wedding frenzy (thankfully not mine :p)

The reason we are in Singapore this time is to attend the wedding of my sister in law, C, to M. Here is a potted account of the daytime events.

0636 It’s still pretty early, but I’ve woken up about 3 times so far this morning. There’s already activity happening outside and wifey is long out of bed. I think about doing a live blog type thing and decide to fire up the netbook.

0640 Netbook doesn’t seem to want to resume from hibernate. I think it’s the HDD problem again, which I’ll have to sort out when I get back to Oz. Hope a full reboot works…

0650 Now working on netbook after full reboot. Needs to hold out for another week. Loud (to me) chatting outside, I can hear my wife being a part of the conversation. Wonder when I should actually get out of bed.

0654 C’s ‘sisters’ are due to arrive in a few minutes. I think I should start wiping the sleep from my eyes. M is due to arrive with his ‘brothers’ at 8am to pick up his bride and go through the ‘negotiations’ to get past the front door. I’d better be dressed and fed by then.

0721 Time for breakfast. I feel like I’m in a house of strangers - many unfamiliar voices.

0736 The sisters have prepared some pretty nasty stuff for the groom and his men. Hope they don’t go overboard with these ‘games’. Time for me to make myself look presentable.

0747 Dressed and ready for action. The house is suddenly quiet. I’m going to stop being antisocial and see what’s happening.

0749 The closing of the veil by the parents being done. Photos with family and

sisters.

0753 More photos - closeups of C’s nail art. Brothers are here.

0756 E touching up C’s mascara and attending to some last minute adjustments. Relatives starting to arrive too.

0803 The boys are congregating downstairs, while the girls realise they have no structure to their tortures I mean tests, and knock up a plan/sequence.

0806 The boys have arrived at the front door. Door bell rings. The negotiations begin.

0810 The flowers have been rejected, the ang pao has been rejected. The boys get to work on their first challenge.

0815 The brothers are now watching a video clip on the laptop - I think it’s a music video that they need to perform / dance to.

0821 Dance is done, and to reward them for their hard work, the girls serve some “snacks” for the boys. So thoughtful, eh?

0824 Thirsty? The girls have prepared some drinks too… meanwhile the boys continue on another challenge - something to do with unscrambling some letters to form a sentence.

0826 The door is momentarily opened to let some relatives through. The boys make a half hearted attempt to force their way through.

0829 Next game - photo quiz. See if M can recall details from some photos with the mystery sections covered up.

0831 The boys offer their third ang pao, the girls approve of the increasing figure. Boys enter.

0834 Photo quiz continues indoors. Each wrong answer results in some food/drinks to consume.

0841 Games over, drinks consumed. M moves onto the last hurdle - signing and reciting the love contract before he enters C’s room and sees his bride to be.

0844 Last last hurdle - M has to pass E’s test before she will let him in to finally see her little sister.

0847 M kisses his bride to be.

0851 The couple are now out in the living room and group photos are being taken.

0855 The brothers and sisters depart. Things are running on schedule. Those who remain at the bride’s family can relax awhile. There’s talk of playing mahjong… hmm…

0905 People retreat to the air-conditioned bedrooms. The mahjong table is out and ready for action. We have about 3.5 hours before the bridal party returns here for the bride side tea ceremony and lunch.

1102 Have been playing mahjong, finished two rounds. The caterers have already arrived to set up the food - we’re having Peranakan fare from Ivin’s the Peranakan specialists (www.ivins.com.sg), yum yum! More relatives have come and E says it feels like Chinese New Year.

1140 I’m sitting down to my meal. It’s nice :) Don’t want to overeat, even though I could definitely have more of this…

1223 We get word that the bride is back - tea ceremony will follow soon.

1301 Tea ceremony and lots of photos now done. Things are running ahead of schedule. Time for a bit of rest until the evening program.

1316 People are leaving. I think I’ll stop this now cos not much will be happening the next few hours, and when it does I won’t be near a computer so can’t really keep this up.

