a bluer shade of white

after my previous foray into the world of performance (looking) headlights, i've discovered the existence of halogen bulbs which are filled with xenon gas. this, of course, allows the marketers to legitimately use the word xenon in association with these products.

nevertheless, these should not be confused with the actual HID lamps which, while also filled with xenon gas, do not have a filament (a feature of halogen bulbs), use a different technology to produce light, and have different power requirements. however, the filling of a halogen bulb with xenon gas does result in a bluer light. there are also some halogen bulbs which are coated with a blue film to achieve a similar look. to quote an ebay guide on the topic:

Xenon gas-filled bulbs and other halogen 'xenon' bulbs are simply a standard halogen bulb that is either coated with a blue film on the outside and/or filled with a gas to imitate the look of a true xenon HID bulb. These bulbs produces much less light than xenon HID bulbs and often less than that of a standard halogen bulb. Xenon gas-filled bulbs also suffer from a short 6-month life-span.

i don't know that they necessarily produce less light than a standard halogen, though i suppose any coating would attenuate the light output. and i hope the short life span doesn't prove that accurate, but should i need to purchase any more bulbs, i'll know to look on ebay where where i can get a pair for about 1/3 what i paid for my current ones!

for more information on HID xenons, see also for example
http://www.alpha-bid.com/XenonBuyingGuide.html
http://www.wheelsmart.com.au/HID.aspx

a whiter shade of headlight

i'd seen the cars on the road - the ones with headlights throwing out bright white light, sometimes with a tinge of blue. i'd been curious for some time now about how to get that for my car. the standard weaker looking yellowy tinge just doesn't quite cut it.


recently, one of my headlight bulbs died. thus began my search for a whiter light.

a lot of the marketing for brighter, whiter (or bluer) headlights throw around the word "xenon" with reckless abandon. after a bit of reading, my initial thoughts of getting proper HID (high intensity discharge) xenon lights were quickly dashed when i learned that installing this gear is nowhere near as straighforward (nor economical!) as simply switching bulbs... in the end i opted for this set of Calibra "Xenon Blue" bulbs, which are really halogen lamps, of course - there's nothing xenon about them. the pair cost $27.99 from my local supercheap auto, which was a much better price than a similar single bulb selling at a competitor about 100m away.

the colour temperature of 4000K is supposedly more white than the yellowy tinge of most standard bulbs (and at the bottom range of what xenon lamp emit), which is essentially the difference i was looking for. they do look visibly whiter to the naked eye (though not quite blue!), and that will suffice me until the next replacement, at which time i might try to find out whether there is a better breed of white halogen, for i'm sure that not every car i see with strong white lights are using HIDs...

becoming a ClimateSmart home

from http://www.climatesmart.qld.gov.au/your_home/climatesmart_home:

The Queensland Government has announced a new service to help Queenslanders tackle climate change and reduce their greenhouse emissions around the home.

The new ClimateSmart Home Service, which will start from 1 January 2009, will improve energy efficiency in households across Queensland.

The service will operate in a similar manner to the successful Home WaterWise Service.

For a $50 service fee, a qualified tradesperson will visit your home to conduct an energy audit, provide energy advice, install energy saving tools such as a household energy monitor and a water efficient showerhead, and also supply 15 compact fluorescent light globes.

i missed out on the home waterwise service cos apparently a previous owner had already applied for it, so since reading about this recently i decided it's not too early to register online for this climatesmart home service :)

kooroomba: the plan

who? me, my wife, some friends
+ anyone else who wants to come along

what? a winter outing / social / day trip

when? saturday 5 july 2008

where? kooroomba, boonah, scenic rim region
(about 1hour+ drive from downtown brisbane)

why? tour the lavender farm,
taste the wine (if that's your thing),
eat the food (lunch),
give your camera a workout,
hang out with friends (or maybe meet some new ones),
get some vitamin D (hopefully),
get out of the house :)

how? RSVP to me by sun 22 june,
indicating your responses/preferences (if any) to the below:

food options
the restaurant has an a la carte menu (which can be found here). if i can get a confirmed group of 20 or more to go, i will make a group booking and either take advantage of the group menu (dearer option) or the great aussie roast (cheaper option)... will most likely go for the cheaper option unless a majority of people prefer the fancier stuff.

transport
provide your own private transport (ie drive / get a lift from someone). please arrange a ride or a designated driver for your car if you plan on drinking. the directions are on the website. let me know if

• you want to travel together (ie convoy)
• you can take people in your car
• you need a ride (i'll put you in touch with people who have space, assuming there are any)

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related posts: "hometown affair"

beijing olympic garden pictures

saw some pretty cool pictures from beijing's olympic garden via a forwarded email i got at work. rather than repost them i thought i'd try to search for the source online. found this site as a likely candidate:
Beijing Olympic Garden - My Secret Garden 我的秘密花园

interestingly i also found a set of 3 albums on pandachute.com, the photos in which look exactly the same as the site above (though there weren't as many photos). wonder whether they were from the same person or if one (or both??) people ripped the pics from someone else...

anyways, worth a look for the wow effect :) here are a few of my favs to whet your appetite:

My Fair Lady - advance VIP tickets

The Brisbane leg of My Fair Lady - the Musical will perform at the Lyric Theatre, QPAC from 31 August – 27 September with the following session times:

• Tuesday – 6.30pm
• Wednesday – Saturday - 7.30pm
• Saturday and Wednesday Matinees – 1.30pm

General ticket sales begin on 16 June, but from now until 15 June, I can book A reserve VIP tickets at $82.90 each (plus any applicable booking fees and charges; not valid Friday or Saturday night sessions).

Let me know if you'd like one/some.

the great contact lens rebate saga

i last presented a simple recipe for getting a great deal on your contact lenses. what should have been a fairly straighforward plan took 5 weeks to complete. here's the full story:

• 15/4: rang direct contact lenses, ordered 8 boxes of oasys (6 lenses/box, or 1 year's supply), getting them to match the best competitor's price (from now contacts) @$31/box + $8.25 shipping, total order $256.25
• 16/4: invoice issued by direct contact lenses, listing 1 entry of item number 852 x quantity 8. this got me a bit confused when i actually received the invoice because item number 852 is used to denote a pair of disposable contact lenses. each box is for one eye - i ordered 8 boxes, or 4 pairs.
• 28/4?: logged onto medibank's website and entered my online claim for optical benefit for "852 (contact lens pair 12 month supply)", seeing as this most accurately describes what i purchased. at the same time i updated my bank account details to have the benefit paid into my new account.
• 30/4: got email notification that my claim status had changed, logged in and saw that i had received $50 payable benefit. based on previous claims, i was expecting to receive $200 benefit for one year's supply of contacts (@$50/3 month period).
• rang medibank and was told that the payment was $50 because the benefit payable is $50 per 852 – to get $200 benefit the invoice would have needed to show 4 entries of 852. moreover this could not be changed as the claim had been processed. if the invoice is incorrect, i would need to get the provider to reissue correct details and fax to medibank's extras help desk. no notification will issue about the status of the claim, but i could call back in a few weeks as they’re about 2-3 weeks behind in processing manual claims. great.
• rang direct contact lenses to request reissue of invoice, with 1 copy sent to me by post, and another copy to medibank by fax. the person who answered the phone (not the same girl who took my original order) seemed to know what i was talking about with the 4 entries business, which makes me wonder why the invoice wasn't written out that way in the first place...
• sometime in early may: received mail from medibank dated 30/4 confirming update of EFT details, and a cheque payment of $50 issued in favour of the provider!
• rang medibank to why money wasn't paid to me - apparently my online claim indicated the account had not been paid. i would need to show the paid invoice to get the claim changed (cancel provider cheque, reissue to me).
• 9/5: visited my nearest medibank branch to show them my invoice and request reissue of cheque.
• also queried the $50/line of item number 852 issue, and was told (with what i'm sure was a sigh and a roll of the eyes from the customer service representative) that the information i was previously given is incorrect. after waiting some 15 minutes while she double and triple checked with a colleague and manager (was my case so out of the ordinary?) she cancelled the $50 cheque to my provider, amended my claim to include additional benefits payable, told me that payment will issue for $200, and i walked away thinking this would be the end of the whole thing.
• 12/5: letter was issued notifying that my revised claim has been processed for EFT payment. i waited a few days after getting the letter and wondered why it hadn't shown up in my bank account. then i rechecked the confirmation letter from 30/4 and found that the account number had an extra digit at the end!
• 19/5?: rang to update EFT details, confirmed that a replacement cheque had already been issued because the previous EFT payment was rejected.
• 21/5: received my replacement cheque for $200, banked it a few days later.

