I seem to have a short timespan between cameras.  I think I only owned my Canon Powershot S1 IS for only 8 months before upgrading to the Pentax *ist DL.  I then owned the DL for 1 year before upgrading to the Pentax K100D.  Now it’s 1 year later, and I’m having serious thoughts about upgrading to the Pentax K20D.

Compared to the last two upgrades, this would be a major leap for me.  The K100D was only a minor upgrade in terms of functionality; it was essentially a *istDL with shake reduction.  If I were to go from the K100D to the K20D, not only would I get more stops with an improved SR system, but a huge leap in megapixels (14 from 6), weather-resistant seals (great since I’m often near harsh ocean water), a penta-prism viewfinder (the K100D’s pentamirror was sometimes difficult to manually focus with), X-sync port (great now that I’ve delved into Strobist lighting), and others.

The price is what’s holding me back.  At the time of this writing, Adorama listed the K20D (body only) for over $1000.  That’s a hefty upgrade…but I really really want it.

Once I pay off my CC bill, I’ll probably consider it.  Hopefully by then there will be another rebate program in place. Come on, Mr. Bunnell!  Help out a fellow Pentaxian!

The seed of discontent has sprouted into a blossoming major-change tree. I finally decided that a computer engineer’s life wasn’t the life for me. Sure, I’m a sorry computer geek, but I’m not so into it that I would want to spend my entire life in front of one (although I’m pretty close to it ^_^). I just couldn’t develop a plan for the future. I didn’t know where my major was taking me. I didn’t feel at all confident in what I was doing. I couldn’t stay content after always seeing the high-tech jobs going abroad.

But now I feel better. I have a general plan for the future. I’d have a local firm to work for. I’d be working on projects that could benefit humanity. I’d be more rounded in engineering instead of grounded to a single field. I’d be deciding what I wanted to do now.

Hello Biomedical Engineering!

I’m going home next week for Thanksgiving, of course. I’m already taking one friend along for the ride. But should I go offer a ride to anyone else by posting on the ride board? That way, I can split the gas bill, and probably have more conversation. But then again, I’d probably have to take them back to SLO as well. But I dunno. Think it’s worth offering the ride?

The host of “The Tonight Show,” Jay Leno, is coming to the Performing Arts Center this Wednesday to perform for a fundraising event. I really want to go to this event. I watch his show all the time, and it’d be totally awesome to see him in person! But the tickets left range from $50 to $90! If I go solo, I might be able to get close to the front, but nothing’s fun alone. But then again, $50 – $90! But I did get my paycheck last week. What should I do? Should I go?