racoma.com.phJ. Angelo Racoma on technology, economics, writing, problogging, and getting things done

Above: laptops and netbooks stacked for size reference. Asus EeePC 900 12G, HP 2133 Mini Note, HP Compaq Presario B1256TU, Compaq Presario V2617TS

Above: laptops and netbooks rounded up for size reference. Clockwise from left: HP Compaq Presario B1256TU, Compaq Presario V2617TS, Asus EeePC 900 12G, HP 2133 Mini Note

Send me more review units, guys!

(These are for my reviews over at koobten.com and myasuseee.com.)

Here’s a sneak peek into what I’ve been up to the past few weeks. My home office.

Are you a Flickr addict? I just realized I was more than just the casual Flickr user when some of my blog photos disappeared. Apparently, free accounts have a display limit of the 200 most recent photos. And at the rate I was uploading, I had been far exceeding my limit for quite some time now—I have almost a thousand pics there (and I’m a lazy uploader). There’s nothing like errors and missing stuff to wake you up to the realities of life, and to remind you to read terms of services.

I’ve always wanted to upgrade to Flickr Pro, but one difficulty I had with upgrading (which is cheap at $25, btw) was that I didn’t have a PayPal account. You see, Flickr processes all payments—including credit card—via PayPal. Here’s another reason for the PayPal for the Philippines initiative.

Good thing a friend with PayPal access “gifted” me with a Pro account, on my request. Thanks much! (I won’t disclose your identity here yet—I’ll wait until I get your permission.)

Oh, okay, I’ll be paying up! But still thanks. I wouldn’t be able to pay for an upgrade otherwise.

What do you get with a Pro account?

You get a host of nifty new capabilities with a Pro account, such as unlimited bandwidth, ad-free interfaces (when you use Flickr and when other people view your photos), unlimited storage, and larger monthly upload limits. What I like best is the ability to create an unlimited number of sets. You get the best of both worlds—tagging and organization by sets!

So, show me the photos!

Here you are, folks. Of course, most of these are family photos (talk about stalker friendly, huh!). Here’s a random selection:

Better yet, let’s take a walk on the artistic side with some macros:

Enjoy!

It’s great to stumble upon old photos at home. You get to reminisce about days past (perhaps not too long ago), and you get to marvel at how thin and young and perhaps foolish you used to be. Never mind that you’re currently still considered to be young, being in your quarter-life stages, but ten years ago is ten years ago. And you’d feel O-L-D comparing yourself to 15- or 16-year-old self.

Sometimes you also reach a point when you just ask yourself “What the heck made me wear that?” or “What was I thinking?” Remember the 80’s? Fortunately I still wasn’t in my teens during those times. Otherwise, I’d be wearing stuff that’s just so … tacky. That’s not to mention the hair. Mullets, anyone? What about teased hair?

Reminiscing

Remember the days when digital cameras were toys for the rich boys or for the professional photogs with the dough to spend? We used film-based cameras and had to have the prints developed at the local photo shop. And then we’d be digitizing them using our trusty ol’ handheld scanners (and later on those big, bulky, expensive flatbeds).

Having no handheld nor flatbed scanner these days (don’t need them anyway), I just resorted to taking digicam-captures of these old prints. Not perfect, as there are some distortions owing to the prints’ not being laid flat, but it’s probably good enough for sharing over the Web.

Right now, just the thought of not having a digital camera makes the shutterbug in me shudder.

And here they are!

Here’s a random selection. You may also wish to visit my Flickr site itself for photos tagged with ‘oldpics’ .

Ah, the good ol’ days. To quote from the Pet Shop Boys, Life is much more simple when you’re young.

Check out my iBlog2 photos!