Original HP Color Laserjet cartridge

I thought I'd post something about an ink cartridge. Yup, nothing fancy or too geeky about it, right? However, I just find it remarkable the way HP's original ink cartridge was produced and packed. I thought there's really nothing so groundbreaking about these things, or is there?

I'm just too used, I guess, with the small cartridges that come in small boxes, so when I found myself having to open and install one for a LaserJet, I was pretty impressed. Obviously, there's a lot of careful thought, research and development -- heck even science -- that went with it. It's wrapped and packed so neatly that it looks nicer than the Christmas and birthday presents I wrap!

After getting the cartridge out of the bubble pack and pulling a thin plastic strip off, installation was a snap -- literally. To test if I did it right, I did a test print by photocopying an image from a craft book. The printed result is a mirror image of my book sans copyright, ha ha. Well, at least my ink is original!! You see I'm one of those people who hesitate buying ink refills as much as possible because, based on experience, my printers tend to be "sickly" after a fake ink transfusion.

Anyway, I'm still waiting for information from HP on their recycling programs for old cartridges. Another option would be to bring it to SM's waste market every first Friday of the month and see how little I will get paid for it. :)

Wanted: Camera Bag / Wrap

I need a camera bag for my NX10. It came with its own camera bag when I bought it, but I find it too padded and tight so it's like a major task to put in and pull out items from it. I also don't like that it's so obviously a camera bag so snatchers and thieves need not guess what possible prize is kept inside.

I'm still searching for a good shoulder bag to help me carry my camera around. In the process, I spotted a camera wrap in one of the IT stores but the store clerk said that particular model was big for my NX10.

Searching online I found this AeroPro DSLR Wrap from Sima that costs around $25. It's supposed to be good in protecting digital cameras from scratches, dents and moisture with its soft and flexible Aerorene fabric. The camera can stay in the wrap while being used, just peel the front cover which also expands to fit large lenses. What do you think? I'm new at this and finding this product here may take a while before I could say it's a wrap.

4/11 is fine

What's 4/11? Eleven is the number of items that peppered my last Christmas list and four is the actual total loot. I know it's not even half, but having them already made me feel like a kid in a candy store.

As it is, the four items already cost a lot of money and, because I declared 2011 as the year of my being frugal again, then I feel blessed enough to have a new smartphone, mirrorless DSLR, calf massager, and a Just Dance 2 Wii game.

I had no luck finding the automated ball launcher for dogs so I still play ball with my dog the old way. But that's okay. I think that's EXACTLY how she likes it. :)

The rabbit

I was very happy the way 2010 ended for me in the gadgets department. I bought myself a new LG Optimus 1 Android smartphone and a new Samsung NX10 mirrorless DSLR camera. I also got a new Flip video camcorder, two other mobile phones, and at least two new computer notebooks. These devices ushered me in 2011 and, despite the new tempting arrivals that debuted in the recently-concluded CES in Las Vegas, they will be my work and play mates through most part of 2011.

The funny thing is no matter how many new gadgets I have, old technology has a way of creeping back in because new technology is not always great. For example, a few days into 2011 I finally accepted that my "digital" satellite TV service, Cignal, is really sucky in terms of content and basic customer service. No amount of denial could make me appreciate the kind of "digital" content they pre-selected to clutter my Sony Bravia LCD TV.

I'm a comedy and talk show kind of person. But Cignal one day decided to remove those kinds of shows in my subscription and replaced them with more cartoons and religious shows. I subscribed based on the list of shows they said they will offer. Nobody told me they could just wantonly remove programs that made customers to sign up. 

Now that I don't get them in my paid subscription, I went back to my traditional TV that delivers for free some of the same content I used to get from Cignal. The problem is I don't have aerial antennae to improve the reception in my cute LG vintage TV. Comedy and talk shows are like carrot sticks to me and the way to get them in my analog TV is to pull out the rabbit ears.

This amuses me to no end. Not only because I could now again watch the kind of shows that entertain me but the fact that I have ditched digital TV service for regular analog TV with rabbit ears. Could there be a better time for this to happen than in the Year of the Rabbit?