still be visiting back quite often. I'm all excited about this whole new life anyway.
I'll see you there.
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