San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge

If you live in the San Francisco-Oakland area, the news isn't without daily coverage of the Bay Bridge!  Of course that's before this morning's Apple iPhone 5S/C event so stay tuned here for the final post event update.  But I digress.  I have yet to see the new Bay Bridge or drive through it but if you want to check out the amazing feat, watch the beautiful time-lapse below compressing 42,000 hours into just 4 minutes! http://youtu.be/GDUIYZKlknk

Of course the biggest news is the fact that for the first time in history, pedestrians and cyclists will have access to the SFO-OAK Bay Bridge's new East Span.  Once the entire bridge is completed, it will provide a 2.2 mile stretch between Oakland and Yerba Buena Island.  For safety sake, all you cycling speed demons will be limited to 15 mph and will be heavily patrolled by the police.

Here's are some beautiful shots by San Jose Mercury News Gaming Editor Gieson Cacho.

Olympus' New Flagship

I love the Micro 4/3 platform but more importantly, the fact that my wife can easily handle the camera makes for a HUGE plus.  I've also thoroughly enjoyed using my Olympus OM-D E-M5 for the past year.  With that in mind, Olympus just unleashed their second OM-D body raising the bar yet again.

Continuing with the confusing naming scheme, the OM-D E-M1 is debuting along two amazing M.ZUIKO Digital ED "Pro" lenses both with constant f2.8 maximum aperture.  Upgrades include the newly redesigned 16.3-megapixel micro four thirds sensor utilizing the latest TruPic VII image processing engine which allows for FAST (Frequency Acceleration Sensor Technology) Autofocusing.  (sorry for that long sentence)

The technology is getting good enough that inexpensive DSLRs no longer really make sense. Once upon a time, "real" photographers would have cringed at the thought of using an electronic viewfinder, but that's just not the case any more.

via Gizmodo

update: Steve Huff just posted his first impressions.  Definitely a great read!

Playstation Vita TV

The fact that this box alone will do remote play for PS4, that's pretty awesome! Never mind that it can play Playstation Vita games (I don't own any) but I can see it spawning more sales! It's going to give Apple TV a run for its money if it allows streaming from iOS too. Hopefully we'll know more soon. http://youtu.be/rG5l78gbvpU

Oh hey, and if you've been thinking about buying a Playstation Vita, they're getting rid of the OLED screen in favor of LCD. Its also 20% thinner, 15% lighter plus they squeezed out an additional hour of battery life! Among other requests, you can also built in 1 GB memory and a micro USB charger. Maybe I'll be Vita-ing soon.

An Awesome Belt by Gustin

I remember Gustin from their Kickstarter days and boy have they taken off! Who would have thought crowd-sourced / funded clothing would be this awesome?! And to have it delivered to you wholesale??? I'm at a loss. With an emphasis on fit, fabric and finish... I can't stop admiring such a great company. They have yet another 'Classic Belt' round up for funding. Ever wonder how belt was crafted? If you need a belt, want a new one or want to simply own something of magnificence, support this bad ass accessory! If you're in doubts about buying this amazing classic belt from Gustin, check out the video below!

Only if the artist who handcrafted my belt could sign it. Hmmm.... guys?

I'm not going to mass email you guys but check out the referral email below! Get $20 off your first order. Hey!

Have you checked out Gustin yet? They are the first fully crowdsourced premium menswear company. That means you get to decide what they produce and get it all at true wholesale prices!

If you create an account using my referral link you get $20 off your first purchase!

https://www.weargustin.com/invite_from/1356

Thanks!

I already own two of their amazing pairs of jeans. I'll be slowly replacing all my other pairs shortly. Maybe a road trip in the books!

Extra Gum and Origami

Seriously one of the best commercials ever! http://youtu.be/dxZu-6jewL4

Why didn't Everyone Adapt Lightning?

If you thought the more durable, reversible, minimal size but extra cost Apple Lightning Connector was to swallow or adapt to, check out the new definition of ugly and awkward.  Yea it's backwards compatible and can draw up to 900 milliamps, but this micro USB isn't pretty.  Mind that you also don't plug it in wrong or you might damage the entire port.  You can take one home soon when purchasing Samsung's latest Galaxy Note 3. /s

via Android Beat

University of California San Diego at the Top

If you didn't know this by now, I recommend that you take a look at the rankings for Colleges / National Universities specifically Washington Monthly's ranking system. It takes into consideration various attributes that include social mobility, research and service instead of the exclusivity, campus amenities and waiting lists.  Coincidently, the Obama Administration is proposing a new ranking system on just that.

...he says schools should be scored on things like the cost of tuition, loan debt and how much graduates end up earning.

For more in-depth, you should read or listen to NPR's Michel Martin insightful interview with editor-in-chief Paul Glastris.  As some of you who are reading this, take this list into consideration as you or your child begins the application process or looking this fall.

My wife and I are proud alums of the number one school. Chalk one up for yet another top ten San Diego! Maybe it time for that tatoo of Geisel Library? Stay classy!

Here's an excerpt:

MARTIN: But the University of California at San Diego ranks number one. Now why is that?