Not just another flight

We were originally going to fly with Jetstar for this trip, as they were having same sales at the time we were looking to book. However we were given an offer we couldn't refuse to 'upgrade' to the more expensive Emirates flights - total about A$17xx for 2 (economy class). Despite the odd departure (2:45am) and arrival times (~1am), it would be more convenient for us to fly direct and save on travelling time. Jetstar transits in Darwin - and we'll get to experience what this is like later this year. Another potentially cheaper option was AirAsia which we flew about 12 months ago - this would have required us to depart from Coolangatta instead of Brisbane, as well as transit in Kuala Lumpur. And so began my first experience flying with Emirates.

I should not have been concerned about whether they had video on demand, because their in flight entertainment system called ICE (information, communications, entertainment) digital widescreen blows everything else I have experienced out of the water! Among other things, it features:

• a widescreen format for improved viewing, not the puny screens you might get in some other airlines (that is, if you get a personal screen at all...). The 10.6" screen is bigger than the one on my netbook!
• touchscreen control - this was a bit hit and miss because I had some trouble touching the smaller buttons/icons, and I couldn't find anyway to calibrate the touch alignment (not that I looked very hard). Of course you can still use the more traditional control pad, which features a little joystick type thing to move the cursor.
• over 1200 channels of movies, tv, music and games. There would have been a good 100+ new and recent release movies.
• the ability to be used pretty much at all times during the flight, including take off and landing. My previous experiences with other airlines saw them turn their system on after take off, and turn it off before landing. Of course, during announcements and safety briefings etc the system is paused.
• you can also do stuff like plug in your USB device to view photos, PDFs, play music(?) etc, though I didn't try any of these out myself.
• oh and there are two cameras on the plane that show the downwards view and the forward view, which I found quite novel. At least that way you can feel more connected to your surroundings.

I ended up watching 3 movies:

1. District 9 which I thought had a decent plot, with an ending that leaves the story wide open for a sequel which I fully expect to be called District 10 (for more reasons than one).
2. Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen which was a bit of a waste of time. I started to fall asleep during this movie (by which time I was at least 6+ hours past my typical bedtime). So I paused it, took a nap, and continued watching when I woke up.
3. Michael Jackson's This is It I'm not a huge fan of MJ - I like some of his music and fully acknowledge that he was one skilled and talented individual - and missed most of the media storm that accompanied his passing because I was in China on an IT support short term missions trip at the time (maybe one day I'll get around to blogging my half finished offline entries from that trip), so felt kinda distant from it all. While I'm generally happy to hear his songs, I'm glad I didn't pay to watch this at the cinemas during its limited release.

Anyways, back to the flight itself. Some other miscellaneous thoughts:

• The cabin crew speak a LOT of languages... I didn't keep count, but I think the announcement listed close to 10, if not more.
• I'm not sure if the plane we were on had just been turned around from another flight, but the seatback pockets weren't thoroughly cleaned/restocked. Minor quibble, but the pedantic me notices these little details.
• There is good foot room in the seats to stretch out. The space taken up by the equipment for the entertainment units is not as bulky as other airlines I've flown with.
• Speaking of the seats, they recline better than other airlines I've been on too. Both the upright and the seat pan (not sure if that's the correct term... the horizontal bit you actually sit on) move when you recline, instead of just the seat back. Looks like the plane I was on had their new generation of ergonomically designed Economy Class seating. Yay me :)
• Even the fold down trays were a better design - these planes had a double fold, so it takes up less vertical room when folded up. Not sure if it's related, but I guess this means more space for the screen :)
• Along with the headphones, you get a set of stickers that you can place on your seat to indicate one of the following if you want to sleep:
1. wake me for meals
2. wake me for duty free shopping (though I just realised I didn't see any of this at all... maybe it was while I slept, but that would have been an odd time to have it)
3. do not disturb
• Having said that, they did not hand out any comfort/amenity packs, eg with stuff like eye shade, ear plugs, socks, toothbrush etc, which I would have expected given my previous overnight travel experiences. I can only assume this would have been available on request...
• Otherwise the service was fairly good - wifey said before the flight that I should ask the cabin crew to hang my suit bag, but as we got to our seats, a stewardess offered to hang my suit, so I didn't even need to ask.
• Food wise I thought the meals were reasonable without being fantastic. The snacks we were served after takeoff included a choice of chicken or lamb pie, which turned out to be tiny - I probably could have done with another 1 or 2. They also served a choice of whole fruits, which I don't think I've had on any other flight. Having said that, I think my banana was a tad underdone.

