August 2005 Archives

I was approved for the monstrous loan that I'll need to buy my next house! Now I just need to sell this place and find something new! So exciting!

I just made my donation to the American Red Cross and I encourage you to do the same! The destruction over there is just unbelievable, and I'm sure that anything you can give helps!

I wanted to set up some kind of matching donation thing on the DCRP site but I have no idea how that works, so I gave up on that idea.

I've been thinking for quite a while that it's time to give up on my dvspot site and focus on cameras and printers. dvspot was something I did because the world needed such a site -- and not because I was into video. It hasn't really grown over the years, and it makes very little money. Rather than continue pouring time into something that probably won't take off (and that I'm not passionate about), I think it's probably best to send it to the great Internet in the sky.

I'd love to give it to someone who can do something with it, as the world needs a decent camcorder review site. Unfortunately I don't have the motivation to be the one to create that site.

I mean thrillseekers. They've been the subject of many of my sample photos and movies, and I suppose I should be grateful that they're brave enough to do these things (cause I'm not). Click the link to see some crazy kite surfers.

I managed to find some inspiration yesterday while killing some time in the Berkeley hills. Near the very top of the hill is the Berkeley Rose Garden, built by the WPA in 1937. It's a really nice terraced park with a stunning view of the bay and the Golden Gate Bridge. Click the link to see some pictures.

If there's such a thing as blog-writer's block, I have it. I'm in serious need of inspiration here.

This weekend I did some dogsitting for my sister down in Ventura. Click the link to see some cute pictures of her dog, Jackson.

I'm taking care of my sister's dog Jackson again this weekend. Sometimes he's so sweet... there is no doubt that he loves me A LOT. Other times he can be in your face. He sleeps next to me on the bed. He wants to get up at 6am to eat breakfast, though today he tried at 5am too (didn't work). And what's with the whole "let's walk around the entire lawn to find a place to pee" thing? While dogs offer a lot of love and companionship, there's something to be said for a nice, independent cat that uses the litter box.

I had the most bizarre dream last night. For some reason I was backstage at a taping of The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. The guests were George W. Bush and Pierce Brosnan. I watched all the secret service guys standing around the set. Then I had my picture taken with Pierce Brosnan. I have no idea where the heck this all came from, but it was surreal.

I haven't posted any sunset photos in a while since, well, there haven't been any decent sunsets. But tonight's was an exception. Click the link for a few photos plus a bonus shot of the moon!

I love Lantana. In fact I love it so much that I have it planted all over my yard. Not only does it thrive on the heat here in Brentwood, but it's also colorful and just amazing to look at. I have the red/orange variety you see above plus one blue/purple and two yellow plants. I'm always impressed how patterns like this can be found in nature. (Photos taken with the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ30 at Stanford University.)

The other cool pic of the day is a weird one. I was at the Stanford Shopping Centre Sunday afternoon when I saw this guy taking his cat for a walk. Now I've seen everything! (Photo taken with my cameraphone.)

I've started working with a mortgage broker (thanks Alex for the hookup!) and things are looking very good. Unlike two years ago, this time I'll actually get a loan that can buy me a house close to civilization. Tomorrow I have to fax over two years of taxes, profit and loss statements for this year, and 2 months worth of bank statements. Naturally I'll keep you all updated as the process goes along.

Speaking of profit and loss, the other day I made this nice little chart for a little legal project that's going on now. This is DCRP revenue for the last few years. Naturally I took out the dollar amounts so people don't ask me for money. But this kind of growth is great and it's really helping for the house purchase too! It's nice to see that all my hard work over the last eight years is finally starting to pay off.

And finally, today was my last free personal training meeting. He moved me over to free weights which are quite a bit more difficult. While I'm getting stronger I'm not losing any weight, so I really need to watch what I eat. This weekend I'm going to write down everything I ate so I can figure out just how much I need to cut out.

The light bulb on my built-in microwave is dead and I can't find a way to replace it myself. Whirlpool says I need someone to come out and change it for me. Since the thing is now out of warranty, it's going to cost me. You'd think a $1750 oven/microwave combo would be designed for easy replacement of such things, but apparently not.

Why is it that the perceived negatives in your life can make you forget about the positives? Every once in a while I fall into this rut. The problem of the week is one that I've dealt with for a while: I think about my friendships: how I can count the number of good friends in the Bay Area on one hand... that I had a friendship end badly three months ago... and that three four other good friends are far away from here. Combine that with the relative isolation that I live in (though I only have three months left), and the shyness that makes it hard to meet new people, and I end up feeling pretty down.

Now, mind you, the people who I consider good friends are just that: I do not question their friendship at all. They've been there for me through thick and thin, and they never bailed out when I was going through hard times. Some of these friendships have lasted for over ten years. I truly value their friendship, and I try to make an extra effort to keep things healthy.

When I'm feeling down I try to remind myself of the good things in my life: the loving family I have... my successful and rewarding business... the fact that I'm going to buy my second house and I'm only 29... the fact that I'm working hard at improving myself mentally and physically... the fact that I make a difference in people's lives, even if it's for something as silly as buying a camera. The fact that, although they are few in number, I do have good friends that truly care about me.

Even with all those positives, I find that the negatives can feel heavier than the positives. I've climbed out of these ruts several times in the last year and a half, and I can do it again. I guess this is just how life is...

This is a photo of San Mateo High School -- from which I graduated in 1994 -- that I took in the mid 90s. The school just celebrated its 100th anniversary last year. Anyhow, a few years back it was discovered that the building had unreinforced brick walls and it had to be either retrofitted or torn down. As it turned out, it was actually cheaper to build a new one from scratch -- so down the building came.

Today I took a walk around the new building and I have to say that they did an incredible job. Looking at it from the front you'd never know it was new:

I put some more pictures here. I haven't been inside yet, but I'm hoping to use my "hey I run the alumni e-mail list" clout to get a sneak peek before school starts.

I was fooling around on Ford's website and I got a laugh out of the "optional features" on the build-your-own Mustang page. Apparently wheels and brakes are optional!

And no, I'm not shopping for a car -- just messing around.

For the second time in two months my site got a great mention in the New York Times! Can't beat free advertising!

(Here's the first time it happened)

Update: I had to persuade a Starbucks employee to unlock his closed store so I could buy a paper. He ended up giving it to me for free! And what kind of bookstore doesn't sell the NY Times? Oh, I know-- Barnes and Noble!

I walked out of my meeting with Panasonic today with a box of THREE of their latest cameras... I was the first camera reviewer in the world to get them too. Woohoo!

Well I'm back to reviewing cameras again... and hanging out in coffee shops with my laptop. Over the weekend I did a major reworking of the front yard. I removed all the agapanthus, which looks like crap in the summer heat, replacing it with a mix of fountain grass, lantana, verbena, and more. Oh and I planted a bougainvillea in front of the "column" in the front of the house, hoping it will grow upward.

This week I have two meetings in the big city... Tuesday it's Panasonic and Thursday it'll be Nikon. Panasonic's going to show me their recent intros (and I hope I get to take some stuff home with me) and Nikon hasn't told me what they have in store.

And now it's time for another exciting trip to the gym... Thank God for air conditioning, it's 105 outside!