Yeah, you heard me. I said this year was a terrible year.

Mostly caused by my lack of motivation to do anything, and the amount of disappointments were overwhelming. Sure, there were some enjoyable moments, but mostly discouraging because I failed to meet my own expectations. Like I said, it was mostly caused by me.

Looking on the bright side, I do have the best retail job ever. I am buying (some of the) things I want. I guess that makes me a happier person.

Here are some new year resolutions:

1. Slack no more – Get a 3.3 GPA in college this year.
2. Stop sidetracking – So I can get that 3.3 GPA.
3. Save more – For future apartment and school tuition.
4. Exercise more – That does not mean I should eat less, I just need to be healthier.
5. Invest more time in photography and graphic design.
6. Get my learners – So I can drive.
7. Get a pay raise – So I can spend more. How pathetic of me.
8. Actually achieve goal 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6.

That’s all the goals that I could think of at the moment. Those are basically the fundamentals of my other goals anyways.

May 2010 be a decent, if not, great year for me.

Merry Christmas, everyone! Hope everyone is enjoying their holidays; opening their Christmas presents; and preparing for tonight’s feast!

- John

A desk post just for the hell of it.

Got this new table at Ikea months ago and never got the chance to snap a few photos of it. I got the biggest wooden table top Ikea had at the store and screwed them on with four of my spare table legs I have at home. I also picked up a lamp for a mere CAD $9.99 (bulb not included), and I’ve got to say that this lamp comes in very handy.

Almost double the surface area of the original desk, I can now rest my Macbook Pro on the desk. I control both computers with the same mouse and keyboard using Teleport and it really increases my productivity. As for the mediocre photos in this post, a new camera is needed so I can get some decent photos going. These photos are absolute junk and it would consume too much of my time to go and try enhance them.

Here’s a comparison of my old and new desk:

Old.

New. I had to stand on my bed to take this one.

John Gruber shotgunned a whole bunch of Apple rumors last night, regarding to today’s mini explosion of new products over at Apple today; most of it did come true.

New iMac, Macbook, and Magic Mouse. Along with new specs and server-ready for the Mac mini. Today was one crazy day for Apple fans.

The new iMac is my next target. I should be getting the 27″ Intel i7 iMac along with 8GB of DDR3 memory. I’m very happy to know that Apple have updated their Mighty Mouse AND the remote which is now an option to purchase along with any Macs, but I will for sure get one when I get my new iMac.

I’m not going to get my iMac JUST YET. I will wait for a few months, or maybe when I get a job; and happen to have a few grand laying around for no good reason.

As for the new Macbook.. I don’t really need it at all so no comment for this beautiful piece of white polycarbonate with no replaceable battery. Oh, now the whole Apple laptop line has no replaceable battery.

Gee. Thanks, Apple!

After months (and I mean MONTHS) of internal struggle and drooling at bookstores, I got my first Moleskine notebook today.

First discovered the Moleskine notebooks from a British blogger who works in Japan. I quickly fell in love with the notebook line, and could not resist to get myself one.

I didn’t have money to get one before so that’s why I didn’t get one until today. And since Edmonton is doing her best for what she’s best known to do – being a small shitty town that has nothing; it took me a while to find a Moleskine plain notebook. Chapters only carries the day planners and what not, but not a single notebook. Also, these neat notebooks don’t come cheap, they cost $20CAD for a normal size (5 X 8 1/4″) notebook. Which means that not everyone can afford to drop 20 dollars for some paper bounded in a black hard cover.

Here are some pictures of my Moleskine. I’m one pathetic guy, taking pictures of a notebook..

Lately, everything around me seems negative and unfit for me. Is it the world that’s messed up, or am I just not meant to be around?

After weeks of consideration, Albert and I found that the Ninja 250R might not be the most ideal motorcycle in the long run. So I’ve decided to move on with the 250cc starter bike and jump into the 600cc Yamaha Fz6R. Note that I won’t be buying anything till Spring of 2010, so I have plenty of time to think about this.

Reaching the maximum speed of 246mph. The Yamaha FZ6R is far more superior and far more dangerous than that of the Ninja 250R in every way (Top speed ~167mph). Although it’s a 600cc bike, it is still considered a starter bike, but will be more fun to ride in the long run. Beginners with the Ninja 250R usually grow out of the bike in around 2 years; and I intend to stay with my first bike for longer than that.

Albert, on the other hand, might be getting something better. Assuming he sticks with his current part time job until next year. But that’s his own story.

I’ve decided: I’m going to go get myself a motorbike, and ride the crap out of it.

First, I’ll have to get my learners. Then get a class 6 license, which allows people to operate a motorcycle. After that, I’ll have to get some gears, and most importantly, a bike.

Albert and I have been looking at bikes for quite some time and we’ve both come to conclusion that the Kawasaki Ninja 250R is the best starter bike for the both of us. It’s affordable, has a decent design, and it seems to have the greatest reliability than any other small motor companies.

I’m rather disappointed that 1000cc bikes are illegal for casual street use because it’s apparently too dangerous for Edmonton to handle. On the other hand, 1000cc bikes are street legal in Japan, and they have 200 times the population we do here in Canada. I really want to know the reason to why that is.

There’s also a huge problem when it comes to riding motorbikes in Edmonton: Snow. Snow is a major problem when you ride a motorcycle because you technically can’t ride a bike in the snow. Well, if you want to slip and die, go ahead.

Don't judge this bike by looks, it costs $14,000 CAD, without mods. Did I mention that it's street illegal to ride this here in Edmonton?

But it just looks so cool when you ride a motorcycle, even though I have never rode one yet. Watching Kamen Rider is a major reason to why I want to ride motorbikes; imagine yourself speeding down the highway, looking cool as heck. Man, I can see myself doing that some day, and I can’t wait for that day to happen.

This one costs $17, 622 CAD. Honda and their expensive bikes.

I should really get my learners soon.

Follow-up post: Yamaha FZ6R

What a bunch of new and exciting boring Apple news we have today.

Nano with video capability, faster and bigger capacity Touch and Shuffle, major iTunes upgrade, iPhone OS 3.1. Wow, what exciting boring news.

In the nutshell, it’s a bunch of refinements for the entire iPod line.

I’m most impressed with the new iTunes 9. I’ve just downloaded it and it’s looking great, with new home sharing and refined UI.

IMO, these iPods are getting a bit less interesting everytime they refresh it. It’s time for a redesign and/or introduce new iPods (tablet, anyone?), yet Apple has just been refining their products the whole year. Refining refining refining.

The ads are also getting really dull, it all seems the same. Look, I’m a guy who LOVES simplistic design and all, but the problem is that these ads hardly have any sense of simplistic design in it at all. Sure, you can call it “simplistic”, but definitely not “simplistic design”; it’s just plain dull. Has Apple lost its artistic touch?

Remember the iPod nano 2G ads?

That was cool.