When I got my iPad a few days ago, I knew I needed to get a decent case to protect the iPad’s beautiful aluminum back and fragile glass screen. I began looking for the perfect case and found that most of them are either extremely bulky or simply ugly. Running out of options, I decided to give the official Apple iPad Case a try. Future Shop sells it for $45.99 and Apple itself sells it for $45. I didn’t want to go all the way to the Apple Store so I price matched it at the Lansdowne Future Shop instead. Hey, one dollar is one dollar!

The official Apple iPad case is very thin and lightweight. Unlike other bulky leather portfolio style cases, the Apple one has a slim but strong rubber material.

One thing I like about this case is that it is very functional. I can flip the cover to the back for normal usage. There is a clip at the back to hold the cover if I need to make the iPad standing up or leaning with an angle. With the iPad leaning with an angle, I can type on the onscreen keyhoard much easier and much faster. In fact, this can replace my laptop for taking notes in lectures so I no longer need to carry my laptop to school.

The Apple iPad Case is very functional and very lightweight. However, there is one major issue with this beautiful case. The rubber material provides a nonslip surface but it also attracts dusts like crazy. The bumpy surface makes it rather difficult to wipe off the dusts as well. If you are one of those people who like their stuff always looking clean, this case may not be for you.

Today was my third time eating at G-Men Ramen at Continental Plaza in Richmond. We got seated right away without waiting which was good. I don’t know too many ramen places in Vancouver, but G-men is among my favorites. I’ve tried their ramen the first couple times so this time I wanted to try something different.

I ordered the Mentai Mayo Mini Don. It is basically cod fish roe with mayonnaise on rice. The normal one is $5 and I paid $2 more for bigger portion. The cod roe and mayonnaise are perfect together making the soft sushi style rice very flavorful. The fresh green onions add some kick to my taste buds. It isn’t too salty when I was eating it but I felt very thirsty afterward. Even adding $2 for bigger size, the portion was still not enough to make me full.

Janice had the Tonkotsu Miso Ramen. It costs $9. Used to be $8.50 but they have increased the prices. $9 for a bowl of ramen is rather expensive in my opinion. The soup base is delicious but not as flavorful as the last time when I had it. The texture of the ramen noodle is very good and chewy. For $9 they should give us more than just 2 thin slices of BBQ pork. For some reason, the soup wasn’t hot enough today making the whole ramen less appetizing.

Overall, G-Men is still a good place for some quick and warm food. The total for 2 including tips was $20. Not too bad actually, considering 2 meals at McDonald cost close to $20. Until we can find a better ramen place in Richmond, G-Men will remain our favorite.

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Janice‘s contract with Rogers Wireless is due in a few months. She is looking to renew her contract so she can get the Sony Ericsson Xperia X10.
I told her to call Rogers customer relations (aka retentions) to negotiate a better plan before renewing her contract.

The goal is to get the following features for a total of $48.50 per month:

• 300 daytime minutes
• unlimited weekends and evenings starting at 6PM
• My5 Canada-wide
• Call display, voice mail, and 2500 text messages
• At least 500MB data

This goal is very doable and it is well documented on RedFlagDeals forums.

Called several times to retention and got nothing but stupid “unlimited” student plans. For $50 a month she gets 500MB data, My5 Canada OR unlimited network calling. Adding call display and this and that and the total will be close to $70 per month. This is a joke! It’s almost worse than what she already has. How do they retain customers with such ridiculous plans and prices?

Most students including myself are going back to school next week. Some students are nervous, some are happy about it.
I am looking forward to a new semester and quite excited to face the new challenges heading my way.

I am sure many people will ask me what I’ve done during the summer vacation. It is going to be a difficult question to answer because I haven’t done anything signification at all.
Besides going to the zoo, buying a camera, getting an iPad, and eating out at various restaurants in Vancouver, my Summer vacation (only 2 weeks long) was uneventful.

I used to think so. Like most iPad haters, I thought it was just an over-sized iPod Touch and it is not powerful enough to replace my laptop.

This changed when I began reading books and magazines on my iPhone. It would be way better to read those books and magazines on something bigger than the iPhone’s 3.5 inch screen.

I decided to buy the iPad a few days ago and since then I am in love with this amazing device.

Here are some reasons why I think the iPad is not useless:

1) The Screen.
The iPad’s 9.7 inch IPS screen is one of the best screens I’ve seen. The colors really pop out and texts are very sharp. The screen size is also perfect for reading books and magazines. I don’t need to zoom in to read the words clearly on any magazine page.

2) Web Surfing.
Surfing the web using the iPad’s Safari browser is a pleasure. I can view almost all websites without having to zoom in. Navigating the web using my fingers is much more natural than using a mouse. Since having the iPad, I see myself not using my laptop as often.

3) Built-in Apps.
The Mail and Calender apps on the iPad are way better than the ones on the iPhone. I can now view my inbox and the emails on the same screen.

4) Third-party Apps.
There are thousands of apps for the iPad. Apps such as the “OPlayer” will turn the iPad as a portable media player as it plays most video formats out there including RMVB files.

Things that can be improved:

1) The Weight.
The iPad is sure slim but it is quite heavy. It is hard to hold it with one hand for too long.

2) No Multitasking.
The ability to multitask will make the iPad even more amazing. the iOS 4.2 update in November should bring multitasking to the iPad.

