Musings

Reading is about enjoying a plot. It’s also about holding a book and turning pages as you read to the end. It’s about the convenience of being able to carry it with you all over the place – cafe, car, airplane etc. Books are meant to be read, not listened to as in an audio book. 

Well, there’s so much discussion about E-readers and audio books that I tried it out. I bought a digital copy of Malcolm Gladwell’s Blink and downloaded it into my iPod. I was in the gym when I tried it out. 

The experience is interesting. I mean, reading on the treadmill when you’re walking very fast is quite tough, what with the treadmill vibrating from the way I’m pounding on it as I try to beat my own 41-minute timing for a 5km walk. Books are out in this instance. Only magazines but it’s quite strenuous to focus on the tiny fonts on a magazine when you’re walking, breathing heavily and sweating a lot. So the reading can’t be continuous; I’ve to stop from time to time otherwise, I’ll get a headache. 

Of course with the audiobook, the experience is of a different kind. You listen to the book. Okay, so I bought a kinda dry book, not the usual thriller or sci-fi that I’ll read. That’s another problem which I’ll discuss later. First the experinece of an audiobook. It’s quite good, if you’ve the right volume up and if the reader has an interesting pitch and tone and isn’t monotonous. Malcolm Gladwell read his own book, and he’s quite good. Plus it’s not that dry as he had several interesting case studies and examples. So I quite enjoyed listening to the audiobook…. except I haven’t continued to listen to it outside of the treadmill. I guess, it’s because it’s not a thriller and I’m in no hurry to find out who dunit! 

Now the earphones – you need a good one which fits nicely. In-ear noise-cancelling devices would be good because it’ll cut out the very loud music they play in the gym. I’d the Apple earphones which did the job quite nicely. Even then, I’m not used to earphones – I play the iPod on a dock with speakers. So I’d to get used to the earphones plus you need a pair which won’t slip out as you walk cos it can be irritating if they don’t fit. 

Right, title of the book. I chose Blink cos it’s the most interesting. There’re thrillers but I didn’t like the ones that were available. Problem is there aren’t many titles for audiobooks. Choice is limited. I guess it’s a chicken and egg thing – more people need to buy audiobooks before authors and publishers would be interested in putting out audio versions. 

Now I’m wondering about the Kindle and the Sony E-reader. They are like books since they’re devices you hold in your hand except that the pages you turn are digital. It’s all the more attractive since there’s a Kindle reader on the iPhone which would make it really easy for me to start reading on the Kindle and continuing it on the iPhone if I want to read on-the-go. But I’ve to figure out if Amazon which is selling the Kindle will sell i-books outside of the US. 

I’m ready to go – I’ve the Kindle app on my iPhone, now it’s just finding out if I can buy the digital books. Stay tuned while I try this out.

Zach, my jack rusell terrier, has a new trick. He likes to burrow and he’s doing it with the throws on my sofas. See the picture here. 

I first noticed this two nights ago. He managed to get underneath the throw and curl himself up. I can play hide and seek by throwing the cover open but at night, he’s one grumpy JRT. So I leave him alone. 

In these 2 photos, you only see his butt or hind legs. But he’s actually a cutie but can be a monster too. Here’s what he looks like: 

I’ve noticed lately that several TV episodes are now sporting Apple equipment. These TV episodes like CSI, Lipstick Jungle, Lie To Me and Bones are using spanking new iMacs, keyboards and iPhones. Wonder how much these product placements cost Apple? Or are they free? 

Does a lot for the brand because in all these instances the Macs are used in the office.  Of course, some applications are familiar to Apple like photo management in Lie To Me. This TV serial hasn’t made it out to Singapore yet but for those who have Apple TV and access to iTunes, it’s a nice one to watch. It’s about a psychologist who understands micro-expressions – how an eyebrow twitches, or hand clutching – to tell if a person is telling a lie or is hiding something. So the Macs are used to show all the photos of various people. 

What else have people seen anyway?

There’ll be a couple of big smart phone launches this month. Just heard that the Blackberry Storm will be launched end this month while the HTC Diamond 2 will be launched mid-month. Looks like smartphones this year will be the hot stuff.

The Blackberry Storm is quite hot going by the recepton in the US. I haven’t used it but from what I read, the interface is different from the Apple’s iPhone. For one, you’ve to tap quite hard – and the phone gives a feedback – to click on something.

Hoping to get in touch with someone who have used it overseas to get their feedback.

The last time I’d played Tetris was on my Palm smartphone. That was several years ago. My friend Eileen, “bluetoothed” it to me. Those who’ve played it will know that it’s pretty addictive moving those boxes and shapes to fit nicely. I would play it every time I was free – waiting for friends, and mostly just always one last game before bed.

It’s dangerous because it’s the first time I’d RSI (repetitive stress injury) on my thumbs. Quite painful, almost couldn’t type. So much so, I sold my Palm off.

