spicy chilee

Welcome

Hi all.  Just a brief introduction here.  Blogs are kool and it exercises my  fascination with the web a notch further.  It's a great method to keep in touch with life.  A lot of tools are available at your desire.  Can you imagine how neat it would be if your friends and family had their own blogs?  Come hang out and enjoy.  For more info on my blog specifics, read on.

Sprint's Simply Everything Plan rocks

After being a Nextel customer since Nov' 2005 (as per archived), I am proud to announce my long delayed upgrade to the Blackberry 8830 from Sprint Mobile. 

After severe temptations and a real life test in discipline, the newest announcement from Sprint got me giddy for a new Blackberry once again and I am now tickled with glee. oh, the joy.  hehe.

The 500 Free incoming plan offered a lot of value for me at the time.  I ditched that plan a year after my contractual obligations with Nextel for a very delicious "Simply Everything plan". 

Basically, for the same price, I get:

• UNLIMITED data
• UNLIMITED 'Chirp'* (aka, walke talkie)
• AND....
• UNLIMITED Voice ! for $99.99

Less than what I am paying now.  On top of that, at least according to sales, UNLIMITED Blackberry as a modem for my laptop (otherwise $15/extra/month).  sweet.

I thank the guys at BOL (BuzOutLoud) podcast for bringing this to light with me.  Molly, Tom & gang, you guys rock.  The new CEO over at Sprint has done a good thing for the customers. 

Now, if they can only lower their air card pricing (say $35/month unlimited?) or offer VOiP cell phones through the cell networks for a flat low monthly rate, that would indeed be hot.  The "Simply Everything Plan" is worth a look.  $99.95 before taxes may be a lot for some of you, especially if you are not a data hippo like me, but they have other similar offers that are cheaper.  Find the plan that suits you here.

* too bad the 8830 does not support walkie talkies....but who cares, i have unlimited voice!  glee!

MS Bike Tour 2007

With the anticipation of the 2007 MS Bike Tour within a month away, I enrolled my buddy Joe Chan to train with me 3x's a week for 4 weeks straight.  Here are my 2007 Tour results:

Started at 7:40am at front of pack.
Rest Stop #1: 8:45am rested for est. 20~30mins
Rest Stop #2:10:00am rested for est. 10~20 mins
Rest Stop #3: 11:45am rested for est 30 mins

Finished at 1:30pm
Got home at 3:15pm.

Total time from start to finish: 6 hours 10 minutes = 370 minutes.
Total time on bike via PC: 4 hours 44 mins and 32 seconds = 284 minutes.
Difference in time = total time rested = 86 minutes = 1 hour 26 minutes.

Trip Distance:
6.6 miles from home to Tour registration
66.79 miles not including rest stops.
6.6 miles from Tour Finish to home
Total bike ride for day stop to finish: 79.99

Avg Speed start to end: 14.08mph
Avg Cadence: 67
Max Speed: 36.07

Web album here.

Adobe Lightroom

The last piece of software I got excited over was firefox and it's way neat extensions.  But little has changed in the industry that offered me such a refreshing experience as Adobe's latest work, Lightroom. While Photoshop (CS3) is still considered the industry workhorse, I have always felt that it was not prosumer friendly until Lightroom.  Lightroom merges a bunch of different modules (which are integral components and worthy of individual software on its own) into a beautifully designed GUI.  It makes a HUGE difference in one's workflow and something I had always wondered why it has taken Adobe this long to pump out.  Their web gallery feature is one of my favorites as some of you have witnessed in my galleries.  Defintely worth checking out especially if you work on many photos.

Why do people label Landmark Education as a cult?

About a week ago, I posted my experience of the Landmark Education's "Curriculum for Living".  Since then, I had never experienced such a spike in viewership as I did with that single post.  Of the 500 viewers that visited my post, 3 chose to share comments onto the post which all appear to be negative with some inciting emotional reactions as much as to call me names.

Why do I find it such a challenge that people react the way they do with Landmark Education?

Film: "Transformation"

I'm still on the topic of Landmark Education only because I watched a film this past weekend relating to it.  "Transformation, The Life and Legacy of Werner Erhard" is currently premiering in NYC at the Quad Cinema in NYC for a few days only until August 2nd.  Here's my small review:

The film is a documentary biography of Werner Erhard.  There are interviews by him, his mother, former EST Vice President, former EST participants, current participants of Werner's seminars (not EST) and many professionals unrelated to him.

Surprise Balloon

enjoy.

My Camera Kit

Sorry, in order to take a photo of my kit, I had to resort to using my point and shoot wide angle Kodak.  It's no indication of my usual photographic integrity.

I'm proud to show off my kit:

• Canon 400D black body
• Canon EF-S 17-55mm f2.8 IS (it's an 'S' lenses; there's NO EF lenses that compares)
• Canon EF 70-300mm f4~5.6 IS (gift from a friend)
   
• Canon 430EX flash
• Targus Battery Grip

Additional accessories include:

• Gary Fong Lightsphere
• Expodisc 77mm
• WhiBal card
• Stoffen diffuser
   
• Kata Torso bag
• Tiffen UV, warm and circular polarizer filters.

