This camera definitely pre-dates a lot of features you look for in a digital camera. First of all, it only outputs pictures with a resolution of 640 x 480, therefore pre-dating the word “megapixel” in its set of features. Also there was no USB connectivity. Instead it used the serial port of the olden days. It also used the SmartMedia Card for storage; it came with a 16MB card, which I did not replace or supplement with a bigger card because memory was so expensive back then!

It was a rather cool gadget to have, especially since I had taken so many pictures with disposable film cameras living in Japan and checking out all that living there had to offer. By today’s standards, it would be a bulky, weak camera, but for 1998, it was definitely awesome. In all honesty, I didn’t even know digital cameras actually existed when I got it. It was rather amazing concept to grasp while actually owning the device. As you can figure out, I was not an early adopter of technology back then.

The Fujifilm digital camera had a good run of about 8 years, but I unfortunately didn’t take a whole lot of pictures. It certainly wasn’t compact enough to take everywhere and needing to use alkaline batteries, it would be without juice much of the time. At some point, it would only work with AC power, and so it was mostly used to take pictures inside of the house. I have a set on Flickr that you can check out:

My second digital camera had an even shorter life of usefulness. I bought a Canon A510 in 2005 from a job I had at the time. I did hope to take lots of pictures. I remember installing and configuring Gallery onto my website with the intention of putting tons of pictures, but that idea didn’t quite work. For one thing, the camera was not as compact enough for me to carry around all the time. Also, at the time, I was also NOT encouraged to take pictures, to put it mildly. The camera still works to this very day, but since it needed batteries, I was never motivated to continue using it. I have since donated it to the day job.

In the here and now, I have three digital cameras. It all started when I got my iPhone in July 2007, where I found the concept of taking fairly decent pictures and emailing them from the device an absolutely marvelous idea. Then wanting to take better quality pictures, I bought another point and shoot, making sure that it was compact enough and that it did not rely on alkaline batteries. I have been very satisfied with my Canon PowerShot SD1100IS. And then recently this past November, after obtaining some funds from my work with Company X, I decided to splurge on my latest toy, a Canon Rebel XSi aka Canon 450D. I just got this camera and have yet to fully learn how to use it. Hunny has gotten me started, but I definitely need more practice.

Though I have had a digital camera for ten years, it was only when I met my boyfriend that I actually found the motivation to capture a lot of digital photos. For practical reasons, he carries a camera with him everywhere he goes and makes great use of it as a means of “post remembering” things. But also, he has a good eye for taking “good photographs” having taking photography film courses before. As a photo hobbyist, not only does he rock out with his point and shoot, but he also has a digital SLR camera.

So in the past year and half, I have aspired to do as he does: to take pictures to remember things but also to do it as a hobby. The first part is easy, especially having an iPhone or my handy Canon SD1100IS. 2008 has definitely been the year of sniping away in taking pictures of anything and everything. I am hoping that 2009 will be the year where I can actually say that I do photography as a hobby. Now with my first DSLR camera, I am hoping to take some fun and awesome shots. I am even enrolling in a photography class at the Outreach College at UH Manoa to expose myself to the routine of taking “good pictures.”

In the spirit of my newfound hobby, I have created visually aspiraling as a photo blog. Though I have a Flickr account (of which I’m a HUGE fan), I wanted to reserve pictures I am especially proud of for this new blog. So far, it’s mostly filled with pictures that my boyfriend took with my new Rebel, but hopefully 2009 will be contain my own pictures.

I can only imagine how many pictures I’ll have for this next decade.

I did manage to get some baking done, though the only thing Christmasy about it was that it was for a Christmas Party for my day job. I think that it is quite an achievement since I hadn’t baked anything for a couple of years. Our house had gotten a new oven about 4 years ago, but I never got to use it for baking until Saturday night when I decided to make Rice Krispie Chocolate Chip Cookies. It took about 3 hours to get about 7 batches of cookies baked and ready. Though I had made them before, I was worried that they would turn out disastrous. I was afraid to even taste them, but thankfully Hunny gave me the thumbs up from the first bite. As with anything else I do, I took pictures!

