Conspicuous consumption
My weekend was characterised by a couple of rather major outlays and some rather cool minor ones, as well as some quality time with the lovely Jane of course. :-)
Firstly on Friday I finally got round to buying an ADSL Router, because I was getting tired with my crummy Zoom USB ADSL modem blue-screening the system every other time I shut down the PC. I now have a rather smart wireless NetGear ADSL Router.
I decided to get a wireless one cos it was a only a few more pounds, it will future-proof my setup a bit, and I'll up with the Joneses at the office. So I now have home wireless network that runs from here where my PC is, to herewhere my ADSL router sits. About 10 centimetres gap. Kinda pointless, but groovy1.
On Saturday night, having finally decided that Kinky Boots really didn't warrant a cinema trip, Jane and I went to see Curse of the Were Rabbit instead. It truly is superb, funny all the way through and not the disappointment it so could easily have been once American money got involved with something so quintessentially English.
Also went on a small CD-buying frenzy and brought home Franz Ferdinand's new one (very good if a little samey in places), The Best of the Beta Band (not heard fully yet but the live CD half is good), and "A Final Hit", Leftfield's Greatest Hits compilation, which is excellent and highly recommended. If I wasn't lazy I'd set up links to all those on iTunes and I'd get a kick-back if you ordered them. But lets just say if you do buy any of those CDs on the basis of my recommendation, you give me a quid the next time you see me and we'll call it quits, okay?
Lastly, but far from leastly... I bought this little beastie...
Yarr!
I've been wanting an SLR for ages but knew deep down I didn't deserve one because I wasn't that good a photographer. But recently I've been looking at some of my pictures on Flickr and thinking "actually I'm getting quite good at this photography malarky". It was time to stretch myself a bit.
I bought a "What Camera" type magazine to read at Jane's on Saturday. My technique for buying New Expensive Things will be familiar to anyone who's seen Andy and Lou on Little Britain.
Jane: So which Digital SLR camera are you going to buy then?
Me: That one! [Pointing in the magazine without looking]
Jane: But that's a photo of a Christmas bauble they put in to show picture quality....
Me: Yeah. I know.
Jane: It's not a camera at all.
Me: Yeah.
Jane: You just pointed at it because it's a shiny, didn't you?
Me: That. One.
Jane: [sigh] Okay...
Okay, so maybe I'm not that simplistic but I do tend to do a lot of non-specific research over a period of months, so that by the time I've bought a magazine I tend to already know pretty much what I want, and just need the magazine to confirm it. I tend to buy on gut feeling. Oh, and shininess.
In this case I knew I wanted a Canon, because I've loved Canon's ever since my original Digital Ixus (one of the first models) about 6 years ago. Which, incidentally cost about the same as my new Favourite Thing Ever, the Canon EOS 350-D!
Awww... it's SOOOOO nice! And exceptionally shiny!
I only got it today and I've already taken some good pics with it, these were from my first test today:
Not bad for a virgin effort with a new camera, I thought!
...
In the process of packing the box away, I've just taken a look at price on the sales receipt and needed to go and lie down in a darkened room for a bit...
I thought digital cameras were supposed to do away with dark rooms?
--
1 Note to self - consider this as tagline for blog and/or life.
Firstly on Friday I finally got round to buying an ADSL Router, because I was getting tired with my crummy Zoom USB ADSL modem blue-screening the system every other time I shut down the PC. I now have a rather smart wireless NetGear ADSL Router.
I decided to get a wireless one cos it was a only a few more pounds, it will future-proof my setup a bit, and I'll up with the Joneses at the office. So I now have home wireless network that runs from here where my PC is, to herewhere my ADSL router sits. About 10 centimetres gap. Kinda pointless, but groovy1.
On Saturday night, having finally decided that Kinky Boots really didn't warrant a cinema trip, Jane and I went to see Curse of the Were Rabbit instead. It truly is superb, funny all the way through and not the disappointment it so could easily have been once American money got involved with something so quintessentially English.
Also went on a small CD-buying frenzy and brought home Franz Ferdinand's new one (very good if a little samey in places), The Best of the Beta Band (not heard fully yet but the live CD half is good), and "A Final Hit", Leftfield's Greatest Hits compilation, which is excellent and highly recommended. If I wasn't lazy I'd set up links to all those on iTunes and I'd get a kick-back if you ordered them. But lets just say if you do buy any of those CDs on the basis of my recommendation, you give me a quid the next time you see me and we'll call it quits, okay?
Lastly, but far from leastly... I bought this little beastie...
Yarr!
I've been wanting an SLR for ages but knew deep down I didn't deserve one because I wasn't that good a photographer. But recently I've been looking at some of my pictures on Flickr and thinking "actually I'm getting quite good at this photography malarky". It was time to stretch myself a bit.
I bought a "What Camera" type magazine to read at Jane's on Saturday. My technique for buying New Expensive Things will be familiar to anyone who's seen Andy and Lou on Little Britain.
Jane: So which Digital SLR camera are you going to buy then?
Me: That one! [Pointing in the magazine without looking]
Jane: But that's a photo of a Christmas bauble they put in to show picture quality....
Me: Yeah. I know.
Jane: It's not a camera at all.
Me: Yeah.
Jane: You just pointed at it because it's a shiny, didn't you?
Me: That. One.
Jane: [sigh] Okay...
Okay, so maybe I'm not that simplistic but I do tend to do a lot of non-specific research over a period of months, so that by the time I've bought a magazine I tend to already know pretty much what I want, and just need the magazine to confirm it. I tend to buy on gut feeling. Oh, and shininess.
In this case I knew I wanted a Canon, because I've loved Canon's ever since my original Digital Ixus (one of the first models) about 6 years ago. Which, incidentally cost about the same as my new Favourite Thing Ever, the Canon EOS 350-D!
Awww... it's SOOOOO nice! And exceptionally shiny!
I only got it today and I've already taken some good pics with it, these were from my first test today:
Not bad for a virgin effort with a new camera, I thought!
...
In the process of packing the box away, I've just taken a look at price on the sales receipt and needed to go and lie down in a darkened room for a bit...
I thought digital cameras were supposed to do away with dark rooms?
--
1 Note to self - consider this as tagline for blog and/or life.
We laugh at those Nikon fools and their plastic wannabes.
God, I am so doing the Alpha Male thing. Sorry
it is shiny!
I uploaded the full-size versions to Flickr, so for example, you can examine an enlarged version of the Catkins one here.
I'm not going to get into a debate about the quality of digital pictures compared to film, because I'm no expert. But I don't think Digital Cameras can still be pooh-poohed by photography snobs as only suitable for online work and small snapshots.
Trannys and shiny things, why should anyone be surprised.
Although normally assosciated with the contents of Accesorize!!
:)
Although normally assosciated with the contents of Accesorize!!
Trannies love Shinies.. yes.
Trannies love Cameras.. yes..
Trannies *really* love Shiny cameras..
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