Photo info: SONY NEX-6, 0mm, f/0, 1/60 sec, ISO250 Cedar Park, 2016
こんばんは！ Hello!
This evening Koa had a baseball game under cloudy skies. It has been raining off and on today but luckily the fields were dry enough that they could play. Last year, there were so many games canceled due to heavy rains and even the end-of-season tournament was called off. This season, just one practice was called off and we’re crossing our fingers that we can get all the games in!
Tonight’s photo is of Koa on the mound. I paired my Minolta 100-200 AF lens with the NEX-6 body using a cheap (~$15) adapter. There are some strange patterns going on in the background, but I am happy with the quality overall. I was going to put the lens on my A77 and have full auto-focus and metering, but decided to give this smaller combination a try just for fun. I am pleased with the result!
Unfortunately, the result of the game was a loss for Koa’s Rockies. But the tournament is this weekend and we’re hoping to do well! At least I know the kids will have fun… they almost always do!
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/4, 1/30 sec, ISO3200 Cedar Park, 2016
こんばんは！ Hi, how’s it going?
I am doing ok. I worked from home today, and tried to take it easy, but I ended up working hard as usual these days. It’s weird but I spend so much time planning and coordinating projects and sending emails these days that I don’t spend as much time in Illustrator or InDesign actually producing stuff. But it is interesting because it is still creative, and maybe because it’s also new and something I am not used to. A new experience!
Today’s photo is of my son (14) who is waiting for me to take him and his brother out to get a bite to eat. I thought this photo worked better in black and white, so I used Nik Silver Effects to convert it. In the original color version, there is a pink folder in the bottom left that was really distracting so the black and white simplifies this image so the focus is on Bay and Lani.
Well, I hope you had a nice Monday. I am going to get some rest… it’s early… only 9:30pm but I am so tired! 😴
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/5, 1/20 sec, ISO3200 Cedar Park, 2016
こんばんは！The weather today was amazing… sunny and almost 90 degrees. This is perhaps the one or two week period where we have great weather before it gets really hot. But it’s kind of too early… only March!
Also, it’s the time of year where we adjust our clocks forward an hour. We have “Daylight Savings” here, so now it is darker when we wake up but stays lighter later into the evening. This time, I am having a really hard time adjusting to it. I usually wake up somewhere in the 5am hour, and naturally it is now in the 6am hour. But for some reason I cannot shift back to 5am. It hasn’t been a problem yet since I have been working from home the past two days and the kids are on spring break so they don’t need to wake up early. But tomorrow I will need to go in to work so I should try to get back to my normal schedule. We’ll see if I can do it!
Today’s photo is of our coffee pot… it’s wearing a scarf! Actually, it’s a kitchen towel that I wrap around to try to keep the heat in. It’s all about hot coffee!
Well, it’s late already (11:20pm is late for me), so I should try to get to bed so I can wake up early. Take care! おやすみなさい！
This is a photo from the end of August 2015 when I went on a business trip to Stockholm. The city is beautiful, especially because it is on the water, where reflections can highlight the city and bridges, making for some wonderful photo opportunities. I am not sure exactly how much distance I covered during the days I had free, but the city is so walk-able that it I found it impossible not to just wander around the city. In fact, there were a couple of times where I stepped outside the hotel doors, chose a direction and just started walking. There are even some fantastic routes for running right in the middle of the city, which is so convenient. If you ever have the chance to visit Stockholm, you should!
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! 😎
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.
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
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My camera & photos
I use a Fujifilm X-series camera for most of the photos on this site and my Instagram. Why not pick one up for yourself?