Mixing it all up!

Fresh out of the oven!

Peanut Butter Chips for the last batch!

Thankfully, they were a hit rather than a miss at the Christmas picnic the following day. It has not inspired me to bake more or to try to make new desserts but it has encouraged me for this coming Christmas Day when I have to make Christmas turkey at my house along with some if not most of the fixings.

Happy Holidays!

I was fortunate to have grown up with several generations of cats in and near my household. Since I came back to Hawaii from Japan, I have been without a cat. Anytime I see a feral kitty, I would stop for a moment to look at it and admire its cuteness despite how mangy to the touch it might actually be. And of course, let’s not forget my countless trips to the Hawaiian Humane Society. I think my collection of HHS cats on my iPhoto could fill a warehouse.

So, what’s stopping me from getting a cat? Well, it used to be that I didn’t have the time or that I was barely home to take care of one. Seeing as I no longer go to school or work two jobs anymore, I can’t really say that anymore. What’s stopping me from getting a cat now is that my poor boyfriend is allergic, despite him being a big animal lover. And though we don’t live together right now, it’s most likely going to happen within the next year or so.

I joke with Hunny sometimes that him not being able to have a cat is the dealbreaker for our otherwise strong and happy union. As a response, he did give me a link to this website:

Allerca: Hypoallergenic Cats

The cost? They start at $6950.

Methinks I’ll be making several more stops at the Hawaiian Humane Society to get my fill of fur.

Without going into too much detail, I want to say that life this year has definitely been more settled as opposed to the past 10 years, and I think it’s finally time to embrace the Christmas spirit. I’ve been thinking of ways that I could “de-scrooge” myself as I have normally been “bah humbug” about the entire holiday season. I came up with a couple of things, some of which I probably WON’T go through with.

Christmas Tree: The last time I had a Christmas tree in my house was in 1996. Every Christmas tree we got years prior were awesome, though our decorations were a bit ghetto fabulous. It definitely brought a spirit of Christmas that not even the most tricked out gift could. As much as I would love to welcome that wonderful, nostalgic scent into my home, it certainly is not practical enough for me to get one. I won’t have much presents to put under the tree and the electricity bill at my house runs high enough as it is. I admit, I feel a bit of the “mommy pangs” when I think about Christmas trees, because I think I can only justify getting one if I had a child to enjoy it. Not gonna happen this year.

Christmas Baking: I definitely take joy in baking and creating stuff in the kitchen, but my success rate has never been good and so I find that I have not been doing it much lately. I think Christmas time is as good enough a time as ever to start again. I’m thinking of cookies and other desserts that I can try my hand at to give out at Christmas time. And if Hunny volunteers to do the dishes, I can be even further motivated!

Christmas Party: I mentioned back in July or so that I wanted to do some kind of housewarming party to celebrate the closing of the “sale” on the house. I’ve made the house a little more inviting with the removal of a lot of clutter and the addition of a new TV, but I have to admit that I am still a little shy about bringing people into my house as I still feel it’s a bit messy and dare I say it, perpetually 汚い? Well, we shall see… I won’t rule it for this holiday season…

Photo Christmas Card: This tops the “most likely to do” list. It was actually Hunny’s idea that we do one this year. We haven’t discussed execution, but we don’t anticipate it being a huge production as I have seen with other people I know. And I think being the  geeks that we are, we probably will do it with iPhoto.

So my hope is that I will at least do one or two things to for the holiday season. My iTunes library has been rechecked with Christmas songs, and so I’m ready to get this season started…

I have a rather unique thing with ramen compared to any other dish out there. When I lived in Japan, going to an authentic ramen shop was always a treat because of the pride that I knew the restaurant put in their dishes. Coming back to Hawaii, I held very low expectations for ramen as it seemed that all the restaurants get their noodles from the same supplier (that being Sun Noodle) and they ended up tasting the same and very less than ordinary. Ramen has to be really good for me to like it; I wouldn’t settle for subpar ramen as I do for other things. I think just to please others or to be part of the group, I would “endure” a bowl of ramen from places like Ezogiku or Daiichi.

