2011 Aug 18
Cycles South appeared in my Netflix queue and it looked pretty fun so after the kids went to bed I watched it. It’s a travel movie made in the early 70’s and has the feel of a Bruce Brown film like On Any Sunday. The plot is basically three friends take off from their jobs and ride motorcycles down from the west coast of the US (maybe Northern California?) all the way down to Panama. They complete the journey spending about $60 each. It’s a fun journey and extremely interesting in how it shows how much times change.
From the view of motorcycling, the bikes are small UJM streetbikes. They look like Honda CBs. They ride them like dirtbikes, going off jumps, off pavement, bushwacking, and on railroad tracks. I hardly ever seem them standing on the pegs either! They mainly just bounce along. Kind of cool that they don’t worry about the machine or gear so much (or at all), unlike these days when there is so much focus on the type of equipment and bike you have. I like that kind of “ride what you got” attitude.
Culturally, the movie is funny and potentially disturbing (depending on your lifestyle) when they happen upon an old town/commune and proceed to “recreate” with the locals. There’s quite a bit of free-love and partaking of illegal drugs going on. Then they go out on a psychedelic joyride on their bikes. It’s all pretty amusing, but that joyride scene went on for way too long, and had some really annoying “spacey” sound effects.
I really enjoyed the movie after they traveled south of the border. They camped on the beach and went spearfishing for their food. Kinda strange when they killed and ate a sea turtle, but it just goes to show you how times change. There are a couple really cool scenes where they go surfing and hang out on the beach playing with fireworks. Looks like so much fun.
I’d recommend checking this movie out especially because it’s available for streaming. It’s not as polished or charming as a Bruce Brown classic, but it’s still a fun flick.
2011 Aug 15
There’s a watch store called Mr. Time in my old hometown of Torrance. It’s located on the corner of Sepulveda and Crenshaw and just about always has a “20-50%-Off Sale” sign hanging outside of it. It’s kind of a running joke between myself and Mariko because I always remind her that next time we visit family in California, I’ll buy a new watch. I’d estimate that it’s more like half of the visits we make to Torrance I buy a new watch and the other half of the time I just window shop. Well, this past summer I decided that I wanted to get a watch with a metal wristband. This would be a first for me! I’ve always prefered a black plastic/rubber wristband and the guy at Mr. Time always offers to switch the bands on any watch. When I bought my Waveceptor watch I had him replace the metal wristband with a black one. But I was looking in my drawer that I keep my watches in and I noticed that there were a few in there that were kind of just dead-in-the-water now because the original black wristband had broken and the replacement wristbands either did not exist anymore or didn’t fit too well. Because of this, I decided to go for a metal wristband.
I looked at a few really nice Seiko models but they were too expensive so I fell back on good ol Casio. I like the designs and they are pretty inexpensive. Quality is good as well. The Casio name isn’t going to impress anyone but I like them anyways. The model I decided on isn’t anything special but it does have analog hands and a digital face which I like. It’s also simple to use. I think I can adjust most everything without having to break out the manual, which is something I have to do whenever I want to adjust my Waveceptor. The new watch also has markers for North South East and West, but there’s no actual compass on the watch. The letters do make it look a little more sophisticated at least. It’s also waterproof down to 200 meters.
Like I mentioned above, I’ve never had a watch with a metal watchband before so it took a little while to get used to. But I really like it now and the peace of mind that it will last much longer than the rubber watchbands is a real plus. Now I am thinking about trying to find a metal watchband for my other watches. I bet Mr. Time could help me out. If anyone can do it, he can!
2011 Aug 08
In the past year I’ve been on three trips that required flying and I’ve been packing lighter and lighter. So far, it’s been great. In the past, I’ve taken probably too many clothes, and too many gadgets. Besides the practical aspects of not having to carry as much stuff (space and weight), it has also freed me up to enjoy the vacation more. I spend less time worrying about what lens to put on the camera (since I haven’t got any) and more time just snapping a photo which is “good enough” and then enjoying the scene using my eyes and ears.
Camera gear: This is the big one for me. Although I took a lot of photos using my big dSLR, it put a damper on my traveling experience. If I bring my dSLR around, then I feel I have to bring at least four lenses too! This adds up in space and weight (and shoulder pain). Plus, these items are not just things that I could throw in the suitcase and unpack at the destination, but stuff that I have to carry with me at all times. Did I mention shoulder pain earlier? Now I have slimmed down my photo equipment to just my point-and-shoot Panasonic camera and my cellphone. The Panasonic is small enough to wear around my neck or thrown in a pocket. It’s also waterproof and shockproof, so I have less worry about breaking it. I guess it lightens the burden on my mind as well! I may go back to carrying a larger camera in the future (my eyes are on the Sony A77), but for now I am enjoying the P&S.
Clothes: I’ve also really cut down the amount of clothes I take. Basically it’s one pair of shoes, sandals, a pair of jeans (and/or khakis), synthetic boxer briefs (they pack smaller than cotton), a couple pairs of synthetic socks, synthetic shorts, a light jacket,boardshorts if I am going swimming, and a few shirts. I really like the synthetic clothing because you can basically just wash them in a sink (or the shower) and by the next morning they will be dry or close to dry. No need to pack one for each day! In the winter, I bring a heavy jacket, gloves, and a scarf, but if I throw in a synthetic long-sleeve tshirt and synthetic long underwear (both pack super-small) I find that I can handle winter in Japan with ease. The synthetic base layers are so important. They keep you warm in the winter, but also cool and dry in the summer. (I wear them under my riding gear when I ride my motorcycle) Plus, these layers can be washed in the evening and will be ready in the morning.
