Kungfu and Race Cars

•January 7, 2010 • 4 Comments


Happy late New Year everyone! It has been a while since I last wrote a blog post. I have been going through a decent amount of stuff. Some of you know that my grandma had a stroke almost a month ago and I have been trying to hold down the house and see my grandma. But she seems to be recovering well all things considered. So thank you for all of your prayers!

The title Kung Fu and Race Cars kind of tells the topic of this blog. I recently purchased a movie called “Thunderbolt”. This is a Jackie Chan film that was released in 1995 and is one of my favorite movies. I had recorded this movie on VHS a long long time ago and used to love watching it all the time. Well once I switched to DVDs and now Bluray 🙂 this movie had long been lost in the pile of decaying VHS tapes. 😛

The cool thing is that I was browsing Best Buy after the holidays I found another classic Jackie Chan movie that I also loved. Rumble in the Bronx. Best Buy was offering the movie for $3 on DVD, so needless to say I bought it. Well this movie reminded me of this other film Thunderbolt. I found it on Amazon for around $6 on DVD. No bluray, but your player can upconvert it.

Well anyways Thunderbolt is a movie about a guy that works for a tow truck company in Hong Kong. He also helps the police force in Hong Kong with detecting illegally modified cars for street racing. As Jackie is helping the police force one day in capturing a fugitive, he ends up bargaining for more than what he was hoping for. This movie has nice car chase scenes and pretty cool martial arts stunts. I read somewhere on the internet that this film is considered one of the most expensive movies ever in HK. Anyways I really wanted to write a quick post about this movie because it has been such a long time favorite of mine. Hope you check it out! Until next time!

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Time Is Money

•December 22, 2009 • Leave a Comment

So I am not in Hong Kong anymore, but I am planning on going back again this summer! Well since I am planning on getting back to Hong Kong this summer I am more ahead of the game this year. One example is last year when I arrived at the Hong Kong International Airport I was kind of at a lost of what to do next! lol My friend had forgot to tell me that he could not meet with me because of a business meeting he had. Anyways I had to give him a call and figure out which bus ticket to buy. Thankfully since Hong Kong was a British colony a lot of the signs are written in both English and Traditional Chinese. Anyways this picture of the watch is an Octopus Watch. This watch has a little chip inside of it that allows me to store a monetary credit on it. This can be used on any transportation in Hong Kong, except cabs. So if your traveling the MTR, the Star Ferry, or a bus you will have no problem using an Octopus watch.

The Octopus watch is not the only way to pay for your transportation fee, the most common way is by an Octopus Card. The Octopus card or Octocard works the same way as my wristwatch. I only purchased an Octopus watch because I wanted a watch and I liked the idea of anyways having some money on me that was not in the form of cash. One of the best things about the transportation in Hong Kong is that it is very cheap! I love traveling on the MTR because I could travel almost anywhere in Hong Kong by the MTR. I stayed in the New Territories which are further away from Hong Kong Island. So I would often on the weekends travel down to HK Island. So next time you travel to Hong Kong you might want to check out buying an Octopus watch, especially if you plan on going back regularly or live there. Luckily I still have some credit on my watch so I can easily get on the bus without worrying about buying a bus ticket next time I’m in Hong Kong.

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Bye Bye iPhone Part 2

•December 15, 2009 • 5 Comments

All Rights Reserved by Google December 15, 2009 So this post arrived a little later than I was hoping. This is the second segment of a three part series discussing my decision to drop my iPhone. Today I am going to discuss some of the positive features that I am enjoying with my new T-Mobile G1.

Feature 1- I unlocked it without having to jailbreak it. I simply called T-Mobile and within 24 hours they emailed me an unlock code. The G1 is a quad-band phone so I can use it with any GSM carrier in the world.

Feature 2: The phone supports microSD cards so I can add bigger storage as they become cheaply available. Found a 16 gigabyte microSD card for $40 on newegg! So now I have all of my music, podcasts, videos and pictures on my phone.

Feature 3- a 3.2 megapixel camera with autofocus. Now keep in mind I was switching over from an iPhone 3G, which has a 2 megapixel camera with no autofocus.

Feature 4- I can install apps easily that are not in the Google Market store.

Feature 5- The battery life is definitely worst than the iPhone, but at least I can remove the battery and swap it out. I found another battery for around $15 dollars on Amazon. This gives me more than a full days worth of heavy usage.

Feature 6- I can sync my phone with any operating system. Even though I mostly sync my G1 with iTunes on my Macintosh, at least I have the option.

This are the main features that I really enjoy with my new G1. Now with all things there are the pros and cons. In my next blog post I will discuss some of the negative features about the T-Mobile G1 (aka HTC Dream).