So last week, I was browsing the App Store and saw that Tetris is one of the most popular game. What did I do but buy it. Kinda stupid I thought, but what the heck, I was in the mood to help some economy by spending!

I was pleasantly surprised. It’s still Tetris but it’s now how you would play on the computer. It’s different and interesting. There’re still those falling blocks that you’ve to re-arrange but now you’ve tools to help you when you’re in trouble. Like you can change a falling brick to another shape that would help you score points. Or you haven’t been able to line them all the bricks properly and it’s really piling up and you’re on the verge of losing. You can use another tool that would burst all the blocks so that you can start – not from the bottom – but from somewhere near the bottom.

Best thing is, when I leave it and come back another time, it takes me back to where I last played. So I’m really enjoying it. No there’s not RSI but I’m kinda frustrated because the swipe on the touch screen doesn’t register effectively. Overall, 5 out of 5 for this game. Try it.

My friend Charlotte sent me a note alerting me to a report that a Seattle newspaper is closing down its print version and publishing strictly online. It’s not the first to do this. I think the Christian Science Monitor also did the same as well as PC Magazine too. 

Walter Issacson, some of you may remember him, a former editor at Time/Fortune, wrote in a recent Time article that while newspaper advertising revenues have dramatically dropped, readership has not suffered the same decline. The challenge for the newspapers is to find a way to charge for their online content. This argument has come full circle. Do newspapers charge or not charge for the online newspapers? Are publishers who dared charge subscriptions for digital versions and received scorn from netizens now right in their decision? 

There’s no clear cut answer to this. Netizens are adamant that whatever is found on the Web must be free. But Issacson’s argument is that people would pay for good journalism as in the case of the wsj.com. Business models are being challenged today because of the Web’s influence. Until publishers find a way out of the print advertising model, newspapers will continue to bleed. 

As newspapers moved online, their staff have also shrunk. Where are the displaced journalists going? Some are becoming publishers of their own ie become bloggers and start news websites. Others are looking for jobs. 

Early in my career as a journalist I thought that journalists were not trained for anything else than writing. Subsequently I added communication skills which gave journalists a chance to excel in public relations, advertising and marketing worlds. What if you don’t want to do any of this? What other skills would they have? 

achievements, said the story quoting an expert (I can’t remember who it was), describe the skills you have. 

I thought about it as I read the Sunday Times story on how to write a resume. Instead of stating the achievements, said the story quoting an expert (I can’t remember who it was), describe the skills you have. So what skills do journalists have? This is what I came up with.

1. Journalists are self-starters. Once they understand what the job is, they get on with it. They do what they’ve to do to get the job done. 

2. They’re multi-taskers. They don’t have secretaries or clerical staff. They file their own stories, they read and respond to their email (unlike some managers whose secretaries still print them out), they photocopy and staple their own papers etc. These are administrative, but they are equally capable of keeping in mind 5 things they’ve to do at the same time. They’re used to this since they chase multiple stories simultaneously. 

3. Journalists are good communicators. They can articulate clearly and they can talk to anyone from hawkers to the CEO. They’re also good listeners.

4. Journalists who’re supervisors have experience managing people (journalists generally tend to have big egos). 

5. They’re usually more cosmopolitan and they understand the general economic, social and political landscape. They maybe sceptical but they have a good idea of what’s happening on the ground. 

6. Journalists learn fast. They can be covering the flood in one story and unhappy tenants in another. Even if they were beat reporters, they would be learning new things happening in their industry all the time.

For all these reasons, they’re employable by any industry. Thing is, do headhunters in other industries see these skills as positive ones.

Over $800 – that’s the bill for the latest visit to the vet. Sandy was going for her check-up following a bad skin rash while Uno (the first precious “son” in the family) was getting a second opinion from his favourite vet, Dr Ly. Anyway, Sandy was ok, she’s looking good and the prescribed hormones and steroids (very small amounts otherwise it’ll destroy her kidneys) are working. 

As for Uno, Dr Ly wasn’t happy about the cysts and abscess found in his prostrate. Why didn’t we talk to him when we’re at the clinic for the ultra-sound? Well…. anyway, the cysts and abscess have receded but now there’s sediment in his bladder. That’s when Dr Ly put on his serious face. What kind of sludge (ie sediment) was it? Err, naturally I couldn’t answer him and he demanded another ultra sound to be done when he’s on duty so that he can take a look at the images. 

So Uno is now on special diet called CD to balance the pH levels ie the alkalinity. But that isn’t good, said Dr Ly. Better to go back to basics: increase the alkalinity of water he’s drinking for after all like humans, animals too have higher percentage of  water in them. So buy a special filter that cuts down on the acid and increase the alkalinity. 

Check that. Then use special hormones for the neutered dogs – hormones that have been specially compounded by a chemist in Camden Centre and made from vegetable oils. Once that’s applied, their coat will shine again and they’ll lose their lethargy. Well, if humans accidentally use the hormones – there’re male and female types since I’ve both boy and girl dogs – they’ll benefit too (ie if they use the correct hormones!!), said Dr Ly. 

