Tag: postaday

Sushi at home

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"Sushi-making" USA. Texas. Cedar Park. 2016.
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/3.2, 1/125 sec, ISO5000
 “Sushi-making” USA. Texas. Cedar Park. 2016.

こんにちは! How’s it going today? It’s a beautiful day here in central Texas, with temperatures approaching 80° F!

Although I love the warmth, I am worried… I mean it’s January so it should be cold! I am wondering how the planet’s climate will be when my kids are adults, and even what the world will be like when my grandchildren are adults. I can imagine that there will be more powerful storms, sea levels will have risen, etc. It’s really a shame. But I am reminded of some lyrics from Everything But the Girl – “In the end, if you take care, you can be happy or unhappy anywhere.” I suppose this could also apply to your place in world history too. I’m sure there will be plenty of happiness whatever the future brings to the planet.

And speaking of happiness, just look at today’s photo! There’s happiness in-the-making right there! As you probably know, my wife is an amazing cook and baker, and she can roll some mean sushi too! Here you can see the fixings for some sushi rolls she was preparing for a potluck party. I “sampled” a lot before the party, so I didn’t eat much there… but really I needed to make sure I got to have a nice share of the sushi before it all got devoured! (I’m not an idiot)

If you haven’t made sushi at home, you should give it a try! Lots of places now sell sushi-grade (and safe) fish, and it makes for a really fun party. You can even order sushi fish online and have it delivered in refrigerated packaging. Very convenient!

I hope you all have a great day!

-B Barron Fujimoto

Honey jar

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"Honey Jar" USA. Texas. Cedar Park. 2016.
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/3.6, 1/125 sec, ISO2500
 “Honey Jar” USA. Texas. Cedar Park. 2016.

こんばんは！How are you today?

Today’s photo is of a cool Mason jar with Honey Dipper. It’s really cool, isn’t it? 🐝 It looks great and it works nicely too. I had never seen this before until the other day when Mariko was using it for one of her recipes. And I knew it would make a nice photo. I just had to find the right light, and today’s evening sun provided a nice brightness to the honey. If you think it is cool, you can get it using the link above. It’s only a few bucks!

Well, it’s almost Friday (already is for most of the world actually) which means the weekend is near! And the weather here in Texas is supposed to be fantastic. Hopefully we can spend some time enjoying the sunshine! ☀️😎

おやすみなさい！

-バロン Barron Fujimoto

Good enough

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I posted the photo below to my Instagram account and it got me thinking about why I pared down the amount of camera gear I use. It’s kind of a shift in thinking for me that has taken place the last year. I am now completely satisfied with “good enough”.

"My 2016 Camera Kit" USA. Texas. Cedar Park. 2016.
Photo info: FUJIFILM X-T10, 26.5mm, f/6.4, 1/55 sec, ISO3200
 “My 2016 Camera Kit” USA. Texas. Cedar Park. 2016.

I have already blogged a bit about the benefits of simplifying the amount of camera gear I use, but one of the reasons why I can do it (and still be happy) is that the cameras in the photo are “good enough” for what I want to photograph. Specifically, the size of the images is more than enough for me. When I was using my Konica-Minolta 7D DSLR, I was already satisifed with 6 megapixels! My wishlist for future cameras just included low-light sensitivity.

When I upgraded to the Sony A77, the 24 megapixel images were huge, especially when I started shooting RAW! I realize now that it was overkill for my shooting style. And that is the important part… each person’s shooting style should dictate what camera they should use. For instance, I don’t shoot sports so I don’t have need for high-frame-rates. My X100T can shoot at 6 FPS which is “good enough”. I do not photograph wildlife or birds so I do not need a long telephoto lens. If I need to get closer, I have my legs. That is “good enough”. My photos will not be used on billboards so I do not need a 50 megapixel sensor. My cameras have 16 and 12 megapixels. And that is more than “good enough”.

So, what is the benefit of settling for “good enough”? Well, in the case of the camera, I am no longer suffering from “GAS” which stand for “Gear Acquisition Syndrome”. I don’t need to think about upgrading any longer. Sure, it is still fun to see the new cameras and technological advances, but now all of these new things do not have the pull on me that they once did. I actually think to myself how nice it is to NOT have the desire for the newest gear. I really feels great! And it is nice for my wallet too!

So now that I have experienced that with my camera gear, I am trying to think of how to apply the “good enough” philosophy to the rest of my life. I haven’t thought too much about it yet, but I am excited to see what unfolds.

I believe everyone should think about what is “good enough” for themselves, and not worry about maximizing on everything. Just use what makes you happy, then let go of the desire to buy more stuff. Enjoy what you have!

Life without a computer

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"Dry Curry" USA. Texas. Cedar Park. 2016.
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/5.6, 1/90 sec, ISO6400
 “Dry Curry” USA. Texas. Cedar Park. 2016.

こんばんは！How are you? I’m well, but not 100%. My body is a little sore. Maybe because I threw the baseball with Koa for two days in a row, or maybe I slept in a strange position last night. I’m not sure, but I hope to feel better tomorrow. 😄

Today’s photo is of a “Dry curry” that Mariko made us for dinner. It was delicious of course! There are so many different kinds of curry, and I cannot choose my favorite. When I was growing up, we used to have “curry hamburger” which was simply ground beef, curry powder, and frozen veggies cooked on the stove-top, then eaten over rice. It was yummy! These days, we have Japanese curry every couple of months, but I also enjoy Indian curry, and I LOVE Thai curry. So good! I think I will ask Mariko to make some Thai curry next time. We are truly spoiled by her every day. 🍛

And now, on to today’s question:

Life After Blogs – Your life without a computer: what does it look like?

