2011

Mia Izobel and Malasadas

Mia enjoying a malasada I am so behind in posting photos that I have taken this year. I hope to rectify this by posting a photo album every three days until I am caught up. I was going to post an album a day, but that seems a little too ambitious. The above is a photo of Mia Izobel taken by Farrah on her iPhone 4S at the Waikele Shopping Center.

Prometheus - Trailer

Check out the trailer for the new Ridley Scott film. There’s a question of how or if this movie fits in with the Alien movies. Nonetheless, the title in the trailer suggests some sort of link, harking back to the Alien trailer. I vividly remember my sister taking me to see Alien at the Old Mill Six Theater. I didn’t know it was going to be a scary movie until that thing popped out of John Hurt’s chest.

How Your Amazon Order Reaches You

A link to a nice relevant infographic for the holiday season. Yup, I did a lot of online holiday shopping, most of it through Amazon.

Snakes on a Plane? Don't Worry About It

I don’t think I’ll ever visit the Philippine rainforest. Mostly, the Agta fend off the serpents with machetes or shotguns. Only six people have actually been killed in the span of 39 years, including a man who was found inside a snake, and two children who were eaten by the same python on one fateful night. Without their iron weapons, the Agta would surely have lost more individuals to python coils.

Burger Beef

I believe the rule in advertising is not to mention your competitors - unless you can make them look bad. (via The Daily What.)

Robbers Want Only iPhones

It should say no Droids as well: “The first victim complied, but the second only had a Droid, according to police. The thieves apparently didn’t want a Droid – so they took cash instead.” Man, thieves are getting picky.

The Facebook Resisters

NY Times article on the people who are not on Facebook or have quit Facebook. I am (again) considering decreasing or completely stopping direct Facebook interaction. This seems like a New Year’s Resolution type of thing if you are into that sort of thing.

Vacation Photos with iPhone 4S

We came back from our trip to Hawaii this past Thursday. I wanted to post a few photos I took during vacation. What’s interesting about these photos is that they were all taken with the iPhone 4S. Yup, I left my Canon 7D at home. We did, however, bring the Canon S90 with us, and I had a Sony NEX-5N at my disposal. Those photos should be up on the photos page sometime this week.

Pearl Harbor and the Zoo

Today we visited Pearl Harbor to specifically see the USS Arizona. Unfortunately, Mia fell asleep during the short film that is watched before taking the short boat ride out to the memorial. She was also asleep all the time we were at the memorial. It wasn’t until we started to leave that she stirred from her slumber. Next, we went to the zoo, where these photos are from. Mia loved to see the fish, monkeys, birds, and all the other animals at the zoo.

Mia's First Day in Hawaii - A Few Photos

A few photos from our first day in Hawaii. The first day was mainly getting Mia acclimated to the new time zone, and for me to recover from my Dramamine hit. Oh, but plenty of good food was eaten yesterday. What’s on the menu for today? We shall see.

Anxiety Sucks

I hope to be on a plane to Hawaii when you read this. I’ll be doped up on Dramamine which will help me make it through the plane flight. I’ve always had a little trouble getting on a plane, whether it was a short or long flight. But for some odd reason, I’ve been getting more anxious about this flight. I hate this feeling. I truly do. I am writing about this in hopes of purging all this bad “mojo” from my brain.

Photos Taken Today

[gallery type=“slideshow” link=“none” size=“full” ids=“197057177,197057178,197057179,197057180”] These are a few photos I took with my iPhone 4S. They came out ok.

Ethan Hawke

All of three of us have been having similar feelings that we’re ready to revisit those characters. There’s nine years between the first two movies and, if we made the film next summer, it would be nine years again so we really started thinking that would be a good thing to do. We’re going to try to write it this year. Ethan Hawke talking about the possibility of a third film to round out Before Sunrise and Before Sunset.

How to Perfectly Cook an Egg

I have been eating more eggs lately. It is most likely due to Mia liking eggs so much. This has led me to search for different ways to cook eggs. In this link, a few chefs share ways they like to have their eggs cooked. Or do you have a better method?

Haywire - Trailer

I’ll be posting a few trailers of movies I’d be interested in seeing in the theaters - if we ever have a chance to actually go into a movie theater. This one is done by Steven Soderbergh. It looks like a straightforward action/revenge flick starring a bunch of people - Channing Tatum, Michael Fassbender, Michael Douglas, and Antonio Banderas. Oh, and Gina Carano is the person seeking revenge!

