Flip UltraHD And MoviePix MP5A4 HD Digital Video Camera

Watch A View From My Balcony Non-HD

First Published: June 10, 2009 ADawnJournal.com

I have been contemplating buying an HD Camcorder for sometime. However, I was procrastinating because I wanted to buy a Flip UltraHD and it was not yet available in Canada. A couple of days ago I found out that Walmart Canada was selling the Flip UltraHD Digital Camcorder, and I decided to visit Walmart to buy one. As I was about to buy the Flip UltraHD an associate walked up to me and asked why would I want pay double just for a brand name.  He showed me a MoviePix MP5A4 HD cam which cost $127 (Flip UltraHD costs about $270) and had more features than Flip UltraHD. He also said that he tried it himself and he is convinced that it was a better deal at half the cost of a Flip cam. He sounded very convincing and I decided to give it a try.

After coming home (that was Saturday), I spent couple of hours learning various features and trying to get acquainted with my new cam. Today (Sunday), I shot my first clip – and the picture quality is just outstanding. I am pleased with this camera, especially its price. I am going to post a clip for you, and I will post a link to a similar video clip I shot before with a regular video camera. You will be able to see the difference yourself.

I will be using my new HD cam at the Toronto Reference Library in The Spring 2009 Toronto Small Press Book Fair. And from now on, expect to see more video clips capturing interesting stuff as I see them through my eyes.

Bluetooth Toothbrush? Are We Going Crazy?

Are These Apps Wasting Time?

I never thought that we would like to have an overview of what's going on inside our mouth while brushing and want to keep track of that in an app. Recently I came across Bluetooth toothbrushes that can do just that.

These brushes keep track of how you are brushing your teeth, how long you are brushing, where you are putting more pressure, where you are putting less pressure, and many other bizarre things - and then connects to your smartphone via Bluetooth. You can have a detailed report of your brushing activity and your phone can also remind you to brush your teeth should you forget.

You can say this is a marvel of modern technology, but I would gladly decline tracking every move we make and have a report to analyze it. How far we can go with things like this? An app to track how we wear our clothes? An app to track how we walk? How our eyes look and if they are seeing properly?

The world is full of distractions and you need to be very selective in what you do and do not use. As our time is limited on earth, you want to appreciate, enjoy and cherish every second of it before it's too late. I already visit my dentist every 4 months and am not willing to give up more time tracking how I brush my teeth.

Rise in Consumer Confidence – a Good Sign?

Global Economy, Consumer Confidence, And Canadians

First Published: Published Date : June 11, 2009 ADawnJournal.com

The state of the global economy in recent times has been the number one story in newspapers and on TV news bulletins for quite some time now, and the negativity and pessimism of reports and predictions has inevitably translated to the consumers out there. In addition, the number of companies laying staff of has led to a further decrease in optimism about the economy. People are concerned about whether they will have a job next month, so concerns over having a plasma screen TV will be unlikely to feature at the top of their priorities. Since the governments of the world admitted one by one that there was a recession in the pipeline, it has been a case of bad news piling on top of bad news.

Amid all of the concerns, the mantra that has been repeated time and again is that the only way for the credit crisis to end is for customers to get out there and start shopping again in order to stimulate the economy. This has as often as not met with a hostile, cynical reaction as described in the first paragraph – if you aren’t sure about whether you will have a job next month, consumer spending becomes less of a priority for you, whatever the banks and politicians might say. The return of consumer confidence needs to be an organic thing – we as consumers need, ourselves, to feel that there is a reason to get out there and start spending. Signs are showing, now, that this might finally be the case.

Consumers surveyed in the last month have for the first time been broadly positive about the state of the economy going forward. A Harris-Decima poll conducted towards the end of May has put the level of consumer confidence among Canadians up at its highest level since February 2008 – before the credit crunch really took hold in a substantial way in terms of consumer understanding. The consumer confidence index, considered the most reliable way of monitoring confidence in the general public, is now sitting at 78.5 – up by 11.5 from the last reading in February 2009. Although this is different from saying that the consumers surveyed are all going to go out and buy expensive items, stimulating the economy massively as a result, it does indicate that people feel ready to spend, having been convinced that the wave of layoffs will not take their job and that they can look to the future with a modicum of confidence.

