Google sent me mail ... SNAIL mail

Sitting in my mailbox --- my physical mailbox, you know, the one out by the road --- when I arrived home this afternoon was an attractive envelope emblazoned in the upper right corner with the Google logo in full colour. Within was a piece of paper, actual pressed moist fibres derived from cellulose pulp, upon which was black and coloured ink formed into shapes resembling the symbols of the Latin alphabet and grouped into white space separated chunks that would result in successful pattern matches in most English language dictionaries. A Letter. What and why was Google sending me?

JUNK MAIL.

I signed up for AdSense a while back and had added Google Ads to the sidebars of this site. As a result of signing up I've been receiving occasional emails telling me about AdWords and that I can buy these things to drive extra traffic to my site. Then I received an email telling me that I can have $75 of free AdWords. A little taster if you will. I ignored this. A little while later --- your chance for $75 free AdWords is coming to an end. Ignore.

Now I have a letter from Google telling me about my $75 worth of free AdWords.

This is a very physical reminder that Google is a business and advertising is their business and they want to sell. At the moment I don't mind the occasional attention as it is easy and low cost to ignore. But, if I start getting telephone calls to tell me about $75 worth of free AdWords just as I am sitting down to eat dinner, I might have to switch to Microsoft. Then again, maybe I have been receiving these phone calls. I have Caller ID enabled on my phone line and if it indicates overseas or private or a number I don't know then I don't pick up. Maybe they really, really, really want my business.

What photo gear would you buy for $10,000?

OK, this is a pleasant distraction from actually doing something, but, let's go. I have some experience with Canon gear so my selections are made from their products. My choices are made based on what I shoot ... or more exactly ... what I don't shoot. I don't photograph people, or, more specifically, I don't photograph people who are conscious of my photographing them. It is a reflection of my introverted nature. 'Malu' is the word in Indonesian.

That leaves a lot that I do photograph: landscapes, events, people from a distance, street scapes, nature, low light. If I were out in the field I'd like to be able to go from wide to telephoto as quick as possible. I've not yet entered the world of video but with the current crop of prosumer cameras, that is an option as well.

Based on these two paragraphs, experienced photographers might know where I am heading with my selections. The prices quoted below are taken from www.camerasdirect.com.au.

• Canon 5D Mark II - $2,947: full frame sensor for landscapes and good performance at high ISO settings for low light performance. $7,053 left.
• Canon EOS 7D - $1997: Another body. This one for sporting events and nature. Eight frames per second shooting. An APS-C sensor gives a 1.6x throw to attached lenses getting a bit closer to the action. Having a second body removes the need to constantly swap lenses. $5,056 left.
• Canon EF 24-70mm F2.8L - $1,689: With half the money gone the lenses will need to be zooms. The first is the 24-70 f2.8L for the 5D Mark II. On the 5D this lens gives the full 24mm at the wide end and the f2.8 should give good low light performance for nightscapes. The combination of this lens and the 5D Mk II also provides a nice combination for capturing 'atmosphere' at sporting events. $3,367 left.
• Canon EF 70-200mm F2.8L IS - $2133: A lens for the 7D. F2.8 means fast, Image stabilised makes hand holding at the longer end is possible. On the 7D the effective length of this lens is 112-320mm. Perfect for sporting and nature closeups. $1,234 left.

What to do with that last $1,234. I'd probably get the 50f1.4 at $484 (the 50f1.2L is too expensive at $1,867), a flash, and other accessories.

Another option would be to swap the 5D Mk II and 7D for a single Canon 1D Mk IV at $6,250. I'd loose the full frame sensor of the 5D Mk II and the extra throw of the 7D for the in-between APS-H sensor. I'd also loose the benefit of two bodies instead adding the need to change lenses on the fly. But, 10fps for 120 shot bursts, to quote Homer, aarrghhhhhhh.

Review: History Speaks - The Four Princes of the Warring States

This is my first review of one of Tsai Chih Chung's comics about Chinese history/philosophy. My last post mentioned that I have 15 of his books that I want to get through. The first book I have read is History Speaks. Before I get into the summary of the book's content, here is the description of Tsai Chih Chung from the back cover:

TSAI CHIH CHUNG - First came to prominence through his award winning animated movies and his immensely popular daily comic strips. When he turned his hand to the classics after a prolonged period of self-education, they were acclaimed by critics and shot to the top of the bestsellers lists.

History Speaks retells the major aspects of the lives of four princes from the Warring States period of Chinese history (475--221 BCE). The four princes covered are Lord Mengchang of Qi, Lord Pingyuan of Zhao, Lord Xinling of Wei, and Lord Chunshen of Chu. Before the princes are described, the life of historian Sima Qian is introduced. It was Sima Qian who documented 2000 years of Chinese history in his Historian's Records. This was completed a little more than 100 years after the Warring States period ended. It is, presumably, from Sima Qian's record that Tsai Chih Chung based his retelling.