3) Lack Of  Front Camera and Back Camera.
Like the iPhone 4, the iPad should have a front camera for webcam. A back camera will also be useful for taking pictures and videos on the go.

I’ve finally found the perfect compact digital camera for daily use. I have a D-SLR but it is rather big for daily snapshots.
I have to say that it is quite tricky to find a camera that fits my tiny student budget and at the same time capable of capturing quality pictures.

My first attempt: Samsung EC-ES70. Bought it at Future Shop for around $120. To be honest, it was a horrible camera. The built quality is very cheap and comparable to a toy. Picture quality is awful. Images have a lot of noise even at the lowest ISO. I returned it the next day.

My second attempt: Sony DSC-W310. Bought it at Future Shop for around $120 as well. Built quality is decent. Feels a lot better than the Samsung ES70. Picture quality is also better than the ES70. The images do not have a lot of noise but the color and contract tend to create a “depressing” tone.

My third attempt: Canon SD1400 IS. Bought it at Black’s Photography at around $190 after a price match (Retail is around $250). It is a very compact camera. Smaller and thinner than the Samsung ES70 and Sony W310. Built quality is very solid. The 14.1 Megapixel sensor produces very sharp and clean images up to ISO 800. Thanks to its Optical Stabilization system, taking indoor pictures without using flash is possible. The other two cameras have digital image stabilization, which is rather useless. The SD1400 can also capture 720P HD video. Video quality is so-so but I don’t plan on taking a lot of videos anyway. Overall, it is very impressive camera for the price. If you want to get a decent compact digital camera with a reasonable price, this one is highly recommended.

Pictures I took with the Canon SD1400 IS:

Here’s why: the Chinese economy had rebounded quickly after the global recession. The middle class is expanding and the rich people are getting richer. The problem is that they need to spend those money. The Chinese stock market is like a roller-coaster ride so people are trying to avoid it. The government had advised the public not to invest in real estate because the housing market is a mess. Additionally, the rich are looking for good places to live in when they retired or send to kids to for better education.

Vancouver has been one of the popular choices for rich Chinese to relocate the family for better living. In recent years, they started to buy up large qualities of luxury houses in Vancouver West and Richmond. When the demand is high and supply is limited, you get sky high prices. Local Vancouverites can’t afford to buy those high end houses anymore, so they started buying at nearby cities such as Burnaby, North Vancouver, and New Westminster. This phenomenon helped boost prices up for the rest of the Lower Mainland.

Until we get more land to build more houses, prices will remain high and the rest of us will still not be able to afford to buy houses in Vancouver.

The difference between university and high school is huge. In university, you don’t have regular classmates anymore. Classes are very large so instructors and students rarely interact with each other. The university environment forces a student to become passive. All you do is go to lectures, take notes, walk out of lectures, and go to other classes. Lecture notes and textbooks become your only learning sources. But they are never enough! Well. Maybe enough for you to pass the course, but will never be enough to be an “A” or “A+” student.

Too boost your grades to the next level you will need to be an active learner. That means learning by interacting. Try to interact with your instructors before and after classes. If they have office hours, always go to them. Ask them anything. Raise your questions or concerns because most instructors don’t mind giving you extra help. Occasionally, your instructors will give you important information about tests and exams that others don’t know about! Don’t be shy to talk to your classmates too. Ask them questions and share your knowledge with them. The best way to learn is by teaching. When you teach other classmates about things you know, you are gaining knowledge as well. Form study groups with other students that are eager to learn. You will be amazed how much extra information you will get from your classmates!

Additionally, being an active learner doesn’t mean you have to interact with others. You can interact with yourself as well! Read your textbook before going to class and on a piece of paper write down any question you have while reading. Bring your questions to the class because most instructors are basically elaborating the textbook content during lectures. Most of the time your questions will be answered without you even asking! If not, just put up your hand and ask. This will help other students too because many of them may have the same question.

Hope these techniques will help you become an active learner and get the grades you always wanted!

There is no book to buy since Greg Baker wrote all his course material and published it online. You will need to attend all the labs and complete all the lab assignments. They are all very easy if you pay attention in class. There are 2 projects. One of them being HTML and CSS related, and the second one Python programming related. They are very easy to complete if you have been in class and all the labs. I managed to complete them the night before due and still got perfect marks.

Midterm and final can be a little bit tricky with the HTML and CSS stuff. The most difficult part will be writing the required HTML and CSS codes to display a layout specified in an image. All you need to do is practice and master all the examples he teaches in lectures before the exam. I totally recommend this course to everyone who is looking to learn some fun and practical computer skills. And remember to take it with Greg Baker.

The central idea of the course is around how government reacts to pollution from firms and how firms react to government policies. The most used method to study this idea is with math. When I say math, many of you will start to freak out and will never consider this course. It’s true that this course is math intensive, but it is very basic algebra that we learn since grade 11. In addition to the math, you will also need to do some slopes and graphs.

The way to do well in this course is you must read and understand the book. You should also attend all the lectures. Kevin’s lectures are usually just summaries of the book, but sometimes he gives example questions and shows you how to solve them. If you have a good TA, he/she might be able to help you solve most of the questions in the two assignments. This is important because the midterm and final exam questions are almost identical to the assignment questions.

I have been tutoring this course for a few months now. I have noticed that students usually do well on the midterm and assignments but they become confused about the final exam. My piece of advice: read the book and master the questions from the second assignment!