so, after all this, i'm out of pocket $56.25 for a year's worth of contact lenses and a pack of contact lens solution. not a bad deal, but rather more drawn out and troublesome than it should have been.

ps. have just noticed an ad by clearlycontacts which claims they will beat all competitors prices by 110%. might be worth checking out after you use up the free welcome pack deal from direct contact lenses...

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related posts: how to get a great deal on your contacts

how to get a great deal on your contacts

here's a simple recipe:

1. get/know your contact lens script
2. search online for the cheapest price you can get
3. call contact lens direct and get them to match your best price
4. receive a free welcome pack (solutions) with your first order
5. claim any benefits you may be entitled to from your private health fund

the actual execution proved a little less straightforward than i anticipated, but that's a story for another post. for a demonstration of how much you could save, consider this:

• i checked out 15 websites selling contact lenses - some were sites i already knew of, others were found by googling
• the price of box of acuvue oasys (6-pack) ranged from $31 to $45. i won't even bother considering how much your local shop/optometrist will charge you for them (nothing against any optometrists i personally know :)
• shipping can be as much as $13, often depending on quantity (number of boxes / other items / total weight), though most places will give you free shipping if your order exceeds a certain $value
• the total cost of a year's supply of oasys lenses (8 boxes + shipping) can range from about $256 to $360
• notes from my "research" can be viewed at http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=pMHqcdkb3d5plALTDtW2cXA&hl=en

NB. contact lens direct don't actually offer a good price on oasys at all - they charge $51 per box ($20 more than the cheapest i found)! but they do offer to match competitors prices. and the only reason i considered using them rather than just going to the competitor is their "welcome pack" offer, which is good for a one off freebie of a solution pack, saving you another good $20-odd. i still stand by my previous recommendation of Net Optical for low prices and consistently excellent service.
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related posts: Net Optical - for savings on contact lenses

"hometown affair"

rebecca sparrow, author of "the way we live" column for the sunday mail, recently (may 18 edition of the "event" liftout) wrote of her revelation after returning from backpacking around britain and europe, and finding life in her hometown of brisbane just a little boring by comparison (dubbing the place brisboring).

"Eventually common sense kicked in. Other cities were more interesting, more exciting, more vibrant because I actually got off my … backside and did stuff.

When you're backpacking, TV isn't an option. Nobody sits around wishing they could snuggle up and watch season five of The Sopranos on DVD in the communal lounge.

No, when you're a traveller you actually leave your dorm. You scour the newspaper for local events. You pay attention to the colourful flyers and posters that decorate the city and you -- gasp! -- actually go!

Imagine that. Imagine looking at the newspaper's listings of what's on today and actually attending some of the stuff instead of just thinking about it…. Put the DVDs away today and head outside. You may just fall in love with you own hometown."

ok so if you're cynical you might think how convenient that she's writing for a publication that just so happens to report/promote/advertise events. or you really do believe (fuelled by actual experience) that brisbane (or substitute your own hometown) truly is a pretty boring place, with nothing to offer your unsatiated interests, no matter how much you try to dress it up or talk it up. nevertheless, i reckon there's a whole lot of stuff happening around the traps that you might just find to be a better way of spending your leisure time than curled up in front of the box, or griping about the fact that there's nothing to do.

i for one do tend to trawl through the papers for things that might seem interesting, whether i'm at home or travelling overseas. and every now and then i follow through with one of these options. some turn out to be duds - the marketing might have been great and i got suckered, or it turns out it just wasn't my cup of tea - and some turn out to be fun/interesting/memorable. that's life. live it.

to this end, i'm thinking about kicking off the BATIYOH initiative (mystery prize if you figure out what that means!) by organising a winter day trip to koorooomba, a vineyard / lavender farm / restaurant in boonah, about an hour out of town in the scenic rim. i'll be taking my wife regardless of whether or not i get any other takers, but the more the merrier eh? will post up details soon - let me know if you're interested :)

going beyond CTP (part 2)

now that we've learnt the basics of what CTP is/does, you may notice that CTP only covers other people (the third party). government legislation for CTP does not provide compensation for the injured driver "at fault" in an accident. this is where the CTP insurers can provide an add-on product or incentive benefit to fill this gap. there are various names for this additional insurance, but they are all free / included with your CTP insurance, and they all aim to provide some form of benefit to the at fault driver for injuries s/he may sustain in an accident.

in addition to the premium, there are differences in the various covers provided to the at fault driver by each insurer. for example, the maximum claim per policy currently ranges from $250,000 up to $2,000,000 between the queensland CTP insurers. there are also differences in what's covered, and time limits for claiming etc. listed below (in no particular order) are each of the six licenced CTP insurers in queensland, along with brief details of significant differences in their offerings, plus links (where applicable) to find further information. my notes are offered as a guide only, and you should rely upon the actual policy documents to make any final decisions.

• NRMA - At-fault Driver Policy
  - up to $250,000
  - for drivers aged 25 or older
  - for injuries arising within 6 months of the accident
  - does not cover death
  Policy document: http://www.nrmaqld.com.au/documents/policy-booklets/policy.pdf
  NB. NRMA has a lowest price CTP guarantee. good marketing line, but not too hard to achieve - they just need to set their premiums at the minimum range set by the MAIC...
  
