Wednesday, May 24, 2006
Kodak V570
I've been testing out a new camera from Kodak which features dual lenses on one camera. It is really intersting the way kodak has done it, but its a point and shoot digital camera that has two built in lenses. Accessing the second ultra wide angle lens is automatic. You just hit the zoom /ultra wide button and the camera switches automaticall. And the colors are really good. Here are some pics.
Friday, May 19, 2006
Gillian Virata
Today I had an email conversation with Gillian Virata, daughter of Cesar and Joy Virata. It was really weird, because she sent an email to me, meant for someone else, detailing her plane itinerary from LA to Vegas. I then sent her the following email back:
Hi Gi,
It would be nice to meet you at LAX or Vegas, but I have no idea who you are. You might want to check your email address book so you can inform the Virata that (who) you are really trying to reach. BTW, are you a student at George Washington University? Just curious what you are studying.
John Bautista Virata
She then responded:
Hi John,
Sorry about that.
I finished a mid-career master's degree at GWU in Jan. 2005 in
International Policy and Practice. You write about cameras?
Gillian Virata
Which got me to thinking. Here is this woman in her 40s, who graduated from college in 1976 and writes about such worldy things as The Effects of U.S Sugar Policy
, has two masters degrees from U.S. colleges, andasks me, you write about cameras? Now I am not sure if that is a putdown from some intellectual, but it got me to thinking, what has my writing come down to? Yes I do write about cameras. That is what I do for a living. But at one point in my life, the only thing I liked to write were love letters, and Philippine political topics.
I write about cameras. I went to journalism school to "write about cameras"?
Hi Gi,
It would be nice to meet you at LAX or Vegas, but I have no idea who you are. You might want to check your email address book so you can inform the Virata that (who) you are really trying to reach. BTW, are you a student at George Washington University? Just curious what you are studying.
John Bautista Virata
She then responded:
Hi John,
Sorry about that.
I finished a mid-career master's degree at GWU in Jan. 2005 in
International Policy and Practice. You write about cameras?
Gillian Virata
Which got me to thinking. Here is this woman in her 40s, who graduated from college in 1976 and writes about such worldy things as The Effects of U.S Sugar Policy
, has two masters degrees from U.S. colleges, andasks me, you write about cameras? Now I am not sure if that is a putdown from some intellectual, but it got me to thinking, what has my writing come down to? Yes I do write about cameras. That is what I do for a living. But at one point in my life, the only thing I liked to write were love letters, and Philippine political topics.
I write about cameras. I went to journalism school to "write about cameras"?
Good Surf
We finally got some good surf this past week. I stayed away from Newport because there was a sewage spill a few weeks back and the beaches were closed. Yep, can you believe it? A freakin sewage spill in Newport beach. Really there is no excuse for such a spill, bt alas, we had one right in our own backyard. Som it was stay out of the water, which totally sucks.
Well it cleaned up and thankfully we have some swell in. Yesterday I went before work and caught some pretty decent surf all to myself. That is another rarity. A bunch of lcoals were surfing the second jetty, because at the time that is the only place where the swell angle was hitting the beach. ewport is weird because it gets shadowed by Catalina Island, and when the swell is the wrong direction, Blackie's doesn't break and is totally flat. But if you walk down two jetties, the waves break. So I walked down and initially paddled out to the corner where all the other surfers were vying for the wave that peaked off the rocks. After just a few waves jockying with the other surfers, I paddled over to the other side of the jetty where nobody was surfing. I was the only one out and I was getting waves all to myself. It was really incredible,m and as I looked at the mad crowd on the other side of the rocks, I was saying, suckers.
The next morning, I met up with Dave, one of the local guys who surfs Newport. Dave was telling me that a bunch of the other surfers were watching me catch all those waves all by myself, yet didn't bother to paddle over. I told him I had a blast all by myself. So today, me and Dave and a several others took turns catching waves off the 32nd street jetty. At one point, during a lull, I paddled over to the other side of the pack, and as I was paddling, a macking set wave came in and guess what, I was the only one deep in position to catch it, and I picked it off, in front of Dano, a local shaper who shapes longboards for a lot of Newport regulars. Dano might have been in position had I not been there, but what can he do, I paddled for it and caught it, a killer left that was an a-frame shape. Almost perfect shape. I rode it all the way down the beach, and upon padding out, some of the guys were congratulating me on a good ride. Then I paddled back to my spot off the rocks. I was wondering to myself, should have I paddled over? Hell yes. It was a fair and square ride. I didn't snake anyone and the wave came straight to me. It was the wave of the day no doubt. And not to be too cocky, on another wave, I pearled pretty ahrd, so much that I did a complete 360 underwater and got water in my ears from the thrashing, but that one wave was just da kine.
laters brah
Well it cleaned up and thankfully we have some swell in. Yesterday I went before work and caught some pretty decent surf all to myself. That is another rarity. A bunch of lcoals were surfing the second jetty, because at the time that is the only place where the swell angle was hitting the beach. ewport is weird because it gets shadowed by Catalina Island, and when the swell is the wrong direction, Blackie's doesn't break and is totally flat. But if you walk down two jetties, the waves break. So I walked down and initially paddled out to the corner where all the other surfers were vying for the wave that peaked off the rocks. After just a few waves jockying with the other surfers, I paddled over to the other side of the jetty where nobody was surfing. I was the only one out and I was getting waves all to myself. It was really incredible,m and as I looked at the mad crowd on the other side of the rocks, I was saying, suckers.
