Technology

So, for some reason, today, I woke up with the thought of buying an electric shaver. Yes, that’s right. I decided to make the move to upgrade from disposable manual blades to its high-tech counterpart. I thought it would be a simple as walking into a store, selecting one, paying for it and walking out. Turns out I was wrong. First of all, I was shocked by the prices. The first electric shaver I saw was priced at about RM600, and they went up as high as over RM1k. I was shocked – what was I getting myself into? Should I spend money on an electric shaver that costs as much as a graphics card?

So I decided to ask the helpful saleswoman there for advice. She told me the differences between the models available at the store (some were wet shavers, some came with side burn trimmers, some took longer to charge, some lasted longer). But all this wasn’t enough for me, so I grabbed some catalogs and flipped through them. I did some googling on the spot and read reviews of the shavers. It was mind-boggling, there was much more to learn. So I thanked the lady, and left the store.

Browsed electric shavers at other stores and found out there were so many different kinds. So I decided to do some research. I found this incredibly helpful guide which told me what I needed to know. I’ve decided to get a rotary shaver since I don’t shave frequently and my facial hair can get longish. I haven’t selected a model yet, but it’ll probably be an entry-level Philips. Unless someone else recommends otherwise.

I think it will be an interesting experience upgrading from disposables. I shall post updates in the coming weeks.

Also, Merry Christmas to those of you who celebrate it or just want an excuse to party. Have fun! I’ll be playing a show at Barlai in about an hour.

This is gonna be a shitty post, feel free to ignore it. You have been warned.

I’ve written about adblocking before, so this isn’t a completely new topic. But I came across this thread on Reddit today and after reading it, I noticed there were some interesting points being raised in the comments. Most of the comments were in support for adblockers, with uBlock Origin being the most recommended one (I use it too).

Anyway, there were arguments about how advertisements shouldn’t be a thing at all, and if sites want money to continue running, they can charge their readers. After all, if a reader thinks something is worth reading, he/she would fork out money for it.

I thought that was a valid viewpoint – however, it will only work for sites that have content of similar quality unavailable elsewhere. I mean, we all know how cheap human beings usually are – if there’s a free alternative, they’ll usually take it unless its quality is sub-par.

But I was just thinking to myself – internet access isn’t free. At least not for me. I pay almost RM200 a month for my internet connection. Shouldn’t I deserve access to content online? Of course, I do. I think?

Then I thought harder, and realized it was a stupid idea.

Conclusion? Sites can remain the same in terms of displaying adverts. They’ll still make money off the people who don’t use adblock, which is supposedly the majority of people on the internet. People like me can choose to use adblock if I want an ad-free experience. Everybody wins. I think.

Until using adblock becomes illegal like vaping in some countries because the government needs to make money off cigarette sales. Wait, what am I saying?

Anyway, while we’ve eliminated a lot of ads via adblock, some ads can’t be blocked (at least for now). These include: sponsored posts on Twitter/Facebook/Instagram – ads which appear as ‘normal’ posts to adblockers, so you can’t really filter them. We still can’t block ads on radio or TV, good thing I don’t bother wasting time with those mediums. kek.