Wide and Tall

This makes me want to get a dog. But of course, they never stay this tiny, do they? Via (halfway-through who sourced it from gusnyc)

The Jacket

Farrah thought this multi-colored jacket Mia is wearing was lost. But luckily, the great folks at daycare found it - stuck in a backpack. So I put it on Mia as we left daycare yesterday. Oh, we had to stop by the pumpkins that were placed throughout the lawn area. It gave me a chance to try out the camera on the iPhone 4S. Not too bad. It’s going to be a fun Halloween this year!

Eating Tickets

We were supposed to watch the Smashing Pumpkins last Friday night at the Fox Theater in Oakland. Unfortunately, fate intervened. Having no desire to see any of the opening bands, and knowing the Smashing Pumpkins like to start late, we didn’t leave for the show until 8:30pm. The hour’s drive to Oakland should still give us plenty of time to see the concert. But who knew things were really happening in Oakland that night?

Not Disappointed

I’m fairly pleased with the iPhone 4S announcement the other day. It hit all the points I was looking for on a new iPhone. Granted, my points weren’t really that lofty. I hoped for, at the least: A screen as good as the iPhone 4 (e.g. retina display). The same or better camera. More powerful, processor-wise. More memory for less. What was shown was: Yup, retina display. No change in screen size or resolution/ A better 8MP camera with an aperture of 2.

Steve Jobs

I was in my office, packing up for the day when I received a text from my wife. It simply said: Steve Jobs?! Sadly, it could only mean one thing.

Just Annouce It Already!

Apple can announce anything today. Just as long as it’s a new iPhone. I so desperately need a new phone. I’ve got problems with mine right now: The headphone jack is broken. The physical volume buttons are broken. The side with the volume buttons is starting t split. The top power button, when pressed does nothing. This means I can’t power off my iPhone I could have gone with an iPhone 4, but I held off for two reasons.

Boardwalk Empire - The Subway Edition

I’m not a big fan of the HBO series Boardwalk Empire. I tried watching a few episodes when it debuted earlier this year, but I just couldn’t get into it. But I can get into this advertising campaign. I heard about it a few days ago, and now Laughing Squid has a few photos. I’d love to see this in person. Too bad it won’t be around for long. But if you are in NYC, you should stop by and see — but only on the weekends.

Mia and the Luau

Mia’s daycare was having an end-of-summer luau. Even though sunglasses and hula skirts were handed out, the weather wasn’t exactly sunny and tropical. We stayed as long as we could (the hula performance started late) until the wind and time forced us to leave. I took only a few photos, on August 26, 2011. You can find the rest here.

My Next iPhone Case

I really need to update my iPhone. It’s on its last legs. The volume button is broken off. The power button doesn’t work. And it started to split in two at the seams! Hopefully, there will be a new iPhone soon. I’ve been scouting for iPhone cases and came across this. It would be interesting to carry around, wouldn’t it?

Irene

This is a photo of Grand Central Terminal in New York City. Mid-day. Nearly empty. It’s one of those photos you wish you could capture yourself, but probably won’t ever be able to do so. It was taken by the MTA and posted on Flickr. The reason why it’s nearly empty is due to Hurricane Irene. Grand Central Terminal is a sight I’d like to revisit again. The place is huge.

Bixby

Photo of Papa, Bixby, and Lucky. Bixby is on the left. It’s tough when you lose a pet. A pet who’s been a loyal friend and good companion over the years. But, like us and everything on this planet, in this universe, time doesn’t stand still and lets us simply live forever. And so, sadly, we say goodbye to Bixby who succumbed to age this past Thursday morning. He was about 77 years old (11 in human years).

Mia's First Birthday

Mia Bathing At 10:16 am last year, Mia arrived in our lives. And what a year it has been. Ever since then, time seems to have been moving so fast, often a complete blur. I’m sure every parent has a similar experience. Wasn’t it just a month ago that it seemed like all she could do was cry, eat, and poop? Wasn’t it just last week that she learned how to crawl?

An Opportunity

I’ve been meaning to write for some time now. I’ve had the desire to do so. But having the desire, and having the opportunity, are two different things. When they don’t sync up, it can make for one cranky person. Luckily, I’ve been too busy to be cranky. Commute Map I started a new job a few weeks back. It’s a job that I was interested in taking. I took a 12% pay reduction and increased my commute by 45 minutes, but to me, it was worth it.

Mia Crawls!

