Of all the things that stressed me out Friday like: whether I'd make the train, if the weather was cold? should I bring a jacket? Will I make my work deadline? I come to realize. All in a few seconds a brother, a sister, daughter, fathers, and mothers lives are taken. I feel small, petty, my worries are minuscule. Life can change in a matter of seconds. It's saddening to imagine if this were, my brothers, my father, mother or sister I would be devastated. All this evil in the world make no sense. My heart is heavy for those that are affected. I pray for Paris.
Eyes In The Sky
Here are some photos I took while Unboxing the Phantom 3. All you haters out there, I'm about to have a bird eye view of you. (joke) I'm sure you've seen plenty floating around the web, but these are specially taken by me for you. So enjoy them.
I posted a short video taken from the Phantom a few days ago. Its two post down check it out. I'm so stoked to own this drone, and can't wait to fly it more. I'd have to boldly say though, but the 4k footage taken from the Phantom 3 Professional is superior over the Hero 4k. Yes, I own both. There is a crispy difference right off the card pre-editing. No, I haven't done any scientific testing yet, and this is purely a human eye test, but that's probably as scientific as most consumers would go. So step it up GoPro. If I'm wrong can someone prove me wrong?
Snakehips - All My Friends
In Drakes song "Show me a good time" he says:
"I live for the nights that I can’t remember
With the people that I won’t forget"
In this song Chance says:
"The nights we won't remember
Are the nights we won't remember"
Both artist touch on strong points of friendships. There are those out there we will not forget, and totally okay with spending a night you we can't even remember. We've all had those night. Enjoy
Droning Around
So I learned to fly today.
What I mean, is I bought a DJI Phantom 3 Professional. Thought I'd get into drone filming, it'll definitely add dynamic shots to my videos. Not that I'm a professional or anything, but new angles to add to my boring ass GoPro shots, is a plus. I'm still super nervous at flying this thing, and currently only comfortable with taking selfies, because it only requires me to go straight up, then back down. I'm too much of a wimp to push it hard. Don't be fooled by the shitty sweeping shots in the edit above. I freaked out trying to pilot the phantom even to do that. Give me a few weeks though, I'm determined to master this thing.
Enjoy the short edit for Instagram.
Dell Book Pro
I'm making the transition back to frightening world of PC's. Sorry Apple, I'll miss iMessage and your beautiful interface. No, you haven't lost a fan boy, I've tried to make iOS and Bootcamp work for me, but I don't think it's going to happen. I use Rhino and it's PC plug-in's too often to not switch. I'm happy to report, in the place of the awesome Macbook Pro, I've gotten my hands on one of these Dell M3800. It looks just like a Macbook, I'll call it my Dellbook Pro.
Mars Like
Last weekend Colin, Anna and I drove down South to see my buddy David. I needed to grab my groomsmen suit for his wedding, so I thought, why not squeeze in a short hike in the desert and ATV'ing at the dunes while we're down there. I haven't gotten around to editing photos at the dunes, but enjoy the ones taken in the desert. The moon came out to play.
33.7884° N, 115.8982° W
California Desert (ig edit)
Enjoy this 15 second teaser I cut for Instagram . I'm working on a full edit, and will be heading to Portland to see fam and sister's kids for Halloween. So will be done with the video next week.
Yeezy Taught Me
I've tried hard enough to get a hold of some Kanye's each time Nike or Adidas drops a pair. I want them so badly that I've considering buying from a reseller at a ridiculous price. I haven't done it yet, but I'll let you know when I do. For now I picked up some NIKEID Roshe's in the Yeezy dark color-way. Check them out, they're my poor man's yeezy no. 2, first ones are these Adidas.
Daryl Hall & Chromeo I Can't Go For That
Hunter S Thompson
I'm constantly reminded by the Will Smith interview with Charlie Rose. The one where he tells the story about building a wall for his father, brick by brick for a year and a half. When Will and his brother finishes, his father stand them back and says "Dont ya'll never tell me, that you can't do something." Then walks into the shop.
I don't know about you but I rather lay a brick at a time, day by day, than procrastinate and build nothing at all. A little food for thought.
Watch the video here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jwxlYMmQu9Q
An Inquiry Into Values
So I have started reading Pirsig's book, Zen & The Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. From what I understand, it's not about motorcycle maintenance. So if you are looking to fix your motor-bike, do not buy this book. It's about the values and principles the protagonist brings up through his trips and maintenance. If you have read this book, let me know what your thoughts are. I'll share my thoughts when I'm finished.
I'm now 17 pages in and I'm having a random train of thought. Take it however you like, I wrote this note immediately after exiting Cal-Train. Here is the copy & paste from my notes:
"We think about the things we have in common w/others all the time. Whether friends or lovers, we bond because we can relate: "He loves art like me," or "She enjoys music just as much as I do." This is the substance that makes us friends, enemies & lovers. Thinking deeper. What we have in common can also be in conflict. You and I both love design, but we appreciate different design practices; we love music, but like different genres. To think about it in this way, there is much more depth to life. We rationalize for love, and when we don't love anymore, we rationalize to not love. It's all a state of mind."