Overall I think it was a definitely value for money flight - compared with the likes of Singapore Airlines or Qantas (both of which I've flown for this route), you are getting more bang for less buck, and that's a win in my books! I'll definitely consider flying Emirates again, assuming the travel budget doesn't consign me to only the budget airlines.

Another flight to Singapore

Here's something new - I'm going to attempt to blog my way through my current trip to Singapore. It won't quite be live, but I'll aim to update roughly daily, and see how I manage to keep up with the discipline. The first entry was written offline at the airport before we flew off. See all entries/follow the journey at http://quop.blogspot.com/search/label/sg2010-01

21 January 2010 1:45 AM
Location: Emirates Lounge, Brisbane International Airport
Waiting to board our flight to Singapore, which doesn’t leave for another hour. The airport was very quiet when we arrived just before midnight - no other flights were scheduled to depart before ours, and then there’s nothing until 6-something. Or is that 8-something? I can’t read the departures information screen from here.

Packing was a journey itself. My plan was to pack most of our things on Monday and Tuesday night, leaving Wednesday night relatively relaxed. That was until the addition of a tray of mangos Wednesday morning, followed by another tray in the afternoon, and then another bagful, plus some passionfruit. So now I was staring at about 70kg of stuff… good thing Emirates has a standard allowance of 30kg per passenger! In the end I repacked about half of what had already gone into the suitcases, shifting some 10kg into hand carry luggage. So that left us with a ~32kg suitcase, a ~22kg suitcase, 2 hand carry bags of about 6 and 7kg respectively, a backpack (mostly containing the netbook), a handbag (wifey’s), and a suit bag. Edit: pic on left taken at our destination. I take some comfort in that the bulk of what we’re carrying is for other people (ie gifts), rather than ourselves.

There’s a free wireless access point here in the lounge, provided by Emirates for its passengers. But I have no idea where you’re supposed to get the password from. Maybe I didn’t look hard enough, but in the meantime I can only conclude that the free wifi is an enticing, but ultimately useless service.
edit: I think this might be a service only for (ie passwords are supplied to) first and business class passengers...

We’ll be boarding soon. The flight’s not very full. Seating on the plane is in a 3-4-3 configuration. We’re booked into one side of the middle ‘4’ section, but I hope there’s room around us to be able to split up and spread out across a bank of 4 seats for some sleep. I don’t think I can handle an all-nighter, even though I’ll be battling to extract maximum value from the onboard video on demand. It had better be VOD…

give a chicken for Christmas

there are a still a few days left to act on the ‘Old Phones for Chickens’ campaign being run by mobile muster (the official recycling program of the mobile phone industry) in support of the work of oxfam. nice way to clear out three old phones sitting around in my home.

to take part, gather your old mobile phones (and any accessories like batteries, chargers and hands free units), put them in a box/envelope, send it off using the mailing label you can download and print off (postage is free), and mobile muster will donate one chicken for every mobile phone that is posted by 31/12/2009. too easy yeah?

looks like they've been doing this for a few years now, so if you miss out this year (or have more old phones by next Christmas) maybe there'll be another opportunity to give in this way.

union shopper - united we save (money)

i've mentioned the union shopper in passing in a few (much) older posts, but never blogged about it. it's a shopping service for members of (most) unions which

strive[s] to save members as much as [they] can through sheer buying power. That's either through direct dollar savings or matching up members to our preferred suppliers so you get what you want, with great value and without the hassles or headache.

it's pretty easy:

1. shop around for the product you wish to purchase and be ready to buy.
2. call them with your Union membership details, product brand name, model number and description of the item, and your best price including delivery and extended warranty details, if required. There is also the option of doing this online (once you register).
3. Union Shopper will respond with a price in approximately 2-3 business hours.If they can better the best price

if they can give you a better price (and they usually can), you place your order with Union Shopper, and their preferred supplier will contact you to arrange payment and pick-up or delivery terms.

the service is great for bigger ticket electrical items, and can also be used for a whole range of other products like motor vehicles, theme park discounts, accommodation and travel etc. i've only really used them to buy whitegoods and other electrical goods myself.

so what sort of savings can you get? well here's an example of some items i helped a friend to buy for his new home.

