Journey to the Past

3 weeks after I got my first e-book reader, the PRS-505 , Sony released a new e-book reader, the PRS-700 . At first glance, this looks really promising. The loading time is way better than the old model. For my collection of 175 books on SD card, it takes 6 seconds to load. In PRS-505, it takes 12 seconds. Page turns take half the time compared to 505. It has a touch screen capability. Which means you have more ways to turn a page. Also, thanks to this ability, you can do search and highlight passages on the book you are reading. It comes with stylus, but using fingers will be as effective. Another thing I love is the buttons. The new PRS-700 has "back" button, "next" and "previous" page button, "home", "search", "zoom", and "option". The "home" button is really useful. Using PRS-505, when I want to switch between books, it takes anywhere between 5-10 clicks. Now, thanks to this "home" button, it ...

I love random quotations and out-of-context sayings. It just opens up endless possibilities as to the context and the circumstances of the sayings. Today, a quoted poem from an American poet and educator Hughes Mearnes caught my eye: As I was walking up the stair I met a man who wasn't there. He wasn't there again today. I wish, I wish he'd stay away. This is exactly the kind of poem that triggers imaginations. I was intrigued by the non-existent of the person that the writer wrote about. But after I think about it more, this is quite a creepy poem, probably belongs in the opening scene of a horror movie somewhere. PS: The above poem is called Antigonish , or better known as The Little Man Who Wasn't There

I love reading. Specifically, I love reading fictions and mangas. Unfortunately, most mangas I like are not available in Canada. Fortunately, most of them are scanned and translated into English by their Japanese-reading fans. So there are lots of them online, if you know where to look for them. Having lots of manga jpgs means that I can collect the ones I like. But since they are not real books, it's kinda hard to re-read the mangas I have. I don't have a desktop, and the LCD monitor hurts my eyes once I stare at it for a long time. Knowing my addiction for books (and mangas), we did some research and decided to buy Sony Reader PRS-505 . Yup, I got the red one. The reader acts like a glossy-paper book. So even under sunshine, you can read it without difficulties (supposedly... I cannot test this with Vancouver's weather). Some people ask me why I don't buy Amazon Kindle . If you live in USA, you can search books on Amazon.com for free from anywhere (no wireless charge)...

Next Tuesday, 14 October 2008, is election day for Canada . If you are a Canadian citizen, don't forget to go and vote. We can make a difference in the way a nation is going, and it all starts with a vote. So do your part and vote!

A while back, the government of Canada suddenly realized that Canadians did not save their money as much as they hoped. So, to goad Canadians into saving, they introduced the Tax-Free Saving Account (TFSA) that basically allows up to $5,000 per year contribution to grow tax-free. How the TFSA Works Starting in 2009, Canadians aged 18 and older can save up to $5,000 every year in a TFSA. Contributions to a TFSA will not be deductible for income tax purposes but investment income, including capital gains , earned in a TFSA will not be taxed , even when withdrawn. Unused TFSA contribution room can be carried forward to future years. You can withdraw funds from the TFSA at any time for any purpose. The amount withdrawn can be put back in the TFSA at a later date without reducing your contribution room. Neither income earned in a TFSA nor withdrawals w...

The Do-Not-Call List that I wrote about is going live this morning. You can register by calling the toll free number at 1-866-580-3625 or 1-888-362-5889 (for the hearing impaired). Alternatively, you can also visit their website, LNNT-DCNLgc.ca Expect to be put on hold for a long time, or a very slow page loading, though. The website and phone lines are overwhelmed . PS: You might also be interested in ioptout for opting out from hundreds of organizations contacts.

Yu huu, my old iGoogle is back (on Firefox)! For those who do not know it, Google launched a new iGoogle and decided to put my account among the first adapters. I hated it .