  
• QBE - Driver Serious Injury Protection
  - $1 million for quadriplegia, lower limits for specified injuries
  NB. no other details / policy documents available online (that I could find at the time)
  
  
• AAMI - Serious Injury Cover
  - up to $250,000 cover
  - limited schedule of items
  - for drivers aged 25 or older
  - does not mention driver being "at fault"?
  - for accidents occurring on a public street
  NB. no policy document (or even reference to this additional cover) found online, but a hardcopy information sheet was sent with my rego renewal letter (since i'm currently with AAMI). i'm surprised i couldn't find any more info on the website, but if you want a copy of the info sheet email me and i'll scan it for you. or you could try asking AAMI, in which case why not find out why there's no info about this on their website!
  [edit: here's a jpg scan of the policy document]
  
  
• Suncorp - Driver Protection Cover
  - up to $2 million if the motor vehicle is comprehensively insured with Suncorp
  - up to $1 million if the motor vehicle is not comprehensively insured with Suncorp, and the driver is 25 years and over
  - lump sum of $5,000 following preliminary assessment of the claim for drivers eligible, or likely to be eligible for DPC benefits
  Policy document: http://www.suncorp.com.au/suncorp/personal/ctp/_media/pdf/driver_protection.pdf
  
  
• RACQ - At Fault Driver Injury Insurance Policy
  - up to $250,000 cover
  - rehabilitation expenses up to $5,000
  - if under 25 only applies if you are a current private members of RACQ or live with a parent who is a current private member of RACQ
  - for an injury sustained in an accident that is solely your fault
  - for injury or circumstance that manifests within 12 months of the accident
  - only applies if you are alive more than 3 months after the accident
  - $5,000 may apply for death between 3-12 months after the accident
  Policy document: http://www.racq.com.au/images/Insurance/RACQ_DPCV1_AtFaultDriver_0704.pdf
  
  
• Allianz - At-Fault Driver Protection
  - up to $1 million cover
  - for drivers aged 25 or older
  - for an injury sustained in an accident that is solely your fault
  - for disabilities suffered witin one year of the accident, as a result of that injury
  Policy document: http://www.allianz.com.au/internet/Allianz.nsf/docs/2443552BD52E135E4A256E5900261327/$file/At%20Fault%20Driver%20Protection%20PDS%203-2007.pdf

the last 4 insurers on the list are all currently charging the same price for CTP for my class of vehicle. for me, it seems clear after checking out the options that i can, for the same price, get a lot more benefit (which i hope i'll never actually need to use!) by switching to another insurer for my next registration period... which i've just done with a 3 minute phone call to queensland transport. too easy.

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related posts:
going beyond CTP (part 1)
saving on CTP

going beyond CTP (part 1)

just got my car rego renewal letter in the mail a few days ago, so it's time for a CTP lesson, which i might have learnt last year had i bothered to look into things a bit more, but obviously i didn't...

CTP, or compulsory third party insurance, covers your liability for personal injury to other parties in the event of a motor vehicle accident. the compulsory bit is self-explanatory, as having CTP insurance is a condition of registering your vehicle (and you'd be a fool to drive an unregistered vehicle on the road). the third party refers to the injured person, the first and second parties being the owner/driver of the vehicle that is "at fault", and the the CTP insurer of the vehicle at fault.

the queensland government, through the motor accident insurance commission, sets a maximum and minimum range for CTP premiums and the various CTP insurers file a premium within this range every 3 months. hence the premiums of each insurer may (and usually change) every 3 months. there are a number of levies and fees included in the CTP premium. my current renewal period sees a variance of $10.20 between the lowest and the highest premiums charged.

however, price may not be the only factor you should consider when choosing your CTP insurer, as we shall see in the next post...

for more information about CTP, see:

• CTP FAQS
• CTP premium calculator
• Information on premium rates, including the levies and fees included in a premium
• or you could just read everything that comes with your registration renewal notice :)

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related posts: saving on CTP

disincentive to save water

having now lived in my townhouse for about half a year, i recently paid the bill my first full 3 months of water usage (the previous bill being for a 3 month period, part of which related to the time before i moved in).

during this 3 month period, two people live in the house. we had guests stay for about one week (4 adults and a child), but we were away overseas for about two weeks, so on average we have two people in the house. we:

• have a new water efficient front loader washing machine
• recycle the grey water from 1-2 times per week we do laundry
• recycle some of the water used during cooking (eg. the water used to wash rice)
• don't use our garden taps (i think i've turned on one taps once, and that was just to rinse a bucket)
• water our minimal collection of outdoor plants (when it's not raining) using a watering can
• take very short showers (ok... i don't, but my wife does!)
• don't have a pool
• haven't washed the car, or any part of the outside of the house, or water the lawn

and yet our average daily household consumption for the period was 400L. when compared to the daily target of 140L/person under the current south east queensland water restrictions, we look positively wasteful. even the bill tells me that i'm dragging the ball - my local area household daily average is about 320L and the brisbane average is about 290L.

there are no water leaks that i've discovered or am otherwise aware of, besides a touchy toilet which i'm in the process of taming. the real culprit, i suspect, is my neighbourhood. that's right, i'm blaming everyone else who lives in my townhouse complex, and the complex itself. you see, one of the joys of being a lot owner in a strata title scheme is that i get the privilege of paying for the average water usage of the entire complex. (i don't know if this is the case for all strata title schemes, but it's certainly so for the one in which i live.)

my complex has 66 lots, and we all share the one water meter. so each lot owner pays 1/66th of the total usage of the complex. the complex does have a (pitifully) small pool and spa, and an irrigation system for the gardens on the common property. but it has also got a rainwater tank. so whether it's the complex or the other residents in the complex, i'm sure i'm paying for other people's water usage. doing the maths shows that for every additional kilolitre of water i use, i would only need to spend about 1.8c, with the rest being "subsidised" by my fellow lotowners. conversely, for every additional kilolitre of water that one of the other 65 lots uses, i have to pay an extra 1.8c.

if i were cynical i'd say that's an invitation to use more water so that you're not the sucker of a water miser who still ends up paying for the usage of the not so miserly! but i suppose it's still worthwhile to develop good water saving habits in case i move out of such a scheme in future...

30% discount for "Chinese Spectacular" (brisbane)

i've seen various posters and brochures the past few months spruiking the Divine Performing Arts Chinese Spectacular event coming to town in a few days. never really caught my fancy but in case you want to go and haven't yet bought tickets, you should call 1300 852 787 to book your seats, and quote "200804" to claim a 30% discount on tickets.

this info came via my work social club, and claims to hail from the organisers themselves ie it's the Divine Performing Arts folks who are offering the discount, possibly to fill seats in the last days of ticket selling (so i don't know if this offer is valid for other cities on their tour).

show times for brisbane:
Monday April 7th 7:30pm
Tuesday April 8th 1:30pm and 7:30pm

prices:
Normal / With 30% discount
$68 / $47
$98 / $68.60
$128 / $89.60
$158 / $110.60

passport photos on the cheap (DIY option)

[edit 20100608 - http://www.epassportphoto.com/ claims to be able to do the conversion for free, though i've not tried it myself]

i needed to supply 2 passport photos. i could:

1. pay $12.95 to get it done at a photo lab, and wait overnight to pick up the result (granted, i was asking quite late in the shopping day)
2. try doing it myself via a digital camera, some editing, and organising my own printing

i figured it couldn't be that difficult to DIY, and that surely there was some photo editing software with a built in passport photo function, or some standalone program that could do the job. take a source portrait photo, click a few buttons or run a wizard, and voila - 6 heads on a standard 4x6" print. well, i didn't find anything in the former category, but did come across two in the latter which looked ok. one is freeware, the other ~US$10:

• DIY Passport Photos 0.4.0.0 by ASP Information Services
  a small app which either didn't install well on my pc, or that simply doesn't come with any explanation other than what it does (the name/title basically says it all), menus items which when clicked on don't do anything, and no help files. the result is a bit hit and miss in terms of proper sizing.
  