• FRIDGE - fisher & paykel E522BRX stainless steel. the best price he found was $18xx from a Good Guys store. union shopper got it for $176 less.
• WASHING MACHINE - fisher & paykel GW712. the best price he found was $8xx from Good Guys. union shopper got it for $146 less.
• MICROWAVE - samsung ME6124ST stainless steel. the best price he found was $2xx from Good Guys. union shopper got it for $53 less.

total saving $375. not something to be sneezed at, huh? not for the likes of me anyway. and pretty good return for a few minutes' work to submit the enquiry.

if you're not a union member and would be interested in potentially saving some money on a purchase, drop me a line. members can use the service to buy stuff for family & friends, but the order needs to be placed by the member and in come cases the paperwork needs to be in the member's name.

christmas lights videos

and speaking of christmas light, here are some nice setups you can enjoy without needing to go for a drive. these are houses rigged with a variety of lights that are set to music. enjoy :) you might want to watch them on youtube rather than the via the embedded link - my blog layout is a bit narrow for the clips.

this is from a house not too far from my place... maybe i should go see this live.


another one from the same house.


this is a place in perth. i think it's the best of the lot (at least within this post :p)


and the one that started it all for me, which i first came across in this gizmodo post.


and a PS if you're interested: another gizmodo post on Christmas Lights, The Brief and Strangely Interesting History Of

- - - - -

related posts: christmas lights tour

google maps fail

for the past few years, i've made some effort to see displays in the 4KQ Christmas Lights competition. last night i thought i'd hit up google maps to navigate my way around some eastern suburb displays, as i was going to be in the area but didn't know the streets well.

this is where the map tried to get me to go - down castlerea st, left to marwood st, and right to dairy swamp rd)

and this is how the satellite view of the area actually looks like. see the bunch of green stuff (ie trees) in the middle? no road there...
having found myself at an unexpected dead end, i turned to my street directory which showed me something along the lines of what whereis shows - quite a few stretches of road that don't actually exist.
that's a big fail for google maps in my books!

uq(dis)connect

i've known for more than a year that this day would have to come. now the deadline is mere days (perhaps only hours) away, and i still haven't quite prepared myself as fully as i ought...

today i mourn the passing of a part of me - the email address that has accompanied me in my digital travels for the past almost 12 years.

you see, early on in my explorations of the world wide web, i discovered that the free student account given to all UQ students wasn't going to be enough for me. how convenient that UQ also operated an external ISP. after some signing of forms and handing over of money, i became the owner of a uq.net.au email account.

as the years rolled on, i graduated from uni, and my internet needs outgrew what UQ's ISP (later known as uqconnect) was able to provide. i changed ISPs, but kept paying UQ $15/year to keep my address because

• i had already been using the address for years and i kinda liked it - it was shortish, fairly easy to remember, and attracted lots of spam.
• ok the spam wasn't a selling point, but the idea of not having to get all my contacts to update their address books, and me not having to update my subscriptions and accounts on all the mailing lists and websites i've signed up for over the years - that was worth $15 a year for me.
• plus uqconnect told me they would offer this mail forwarding indefinitely, as long as i kept paying the annual fee.

my world was at peace.

until one day i received the fateful news that "UQconnect recently reviewed its products and services. As part of this review, it was decided that UQconnect would no longer offer a Mail Forwarding service."

i had 2 months before they were going to cut me off.

i kicked up a stink. actually it was more like a please please please appeal to get an extension.

