February 24, 2009

Great Minds, Unlike Gear

Not Weatherproof... The village of Shirakawa-go is a listed UNESCO World Heritage Site for its cluster of perfectly preserved Gassho-style thatched-roof houses. The wife and I visited it on our trip to Japan last winter, and took plenty of pictures like the good little tourists we were. It was cold and gray while we were there, and it wasn't as if I was going to blow people away with an entry-level D40 camera paired with the convenient but IQ-maligned 18-200mm lens.

Nevertheless, I was pretty happy with some of the pictures I took. Particularly liked this one:
Gassho Cluster

Which showed the steep angle and the thick thatching of the roofs, as well as the details in the piles of snow, without blowing out the exposure. Of course, if you blow it up to full-size one notices the details of the grass roof becomes a bit mushy due to the less-sharp lens and the snow turn a bit fluorescent due to camera's limited dynamic range. But that's getting way too picky for a quick travel-snap.

I've upgraded my camera to the D90 since then, but then there are others who have gone all the way with Nikon's flagship D3x. Followed one fine gentleman on Flickr who has taken his new monstro-cam and gone around Japan taking in some excellent images worthy of its capabilities. Was tickled when he posted a picture from Shirakawa in almost the exact same spot as I:
Coffee

Of course, his picture being taken with a D3x and the Zeiss 100mm f2 Makro-Planar, his gear lies on the extreme other end of the DSLR gear spectrum compared to mine. But it's still interesting how the same view can inspire two people the same way. Certainly makes one wonder whether beauty is really only in the eye of the beholder, or is it inherent within the scene itself.

Posted by mikewang on 02:56 PM

February 16, 2009

The Day The Donuts Died

Like any true American, I like the occasional donut-and-coffee in the morning. The Friday morning free donut feed remains one of my fonder memories of Caltech life (see Resolution XIX). Thankfully, Taiwan isn't totally devoid of the holey pastry. Mister Donut" is tasty in it's own way, but the Japanese chain brings an Asian sensibility to the mix, making the donuts fluffy and chewy but not very sweet, light but not satisfying. There's also Dunkin' Donuts. The brand is American enough, but I wasn't a big fan in the States, and they've modified the formula for local tastes, which only made it worse, in my opinion.

I still remember the ridiculous lines from when Krispy Kreme opened up shop in the Bay Area. Even though the fad's passed (damn Atkins Diet), I still enjoy an occasional Original Glazed or three when I get the chance. But I figured there's no chance for the Southern original to ever come to Asia. That was why I was so excited when I passed through HKIA a couple of years ago when I saw a KK booth pop up in the Arrival Hall. Sure the donuts weren't hot&fresh by the time they fly home with me, but a few seconds in the nuker warm them up just fine. The booth didn't have the fresh fryer equipment anyway. The perfect omiyage present going home since it's not available in Taiwan which made it for a unique treat.

Hot Donuts Now At HKG Terminal 2
Wandered through the new Terminal 2 when I had a long wait before my flight and discovered a full KK shop, complete with deep-fryer and Hot Donut Now sign. Was happy to pick up a dozen and breeze through the deserted security lines in the yet-unfamiliar terminal.

However, this last time through HKG found the KK locations empty and shuttered. Didn't think too much about it at the time but I feared the worst. Finally bothered to google for news and it was worse than I thought. They weren't just closing a couple of unprofitable locations, but liquidating the entire business. I guess the glazed was too sweet for Asians after all.

Posted by mikewang on 11:02 AM

February 06, 2009

Hard Times Please Help

With the pending arrival of the baby, mom and wife have made sure that I do as little as possible to minimize the possibility of me screwing up something important. So I have been assigned the task to search out a stroller. Went through the department store just to see what was available. The high-end Japanese strollers are light-weight and fully adjustable, but the build is plasticky and a bit rattly, and the wheels are small compared to the bumps in the less-than-smooth Taiwan sidewalks. Not to mention the kids department was overrun with them already, which makes me feel like I'd be paying Lexus prices for Toyotas.

