Two things I need to buy and I know you guys can either source a good price for me or provide recommendations on what to buy.

1) A set of ear phones with a 2.5mm jack (I’m sick of my standard O2 Atom ones falling out all the time).

2) A digital camcorder, in the $800 price range, as I want to buy one for my parents.

So I’ve bought a new digital SLR.

My compact Pentax 750Z is a good camera but has a few problems. Main problem is its difficulty focusing in low light … even though the light may not be that low! It really struggles to focus when indoors with an incandescent light and results in blurry, out-of-focus pictures. Outdoors, it is an excellent camera producing beautiful pictures.

The time had come to buy a digital SLR. We’re going to New York at the end of next week and so it was the perfect time to make this duty-free purchase. I’ve played with the Nikon D80 before and found it very nice to use and produces good pictures. Reviews of this camera found it to be excellent.

So, I’ll see how it fares when we take it to the Big Apple.

By the way, we’re planning to watch New York Knicks vs the brand new Boston Celtics exhibition match. That’ll be good! Time to use the zoom lens…

So Canon has decided it’s time for me to open my wallet again. The question is though: small enough to (almost) pocket and carry everywhere, or changeable lenses.

The options are of course the new compact G9, or the DSLR EOS 40D. Both are dead sexy, both look to be fantastic cameras, but I’ve had the same problem before.

I still own both a G3 and a 300D, and rarely use both. The reason being that the G3 doesn’t have a long enough lens, and to a lesser extent a wide enough one, and 300D, for which I have a decent range of relatively cheap lenses both long and short, is too much of a pain in the ass to carry around everywhere. The G9 addresses the lens length problem I have with the G3, and while the 40D definitely does not address the PITA factor of carrying around a DSLR and two or three lenses, it is a major step up from the 300D, and I have a sneaking suspicion that the latter could be addressed by dropping the aussie inability to buy any messenger style bag other than a Crumpler (which while they may be great messenger bags, I dont know not being a messenger, or even really a cyclist, they suck as laptop/camera combo) and finding a more suitable laptop/camera bag. Timbuk2 seems to make a nice one. Hmm, more shit to purchase.

Anyway, getting back to whatever point I had, what do you guys think? I’m afraid the only suitable solution may be to buy both. I’m even more afraid I will actually go ahead and get both. Help!

My 40h kit needs a faceplate.

While Hay has purchased an Italian thoroughbred, in England. HPG has bought himself an English ladies bike…

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Just thought I’d inject a non-cycling-related post into this place. Out of the last 10 posts, 2 were not about cycling. Come on, peeps in London - take a moment to post something, anything.

Now, I’m a geek (obviously). Most geeks carry USB flash drives, either out of neccesity or just for the sake of it. I lost a 1GB drive a while ago which was a bit of a pain. Made it a bit harder to copy photos so that I could post them at work. Anyway, I just found the replacement at Officeworks. Only $25 so pretty cheap for a 1GB drive. It has a retractable connector end so there is no separate cover/cap to lose. The retractable connector does make it a little less sturdy than some other units which are almost bomb-proof. However, it’s not too flimsy.

So… if you’re looking for a USB flash drive: LG Retractable 1GB USB Drive

Can’t link to products on the Officeworks website. Search for “LG USB drive”.

Well, this site was put together to keep us in touch but for the most part I think I use it just to ramble on about cycling and avoid doing any work

Anyway HP thanks for bankrolling this nonetheless…. BTW do we have a backup yet still??

Let’s hope to hear more from everyone (about ANYTHING) in the coming year…

Website with potential to buy a new thingy a day

Actually quite tempted to get one… Waiting on the release of some hardcore sports games though… Star wars would probably be the ultimate game for the children of the 80’s I’d say. If that ever happens.

Although… the bundled sports games seem quite hardcore already… mainly bowling.
Wii bit of damage to various things…

who suddenly doesn’t know how to get to the milkbar without using his Bluetooth GPS receiver…

OK… I’m not THAT bad… As Geek says… it’s a potential relationship saver…

I gotst me one of these babies…

It sits in the boot 12V outlet of the Forester… Well out of the way of most things and connects using bluetooth…