Toowoomba was beautiful that day, the sky was clear with no clouds.
We went to the Laurel Bank Park, Queens Park Gardens, Japanese Garden, Picnic Point Lookout and last and this year's Grand Champion for Home Garden Competition.
It was a very nice way to spend a Saturday, and I took enough photos for the outing.
The website for Toowoomba Carnival of Flowers: http://www.toowoombacarnivalofflowers.com.au/
And you can click on the title above for the photos of places in Toowoomba.
24 September 2005
24 July 2005
The Glasshouse Mountains
It was cloudy with little shower in the trip, which is barely noticeable. With photos taken, I am happy...
We started by exiting the Bruce Highway to the Glasshouse Mountains Tourist Drive (or called Glasshouse Mountains Road), along there, there are a few lookouts that we didn't go to and the Australian Zoo, I heard they have good range of animals there, including tigers.
The Glasshouse Mountains view that was took is from Mountain View Rd, just in front of Mary Cairncross Park at Maleny, the view from McCarthys Lookout is pretty much the same, I think.
Then we went to the Gerrards Lookout, where the view was quite good... we can see 360 degrees from the lookout.
Just nearby from this lookout along the road is the view of Lake Baroon, which was so pretty.
Next one we went to Kondalilla Falls. It was worth the visit.
It was a nice trip. And the number of people going is good, we had a great time and fellowship.
Click on the title above to view the photos... or go to http://paskhon.freesuperhost.com/2005-07-23_Glasshouse_Mountains.html if the former is down.
We started by exiting the Bruce Highway to the Glasshouse Mountains Tourist Drive (or called Glasshouse Mountains Road), along there, there are a few lookouts that we didn't go to and the Australian Zoo, I heard they have good range of animals there, including tigers.
The Glasshouse Mountains view that was took is from Mountain View Rd, just in front of Mary Cairncross Park at Maleny, the view from McCarthys Lookout is pretty much the same, I think.
Then we went to the Gerrards Lookout, where the view was quite good... we can see 360 degrees from the lookout.
Just nearby from this lookout along the road is the view of Lake Baroon, which was so pretty.
Next one we went to Kondalilla Falls. It was worth the visit.
It was a nice trip. And the number of people going is good, we had a great time and fellowship.
Click on the title above to view the photos... or go to http://paskhon.freesuperhost.com/2005-07-23_Glasshouse_Mountains.html if the former is down.
08 July 2005
Google Earth
It's so amazing. Google Earth can show the images of your house from the satellites above. You can also tilt the image to an angle so that the image is seen from one side.
It shows any places around the world! I've seen the image of the Eiffel Tower in France, the Forbidden City in Beijing and also high rise buildings in capital cities.
I placemarked many places in Brisbane and they look just like I've been looking at, and sometimes even better because it is seen from above.
However, the images of some places are blurry. Maybe it will take a while before some images are as detailed as the rest.
The best news is, it's free!
http://earth.google.com/
It shows any places around the world! I've seen the image of the Eiffel Tower in France, the Forbidden City in Beijing and also high rise buildings in capital cities.
I placemarked many places in Brisbane and they look just like I've been looking at, and sometimes even better because it is seen from above.
However, the images of some places are blurry. Maybe it will take a while before some images are as detailed as the rest.
The best news is, it's free!
http://earth.google.com/
05 July 2005
Canon EOS Elan IIe and Sigma EF-430ST
Elan IIe is an EOS film SLR camera. It's got good reviews on the Internet, and I even got a rechargeable 2CR5 batteries from eBay for low prices. I bought Elan IIe second hand from eBay for much cheaper price compared to my EOS digital SLR 300D, which is about 5 times more expensive.
It's got most of the controls of the 300D, and more. It's got one shot, AI focus and AI servo auto focus. It's even got an eye controlled focus point. Don't ask me how that works cos I have only a little idea, I think it simply detects your eye to find out where you are looking at. As far as how the implementation goes, I haven't got a clue.
