the global bin » Misc

Rediscovering Napa Valley: The Silverado Trail

pixelwacko — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 18:09:56 +0000

Bush Tours America To Survey Damage Caused By His Disastrous Presidency

pixelwacko — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 06:13:18 +0000

Bush Tours America To Survey Damage Caused By His Disastrous Presidency

Finally! Our Grapes are Fruiting

pixelwacko — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 18:08:02 +0000

After three years, the two little vines we got from a nearby nursery is finally bearing fruit. The green one is the Thompson Seedless and the red one is a variety named Black Emerald. We picked a bunch of the black emeralds and they were crisp and sweet. The kids enjoyed them. The Thompsons are nice and plump already but not quite there yet in sweetness.

Where the Hell is Matt? (2008)

pixelwacko — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 18:53:22 +0000

Where the Hell is Matt? (2008) from Matthew Harding on Vimeo. Now in HD. Where the Heck is Matt? 14 months in the making, 42 countries, and a cast of thousands.

How was your weekend?

pixelwacko — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 17:02:12 +0000

Anthony's Birthday 2008 from Kyo Suayan on Vimeo. After doing some game testing at EA last Saturday morning we went to Anthony's birthday party in San Mateo where we spent most of the afternoon. It was nice and warm out there and had some relaxing time to catch up with friends. When we got home, I plugged in the PS2 and played FIFA '08 which I thought was pretty good (well detailed) and something a hardcore soccer fan would probably enjoy. Following day was Father's Day and after mass we had lunch at the Banyan Garden where they serve a fusion of Malaysian, Singaporean, Thai and Chinese dishes. The Roti Canai was probably even better than the one at Banana Leaf in Milpitas and the Pineapple Fried Rice was OK (don't tell my doctor!). We passed by the Union City library after that and I then did a quick 45 minute edit of the video and photo montage from Anthony's birthday. We had an early dinner at Chat Patta Corner for some Chole Bhature (really good when enjoyed straight from the kitchen) then a quick grocery run for the week at the Safeway nearby. We rented Will Ferrell's Semi-Pro (which was so-so compared to Anchorman and Old School) and The Bucket List featuring Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson which I thought was pretty good. Then it was Monday again. -kyo-

5 Minute Visit to the Mothership

pixelwacko — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 07:45:36 +0000

Anna won some tickets to the San Jose production of Disney's High School Musical so we took the kids in the middle of the week and it was Kamille's last day of school anyway (and despite the fact that I still have not recovered from a Killer Tomato attack on Sunday). Incidentally the Center for Performing Arts was just right across the Adobe headquarters so I took the opportunity to take some snapshots at their lobby on Almaden boulevard. I must admit I'm a huge Adobe fan.

Calendar: Bay Area Weekend Activities

pixelwacko — Sat, 17 May 2008 23:14:51 +0000

What are you doing this weekend? Share weekend outdoor activities here (picnic, hiking, biking or outdoor gear sale etc.). Explore the great outdoors and enjoy the nice Northern California weather.

Pedicabs of the Future: The EcoCab

pixelwacko — Tue, 13 May 2008 20:56:43 +0000

Back in high school, pedicabs were our mode of transport along Agham Road. Check out this article from Toronto announcing arrival of the EcoCab. -kyo-

The Polar F6 Heart Rate Monitor

pixelwacko — Sat, 08 Mar 2008 19:21:56 +0000

I've recently enrolled in the exercise program at a nearby clinic and our exercise theraphist recommended that I get a heart rate monitor. He said from his experience that Polar as among the best brand out there. Apparently sensors from the other brands are not as sensitive and most users of other brands have to sometimes press on the wristwatch to get a pulse reading. After my typical online research I even found one hilarious looking "thingamajig" from Garmin that has a large screen and a GPS. I checked our rewards store at the bank and luckily, found what looks like a Polar F6 (perhaps an older version from the look of the faceplate) but since I can get it for free and since this would be my first ever fitness related gadget purchase anyway, what the heck. After 2 weeks of waiting it finally arrived yesterday. The 112 reviews at Amazon averaging 4.5 stars is right on the money. The watch is very easy to setup and within 15 minutes including reading the manual it's all ready to go. We went out for a walk today after having our weekend breakfast and I went for 2 rounds around the park (about the size of an olympic oval). Total time from front of our house and back was just 51 minutes but was happy to know I just burned a total of 500 calories. Average heart rate was 130bpm maxing out at 142bpm. Within that 51 minutes, 44 minutes were spent inside the "target zone".