Computers: On the computer front, I now use the Dell Inspiron 11z, which is thin and light and I also have a Microsoft Arc Mouse which folds flat. I don’t actually need the mouse but it’s so small it doesn’t really make much of a difference. I carry both of these in my shouder bag. The charger is relatively slim as well. It also helps that the battery still holds a good charge so I don’t have the mental burden of worrying if I have enough juice to do anything (like write this blog post!). Although I have my charger in the bag, not having to break it out every time I wan to use the laptop is nice!
Other Stuff: I bring my Kindle with me too. It is so light and hardly takes up any space. I’ve got a large variety of books I can choose from, and don’t need to worry about battery life since it seems to last forever. Even though paperbacks are light, most of the ones I have are still too thick.
All of my clothes and toiletries can easily fit in a rolling carry-on bag with space to spare. I can pretty much go for any amount of time with this setup. A couple of caveats here, however. I realize that being a guy has it’s advantages to packing light since we are happy with towel drying our hair and using whatever shampoo (or soap!) is available. No make-up bag to bring either. And since I am a married dude with kids, I feel less of a need (or none at all) to dress-to-impress. As long as what I wear isn’t an embarrassment, it’s good enough. (My windbreaker comes close to crossing the line, soliciting a couple “Members Only” comments on the last trip)
Another thing that packing light does to make my traveling more enjoyable is that I spend a lot less time worrying about my own things (since I haven’t got much) and more time making sure the kids and wife have all the things they need. I guess it’s a form of being selfless? Who knows, but I do like it, and I do get fulfillment out of caring for my family. Hooray for traveling light!
2011 Jun 15
I always liked this song! Fukumimi circa 1999.
2011 Jun 09
Cool song by Moumoon.
2011 Jun 08
I love this song. Kaze Wo Atsumete by Happy End.
2011 Jun 03
Even though my Dodgers aren’t very good this year, it’s still baseball season! I love summer.
2011 May 22
I like this cover by Anna Tsuchiya!
2011 May 21
One thing that I’d like to have is a good shoulder-bag to carry all my daily stuff. You know, things like papers, pens, camera, a book, and laptop. I’ve owned several over the years but I haven’t found the perfect one. The first one I can remember with any detail was a Timbuk2 messenger bag circa 2002. It cost about $100 and was very basic. It was really meant for bike messengers, and had an extra strap to keep the bag aligned in the center of your back. It was tough and waterproof, plus it looked cool. The problem was that the inner pocket was just a big unpadded space, with only a couple loops to hang keys, and a couple pockets for a wallet.
In 2008 I bought a Case Logic bag from Fry’s for about $50. It is pretty good in that it has a dedicated padded space for a laptop, and you can access that via zipper without having to open up the main flap. On the inside, it had several useful pockets and even a zippered one on the side which can be used for a point & shoot camera. On the other side is an elastic pocket with is good for a slim water bottle. The main inner pocket is pretty spacious and could fit my dSLR. It was a little cramped, but is fine for the body/50mm and a couple smaller lenses. There are also various-sized zippered and un-zippered pockets for lots of things like iPods, wallet, business cards, etc. Lastly, the main flap itself has two side pockets to stash thin items. Those little tissue packets that people hand out in Japan for instance.
The downside to this bag is that it is a little big depth-wise, so when I am not carrying a dSLR, it’s just added bulk. And with all those pockets, padding, and zippers it is on the heavy side.
My current bag is something I stumbled across at Target, and was only about $25. I was going to Japan for a couple weeks and had dedicated to myself to traveling light. This included downsizing from a dSLR to my Panasonic DMC-TS2 point & shoot and from a paperback novel to a Kindle3. The Embark bag (which I think is one of Target’s house brands) is just about perfect for this. I like the plain grey outside, and the single large buckle snap for the main flap. There’s a zipper on the flap where I can take stuff in and out quickly like my walled and keys. Inside, there are three main compartments. The one closest to the body has a securing strap and I guess this is the good for a laptop. The second one is just plain and open and I have a folder in there with papers and printouts. The third space has elastic pockets for various things (iPod/earbuds, medicine, money, etc. There are also two zippered pockets one of which is perfect for the point & shoot camera and the other is perfect size for the Kindle. You can actually get to these pockets without opening the main flap, which is really convenient. The bag itself is really lightweight and the elastic pockets work well. I feel that a more complicated series of zippered pockets on the Case Logic is unneeded.
The downsides to the Embark bag are that there isn’t very much padding for a laptop (I need to find a padded sleeve to put in there) and it could use an elastic outside pocket for a drink. To remedy this last part, I have a little hook to carry a small MSR bottle. As a lightweight bag, the Embark is hard to beat, especially for the budget price!
Now I have my eyes on an REI Quantum bag. It’s got some good things going for it, but my Embark still handles the stuff I need a bag to do. Plus I still have the Case Logic in case I need it. Still, it’s fun to shop around!
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