All posts by The Artist

Nokia E6

I’ve been looking for a new smart phone for my dad. He wants a QWERTY phone but most smart phones these days are touch screen phones. Although I have been using touch screen for years now, I am still not comfortable with it. I can’t type using one hand, and definitely have no mood to type long text!

Anyway, Nokia has this new model, a business model, E6. I really like that it is both a touch screen and QWERTY phone, which means that my dad could experience both on one phone. However, do you think it’s wise to purchase a Nokia phone now? I asked my friend for his opinion and he said, “It’s not Android.” Sure, but Android isn’t perfect too. I’m using Motorola Defy and I do have my share of problems.

I haven’t found out the price yet. Maybe I should wait a little more for the price to stabilize? What do you think?

Insane Demand For Google+ Invites

Google launched their new social network a couple of days ago, named Google+. As far as I know, only selected people, I don’t know how they are chosen, have invitations to the social site. Facebook started with invitations as well.

Demand has been so good that the inviation process has been shut down, somehow. I have no idea when it will get back up. Demand is insane, like I said, that people are flogging Google+ invites on eBay and getting over US$20 a piece. Isn’t that crazy? What’s the rush?

I remember friends paying for invites to Gmail and Facebook and other sites that require and invitation to be an early adopter. Although I am not that eager to try out Google+, I have to admit that I am already bored with Facebook and it would be timely to try out something new.

Wealth Managers

I received a text message from a friend, delightedly informing me that he struck lottery yesterday. While he was happy with his win, he lamented that he was not lucky enough to win a bigger prize. You know how lotteries are!

He said that if he had won the jackpot, he would still continue to work but hire wealth managers to take care of his wealth. I read about how a Missoula, MT wealth management group serve their clients, not only preserving their wealth but also growing it. This is the kind of wealth management my friend needs, if he had won!

My friend was obviously day-dreaming about hitting the jackpot but then again, it doesn’t hurt anyone. Dreams are free, anyway.

Sony Online Entertainment and LucasArts to shut down Star Wars Galaxies

After eight years, SOE and LucasArts have decided to pull the plug on Star Wars Galaxies. Why? No reason was given…

I don’t know if this is good or bad to players. While I don’t play it myself, I have friends who are already bemoaning the demise of Star Wars Galaxies. Getting out of the addiction is certainly a good thing but then again, imagine growing with the game, spending so much time, energy and of course money on it only to know now that those were all in vain. This is one reason why I don’t spend money on online games and MMOs.

Of course, you can say that you have enjoyed the experience playing the game and even made some good friends amidst the enemies but that’s another story. At the same time, there are long time players who are glad to see it gone, claiming that the game has “lost it”.

Shopping For Gifts With Coupons

I’ve just busted my budget for the month no thanks to a huge car repair bill and annual renewal of road tax and auto insurance. As you can see, June is a month that I dislike. In addition, I have to start thinking about gifts for friends and family. What should I buy for my father, brother, a close friend and a pen-pal whom I have corresponded with for the past twenty years? I am never good with gift buying, more so when I have to buy gifts for men!

In an effort to curb my expenses, I have been spending the past few days scouring CouponChief.com. I may not have any idea of what to buy now but I believe that with more than 50,000 coupons for 15,000 stores, I can surely buy something special for each individual, without paying through my nose. I definitely love the idea of paying less for more!

While I am at it, I might as well shop for myself. After all, by using coupon codes wisely, my purchases could end up cheaper than buying from local stores. Besides, there are many freebie coupons that I could use, like the Free Cinnastix from Domino’s Pizza.

LulzSec Ends 50 Day Hacking Rampage

Lulz Security or LulzSec in short, has announced that they are ending their planned fifty day hacking rampage against governmental and corporate websites, just days after breaching the system of Arizona Department of Public Safety and leaking its internal documents. This comes after the arrest of a 19-year-old young man by the UK police, believed to be a member of LulzSec and operated one of LulzSec’s Internet Relay Chat (IRC) servers.

If web administrators think they could rest on their laurels now, let’s not forget there is still Anonymous and many other copycat hackers waiting for their turns to make an impact on web users, in the way they know how. Stay alert, always.

Buying Gold Bullion Now

My friend, Wilson, has informed me that he has begun to buy gold bullion. This friend is a very cautious guy and rightly so since he is a risk manager with a major financial institution in the city. I have wondered if it is still a good time to buy gold now, thinking that I have missed the boat since gold price has already gone up for the past two to three years.

However, if Wilson, a risk manager, still thinks he could gain by investing in gold even at this late hour, then I am sure I too could make a profit, if I were to follow his footsteps. I just need to save up enough money to invest in gold. Where did my capital go??