The history described is, for me, of inherent interest. However, the telling of the story is also interspersed with snippets of wisdom on how to deal with people and situations that are seemingly relevant even today. These snippets are usually conveyed through the mechanism of a retainer advising a prince on how to act.

One such example occurs after Lord Xinling of Wei has ridden to the aid of Zhao to beat back the invading Qin. Xinling had to usurp power over the Wei army in order to support Zhao as the King of Wei feared subsequent reprisal from Qin. After successfully repelling the Qin, the King of Zhao offered Xinling a fiefdom of five cities within Zhao. Lord Xinling felt quite chuffed about this but was then advised by a retainer that some things shouldn't be forgotten and some things should be forgotten. Other people's kindness to one shouldn't be forgotten whereas one's kindness to others should be forgotten. The retainer reminded Xinling that he deceived Wei in order to save Zhao and his achievement should not be celebrated or rewarded.

It is said in the book that the four princes were constantly competing with each other to attract the best retainers. This attitude is somewhat evident today in the technology industry with various companies (eg, Google, FogCreek) going above and beyond to get the best talent. Joel Spolsky has even written a book on the topic: Smart and Gets Things Done: Joel Spolsky's Concise Guide to Finding the Best Technical Talent. Each of the four princes was said to have been their abilities to hire good and talented people and to engender loyalty within those that were hired. Lord Mengchang, for example, would immediately send a gift to the household of the interviewees that he deemed worthy. When the interviewee returned home, the gift was waiting. Lord Xinling would wait on anyone he deemed worthy of respect, regardless of their status or age.

The book is interesting historically and morally. The illustrations, which I haven't mentioned, are clean, clear, and uncluttered. I can't make any claims as to the correctness of the content or the translation and there are some spelling/typography errors, but these concerns don't detract from the overall pleasure derived from reading this book.

The History and Philosophy of China in Comics

I am fortunate enough to have a Chinese friend who has sent me some wonderful books that narrate, in comic form, various histories and philosophies of China. The books have been created by the artist Tsai Chih Chung and are comical as well as informative. The English translations are good with some humourous colloquialisms that I can only hope are an accurate representation of the original Chinese text.

I have 15 of these books on my shelf and have read them in bits and pieces over the last year or two. I am going to make these my main source of recreational reading from now until I get through them all. I will provide reviews on this site as I complete each book. I will start with History Speaks. The complete list of books that I have by Tsai Chih Chung is:

• History Speaks: The Four Princess of the Warring States
• Zen Stories: The Staff and Shout of the Venerable Ones
• The Dao Speaks I: Whispers of Wisdom
• The Dao Speaks II: More Whispers of Wisdom
• The New Dao: Mystery and Pure Conversation
• The Analects of Confucius
• Mencius Speaks: The Cure for Chaos
• Sunzi Speaks: The Art of War
• Zhuangzi Speaks I: The Music of Nature
• Zhuangzi Speaks II: More Music of Nature
• The Roots of Wisdom
• Madam White Snake
• Journey to the West Book I
• Journey to the West Book II
• Ghosts and Wizards: Fables and Fairy Tales from Late China

My take on Apple's iPad

The Apple iPad is not an iPhone and it is not a laptop or netbook. The Apple iPad is a media/content delivery device. Instead of comparing the iPad with other touch screen tablets, or with the iPhone, or with laptops/netbooks, I think it deserves comparison with the Sony Playstation, the Microsoft Xbox, and the Nintendo Wii. These devices are closed, the manufacturers make money from licensing companies to create content, and they all have tacked on online stores for purchasing content. It is the content where these companies make their money and to such an extent that they reportedly take a loss on the hardware in order to get these content delivery devices into the hands of consumers.

The iPad fits exactly in this game console mold as a content delivery device. Apple already has music/movie/tv content being delivered and the iPad is going to be able to access those streams. The iPhone added applications which the iPad will also be able to access. In addition, the iPad will bring two new content sources: applications built specifically for the iPad and the books/magazines/newspapers. Amazon has been doing a rollicking trade with e-books supplied to its Kindle and Apple will take a piece of this market. The Kindle probably provides a better reading experience and definitely provides a better battery life, but this is not going to matter. The aesthetics of the iPad are going to win over the general population and people who would never have thought of buying a Kindle are not going to think twice about buying an iPad.

