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May 23, 2013
I finally finished posting proper slideshows for my recent trip to Belgium and the Netherlands. Links to the slideshows are available on the Photo Galleries page, but you can click the thumbnails below to start the corresponding slideshows.
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May 17, 2013
I finished posting video galleries for my recent trip to Belgium and the Netherlands. I took these videods with Olympus OM-D EM5 digital camera. This compact camera was very handy - much more convenient to handle than its big brother E5. I used it to take almost all of the photos, also.
Links to the galleries are available on the Video Galleries page, but you can click the thumbnails below to start the corresponding galleries.
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March 20, 2013
I attended the 2013 San Francisco Flower and Garden Show today. Despite the name, the show was held in San Mateo, and the drive was much shorter and more convenient for me! However, for a show that costs $20, I had to pay $12 for parking, which felt like a highway robbery!
It's no Cheslea Flower Show, but I did find a few interesting displays and plants. I only purchased a small protea and a hoe made in Japan. With a sharp edge, it almost looks like a weapon!
I thought the rotating globe
(10 feet in diameter) covered with 30,000 succulent plants was well done! Click the thumbnail below for a short slideshow of some exhibits.
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March 3, 2013
As noted previously, I had to cut down the wisteria in the front yard. Since the trellis was leaning, I had it torn down, and a new one built. It's built on 2-ft deep concrete footings with 6 x 6 redwood posts. It will definitely outlast me!
I'm reworking the area under the trellis. I have black shade cloth hang under the trellis to protect the shade-loving plants for now. Although I expect to receive a replacement wisteria in a few days, it will be a couple of years before I can remove the shade cloth.
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February 6, 2013
The wisteria vine in the front yard had been dying over the last 3 years or so, and I kept cutting off the dead or dying vines. Finally I have had to cut off everything. The photo shows the remaining trunk which I'll have to remove along with the roots.
Unfortunately I won't be able to enjoy a display of white blossoms this spring!
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January 5, 2013
I recently assembled a new PC, starting with a case, power supply, motherboard, CPU, ... I usually do this every 3 years or so, but this time I waited a couple more years, waiting for the price of solid state drives (SSDs) to come down. Now, it is fun to edit videos and photos with such a fast and powerful PC and a good IPS monitor!
To read more about my new PC, select Potpourri > Technologies > Web Authoring.
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December 7, 2012
I uploaded 2013 monthly calendars (featuring photos from my travels to Japan) that you can set as wallpaper on your PC desktop. To view them, select Potpourri > PC Desktop Calendars > With Travel Photos.
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November 1, 2012
I posted some video clips from my recent hiking trip to the Eastern Sierra region. I used my new toy Olympus E-M5 to take these videos. A link to the chained videos is on the Video Galleries page. Also, you can click the thumbnail below to start the videos.
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October 16, 2012
I just finished posting slide shows of photos from my recent hiking trip to the Eastern Sierra region. A link to the chained slide shows is on the Photo Galleries page. Also, you can click any of the thumbnails below to start the chained slide shows.
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October 13, 2012
I just returned from a four-day hiking trip to the Eastern Sierra region. I spent most of the time in the Mammoth Lakes area for leisurely hiking. I'm currently trying to edit and organize tons photos and videos I took. Here is a brief slide show.
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October 2, 2012
I had a day trip to the Big Basin Redwood State Park (about a one-hour drive from San Jose) and hiked along two trails.
I took my new Olympus E-M5 camera with me. It was great to have such a small but capable camera on a hike even though the two trails were rather easy. Click the image on the left to view a slide show of some of the photos I took.
For more information on Olympus E-M5, please see the Digital Cameras page.
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September 26, 2012
I just purchased yet another new toy: Olympus OM-D E-M5 camera. It's a tiny - 4.8"(W) x 3.5"(H) x 1.7"(D) - but powerful Micro Four Thirds mirrorless digital camera. I have updated the Digital Cameras page to describe some of the features of this new camera. The Digital Camera page is located under the Potpourri > Technologies menu. I expect to post some sample photos in a few days.
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September 10, 2012
I have updated some of the screen savers that are on the Screen Savers page which is located under the "Potpourri" menu. Click the image below to preview the "Around the Globe" screen saver. If you like, you can download the setup program and install it on your PC, running Windows XP, Vista, or 7.
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August 23, 2012
I have been catching up with travelogues for older trips, and I just finished one for my 2007 safari in Tanzania. The video of a balloon flight over Serengeti (shown below) is one of the several videos that are linked to the travelogue.
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August 8, 2012
I started to catch up with travelogues for older trips, and I just finished one for my 2006 travel to Australia and New Zealand.
I am now writing up a travelogue for the Peru trip...
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July 13, 2012
I had a short visit to Maui to take care of some personal business. Naturally I allowed myself for some free time, and I took a day trip to Hana and to the Kapahulu District of Haleakala National Park. A hike along Pipiwai Trail to Waimoku Falls was great! On another day I had a chance to check out the aquarium at Maalaea Bay near Kihei. To view the two new videos I added to the video gallery for Hawaii, click either of the thumbnails below:
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June 26, 2012
Epiphyllum oxypetalum (a.k.a. Night Queen) plant that I received from a friend a few years ago has grown up, and it is blooming its head off! Although the gorgeous night-blooming flowers last only one night, more buds keep developing one after another. Click the thumbnail below to start a brief slideshow of the current bloomers:
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June 12, 2012
I finished posting videos for my recent trip to Hong Kong, Macau, and Japan in the Video Galleries. You can click a thumbnail below to start the corresponding gallery:
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June 4, 2012
I finished posting a travelogue for my recent trip to Hong Kong, Macau, and Japan. Please select Travelogues > Most Recent Trip from the navigation bar or click the thumbnails below:
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May 18, 2012
I finished posting photos from Macau and Hong Kong as slide shows. They are available on the Photo Galleries page, but you can click a thumbnail below to start the corresponding slideshow:
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April 12, 2012
Updated the video gallery for Monterey on the Video Galleries page by adding new videos which I recently recorded at the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Click the thumbnail below to start it:
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April 8, 2012
Since I heard that Monterey Bay Aquarium started new exhibits featuring jellyfish and sea horse, I spent half a day last week at the Aquarium. I enjoyed viewing my favorite sea creatures and took a lot of photos and video clips, which I am now editing. Here are a few teaser photos for now. Click any of them to start a short slideshow:
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March 27, 2012
Updated the Web Authoring" page by describing how I replaced Flash contents with HTML 5/jQuery animation. The "Web Authoring" page is under the Potpourri > Technologies menu.
I corrected some problems on the "PC Desktop Calendars" pages.
These pages are under the Potpourri > PC Desktop Calendars menu.
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March 18, 2012
I replaced the 2D world map on the Photo Galleries page with a spinning globe. The globe to the left of this text is just a still image.
When you place the mouse cursor on the spinning globe on the Photo Galleries page, it will stop spinning so that you can click a "hot" spot to launch the video gallery for the selected destination.
However, please note that for those visitors using a tablet (such as an iPad or an Android-based tablet) to view this site, I am still loading the old Photo Galleries page with a 2D map. The reason is that the "mouse over" event does not work well on touch-screen devices.
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