The next morning, I met up with Dave, one of the local guys who surfs Newport. Dave was telling me that a bunch of the other surfers were watching me catch all those waves all by myself, yet didn't bother to paddle over. I told him I had a blast all by myself. So today, me and Dave and a several others took turns catching waves off the 32nd street jetty. At one point, during a lull, I paddled over to the other side of the pack, and as I was paddling, a macking set wave came in and guess what, I was the only one deep in position to catch it, and I picked it off, in front of Dano, a local shaper who shapes longboards for a lot of Newport regulars. Dano might have been in position had I not been there, but what can he do, I paddled for it and caught it, a killer left that was an a-frame shape. Almost perfect shape. I rode it all the way down the beach, and upon padding out, some of the guys were congratulating me on a good ride. Then I paddled back to my spot off the rocks. I was wondering to myself, should have I paddled over? Hell yes. It was a fair and square ride. I didn't snake anyone and the wave came straight to me. It was the wave of the day no doubt. And not to be too cocky, on another wave, I pearled pretty ahrd, so much that I did a complete 360 underwater and got water in my ears from the thrashing, but that one wave was just da kine.
laters brah
Wednesday, May 03, 2006
Mexican mafia
Not really, but the illegal aliens in the United States have mobilized and marched on May 1, DEMANDING amnesty AND citizenship. Imagine that, they break the law and come here illegally without papers, settle and find jobs, and because they "work", they demand that they become citizens, while other people all over the world can't even get visas to come here or have to wait 15 to 20 years for a relative's petition to be approved so they can come here, yet the mexicans who are here are demanding citizenship?
Picture at left. Since when could only illegals make burritos? I can make a burrito and I ain't even mexican.
That is really galling, but hey, they are mexicans and many of them can be like that.
When they boycotted school and work on May 1, the freeways in Southern California were traffic free, so I am imagining that their marching that day in LA and elsewhere throughout the USA unclogged the freeways. So is all the traffic caused by illegal immigrants who shouldn't be here in the first place? Makes you wonder. All I know it was smooth sailing on the 405.
They claim that they do jobs that ordinary Americans won't do, but do they do their jobs correctly? Would you want your house built by illegal mexican labor? American business is ADDICTED to Cheap labor. That million dollar house in Orange County was probably built by illegal Mexican labor. The skilled Americans won't work for as cheap as the unskilled mexicans in construction any more.
My friend Mike has been doing construction since he dropped out of high school, and he has witnessed how the Mexicans come in and just wreaked havoc on the carpenter's trade. So much for carpenter unions. It became so bad for him that he had to start his own business, yet guess what, he employs illegals as well, because they are cheap. It is the same that happened during the 20s and 30s when the Filipinos were brought over to America to work the fields. Once they organized and demanded better wages and work conditions, the farm owners just moved to Mexicans who were cheaper. So now that the mexicans are here doing the jobs that "Americans" won't do, what immigrant group will be next? The Africans from Darfur? The Indians? The Chinese?
This country is a nation of laws, and the illegal immigrants don't have the right to demand citizenship or Amnesty, because they jumped the fence to get here, ahead of all the other potential immigrants, to be here. They should wait in line along with all the rest of the world who wants to live in American and become citizens. Thi isn't a racist issue. It is an issue about the rule of law. Citizenship is earned, it can't be demanded.
Picture at left. Since when could only illegals make burritos? I can make a burrito and I ain't even mexican.
That is really galling, but hey, they are mexicans and many of them can be like that.
When they boycotted school and work on May 1, the freeways in Southern California were traffic free, so I am imagining that their marching that day in LA and elsewhere throughout the USA unclogged the freeways. So is all the traffic caused by illegal immigrants who shouldn't be here in the first place? Makes you wonder. All I know it was smooth sailing on the 405.
They claim that they do jobs that ordinary Americans won't do, but do they do their jobs correctly? Would you want your house built by illegal mexican labor? American business is ADDICTED to Cheap labor. That million dollar house in Orange County was probably built by illegal Mexican labor. The skilled Americans won't work for as cheap as the unskilled mexicans in construction any more.
My friend Mike has been doing construction since he dropped out of high school, and he has witnessed how the Mexicans come in and just wreaked havoc on the carpenter's trade. So much for carpenter unions. It became so bad for him that he had to start his own business, yet guess what, he employs illegals as well, because they are cheap. It is the same that happened during the 20s and 30s when the Filipinos were brought over to America to work the fields. Once they organized and demanded better wages and work conditions, the farm owners just moved to Mexicans who were cheaper. So now that the mexicans are here doing the jobs that "Americans" won't do, what immigrant group will be next? The Africans from Darfur? The Indians? The Chinese?
This country is a nation of laws, and the illegal immigrants don't have the right to demand citizenship or Amnesty, because they jumped the fence to get here, ahead of all the other potential immigrants, to be here. They should wait in line along with all the rest of the world who wants to live in American and become citizens. Thi isn't a racist issue. It is an issue about the rule of law. Citizenship is earned, it can't be demanded.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