I am not sure if the question is asking what I do when I don’t have access to a computer, or if there was an alternate reality in which computers don’t exist, what would I be doing? I think the latter question is more intriguing, so here goes. Since I have been interested in the arts before computers were commonplace, I suppose I would be doing something in that field. Perhaps I’d still be painting 🎨, or maybe I’d be working in a museum. There was a time in my life where I wanted to be a museum curator. I even was a “preparator” at a museum for a short time. I helped out with moving artwork, cleaning sculptures, and assisting the restoration artists. It was very interesting! But then I got interested in computers and multimedia and the rest is history. Or… maybe I would be a full-time photographer! I was into photography back in college and to this day, I love making photos. I could see myself continuing with photography as a hobby well into my future, even if it were just film and not digital. 📷

It’s fun to think about what your alternate history might have been, isn’t it? But what is cool is that I think it is possible to change your life’s focus any time if you really want to.

Well, today’s weather got grey and chilly again here where I live. ☁️ I hope it is not too cold wherever you are! Take care of yourselves.

おやすみなさい！

-B Barron Fujimoto

This post was prompted by The Daily Post from WordPress.

Don’t Stress on Your Blog

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USA. Texas. Cedar Park. 2016.
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/5.6, 1/950 sec, ISO400
 USA. Texas. Cedar Park. 2016.

こんばんは！Good evening! How are you doing? Did you have a nice Monday? Yes, I know the start of the week can be tough… it was a busy one for me too. Today’s photo is of the sky from our backyard. The trees are reaching for the clouds! Even they are trying their best. It was a beautiful day. ⛅

Today’s Daily Prompt is an interesting one:

Key Takeaway – Give your newer sisters and brothers-in-WordPress one piece of advice based on your experiences blogging.

So, I’ve been blogging for quite a while now, and my intention has always been just to write about whatever comes to mind, and not have a monetary objective. It’s all about having an outlet, although I didn’t realize that when I first began. But it is something that keeps my brain active. And I think the secret to why I have been able to keep blogging for so long is that I don’t have expectations of gaining recognition or monetary gain. I don’t stress out about those things. So unless you are looking to try to make money with your blog, just have fun, don’t worry about how many views you get, and keep at it! Also, it’s okay to take time off. It would be easy to burn out on blogging if you pressure yourself to write every day. Don’t commit to a post per day. If you fall behind, it’s easy to get discouraged and give up blogging altogether. So make sure to tell yourself that it’s fine to take a break. Also, if you have ideas but they aren’t fully thought-out yet, just create drafts for each idea. I have about 20 drafts like that… and some may never be posted. That’s fine, though. If I decide to work on one of those drafts, it will happen naturally. I don’t force it. That wouldn’t be fun, and I think blogging should be fun! 😄

One last thing: Spellcheck!

Okay, now I feel pretty good about my blog. What a nice pep talk huh? 💪

I hope you have a nice rest of the day! おやすみなさい！

-バロン Barron Fujimoto

This post was prompted by The Daily Post from WordPress.

End of the weekend

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USA. Texas. Cedar Park. 2016.
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/7.1, 1/50 sec, ISO6400
 USA. Texas. Cedar Park. 2016.

こんばんは！How’s it going? I had a good Sunday. Not ready for the weekend to end, but at least we are a bit closer to next weekend! (I know, I’m trying to stay positive 👍)

Today was fun, but it started out with my going into the office to work a couple of hours. I have been so busy lately that I needed to catch up so I don’t fall behind this coming week! I also got organized and reviewed my schedule to make sure things don’t get missed. Honestly, I think I will be putting in extra hours this week (and maybe February as well) but it’s fun and interesting, and I learn a lot… even at this stage in my career. Still, I am trying to keep that separation between home and work which is why I went into the office instead of working from home today.

In the afternoon, I had some fun throwing the baseball ⚾️ with Koa at the school. I’ve always enjoyed throwing and catching… my friend and I would throw the ball around even through our 20s. So I am happy that Koa enjoys it as well. My arm is still in pretty good shape although I have to take care not to throw it out and injure myself. Oyaji gotta be careful. 😆

For dinner this evening, we went to a new local brewery called Whitestone Brewery. It was pretty good! Mariko and I shared a flight of beers, and I also got a nice Porter. 🍺 There was a food truck there serving different kinds of grilled sandwiches so we got a few to munch on. We watched some of the football game and played some card games and generally had a good time, although our oldest son was extremely bored. By the way, the outside area is right next to the old train and they have some jumbo Jenga to play with! (See photo above)

So, it was a fun Sunday and although I am sad the weekend is over, I am anxious to get some serious work done this week. Let’s do our best!

おやすみなさい！

-B Barron Fujimoto

Ukulele day

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USA. Texas. Cedar Park. 2016.
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/2, 1/125 sec, ISO500
 USA. Texas. Cedar Park. 2016.

こんばんは！How are you doing? Keeping warm? It’s cold here in Texas, but at least it is not snowing like it is on the East Coast of the US! In fact, today was sunny and it was nice to go out for a bit to get some fresh air.

Right now, my fingers are really sore because I spent some time today playing my ukulele. 🎸 I haven’t played in a while but I decided to learn the theme song to Asa ga Kita. I can now play the chords, but I’d like to work some of the melody into the tune as well. Something to work on! It’s a lot of fun learning… I also learned some strumming patterns and things are making more sense to me now. 😆

Here’s a nice ukulele version of the theme song:

Today’s photo is of Koa’s lunch. Like I mentioned, the weather is cold, so a nice hot bowl of ramen looks good, doesn’t it?

Well, Saturday was good, but it’s almost over. Time to read my book and get some rest.

Take care and おやすみなさい！

-B Barron Fujimoto