Clearly I needed to do some more research. Ran into the Stroller Queen, which opened my eyes to a galaxy of boutique European and American strollers. Sure looked awfully tempting, but sourcing is a problem, not to mention the astronomical price tags. Figured I could rope Sam into stroller-hunter duty and decided to search the SF Craig's List for second-hand high-end strollers. Definitely some deals to be had, such as Peg Peregos for a quarter of what they sell for new in Taiwan. But it seemed like Bugaboo was the most common choice at the ultra-high-end price range. Not surprising considering its sleek design and sleeker promotion has made it into quite the status symbol.

Even as badly spoiled as our soon-to-be-first child surely will be, I can't quite make myself dropping a grand on a fancy push-cart. But I suppose we should be grateful for what we have, considering other people can't afford any stroller at all, and must ask for help from charitable folks of CraigsList.

bugaboo bugabee (mission district)

Reply to: sale-1021518997@craigslist.org
Date: 2009-02-04, 9:22PM PST

anyone who doesnt need a bugaboo stroller or bugabee and would like to donate to a young mother this is your chance i woud be very greatfull, i already am just by you looking at my post and reading it. by the way she is 6 months

I'm sure her kid deserves a good stroller just as much as mine, but I didn't realize people were just giving Bugaboos away to the needy, and it's not as if there aren't other perfectly serviceable strollers being given away or sold cheap. I guess the goal is to have the most coddled baby in line at the food bank, that's for sure. Hopefully the kid won't have the same sense of entitlement as her mom.

Posted by mikewang on 03:38 PM

February 04, 2009

Minor Milestone

Or, Freezer Freedom

Our moms didn't breast-feed because they were sold on the convenience and new-and-improved-ness of baby formula, and because they were busy at work with no accommodation for new mothers at all. Now we know that breast-milk is still the best way to go, so the wife was worried about providing enough for the baby. It was tough for the first few days, but natural instincts and evolutionary mechanics kicked in and the mom-juice flowed smoothly thereafter. With a little help from the breast pump we were able to stock up the freezer for the nanny to feed him during the day while wife's at work. We shared some with other moms who had trouble producing enough milk themselves. Or even take some expired milk to make cute soaps out of it.

But the baby has grown and been introduced to solid food, and it's tiresome to find time and place every few hours to hide away and pump. So we didn't do much to force the issue as the breast milk began to diminish, and little by little baby began to eat through the freezer stash. Until finally we were done. Two and a half shelves worth of freezer space reclaimed for groceries and popsicles. All that empty space almost tempted me to run out to Costco for bulk packages of... anything. We go to Costco for bulk boxes of Pampers (now in XL!) anyway.

During the day, he thinks he's a big boy and pushes the bottle of formula away. But before he goes to sleep and after he wakes up he still likes some warm soothing milk. With him passing the 10kg mark, even the part-time feedings add up in a hurry in baby formula, especially with the recent price hikes getting close to NTD 1K per can. Good thing he seems to enjoy trying other foods. Started with apple sauce and mashed bananas, moving up to rice gruels from stock with soft-cooked carrots or broccoli. Now that both upper and lower teeth have sprouted we can let him try even more fruits like papaya and tomato. His aunts have promised to take him to McDonalds for burgers and fries anytime he wants, but they'll have to go through us first.

With our mothers' wide social networks, it's inevitable that we'd be regaled with stories of how someone else's kid is already walking/talking/playing/showing off amazing talents at his age. Meanwhile, although our kids is cute and good-natured and all, Baby Einstein he's not. Took him the longest time to even learn to wave goodbye, and even then only occasionally, when he feels like it. Well, he's finally got a schtick of his own now.

Who you callin' a genius now, huh? Can't wait for him to show that off for all the relatives at Chinese New Year time.

Posted by mikewang on 04:12 PM