These past several weeks, I had the opportunity to go to not just one but two ramen establishments on the island that have a reputation for being authentic. That being said, I went in with the expectation that some extraordinary ramen was out there to be had. The first one I tried out was ごまいち (Gomaichi) on Keeaumoku Street across from Wal-Mart upon the recommendation of many of my co-workers. I felt that my co-workers could appreciate a really good bowl of ramen, and so I decided to give it a shot with my friend Kent. I ordered the Char Siu Tan Tan Men which is apparently one of their best selling items. I have to say that it was quite magnificent. There was a kick to that broth and richness unlike anything I had before. The noodles were also quite different and well prepared. And where usually I find ramen overfilling with its mediocre soup, I managed to down almost every drop of what was in my bowl. Definitely good stuff. I can see that a lot of other people think so too. When they opened up for dinner, the small place quickly filled up; it even appeared that many Japanese speaking residents (or dare I say tourists?) frequent the place. Hey, so it’s got to be REALLY good.

And then a couple of days ago, I went to another ramen restaurant upon the suggestion of my sister. My sister, who had never been to or even heard of ごまいち, had said that Yotteko-ya in the McCully Shopping Center had the best ramen. I ordered their signature dish, the Paitan Chashu Ramen. The noodles were fairly good, but the soup just seemed bland to me despite it looking good with its unique looking texture. Perhaps with my expectations were set a bit too high, I ended up leaving the place a bit disappointed.

So the winner for me was obviously ごまいち (Gomaichi), and upon telling my sister this, she is anxious to try it out. To any readers (or lurkers) I may have that reside on our lovely island, I definitely recommend that you check it out at least once to try their Tan Tan Men. Gomaichi is located on 631 Keeaumoku Street on the other side of Makaloa Street from the old Tower Records store (or new Walgreens, if you actually visit that place.) I think they have parking on Makaloa Street, but otherwise, you can go during a trip to Ala Moana and just walk through Nordstrom’s to get to the Kapiolani Boulevard exit where the restaurant is only a block away. It is a cash-only establishment, and prices start at about $9 up. For some variety, I would definitely recommend ordering vegetables in addition to ordering the ramen because you otherwise just get meat and noodles in soup.

Not sure when is the next chance I’ll get to go to Gomaichi to eat, especially with all this ingestion of turkey and other bad food with lots of leftovers to be had. I had a wonderful Thanksgiving and am actually looking forward to the holidays. I hope there will be more entries in the coming weeks, and that the mention of food will be to a minimum.

And in the spirit of trying to improve my wellness, I recently obtained a Wii Fit. It was actually a gift from a friend who remembers me from a time when I wasn’t so pudgy. I guess you could call it a “Wow, you got fat” gift, which I can definitely appreciate. I think it’s a rather fun motivator for fitness, though it can be useless if you do everything half-assed. I do wish it had better aerobic exercises, but it’s fairly good for the yoga and strength training exercises, not to mention for being a very expensive scale.

The Wii Fit, like with any “fitness program,” helps you set goals. Without much motivation, I really have difficulty achieving goals, but I suppose I should give this one a shot. I think it’s a matter of really taking advantage of the fact that I have a set work schedule, and that I need to stick to a routine. I guess it’s a matter of being motivated and not so easily distracted by the million other things I want to do. (And most of them involve sitting on my ass at the computer.)

Ha, well let’s see how THAT goes.

If anything, I’ve been able to listen to some fun music and some interesting podcasts while taking my Nano out for my walks. I’ve been tweaking with my playlists and I came up with these 10 songs that I think are the best for moving to. (I’m afraid to say that I haven’t used the Genius feature as much as I would have liked.)

• “Just Dance” - Lady GaGa
• “Little of Your Time” - Maroon 5
• “Gotta Get Thru This” - Daniel Bedingfield
• “What You Waiting For” - Gwen Stefani
• “My Sharona” - The Knack
• “Shake It” - Metro Station
• “Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger” - Daft Punk
• “Technologic” - Daft Punk
• “Step By Step” - New Kids on the Block
• “Fascinated” - Company B

And so the question for you is, do you have a favorite song you like to move to?

