My 400D Is Back, But Uncertainty Looms

So I got my 400D back from Canon Service Center this morning. I was able to talk to the engineer who diagnosed my camera, and after running more tests, it turns out that my shutter mechanism is beginning to fail. What's worse is that the shutter actuation count is only around 14000, very far from the guaranteed 40000 clicks.

Now I have two weeks to fully test my camera to see if I need a new shutter mechanism. Luckily it's not as expensive as I thought it would be, but it's still a pain to shell out extra dough if ever. Hopefully because of this I can force myself to shoot more and go back to the basics of photography.

I'm Now On Twitter

Follow me on Twitter.

I must admit that I didn't understand Twitter back then. But now it seems like a good alternative to traditional blogging, where I can say short things that pop in my head without devoting so much time in writing them. It's a good way of announcing things and saying short tidbits to people close to you, or in some cases, people who find you interesting.

My 400D Is Malfunctioning Again

A month after coming from the service center, my 400D is experiencing the same symptoms again. It's sad that Canon only gave me a seven (or was it nine?) day warranty for the service that they did.

I never got to use my camera over the past month, but I tested it thoroughly after having it repaired. I was confident that the problem has been solved, but alas, I'm left without a camera again.

So I'm sending my 400D again to Canon, and I'll try to bargain my way since the problem seems to be recurring. And saving up for a new body seems like a good idea now. Too bad, since I intend to buy a flashgun first, but I guess accessories are next to useless without a working body.

USA Tour: The Grove And Farmers Market

Mom looking at some dolls (with me in the reflection). I find these dolls creepy, but they sure are popular to little girls here.

I still had that nasty flu over the weekend, and now I'm confident that it's winding down. I guess this is the best time to get back at other pictures from our US vacation. There are still a lot, and I'm trying to finish up on smaller sets first.

Fun tram ride with a quick tour of the compound.

When in Los Angeles, one cannot miss The Grove and adjacent Farmers Market. Located near CBS Television City, these establishments are a juxtaposition of old and new. Farmers Market is known for its numerous food stalls and fresh produce, while The Grove is an ultra modern mall similar to our very own Greenbelt. If my memory serves me right, The Grove wasn't there yet back in 2001, my first visit to LA.

Farmers Market, a historic landmark in Los Angeles.

So that's it. A neat shopping venue in Los Angeles. Please check out the rest of the photos here.

I’m Sick (And Other Realizations)

I rarely get sick. Wait, let me rephrase that. I rarely get sick and miss work. With the threat of A(H1N1) looming, our office building has tightened its measures by deploying nurses with thermometers and thermal scanners (seriously). Although I’m feeling much better now compared to yesterday, I decided to sit out the rest of the week just to be sure.

With thermometers sold out in most stores, all I can trust is my gut feel. So far, I feel okay now. Yesterday, I experienced some chills and body aches. No coughs and colds, just body weakness. I guess I got fatigued, lately I haven’t had enough sleep, and the weird climate here in Manila didn’t help either.

It’s hard missing work. I get calls all the time (just got one while writing this) and it pains me that I can’t attend to most of them. And even with amenities present, sometimes boredom just strikes. Worse is today is our 20th month as a couple, but I’m so thankful that Roxanne is so caring and understanding.

Asides from that, I’m also thankful because finally I got to have all the sleep I needed, and watch a lot of shows from my collection. But nothing beats having a healthy body, so I hope I get well soon.

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I’ve been using Globe’s 3G connection as my ISP today, and I think it’s okay, but they could still do better. It’s fast, but I often get timeouts, especially when someone is calling.

I use my Nokia E51 as my modem, with Windows machines you need Nokia PC Suite to do this, while on Macs all you need is a Bluetooth connection.

It’s best to inquire first at Globe’s customer service before trying this. By default, they charge per kilobyte, which is costly. If I’m not mistaken, you text time to 1111 to switch from per kilobyte to per minute charges (which usually amounts to PHP5.00 for every fifteen minutes). Also, set your access point to internet.globe.com.ph if you’re a postpaid subscriber or else you won’t be able to connect. It’s weird because it seems prepaid subscribers don’t have to use this access point, just connect and surf.

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As much as I’m loving my MacBook, I have to admit I still have dependence on PCs due to work. I still need Visual Basic for our projects, and I’m not sure if most of my Excel and Word files would open properly in NeoOffice (I’m still saving up for either iWork or MS Office for Mac).

Plus I also realized that there are issues with flash based memory (e.g. USB thumb drives) greater than 4GB when used with both systems. I had to reformat my 8GB PQI flash disk twice just to get it seamlessly working with both operating systems.

Thankfully, there are ways to run Windows on a Mac, but not the other way around. Now I’m just waiting for the release of Windows 7 (as well as save up for it) and try it out on my MacBook.

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Tomorrow is La Salle's first game, against the University of the East. Good luck to the Green Archers. Animo!

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And to Roxanne, thank you for the twenty months (and counting) that we have been together. I love you so much honey.

2009 DLSU Green Archers

Credits go to APcom (for the initial announcement) and greenarchers.ph (for the photo above).

This team reminds me of 2003, full of promising rookies. And a lot of these players are young. I am really getting old fast. As always, hoping for another great season.

Animo La Salle!!!