Tag: technology

Blog Tags

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"Waterfall Position" Cedar Park, 2016
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/2.5, 1/50 sec, ISO6400
 “Waterfall Position” Cedar Park, 2016

こんばんは！Hello, how’s it going?

Tonight I spent a couple hours working on this blog, specifically the tagging of posts. I read a couple articles about different ways to tag, or rather, different philosophies and how to use categories and tags, but most seem to apply more towards commercial blogs, and not the traditional personal web log.

I’m not sure how I am going to organize the categories, since it seems like everything can go into just a few main groupings. That’s if I use the categories like a main site navigation. Which I am leaning towards doing, then using tags to group blog posts.

Ever since I started blogging daily, it has changed my way of thinking about this blog. How do I categorize those daily posts? At the moment, they are in a “Slice of Life” category… but this whole blog has turned into a “Slice of Life” vehicle… Occasionally I will have a movie, or product review, but these seem to be grouped in with the daily posts. However, some are stand-alone. This seems weird… I don’t like putting blog posts in multiple categories, but I kind of need to if I put different subjects into a daily post (which I like to do).

So… maybe the solution is in tagging. I’m thinking that may be the way to go… converting some of the categories into tags, and eventually the categories can just be down to one (which means I don’t need to call them categories). I will just have the blog posts, and then pages.

I guess that’s kind of back to an earlier, purer way of personal blogging, right?

It’s fun to think about! (I’m weird like that)

So, the blog work continues.

Today’s photo is of Anko, who, like many kittens, finds odd positions to sleep in. The one above is called “Waterfall Position” since it looks like she is headed down the falls! I used my normal Fujifilm black and white + yellow filter film simulation, then adjusted the tone curve, added grain, and slight vignette in Lightroom.

I hope you have a nice evening!

おやすみなさい！ – B Barron Fujimoto

** UPDATE **
I’ve removed the categories from the menus and sidebars, and made the tags more prominent!

Stormy Friday

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"Chromebook" Cedar Park, 2016
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/2.5, 1/100 sec, ISO640
 “Chromebook” Cedar Park, 2016

こんばんは！ Hello, how’s it going?

Well, it’s Friday, and another weekend is upon us. Here in the States, we have a long weekend because Monday we are observing Memorial Day to honor our soldiers who gave their lives so that we may enjoy our freedom and way of life. We don’t have any special plans for Monday, so we’ll probably put up our flag and take it easy at home.

Last night a huge storm passed over the area and dumped a lot of rain down on us. It was pretty scary and there’s a lot of flooding, although the area that our house is in is not in any danger. But it is still scary because we live on the edge of tornado country. 😬 I imagine that with climate change happening more quickly than we thought, the severe weather will only get worse. Scary to think about!

Anyways, today’s photo is of my Chromebook which is still very useful. I am actually using it right now to type this blog post! I realize that one of the things that is important to me in my electronics is battery life. That’s one reason I love my Kindle (lasts months on a single charge) and my Chromebook (10 hours continuous battery life!). I also realize that I cannot just use a tablet as my main mobile device because I need a real keyboard. The laptop form-factor is perfect for me to work on my blog. But, I know that I need another more robust computer as well, to run Lightroom and store all my photos, handle backups, downloads, and general computing. So, a two computer setup is essential at this time in my life.

Well, I am going to read my book. It’s an action-packed fantasy page-turner! I am enjoying “Furies of Calderon” very much so far.

I hope you had a nice Friday!

おやすみなさい！

– B Barron Fujimoto

Fanless Chromebook

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"Chromebook Keyboard Detail" Cedar Park, 2016
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/3.6, 1/125 sec, ISO5000
 “Chromebook Keyboard Detail” Cedar Park, 2016

I’ve been using my Acer Chromebook 11 for over a month now, and I continue to use it every day… I love it! One of the things that is so great about it is that there is no fan needed to cool down the processor. That means it runs silently, and since no vents are needed for airflow, I don’t have to worry about blocking them like I do with my Windows laptop. That means I can use it while lying down on the carpet, which happens to be my preferred position to write my evening blog posts.

But not having to worry about venting also means I can put it in sleep mode and throw it into my bag immediately. I just close the Chromebook and put it in the bag. With my work Windows laptop, I wait until it fully sleeps and the fan shuts off before I feel comfortable putting it into my bag. (I have a fear of it not going to sleep, then overheating in the bag, and exploding 😮)

The fanless design is one of several nice features that makes the Chromebook a great solution for my needs.

Wednesday

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Cedar Park, 2016
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/2.5, 1/60 sec, ISO2000
 Cedar Park, 2016

こんばんは！ Hello, how are you?

Today’s photo is of my son, Bay, showing me how emojis are shown on different devices and their OS’s. It’s interesting that there can be so many different styles. In my work, I sometimes have to create icons and symbols, so looking at all the different emoji sets is interesting professionally. I can imagine the designers working through each icon… it’s a lot of work, but fun! FYI, both Bay and I agreed that the Google version of the emojis was our favorite.

In other news, we are preparing to move offices this week by packing up our things. This weekend, the moving company will move all the boxes to the new building and we’ll start there on Monday. It’s very exciting! For the past 10+ years I have been going to work at the same location so this will be a huge change! The photo below is of the cube that is opposite where I sit. It’s been empty for a few months because my colleague found another job at a different company. But, as people clean up their things, the cubes are all going to look like this one.

Austin, 2016
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/5.6, 1/40 sec, ISO3200
 Austin, 2016

Take care, and good night! おやすみなさい！

– B Barron Fujimoto

A-Z Challenge – U

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U stands for “Upgrading”

We are constantly urged by ads and marketing to upgrade everything we have. For instance, phones, software, cars, gadgets, etc. In photography, we’re presented with new cameras and technology every year. The camera you just bought will be “obsolete” as soon as next year’s model comes out. There’s more and more megapixels, better high ISO sensitivity, faster AF… the list goes on and on!

When I bought my Fujifilm X100T last year, it made me realize that I didn’t have to upgrade my camera gear to improve my photography, or more importantly, get more enjoyment out of my hobby. I became more aware of the concept of “good enough” and the “satisficers” vs “maximizers” and found myself falling into the camp of the satisficers. This camera had less megapixels than my dslr, didn’t have as high a burst mode, and the video quality was worse. But it was definitely good enough, and the advantages of small size, low weight, simpler controls made it a far more enjoyable experience for me. “Good enough” actually brought me more joy than “maximizing”.

So, now I ask myself… why must I upgrade to the latest and greatest? Phones for instance… I find a low to mid-range smartphone good enough for me. I don’t have the urge to upgrade. Also, I use Adobe Lightroom every day, but I decided not to upgrade to the latest “Cloud” version… for me, version 5 was good enough. If I had the CC version, it would probably force me to upgrade my computer to keep up with the more powerful features that are regularly added. I don’t want to get forced into this cycle of upgrading!

It used to be a huge temptation for me to keep upgrading my things. But these days, I find happiness in settling for the “good enough” items, and I do not spend cycles worrying or researching to make sure I am at the cutting edge. For me, it’s a more satisfying way to live, and I can spend my energies elsewhere.