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Bye Bye iPhone 3G

•December 11, 2009 • 5 Comments

Yes you read this title correctly! I have successfully ditched my iPhone 3G. Apple has shown me just how important open software really is. This is why I switched to the HTC Dream (aka T-Mobile G1). Well first off your probably thinking I am crazy for switching from an Apple iPhone. While the Android Market is still lacking in variety I feel as though there is a lot of promise. Allow me to point out some reasons why I switched from the iPhone 3G.

Reason 1: The iPhone is locked to AT&T. Now remember I jailbroke my iPhone 3G and was using the recent update by geohot. The iPhone 3G runs great on T-Mobile. So why would I be complaining about it being locked? Well I have never seen a GSM mobile phone that you could not obtain an unlocked code for and use it on any other GSM carrier (provided it was a tri-band or quad-band phone). I feel as though since I bought the phone I should be able to do with it as I please. It is my property, not AT&T’s or Apple’s iPhone. I have jailbroken iPod Touches in the past so I knew what I was up against, but it really just pisses me off at how Apple tries to prevent people from jailbreaking and unlocking. It really is just becoming a pain. AT&T and Apple say thats just how it is, well I have been to countries to offer the iPhone 3G and 3GS completely unlocked and you can use them on any GSM carrier in the world. So nice try AT&T and Apple. (Hong Kong is one of them)

Reason 2: Apple controls the App Store like a full fledge dictatorship. Why is this important? Well one example would be the fact that Apple will not allow Adobe to release their Flash player for the iPhone. They have a working program, but Apple will not approve it. While Adobe Flash is releasing their software across multiple smart phones in the first half of 2010. The point is there is no open development with the Apple SDK. A developer can spend hundreds or thousands of dollars and succesfully develop an app ready for release, but Apple could still choose not to allow it to have access to the App Store. Ultimately I think that the open development in the Android Market will surpass the iTunes App Store.

Reason 3: The last and most important reason I left the iPhone is merely a political statement. I recently have been more and more supportive of open source software. Even though the Android operating system is not completely open source, most of it is. All of the Google apps are of course closed source. I am also hoping that others will make this stand against Apple. We need to send Apple a message so maybe they will reconsider their agenda and the rights that we have as consumers.

Well tomorrow I will do another post that will list all of the positives with the T-Mobile G1 and the Android OS.

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Word of God Speak

•December 4, 2009 • 1 Comment

The Bible seems to be one of the most controversial books ever written throughout mankind’s history. Why is a book that focuses on loving your neighbor, giving to those in need, or other noble ideas cause such fear in the hearts of men? I believe it is because the Word of God actually speaks God’s heart to man. Man will never appreciate God’s truth because we have been brought into sin by our earthly parents Adam and Eve, who broke the covenant between God and themselves. It may have not been our faults, but we were brought under this covenant.So this means we cannot ever come to Christ alone, we need to have Him step in and grab us by our hearts. This is the only thing that separates us from the world.

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Sony Ericsson Satio

•November 6, 2009 • 3 Comments

SatioAs some of you know I have been interested in mobile phones lately. From the iPhone to the MyTouch 3G (HTC Magic) and now we have a phone of interest from Sony Ericsson. It was announced a month or so ago and is based on the latest Symbian platform. I love the Symbian OS and find it remarkably stable. Anyways the Sony Ericsson Satio sparked my interest because it has a 12 megapixel camera! Being a photographer this really makes me want to ditch my Canon Powershot and switch to something like this. The power to shoot high quality pictures from one device. Also Sony has a great media player interface. They have been in the game for a while with their walkman software. I have used Sony Ericsson phones before and have really liked them. The only problem with this phone is that the phone has not yet been released to North America. I believe Europe is only place that has the Satio right now. Hurry up Sony! I think this might be a great product!

P.S. If you would like to check out more about the Satio check outhttp://www.sonyericsson.com/cws/cws/home?cc=gb&lc=en

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The ATV Lives On!

•October 31, 2009 • Leave a Comment

ATVThe Apple TV has been one of my favorite devices for a while now. Even though the fact that it doesn’t support a variety of video formats does bother me. Anyways lately it would seem Apple is paying less attention to their little hobby and I was quite worried that Apple would discontinue the product. Well today Apple proved me wrong today. Thankfully they released a brand new long awaited update. Apple tv was updated to 3.0 today, I’m not sure if the update was released today or earlier this week. It would seem that Apple is not yet finished with the Apple TV.
This update actually really enhanced the interface of the Apple TV. I was really impressed with the UI and I believe they have made the interface a little more user friendly. Maybe it even fixed some of the reliabilty issues I was having with the ATV connecting to the iTunes store. I have noticed it seems more consistant. Anyways I thought I would pass the news along! So if you have an ATV I recommend updating it! Well anyways enjoy!