Among the other headlines of the survey is the fact that on being asked if they expected the economic situation to worsen in the coming twelve months, only 29% said they did, compared with nearly 60% in February. This considerable change in mindset may well be a foreshadowing of the consumer activity which will begin to ease the nation and indeed the world out of the tricky period that currently exists. There are no guarantees as to how things will be going forward, but with other indicators beginning to hint at a stabilization if not a recovery, there is at least some hope for the global economy to get back on track within the next 12 to 18 months.

Auckland Travel Blog: Part 4 | New Zealand

Heading for the Hobbits in Hobbiton

New Zealand Travel Blog: Part 1

New Zealand Travel Blog: Part 2

New Zealand Travel Blog: Part 3

Once our tour coach picked everyone up, we started our trip to Hobbiton. Auckland city is just like another big city in North America or Europe. But once I crossed the Auckland city border, I was shocked at how beautiful New Zealand was.

We were going through the Waikato region of the North Island, a regions well known for its thoroughbred industry and dairy farming. The gorgeous scenery of dairy farms and the Hauraki Plains were more picturesque than post cards. The lush green mountains and plains were full of sheep and so green that it’s hard to even imagine.

Sometimes we were passing through small Kiwi towns and those felt unreal too because everything was just too beautiful.

Once in Hobbiton, we got off our tour coach and there were cafes and gift shops. Here, I had a chance to have some coffee and a snack. The place was full of tourists and there were big tour buses taking people for the Hobbiton guided tour.

This picturesque 1,250-acre sheep farm area is where The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit films were shot. The Hobbit holes, Green Dragon Inn, the Mill and other structures are still remaining and have turned into popular tourist spots.

It’s mind blowing to see how a Waikato farmland was transformed into The Shire from Middle-Earth for movie making. Here I experienced the Hobbit holes, the Green Dragon Inn, the Mill and other structures from the movie set.

When the Hobbiton site, the Alexander Farm, was discovered in 1998, the New Zealand Army had to use heavy earthmoving machinery to build a 1.5 km road to the site and to establish the initial set development.

Why Reaching Goals Together Is Important?

A Shoulder To Lean on In Personal Development

When you are trying to better yourself, one of the worst things you can do for yourself is to try and do it alone. It can be very difficult to do anything by yourself, whether it is losing weight, learning a language, or trying to quit smoking. Having someone with you can make it much easier to fulfill your goals not only because you will have support, but because you will have someone to push you as well.

When you are accountable to no one, it can be easy to not do what you want with reaching your goals. If you are trying to lose weight and have to exercise, it can be easy to choose not to exercise if no one will be watching you and ensuring you do. As a result, you end up just not doing it, and that leads you to failing in your goals. However, when you are accountable, you have someone paying attention and they will call you on it if you do not accomplish the goals you set out.

If you don’t go exercise, they will ask why aren’t you exercising. If you start smoking, they will ask you why you started. Eventually, you will reach your goals to show the other person that you can indeed do it.

However, it is not only about keeping you honest. When you are involved in personal development, it can be had to feel as though you are making progress. You may become depressed and if there is no one you can talk to, you may end up failing in your quest of personal development. Now, if you have someone with you, they can talk with you and work with you to ensure that you do feel motivated and as though you are making progress.

When someone is there telling you that you can do it, that you are going to reach your goals, well it is like having a personal trainer for your confidence. Just like a regular personal trainer who helps you tone your muscles and get fit, a confidence personal trainer keeps your self-esteem high, and keeps you wanting to strive towards your goals. They are very valuable to have, and they can help you achieve everything that you want.

It is not always easy to reach our goals and often our biggest enemy is ourselves. We will get down on ourselves, get depressed and think we just are not going to make it. As a result, you may feel as though there is no chance of ever having success. When you have someone who is a shoulder you can lean on, you have someone who will keep you going and give you that little push that gets you towards the end zone. They are also the ones who keep you going when you are feeling lazy because they feel a sense of accomplishment when they help you reach your accomplishments.

Who is your confidence personal trainer?

To streamline and minimize blog maintenance, I will be discontinuing maintaining the Simplepersonaldevelopment.com website (however, I will still hold the domain). I will gradually move all articles from this site to Ahmed Dawn Dot Com. This article originally published on the above website on Sep 30, 2010.