Every media report I've seen on Apple's newly announced iPad has mentioned disappointment that this is just a "big iPod/iPhone". However, that's pretty much exactly what I want. I have two concrete use cases I can quote:

1. In an earlier post I mentioned that my wife spent more time using her iPhone than she spent using her newly obtained Sony P-Series netbook. At the end of that post I predicted that if an Apple Tablet were to appear, it would basically relegate the Sony to the nether world under the bed. Well, Apple delivered exactly the device that will cause my prediction to come to fruition. I will buy an iPad when it comes out and my new prediction is that I won't be able to pry it from my wife's hands. She will be using it to keep up with Facebook, chat with friends, and browse the web for recipes. I'll have to wait until she puts it down to grab a few minutes with it and then give it up again upon her return. I suspect this scenario will play out in a lot of households.

2. I have bought a bunch of e-books over the last few years. I read these on my 13" MacBook when I am on the road. They way I read (the pdf e-books) is to enter full screen and then rotate the view 90 degrees. I then hold my MacBook vertically so that the screen is in a portrait orientation. This provides an experience where I can have an entire page on screen and have the text readable, but it is uncomfortable. The iPad, out of the box, fits squarely in this use case, without the discomfort.

These two reasons are enough for me to shell out for Apple's newest shiny. At present I plan to buy the entry level version and pick up a beefier one at a future iteration.

My predictions for the Apple's success as a result of the iPad are:

1. The iPad won't sell close to the numbers we have seen for the iPod/iPhone,
2. There will be a fall in sales of Apple's entry level laptops as people purchase the iPad instead. However, iPad sales will outstrip the fall in laptop sales as there will be people not in the market for a laptop buying the iPad,
3. Overall, Apple's revenue will increase thanks to these extra iPad sales and also the content sales the iPad will provide.

Apple's stock was falling yesterday. If I had the money, I'd be buying.

I need a (good) zoom lens

I've been loading my Flickr Photostream with images taken from the recent Tour Down Under held in Adelaide. Most of my shots were taken with Canon's thrifty fifty (50mm f1.8) strapped to my 400D. I did get what I consider to be some nice shots, such as the following of Chris Sutton, Greg Henderson, and Ben Swift of Team Sky on their warm down lap after Greg and Chris had finished 1-2 in the Cancer Council Helpline Classic.



However, my wife was using our Canon G10 and was able to capture more atmospheric photos thanks to its ability to shoot wider. For example, this photo of Lance Armstrong heading to the start line for Stage 4.



A zoom lens would have given me more flexibility shooting this event. I do have the kit 18-55mm lens, but I just haven't been bothering with this since I bought the 50f1.8. What I need is a decent zoom lens and I think the 24-70mm f2.8L would fit the bill nicely. On my 400D that would effectively give me a 40-110mm lens which might not be quite wide enough at the low end. Perhaps I need a full frame camera as well ... the 5D MkII perhaps?

My birthday is in three months, anyone want to buy me these shiny things?

Review of Year 2010 goals

Three weeks into the new year and it is time for a quick review of the goals I have set myself to achieve this year:

• 2010.1 - Lose weight: No progress yet. I have been out for a few walks and have made some forays into dieting, but nothing consistent. I can blame a lot of things - the weather in Adelaide (we had a run of 4 days over 41C), a few parties, quality TV (!) - but it is down to me. I have to pick this up sooner rather than later as I have an intermediate slimming goal to reach by early April. I need to fit into some clothes I had made when I was thinner in time for my sister's wedding.
• 2010.2 - Belajar Bahasa Indonesia: I have made some progress with this goal. I pulled out some flash cards I bought more than a year ago and have been working through them. Of the 440 odd cards I can translate better than 420 on sight and without error. The remaining 20 I can sort of squint and probe my memory for the translations that don't match any of the other 420 cards and guess right most of the time. My wife has been helping my when we drive by quizzing me on the cards verbally. My listening skills still need a lot of work. But, I have been able to read more of the posts our Indonesian friends make on Facebook.
• 2010.3 - Search for my 'ikigai': The process of studying Indonesian has revealed to me that I really enjoy learning. I went through those flash cards for about four days and the information stuck. The reward of being able to read more Indonesian text felt great. However, I don't think I am going to make a great living just reading through Wikipedia and amazing people at parties with my tidbits of trivia (although, that's an interesting idea for a blog). I could step into academia now that I am a PhD graduate but it would be a step back financially and I'm not in a position where I am able to take that cut. Not that I am unhappy with my current job which has great scope and support for learning and development as well. I think this blog and my Know Thy Tools website provide a good avenue for turning my learning into output and perhaps I can earn some money from advertising and affiliate links.

A slow start to the year but there is promise. This post has been kicking around in my mind for a while and I am glad I have written it down. Goals are only meaningful if they are kept in sight and regularly reviewed. I'll have more posts like this in the future.