Category: I Like It

Uma Baby-T Ukulele

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Photo info: FUJIFILM X-T10, 35mm, f/2, 1/100 sec, ISO200
 “Uma Baby-T” Cedar Park, 2023

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!

Suzume

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Photo info: FUJIFILM X-E4, 27mm, f/2.8, 1/80 sec, ISO1600
 “Suzume” Austin, 2023

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.

Photo info: FUJIFILM X-E4, 27mm, f/2.8, 1/80 sec, ISO1000
 “Suzume & Souta” Austin, 2023
Photo info: FUJIFILM X-E4, 27mm, f/2.8, 1/80 sec, ISO1600
 “Suzume” Austin, 2023

Sophie and the Bluebonnets

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Photo info: OLYMPUS E-PL9, 10mm, f/9, 1/250 sec, ISO200
 “Sophie” Cedar Park, 2023

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!

Photo info: Apple iPhone 12 mini, 4.2mm, f/1.6, 1/5300 sec, ISO32
 “Sophie” Cedar Park, 2023

I hope you had a nice day!

New Watch

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Photo info: FUJIFILM X-E4, 27mm, f/2.8, 1/100 sec, ISO3200
 “Apple Watch” Cedar Park, 2023

My family gave me an Apple Watch for Christmas, which was totally unexpected. It’s fun to use! I like playing with the different watch faces, and the functionality is nice. I like to be able to see the weather conditions mostly, and the sunrise/sunset times.

I’ve also worn it while running, but since I use Strava on the phone, the watch is there just to see my heart rate (out of curiosity). But the first time I went running with it, it was very distracting, with pings and dings and other stuff. When I run, I like to just zone out and listen to music or my own breathing, so the constant alerts were pretty annoying. I’ve since added a “Run” focus mode that disables everything except calls and messages from family and that solves that problem. Yay!

Binge Watching First Love 初恋

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Photo info: Apple iPhone 12 mini, 4.2mm, f/1.6, 1/90 sec, ISO80
 “First Love 初恋” Cedar Park, 2022

Today I watched all 9 episodes of First Love 初恋 on Netflix. It was so good! The best dorama I have seen in a long time. In fact, I’m ready to re-watch it, which I don’t think I’ve ever done with a dorama before.