I bought this Canon EOS Elan IIe about 5 months ago... sorry I didn't mention it but it was because I couldn't get a good picture from it. Not until recently.
Now I tried using 100 ISO speed and the resulting picture is amazing. I tried at different lighting conditions and the result is still great. I didn't even need to preview the result and delete if I have to. I still wonder how that is possible.
It may have something to do with the Photo Lab, which is at Big W at Garden City. I chose it cos it's cheap mainly.
Thanks also to the flash Sigma EF-430ST that I bought from Cash Converter for $32. It gives plenty of light, that's for sure. I don't really know if this flash is good price, I didn't bother to check cos it doesn't cost much. But I have realised that Cash Converter doesn't sell cheap as far as I know, the price in the shop for brand new products are the same as these second hand ones. I wonder whether I should even consider coming to Cash Converter at all. Mainly I go there because it's close, but if it is something involving a lot of money, I definitely would check with other brand new product shops.
It's got most of the controls of the 300D, and more. It's got one shot, AI focus and AI servo auto focus. It's even got an eye controlled focus point. Don't ask me how that works cos I have only a little idea, I think it simply detects your eye to find out where you are looking at. As far as how the implementation goes, I haven't got a clue.
I bought this Canon EOS Elan IIe about 5 months ago... sorry I didn't mention it but it was because I couldn't get a good picture from it. Not until recently.
Now I tried using 100 ISO speed and the resulting picture is amazing. I tried at different lighting conditions and the result is still great. I didn't even need to preview the result and delete if I have to. I still wonder how that is possible.
It may have something to do with the Photo Lab, which is at Big W at Garden City. I chose it cos it's cheap mainly.
Thanks also to the flash Sigma EF-430ST that I bought from Cash Converter for $32. It gives plenty of light, that's for sure. I don't really know if this flash is good price, I didn't bother to check cos it doesn't cost much. But I have realised that Cash Converter doesn't sell cheap as far as I know, the price in the shop for brand new products are the same as these second hand ones. I wonder whether I should even consider coming to Cash Converter at all. Mainly I go there because it's close, but if it is something involving a lot of money, I definitely would check with other brand new product shops.
Canon PIXMA IP2000 Color Bubblejet Printer
Just bought a color printer today the Canon PIXMA IP2000. I saw this model yesterday at Harvey Norman at Garden City for $99. Today the price has gone up again $179, but luckily I found out the price is still on special $99 at Carindale Westfield Shopping Centre.
First time at the Carindale Shopping Mall, and it's huge.
Do not underestimate this $99 printer. The photo print has little difference than photo print from photo lab. Life just couldn't get cheaper. Oh, actually this might just be the beginning... now those countless desperate researchers are trying to get jobs... nobody really need to leave the house anymore cos everything is so cheap...
The glossy photo paper and the color ink are probably the most expensive from the lot, but you can get them from eBay considerably cheaper too... it seems technology has arrived at some point nowadays that you can get almost everything cheaply if you really try.
Well, I will print photos using this printer very occasionally cos it's still cheaper to print them from the photo lab. But this printer can also be used for color document printing which is what I wanted to get everytime someone prints in color.
First time at the Carindale Shopping Mall, and it's huge.
Do not underestimate this $99 printer. The photo print has little difference than photo print from photo lab. Life just couldn't get cheaper. Oh, actually this might just be the beginning... now those countless desperate researchers are trying to get jobs... nobody really need to leave the house anymore cos everything is so cheap...
The glossy photo paper and the color ink are probably the most expensive from the lot, but you can get them from eBay considerably cheaper too... it seems technology has arrived at some point nowadays that you can get almost everything cheaply if you really try.
Well, I will print photos using this printer very occasionally cos it's still cheaper to print them from the photo lab. But this printer can also be used for color document printing which is what I wanted to get everytime someone prints in color.
