Clearing the desk

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Cedar Park, 2016
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/3.2, 1/13 sec, ISO6400
 Cedar Park, 2016

こんばんは！ Happy Monday everyone!

Today I worked from home because the kids are off from school for Spring Break and Mariko is working at SXSW. Today’s photo is of my workspace, and the new addition to it – a Logitech wireless mouse.

For the past month or so my old mouse has been acting strangely by disconnecting and reconnecting with my computer, seemingly at random. I’d hear the notification like when you unplug a USB device, but then immediately hear the new device notification. This would happen several times an hour. I figured it was time to replace that old wired mouse (which must be several years old) with a new wireless mouse.

I did a quick search on Amazon and settled on the highly-rated yet inexpensive ($12) Logitech mouse. I like the fact that it is a little smaller than a regular mouse (I have small hands) and that the battery is rated to last 12 months. That is great! I was also looking forward to losing the cord, which was a lot of visual clutter on my white tabletop.

But an unexpected benefit with the new mouse is that the tracking mechanism is much better than my old mouse. The wired mouse was very jittery on the surface of my desk which forced me to use a mousepad. The new mouse tracks very smoothly, even without the mousepad. So that means I can get rid of the visual clutter of the mousepad as well. Just look how nice and clean that space is now!

I’m so happy with the wireless mouse. I just wish I had made the switch sooner. For such a small price to pay, the benefits are huge!

Have a great Tuesday, everyone! おやすみなさい！

-バロン Barron Fujimoto

Being early

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Here’s a wonderful post over at Unclutterer all about the benefits of being early.

I try to be early for my appointments, but especially for things like arriving at the airport. I would rather get there an hour earlier than recommended and spend the time reading or getting a bite to eat, than stressing over missing my flight, worrying about traffic, getting stuck in long security lines, etc. In fact, I feel good when I am in a long security line but realize that I have plenty of time and don’t need to stress. Or if traffic backs up unexpectedly (which fortunately Google Maps/Navigation can alleviate), I know I don’t need to worry. I’ll make it in time!

Kitchen task

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Cedar Park, 2016
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/3.2, 1/100 sec, ISO800
 Cedar Park, 2016

こんばんは！ Good evening!

Well, the weekend is almost over but it was a very productive one for me! I helped Bay rearrange his room and get rid of his old IKEA bed frame. We also moved a desk upstairs into his room, and now he has two desks, which form one huge desk! They are both from IKEA, so they match nicely.

But the big task that I finished was installing a new kitchen sink. Our old one (which came with the house) has been leaking for a few months. It wasn’t a constant leak, but when the faucet was on, some water would trickle out from the base of the handle. A new washer kit to fix it cost $15, but we decided to get a newer, more convenient design, which you can see in the photo above.

It’s much taller, so it is easier to wash large pots, and the spout can detach to make cleaning the sink itself a lot easier. It also has an aerator mode for a wider spray.

The installation was not too difficult, but it involved two trips to the hardware store… the first was to buy a deep socket to get at the bolt that held the old faucet to the countertop. I wasn’t able to tell what size I needed (since it was in a recessed place that I couldn’t get to) so I bought three different sizes and planned to return the two that didn’t fit. My plan worked out nicely, and one of the sockets fit perfectly which made it easy to remove the old faucet.

But then as I was hooking up the new hoses to the water supply, I noticed that the connections weren’t the same size. So I headed back to the hardware store to get some adapters. That actually was fine, because I had to go back to return the two sockets that I didn’t need.

The rest of the installation went smoothly, although working from my back under the sink kind of sucked. I checked all the connections for any leaks but didn’t find any. This actually surprised me… and in the back of my mind, I think that something will happen in a couple of days… so I’ll keep an eye on things. But so far so good!

The weather here in Austin is very nice… just in time for SXSW. Today was sunny and in the 80s and it might get into the 90s later this week. If you are in town for SXSW, enjoy yourselves! 😎

おやすみなさい！

-B Barron Fujimoto

Is it a hobby?

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I was listening to a podcast the other day, and the host said something like, “… whatever hobby you might have, whether that is photography, quilting, reading, etc.” And I thought… is reading a hobby?  I mean, to me, reading is just something that I like to do. Like watching movies, or listening to music. I wouldn’t consider those hobbies.

Or is it just me?

Busy Saturday

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Austin, 2016
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/5.6, 1/110 sec, ISO6400
 Austin, 2016

こんばんは！Greetings humans! 👽

Well, SXSW is happening here in Austin so things get a little crazy around town. But this morning I took the kids to Japanese school, then visited a cafe I like to go to. It’s not in downtown, but south of Town Lake, so I didn’t see many people. Plus I was there from about 8:30am – 10:30am. However, when I left the cafe, I saw that there was some SXSW activity in the same complex, and there was a guard at the entrance to the parking garage. It’s fun to have a lot of people visiting from out of town, actually. The city fills with an exciting vibe.

Austin, 2016
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/2.8, 1/210 sec, ISO400
 Austin, 2016

After I picked up the kids, we had lunch and then I took Koa to the batting cages to get some practice in. He’s really improving and can hit with decent power now. But he just needs to be more aggressive during the actual games. I’m sure he’ll get there though.

After that, I assembled a new barbeque for our backyard. It’s a smaller gas grill which should be pretty convenient. It took about an hour to put together but wasn’t difficult. Next up was disassembling Bay’s old IKEA bed. I guess he has outgrown it and wants a regular bed. He’s growing up!

So, that was a busy Saturday… and I am tired once again! But we got a lot done. It’s a good life!

Take care, humans! おやすみなさい！

-B Barron Fujimoto