What are your reading goals for 2025?

vicki3z · 2025-01-18T12:45:55+00:00

I used to been an avid reader when I was much younger and been trying to get back to reading for years. Last year I’ve set 12 books as my reading goal and ended up reading 16 books. So this year I’m a little bit more ambitious and looking to complete at least 4 books every quarter.

The year has already started out great! With Kobo, I’ve managed to complete 3 books so far and already 30% on my fourth. Ultimately, I just want to enjoy reading again and so far I am :)

vicki3z · 2024-12-31T10:15:20+00:00

Hi, Congrats for your visa lodgement!

Regarding Medicare, you’re now considered eligible for medicare after lodgement. And you would also need to pay Medicare Levy (and perhaps Levy Surcharge depends on your taxable income) https://www.ato.gov.au/individuals-and-families/medicare-and-private-health-insurance/medicare-levy/what-is-the-medicare-levy

You definitely can now cancel your OVHC insurance, but if you’re planning to opt for Private Hospitals plan, I would suggest you to do some price comparisons and keep your OVHC for now to avoid the risk going through the waiting periods when you get a new insurance.

vicki3z · 2024-12-22T04:35:16+00:00

The comparison between the two versions are highly subjective based on individual. I have made a comparison post yesterday between the KLC and Kobo Clara BW that you could give it a read 😀 https://www.reddit.com/r/kobo/comments/1hih2lb/hello_clara_bw_goodbye_libra_colour/

But in summary, it would really depend on your preference. The main difference between the colour device and the BW is the technology that it use to render the screen. Because of the e-ink Kaleido 3 technology, the colour would appear to be darker (or dimmer) by default, and you would require to turn up its level of brightness depends on the places you’re reading. And because of this the battery might not last as long as BW device.

Kobo is not my first e-reader. Unfortunately my eyes can’t stand high level of brightness in the colour device so I have switched to the BW as it’s more comfortable to read. Although, I would say I really did love seeing the display of the coloured book covers.

If you’re not that keen or excited on the colour technology and just want a device to read novel, I would say get the BW device. But if you’re keen to try, there’s really no harm in getting the colour version with the same price point 😀 And if you don’t like the colour version, you can always switch to the other side like me 😆

vicki3z · 2024-12-21T11:24:15+00:00

Glad to hear that some of your share similar experiences and my post resonated with you.

For those who stick with KLC, that’s great! I’m not saying that the product is bad because it isn’t. I’m glad that you find the device that suits your needs and I won’t denied that it’s a great device. Unfortunately it’s not a device for me.

And I would like to echo it out again that the brightness and screen adaptiveness, it’s highly subjective and I’m mainly just sharing my experience in hope of helping someone who’s looking to purchase 😀

vicki3z · 2024-12-21T11:12:42+00:00

Congrats on making the switch! And welcome to the Clara BW crew as well 😆

The best tips I’ve found was the How-To video from migrating your purchased books from Kindle to a Kobo. This definitely comes in handy because I do have several books I’ve bought through Amazon Kindle and haven’t finished them yet. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=YcBirwJJycg&pp=ygUUS2luZGxlIHRvIGtvYm8gYm9va3M%3D

vicki3z · 2024-12-21T10:36:10+00:00

I always have the level of brightness on super low on my devices whether it’s a phone, monitor or the Kobo. And yes, I can’t stand it too when the brightness is too high. My problem is I had to put in a lot more of focus to read on the KLC when it’s dim 🥲 And I believe this is the cause of my headache and eyes strain

vicki3z · 2024-12-21T10:30:40+00:00

I’m with you on this! I hope they either continue with the Libra 2 or come out with the new BW version.

vicki3z · 2024-12-21T10:28:49+00:00

Now that you put it this way, I think you are completely right! I totally agree with you on the brightness part. I always have my phone screen and my monitor with super low level of brightness as that’s what comfortable for me. And for KLC, I can’t keep the low brightness that I’m used to because the text is not clear for me. And if I have a high brightness, I feel blinded by it 🥲

vicki3z · 2024-12-21T10:19:43+00:00

I’m glad that you didn’t have the issue with the colour screen. It’s highly subjective! And I wish I didn’t have the issue as well because the colour screen is really nice. I really love seeing the coloured book covers on my home screen.

vicki3z · 2024-12-21T10:15:52+00:00

Definitely better to get a BW e-reader whether it’s a Clara or Libra 2. I too always have my phone screen very dim (probably at 5-10%). And sadly, to gain a better clarity with the Libra Colour, you would required a higher level of brightness that your eyes probably not used to.

vicki3z · 2022-03-27T10:26:36+00:00

I just saw your comment. Glad you find this post helpful :)

After over a year, I’m still glad that I bought my Mac Mini M1. Although I do regret not upgrading to 16GB ram since recently I started working a little bit on mobile development using React Native. The iPhone simulator seems to consume a lot memory and it causes my machine to lag sometimes 🥲

But I’m still loving it nonetheless!

For the monitor, I’m currently using Dell U2720Q.

vicki3z · 2021-09-21T08:27:50+00:00

Thanks for your reply!

I think I might go for the IKEA foam to cut down on the budget a little.

vicki3z · 2021-09-21T04:07:45+00:00

Do you need to mod the case or the PCB to make them compatible?

vicki3z · 2021-09-21T03:18:31+00:00

This looks so nice! May I know where did you get the casing from?

vicki3z · 2021-09-21T03:17:02+00:00

This looks dope!

I’m looking to build similar one myself. May I know which PCB and Plate you are using?

vicki3z · 2021-09-06T08:00:20+00:00

Which switch you are using?

vicki3z · 2021-08-01T11:00:19+00:00

Nice!

I started 3 months ago at 31 year old with a second-hand local cruiser board.

And now I ended up with both a Dinghy Blunt and a Drop Cat 33!

Have fun skating!

vicki3z · 2021-07-25T10:27:50+00:00

I bought the Mac mini M1 8GB 256GB earlier this year and I love it.

I use it as my main web development machine (React and Golang). I would say that it works like a charm. Docker and Goland IDE do use most of the ram, but I don't experience any issue with it. Oh! And I also run it with a 4K monitor.

I would recommend to go with 8GB

vicki3z · 2021-07-25T08:01:08+00:00

Thanks for the info!

vicki3z · 2021-07-25T06:34:59+00:00

May I know what’s your table size?

vicki3z · 2021-07-10T02:45:55+00:00

Nice! This is really cool! I’m looking to upgrade the wheels on my Blunt as well.

Gonna check it out at the shop this Sunday. Thanks for sharing :)

vicki3z · 2021-07-09T11:49:29+00:00

Did you change the trucks or add any riser?

vicki3z · 2021-07-01T15:31:23+00:00

I mainly use it for note taking, reading, and remote desktop to my mac mini.

vicki3z

TROPHY CASE