• Passport Photo 1.5.3 by OnTheGoSoft
  a much better looking program with fuller features that allows you to either print (to paper) or save to jpeg file your choice of number of passport photos in the exact size you specify. costs US$9.95 to register and remove the watermark from the trial version.

being me, i went with the free option thinking it's all good, and printed the photo the next day for 20c, and then found that the photos were too big! i ended up with 6 50x50mm shots on a 4x6" print, whereas the standard passport photo size (for australia anyway) is 35x45mm. without any documentation on how to configure the output, i played around for a while to generate a version 2 image (but was running out of time to actually get it printed), which was closer to 35x45mm but not quite there.

then i tried the trial version of passport photo 1.5.3 and found that it did exactly what i wanted in a fraction of the time that the guesswork of DIY passport photos required! but i didn't end up paying for it cos i didn't have time to do another print, and my non-standard size photos (which i managed to trim to be closer to 40x50mm) were useable, cos they really just needed a small photo of my face :)

but, should i require a standard passport photo in the future, i would seriously consider forking out the money to register passport photo - i would break even after one use, compared to getting it done in a photo lab. there's too much mucking around and uncertainly with DIY passport photos - it's probably a bit premature as a product, and gets you there but not quite, whereas passport photos 1.5.3 gets you there exactly. why isn't something like this a standard feature of photo editing software like crop and red-eye reduction etc? that would have made life that little bit easier...

p.s.

• there was another program that looked half promising: IDPhotoStudio by KC Softwares. couldn't download the installation file though, so didn't try it out. it *looks* like it's only good for printing directly to a printer, so probably not useful if you don't have your own photo printer.
• singapore's immigration and checkpoint authority has some tips on taking passport photos using a digital camera.
  

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related posts: rip(ped) off

nebulocity unplugged

a quote from a recent boundless article, advocating the taking of an info-techno sabbath ie take a break from all the information and technology in which we are surrounded:

"Ironically, we consider it peculiar that followers of Islam stop their activities five times a day to offer prayers to Allah yet we stop what we do five times an hour to pay homage to our e-mail. "One of the most basic biblical insights," says theologian J.I. Packer, "is that whatever controls and shapes one's life is in effect the god one worships." For many of us, the one true god to whom we give our devotion is the deity known as IT: information technology."

while i'd like to claim such pious reasons for the lack of entries on this blog, the truth is i haven't so much taken a break from IT as i just haven't the time for anything much blog related - writing my own or reading others. i feel a small sense of disconnectedness even though i've remained "online" the whole time. so i can't even really say that at least i'm achieving some of the effect of sabbath taking. maybe i'll get there one day.

Net Optical - for savings on contact lenses

i've actually been buying from net optical for over a year, and have been meaning to post about them for a while but never gotten around to it. given the sorry lack of new material on this blog, i can try for a quickie...

when i first started wearing contact lenses regularly some years back (thanks to silicone hydrogel technology), i got my supplies from my optometrist. i was paying about $140 / 3 months supply of purevison lenses. after a while i found out about online suppliers, offering the same products at significantly lower prices. when i asked my optometrist about getting contacts from such places, they indicated a reluctance to supply scripts for patients to get lenses elsewhere, citing lack of control/supervision etc. i guess there's some sense to that line of argument... but then again, there's loss of revenue/commission from product sales? anyway, being a family friend, i decided not to push the issue.

skip forward a few years and i'm itching to save some money, and after chatting with another optometrist friend, got eyes checked. then with an updated script available, went shopping. there are a number of sites offering online ordering of lenses, and i can't remember why i chose to go with net optical out of them all. possibly because it had quite low prices, didn't need you to fax them a script (most places require this extra step), and was run by a practicing optometrist with a real physical presence, which was somewhat close enough to home for me to consider making the drive to the actual premises in case i ever needed to.

things i like about net optical:

1. cheap prices - among the lowest out of the various sites i've checked out. combined with the private health insurance benefits for optical gear, i'm laughing!
   
• the same purevision lenses cost $96 (saving of $54 from what i was paying)
• i switched to focus night and days when i changed optometrists and started using net optical - these cost $85 (compared to ~$120 from opsm direct)
• i switched again with my latest order, now using fortnightly acuvue oasys which cost $32.50 for a 6 pack (compared to nearly $40 from opsm direct)
2. fast and reasonable shipping
• $6 will get you any number of lenses plus a pack of contact lens solution
• i've usually received my lenses within about 2 business days
3. top-notch customer service
• i'm not sure if net optical is a bit of a one-man show, run by the optometrist himself, but whoever handles the enquiry emails replies very promptly and is very courteous.
• you are kept well informed of the progress of your order - confirmation that it's been received, advice when the items are despatched etc
• going above and beyond - my very first order contained a big error whereby i basically ordered the wrong lenses for what i actually needed. net optical picked up on this because it was an atypical request, and emailed me for confirmation before proceeding with the order. i thought this was great service as it prevented a situation where i would have gotten the "wrong" items, had to send it back, request a refund and reorder the correct items... plenty of time, money and frustration saved all round.

well so much for this being a quickie... hehe.

anyways, in conclusion: if you're looking to buy contact lenses online, i throughly recommend net optical. if you decide to use them and would like to give me the referral credit, my referral code is "quop" :) it would be a win-win situation for both of us!

ps. apparently opsm direct have a price matching policy which you may wish to test out if you'd prefer buying from a bigger/more well known supplier.

i feel better now (somewhat)

given my misgivings about their level of customer service, i feel a bit better after extracting just about as much benefits as i can from my basic private health extras cover for this year. all without needing to deal with any "service" staff on their end.

premiums paid: 12 x $14.55 = $174.60

benefits claimed: $354.50, composing of

• new pair of glasses $170 (no out of pocket expenses)
• contact lenses $30
• dental check up etc $112.50
• wisdom tooth extraction $42

net gain = $179.90 (or an ROI of 203%!)

too bad this will probably be the last year i can approach this level of 合算-ness, as i contemplate hospital cover in avoidance of the stings of MLS and LHC. and i suppose in case/when my body eventually needs it... ah the joys (and costs) of aging!

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related posts: medibank's "impressive" customer service

medibank's "impressive" customer service

about a month ago, i sent an anonymous request to medibank private via their website, requesting a specific document:

To: Ask_Us@medibank.com.au
Date: 27/07/2007 1:17:08 AM
Subject: Claiming, Benefits, Waiting Periods

Hi, I'm after a copy of the "Schedules of Contribution Rates, Benefits and Specific Conditions" referred to in the fund rules. I can't find this on your website. Please either email me a pdf copy (if one's available), or let me know where I can find this information online. Thanks.

to which i got this immediate autoreply:

Thank you for your enquiry about Claiming, Benefits, Waiting Periods made at medibank.com.au.

Due to the large number of enquiries we receive via email, we will aim to respond to your enquiry within 3 business days. If your enquiry is urgent, please contact us via [blah blah blah]

and so i waited...

(3 days later) and waited...

(3 weeks later) and waited...

then yesterday, i got a reply which was blank...

and today, after almost 4 weeks of waiting, i got this:

Thank you for contacting Medibank Private.

