Posted by Barron • Digital • Android • Comments • Permalink

I was reading Gina Trapani’s Smarterware site and she posted her list of apps on her Android phone. I thought I’d do the same. So here it is:

Posted by Barron • Creativity • Books • Review • Comments • Permalink

With all this talk about e-Books on the web these days I figure I’ll talk about a few books that I am reading/have read recently. None are e-Books, by the way. Just good ol bound paper, two from the public library.

Blue Latitudes by Tony Horwitz

I really like reading travel narratives, especially humorous ones like Bill Bryson’s. I came across Blue Latitudes at the library and it looked great. It even has some praise from Bryson on the back cover. Plus, old sailing ships and adventure are always attractive! Tony Horwitz is fascinated by Captain James Cook, and follows the path Cook took in the late 1700’s when Cook explored the Pacific. The story goes back and forth between describing the adventures Cook and his crew had, and the hilarious adventures Horwitz and his friend Roger had following Cook’s trail. I learned so much in Blue Latitudes: about life aboard Cook’s ship, the contact and interaction of his crew with the natives of the lands he traveled to, and what these lands are like in the present day. Horwitz interviews many native people and gets their thoughts and varying opinions about Cook. What is neat is that the people Horwitz talks to are real. I’ve even done some googling to find out more about some of the scholars and artists Horwitz interviews. I guess that’s part of the appeal of non-fiction.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling

This is the final book of the Harry Potter story, but it’s my first book to read. I’ve seen (and enjoyed) the movies, so I’m pretty excited to find out how it all ends. I’m about half way through, but I realize there are so many details, especially about the supporting characters, that I have missed since I haven’t read the previous books. My plan is to finish Deathly Hallows, then go back and read the series from the beginning. It’s pretty easy to get through a book since it was written for younger readers, so I’m not put off by the page count (each book is about 600-800 pages long). I’m enjoying this last book a lot, and will hopefully finish it in a couple days.

Long Way Round by Charley Boorman and Ewan McGregor

I love the Long Way Down and Long Way Round videos, and the books are the perfect complement to them. The writing isn’t too deep, but you do gain some insights as to what was going through Charley and Ewan’s minds during the scenes in the TV show. For instance, the one scene where the two are taken in by Igor, and spend the night at his house and party with his friends is much more interesting if you read the chapter to get the full story about their apprehension, fear, and eventual guilt at being so suspicious of their host. It’s sort of like the commentary extra feature of a DVD or Blu-ray disc. If you are a fan of the TV series, I’d recommend picking up the book to go along with it, but I don’t think the book would stand on its own very well.

Posted by Barron • Comments • Permalink

I grew up in Southern California, and my parents took us to Dodger games during the summer. Piling into the massive blue Dodge Coronet 440 and driving up the Harbor Freeway was great. At the stadium, we’d sit in the bleachers and have our chocolate malts and enjoy watching Cey, Garvey, Lopes, Baker and Yeager take on all comers. So I was a Dodger fan from the very beginning. I still remember sitting in the top-deck with the next-door neighbors, and then later in high school, heading up to Chavez Ravine for a Friday night game. In my early twenties, my work-mates and I would go see the Dodgers after work to watch the boys in blue.

Even after I moved from Los Angeles, I’ve still kept my team close and followed them via the Internet. When I was in Japan, I really disliked the Yomiuri (Tokyo) Giants since they shared the same name and team colors as the Dodgers rival, the San Francisco Giants. The Yomiuri Giants also shared similar characteristics to the New York Yankees, namely being the most popular team and having the largest payroll. Naturally, I rooted for any team that happened to be playing against the Yomiuri Giants that day.

After we moved to Texas, I started following the “local” team. Since Austin is pretty much between Houston and Arlington, I figured I would root for both those teams. I gravitated towards the Astros since I was more familiar with the National League team but that fandom I hoped would develop never appeared. I root for them when I can, but my support for them hasn’t become as strong as my support for the Dodgers. I guess it’s a combination of the Astros never having won a World Series, having a sterile new indoor ballpark with a corporate name, and probably the lack of history. When I try to think of great Astros players, my mind comes to Nolan Ryan and Craig Biggio. Oh, and the Bad News Bears’ trip to the Astrodome. I think a huge reason why I am not into the Astros is that it’s a 2.5-hour drive to the ballpark, so I don’t see them often. Sad, but Austin doesn’t have any pro sports teams I can really see. Lots of minor-league stuff, and of course college football, but those don’t interest me so much.

