Comfy Kicks
Written by admin on December 2, 2009 – 4:49 pm -Before coming to India I wanted to get a new pair of kicks, something that I would have to worry about keeping clean all the time. I also wanted one that was militarily inspired as I have to let go airsofting.
I had my eyes set on Merrell’s Sawtooth hiking boot. After trying it on, my better half didn’t like it, she said it made my legs look really thin especially when wearing shorts. The deal breaker was it wasn’t waterproof.
The sales associate then whipped out a pair of Merrell Chameleon II Stretch hiking shoes. It wasn’t exactly what I had in mind but I did like that shape of the shoe.
I tried it on, and it fit like a glove. No laces to worry about with this shoe as its got a self locking cinch. The shoe was breathable and waterproof at the same time thanks to its gore-tex lining. The vibram sole had a pretty good grip but I’d be a bit careful when the surface your treading on is wet.
I’ve been using it for over a month now and its fully worn in and it feels great. Great for the the dusty roads in India. We’ll have to wait for the next monsoon season before I can field test this shoe in wet weather conditions.
Tags: Merrell Chameleon
Posted in Randomness, Shopping, Sports | No Comments »
Electronics shopping in Seoul
Written by admin on July 11, 2008 – 2:46 pm -I often receive queries if there is an equivalent of Radio Shack in Seoul or South Korea for that matter. Radio Shack is an electronics and parts store that is available throughout the continental U.S. and a few other countries. In fact there was an official Radio Shack store in Makati located at the car park near SM.
Even with the prevalence of internet shopping, I often want to see and touch the goods that I purchase so above is a google earth photo of Yongsan and I’ve labeled the buildings with a short description of what’s where over there.
A – IPark Mall
1F – Camera’s / Navigation / Gadgets
2F – Home Appliances
3F – Home Appliances
4F – Computers Console games (Xbox, PS2, PS3, Nintendo)
5F – Computers / Musical Instruments / Pro Audio and DJ Equipment
6F – Home Appliances / Computers
B – ET Land
B – Electronic Parts / Tools / Test and Measuring Equipment
1F – Home Appliances (LCD TV’s, Washing Machines / Recliners / Vacuum Cleaners / Heaters)
2F – Camera’s / Mobile Phones / Gadgets / Hifi Audio and Home Theater )
3F – Computers
4F – Computers
5F – Food Court / Console Games (XBox, PS2, PS3, Nintendo) / Hobby Shops
C – Mobile phones / Tools
D – Computers / Peripherals / Cables
E – Tools / Lighting Fixtures / CCTV
F – Lighting Fixtures
Lastly Yongsan RC, where they sell remote control vehicles such as cars / planes and helicopters. The staff are really nice and friendly.
So how do you get there? Find your way to Yongsan subway station and you should be right smack in the middle of the iPark Mall.
Other places that sell gadgets, electronics and hobby shops :
Technomart Gangbyeon (Gangbyeon) Subway Line 2
Technomart Sindorim (Sindorim) Subway Line 2
Kukje Electronics Center (Seocho)
I will update this post as more information is gathered.
Tags: Electronics Shopping Seoul, Hobby Shops Seoul, Radio Shack Seoul, RC Shops Seoul
Posted in Hobbies, Seoul, Shopping, Tech | 1 Comment »
Surprise gift
Written by admin on May 23, 2008 – 7:49 am -It was my birthday a few weeks ago and my kids surprised me with a gift today. After arriving home from watching Indiana Jones today I proceeded straight to my desk and there I found a gift wrapped box. The funny thing is that I called my kids about noon telling them to meet me at the COEX where we would watch Indiana Jones 4. What I didn’t know at the time was that my son was already at the COEX buying me the gift, so he rush back home to pick his younger brother up to return to the COEX to meet me.
When my kids arrived here about a month ago they noticed that I was using my mobile phone as an alarm clock and that there were no clocks at home so they both decided to get me an iPod speaker alarm clock. The Ozaki iMini functions as an FM radio, iPod speaker and charger, and alarm clock. You can set the alarm to trigger a bell, FM radio or your play your iPod at a preset time. Sound quality from its two speakers on both sides of the cube are decent but don’t expect any chest thumping bass from it. The best thing I like about this speaker is that I don’t have to take my iPod out of its case to hook it up.
Tags: ipod touch, Ozaki iMini
Posted in Randomness, Shopping, Tech | No Comments »
Magazines too expensive???
Written by admin on May 19, 2008 – 12:54 pm -If you’re like me, one of the items in my checklist when I move to a new country is to scope out the local bookstores. In South Korea, english magazines are difficult to find and very expensive if you do find them, almost twice the cover price at best. I know there are sources for free magazines but this is beyond the scope of my blog entry.
An alternative exists, a good one too especially if you move a lot since you download the magazines and store them on your computer or laptop. They’re called digital magazines from Zinio. A proprietary reader is available free for download from Zinio’s website for both Mac OS and Windows. Exactly the same right down to those irritating subscriptiion cards that fall out as you read them.
I discovered Zinio 6 years ago when I got sick of paying the exhorbitant prices of my favorite magazines in Seoul. The choice of magazine titles have expanded over the years and its safe to say that after all these years they’ll be staying for good. Some magazines are available for free so that you can test and see for yourself if Zinio is for you.
I’m sure that other people especially those living in western countries can find a lot of reasons why this product would not appeal to them but for those of us who live in places where foreign magazines are not readily available then this solution is a godsend. For me, the price was one of the major reasons that sealed the deal. For example a single issue of Popular Mechanics is about USD 5.99, in Seoul is cost about W10,000, a whole year’s digital subscription from Zinio is USD 7.99 and single issues are USD 1.99.
Check them out at Zinio.com
Tags: Bargains, Magazines, Zinio
Posted in Seoul, Shopping | No Comments »
San Mig in Seoul
Written by admin on May 9, 2008 – 1:16 pm -Not really a beer drinker but there’s something about seeing a brown bottle of San Miguel beer in a foreign supermarket that makes you think about home. It makes me think about how much potential for global marketing our other products have. We’ve got a lot of unique brands such as Selecta Ice Cream and Sarsi which is way better than any sarsaparilla I’ve tasted when I was working in New Zealand or Australia. But at 2600 Won (USD 2.60) ouch!!!
Tags: Beer, San Miguel
Posted in Seoul, Shopping | No Comments »