For those who have been following with baited breath please use some mouthwash I now have in my possession a Mophie Juice Pack Air (ugh what a name) in black.

My twice weekly Mandarin lesson is in Central and after it was finished, I thought I’d walk over to the IFC and stop into the “DG Lifestyle Store” just for the hell of it. And lo and behold, a whole big stack of them sitting there on the rack in all three colors. And while the shops in Wanchai Computer Centre had this for $680, DG was selling it for $628 – US$81 roughly. So it became a no-brainer – literally.

The sales clerk told me the stock had arrived at the store about 5 minutes before I got there. So for once, luck was on my side. Though I also had a chance to stop into Dymocks in IFC (got my 3rd book by Michael Freeman – “Night and Low Light Digital Photography”) and then Chaip Coin magazine shop in Worldwide House before getting out of Central.

The MJPA fits around the phone nicely and doesn’t increase the size by much. But it does seem to almost double the weight of the phone! The glossy plastic back seems just as prone to fingerprint smears as the iPhone itself.

The battery capacity, at 1200 mAh, is less than those of other 3rd party batteries, but they claim this is the extended use you can get from this:

which is more than enough for me. I’m in good shape for my Japan trip next week and a possible Australia trip next month – presumably if I wanna sit on the airplane and do crossword puzzles for 9 hours (no, I don’t plan to do that), I won’t need to worry about having some power once the plane lands.

New Entourage was okay. After 6 years, one doesn’t expect any revolutionary changes and there were none, more of the same, but that’s okay. And tonight, will stretch out with a new episode of Anthony Bourdain.

That’s about all for now ….

Meant to comment on this bit in the SCMP yesterday, “Expat Voting Rights ‘Worry Beijing’”. The lead:

The right of non-Chinese nationals to vote and stand for election in Hong Kong is part of the “international influence” that is “troubling” to Beijing, a former mainland researcher for the Basic Law Committee argues.

Take out the word “nationals.”

It will make implementing universal suffrage in the city more complicated, Cheng Jie, associate professor of law at Tsinghua University, believes.

Any port in a storm, any excuse in the book.

“Not only civil servants but also judges can be foreigners. This unique arrangement may have been a great mistake of the Basic Law ….

If you’re not ethnic Chinese, doesn’t matter if you were born here or if you’ve been here for more than a decade, you’re a foreigner.

“Consequently, universal suffrage in Hong Kong would be more complicated than for nation states where only its own citizens are eligible for elections.”

If you’re not ethnic Chinese, becoming a citizen of Hong Kong is next to impossible – unless you’re Allan Zeman.

In November 2003, the then chairman of the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment of Hong Kong, Tsang Yok-sing, sparked controversy among expatriates when he told a forum that the right of non-Chinese nationals to vote in Hong Kong was “rather dubious”. He is currently president of the Legislative Council.

Take out the word “nationals.”

“Foreign influences were noticed during the July 1 demonstration and in later elections,” she wrote. The 500,000-strong march targeted both the Hong Kong and central governments, she noted.

“Foreign influences” most likely a euphemism for non-Chinese residents of Hong Kong.

“The surprisingly broad-based resentments illustrated by the protest brought an end to the central government’s former laissez-faire policy, and called for new thoughts,” Dr Cheng wrote.

Farewell one country, two systems.

==================

Want a Hong Kong passport? From the Government’s web site:

You are eligible to apply for a HKSAR Passport if you are:

• a Chinese citizen;

You are regarded as a person of Chinese nationality if you are a Hong Kong resident:

(a) of Chinese descent who was born in Hong Kong or other parts of China; or

(b) who fulfils the criteria of Chinese nationality in the Nationality Law of the People’s Republic of China.

Article 7 Foreign nationals or stateless persons who are willing to abide by China’s Constitution and laws and who meet one of the following conditions may be naturalized upon approval of their applications:

(1) they are near relatives of Chinese nationals;

(2) they have settled in China; or

(3) they have other legitimate reasons.

Good luck if you’re not Allan Zeman. At least that’s what I’ve been told. If I’m wrong, please tell me.

Just a weird day all around. Nothing huge, lots of small stuff leading up to a general feeling of … I don’t know what.

Last night not a lot of sleep, no particular reason, but I think I didn’t fall asleep until after 4 and I was up around 9 this morning. After work, what will be my final visit to the chiropractor (insurance coverage for this has run out) – but I’m feeling 99% normal now (not that I’m claiming that I am 99% normal) so probably no need anyway.

Bought tix for the new Harry Potter film. Hong Kong only has 1 IMAX theatre (until some time in the future when a second one opens up at the ICC, I think). Even though it hasn’t opened yet, the Harry Potter film is all but sold out on the IMAX screen for the next two weeks but managed to get some not horrendous seats two weeks in the future.

What really cheeses me off is UA Cinemas garbage web site (not gonna bother a link). Because I was trying to book last night at 1:30 AM. You go to the web site, choose the movie, choose the seats, enter your credit card information and ONLY THEN are you told that you can’t book tickets online between 1 AM and 6:30 AM. What? They need to bring their system down for maintenance for 5 and a half hours every freaking night? Is their site not run by computers, it’s run by a team of gerbils that are allowed to get off those wheels for a few hours late at night to catch their little gerbil breath? And they can’t tell you about that sooner? Like as soon as you click on “Buy”? I think they must be partying in the office late every night, getting drunk, watching the screen, “Oho! Here comes another one! Wait …. wait …. wait …. gotcha!”

Anyway, some late afternoon trekking around to find the Mophie Juice Pack Air. If I wasn’t sure that I wanted it before, the fact that I can’t find it makes me crazy to have one. (Yes, I know, this is not rational.) It would appear that stock arrived on Friday or Saturday, only to sell out instantly. I went to Windsor House, Times Square and the Wanchai Computer Centre, all with no luck.

Took a look on Amazon, US$80. and it says “usually ships in 1 to 2 months.” HK shops, when they had it (in white and purple but not black, the one I want, of course) were selling it for around US$85. It’s on Ebay, where some guy has a “buy it now” price of US$100 – plus $35 for shipping to Hong Kong, so I ain’t going that route. And the guy who’s selling it for $90 won’t ship internationally. It’s also on the US Apple store – $80, ships in 3-5 days, but this is starting to be too much trouble.

Actually I’ve yet to run down the battery on the iPhone 3GS. I love the readout that shows percentage left on the battery (no idea how accurate it is or not). Everything, and I do mean everything, loads and runs noticeably faster than on the 3G. I’m very happy with it.

At least I accomplished something at Times Square, because there’s a store-wide sale at Page One – 10% off any purchase, 20% over $300, 30% off purchases over $600. So I grabbed two books by Michael Freeman, one on HDR.

Hooked up with my gf, got some snacks that turned into an early dinner, and by the time we got home at 8, it was all I could do to make it upstairs and go to sleep. I woke up at 10:30, which knowing me means I’ll be up for the rest of the night. (And no, it’s not an especially clear night and this is one of those rare nights where there are no fishing boats anchored in the stretch of water in front of my house, so nothing to take pictures of.) My gf, meanwhile, seems to be out for the rest of the night. We were gonna watch Duplicity but I guess I’ll have to be satisfied with the season premiere of Entourage.

Just took a look on Monster, where I uploaded a new CV last week. In one week, 350 views, not a single email or phone call. Sigh. (Yeah, I know, you’re gonna say must be something wrong with my resume, but I’ve worked and reworked it dozens of times and I think it’s pretty strong.)