Backup

After going without protection for months finally I relented and go get some protection instead. I have quite a few gigs of photo collection, and bundled with all the old nostalgic stuff which I don't know I'll keep for how much longer, I really do not want them to disappear at the blink of an eye.

I was contemplating to get a full-blown external RAID 0 array (which costs around Rm580 for a full 160GB setup with two mirrored HDD setup) or as simple as 3.5" internal HDD, which I'll use to fill up my porn junks instead of mirror backup. Another option is to buy a full fledged Atom PC which will only cost Rm750 to use as a file server of some sort, but it seems stupid when all I need is just some mirror drive.

2.5" NoTouch HDD enclosure. Sexy? Perhaps.

Finally I decided to get a 2.5" lapdog laptop HDD instead, and try to be disciplined enough to do monthly backup. HDD price is falling like London Bridge and I got a 160GB 2.5" HDD for RM205, inclusive of external enclosure. Darn cheap, I must say. Now one of my eternal worries are gone. No longer I had to worry about lost data and my pictures are now better protected against my own stupidity.

Oh, and my new PC plan would have to be scrapped. I couldn't find enough reason to justify spending RM1k++ just to make my photo processing 1000% faster. It was unnecessary in view of the 'unfavourable' economic condition I landed myself in. Some colleague of mine is looking at his 2nd house and he only landed in his 30's this year. By the time he lay on his death bed he'd be looking at his 25th house I think. And comparing to other, less conspicuous colleagues, a huge , glaring gap is immediately begging to be seen. I don't hope to get a 2nd apartment by my 30's, but I do hope to get a place of my own in a very short time. Some bastard coursemate already paying for a spanking new car and house, and I'm not far off I'm paying for my fourth SLR lens. Ok that is supposed to be a joke if you don't get it. This year I would probably skip buying some new gadgets, including SLR lens. Robin is going to get disappointed :D

It takes some ingenuity to save some dough. Presenting you:

How to Save Money and Save Face
Guide #1.

An iPod, CX300, and Philips pouch and you'll be complete.

Look at this iPod, ain't it cool? Well, it's Rm600 on open market and believe it or not, you can actually listen to one, and almost get audiophile quality audio for next to nothing.

1) Go find a friend who have an iPod Nano(tm). Borrow from them on the pretext of saying you're contemplating to buy one. If you do not have friends who have one, go find a new bunch of friends, what you have now is too cheap and not able to support you. What are friends for if not to help each other?
Tip #1: Go find rich friends, most rich bastards have one iPod. Or more.
Tip #2: You can also go befriend someone who works in Agilent. All new hires for 2007/8 get one iinm.
Now you save Rm600, and it's just a start.

2) So now you have an iPod Nano(tm). You need a better earphone than the plastic thing they supplied to you ( which they called earphone, which is really an insult to earphones. ) You decided to buy IM716 but it's gonna cost you ~RM560. Oh no you don't have to spend so much.
Tip #3: You need to look around the drawer for the CX300 that you left there sometime ago. Don't tell me you didn't have a CX300. If you REALLY don't have CX300, go kill yourself or something. You don't know what you've been missing all these years of growing up, and I'm sorry for you, I really am.
You can use your CX300 and not buy IM716, it's enough to suit your needs.
You save another Rm560.

3) You still miss something. You think for awhile then voila, something hit you right in the head. YOU NEED A TUBE AMP! How could you listen to an audio without a tube amp? > < href="http://www.darkvoice.com.cn/337se.htm">THA337 amp that you loved so much, but at Rm3k it's not exactly cheap either. So what did you do?
Tip #4: You might already know, the iPod comes with Wolfson codec audio output. No, I don't suggest it can beat the crap out of tube amps, but if you're one of the 98% of the population who couldn't differentiate between an earphone and an IEM, you probably don't need the THA337.
Oh holy cow, I just help you save RM3k!!!!!~~

4) Finally, you need a pouch (duh!) for your friends' beloved iPod. I knew you already got that SHE9700 haven't you? It comes with a pouch that fits the iPod Nano(tm) perfectly. Now you don't need to buy whatever protection for your iPod. This is what being prudent is all about. You don't need to buy those lousy Made-in-China protector, and you have a free, cool pouch that every other iPod owners are going to get envy for. You could probably save Rm20 for this cool act alone.

Robin would be happy to see this pic.

In total, I just helped you save ~Rm4k of dough! There you go, the guide to save money and save face at the same time!

30 miles of bad road.
Nothing to do with overall post but,
what the heck.

Side note: If the iPod owner stumbled upon this post, don't get angry and demand your iPod back pls? > <