When I typically walk into the Apple store, I spend no more than five minutes; browsing to see if they got any new accessories for the iPhone. However, I was stuck in the store this afternoon as it suddenly started pouring hailing rain. The store actually is quite interesting, when it is not crowded on a weekday. I can hop onto any Mac or laptop and actually figure the system out. The OS is nice, a bit dumbed down from the Microsoft XP, but I think thats the appeal. As a hardcore PC user myself, I would probably have trouble adapting and learning a Mac but for a new user to computing, I would recommend a Mac as they will pick things up that much more quickly. Sure, Vista is going for that approach, but its just a faulty crappy OS at the moment. I’m still sticking to my XP SP2.
What I am most impressed with the new iMac is display monitor. It has a glossy finish and photos appear to be that much clearer. That monitor, whether it be the 20 inch or 24 inch version, is just far superior than most other LCD/Plasma displays out there.
Continue reading ‘What’s in a display?’
Photoshop! What a wonderful software that lets you have complete control and being able to manipulate a photo. I have been playing around with Photoshop and air brushing images. Sure, it is cheating but how is that different from using make up and the correct lighting for normal photography? Its just the end product that matters. I see photos of Britney Spears of US Weekly that are photoshopped to the extent that it is so obvious that any novice can pick up on it. However, I must admit, she is very photogenic and is a perfect model to play around with.
Some other photoshopping techniques I have been tinkering with are just normal lighting and color levels to balance a photo. Also using the stamp/clone tool to remove unwanted elements in a photo. I will share some soon, but at the moment, I am still learning and really getting used to it. I must say, I have received some positive praises and a lot of wonderment on how many other people out there that actually photoshop their image to put up on social or dating websites like MySpace, FaceBook, eHarmony, etc. I am assuming a lot. However, I think I will use these skills for the better and maybe use it as a side gig; perhaps for photo retouching for wedding occasions.
Continue reading ‘Heal, Duplicate, Blur, Paint…’
By now you may have already heard of Kahlil Fong and his fantastic R&B style to sing Chinese songs. I heard lame attempts in the past but I think this guy actually got it. If you have not heard of him, then you will be in for a treat because this guy has got talent. His second album, Love Song, was released earlier this year and this was my initial impression of his musical style. His R&B style is almost reminiscent of John Legend; the vocals are probably less soulful but he does have good range and a good sense of the rhythm. Overall, I think his songs are enjoyable and will definitely stand out and attract more listeners ranging from the traditional Chinese pop fans crossing over to fans of other genres including people that don’t typically listen to foreign music.
I want to note that after listening to his second album, I found that his first album to be more light and it tries bit less on striving to sound too R&B or too forced in having soul. The tone of the first album, aptly named “Love Love Love”, is quite good altogether. He sings a single English song, Peter Cetera’s “If You Leave Me Now” and does a good job at it. I personally like the overall feel of his first album better than the second. Enough for me to actually want to introduce Khalil Fong and share with you his songs.
Continue reading ‘Nerdy Love Song - Khalil Fong (方大同)’
As a tax paying citizen, why must I be subjected to horrible traffic? Sure, there are alternatives to driving such as using the poor public transportation available in Los Angeles but my job requires me to commute to any number of locations on any given day. It pretty much prohibits me from carpooling as well to save on cost.
But the way Los Angeles is laid out is just such an after thought. Due to urban sprawl and all the different smaller cities creating this giant metropolitan entity; it creates unnecessary traffic congestion. My job actually takes me from Orange County to Los Angeles County to even Ventura County. I do a bit of local traveling and need to use all the freeways and highways to get around. But at any given time, pretty much all day I can experience traffic congestion. I honestly can say I hate driving in this city and am absolutely over it.
Continue reading ‘What’s in a Speed Limit?’
I listen to Chinese music all the time. I have heard many Taiwanese singers try to sing in English and fail miserably at it. Until now; I can safely say that I found a nice gem of a singer. Her name is Joanna Wang and her music style is a bit unfamiliar to the normal Taiwanese pop music style. Her English is spot on and her voice is most similar to Nora Jones.
Her album consists of 15 songs with 3 only sang in Chinese Mandarin. All the rest of the songs are in English which definitely makes her stand out and shows her confidence as an English singer. After listening through her album, there are definitely noteworthy songs on this album especially her single, Start From Here. The Chinese version of the song is titled “Maze (迷宮)”. She also sings the David Tao classic “I Love You” redone in English. Another notable song I enjoy is “Lost Tapei”, which gives me a sense of nostalgic feeling from my recent visits back to Taiwan and its hectic nightlife and buildings. If you have not heard of her yet, take note because her music is definitely worth the time to check out.
Continue reading ‘The sultry voice of Joanna Wang (王若琳)’
If you have followed the NBA for the past 5 years, no doubt the most dangerous player in the professional basketball has been none other than Kobe Bryant. The same argument can be said before that, but for the sake of argument; the guy is just simply amazing.
He has had 3 NBA championships, albeit, those were won with Shaq on the roster but that should not be taken away from him. I will always remember the Conference Finals against Portland Trailblazers, where the Lakers were down beginning in the fourth quarter. The play that defined the beginning of the first of three consecutive championships for the Lakers was when Kobe lobbed the pass to Shaq for an alleyoop dunk. Amazing!!
Continue reading ‘KB24 - MVP! Finally….’
I have had an iPhone since October of last year [2007] and even though it was unlocked to work with any sim; I had left it as that. I did not put any extra software since I didn’t have installer. Also, I was still sitting on firmware 1.0.2. I was not all interested in updating the iPhone until there was a firmware worth the upgrade. That is until I saw some of the functions available on the 1.1.3 firmware that I decided to update.
Did I want to take it back to where I purchased my phone for the update? I probably could have taken it there but they would have charged me for it. Also, I would miss out on all the fun of actually unlocking my own iPhone. Since the iPhone came out, there have been numerous development teams out there unlocking and jailbreaking the phone so you run additional applications on the iPhone. I did not know the potential to all this until I actually successfully updated my iPhone and jailbroken it.
Continue reading ‘How I did my iPhone unlock and update to 1.1.3′
The defining speech that Barack Obama made Tuesday morning, March 18, 2008 is witnessed as one of the greatest of speeches in American history. I over heard parts and pieces and actually read through the entire text here. (The video is there as well.) After reading the transcript of the speech, my emotions are a bit unsure. In a way, I am glad Obama decided to have this speech and face criticism and controversies head on. Especiallly the race issue because everyone makes it a larger part than it really should be. Yes it is in the American history. Yes it effects all races. But if we are to be a true United States and to be a real American, we need to stand united as one and not divided.
Opposing views will surface that would like to flank these issues with other issues and make our minds wander and focus on other problems but we should not kid ourselves. We need to pay more attention to what is close to us; home. The great social divide whether it is the old or young, black or white, rich or poor. The looming fear that the economy is going into recession. Health care for the baby boomer generation ready to retire. Real estate industry faltering and financing on the verge of not being able to withstand. Rise of energy costs and the decline of the once proud American dollar. Its not the war in Iraq we should be focused upon as our valuable resources are being sent overseas to what seems to be an endless war like Vietnam.
Continue reading ‘The defining speech…’
