GPS - getting from here to there has never been easier

GPS, or Global Positioning System, the satellite navigation system developed and maintained by the US and incidentally, free for civilian use. :)

If you want to know more, you can get more information from Wikipedia or other online resources. There's also the online community at Malsingmaps.

My first GPS Receiver was the the Garmin Nuvi 300. This was a life-saver when driving through the unfamiliar city streets of KL, for example. Even with voice prompts, you still need to look at the screen from time to time. Thankfully, the Nuvi 300 has with a large, clear 3.5" screen which is easy to look at during the day as well as night.

One thing the Nuvi CANNOT do is record down tracks. This is when you go where no one has gone before. This feature enables you to record down that path travelled, and can be downloaded to PC later. Why do this? Well, tracks of new areas are very useful to the guys at Malsingmaps, as they can use this as reference to update the maps. A full contribution will typically include tracks of the uncharted area, plus any points of interests, road names, etc..

Unfortunately, driving around in a car with good tinting (specifically, Vkool), GPS reception was quite bad inside the car. Sometimes, it takes like half and hour to acquire enough satellites just to get a fix on your location. I've had to stop by the road side and wind down the window before, just so I can fix my location and start navigating to my final destination. Once you get a lock, you can drive around as normal, but I've temporarily lost the satellite signal on several occasions before.

Today, I got myself an SA-46 reradiating antenna, which I have not managed to try out yet. This is made up of an external receiver, which can be attached to the roof of the car (it's magnetic and water-proof). A cable runs into the car, where it connects with an internal transmitter. The transmitter itself has to be connected to the car's 12V supply via the cigarette lighter socket. I hope that this will make my navigating and tracking easier and more accurate.

Well, more on this soon!

Photography for fun

I consider myself a later bloomer in the field of photography. Never really caught on until my dad gave me a Nikon Coolpix 775 as a present one day roughly 5 years ago. It was a 2 megapixel fully automatic camera (very entry-level by today's standards). However, those were the days where digital cameras were still relatively rare. My interest grew as I set about photographing everything in sight around the house (just got a new toy, after all). After refining my new found skills, I graduated to the next level, with a Coolpix 5400 and 5700 pair of prosumer cameras. You can tell that brand loyalty is strong in me. Personally, I was very happy with my first camera being a Nikon, so that's where my heart lies. If it had been a Canon, possibly I would be a Canon user today instead!

Anyway, with my new equipment, I kept myself busy by photographic sports / recreation events in my company (in which many opportunities are present). Indeed, I soon became known as the company photographer (due to the fact that I was the ONLY one with enough interest and dedication in the company). I soon pushed my Nikon pair to the limits of their performance envelop, namely low light performance (during annual dinner) and shot-to-shot speed (try photographing everyone during a football match prize giving and you'll get the picture).

Thus, my first DSLR, the D70. It was my primary workhorse for a couple of years, even today, serving as my backup camera next to my D200. Indeed, for everyday shooting, my good old D70 is my weapon of choice (much lighter than the D200, which I have outfitted with the battery grip).

Throughout my DSLR years, I have amasses a small collection of glass (lens, for the uninitiated). Mostly I use Nikon Primes, and Sigma Zooms. The only odd one out is the Tamron 17-50mm F2.8, which is the best walkaround lens for low light and everyday use.

Adding to my equipment collection soon? I've been looking at the Nikon 70-200mm F2.8 VR (which costs more than the D200 itself). Too expensive, but you get what you are paying for (sort of like getting a BMW). I've also considered the Fujifilm S5 Pro, but that's a bit over-priced in my opinion.

Most of my work will be posted at my Multiply site, since there's no real photo gallery option built into Blogger.

A little about myself

A little self-intro, for those who are interested....

I'm an engineer by profession. Work for a multi-national company, managed by locals, so it's not really that different from a locally owned company. Working in a support group that has to "support" a 24 hour, 6.5 day per week Production group, I'd say that leaves very, very little time to indulge in other things. Yep, there's some truth in Dilbert cartoons after all....

Been married for almost two years now. Expecting my first child next March. Hence, time is become ever so scarce a resource.

In my free time, I like to take photographs (digital, I'm not old enough to have lived through the grand age of film). My latest hobby is GPS tracking. More on my interests later....

I'm a somewhat active member of the 8th Gen Civic Club (8GCC) and also the Toyota Vios Club Malaysia (TVCM). Mostly active on the forums.

Well, so far so good. Physical activities are quite limited - I have a session of badminton once a week which I miss more than half the time due to - work (why else?). Other than that, I have some skills that I never use anymore, like bowling, tennis, swimming, cycling, chess, and carrom just to name a few.

That just about sums up who I am - just another typical guy in today's society....

My first post on Blogger

Okay. After signing up for an account more than half a year ago, time to start posting.

This site's been dormant for some time. At first, it was more of an exercise of convenience and out of curiosity, since:-

a) signing on with a g-mail account (looks easier than actual fact though)

b) everyone's getting on the Blogging bandwagon. I'm starting to feel a little old and out of touch with technology already (now I know how my parents must be feeling)

Blogger doesn't allow for unlimited photo posting (hence, a minus point for me, an avid photographer). There'll be a couple of pictures here and there, but most of the time, expect something right out of an English textbook....

Other than this site, I also have my Multiply site (which I will focus most of my time on) and my Facebook site (accepted my friend's invitation to join). Thus, now, I have to educate myself on the fine art of managing multiple blog sites concurrently.

Heh, heh - starting to feel younger already! :)