At almost ten months of age, Mia is now starting to crawl! I know everyone is different when they start crawling, talking, etc. There were signs she was working her way up to this. It is simply amazing to watch her scoot around. Now, it is time to baby-proof everything! On to the video:

Mia's First Easter

Rabbit ears. Eggs. Money. It’s Mia’s first Easter. It was a quiet Easter, spent at the house with the grandparents. It was quiet by choice, as Mia was recovering from being sick all week. Otherwise, we would have made a trip to spend Easter with family. We had a lovely lunch - a Honey Baked ham, fried chicken and egg rolls from King Egg Roll, green beans, and Brussels sprouts.

The King's Speech

I upped my Netflix movie discs this month in the hopes of catching up on a few movies. I hope to write a few words about each movie that I was able to view. I was able to set aside a few moments last weekend to watch an excellent movie The King’s Speech. It would have been a good idea to see this movie before the Oscars. But knowing it had won several Oscars, as well as other awards, did not taint my viewing of the movie.

Unsure About PlayStation Now

Seriously? “Although we are still investigating the details of this incident, we believe that an unauthorized person has obtained the following information that you provided: name, address (city, state, zip), country, email address, birthdate, PlayStation Network/Qriocity password and login, and handle/PSN online ID. It is also possible that your profile data, including purchase history and billing address (city, state, zip), and your PlayStation Network/Qriocity password security answers may have been obtained.

The Waiting is the Hardest Part

You are waiting to hear the news. It might be good news you are hoping to hear, something favorable to your future. Or, perhaps it’s bad news you wish you could avoid, news that can prove to be an obstacle for some time. Either way, you just want to know what is going on, and what is going to happen, so you can take the next step(s) to arrive at a conclusion.

Domain Swapping

If you found me - if you are reading these words on this blog - you could have only come here one of two ways. Either you’ve come directly to ://giron.me or you followed a link from my photo site, ://janella.com. Prior to this new endeavor, I wrote on janella.com. But as you can see, things have changed. Those older blog posts still exist. I didn’t delete those posts. I simply moved them to ://janella.

Mia and Her Bunny Ears

Mia and Her Bunny Ears Bunny ears. A gift in Mia’s Easter basket from Grandma and Grandpa. She wore them yesterday and this morning, even though she isn’t feeling 100%. Hopefully, she’ll be hopping around with them on Easter Sunday. On a different note, Mia woke up at 2 am crying. It’s a bit unusual, but since she’s not feeling totally well, it’s understandable. What was interesting was that Farrah found Mia sitting up in the middle of her crib.

Mia and Mommy at Whole Foods

We were able to get a lot done this weekend. We first started at the Mountain View Farmers’ Market, it was off to Milk Pail to get other fruits and veggies not found at the market. We finally ended the triple play day at Whole Foods. Mia has been enjoying all the new textures on each type of food she’s tried. She’s been enjoying chicken, carrots, and rice. We need to expand her palette even further, as she’s shying away from the purèed food.

Mia and Dr. Seuss

Mia loves listening to Dr. Seuss stories on the iPad. She started off with Dr. Seuss’s ABC. In this photo she is making her first pass at Dr. Seuss’s Green Eggs and Ham, a bit of a long story for her to sit through. Oh, don’t worry, we don’t let the iPad do all the reading to Mia. Farrah takes time each day to read to Mia from the stack of books we have sitting on our bedside table.

A Sunday Post

I wanted to start writing a regular post on Sunday, time permitting of course. I’m not sure what subject it may be. Perhaps it will be about something that happened during the week. Or it could be a summation of the week’s events in total. Or it may simply be another photo. Let us see what comes of this. Mia turned nine months old this past week. She has been out of the womb longer than she was in it.

Mia and Her Chubby Cheeks

Mia was sitting in her high chair, waiting for her next spoonful of lovely baby food, when I took this photo. Doesn’t this picture make you want to pinch her chubby cheeks? This photo was taken on March 24, 2011, using a Canon 7D and the Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8.

Comment No Longer

I read a lot of things online. I would often read comments that accompany the articles and blog posts. But I’ve grown tired of the often snide and rude remarks people make in the comment section. Instead of providing meaningful comments, and thoughtful responses that could add to the subject of the article, blog post, or photo, some people choose to make an ugly destructive comment. They make these ugly comments with ease, enjoying the lack of repercussion afforded by their anonymity.

Mia Reaching

We are trying to encourage Mia to crawl. Part of how we’re doing this is by placing the desired item just outside her reach. In this case, we’re using my iPhone to play Maroon 5’s “Sunday Morning.” Over and over again, Mia kept trying to push herself off the far wall, inching oh-so-close to the iPhone. Unfortunately, she grew tired and didn’t reach her goal. She’ll continue to try until she reaches it.