I guess, he isn’t joking cos the man must be in his late 60s or early 70s. He said he takes similar hormonal compounds and it keeps the age factors away. Well, he has a very young girlfriend! 

Apart from the hormones, the thing is to eat natural foods to keep healthy. Cruciferous and tubers – brocolli, cauliflower and carrots and potatoes, yam and sweet potatoes. Sandy is allergic to chicken and fish so that’s out. Have to try a meat that she’s not eaten before, so I got the dehydrated venison. 

They’ve been on the vegetables for a while now but suddenly my kitchen is full of tubers. I guess they’re good for humans too.

To use the shuffle, I went to iTunes and bought those songs billed as fitness types. Well, I don’t really have those songs that have a fast beat. So, for convenience I bought 3 or 4 albums. For weight training and less cardio intensive exercise, the latin and some beach party music is good. Trouble is they aren’t fast enough for cardio, ie, the beat is too slow when I’m trying to speed walk.  So I’ve to make another selection again. Thank goodness, I’ve 1000 song as a limit. 

I tried clipping the shuffle to my shirt sleeve. Not good idea, gets in the way of the hand movement. Also the movement causes the clip to slowly slip. Best bet is to clip it to the top of the shorts/pants. 

The headphones must work for me cos usually I find the ones I use will slip out even when I’m sitting down. Its because I don’t like stuffing them really into the ear. But this time the headphones although loosely slipped into the ear held well and didn’t even drop. 

But I’m worried: I’m clicking every now and then trying the new buttons and also to familiarise myself with them. Hopefully, I won’t break the buttons. It looks really flimsy. Well, time will tell. 

iPhone 3.0 software

Isn’t it great news that all iPhone 3G users can now forward their SMS and MMS? While Apple has done the cut and paste way to forward email – an ingenious way of getting around the problem – it works. So you can cut and paste for SMS, email or even on websites. That’s a great idea. 

I saw some of Web videos of beta versions of the software. Some things have changed. There’s a Spotlight icon but instead of swiping left to get to the next screen, you swipe right. Then the messaging icon on the top left corner, will have a bubble in it to reflect that IM is now supported directly by the iPhone. 

These are part of the 100 new features that Apple has announced. It’s clear from Apple’s invitation to journalists that it was to be an iPhone announcement. Why do reporters/writers/bloggers still say: There’s no ‘one last thing’. They’re all hoping for a netbook. 

Personally, I think Steve Jobs will make that announcement. In the meanwhile, I can’t wait for the new upgrade to arrive.

It’s just out. Apple has unveiled a new iPod Shuffle that can talk to you. Yup, it tells you what songs and playlist it is playing. It’s great if you’re driving or running on the trackmill. 

I haven’t seen the product yet, but reading the story on appleinsider.com there’re a couple of things I like about this new iPod Shuffle. First, the clip, it looks it’ll secure better than the previous one. Second, locating the buttons on the earphone is a great idea. Makes controls more accessible. No more fumbling around.

Also the price US$79, should work out to be about $150-$160. I think it’s affordable for 1000 songs. If I get one, I’ll use it more for podcasts which I listen to a lot. Now decision making time: black or silver? 

I had hoped that the big announcement would be a slim netbook but I’m reminded again and again – by Apple people no less – that Steve Jobs had said that netbooks were a nascent industry and Tim Cook, acting CEO said recently, the company was just studying this segment closely.

I’m not holding my breath for netbook announcement at WWDC coming up in June. The iPhone rumour went on for about 3 years before it became a product. Hopefully we don’t have to wait three years for the slim netbook.

Meat, they eat lots of meat in Germany. Veal, beef cheeks, rump steaks, salmon, pike-perch (it’s a fish) and of course, sausages of different kinds. I do eat meat just that I prefer vegetables and tofu. But I must admit that the veal and beef cheeks I’d was superb. Cooked just nice and melts in the mouth. 

One major difference I found: shops in Germany are closed on Sundays. Coming from Asia where shops are open every day, it’s a surprise. Even in the US, shops are open. I did have an English book but I always would like to have an extra book or two because I go through them rather quickly.  Anyway, I managed by sleeping earlier so that I would read less and preserve whatever English reading material I’d. 

So what do Germans do on weekends? My guide, Urte Lutzen said they get up late, walk in the parks – and there’re many beautiful ones – visit museums, walk through flea markets, go to the mountains or countryside. 

After eight days in Germany and five cities I was tired. My 10 other travelling companions from Europe, Asia and South America had visited at least 10 organisations in 8 days. Unlike a holiday tour which is physically demanding, this tour was both physically and mentally draining. 

I still found the tour interesting and in the following weeks I’ll be writing in the straits times about the new interactive 3D technologies, new tech in BMW cars, LED lights that can carry data and others. 

Hopefully, I’ll find the time to return to Germany for a holiday.