they gave me another year. that extra year expires imminently, and i shall soon be permanently disconnected from uqconnect. don't go looking for me there, cos i don't live there anymore. let's hope gmail doesn't ever decide to stop providing a (free) email service. i don't really fancy another change of email address during my remaining time on earth.

taro cash

just saw this offer from tarocash - http://www.tarocash.com.au/Voucher/673/n/3/0/0/

fill in your details to be in the draw for $100, and provide your date of birth to receive a $50 voucher to spend in store as a birthday pressie from tarocash! my excitement at the offer was scaled back a few levels when i took a look at their current catalogue and realised that $50 will get you a tee or a belt, anything else will be over $50 ie. involves some out of pocket expense. oh well, i could probably do with a new belt by the time my next birthday rolls around...

becoming a solar home

it was march 2008 when i registered my interest for the queensland solar homes program, a ClimateSmart 2050 initiative designed to develop the photovoltaic industry in Queensland and make solar power systems more accessible and affordable to the home owner. essentially this meant i could get a 1kW photovoltaic system (solar panels, inverter etc) installed for the grand total of $185 after accounting for applicable federal government rebates and RECS (renewable energy certificates).

a year and a bit later, the system was finally installed in april 2009. here are my panels in all their solar-radiation-collecting glory:

(i've never been up on my roof; wifey got the installers to help take this photo)

that was part 1. the system would now be able to save me money with free electricity - whenever it's generating energy, my home's energy needs would be met first via the PV system (the "free" bit) before looking to be fed by the electricity grid.

it would be another few months of to-ing and fro-ing (all rather unnecessary, i'd say) before part 2 got up and running. once i eventually had my old meter replaced by a bi-directional one, i could start making money out of the system by selling any excess energy produced during sunlight hours (ie if the PV system is producing more energy than what my home is using) back to the grid, at a rate that is three times what one pays when using electricity. in reality it's still a saving because whatever i produce is given to me as a credit to offset my usage charges. here is my new meter in action, showing the two readings a fortnight after installation (energy used, energy generated):

the part 1 savings i'd estimate at roughly 30c/day, and so far my part 2 savings have been $24.20 in my latest bill - that's based on 18 days of having the new meter, so about $1.30/day. this means after another 3 months or so, i would have made back my $185 investment. not a bad return, i'd say - thank you australia, thank you queensland, and thank you sunshine :)

HTC =/= help the customer

i decided to upgrade the operating system on my htc touch some time back, giving it a new lease of life by installing the official windows mobile 6.1 rom from http://www.htc.com/sea/SupportDownload.aspx?p_id=88&cat=2&dl_id=421. i dutifully followed the instructions, waited with anticipation as the progress bar came up, and held my breath as the seconds ticked by while the progress indicator sat on 0%.

then the screen showed "error [266]: update error". ok not to worry, let's check the documentation. no mention of error code 266. hmm... try running the update again, same error, and i seem to well and truly stuck in the boot loader screen, rendering my pda phone useless. it's midnight and i'm starting to feel pretty panicky at the thought of losing my touch. i tried googling and found some references to checking the usb connection, which i have already confirmed is working fine. i send off a query to htc support via their website asking for help.

the response i got the next day said:

The multi color screen is called the boot loader screen. The white bar on the bottom should say "Serial" if its not connected to the computer. On Active Sync on the PC go to File > Connection Settings and untick the box that has "Allow USB". Click OK and try to run the ROM upgrade again as per normal. If it is unsuccessful, your device has become bricked and you will need to send this off to the repair center. Our repair centers contact number is ....

so, besides telling me what i already knew / had tried (and indicated as much in my original query), this response also failed to mention one little detail which i found after doing some more googling - giving the suggested solution for error 266 (Update Error - Not able to detect the USB connection) being to remove the memory card before flashing again. what this has to do with the usb connection i don't know, but it certainly worked.

i replied to htc with the feedback that "it might even be helpful to include this information in the documentation that comes with the ROM downloads, given that the use of memory cards would be fairly commonplace." makes sense, don't you think?

one day, when i'm feeling game / foolhardy, i might contemplate installing an unofficial WM6.5 ROM if i can find a suitable one for my model.