Activate Halloween Mode
Ricoh Theta
One of the perks of being an industrial designer is you get to play with cool new technology, this way you keep up with whats trending, and to call the gimmicky ones. My initial impression of the Ricoh Theta 360 camera was meh... but, this is before I spent a week with it.
The camera fits nicely in the hand, its about as thin and tall as the Iphone 5. I love the chirp noise it makes when you snap a photo. It comes in White, Yellow, Cyan & Magenta. I wished I got the white one, but who's to complain with free. You can shoot both photos and videos with it. Videos record up to three 3 minutes so plan your shots accordingly. It has 4gig of internal memory, and there is no external expansion slot. Luckily you can download the footage via the THETA app. Photos only not video. For videos you'll have to connect to a PC. When you run out of space on the Theta just download footage onto your phone. Unless your phone is full too.
Im really excited that this camera does a great job at portraying how epic and vast a place really is. We've all taken photos of places so amazing & grand, but our photos doesn't do it justice. How many times have you said "Its way more impressive in real life?" Well I think Ricoh Theta is onto something. Enjoy the photos I've taken with it.
I'm hoping to get some awesome photos of the Golden Gate Bridge this weekend. But check out these test photos for now. Click and hold to pan around on the photo.
#yungbent #hoang test - Spherical Image - RICOH THETA
Gallant - Weight In Gold (Louis Futon Mix)
Gallant is a musician out of Los Angeles, California. Listen to his music via Soundcloud.
I know this song is about a relationship coming to an end. About the artist pulling his own weight in gold. Its universally appealing because we all can relate to having to hold our own weight in a relationship, partnership or organization. But beyond fulfilling our own expectations, sometimes we carry other peoples load as well. Cheers to those who elevate others and stay positive.
Enjoy the song.
HIGHWAY 101 FINALE
It is now 2 in the morning and the moment you've been waiting for. I spent the weekend sorting through 90 gig of footage, 2 Micheladas, 6 beers and 5 milk teas. I'm excited to present to you the final cut of my "Highway 101 Adventures." I'm also excited because this marks the completion of my vacation post Matter and a beginning to Playground. I start 10AM sharp. Good Night.
Please share and enjoy. Leave a comment below if you're curious about the places I visit.
Tow Kio Shawn - I Know You
I'm just gonna leave this here. I really, really love the beat to this track.
SOMEWHERE @ "AVENUE OF THE GIANTS"
As I've said before, I will come back to see these massive trees during the day. Here I'm cruising down the "Avenue of the Giants" but which of the 8 stops am I at? Search the coordinates to find out 40.2664° N, 123.8703° W.
Highway 101 Adventures (cont.)
I'm happy to report that I'm back from Portland. Alive and well. The drive up & down the 101 was grand. I recommend it to anyone. To be honest I prefer the 101 vs I5 North.
During college my brother and I often drove home for the holidays. We mainly took I-5 North because it's the quickest route home. Looking back I wish we considered alternate routes like the 101 or the 1. We had so much free time then, than we have now. I regret not taking full advantage of luxury school breaks provided. I'll just blame it on us being poor college students. I'm glad I've done it, and can't wait to share with you more photos/videos of the trip.
The photos should make it pretty easy to determine where I am here. If not search the coordinates 42.9500° N, 122.1000° W to find out. Here's a hint, this place is the fifth oldest national park in the United States. It is near the California, Oregon border. It is the only national park in Oregon.
Highway 101 Adventures
If you've been following I recently left Matter and will be starting at Playground soon. Before starting I took some time off to reset, visit family & friends in Portland, and explore Highway 101. It's crazy to think that I've grown up in the Northwest and have yet to drive either up or down the 101. I figured this is the perfect time for this.
I left San Francisco pretty late so the chances of snapping awesome photos were slim. I figure I'd snap some on my way back to the Bay. Good news is my friend Anna Lee joined me for the ride up. She's an awesome co-pilot, provided good conversation and music. We drove through the night to meet up with my best friend Ethan Vu at his coastal house. Search these coordinates 44.8436° N, -124.0496° W to see where we ended up.
One thing to note. Although the drive up was dark I could still make out the silhouettes of massive redwood trees lining the road like skyscrapers. I can only imagine what they're like during the day. I can't wait to take photos on the way back.
Unfortunately I didn't take any photos of Ethan's beach house. But, I'm posting the photos I did manage to squeeze in. Enjoy them.
WINGS & THINGS
Firstly I want to wish Arnelle Lozada a happiest 30th birthday. May this year be more fruitful and amazing than all the years past my Virgo friend . Arnelle is one of those friends that is always doing something fun, cool and envious. I like to live vicariously though her. Check her BLOG out.
As usual I've listed the coordinate to last nights shenanigans above. I met up with Arnelle and friend for 25 cent wings, wasabi poke and drinks as a belated get-together. The poke was fresh and I recommend the garlic cilantro wings. Both tasty and visually appealing. Afterwards we continued the celebration by snapping photos, more drinks and karaoke.