08 June 2005
Dolby Digital 5.1
Dolby Digital 5.1 apparently has been around for a long time, it's just that I haven't actually had the opportunity to use it as we didn't have a TV as we lived in a homestay before.
Dolby Digital 5.1 is much better than just a Stereo, as it has 6 speakers: front left, front right, rear left, rear right, center and subwoofer. It gives an amazing sound experience, just like watching in a cinema, however I even think the sound is better because it is in a much smaller room.
The first time I was introduced to it was when I was shopping at The Warehouse, where it had a $69.99 Cobolt Dolby Digital speakers, which is quite a bargain. As we also just bought a new TV in our new bought unit.
The Dolby Digital speakers has amplifier in it, so we can control the volume, bass, treble, etc.
It doesn't have a decoder to decode a digital outlet from conventional DVD player, however.
So I found out that we need to get a DVD player with a decoder... cheap DVD players from China has decoder...
I started to get a cheap DVD player (after finding out that my PS2 only does Dolby Version 2) with a Soniq brand, which is the brand of my CD writer software too. Don't know what country Soniq is originally from, but the product is made in China. The Soniq DVD player costs only $75 from JB Hifi. So it's got the decoder to connect it to the cheap Dolby Digital speakers.
But at the end I decided to buy an LG DVD player because it can play DivX, Dts (digital output only, probably need a decoder to use it) and it is also much better quality for sound and settings for $155 from Clive Anthony.
So far it's been a great life here in our unit with the coming Dolby Digital 5.1 technology...
Dolby Digital 5.1 is much better than just a Stereo, as it has 6 speakers: front left, front right, rear left, rear right, center and subwoofer. It gives an amazing sound experience, just like watching in a cinema, however I even think the sound is better because it is in a much smaller room.
The first time I was introduced to it was when I was shopping at The Warehouse, where it had a $69.99 Cobolt Dolby Digital speakers, which is quite a bargain. As we also just bought a new TV in our new bought unit.
The Dolby Digital speakers has amplifier in it, so we can control the volume, bass, treble, etc.
It doesn't have a decoder to decode a digital outlet from conventional DVD player, however.
So I found out that we need to get a DVD player with a decoder... cheap DVD players from China has decoder...
I started to get a cheap DVD player (after finding out that my PS2 only does Dolby Version 2) with a Soniq brand, which is the brand of my CD writer software too. Don't know what country Soniq is originally from, but the product is made in China. The Soniq DVD player costs only $75 from JB Hifi. So it's got the decoder to connect it to the cheap Dolby Digital speakers.
But at the end I decided to buy an LG DVD player because it can play DivX, Dts (digital output only, probably need a decoder to use it) and it is also much better quality for sound and settings for $155 from Clive Anthony.
So far it's been a great life here in our unit with the coming Dolby Digital 5.1 technology...
Moved in to Stones Corner
Just recently moved to Stones Corner after looking for a place to stay for a while. We decided a unit is more suitable for us (me and my sister) because of mainly less maintenance and short distance from the city.
The unit in Stones Corner is very strategic location for us, as it is close to the city which is where my sister works and I also study at QUT in the city. It is also reasonably close to Sunnybank for major shoppings but apart from that, Stones Corner is close to many things that we like such as the bargain shopping there, 2 dollar shop, Cash Converter, Australia Post, Suncorp, KFC, Hungry Jack's, McDonald's, Ben's restaurant... 2 Blockbusters Video and 1 Video Ezy, also reasonably close to Bunning's Warehouse, Good Guys, Clive Anthony... and of course, heaps more shopping in Sunnybank including JB Hifi, The Warehouse, Super A-mart, lots of Chinese food shopping and restaurants. Life just couldn't be better.
As I have just started to move to this unit, I reinstalled the shower with more sophisticated unit, changed the tap water knobs, mirrors, the door knobs for bedrooms, bathroom and toilet... I have a bit of experience with hardware now including drilling.
