Money burning a hole in my pocket
I’m torn between three possibilities as far as reducing my bank balance is concerned.
Option 1: A mac mini. Useful to be able to test websites for those weirdos who won’t have a PC in the house and it’s such a funky gadget too. Lovely. Option cost: approx £400.
Option 2: A new TV. A flat, HD ready TV that is. All four of us from work trooped into Richer Sounds at lunchtime to drool over the big, clear pictures. The Hitachi models looked very attractive, especially after considering that Evil Overlord minions get a discount. Option cost: approx. £450.
Option 3: More camera goodiness, specifically a Tamron 200-500mm lens from Warehouse Express. 780mm of telephotographic goodness. Mmmmmmmm. I’ve already checked and although they’re a local company, the operation is strictly mail order. Bah. Option cost: approx. £670.
I’d probably “use” the TV more than the other options but would probably get more enjoyment out of the other two. Do I need a mini Mac? Of course not - I don’t need a new TV or another telephoto lens (but imagine the wildlife shots theoretically possible with a 780mm lens - no more splodges in the centre of the frame for me!).
I’ll think have a good, hard think over the long weekend - I’ve changed my plans (which were to work all three days this week) and will be setting off for Torchwood Town tomorrow in daylight. Heading directly into the gales, unfortunately, but I’m hoping that the forecast
Saturday sunshine and scattered blustery showers. Sunday heavy rain and gales spreading east
will be accurate as far as the “sunshine” is concerned and less so as far as the “blustery showers” goes. The journey home on Sunday should be quick as it’ll be wind assisted!
December 28th, 2006 at 11:24 pm
With my wireless connection back up and running I can post again! I would go for the errrr TV if you want to totally destroy my hearing ability again. Also I want to see how you will collect it in your rarshmobile-compact! That Mac does look good as well though - not much help really am I.
December 28th, 2006 at 11:28 pm
This site is simple but fun, loads of people have saved some good ones on the web.
http://www.linerider.com
December 28th, 2006 at 11:33 pm
Better version here…
http://www.linerider.org/play.php
December 29th, 2006 at 9:34 am
Option 1: Has a weak justification — but is probably the only way to truly see how fonts would be rendered under Safari. There should be other ways to get close which don’t require Mac OS. Better justified if you are going to jump ship.
Option 2: Can’t say I’ve been impressed by anything other than the HD demonstrations. All “normal” content I’ve seen has IMO been inferior to regular CRT, blurred footballers etc. — and frankly surprising that they display this in the shops expecting to sell. (When I went into the local Richer Sounds almost all screens were displaying computer animated cartoons - which looked OK on the smaller ones.) A neighbour has a big Panasonic one, which did look impressive showing BBC’s recent “Fear of Fanny” which was filmed in HD. When there’s sod all worth watching — and this week has been spectacularly bad (Freeview included) — it makes spending money on a gogglebox seem particularly wasteful. The Register has recently updated their guide to HD TV in the UK, which is a useful hype-free reference. Replacing perfectly good existing equipment is also not supported by the green lobby.
Option 3: Looks the best to me. My ignorance of advances in the manufacture of optical equipment leads me to suggest that - unlike the Mac and TV - you may not see as great a depreciation in its value. Good for creative activity.
Have fun choosing.
How about some asbestos pocket lining?
Lionel: Asbestos is dangerous - hadn’t you heard?
I am, indeed, leaning towards Option 3.
December 29th, 2006 at 4:21 pm
I can wholeheartedly recommend Warehouse Express - no matter where I’m living, they’ve deivered next-day, and the prices have always been more than reasonable.
Lionel: Oh, the prices are very, very tempting, Lyle. Thanks for the recommendation, though.