Please find a document on our general conditions attached.

which, of course, wasn't what i requested at all! i even wasted a few minutes opening up the attachment just to check that the information i wanted wasn't buried in there somewhere.

why is it so hard to read a simple request and offering a tailored response?!

ironically during my period of waiting i had been contacted by a medibank private representative wanting to sell me an upgraded cover, and i took the opportunity to ask about the benefits information i was trying to track down. she told me that medibank doesn't give out that information in general, but if i had a specific item number i wanted to check on, i could always contact them to find out the benefit payable for that item. seems to me to be a somewhat convoluted process, especially given that at least one other major fund is happy to tell you up front what they'll pay for a whole range of benefits.

either way, i fail to see how good customer service has been achieved. i wasn't overly impressed with the face-to-face service i got at a retail branch recently either, but that was unrelated and is another story...

counting to five

i started blogging 5 years ago, and every year about this time i say something (more or less) about this anniversary and another event that happens at about the same time every year.

i joined facebook 5 days ago, and have probably gotten (at a guesstimate) more birthday greetings, wishes and virtual gifts via that site than via any other medium combined. maybe i should call this the year of the facebook birthday...

- - - - -

i'm still undecided as to whether or not i actually like facebook. it's certainly very good at sucking up lots of your time, with a plethora of trivial activities with which one can whittle away hours and get no meaningful return. on the other hand, it has been surprisingly effective at reconnecting me with people from my past, with whom i've largely lost touch. snap comparison with multiply (which i realise doesn't have the same aims, but it's another social network type site where i have an account):

• MULTIPLY
• length of membership: at least two years, but more actively for the last 1.25
  
• total contacts/friends to date: 28
  
• FACEBOOK
• length of membership: 5 days
  
• total contacts/friends to date: 69
  

spot the difference...

What is the gospel?

Poster image by Outreach Media.

on a mini-theme following the last couple of posts, i thought it's worthwhile revisiting the topic of the gospel, and what it is. the april edition of the briefing had an article by D B Knox which deals with this precise question, and here's a few quotes...

The news of the New Testament is not that there will be a judgment [the certainty of which has been known from Old Testament times], but rather that this judgment is imminent; the kingdom of heaven, the rule of God -- that is, his judgment -- is at hand. Action is called for from the hearer.

[....]

The gospel was the news that God had fixed the judgement day when he would judge the world in righteousness, and he had appointed the judge, Jesus, whom he had sealed in this office by the resurrection from the dead and by his exaltation to the throne of God as Lord. He was king and judge, and not only king and judge, but saviour from the consequences of the judgement of God on sinners. For God in his graciousness had sent his son Jesus to be the saviour of the world, so that all who call on him for salvation, all who recognize his lordship and seek his help, will receive that salvation, which consists in the forgiveness of their sins and justification in the eyes of the judge.

So the news is not only of the judgment but more significantly, of salvation in that judgment.

Briefing editor Tony Payne then reflects:

While few of us would (presumably) be satisfied with a gospel that was simply 'Come to Jesus and have all your problems solved', we are often sorely tempted to preach an attractive Jesus who connects with people's aspirations, hungers and needs. Want real and satisfying relationships? Want the freedom to live authentically? Want to find purpose and meaning in life? Want a new story to live by? Want to find resources for dealing with suffering and pain? Want to be a better dad? Come to our special dinner/course/breakfast, and we'll show you how.

Now these sorts of things do go along with being a Christian believer (along with persecutions, being hated, and constantly battling the relentless assaults of the world, the flesh and the devil). And surely there is nothing wrong with telling people about these things, especially in response to accusations that the Christian life is the opposite (that it is a life-denying, joyless slavery, for example).

But apologetics is not the gospel, nor are the benefits of becoming a Christian the gospel. The gospel is an historical announcement about the coming kingdom of Jesus, the crucified and risen Christ, who will soon bring judgement, and who now calls on everyone to repent and flee to him for forgiveness of sins while they may. It is a message, as Knox says, that "overleaps cultural divisions and requires no cultural interpretation" because it directly addresses the conscience of the hearer. Judgement is coming in Jesus Christ; you are guilty; salvation is available through this same Jesus; what will you do?

Yellow人 (YellowRen) live in concert

a review of sorts about a concert i attended a few weekends ago, performed by "yellowren" at redeemer lutheran college, part of the australian leg of their "destination" (在那一边) tour 2007, linked with the release of the group's second album of the same name.

i only found out about this group and concert via some promotional flyers i spotted at home one night - i supposed that my parents were helping to distribute these amongst some local churches / their network. anyway it sounded interesting, though i didn't really know much about the group, apart from some basics i gleaned from their website (www.yellowren.com, which defaults to chinese; there's also an english version) and myspace page. basically they're a group of 3 christians from singapore. i had never heard of them before, and neither had a few christian friends in singapore whom i asked in passing^[1]. anyways, i decided to go along in the end as i didn't have too much else to do... and arrived amidst drizzling rain to a sea of mostly young asian faces milling about. i had read that the melbourne concert held a few days prior had "sold" out of the free tickets, and wondered if brisbane would also be packed, so made an effort to go a bit earlier. but there were seats available throughout the whole show. there was an english-speaking "interpreter" (who was more saying similar/related things or interacting with the mandarin speaking host/mc than strictly interpreting) before and after the concert proper. i don't know what the point of that was, given that the concert itself was done in about 95% mandarin without any translation. anyways, a few thoughts about the concert itself (bearing in mind that my own level of mandarin is not that great, so i did not understand 100% of what was sung and said):

• there was a lot more talking than i expected, and i expected a bit, knowing this to be a christian concert that would have an element of evangelism...
• the songs themselves were ok, with some catchy tunes and clever arrangements, like the song "creation" (创造), which makes its way through the first 6 days of the genesis account and then comes to a quick and unexpected (but totally logical) stop when the lyrics reach day 7 - the day of rest.
• another song "chasing" (追, 追, 追) had a good theme that sings against the chasing after of things in this world, asking where all this ultimately leads.
  
• the proficiency in mandarin of 2 out of 3 of the artists was lower than i would have thought, for a group that sings in mandarin and seeks to target chinese speaking people. then again, i've met many singaporeans whose chinese is... not so chinese :p
  
• the audio mix was not very well done - the music/instruments in the first few songs was much too loud, overpowering the lyrics. this is probably par for the course when it comes to typical concerts, but i think christian music needs to have a much higher bias for, and focus on, the lyrics that's being sung. a much better balance was reached a few songs into the show.
• partway through the concert (and in the middle of one of the songs) a short static-y buzz/crackle came through the main house speakers and the audio promptly cut out. it sounded like what happens when someone trips over a cable, ripping the jack from its socket. no idea if this is anything like what actually happened, but they were in the midst of turning all the foldback speakers (which were still working) around to face the audience before the problem was rectified... oddness.

these are just minor quibbles/observations. the main issues i had were more theological in nature:

• there was an altar call segment, which itself wasn't unexpected, and which started by asking a variant of the question: if you died now/tonight, are you certain you'll go to heaven? if you you need to listen to this... etc. and there were a good number of youth who responded, after a period of perhaps typical asian reluctance to be the first to move. i have no particular issue with the act of an altar call, but in this instance i struggled to identify what it was that the people were responding to. it sounded like the respondents were accepting a jesus who would help them with their troubles and difficulties in life, which is all well and good, except where is the saviour Christ who died to pay the penalty for their sins?? i'm pretty sure this was not mentioned -- if it was, either it was so fast that i missed it, or once again my language deficiencies failed me. you're not accepted into heaven on the basis of wanting Jesus to be a friend who helps you in this life, but on the basis of receiving him as your saviour and Lord, which then makes you his friend in this life and the next.
  