Action supermarket is just 3 minutes walk, very close, its even closer compared to some places between the car park and the supermarket.
The ADSL is now running, and things have come back to what it was and more as we have control of what we can eat and with much cheaper costs compared to the previous homestay.
It's been a great experience living in this new place and everything is so close here...
The amazing thing that comes across is the Dolby Digital 5.1 brought to the place, which is such an amazing DVD experience with the sound, which is comparable to sound in cinemas. To know more about Dolby Digital 5.1, read the next article.
The unit in Stones Corner is very strategic location for us, as it is close to the city which is where my sister works and I also study at QUT in the city. It is also reasonably close to Sunnybank for major shoppings but apart from that, Stones Corner is close to many things that we like such as the bargain shopping there, 2 dollar shop, Cash Converter, Australia Post, Suncorp, KFC, Hungry Jack's, McDonald's, Ben's restaurant... 2 Blockbusters Video and 1 Video Ezy, also reasonably close to Bunning's Warehouse, Good Guys, Clive Anthony... and of course, heaps more shopping in Sunnybank including JB Hifi, The Warehouse, Super A-mart, lots of Chinese food shopping and restaurants. Life just couldn't be better.
As I have just started to move to this unit, I reinstalled the shower with more sophisticated unit, changed the tap water knobs, mirrors, the door knobs for bedrooms, bathroom and toilet... I have a bit of experience with hardware now including drilling.
Action supermarket is just 3 minutes walk, very close, its even closer compared to some places between the car park and the supermarket.
The ADSL is now running, and things have come back to what it was and more as we have control of what we can eat and with much cheaper costs compared to the previous homestay.
It's been a great experience living in this new place and everything is so close here...
The amazing thing that comes across is the Dolby Digital 5.1 brought to the place, which is such an amazing DVD experience with the sound, which is comparable to sound in cinemas. To know more about Dolby Digital 5.1, read the next article.
31 March 2005
Hope Oceania Convention 2005
It is a Christian Convention held by Hope Oceania churches with speakers from Thailand, Malaysia and our church in Brisbane. The speakers are Pastor PN, Simon Eng and Wilson Lim, respectively.
This time the Convention is held at Adventure Resort, Phillip Island, Melbourne, Australia. From Friday 25 to Monday 28 March 2005, which is Easter break.
The messages are very good and I also have the same believes. They also confirm what I understood with real life experiences, which I don't have, and to what extent the truth revealed.
The accommodation is very good for me personally. I didn't have any problem sleeping although I usually have before. Good clean shower rooms, toilets and sinks.
The food is also very good, I like them.
The venue has got nice views surrounding it including the lake and nice buildings. It also includes 2 pools (one of them is where water baptism was held), 24 hour snack and drinks vending machines and table tennis.
15 minutes from the venue is the Nobbies which is still in Phillip Island where nice scenes by the sea can be viewed and penguins can be found hiding in the burrows and under the walkways.
I traveled by bus from Brisbane to Melbourne, it took 24 hours each way. It was nice experience, the roads are in good shape, we passed nice suburbs along the way, the meals are good too.
All pictures in the trip including the venue, the sceneries and penguins can be found in my websites either from http://poioun.atspace.com/2005-03-28_Hope_Oceania_Convention.html or http://paskhon.freesuperhost.com/2005-03-28_Hope_Oceania_Convention.html in case one of them is down.
This time the Convention is held at Adventure Resort, Phillip Island, Melbourne, Australia. From Friday 25 to Monday 28 March 2005, which is Easter break.
The messages are very good and I also have the same believes. They also confirm what I understood with real life experiences, which I don't have, and to what extent the truth revealed.
The accommodation is very good for me personally. I didn't have any problem sleeping although I usually have before. Good clean shower rooms, toilets and sinks.
The food is also very good, I like them.