Cine Asia - will it reel in Asians?

saw this in the local newspaper last week:
at first i thought it about AMC rehashing what it was meant to have done years ago when it first opened in sunnybank plaza, but then noticed that this is with the birch carroll & coyle cinema at garden city (as well as other selected cinemas around the country). it sounds like a good and smart tactical move - catering to the large asian population (and those non-asians with an interest in asian cinema) in the area, filling a niche in the market (previously you'd have to wait for film festivals and similar special events to see decent asian movies in your local cinema) - but part of me wonders if this move comes a few years too late. i can't remember why AMC reneged on their pledge to showcase asian films - from memory they lasted a few movies before the menu went to 100% standard hollywood blockbuster fare. perhaps the market wasn't really there - yes there will be people wanting to watch such movies, but between the flourishing piracy market in the orient and the propensity of people to travel (or have family / friends who do), the how-can-it-be-legal video hire shops smack bang in the middle of the asian centre that is sunnybank, and in more recent years the rise of torrents and youtube clones on the internet (though the latter is more widespread for tv series), people have worked out how to get their fix of asian screen goodness without having to fork out much (if any) money.

cine asia's mission is "to bring big screen, big budget Asian movies to Australian cinema goers on the same day and date as they are released in Hong Kong and China". time will tell whether this is a successful formula - the same day release bit should help their cause. i'd love to support it more myself, but trips to the cinemas aren't cheap these days. that's why i wished it was AMC who had run with the idea first - their prices are at least a tad kinder to the old hip pocket. i haven't been to the cinemas for a while now... maybe i can make an exception for a birthday treat? hmm...

i heard "tax bonus", is that right?

now that the politicians have finalised their bargaining and deal broking, and the australian government has given the green light to the tax bonus payment, i thought i'd get my act together and ensure that my bank account details were up to date so that i can get my share of the pie as soon as it's served.

and so i rang the automated service number (1300 686 636) and was left slightly unimpressed - the bulk of my 5 minutes 48 seconds on the phone was spent in repetition:

1. me repeating myself to the voice recognition system. it handled numbers ok (had no problem with my tax file number and bank details), but couldn't (despite 3 attempts at it) understand my date of birth nor my name. granted my name might not top the list of most common names, but it wasn't exactly a name out of 'the gods must be crazy' or anything like that...
   
2. the system repeating everything back and asking for confirmation. which i suppose you need in an automated voice recognition system, but it does get a bit grating after a while.
3. me having to get the system to repeat the receipt number, because after about the 10th digit i stopped writing, thinking 'surely this is the end of it', thus missing the remaining 5 digits... and of course you'd need a 15 digit number to record receipts because every man and his dog in australia is going to each call 50 million times...
   

the ironic thing was, after thinking about the whole process and how it could be better (eg. offering the option of keying numbers via the telephone keypad as a standard option rather than a backup after the voice recognition fails), i realised that i had confused myself about my details and they didn't need updating after all.

oh well.

new beginnings

within the last few weeks, i have:

• begun a new (chinese/lunar) new year, which in itself isn't very significant, but it kinda fits the theme of this post!
• graduated from the development program that i've been undertaking at work for the last 20 months
• along with the above, received my certificate IV in government (statutory compliance), which, just like my university degree, is a piece of paper that proves i've been able to pass some assessments
• started a new job in a team where i'm the first newbie for ages, and where i don't know anyone and everybody else has known/worked with each other for years
• moved to a new church (come check it out!), and

• made a tentative return to blogging... maybe?
  

an eulogy for my grandmother

my grandmother was buried today, next to her husband, and trailing him by almost 11 years. the following eulogy was written by some of her children and is taken from her memorial service program:

EULOGY - Late Mrs Chiu Hua Wong

Chiu Hua Wong was born in 1918 in Ming Chin district near Foochow in China. When she was eight years old, she migrated to Sarawak with her father and elder brother. The family was so poor that at the age of 9 she had to go to work as a maid for a well-off relative's family in another village which was a day's journey away. Daily she had to get up at 4 am to cook, wash, look after smaller children and also take care of pigs, chicken and ducks.