Mia and Her TiVo Remote

Mia and Her TiVo Remote Mia discovered our DIRECTV remote while sitting on our bed. She would stare at the remote, running her fingers through the numbers and other buttons, but not press any of them. Then, of course, she would try to stick the remote in her mouth, because that’s what babies do. It’s always difficult to pry the remote from her hands once she has a hold of it,

Mia and Her Reflection

It’s amazing how babies can be occupied by their own reflections. Farrah placed Mia in front of the hallway mirror. Mia was able to occupy herself for a good ten minutes. She laughed, clapped her hands, and leaned forward to touch her reflection. his photo was taken on March 5, 2011, using the Canon S95.

Which iPad 2 is for You?

Thinking of getting an iPad 2? You should read Marco Arment’s write-up on which version you should consider. If I were to do it all over again, I’d probably get a 3G version. But then again, you now know I’m not considering an iPad 2.

New Photos - Hoping More to Follow

Mia and Kaleb I have a ton of photos that want to get out of Aperture and published on the site. Unfortunately, my time is not cooperating. I posted a few photos from “An Afternoon with Family”. Hopefully, this will start a flood of new photos posted to the site. I’m optimistic that it will.

iPad 2? Not for Me

The iPad 2 was announced last week. It appears to be another cool Apple device, a nice upgrade from the original iPad – which I currently own. Though I love my gadgets, I don’t think the iPad 2 is for me. My current item of lust is an 11” MacBook Air (128GB with 4GB of RAM of course). I have to stress that it has 4GB, because, unlike the MacBook Pro, aftermarket RAM cannot be added later on.

Mia and Kaleb

Two videos of the kids playing together, and later hugging. Awwww! and These videos were taken on February 19, 2011.

Are You Typical?

An informative video from National Geographic. Interesting little facts about what it means to be typical worldwide.

Mia at Eight Months

Yesterday, Mia turned eight months old! Wow, it’s amazing how time moves so quickly. She’s not crawling yet, but she successfully flopped onto her belly from this sitting position. We think she’s starting to teethe. There appears to be a little something in her front lower jaw. She seems OK with what is going on, only becoming fussy every once in a while. Also, she’s been amazing in sleeping through the night.

Rough Night

Lately, Mia has been able to sleep through the night. Unfortunately, she had a rough night sleeping last night. She woke up crying around 1:40am. This alone wouldn’t be so bad. But then she woke up crying twice more, once at 2:40-ish and then at 4:20-ish. Each time she wakes up you go through the checklist: Is she hungry? Does her diaper need changing? Is she cold? None of these seemed to be the case last night.

Mia and The Dark Knight

Wow, Mia has already caught The Batman bug. Fighting crime at such a young age. For now, she’ll do as daddy does and be part of The Batman Family. I see her more in the role of The Huntress - Batman’s daughter in older comic books - rather than Batgirl. But she always has a choice. I have a feeling when she grows up she’ll be more of a Wonder Woman fan, like her cousin Kayla was when she was growing up.

Mia Reaching for Mommy

This photo of Mia and mommy is from a previous set of pictures. Unfortunately, we’ve been under the weather, off-and-on the last couple of weeks. Taking any good pictures has been difficult. Hopefully, we’ll have some opportunity this week to take some newer photos. This photo was originally taken on January 23, 2011.

Learning to Fly

Mia is still learning to crawl. She’s comfortable being on her belly on the floor. She can pivot left or right and can move ever so slowly backward. But she hasn’t grasped the skill of forward movement yet. When that time comes, I’m sure she’ll be taking off, crawling to every conceivable corner of the house.

Mia, Mommy, and The Monterey Bay Aquarium

We have wanted to take Mia to the Monterey Bay Aquarium but hadn’t found a good weekend to do it. Fortunately, we had the last weekend of January free of any commitments. We were also very fortunate to obtain two guest passes from my sister’s co-worker who has an aquarium membership. Asking for directions. Since it was Mia’s first time there we tried to visit all the exhibits that she might find of interest.

Volkswagen Commercial: The Force - Video

Currently, my favorite commercial, even though I’ve yet to see it on television. I just love the kid’s reaction in the end. I can imagine Mia having a similar reaction.

Everything is a Remix Part 2 - Video

Part 2 in the series. This one covers remixes in films, specifically Star Wars and Kill Bill. Watch this video past the credits for the portion on Kill Bill. The first video, which covers music, was very interesting. You can visit the website to make a donation for the continuation of this project.