GLASTRIS: That's the fourth year in a row for that school. They do an outstanding job on all three of our metrics. A large portion of their student body is on Pell Grants. They graduate those students at higher-than-expected rates. They do great on service and they're a research powerhouse. In fact, there's a - about half the top 15 schools are University of California schools.

via Washington Monthly

One Big Chair

My wife and I headed out to Balboa Park for Free Tuesdays and went to the Reuben H. Fleet Science Center. Norah had a lot of fun playing around and meeting other kids. It's definitely a great family trip. Next Tuesday, the Museum of Photographic Arts (MOPA) is going to be free so you can expect us to take advantage of that! Oh yea, football is back in a big way especially after Peyton's performance last night. Our Chargers' secondary better be ready! Norah's sure ready for for Rivers' to throw some TDs!

Amazon Kindle Paperwhite Version 2

Looks like Amazon's own leak led to the early unveiling of the next generation Paperwhite.  Being dubbed as version 2, Amazon's best e-reader & in my opinion, the best way to consume ebooks is out for preorder today!  Click on the picture or use my link below to get yours shipped on or by September 30th! Here's the quick run down:

• higher contrast
• next generation built-in light
• 25% faster processor
• 19% tighter touch grid enhancing accuracy

Is it worth the upgrade?  I'll be honest that these features alone won't cause me to sell my version 1 on craigslist just yet but if the light is indeed that much better, you can count on it!

Amazon Paperwhite (next gen)

Ramen Again

I went to Underbelly for my ramen fix three times within a seven-day span.  My wife called me obsessed yet I brought take out every single time for her.  =)  Some people on Yelp ridicule the broth for taste and / or variety (they only have one) and their choice of meats.  Plain and simple, I enjoy it for what it is.  It's ramen conceived with the chefs' persona and he made it his own.  That is all.  Enjoy it for what it is not for something you were thinking it would be.  Norah sure did!

Not Enough Freedom in Your Thrust

It's Monday and it's Labor Day so I decided to celebrate the Monday's with a random video.  My good friend Jeremiah shared this with me a week back and it's been entertaining!  It's actually a great YouTube series.  I found it outrageous and over the top, but if laughs is what you need, especially if you're working on this Labor Day, I'm sure that this will do it!  What are your thoughts?

Watermarking

I haven't solved my post processing / editing workflow problem yet and keep on delaying.  I've come up with reasons such as, I don't have my new MacBook Pro Retina Display w/ Haswell yet or I don't have my new iMac setup or my home cloud server isn't setup the way I want it, but nonetheless, I'm falling way behind.  Yesterday when I posted a couple of images, I thought about watermarking.  I know that you can use either Adobe's Lightroom or Apple's Aperture photo editing software, but because I don't have a computer to install these applications on (another excuse), I was left to find something minimal.  And I'm glad that I did. I stumbled up Photobulk by Eltima Software.  They are having a 20% off sale right now on the Mac App Store or you can download a free demo from their website.  Takes seconds and the results were as expected.  The biggest draw to me was that it was drag and drop.  You can even set multiple presets and bulk edit your pictures.  At the sale price of $7.99, it's a no brainer.  And no, I was not paid to post this article.

http://youtu.be/uZnZnyo8qbg

My Olympus OM-D E-M5

Let me start off first with saying that I love my Olympus OM-D E-M5.  My wife wasn't sold on full frame cameras such as the Canon 5D Mark III or Nikon due to the sheer size and weight so we ventured in the next best thing; Micro Four Thirds.  The Sony NEX-7 was heavily delayed and hadn't arrived yet but it's little brother, the NEX-5N was just released.  As enticing as it was, I just didn't "love" either camera nor did I care for the operating system.  With a modest budget and a baby looming, I needed a camera and lens that I could quickly acquire and learn.  One major hurdle was that the camera needed to have an autofocus hence eliminating the coveted Leica M9, and the available glass ecosystem had to be great.  At the time, the Olympus OM-D E-M5 was proved to be the answer.  I paired it with the Panasonic/Leica 25 1.4 Summilux and haven't taken it off since.  Here are a few pictures that my wife and I took at the San Diego Safari Zoo the day of our daughter's first birthday.

Since then, Olympus has released two amazing micro four-thirds cameras. The E-P5 and the E-PL5 with the former being the Pen series flagship. Highly capable and pocketable depending on which lens you attach, they both make for a very portable and pleasurable experience. They have also become my recommendations to my peers that are looking to get into photography. It's a perfect starting point especially for those that want something smaller and don't want to lug around the bulk of the full frame cameras and lens combo.

Steve Huff posted an amazing and thorough review of the OM-D E-M5 which I highly recommend you check out.  He also recently reviewed the amazing Panasonic 20 1.7 II lens while equipped on the E-P5 (pictured above).  I guarantee, if you're getting into photography, his website is amazing start!  I can't begin to tell you how much I've learned from him.  Of course, I couldn't have even thought of Steve Huff as a reference without the guidance of Mr. Range Traveler himself, Gage Caudell.