When she was 12, her mother came from China to join them. She was still working and could not go home to see her mum. After being bullied by a cousin in that family, she longed for her mother and cried for days. Then she asked permission from Auntie to go home to see her mother and promised to return to serve the family. She knew that that large family depended on her service and would not let her leave. Finally they granted her permission to visit her mother in her home village. When the motor boat moved away from the jetty, she called out telling her Auntie that she would not be back!

At 18, she accepted Jesus Christ as her Lord and Saviour after attending the evangelistic meetings conducted by Dr. John Sung. She reflected often that she was so filled with joy that she even dared to give a short testimony at the meeting. It was an incredible thing to do for a girl who had never been to school. She wanted badly to read the Bible so she bought a small New Testament. Every time she opened the Bible, she prayed that God would teach her to read. She surprised herself that she could make out most characters and understand what was said. She firmly believed that it was Jesus himself who taught her to read. This was God's miracle to her and she would read the Bible everyday.

At 21 in 1939, she married Ping Duang Wong, a man 10 years older and a foot taller. She knew that he was a Christian and of good character. She gave birth to 7 children, 4 boys and 3 girls. "All her children arise and call her blessed" (Proverbs 30:28) because she had led them all in the way of the Lord. She had 13 grandchildren and 13 great-grandchildren.

In 1947, she became a pastor's wife when Mr. Ping Duang Wong accepted a pastor's post in the village Sg. Tulai without any formal theological training. She was a very supportive and faithful pastor's wife. At Sunday lunch, our table was always overflowing with elderly people or relatives staying for lunch.

In 1976, she migrated to Australia and became an Australian citizen in 1986.

After being widowed, she lived in Wishart Christian Village and recently in Jeta Gardens where she was known as "the lady with the sweet smile." God had given her a gift of endearing herself to everyone she met. We give thanks to God for her life which has been a wonderful witness and encouragement for us all.

Her favourite verses are found in Proverbs 30:7-9:

Two things I ask of you, O Lord; Do not refuse me before I die; Keep falsehood and lies far from me; Give me neither poverty nor riches. But give me only my daily bread. Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you And say, 'Who is the Lord?" Or I may become poor and steal, And so dishonor the name of my God.

God has indeed answered her prayer.


[edit 13.10.2008 - my cousin has posted up some old photos in memory of my grandparents]

don't wait 'til you say goodbye

the title of this post comes from another blog i happened to read today, and some words resonated with me.

[S]aying goodbye fundamentally changes our perspective. Why is it that we stop and give thanks when we are about to lose something?
....
All this reminded me of the Mike and Mechanics 80s anthem, ‘The living years’. For those who can't remember (or weren't there), it was a song about a guy looking back after his father's death, and realizing that he wished he'd said more to his dad while he was still alive. Why is it that we are so self-centred—that we only stop to give thanks when something is being taken away from us?

he was writing about saying goodbye as a result of leaving a ministry that he had been involved in for some years. but as he alluded to in the latter quote, it's the same sort of thing when someone in your life stops living.

my (paternal) grandmother passed away this morning. i can't say i knew her very well... though having lived only a stone's throw away for the first 10-odd years of my life in Australia, and not that much further away thereafter, i can't help but feel i should have made more of an effort to change that situation, despite the generational and language gaps that exist.

i tend to be one of those strong(?), silent types who doesn't typically say very much. this is a reminder that i need to work on verbalising more, especially in thanksgiving. i can start by giving thanks for the life my 'ah ma' lived, most of which i know about through stories my father tells of his younger years. i am thankful for the legacy that she and my 'ah gong' gave to their children in living their lives under the headship of Christ. E and i pray we may be able to continue such a legacy, should God bless us with such opportunity/ies.

[edit 10.10.2008 - a friend (who will soon have the opportunity) has just written something that echoes the legacy thought.]

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?