The venue has got nice views surrounding it including the lake and nice buildings. It also includes 2 pools (one of them is where water baptism was held), 24 hour snack and drinks vending machines and table tennis.
15 minutes from the venue is the Nobbies which is still in Phillip Island where nice scenes by the sea can be viewed and penguins can be found hiding in the burrows and under the walkways.
I traveled by bus from Brisbane to Melbourne, it took 24 hours each way. It was nice experience, the roads are in good shape, we passed nice suburbs along the way, the meals are good too.
All pictures in the trip including the venue, the sceneries and penguins can be found in my websites either from http://poioun.atspace.com/2005-03-28_Hope_Oceania_Convention.html or http://paskhon.freesuperhost.com/2005-03-28_Hope_Oceania_Convention.html in case one of them is down.
Motorola MPX200
The mobile phone Nokia 3650 I bought have a problem keep turning off very frequently so I had been concerned if I miss some important calls. I've been wanting to get a new mobile phone, especially with no power problems and in addition, essentially to be able to put notes and record sound (as I have been writing songs so I can record when I come up with nice tunes sometimes).
The Nokia 3650 is about $600 and it's got camera, but I am not looking for a phone with a camera cos I already have digital cameras and the quality will never match dedicated cams even the low 3.2 megapixels, as phone cameras have probably at most 1.33 megapixels.
The Motorola MPX200 has got everything I need above and more. It doesn't have a camera. But in addition it can use SD cards (up to 1 GB of storage), Microsoft Outlook to organise appointments, with GPRS can use Internet Explorer, MSN Messenger and check emails (need certain phone network such as Optus to support it).
The Internet capabilities, I don't use them as Virgin Mobile only provide limited support and also I have ADSL at home and the rates for any download in any network are expensive via phones which is 2.2 cents per kilobyte (if you don't know, that is actually quite expensive).
The price of MPX200 I bought is $218 from Singapore from eBay, stock clearance.
The only problem that the mobile phone has is quite frequently it keeps typing multiple keys when you press only once. But considering the price and other features that I like, I think it is a good value.
The Nokia 3650 is about $600 and it's got camera, but I am not looking for a phone with a camera cos I already have digital cameras and the quality will never match dedicated cams even the low 3.2 megapixels, as phone cameras have probably at most 1.33 megapixels.
The Motorola MPX200 has got everything I need above and more. It doesn't have a camera. But in addition it can use SD cards (up to 1 GB of storage), Microsoft Outlook to organise appointments, with GPRS can use Internet Explorer, MSN Messenger and check emails (need certain phone network such as Optus to support it).
The Internet capabilities, I don't use them as Virgin Mobile only provide limited support and also I have ADSL at home and the rates for any download in any network are expensive via phones which is 2.2 cents per kilobyte (if you don't know, that is actually quite expensive).
The price of MPX200 I bought is $218 from Singapore from eBay, stock clearance.
The only problem that the mobile phone has is quite frequently it keeps typing multiple keys when you press only once. But considering the price and other features that I like, I think it is a good value.
21 March 2005
Free Gmail Account
I've been using Gmail. It's been really great.
Gmail is an email service provided by Google.
You get 1 GB (2 GB now, 26/07/2005) of email storage for each account.
The organising of emails is very nice, putting all replies into one conversation. No other email service ever done it that way. It is easy to find the relevant emails as they are grouped to one heading.
You can search keywords from your emails too.
It is very fast.
On Friday 1 April 2005, I notice that Gmail also supports Html to hotlink images from an image server, and other Html capabilities as well. You can pretty much copy a webpage from the Internet and paste it to the Gmail message to be sent.
It is not really free, you need an invite if you want to open an account.
I can give you a free invite if you want one and if I have one to give you. Just send me an e-mail.
You will get 50 free invites after a few days you open the account.
Gmail is an email service provided by Google.
You get 1 GB (2 GB now, 26/07/2005) of email storage for each account.
