Personal Blog of Carl Pei

What type of brand makes the hottest headphones? Is it an American brand like Grado, a Japanese brand like Sony or a German brand like Sennheiser? No. The hottest headphones are actually made by a Swedish brand, JAYS. Unlike the giants JAYS is specialized in producing in-ear monitors, the type of small headphone that have silicone buds that isolate you from outer ambient noises.

Their latest product - the j-JAYS (junior JAYS) really give competitors at the same price level a fair fight. They provide great sound, with smooth bass and balanced highs & lows to a reasonable price. The j-JAYS make some of its main competitors that I own(ed), like Sony MDR-EX71 sound murky and dull in comparison and while the Sennheiser CX300s fare better, the j-JAYS still outperforms in terms of an overall better bass experience.

Apart from the aural experience, the visual is not forgotten - the j-JAYS feature a really nice design as well. So if you’re still stuck with the default headphones, perhaps it’s time to consider a change? For casual listeners, the j-JAYS are perfect. True audiophiles might be happy to know that their quad driver IEMs, the q-JAYS, are set to be released this month.

They say that “good things come to those who wait”, but I’m starting to wonder if Google AdSense really is that good.

First, you have to wait for your earnings to accumulate past the minimal payout rate of $100. OK, fair enough. So you wait and wait and wait a little more. One day you’re happy to find that you’ve reached $100. Then what happens?

Surprisingly, then you wait some more! First, you wait until the current month is over. Then, you wait another month. Finally, you have to wait again - 15 days for them to prepare your payment. So potentially you can wait for 2½ months just to get paid.

Nice.

Google. Can’t live without them, can’t kill them.

Over the 8 or so months I have changed a lot. From always being broke to always having spare change, from slacker to semi-slacker, from having no goals to having clear ones. I now work harder, faster and more effectively. How have I changed you want to know? I have changed mainly through the acquiring of a burning desire. I can identify two instances that have had the most profound effects on this change, and that I would like to share with my dear readers.

1. Trip to China last summer. Coming along on a meeting my mom scheduled in a 5-star hotel lobby (Shangri-La Beijing?) with one of her former students, I learned a lot. I learned of desires and the possibility to manifest those. China in my eyes had always been a poor developing country with many knock-off items. Boy I was wrong. Talking a little walk in the lobby, I was amazed. There were many Chinese business people (both male and female) hurrying along carrying luxury bags and cases such as those from Louis Vuitton or Gucci. The interior design was very modern, minimalistic yet sophisticated. There were small luxury tax-free boutiques inside the lobby. There were mini-bars filled with people of all ethnicities, it was a truly international experience. And the best part - the doorkeepers of luxury restaurants were of South Asian descent - so classical! I immediately got it right there, somehow it just snapped. It was if I had been asleep all that time and suddenly woke up. I wanted it, and I wanted it all. I wanted it so badly I felt the desire bubbling inside and tears beginning to fill up. They were not tears of sadness or joy, they were simply tears of desire, of inspiration if you will.
2. Recent election in Sweden. The rightists won this time, for the first time in a very long time. Although I am not a follower of rightist ideology, I learned something of great importance. I learned of what the people wanted. The people were tired of the select few milking the system. The people wanted more freedom, less tax burdens and more money. The people were prepared to work harder for it, and wanted hard work to benefit them more. They wanted to see greater results from their investments in time spent in education and work. I saw this trend as something increasingly profound throughout the world. People are becoming more and more money minded. Take the impressive GDP growth rates throughout Asia as another example. After seeing that - it was simple, either follow or be left behind.

In this era, Big Brother is dead. Look after yourself and the ones close to you. Do not hope for the best, make the best happen.

In true Meizu fanboy spirit, I’ve today acquired 4 Dot Info Meizu domains.

MEIZU-M8.info
MEIZU-MINIONE.info
MEIZU-M3.info
MEIZU-MUSICCARD.info

The best part was that it cost less than $5 all together. Dot Info domains have a pretty sweet price and the funny thing is that I didn’t know about it before. I paid $10 dollars for my first Dot Info! If you’re looking to get some Dot Info I can recommend GoDaddy, they have an offer where it only costs $1.24 the first year.

What’s Meizu?

I like to shock people and see their reactions. What better place to do that than on the internet, where you’re faced with virtually no consequences?

There was a guy running a logo contest where the winner would get $20. There were some good entries, some crappy. Suddenly, I thought “if that guy is allowed to submit a crappy entry, can’t I also?” So that’s what I did. Check it out in its full glory here.

It’s all good, because in Sweden we “learn that trying is what counts”. This was my try, now make it count!

PS. The second one is mine.