daily slice-of-life photo blog of a Gen-X dad
Today I binge-watched the entire first season of American Born Chinese. It was so good! And it appears that high school hasn’t changed all that much in the 40 years since I was a student. Apart from the Chinese gods visiting Earth and stuff.
This evening I went to see Shin Kamen Rider on the big screen. It was fantastic! I didn’t know what to expect, but was pleasantly surprised at the fast-paced action, storyline, and cool effects. It’s so neat to watch a tokusatsu-style movie with today’s actors. Recommend!
My new ukulele arrived! It’s an Uma “Baby-T” Tenor ukulele – a tenor neck with a concert-sized body. It’s kind of a perfect tenor ukulele for me. I prefer the smaller body size ukuleles (my Mele concert body is much smaller than the inexpensive Kala ukuleles), but wanted to try out the tenor-size neck. So far I am enjoying it quite a bit! My concern was that my short fingers wouldn’t be able to reach comfortably, but those concerns have vanished as I’ve been able to stretch more than I thought. And the extra space between frets makes it easier to place my fingers on those adjacent strings.
The quality of this inexpensive Uma Baby-T is impressive. The Taiwanese acacia wood (laminate) looks beautiful, and is very similar to my Mele Hawaiian koa (solid-top) ukulele. The fit and finish of the frets is excellent, and the action is set up nicely, right out of the box. It has simple but attractive binding and I love the playful Uma logo. Some say it looks too cute and childish, but I think it’s great. What’s wrong with adding some joy to the world? Lastly, the Baby-T has a beveled edge so that the ukulele doesn’t dig in to your right forearm. It really makes a difference! No more “uke arm”. 😀
My new Uma Baby-T is now my favorite in my collection. To make room for it, I am selling one of my Kala concert ukuleles, but I’m not sad about that. I hope it finds a good home!
Beautiful color palette and fantastic story. Suzume is a must-see!
There’s one short (a few seconds only) cloud-lapse sequence that blew me away. It was awesome.
Today I went with Sophie, my 1972 Peugeot UJ-10 bicycle, for a ride on the local hike & bike trail. I mentioned previously that the bluebonnets were on their way out for the year, but to my surprise, they were blooming like crazy! So I guess we have a couple more weeks to enjoy them. 🙂
Ever since I got Piplup, my 2022 Brompton C Line bicycle, I haven’t shown Sophie or Rossa much love. But today reminded me how much fun the vintage French road bike is. What I like about it is the speed and quietness of it. The 27-inch Panaracer tires, at 95 psi, roll so smoothly and the quick acceleration is noticeable. Also, the freewheel emits a very subtle and precise clicking sound which is super elegant. Many of today’s mountain and gravel bikes that I see on the trail are super loud (and annoying in my opinion). I remember reading that two signs of inefficiency are heat and noise. Not sure if that is the case with modern bicycle cassettes, but I prefer the quiet rather than the loud buzzing.
Speaking of loudness, I have a Crane Suzu (bell) on Sophie. I had forgotten how loud and crisp it sounds! I guess I got used to the Brompton’s tiny (in size and sound) bell. The Crane Suzu is so loud that it can be a bit alarming to hear, so I make sure to ring way before I actually pass people. I like Crane a lot. The company is from Osaka (my wife’s hometown) so I feel some affinity towards them. I’m thinking about replacing the little Brompton bell with a small bell from Crane – another fun and beautiful upgrade to consider!
I hope you had a nice day!
