Month: September 2016

Cooler Weather

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"State Stickers" Cedar Park, 2016
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/2.8, 1/100 sec, ISO2000
 “State Stickers” Cedar Park, 2016

こんばんは！How’s it going?

We made it to the weekend! Yay! The weather was so nice today… sunny with wispy clouds and cool enough that I could drive with the windows rolled down and hang my arm out the window in super-relax mode. It was great. 🌤

I was chatting with my friend about motorcycles 🏍 a bit and I started cleaning up my bike, making a mental list of things I need to do, such as replace some dash bulbs, re-check my maintenance supplies, and bleed the brakes among other things. It’s fun to work on the bike and I can save a bit of money too. 😀

Today’s photo is of the stickers on my bike, which are of the states I have ridden to. We live in the middle of Texas, which is a huge state, so to get to the border it takes something like 4 hours. And if you travel west to New Mexico, it will take about 8 hours. Isn’t that crazy?! 😖

But I’ve done it a couple of times and it was a lot of fun. I once rode east to Louisiana, then up to Arkansas and spent the night there, then rode the entire next day to Oklahoma and then back home to Austin. It was fun, but tiring as you can imagine. And my motorcycle isn’t the most comfortable for long-distance touring because it lacks wind protection and had a pretty strong vibration (because of its single-cylinder engine design). However, I have pretty good endurance for riding (and driving) so I don’t have a problem with it. I kind of get into the groove and can just keep going and going!

BTW, if you are interested at all in motorcycles, I have another blog where I post about rides, link to motorcycle videos, etc… it’s at motofuji.net.

I’m kind of getting excited about going for another long-distance ride, but now with two cats and a dog it will be a bit more difficult to do an overnighter. Oh well, day trips are fun too!

I hope you had a nice Friday!

おやすみなさい！

– B Barron Fujimoto

Lunch

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"LIL BRAT" Austin, 2016
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/2.8, 1/125 sec, ISO1250
 “LIL BRAT” Austin, 2016

こんばんは！Hi, how’s it going?

Today I met my friend for lunch at a “gourmet” burger place called Hopdoddy. I really like the food and restaurant, plus the location we went to is close to the best camera store in Austin (and largest in Texas), Precision Camera and Video. We’re both camera otaku, so it’s fun to check out all the cool camera gear and dream about owning the high-dollar cameras. 📷

It was nice to go out for lunch, which is something that I don’t do often these days. I tend to just work through lunch and put in my hours. It has to do with the fact that I usually just have one meal a day (dinner). While that may seem unconventional, unhealthy, and perhaps even crazy, it wasn’t an uncommon way for people to live in the past.

I did a little bit of research about eating habits, and it seems that we as a society only settled on the “three meals a day” standard within the couple hundred years or so, primarily for economic and employment reasons. And of course the modern food industry pushes us to eat more and more. I’m sure the pharmaceutical companies don’t object to that either.

At any rate, when I do go out for lunch, I don’t mind splurging since I’ve been saving money by not buying lunch each day. The burger place we went to is a bit pricey but the food is so tasty! Today’s burger was a special (not on the regular menu) called the “Lil Brat”. 🍔 Since it’s close to Oktoberfest the burger has a sliced bratwurst sausage with grain mustard on top of the beef patty. It was awesome! And I also got a large order of the Kennebec fries 🍟, which I love.

I’m not entirely sure, but I think that living a more restrictive life helps me appreciate things a bit more… in this case, I really savor the food that I eat, since I don’t eat as often. I need to think about this concept some more! 😊

Well, I hope you had a great day and ate well! 🍴

おやすみなさい！

– B Barron Fujimoto

Television

Slice of LifeLeave a Comment on Television
"X-T10" Cedar Park, 2016
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/2.2, 1/125 sec, ISO5000
 “X-T10” Cedar Park, 2016

こんばんは！How’s it going today?

For some reason, Koa has been watching HGTV lately. I suspect it’s because some friends of his are into or something. But anyways, it got me thinking about my own television habits and the types of shows I prefer.

My favorite programs are travel shows and documentaries, so PBS is my favorite American channel. And even when I watch TV Japan, I gravitate towards the travel shows, which can be so beautiful. They don’t have to feature exotic places, but can be just strolling around a new part of town. I find the Japanese travel shows are more laid-back and quiet, while the American shows are kicked up a notch, with loud music, quick zooming cut-scenes, and a need to keep things exciting. I like both approaches, but it’s really cool when a show can just stay on a scene for 15 seconds, with just the natural sound of the environment.

My favorite TV shows:

In general, I have little interest in American television (except for baseball games) and prefer TV Japan, doramas, reading blogs, or watching YouTube videos for my entertainment. Of course binge-watching Portlandia is an exception! Love that show. 😆

Today’s photo is of my wife’s Fujifilm X-T10 camera. She primarily uses a 35mm f/2 lens on it, which is a great combo! I think the camera looks classic as well, although I personally prefer all-black versions. I’m glad she like her camera!

Hope you had a great day.

おやすみなさい！

– B Barron Fujimoto

Bread 🍞

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"Breadwinner" Cedar Park, 2016
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/2.2, 1/125 sec, ISO640
 “Breadwinner” Cedar Park, 2016

こんばんは！Good evening, how’s it going?

Wow, the weather has gotten chilly here in central Texas. And by chilly, I mean sub 90… 😜. Seriously though, tonight the temperatures will dip into the 60s. Brrr.

Today’s photo is of Mariko slicing the loaf of sandwich bread for the kids’ lunches. The bread she makes is so delicious, and also it doesn’t have all the chemicals and preservatives of the regular supermarket breads. A win-win!

Not only does it taste amazing, but the house smells so good when bread is baking in the oven. And look how beautiful the color is:

"Sandwich Loaf" Cedar Park, 2016
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/2.2, 1/125 sec, ISO2500
 “Sandwich Loaf” Cedar Park, 2016

Mariko bakes a lot of different things, but the perfect sandwich loaf is hard to beat. If you want to see more of her baking, check out her blog. It’s pretty great.

I hope you had a nice Tuesday. See you tomorrow!

おやすみなさい！

– B Barron Fujimoto