I'm eye'ing these lenses next:

• Canon EF 70-200L f2.8 IS
• Canon 35 or 50mm f1.4 both L grade lenses.

My entire kit so far is a good $2,800-$3,000 investment, yikes.

Canon Rebel XTi / 400D

I spent some serious cash the first week of March to buy my new toy.  In preparation for our trip to Asia (Beijing, Hong Kong and Vietnam), I figured now is the time to buy the camera I've longed to buy for the past three years.  After much research and debate, i settled on Canon and in particular, the XTi or known elsewhere in the world as the 400D.

Some of you had questioned why I had made such an investment.  I had always found the question to be absolutely astonishing leaving me with a blank stare into their eyes as if rhetoric.  Allow the photos to tell the story.  Some people however, will never see the value in an SLR camera because they are so used to seeing the results from a point and shoot camera that seeing a photo from a SLR does not seem to WoW them unless comparable photos are juxtaposed in front of them.

In the pursuit for perfection, I realized early on since the first day I started to use digital cameras that the end result was never what I wanted it to be.  People never looked right in the photos and shooting indoors with the built in flash just does not hack it.  Had I taken a crash course in White Balance, most of my early photos would had been much better.  I even went as far as getting the Canon G2 camera (top of the line camera before the introduction of the Canon 350D, first affordable digital SLR with good results).  Even with that, the lenses were not fast enough for me to take indoor photos without the use of flash and manual controls were not friendly.

Am I satisfied?  Hell yeah.  I've since taken 17 gigs of photos and I am motivated to shoot more. 

News update and Landmark Education

hello all.  Many things have contributed to my silence in the past few months.  perhaps as if being a part of a geek-ish community was once hot and exciting for me, it's now become less of a purpose.  As if there was some Blog entity that decided to say 'enough', blogs are reaching saturation and that one swoop of authority higher than any being may convey, bloggers flattened out....and I happen to be a fallen casualty of it. 

Much has happened through the course of the last few months.  I enjoyed many ups and many downs and some in betweens.  I was hurt (minor injury) in a motorcycle accident and my cat flipped out on my girlfriend leaving me with several bite marks and a trip to the ER.  As if Karma played its hand, I never recalled doing anything to deserve what I got but that is not to say that I have not had my share of good luck lately either. 

my 30th Birthday

Kathy is throwing me a big party in celebration of my 30th birthday.  I'm posting this aftermath and we had a great time.  I have so much and so many people to thank for.  Photos are posted in my album and Bill's album.  Bill is a friend and a great photographer.  You can view his portfolio here.

Photoshopped Animals

Came across this site and wanted to share it with you.  The site hosts a good number of images that have been digitally  manipulated; mos of them are done quite well as in the photo shown above.  enjoy.

Get Human

Kat was screaming profanities as she navigated through the plethora of menus from the IRS switchboard; which is obviously designed with layers upon layers to disdain even the most patient victim from actually having enough Zen to get a live person on the other end. 

As usual, my good nature was summoned to provide relief before Kat were to be swallowed up by the automated phone system of the IRS.  Thankfully, my web 2.0 fascinations allowed me to come across Get human, a great website which provides services that would save any woman from screaming profanities and other 'un-lady' like conduct when dealing with automated phone systems familiar with large enterprises. 

Get Human lists a lot of large companies online with phone numbers and instructions in how to get a live person to address you; the way traditional customer phone service was originally intended.  Beat the system and frequent their site the next time you need to get someone live on the other side.  While Get Human will deliver on its promises, it will not however, get you an actual American speaking comprehensible English.

SNL's Gift in a box

SNL made headlines today which I find to be a brilliant marketing move on behalf of NBC and Saturday Night Live.  Playing on the surprise increase on viewership as a result of a YouTube upload and the recent YouTube/NBC deal, the SNL skit featuring a parody of boy band couple (one played by Justin Timberlake) jiving to a beat titled, "Special Treat in a box" or "Special Christmas Box" depending on your YouTube search, bleeped out words 16 times on the on air skit aired last Saturday.  The skit wins my vote as one of their funniest skits.

(AJ, didn't you send me a link to that video like over 4 months ago?)

An uncensored version of the skit was released by NBC on NBC.com and on YouTube.com.  It once again drove flocks of viewers onto its site and to YouTube driving SNL's exposure to the mass public once again. 

Pete's a dad!!!

Pete just announced the introduction of Riley Joshua Daniel Yau, their first baby boy.  Sounds like they had triplets but it's a bit of heritage Pete adopted from Elaine's family.  Can't wait for photos.

Lift Tix Deals

Hi guys, now that snow is more prevalent in the east coast here, I am sure many of you will hit the slopes.  I came across Liftopia, a great site, which may actually help you save on the sometimes costly lift tickets.  enjoy.  .