• following the altar call to accept jesus, was another call for those who were in some way shape or form, sick. come down to the front to be prayed for. again, i don't have a particular issue with doing this, with praying for healing etc. but it's the content and tone of the prayer that didn't quite sit right. it sounded like the pray-er was essentially asking God to heal these people on the basis that he can (because he is all powerful), and expecting that he will, because he can...?? (ditto the qualifier about my language skills, as above) what happened to "if it is your will", or praying for patience, endurance, perseverance, growth in godliness etc should the person not be healed, whether immediately or ever?

anyways...

the concert ended with the trio performing a mandarin cover version of "praise you in the storm", originally sung by casting crowns (a partial clip of this is at the end of this post), and afterwards there was a signing session for those who bought their CDs. i wasn't quite sold on the whole package, so didn't trouble my wallet, but esperance bought some and joined the queue to get the autographs.



[1] i have since discovered (while writing this post) via a bit more digging online, that the group hails from evangel family church, a "pentecostal church under the assemblies of God", which probably answers a few questions... the lead(?) singer/main speaker on the night (chan mong yee / 陈梦义) is an assistant pastor (the worship pastor) at this church, and the other female singer (dayna lim) is the daughter of the current and previous senior pastors of this church. the male singer (zhang zhi gang / 张志刚)) presumably also attends the same church. the musicians on this tour are all from this church.

Guy Sebastian on Catholicism

so guy sebastian, winner of the first Australian Idol competition in 2003 and someone who "identifies himself simply as Christian"^[1], has written and recorded a gospel song titled "Receive The Power", chosen to be the theme anthem for the World Youth Day 2008 congress - the Catholic Church's week of events for youth and with youth.

He is quoted as saying:

I am not Catholic as such but I guess the fundamentals are in place, which is Christ-based faith.^[2]

i assume by this he's basically saying something like "I'm Christian. I'm not Catholic. But really they're quite similar aren't they?" now i'm not sure if he's being diplomatic or ignorant, nor indeed what type of "Christian" he really is, but if he means anything along the lines of protestant/reformed/evangelical christianity, then (despite the seemingly large area of similarities) there are some serious fundamental differences between the two. perhaps the biggest being that one believes in salvation by faith PLUS works^[3], and the other in salvation by faith ALONE^[4], a subtle but deadly^[5] difference if you get it wrong.

on a sidenote, i'm also not sure where the gospel is in the song itself. can you pick it?

though granted it's the journalist who uses the label gospel, not someone else whom one might expect to have a better grasp of what the gospel really is... anyways, for another look at the lyrics and some "theological reflection on the song by WYD08 Coordinator Bishop Anthony Fisher", check out this blog entry (this link/referral does not constitute endorsement).


[1] Guy goes gospel: Anthem moves Vatican, by Jonathan Morgan, The Sunday Mail June 24 2007 p. 29
[2] ibid
[3] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Catholic_Church#Salvation
[4] http://www.carm.org/catholic/faithalone.htm
[5] http://www.carm.org/catholic/saved.htm

saving on CTP

i could have just saved over $15 on my CTP (compulsory third party) insurance renewal, if only i had bothered to check the CTP premium calculator at http://www.maic.qld.gov.au/ctp-premium/ctp-calculator/ctp-calculator.shtml before assuming my current insurer is already offering me a good deal, and proceeding to pay my rego/CTP bill.

wonder why there is a variation of around 5% in premiums between the various insurers, when CTP is a pretty stock standard thing (or so i thought). but i can't quite be bothered to look into any differences there might be in the actual policies... maybe i'll remember the lesson learnt when it comes to next year's renewal...

have psp, will travel

noodlez lent me his psp (playstation portable), the original intent of which was for me to be able to finish watching all the lost season 3 episodes so that he can discuss it with me when i get back from my overseas trip.

i have watched a few episodes on the psp - i never thought watching video on a small screen could be so nice (nice, if you had to watch anything on a small screen).

i have spent considerably more time playing lumines, the simple but addictive game he also passed me with the implicit challenge of wanting to know how i'd score. so far, i've knocked him down to #10 on the high score chart. i think i've been playing waaaaay too much, to the detriment of other things i really should have been doing with my time :|

anyhow, am about to head off to the airport, for my third trip to singapore in the past 6 months. meanwhile here are a few photo albums from my last trip, some of which i've only just recently uploaded:

• the first few days
• the day E took leave to spend with me
• miscellaneous shots from the first week
• an outing with E's bible study group/DG
• gourmet dinner party
• miscellaneous shots from the rest of march
• outing to sentosa
• miscellaneous shots from the rest of april
  

and no prizes for guessing what i'll be doing while waiting at the airport ;)

the ATA decorations

we had our site ATA presentation last week (representatives from the ATA came to view our entry to the ATA awards), and there was much activity from the teams putting up their decorations, which created an interesting tension between the need to service phone calls (after all, we are a call centre and we're there to answer phone calls) and the need(?) to complete the decorations in time...

my work was pretty hectic and i didn't manage to see the results until after the event. as i was on overtime duty this weekend i brought my camera to take some shots of the decorations that were still up - unfortunately most of the stuff in my section (with the star wars theme) had been removed by then.

well, i recently found out how to embed picasa web album slideshows in blogger, so am giving it a whirl :)

[edit 20070526] have just found out that there's an easier way to embed album slideshows, direct from picasa web album. slightly less functionality but less fuss... should have just read the help file from the get go :p
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related posts: darth vader's many siblings

by request: quop vader

this post is dedicated to mr DT, who is signing up for the briefing, and who came up with the quop vader sugggestion. well there's no mask, but i have wielded a more fancy looking lightsaber in the past. this video is from my trip to KL in september 2005, where i met my high school friend kampung chick, dropped by her house and found that her husband is a huge star wars fan, and had this fancy fancy lightsaber. it lights up and turns off with the appropriate sounds, also when you swing and make contact with something. it was fun :)

NB. original video was taken in portrait mode - i finally figured out how to rotate it but transferring to youtube has squashed it somewhat... nevermind.

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related posts: darth vader's many siblings

the "help us grow The Briefing readership and get your next annual subscription completely free" campaign

i'm a subscriber to the briefing, an excellent monthly christian magazine from the folks at matthias media. it's an irritating publication - and here's why (in their own words):

We know that sometimes we irritate our readers. In fact, we plan to.

Wisdom is a pearl born of irritation. We grow and develop not by having comfortable, familiar words wash over us like a warm bath. Growth comes through challenge -- through hearing something new, or grappling with something foreign, or discovering that an old comfortable truth has some uncomfortable sharp edges.

And so if The Briefing never makes your pulse quicken, your brow furrow, your brainwaves agitate or your blood boil, then we'll have failed.

If the only people who ever read The Briefing are people who agree with every sentence, then we might as well pack up and go home.

We want to provoke more thought and more passion. We not only want to encourage minds and hearts, we want to change them, so that together we all come to think more biblically about life and ministry.

