Tag: geek

Geek Girl, Health Goddess

I’m a Fitbit Flex-er

yannisms

One of my bad (or good, depends on how you see it) points is that I can be really, really competitive. Not just with others, but with myself. I know, it sounds strange but it’s really a case of me applying my legendary stubbornness to something and making 100% sure that I succeed. Even if nobody cares, because I care.

(That’s how I could go through seven IUIs and still bulldoze my way forward. Crazy.)

Anyway, Mr Thick snapped up two Fitbit Flex for us recently and almost immediately, I have found myself doing my best to match up to the goals that I had set. For instance, my target is to hit 8,000 steps a day. But but but…it is term break now and I am hardly on my feet these days.

This was why husband found his wife pacing round and round the living room last night, muttering to herself. He was all, what are you doing? and I was like, I need to hit 8,000 steps.

So the school has what we call FIT Day on Wednesdays, where we can take off at 5pm to exercise either on campus or around the nearby reservoir. I took a leisurely walk this evening at 5pm – the weather was nice and cool – and lo and behold! 8,000 steps! And more!

MUAHAHAHAHA.

Let’s see how long this obsession of mine lasts.

Oh, we have been extremely geeky these days. My tech-loving husband recently presented me with the Pebble watch. One of my favourite watchfacees is the hobbit one and I have to say, I really like living on hobbit time. After breakfast is second breakfast, and then there’s lunch, and right after lunch is a nap. BEST THING EVAR.

And yes, as Mr Thick said, my wrist is all Bluetooth-ed out. It IS very nice to have married a geek. Who cares about diamonds when I can have a Pebble?

Geek Girl

Mastery or tools?

yannisms

I’ve been thinking about upgrading to a new camera body for a long, long time now. It’s not that my current Canon 400D is not working fine – on the contrary, it’s been a great road warrior for the past three years. Ever since I switched to my Tammy lens, I’ve seen a great improvement on the quality of the pictures.

And yet the one thing that is holding me back is my self-perceived lack of skills.

I don’t think I am a great photographer and I keep wondering if I deserve to splurge $2K a high-end camera like the 7D (husband is convinced that the 50D is not worth the money). It always boils down to the question of skills versus tools. Undoubtedly, a good tool can only be fully utilised if the hand holding it is skillful. Otherwise, it will never achieve its full potential. Do I have the necessary skills or knowledge to handle such a solid piece of equipment?

On the other hand, can a tool help to improve the owner’s skillset? Will I become a better photographer with a good camera in my hands? I had the same conversation with my photographer friend Alwyn and his take is that with a good camera, even if your pictures turn out to be crap, at least they are good looking crap. Well, that’s one way of looking at it, I guess.

I have never thought that my so-called good pictures were due to skills or technique; they were simply borne out of luck. One of my favourite pictures taken at Haji Lane, for instance, was taken when we were leaving the place. I turned around, stuck a camera up and snapped without thinking. I didn’t think about lighting or angle or composition. I just clicked the shutter. For every nice picture like that, there are probably 15 duds that I never bothered to process.

I’ve asked myself several times: did I become a better baker after we got the KitchenAid? I’m not sure – but I do know that I started to bake more and I became a more efficient baker.

I highly suspect I will continue to be stuck in this dilemma for a while longer. Come back here in another six months and I will probably be still hemming and hawing over it. Well, blame it on my Feeling preferences. It’s been proven that I decide with my heart, not my brains!

Irreplaceable
Geek Girl

Clickety click

yannisms

!(imgcenter)http://img.skitch.com/20080813-xhn3ipps95fws2uk6a1hx9658e.jpg!

Call me paparazzi! New cameras alert!

Well technically, I have had my Canon Powershot A590 for more than a month now.

Why, you ask, do I need another Canon when I already have my trusty DSLR? Because the 400d is bulky and wouldn’t fit into my daily handbags. Why do I carry my camera around everyday? Because I just do. Anyway, I have been pretty chuffed with its performance – it’s a great little gadget that delivers sharp, crisp pictures with vivid colours. Its manual function allows me to change everything from the white balance to the aperture so it appeals to the inner geek in me.

As for the uber fabulous fisheye lomo with built-in flash, I have to say a big THANK YOU to You’e and Ash! They sprung a surprise on me this evening during dinner, handing this to me as a wedding gift. What are the odds? The boyfriend and I have been wanting to buy one for ages but were put off by the price. And coincidentally, we had just been ogling the Lomos at Peninsula Plaza the day before. It’s destined, I tell ‘ya. Clever girls!

Don’t you just love the retro chicness of the Lomo? Now all I need is the Holga and the happy camera family will be complete (lenses not included)!

Guess who will be going trigger-happy during her wedding?