I can be the first to admit that I never thought highly of Korean products. This was not due to my own personal experience, but I guess in the generation that I grew up, it was always about the Japanese electronics. And then, I dated a guy who, as an American, lived in Korea but had very few nice things to say about Korean made products.  And on top of that, my mom was born in Japan right before World War II, so you can imagine her attitudes toward anything Korean might have very well rubbed off on me.  To make a long story short, I steered clear of Korean-made products despite seeing its growing popularity in the marketplace.

Upon looking for a new TV, I realized Korean and Chinese brands would come up in my search.  That was when I had to remind myself that there was once a time when Japanese products were considered inferior.  I remember this coming to my attention when I saw a sequel of Back to the Future where Doc thought a circuit was faulty because it was made in Japan to which Marty reponds, “What are you talking about? All the best stuff is made in Japan.” It seems that we have to expect that any country can make huge strides over the course of several years, just like those before it.

After checking out all sorts of reviews and specs and then finally checking things out for myself in person, it became a toss up between a Samsung and a Sony Bravia model. I went with the Samsung because it seemed to have more value for the money, and I was namely impressed with its ability to scale standard definition TV. I bought it at the Aiea Best Buy, a place that Hunny and I normally complain about because of their high prices, but I figured since they were selling the Samsung LN40A530 at the retail price and offered a good protection plan for it, they seemed to be the way to go. They also had a deal where I could get a $100 off a Blu-Ray player, so I dove in and got that too. I really got it as a upscaling DVD player especially since Blu-Ray discs are so expensive. Yet of course, out of curiosity, I treated myself to one: Iron Man is indeed a very cool movie!

I made a really quick video of the unboxing. I shall follow up with another entry later on:

I don’t want to say that I’m on that “d” word, but I am trying to take better care of myself.  I have been trying to take a walk around my neighborhood almost every evening (with the aid of my new Nano!) and am also being mindful of what I eat and more importantly when I eat.  I am not sure how long it will last, in all honesty.  I guess I just have to take it one day at a time.

Yesterday, in the spirit of trying to exercise and for the purpose of killing time in town, I took a rather long walk.  I walked from Ala Moana to the Honolulu Zoo on Kapahulu Avenue via Waikiki.  I can’t remember the last time I walked through Waikiki as it is not my kind of place, just like with many locals here.  I have to say I enjoyed it as a nice scenic walk and I might very well do it again.  As always, I had my trusty Canon SD1100 IS with me, so I snapped away.   You can check out the pictures on my Flickr. (It’s nothing special so I won’t post it here.)  When I got home, I went to mapmyrun.com to figure out just how long I walked. I was pretty surprised that it was over 2 miles. For a lot of people, that’s nothing, but for someone like me who is normally so lethargic, that is definitely something.

In cleaning up my room (which I have yet to finish), I threw almost everything away in trying to relinquish my pack rat ways. I did, however, keep all my nice “skinny” clothes in a nice storage container. I don’t know if I’ll ever fit them again, but it’s nice to have a reminder that I wasn’t always such a lazy bum.

The scale has tipped toward the television only because it is the most utilitarian solution. If I get the TV, I can give the TV away to someone I know who needs one (desperately.) The TV I currently have in my living room is a 19″ CRT TV which we got from Japan when we lived there. It’s come from Japan, to our house here, to my sister’s and then back here. As to why I want to replace the TV, I think it’s to make my living room a little more inviting. Prior to my housecleaning frenzy, my living room was far from worthy of having a “nice TV.” My house is still far from being picture perfect with needing the carpet cleaned (or replaced, rather) along with a paint job, but I think having a bigger TV will not be out of place in it. Another big motivation is that of being able to play multiplayer games on a bigger screen; a 19″ screen just won’t do when you’re playing Mario Kart or Mario Party on a Wii.