So if The Briefing sometimes irritates you, do something for your friends: share the irritation around.

they're seeking to double their readership by year's end. as an existing subscriber, i have been given some subscription cards. if you want to sign up as a subscriber we can both gain by using these cards:

• you get $10 off your subscription
• i get 4 issues added to my subscription for free

i need 3 friends to sign up for new subscriptions (not renewals of current or recently lapsed subscriptions) to get my year's worth of free editions :) so drop me a line and i'll hook you up! even if you're not sold on handing over your money, you can still browse the site for some free articles (webextras) and the regularly updated CHN (couldn't help noticing) blog/column. highly recommended food for your mind from the guys who provide resources for growing christians.

buddha birth day festival

went along to the buddha birth day festival at southbank on the weekend. not that i have any inclination to celebrate or remember some dead religious figure's birthday, mind you. i'm happy to admit that my reasons are a lot more shallow - i'm simply drawn by the accompanying food fair :p since first stumbling across this annual festival a few years ago, (it's now in its 10th year), i've made it a point to try to drop by for a meal if i have the chance, though i think i tend to forget that the food is all vegetarian until i get there!

this year i went with a few clay people, watching a somewhat lackluster lion dance performance before searching for options to satisfy our rumbling tummies. there were probably around 20 stalls selling food and drinks, with a lot of signage in chinese which is always helpful for the majority english-speaking population... (though granted the bulk of visitors to the festival itself would probably be chinese). anyways, i always have trouble choosing, never knowing how to separate the good from the bad, or the good from the ordinary, until i hand over my money and taste the food for myself. bumped into an old high school friend who recommended a few items, and i ended up getting some fried dumplings, a drumstick (which was itself a smallish and fairly expensive piece of faux meat), a herbal tea drink, rice (pyramid) dumpling, and a "fresh roll" (like a spring roll, but not fried, and more like a spring roll than a popiah) for a total of $12. i was quite satisfied, at least in terms of quantity. quality wise, the fresh roll and a salt and pepper chicken item (recommended by my friend, and which i tasted thanks to the sharing of my dining buddies) were the yummiest. everything else was fairly average, with the "drumstick" the least value for money.

we stayed around for more performances at the suncorp piazza, including some martial arts demonstrations (which i think involved a certain "chik" i know) and a hip hop / breakdancing routine by planet fresh, from which i was hoping to see more breaking. i wasn't initially intending to record this, but thought that the name of the group sounded familiar (i think i know people who know them) so got out my camera...


after this it was time for the fireworks. we got there early enough to have front row position, which i don't think i've ever done before. good vantage point for more video recording. the ~15 minute footage is split into two parts due to youtube's 10 minute limit.


more photos on my multiply album.

darth vader's many siblings

because we (meaning my workplace) were a state winner last year, we're in the running again for the 2007 ATA (australian teleservices association) awards. the various teams in the call centre have been assigned themes for decorating their work area - this time round movie titles were picked out of a hat, and my current area drew "star wars". one of my colleagues brought in a toy lightsaber (with sound effects) and a darth vader helmet and accompanying gizmo that emits authentic darth vader noises and quotes, as well as modifying your speech to make you sound like the masked heavy breather. another colleague was playing with it, and i happened to bring my camera to work that day, so shot a little clip:

could he be darth vader's long lost brother??!!

for a dose of video fun starring darth vader's "real" brother, check out "chad vader: day shift manager" by blame society productions. it's a fan film series featuring the less well-known brother of darth vader, a guy who works as a day shift manager in a supermarket. the episodes follow his run-ins with colleagues and his boss, and his lacklustre love life. episode 8, which is supposed to bring season 1 to a close, is rumoured to be released this coming week...

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related posts: sorry dr. spin, i'd like a second opinion please

effortless improvement!

six months ago, i submitted an application for a role. i was told that my written application was quite badly done, and that i barely scraped through for the practical assessment. in the end, i made it to the order of merit, but was ranked fairly low in the pecking order.

a few weeks ago another round of application for the same role was conducted by the same person, using the same job description, selection criteria, and application format. i was on leave overseas at the time, so my superior (the one conducting the EOI - expression of interest) sent me my previous application for review. in the end i was unable to write a new application by the deadline, so i SMSed him to say if he can accept my previous submission then please do so, otherwise i would sit out from consideration.

this is the response i received today [with specific details removed]:

Thank you for your Expression of Interest in the [...] position within [...]. The position attracted a high quality pool of applicants and having considered all the applications [sic] advise you that, in this instance, you have been rated as "Fully Effective". Higher Duties will continue on a short term basis pending a permanent selection process.

We wish to thank you for the time and effort you put into preparing your application.

If feedback on your application is required please let me know.

Thankyou

so, by spending no time and effort on preparing my application (since i was reusing my previous one), i had managed to go from "barely scraped in" to "fully effective"! anybody want me to write their next job application?? ;)

(of course, there's a bit more beneath the surface which goes some way to explaining this farcical situation. hence i didn't bother asking for feedback. i'm actually not very good at writing job applications :p)

making sense of advertising

does advertising work?

It's easy for us to think that we aren't affected by the things we watch, but if that's the case why do manufacturers pay thousands of pounds every month for TV advertising? And why, now that technology exists to record TV shows while skipping over the adverts, are more and more manufacturers paying for product placement in top shows rather than sticking to traditional advertising? We are fooling ourselves if we try to claim that TV has no impact and influence on our lives.
-- Get more like Jesus while watching TV, by Nick Pollard & Steve Couch, Ch 1 (p. 4)

my agreeance with the advertising argument[1] is ironic for (at least) two reasons:

1. i watch a lot of tv, but disproportionately few ads. i tend to record shows, and fast forward through the ads when watching them later. i'm typically not interested in being sucked in by advertising. spurred on by my recent spate of travel (VCRs were just not meant to handle looking after half a dozen weekly shows for more than a week... yup, no HD/DVD recorder for this tv junkie), and now thanks to the combined powers of xvid, bittorrent, a broadband internet connection at home, and those nice(?) people in america who encode episodes from there which haven't even screened here, i catch most of my shows on a CRT of a different kind (yup, no LCD screens for this computer junkie). which of course means i miss all the ads, cos the encoders always edit them out to make the file smaller. even if the ads were left in, they're meant for a north american market, and won't typically be relevant to me.
   
   
2. i have started advertising on this site. which i guess means at least part of me wants advertising to work! i've signed up with google adsense, and spent the last few days upgrading my blog from the old classic templates to the new layouts structure (trying to reapply the few tweaks i'd added over the years took a bit of time -- i just know i'd never get a job in web design!) and incorporating a number of adsense products on the page. i have to be careful about what i say about the ads, eg i can't ask visitors to click on them, nor click on them myself (though i'm curious how that would be policed/verified). what if i go the reverse psychology route and say don't click on them?? haha. anyways, just trying it out to see if i can generate additional income. you can too, but i can't tell you how i can refer you so that we both benefit... (but maybe if you wanted to, you could work that one out for yourself)
   

[1] of course, "advertising" is used to demonstrate/argue that what you watch in general (ie not just the advertisements) does have some impact and influence on our lives. and i agree with the general statement. (hopefully) more on this later...

here today, gone tomorrow

it's been barely two months since i returned from my last trip to singapore, and i'm gearing up to return. thanks to the ability to take some leave without pay, this trip will be the longest i have ever stayed (and the longest i ever plan to stay) -- 5 weeks. within those 5 weeks i'll be hopping over to hong kong for a few days, catching up with YC, seeing some of the sights and maybe catching a movie or two at the hong kong international film festival. then island and i will also be joining up with noodlez, mellow yellow and slam man for a a week in kota kinabalu, including climbing mt kinabalu.

should be fun :)

i've barely caught up with the uploading of photos since the start of the trip... but here's a roundup in pictures of some of what i've been up to since late december.

