So what did I did this afternoon? Who gives a stuff? let's skip that.
I got home from work and ended up being taken to Meadowhall with my sis, ostensibly to get a father's day present (more on this later). After a while it ended up being a general shopping trip, so I ended up getting a cool new things.
Course, first place, I went to was the O2 shop to check out the Iphones there. Rumour has it that they're gonna be PAYG in the UK before long, though the cost is something that still seems to be hotly disputed on various sites, with one side arguing that the new model is miles better value, and are provided as part of a much more flexible more versatile service (PAYG instead of contract), while the other side argue that "they're apple, they've got 'I' in the name, they're gonna be twice as expensive as they should be".
I spose time will tell which reality comes true, though the quick release of the Iphone Mk 2, the what, "3G Iphone" or something like that, has come hot on the heels of the original and is filling a seat that is not so much still warm, as still occupied. The novelty of the iPhone has only barely begun to wear off, and already Apple are pushing newer models down our throats. The optimist in me says "hey this's progress, better technology, cheaper prices", the cynic says "they want their money twice, the cheaper it is the more they sell". Either way, the owners who clamoured to be the first to get their hands on the hot new iphone are now left in the cold with something that is being deliberately called out of date and inferior.
Still, happened to me with my camera, tis just the price of being in the technology race i spose. After visiting the O2 shop, one of the places I went to was along to the local camera store (despite swearing I'd never set foot in there again - they seem to have had a change of staff) and ended up staring lovingly at the lonely Nikon D3 - my gaze following its countours while my fingers lovingly traced its outline on the glass that kept it safe from my prying attention... Ahem.
Not quite, but still, it's a sexy piece of kit, but sleek, it is not.
The D3, on first inspection looks like a complete and absolute whale of a camera, huge, overweight, overpriced, incredibly complex, it's everything that you don't think of when you decide to buy a camera. It's not slick, it's not cool, it's not sleek or sexy, in fact i'd go so far as to call it ugly. bulbous, ugly, prodigious, the D3 is a workhorse, without ornamentation, without any fancy acronyms, without any superfluous features or acoutrements, the D3 is a workhorse in the same way that a volvo tractor cab is a workhorse - expensive, powerful, ugly, does the job again and again and again, keeps going and going and going and going...
But man, that thing was so damn huge, I'm amazed anyone can carry it around their neck all day! That said though, the D3 is a beast, absolute incredible beast, you won't get much better, and if a camera needs to do it, the D3 probably does it. Bloody hell, it makes my £1000+ of D200 feel cheap and plasticky by comparison!
But then it would do that, being nearly £2500.
I still want one though, but I spose like any tool, there are times when you're doing a job that you don't need to use it, and I spose the D200 fills the gap the D3 leaves open. I spose I'm in two minds about the D3. It looks like the fat ugly unwanted cousin of the D200, it looks like those self obsessed bodybuilders that spend so much time on looking like they've had a foot pump shoved up their arses, that they've forgot that there's nothing inside (used solely as an example, a mate of mine is a bodybuilder, and I only take the piss out of him occasionally). But despite its ugliness, I want the D3 for what it can do, I spose the intricacies of its performance are lost on any non-photographer, but it is one hell of an advanced piece of kit. The d3 is proof positive that cameras these days are as much about electronics and computer code as they are about mirrors and glass.
I did kinda lead myself away from the whole O2 thing with this self indulgent textual orgasm about the D3 though, the one thing I forgot to mention is that my favourite youtube guy, Armake21 (no link as you won't find anything), a guy whos job was to review shitty games, lose his temper with them, generally raise a laugh and criticise things, has (after being deleted by Youtube) reappeared in the guise of "Nicotinealien". And it was one of his very very random videos - this one in fact - that I left playing on a couple of the iphones as I walked out of the 02 store, admittedly to a disappointingly delayed bemused reaction from the staff. So yeah, glad he's back.
I went to a health store who advised that if i MUST drink 2 litres of coca cola a day (diet coke - normal coke is about 800 calories per 2 litres or something) then I should probably have calcium supplements to offset the phosphoric acid eating me to bits :). Well, along those lines.
Also topped up on my creatine and protein supplements.
Where else did I go? Well, to Game, my friendly local games supplier, where I bought a couple of bits of software just to stop me getting bored (1) (the second was some kinda (actually fairly decent) train simulator). Yes I was that bored. I suppose its a lads thing, wanting to drive big heavy powerful bits of machinery.
Now my parents have been having a more than a few domestics recently, in fact to me it seems that they're increasing in magnitude and in severity. I used to think I was imagining it but now I'm honestly not sure. Now my parents are deciding to cancel the 2 week holiday in venice that they've both been looking forward to for ages, because they can't stand the sight of each other, which is why they've been married for 30 years.
So for this father's day, I decided to force the issue somewhat, with my dad's fathers day gift.
A 200 odd page guide to the city of Venice.
A push in the right direction I feel.
One place I went before we disappeared was to the local toy store, and I saw something that I fancied getting for my nephew. They call em hoverdisks.
Imagine a foil balloon 36 inches across and shaped like a flying saucer, you're along the right lines. The only real difference is that these balloons have rigid edges (provided by internal poles) that ensure the balloon bounces - instead of crumpling - off hard objects, walls, rocks, etc.
There's only so many words with which I can describe what is essentially a variation on a balloon.
These things used to be something ridiculous like £10 a piece, now they're £1.50 a piece. They're amazing, they're filled with air, and weigh next to nothing. You can balance the things on a finger and my nephew? he loves em!
So, what did I buy? Well, if you didn't read above, a picture is provided below, where you can see everything :). I do include them as links too but I like to have the odd photo visible on my blog page as it breaks the text up.
One thing I didn't mention is the music and beer.
I'm currently sat here listening to my very very cool new album which I thought I'd get because I'm random like that, there are a lot of good tunes on it including one, La Nina Mecanica that completely took me by surprise. Why?Because for some random reason it has a 20 second sample of Rammstein's "Morgenstern" in it (specifically 3:14 to about 4:00 -will be different on the album version) . I spose that's kinda like George Orwell's 1984 including some of the lyrics of "God Save The Queen", and I'm referring to the talentless tuneless shit version, not the national anthem. Completely different types of work by completely different artists, still manage to find their way into the weirdest places.
The last thing I did today was to get some beer, noticeably some guinness, on account of the Irish decision to stick two fingers up at the EU. In this country, we were denied a referendum on something that became deeply unpopular with us as a result, and to see the Irish band together by choice and refute and refuse this "lisbon treaty" both for themselves and on our behalf, is cause for celebration, I feel.
So now I'm off to enjoy my beer, listen to tunes and relax. I've been doing a lot of reading recently, maybe I'll catch up on that.
Oh yeah, here's the picture - my shopping :)
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