I usually am one to make the impulsive buy, but I decided to take a lesson from my hunny and be a little more prudent in deciding which TV to get. Choosing a TV involves a lot of research and the challenge lies in finding the time, the attention span and the reputable places to research. It can be easy to tell people whenever they are looking to buy something to research the Internet or “Google it” as many people I know are quick to say (including me, I admit.) I have to say now that it isn’t always easy. In trying to Google information about how to shop for a TV, I’ve found that there are a lot of websites out there with all kinds of information to muck through. You also have to wonder how partial these reviews are. Also with improving technologies and dropping prices, you have to be sure that you are getting the latest most relevant information.

I have not narrowed it down to certain models, but my research so far has yielded a better idea of what I should be looking for. In deciding between LCD and Plasma, I am opting for an LCD display. Though Plasma appears more attractive, LCD supposedly has a longer life. I certainly want any TV I buy to last me awhile because I hate having a broken TV (or two) to dispose of once it breaks. As for size, I think I’ll be satisfied enough with a 40″ or 42″ TV. The daunting task comes through comparing the specs for an LCD TV. Per the various websites I’ve looked through, I’ve figured out the specs I need to look for. (Note: This whole blog entry more for me in verbalizing my research and decision process, and so the following can definitely be left for dispute.)

• Native Pixel Resolution: This should not be so much an issue for me only because once you enter the realm of 40″ or 42″, they are all pretty much 1080p as opposed to 720p. (And I don’t see any with 1080i as progressive is the preferred more modern format.) The numbers 1080 and 720 refer to the number of horizontal lines in the picture, or the number of pixels that make up one vertical line of the picture. I guess it would be cool to have what they call “Full HD” with a 1080p resolution, but that’s all contingent on whether it can handle the lower resolution sources as mentioned in the next point.
• Scaling: This refers to the television’s ability to match the resolution of the incoming signal to its native pixel resolution. One thing I have not been able to figure out is how this spec of scaling is actually measured for means of comparison to other models. This is where I will have to refer to people’s review of any particular TV I am looking at. Upscaling will be a very important consideration for me because a lot of what I’ll be watching will be standard definition (480i) as opposed to HD. Also, I don’t think I’ll be adopting Blu-Ray anytime soon as I don’t see DVDs on its way out just yet. I might very well buy one more DVD player before that does happen, and it will probably be an upconverting DVD player. I have yet to see how well those work. If I do get a craving for HD content, I think an Apple TV might very well be in my future.
• Contrast Ratio: This refers to the comparison of the darkest (or blackest) color the TV can produce to the lightest (or whitest, if that’s a word) color. This is a spec in which a number is available (for example, 10,000:1), but it is up for dispute as to how the manufacturer comes up with such a number. I cannot begin to explain the whole game, but among the websites I researched, this one provides a rather interesting explanation. When it gets down to it, you have to judge with your eyes the screen’s ability to produce a dark black. I’ll probably take a look at the numbers, but not take it at face value.
• Motion Response Time: This reflects the TV’s ability to display quick movement on the screen. Measured in milliseconds, this is one spec that can be used to compare the quality of one TV from another. Your better TVs have a Motion Response Time of under 5 ms.
• Connectivity and Tuners: I still have devices that connect via composite cables, so it’s imperative that the next TV I get has more than one set of composite cable ports. As of right now, I have nothing that uses HDMI, but of course, it’s a given that any TV I get will have a couple of HDMI ports on them. MAYBE a PS3 and or an Apple TV are in my future once I get this TV, but of course, with the way things are going, maybe not. Also, I would prefer a TV with a digital tuner just out of curiosity as to how Digital Broadcast TV is like compared to Analog (Remember the old school “rabbit ears”? I certainly do.)

I don’t know how soon it will be until I find the TV I am looking for. I am fairly certain that I want to buy it from Costco because of their return policy and warranty extension offer that retailers charge you extra for. It’s all a matter of finding the right one at the right price. My price range was looking to be $1200 - $1500, but I think it will actually be lowered to about $1000 or so, since I don’t need to have an extraordinarily impressive television.

In the meantime, if anyone can offer me some advice on what to look for, that would be awesome.