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Four Ways To Survive A Horror Movie

•October 26, 2009 • 1 Comment

Have you ever noticed that people just seem dumb in horror movies? No matter what is going on, the victims judgment seems to be impaired and the killer always ends up mutilating them. Well this youtube short was inspired by those people. This is a short film about four ways on surviving a horror movie. I owe it all to my friends who helped me. Without them I would of had no one to act! Them I would of had to do some kind of Eddie Murphy shot and superimpose myself in all the scenes. lol! Anyways we had a great time shooting this video and it was a learning curve for me in shooting a movie and then editing it. I’ve done productions and plays before but never my own short video. But anyways I hope you all enjoy it!

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Undeserved Humility

•October 11, 2009 • Leave a Comment

Even though this semester in college has been very difficult, I have been learning a lot. Subjects like humanities, American history, Chinese, New Testament survey and theology have really made this semester one of the most intriguing semesters I have had so far in college. I just hope I can finish this semester with flying colors! Anyways this concept came to me sitting in my Theology 101 (Christian theology) class a couple of weeks ago. I have been thinking and exploring on this since that class. I know this will be a rather long article, but please bear with it, I am praying that you will not regret reading this.

I think that everyone that has read the Bible or maybe those who have not read the Bible probably could at least say that the overall message of God’s Word is how He redeems us (His creation). Well lets analyze this for a moment. The Bible teaches us that God is all knowing, He knows what is going to happen, even before it happens. Why? Because He created everything and He is omniscient. So what does this really mean if God is all knowing?

If God is really all knowing, then He knew way before we were created that we would rebel against Him. God knew that once Adam and Eve were placed on this planet, they would eventually turn from the path He placed them on. Not only would Adam and Eve turn their backs on God, but the rest of mankind there after. But God still chose to put all of us on this planet, even though He knew we would all sin against Him. Wow! That in itself is pretty breathtaking.

Well lets go into some more depth about God. Maybe these are some concepts you haven’t gone over in your regular church service. They may not even be concepts that you have ever thought about. What are some quality traits of God? Love is not just the only answer! I hear so many people say “well God is love”. He is so much more! In fact, just merely placing a label on God is limiting God. The Creator of the universe cannot be described by earthly terms, because to do so is to define Him by earthly means! That in itself is kind of subjecting God to a lower level than that of which He should be exalted to! Whatever term you describe God as, whether it be; love, all knowing, Almighty, King of Kings, Lord of Lords, even Yahweh is not enough. Haven’t you ever wondered why God is known by so many names in the Bible? It’s because we cannot limit Him to just one term! Even the pastor/ instructor of our class made a comment along with our discussion that whatever concept we have of God is so limited, that when we see God face to face in heaven, it will blow our minds.

So we have mentioned how God created us, even though He already knew His creation would turn against Him. We have also mentioned how God is somewhat limited by our standards, because we cannot even describe him adequately. There are two other points I would like to make before I conclude this article. Why does the Bible teach us that God is a jealous God? If you have not read any books from Piper, I truly recommend his writings to you. First of all, we may think of jealousy as a bad thing. Well I would have to say your wrong! By our earthly ways of understanding jealousy, it is wrong. But remember since we are coming from the Bible, God is perfect in every way possible. There is NOTHING He can do that would be considered sinful. So lets try and think of a God that is so perfect and Almighty that jealousy actually becomes a virtue instead of a dysfunctional character trait. Here is a God that is so perfect, so powerful, so wise, that He actually gets jealous. Why does God get jealous? Well God is so amazing that He wants us to enjoy Himself. Our primary mission in life is to bask in the Glory of the Almighty. He is jealous because He is so good, that He wants us to focus on Him, instead of anything else. He is jealous because He loves us so much and He wants us to dwell upon the very best. The very best being GOD Himself! He is not being jealous for any sort of gain on His part, but He is jealous because He wants His creation to have the very best in life before, during and after.

If you knew the secret to obtain eternal happiness and had the chance to share it with anyone you knew, would you do that? I sure would hope so. You would tell all of your family and friends, because you love them! This is the same for God. What kind of father would give his son a serpent after his son asked for bread? God Almighty is our father and has our best interest at heart, no matter what hardships we have experienced. God is so amazing that there are angels surrounding Him with their eyes closed and ever so often they open their eyes slightly. This is happening for all eternity and the angels have to cry out God’s glory every time they see another glimpse of Him. This is definitely overwhelming for our finite minds.

The final paragraph I would like to talk about before I close this article is about how God has to communicate with us. God being so much Higher than any of us has to daily lower Himself to even speak with us! Even words are insulting to God. He is so much higher than us that even the way we speak is somewhat demeaning of Him. I heard a friend put it this way. God often was to speak to us in baby talk. This really hit me. Every single thing that God has to do with us is requiring God to sacrifice Himself to us daily, even by the minute. Think about it. Our limited vocabulary and means of talking to Him are so much lower than God is. Every one of our actions are the filthiest of rags compared to just one-fourth of God’s Being. But you know what, He still chooses to speak to us every day, whenever we are willing to hear Him. He still chooses to bless us whenever He wants to. God still chooses to love us (every one of us) every second of our existence. From the beginning to the end.