Featured on Slashmaraud!

pixelwacko — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 01:32:39 +0000

Thanks to the folks at Slashmaraud, a site that features photographers and photographs. I am humbled to be featured along with such talented photographers. -kyo-

Grande Affaire 2007

pixelwacko — Sun, 09 Dec 2007 18:32:59 +0000

[flickr-gallery mode="photoset" photoset="72157603412945244"] One thing's for sure: the folks at Intuit do know how to throw a good Christmas party. Good food, music (classical, jazz and 80s dance music all running simultaneously), set in glamourous setting as San Francisco's City Hall makes for a night to remember. A grand affair indeed. Thanks to Tata! -kyo-

Hasta la vista iPod Classic!

pixelwacko — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 21:02:22 +0000

Photo by Apple. The moment the iPod Classic package arrived I did not bother to open the box and instead went straight to the Apple Store in Palo Alto to have it exchanged for the 16gb iPod Touch. There were just too many dissatisfied reviews at Amazon and Apple Forums on the recent iPod that I decided to just fuggedaboudit. Costco had a bunch in stock of the previous generation iPod Video also with 80gig but it they wouldn't let me trade the newer one in (gave me some BS excuse). After having the iPod Touch for a couple of weeks, I feel that I've made the right decision. It's got a wider screen than the classic and the UI works nicely. It's got the same multi-touch capabilities as the iPhone, same Safari based browser and smooth CoverFlow response when browsing through albums in iTunes. The best part is that I get a bigger capacity than the iPhone without the expensive monthly bills tied to the unlimited data package by AT&T (which I also ditched a month after getting the Nokia E62 last year). The smaller capacity does not bother me. I just pick which albums to take with me when I sync. It's playing time is definitely more than enough for my needs. I was at the eye doctor yesterday and the notoriously long waiting times at the clinic have been much more bearable. I also tested the Starbucks "What's playing?" feature over at a nearby Barnes and Noble and it works. I just had to connect to the free T-mobile Hotspot in the store. For a much improved audio experience under $35, I highly recommend the PX 100 headphones from Sennheiser (363 give it 5 stars and 125 give it 4 out of 532 reviews at Amazon). -kyo-

Update on OLW#14

pixelwacko — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 17:43:17 +0000

I am so delighted that the scrappers at One Little Word picked my layout as one of their favorites. Check out the slideshow at: http://onelittleword.typepad.com/olw/2007/11/full-wordsters.html

A Prancing Horse in Your Kitchen: The Meridian F80

pixelwacko — Thu, 15 Nov 2007 19:10:15 +0000

[flickr-photo:id=2034745595,size=-]. I'm not the sort of guy who probably would spend $3,000 plus on what is basically a high end "kitchen radio" but I do appreciate the marriage of good design and engineering. I've read about the F80 a few weeks back from TONE Audio, a free PDF based audio and music magazine based out of Seattle: Meridian F80 story on page 95: www.tonepublications.com/images/pdfs/TA_012.pdf Product Site www.thef80.com -kyo-

iPod Classic … Uh-oh!