It’s kind of a shock to me to hear that some of my old friends who I grew up with and who have also moved away are not Dodger fans any longer. What’s up with that? I just cannot understand it. I’ll always have an affinity for Los Angeles teams I guess. Even living in the heart of Longhorn country, I’ll root for USC to beat them. I don’t even like USC, preferring UCLA. And even UCLA was sort of a rival to my alma-mater, UC Irvine. Maybe not in sports, but definitely in spirit.

Then there are others like my brother who moved to a place where the local team plays close by and are pretty good. He’s a huge Angels fan, but still roots for the Dodgers and gets frustrated when they (often) lose. Because of him, I root for the Angels too even though growing up I had absolutely zero interest in them. And I have other friends who I can totally relate with, like Jack who grew up in New England and is a Boston fan, and always will be. Then there’s another friend of mine, Ryan, who is the biggest sports fan I know. He has lived in many places, and likes the teams from each of those places. Also, he can appreciate good plays and players, whichever team they are on. In that way I guess he’s a bit like Vin Scully - always pointing out the best parts of the game, even if they are from the hated Giants.

Anyways, the 2010 baseball season is just underway, and I’ll wear my Dodgers gear with more frequency now. I’ll make the yearly pilgrimage to either Houston or Arlington with my friend Mikey to see a big-league game. And I will still lament when the Dodgers come up short in early October. But if you see a silver Honda mini-van around Austin sporting a Los Angeles Dodgers license plate frame, make sure to wave, or even yell Go Blue!

Posted by Barron • Creativity • Photography • Review • Comments • Permalink

A few weeks ago, Mariko got a nice new Olympus E-PL1 camera. I’ve had some time to play with it, and it’s a sweet little rig! It is part of Olympus’ micro-four-thirds system, which uses interchangeable lenses in a mirrorless body. It’s a lot smaller than a traditional SLR, but the quality of the photos is impressive. This model comes with a 14-42mm kit lens (with plastic mount as opposed to the other 14-42mm kit’s metal mount. The optics are the same, however, and it’s a very convenient lens. You multiply to focal length by a factor of two to calculate the 35mm SLR equivalent, so it’s pretty much a standard 28-80ish mm lens. Like an SLR, you have all the different modes like shutter priority, aperture priority, program mode, and manual if you so desire. On the other end of the spectrum, there are plenty of automatic scene modes, such as sports, portrait and macro. Also included are more obscure ones, like fireworks and beach, and lastly there are the effects such as soft-focus, pop-art, toy, and even tilt-shift. There’s so much to play around with! On the video side, the camera is equipped to record 720p HD at 30fps, as well as standard def mode. I haven’t played with the video too much, other that to check that the AF works even while you are taking video. Very nice, although a little slow and hunts a bit. It’s probably better to practice manually focusing for this.

Unlike an SLR, there is no optical viewfinder. There’s an optional electronic viewfinder attachment, but we don’t have that. Fortunately, the LCD screen is beautiful and sharp. It’s really easy to make sure you are focusing on the right spot because focus indicators will overlay onto the image. AF action is quick, although not as fast as an SLR. Still, it’s perfectly adequate for most things.

My main gripe with the camera is that it would be much better with an articulating LCD. If the LCD swiveled so that it was facing up, it would be much easier to take shots from the hip for more interesting photos of the kids. Even at an angle, however, the LCD is good enough that you can frame the shot, but it would have been awesome if you could tilt that screen up just like on our old Olympus E-10.

Ever since we got the new camera, I’ve only taken a few shots with my own dSLR. It feels so heavy and probably overkill for much of what we photograph. The Olympus is such a nice combination of small size, lightness, versatility, and expandability that it makes a really capable SLR replacement. If all my SLR gear suddenly went poof, I would probably go for a micro-four-thirds set up.

Posted by Barron • Living • Shopping • Comments • Permalink

Anyone one else print out the Michael’s coupons before going to the store? Typically you save 40-50% off of a single item. My purchases for the kids’ school projects are usually pretty inexpensive, but it’s great to get them at half off anyways. I’m thinking about buying a nice oil paint set, though… could save some serious cash with my 50% coupon! Just do a search for ”Michaels coupons” and you will find them.