So lets dive in a little deeper here. Why would God ever want to deal with something as low as mankind. God is so good that He Himself could delight in Himself for all eternity. By the way, this is not prideful. What if we served a God who could not admire Himself for His purity, for His goodness, for every character trait He holds? Well that would not seem to be a very powerful God. If God cannot delight in Himself, then what kind of God would He be? Anyways back on subject, we serve the Highest Being ever! We as humans are just one step higher than the animals. Why would God ever want to even deal with such lowly creatures? Creatures that turn their backs on such a Holy God. It is because He loves us! This to me doesn’t even make any sense. Such unconditional love is unimaginable. He paid the price for us by sending His Son to die for us on the cross. This pays the debt we owe God for rebelling against Him. We cannot ever pay this debt, we are too impure and unholy to even try and attempt to pay off our debt to Christ. But doesn’t this just speak leaps and bounds about the God we serve? Wow, so I am sorry that this blog entry was so long, but this is just something that God laid upon my heart to share. It is something that He has been revealing to me. I am praying that this will speak even more to you and that God will expound upon this concept to you many times over! Thanks for reading and God bless.

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My So Far Favorite iPhone Apps!

•October 9, 2009 • 1 Comment

I do not believe I have officially announced this on my blog, I know I have mentioned it on Twitter. As of umm I think it was last month I sold my iPod Touch and used the money I received for that to purchase an iPhone 3G! I wanted to purchase it used so I did not have to sign my soul over to AT&T for two years. Anyways I unlocked my iPhone 3G and I am now using it with T-Mobile. I probably will do a blog entry on that in the future. Anyways I have been testing and exploring different applications for the iPhone! Here are some of my favorite apps that I found.

Mint.com- This is probably one of the most used apps on my iPhone. Mint.com is a web-based way to manage all of your financial accounts from one place. Credit cards, saving accounts, checking accounts, loans, whatever you have, you can monitor it from this one application. Mint even added some security to the app, requiring you enter in a pin to access your records. Of course this is after you enter in your email and password. This app is FREE.

iheartradio- I absolutely love this application! This is a way to stream thousands of radio stations from around the US straight from your iPhone. If I was a customer with AT&T I could even use this application over HSDP. I currently have to use WIFI. Every weekend I am able to turn in to KFI AM 640 located in California. This app is also FREE.

Skype- as most of you probably know, Skype is an excellent way of making cheap IP phone calls. This is really the reason I sold my iPod Touch and bought the iPhone. I travel overseas for missions work almost every summer and this is an excellent way to make cheap phone calls back to the States wherever I have access to WIFI. I can even purchase a Skype-In number, which means I can choose a local number and my family or friends can call me on this local number and not get charged for international phone calls.This app is FREE but to call phone lines or the SkypeIn feature etc does require you to purchase these features.

Qingwen- is a Chinese dictionary! Most of you that know me, know I am minoring in Mandarin Chinese. This application is truly worth buying! If I have a Chinese character and I have no idea how to pronounce it or the pinyin for it, I can write the character using my finger and the dictionary will look up the word! I saw dictionaries in China and Hong Kong that had this feature over the summer, but this saved me literally almost $300 USD and I can carry it around with me anywhere. The single purpose electronic dictionaries I saw in Hong Kong were $200+ USD. As I mentioned before, this app is not free. But if you are serious about your Chinese, it is worth the price. This app is $4.99.

Rolando- is a game for the iPhone! It kind of reminds me of Katamari and I am a huge fan of Katamari. By the way, I am not a big fan of games on the iPhone, but I have had fun wasting a few moments waiting in line or waiting in the doctor’s office with this game. The object is to move your iPhone around to roll these creatures to safety. This game is $2.99, but they do have a lite version to try the demo. Which is FREE

Ocarina- is a really ingenious app! It is very simple, but it is a great app to show off your iPhone to your friends. This particular app turns your iPhone into an ocarina! Simple blow into the mic receiver and tap the buttons on the screen. It is kind of fun, but it’s definitely something you probably will not play with much. It is only $0.99 cent.

CBC Radio- is of course programming from the CBC in Canada. I just found it last night and I am absolutely loving it. Oh and for those of you who are do not know what the CBC is, it is pretty much like NPR but for Canada. You can choose between what city or province in Canada and listen to their local programming. I am a big fan of NPR, but I also love listening to the CBC programming (it’s kind of funny, because I consider myself a Conservative and I love NPR).

Well these are some of the apps that I have found that I am loving with my iPhone. If you have any suggestions or recommendations please leave a comment! I am looking forward to hearing some recommendations! Thanks for reading.

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