The United Kingdom Explained - Video

I’ve often wondered what the difference was between Great Britain and the UK. And if you have ten minutes to spare, this informative video can enlighten you on the differences. Good to know there’s a video explaining it.

Mia and Star Wars

It’s a question I believe each dad asks themselves, “When do I introduce Star Wars into my kid’s life?" Well, it all starts with a t-shirt. Farrah bought this shirt at the Gap for 58 cents! Such a bargain. In this photo, with Mia’s face, all scrunched up, it looks as if she’s tired of having her photo taken. Now, as far as the films go, I’m talking about the original Star Wars trilogy, not the last three highly disappointing films.

Mia with Her Hair Up

Mia is as playful as ever. Each day, Farrah tries to think of a way to tame all that hair. It’s difficult, but it needs to be done. Otherwise, it can look a bit scary. I’ve included two photos in this post so you can get a complete picture. I look at this series of photos and I can’t help but think, wow, future sushi chef. Looking like a sushi chef.

MoBowl - A Review

This week I had the opportunity to eat lunch at Mobowl. MoBowl is a food truck serving Chinese cuisine with a twist. We’ve tried MoGo, a similar concept involving Korean cuisine, and we’ve enjoyed what they had to offer. Would MoBowl be the same? To find out where MoBowl will be on any given day, you need to either look on their homepage or their Twitter stream. They only serve food on weekdays during lunchtime.

Investing in a System

I’m trying to invest in a cross-platform note-taking system. What I’d like for this system to do is: Be available on whatever device I’m on - primarily a Windows machine, a Mac, iPhone, and an iPad. Have the ability to take notes offline, then upload them for later access. Have the ability to access notes while offline, somehow storing a local copy on each device. Easily export all my data - just in case the company or system goes under.

IfItWereMyHome.com - A Site to See

The lottery of birth is responsible for much of who we are. If you were not born in the country you were, what would your life be like? Would you be the same person? IfItWereMyHome.com compares the living conditions in your country to another of your choice. It’s interesting to see how different - and not necessarily better - your living conditions are to others, as a country. Everyone’s got problems.

Mia and Her Gloves

Mia is all dressed up and ready to go out for a morning stroll. It was slightly cold and overcast outside on the morning of this photo, so Farrah had her all bundled up. Granted it’s not snowy weather here in sunny California. But anything below 55℉ makes you reach for a sweater. This was Mia’s first experience with gloves as well. She was very fascinated by how they felt on her hands and how it felt interacting with other objects.

Mia in Pigtails

Mia came home from daycare with pigtails! Well, in the photo you can see only one, but she does have another small pigtail on the other side of her head. She has an amazing amount of hair, but it’s in that in-between length where something proper to do is difficult. This photo was taken on January 11, 2011, using the Canon s95 in low light mode.

List of Links for Today

If you didn’t hear, Verizon is going to get the iPhone. Can you hear me now? Well, that would be a reason to switch from AT&T. Looks like Verizon is also getting a specific iPad as well. I know some museums don’t allow photography, but seriously, suing Thomas Hawk for $2M is a bit much. Sam Mendes is directing the next James Bond flick. Movie critics can be mean. Foot stickers seem like a good idea.

3 Minutes

A very short film by Ross Ching, starring a Harry Shum Jr. from Glee and Stephen “tWitch” Boss from So You Think You Can Dance. Hey, it’s got guns and lightsabers. What’s not to like?

List of Links for Today (LOLT)

A few links to read: Star Wars will be available on blu ray this year! I’m placing my pre-order on this one even though I don’t particularly like the newer movies. More Star Wars - cool posters. You can’t walk straight blindfolded. There’s science behind this, of course. I bet you aren’t as into Twilight as this lady who has it tattooed on her back. Bjork does karaoke, BUT for a cause.

Verizon iPhone? Not for Us - Yet

There’s been speculation that Verizon will announce the availability of the iPhone on their network this coming Tuesday. It’s great news since Verizon (supposedly) has a better network. I’ve had plenty of dropped calls on my iPhone, and plenty of bad connections to the 3G network. I’d love to go to Verizon, but I don’t think I will right away. Why? iPhone 5: Verizon will likely be offering the iPhone 4.

Mia at Six Months

Time flies. Time flies very fast. January 1st not only marked the first day of the new year, but it also marked the sixth month Mia has been in our lives. Some of the moments seem like a blur now. Most likely this is due to the lack of sleep. And the lack of sleep still happens on some nights. But other moments are crystal clear, like her first smile, as if they happened yesterday.