• clay caloundra outing
• SWANS christmas gathering at oishii sushi and nza's place
• Singapore trip
• day 1
• day 2
• isabelle (my neice!)
• day 4
• days 5 & 6
• stillfishing DG retreat day 1
• stillfishing DG retreat day 2 + ARPC NYE dinner
• new years day
• week 2 (can you tell i was getting a bit lazy with my albums by this stage? :p)
• sydney pit stop for some nice ribs... hmm... yummm!
• BLT (brisbane leadership training conference)
• NBL finals game 3

phew!

got a few days left to get all my packing and other prep done... i feel quite disorganised and tight on time, so probably shouldn't be sitting here blogging! anyways, gonna go salivate at the prospect of eating some nice nice food, such as the likes of the fare featured on singapore food blogs like ieatishootipost. might even try to tag along as a makankaki if i get the chance :)

cccb.org.au

not quite a LAN party, as looks might initially suggest :p

cccb now has a website! MC conducted a workshop to brief content managers on how to add content etc. hope to see it grow into a useful resource.

the intricacies of airfares - part 2

i decided to add a hong kong leg/side trip to my upcoming overseas holiday to singapore, somewhat spuriously as a result of jetstar's sale fares from singapore to HK. after checking with YC - the only person in HK i know well enough to rope into the role of tour guide/interpreter - i changed my travel dates to be outside of the sale period, so as to coincide with YC's already planned leave from work. when i finally got around to booking the flights, i was pleasantly surprised to find that my outbound leg was again on (a different) sale. so in the end i get to fly for only a bit more than the original sale fares, and enjoy the availability of a local host. it was then that i struck another peculiarity of the world of airfares...

having learnt my lesson from the last time i almost missed a bargain, i made an immediate booking for the SG-HK leg of the journey, but decided against booking the return leg in the hopes that the price would drop. i then found out the reason for the cheaper SG-HK trip, and concluded my hope for the return leg might be in vain, so i proceeded to book the HK-SG leg. here's the thing:

if i had booked my return leg together with my outbound leg, it would have cost me SGD209 ($149 for flight, $60 for taxes). but if i book it as a single one-way trip from HK, it costs HKD906 ($628 for flight, $278 taxes).

converting to AUD that's a total of about $175 and $145 respectively. exactly the same flight, but with a variation of about $30 depending on where you book from. don't ask me why! i'm just glad i stumbled across the unexpected saving, as a result of trying to hope for a different type of saving :p

it's a bit like the travel between singapore and KL, from what i understand... the same numerical figure fare applies for flights from KL to singapore and from singapore to KL - the former you book/pay for in malaysia, using malaysian ringgits; the latter you book/pay for in singapore, using singapore dollars. at a conversion of roughly 2:1 for MYR:SGD, that's a significant difference!

the intricacies of airfares - part 1

i don't understand how airfares are priced. i'm sure there's some economic model that determines when they go up and when they come down, accounting for factors such as the busyness of the travel dates, length of time between booking date and travel date, fixed duration promotions, competitors' price movements and the like.

i also don't understand the value of travel agents in the travel industry when it comes to booking (simple A-to-B-and-back type) flights. i've long stopped bothering to contact travel agents for domestic flights, heading straight to the likes of the virginblue and jetstar websites when i need to fly. the last time i tried to book a domestic flight at flight centre, i was quoted a much higher fare on a qantas flight than what i had already found on a vb flight. when i mentioned this, the consultant checked the vb website, and i ended up making the booking with vb. but what really happened was that the flight centre person made the booking for me on the vb website, and when i asked what the difference was between her doing that and me doing exactly the same thing at home on my own computer, she muttered something about their lowest price guarantee and arranged a $10 refund to my credit card.

the web has also become my first port of call for international flights. i used to book through one particular travel agency because the boss/owner is a family friend, and has authority to give some discounts. however the last few times i've done the brisbane-singapore round trip, i've consistently found that the lowest price i could get was direct from the airline's website (in my case singapore airline). not even the likes of zuji or union shopper's travel service could compete in sourcing cheaper prices than what my buddy firefox and i found with a few mouseclicks. so the moral of this story is: book directly with the airline if you can, as this cuts out the middle man and associated costs.

having said this, i saw that zuji's price for the qantas flights were slightly less than the price you get from qantas' websitef! go figure... so the moral of this story is: don't immediately book directly with the airline, but first see if the middle man is offering discounts/incentives.

in the end, i went with british airways, as they happened to be having a sale (half price tickets!) just when i was about to book. so i scored :) the funny thing with this is that although these BA flights are actually operated by qantas, the equivalent qantas flights (same physical plane, different code/flight number) were still at about $11K. so the moral of this story is: when a flight has multiple personalities, seats may vary significantly in price depending on which 'person' you speak to.

i first found out about the BA special via an smspup advertising email. the prices it mentioned half shocked me from my morning not-quite-wakefulness, and i was rejoicing at such a find of cheap tickets available for the dates i wanted to travel. at $760 (including tax) for the return flights, who wouldn't be happy when every other airline's starting price was something in the $11-12K range. but i had to go to work, and didn't have time to check into conditions etc and make the actual booking, so left it for after work. when i got home, the cheap seats were no longer showing! i was spewing big time at the thought of missing out on such a rare bargain, particularly as the price of the singapore airlines flights i was originally intending to book had just gone up. thankfully, the next morning i saw the special prices available once more for my desired dates - this time i couldn't get my credit card out fast enough. so the moral of this story is: when you see a bargain, carpe diem!

remarkable customer service

"I'm using the word remarkable literally—the goal is to provide customer service so good that people remark."

so says joel in a recent article on the topic of customer service. i guess i'm not ignorant of the theories and principles in customer service, as mostly covered in the 7 steps joel expounds in the article. having worked in various customer service roles for some time now, i am much more aware of the occasional good and often ordinary or sometimes bad customer service that i receive as a customer - but i can't say that i set out to provide remarkable customer service. maybe because i'm getting rather sick of my current role, and because the 8th step to providing customer service seems to be somewhat lacking in my workplace...

and maybe if customer service staff were given the freedom to provide customer service without the constraints of having their performance measured by average call handling times and the like. one colleague, when asked by a customer as to what it's like to work here, answered:

"I have two words for you: battery hens."

i thought it was funny. if only it didn't sometimes feel too true!

happy new year?

there's never much of an atmosphere for chinese new year in these parts of the world. i wasn't even sure which day CNY actually fell on. in a more asian setting, one might break out the mahjong set and go a few rounds. but not me (mostly because i don't have a mahjong set :p) - i've been getting into a bit of texas holdem poker, so took the opportunity last night to break in my new set of chips after the clay intro/dessert party ended.


i thought i'd post the few pics i took at clay, since k seemed appreciative that her efforts at arranging the food did not go unnoticed ;) even the humble lamingtons were given a bit of a lift!

and of course there's a pic of my poker chips... thanks to some dogged and savvy ebay bidding, the beauty of multiple purchases with combined shipping, and a bit of onselling, my set are effective free - not bad for something that would retail in the 3 digit mark :) there's even some surplus that i'm puting towards better quality cards (the ones in the set were... let's just say not the greatest), viz. a double (duo-tone) set of classic bicycle 808 rider backs.

oh and i'm also getting a black tiger and ghost deck, mostly as a differentiation device (and cos they look cool :p) and as a bit of indulgence/spending of the ang pao money that i don't actually get anymore! i didn't realise these cards are used more widely for magic tricks than playing, until i found blank cards which you obviously can't play with but are handy for tricks like this:

neat huh? for the curious, here's how it's done.