The organising of emails is very nice, putting all replies into one conversation. No other email service ever done it that way. It is easy to find the relevant emails as they are grouped to one heading.
You can search keywords from your emails too.
It is very fast.
On Friday 1 April 2005, I notice that Gmail also supports Html to hotlink images from an image server, and other Html capabilities as well. You can pretty much copy a webpage from the Internet and paste it to the Gmail message to be sent.
It is not really free, you need an invite if you want to open an account.
I can give you a free invite if you want one and if I have one to give you. Just send me an e-mail.
You will get 50 free invites after a few days you open the account.
Canon EOS 350D
Just saw a few days ago about the new Canon EOS 350D.
If you are considering to buy a digital SLR, this is most probably the camera for you.
This is the second lowest price D-SLR after 300D, which I own.
It's got many better performances compared to 300D.
In a way, I am a bit disappointed but I am still glad I bought the 300D cos I didn't know there was going to be a 350D and I wouldn't wait that long (about 6 months) to get my hands on my 300D.
300D is also a great camera and I would be happy with it for a long long time.
If you are considering to buy a digital SLR, this is most probably the camera for you.
This is the second lowest price D-SLR after 300D, which I own.
It's got many better performances compared to 300D.
In a way, I am a bit disappointed but I am still glad I bought the 300D cos I didn't know there was going to be a 350D and I wouldn't wait that long (about 6 months) to get my hands on my 300D.
300D is also a great camera and I would be happy with it for a long long time.
Visa Debit Card (Suncorp)
My sister, Anita, is a CPA member so she can get American Express credit card with no annual fee, and she also made an Amex card for me. Can get lots of points if I use Amex so I always try to use it whenever I have the chance.
I've been interested in buying stuff from eBay cos they sell with low prices. But most of transactions such as Paypal can not use Amex, they use MasterCard or Visa.
Well, I saw a Virgin advertisement in Hotmail for Visa/MasterCard (can't remember) credit card with no annual fee as well, but it was unsuccessful. Not sure why, they didn't tell me and I didn't bother to ask. That was that.
One day, from the Internet when I was trying to buy something, it struck me (don't remember what it was) that you can use Visa without it being a credit card. So I checked with Suncorp (my bank) website and it's got a Visa Debit Card.
Visa Debit Card is similar to credit card, it's just that you need to have money in the bank before you can spend anything. Unlike credit card, however, it's got no annual fee.
No annual fee is good and I prefer having money in the bank first to pay right away cos I don't want to pay the interest for late fee so debit card really suits me. It also saves me from transferring money to the credit card account everytime I buy something.
I applied for it ASAP and with my good banking records, my scholarship and some term deposit, I was good enough to get the Visa Debit Card!
I've been buying a few items from eBay and it's been great. Works in a flash.
Can't be happier.
I've been interested in buying stuff from eBay cos they sell with low prices. But most of transactions such as Paypal can not use Amex, they use MasterCard or Visa.
Well, I saw a Virgin advertisement in Hotmail for Visa/MasterCard (can't remember) credit card with no annual fee as well, but it was unsuccessful. Not sure why, they didn't tell me and I didn't bother to ask. That was that.
One day, from the Internet when I was trying to buy something, it struck me (don't remember what it was) that you can use Visa without it being a credit card. So I checked with Suncorp (my bank) website and it's got a Visa Debit Card.
Visa Debit Card is similar to credit card, it's just that you need to have money in the bank before you can spend anything. Unlike credit card, however, it's got no annual fee.
No annual fee is good and I prefer having money in the bank first to pay right away cos I don't want to pay the interest for late fee so debit card really suits me. It also saves me from transferring money to the credit card account everytime I buy something.
I applied for it ASAP and with my good banking records, my scholarship and some term deposit, I was good enough to get the Visa Debit Card!
I've been buying a few items from eBay and it's been great. Works in a flash.
Can't be happier.
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