pixelwacko — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 20:08:43 +0000

The gadget freak that I am (not to mention Apple fanboy and audio enthusiast), believe it or not I only placed order for my very first iPod last week only. Anna has had her 3rd generation iPod for some time now but the storage has been pretty limited for my 240gb music library (I prefer ripping in Apple Lossless format). I'm getting the 80gb Classic from my reward points at work so it's practically free but how I wish I did some research around the net first. Apparently it's plagued by several technical issues like slow Cover Flow response (a nice to have but not a deal breaker), audio playback skipping, and (OH NO!!) lesser audio quality compared to the previous iPod Video [aka 5.5gen] according to this test. It's also sad to hear (no pun intended) that Apple, after reaching a level of quality and customer satisfaction has chosen to replace their Wolfson codec chips in favor of Cirrus Logic's. Despite a recent firmware 1.0.2 update as of this writing, many of the issues seem to persist. What's the deal Cupertino? What to do.. what to do... -kyo-

OLW #12

pixelwacko — Thu, 18 Oct 2007 17:38:32 +0000

I submitted this layout for the challenge of the week at One Little Word. The word is "BELIEVE". Enjoy!

Party at the Farm

pixelwacko — Sun, 30 Sep 2007 22:58:31 +0000

[flickr-gallery mode="photoset" photoset="72157602219486265"] Click here for the slideshow Thanks to everyone who attended Kathleen's 2nd birthday. It was really nice to have the party outdoors for a change! The weather was great and I know it wouldn't be too long before it starts to cool down again here in the Bay Area. Kamille and Kathleen had a wonderful time exploring Ardenwood State Reserve and playing party games with the kids. As always, Anna and I enjoyed preparing the food and your company. I apologize for not taking as much photos as I usually do, but I hope you enjoyed the grilled treats. Thanks to Mitch and Tony, our expert corn strippers (or is it dehusker's?) and everyone who transported stuff to and from the parking lot (a truly manual labor of love). And most of all, double kudos for the brave souls who induldged with my chili. We are currently tracking bug reports for Version 3. -kyo-

Now Up! Suayan.com Podcast

pixelwacko — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 03:50:50 +0000

[flickr-photo:id=1352848603,size=-] Check out our new podcast. To subscribe on iTunes, go to "Advanced" -> "Subscribe to Podcast" -> Type "http://blogs.suayan.com/podcast/suayan/feed.xml".

Oakland Chinatown and Jack London Square

pixelwacko — Sun, 26 Aug 2007 04:07:21 +0000

Anna had an appointment at Oakland early morning today and we decided it was the perfect opportunity to explore a portion of downtown since we haven't really done so even after living on the East Bay for the past 3 years. At the recommendation of her coworker, we checked out the dimsum at the Legendary Palace. It was only 9:30 in the morning and the restaurant's first floor was already full of what appears to be their regular Saturday morning customers (mostly Chinese, a really good sign). We were ushered into the 2nd level and at around 10:00, that too was at least 3/4ths full. That wasn't too surprising as their dim sum was pretty good. The nicely glazed baked pork bun had a subtle taste of cooking wine and the shrimp siomai was soft and moist. My favorite sticky rice on lotus leaf also did not disappoint as do the taro puff and steam pork bun (white dough was just right). Overall service was prompt. And the best part? All that for less than $30 tips included. I must say it is truly legendary and our Ralston favorite now finally has a worthy East Bay contender. Incidentally, today was also the first half of the two day Oakland Chinatown Streetfest. I was amazed at the size of this event as they had to close down several streets in the area. We didn't have the time to explore all of the booths but the kids did manage to pick as much freebies as they could. We then hopped off to Jack London Square where they have the Back to School Plaza Party as it turns out, for even more freebies. Kamille even won us 4 tickets to the Monterey Bay Aquarium worth $88! Not bad for an impulse visit. [flickr-photo:id=1236247445,size=-]

MojoHD: The Philippines on Three Sheets

pixelwacko — Thu, 23 Aug 2007 17:16:41 +0000

Zane Lamprey braves the forests and rice paddies of Tayabas Quezon for the ultimate Pinoy drink: "166 proof! That's the strongest drink we ever had on our show..." Excerpts: http://www.mojohd.com/mojoseries/threesheets/?videoId=22 http://www.mojohd.com/mojoseries/threesheets/?videoId=23 Episode info at: http://www.mojohd.com/mojoseries/threesheets/episodes/view/philippines -kyo-