The iPhone X camera is fantastic

During my Taipei trip, I had the opportunity to extensively use the iPhone X's camera, and the verdict is this: it's utterly fantastic. 

It's amazing what camera lens can do when it's paired with incredible computing power. Apple overcomes the physical limitations of the smartphone form-factor - sensor and lens can only be so big - by performing calculations and predictive algorithms that traditional camera makers like Canon or Nikon cannot. The iPhone may be outputting JPEGs, but those photos have got vastly more computing done to it than say a Canon 5D - and all the user do is press the shutter, adjusting nothing. 

I got astounding hit-rate with the iPhone X JPEGs on the trip: exposure and color temperature are almost always spot-on. 

Of course, Apple have upgraded the sensor technology as well, but I firmly believe it's the A series chip inside the modern iPhone that's the X factor in the tremendous photo capabilities. We're to the point where my non-photography inclined friends cannot discern the difference between - when viewed on mobile - the shots off of the iPhone X and A7R2. With the iOS 'portrait mode' in its second generation, the X can even do convincing bokeh shots. It's truly astounding. 

In the future I would have zero qualms about leaving the dedicated camera behind and simply use the iPhone X as the sole travel camera: it is that good. Once Apple figure out/allow proper long exposure shots, there will remain nothing an iPhone can't do that a proper camera can. Even dynamic range limitations are already solved by iPhone's brilliant auto-HDR function. 

From a photographic perspective, a hearty job well done on the iPhone X, Apple. 

Asia is my Vegas

For plenty of people, Vegas is their escape from the drudgery of adult life. They go there often to eat, drink, play, and celebrate. 

Asia is my Vegas. 

I've just returned from my trip to Taipei yesterday, marking the fourth time I've visited an Asian city within a 12 month period (Hong Kong, Shanghai, Seoul, and Taipei). I simply love it in Asia, and like most people are wont to do on their 'Vegas trips', I go there mainly to eat, drink, play, and celebrate. Only flaw is the price of the plane ticket makes traveling to Asia significantly more expensive than heading to Vegas.

It's so worth it.

While I enjoy the diversity we get here in America, spending time amongst people who look like me and share the same culture and habits is also a treat. We all crave homogeneity on some level: it explains the cliques we form during high school lunch hour. in Asia there's a homey feeling that entirely different than the vibe in San Francisco. Even though I'm technically a tourist, I blend right in. At least I think so.

A city boy at heart, the urban density, the interconnectedness, and the supreme convenience of Asia is super attractive to me. It truly comes alive at night: the most memorable parts on these trips were walking through the city streets taking in the lights. 

All without an ounce of worry about getting mugged. That's a freedom we ironically don't have in America.

Currency exchange

In preparation for the Taiwan trip next week, I went to the Mechanics Bank downtown today to exchange for some Taiwan dollars. It's always good to have some cash on hand to at least get from the airport to the hotel. 

In doing so I was reminded of the last time I visited the same bank this past May: to buy some Korean currency. Both times I purchased around $200 worth of local money. 

On the Korea trip, I could have easily not used any of the cash I exchanged: the country is fabulously accepting of credit cards. From the airport bus kiosk down to the elder ladies peddling food in front of the baseball stadium, I was amazed at how often i can use card to pay. For a person living in the States used to seeing 'cash only' signs in many storefronts, it's a pleasure and convenience I wish America would adopt. 

Unfortunately, Taiwan isn't nearly as friendly to credit cards as Korea, at least from my previous experience two years ago. Perhaps it'll be different this time: on the last trip we had to take a one-hour bus ride from the airport to get into Taipei, now there's a dedicated subway line taking half the time. 

I for one cannot wait for a true cash-less society, with my wallet's contents all residing in the smartphone. To pay for anything, all I have to do is hover my phone over an NFC device. Apple Pay on the iPhone is getting there, but there still exist a huge dearth of places that accept it. I will not be surprised if Korea is the first country to go truly/completely mobile wallet.

Wait, would that mean I'll have to switch to a Samsung phone and get Samsung pay?  

Twitter's 280 character limit

Yesterday twitter expanded the 280 character limit to everyone after a soft rollout. We can all now tweet twice as long. In place of the word counter inside the text window is a circle that fills up as your type. Fascinating. 

I hate the change. 

280 character tweets is TL:DR status. Perhaps more of an inditement of my outrageously short attention span, but my eyes automatically gloss over these longer tweets. If the first 10 words don't capture my attention then I move the heck on.  

The twitter timeline with these long tweest starts to resemble the Facebook feed, and that's never a good thing. 

I like twitter because it's quick, concise, and to the point. Trying to articulate well within the old 140 character paradigm was downright artful. Shakespeare and Mark Twain both were fans of brevity. Countless times I was up against the limit and had to prune/revise what I wanted to say - it was excellent practice. Sadly, wont' have to do that anymore. 

And it isn't like twitter will ever go back: can't take the cake away once you've given it. 

I hope this one time jump to 280 will be the end of it. At 280 it's already looking less like what twitter should be - with character-based languages like Korean it's practically an essay; any more increases it might as well be tumblr. 

$1,000 for a tin-can*

People are getting on Tiffany and Co for its new collection called 'Everyday Objects', in which they sell ornate mundane objects like a sterling silver tin-can for a thousand dollars. 

I don't get the outrage.

Sure, items like silver toy blocks seem on the surface superfluous and money down the drain, but it isn't your money down that drain, is it? Why are people caught up with what a company decides to sell and what other people chooses to buy? Even if I think it's silly (and I do), if someone will gladly part with their $400 for a silver triangle ruler, bully to capitalism. 

I guess not many are familiar with the time the streetwear company Supreme sold a limited-edition brick  - yes, an solid ordinary brick with the Supreme logo on it. While it retailed for only $30, in the secondary market the bricks were going for about the same range as what Tiffany and Co is selling its new collection, and people bought. 

Let companies sell all the ridiculous stuff they want; it may be absurd and it's indeed good for a laugh, but let's stop with think-pieces and twitter diatribes. 

Because we've all spent relatively insane money on things others would find laughable. I'll go: I had a perfectly good car entirely paid for, yet I went and spent many tens of thousand on a brand new car just to be cool and fast. I don't regret it, but from a strict financial standpoint it was pretty idiotic. Thankfully, the world and our being isn't run strictly on financial motivations. 

I'll gladly buy a $9,000 silver ball of yarn if I could. 

Retirement savings goals

Yesterday I saw this tweet of jean Chatzky's: 

By the time you’re 30, aim to have 1x your annual income set aside for retirement. At 40, 3x; at 50, 6x; at 60, 8x; and by retirement, 10x.

— Jean Chatzky (@JeanChatzky) November 1, 2017

Upon reading the tweet, I actually felt pretty good. I turn 30 next month, and in solid humble-brag fashion I can say the goal of having 1x annual income saved for retirement is of no issue. Ramit Sethi's book on personal finance taught me the ropes back when I started working full-time. Saving for retirement isn't a chore - it became automatic. I don't think about it at all.  

However, judging by the replies to the tweet, I guess I'm an uncommon case amongst my peers? The responses were full of millennials lamenting their financial misfortunes, being burdened with the likes of student loans, outrageous housing costs, and stagnant wages. Plenty of avocado toasts and 10 dollar lattes jokes were mixed in there as well. Lots of excuses given on why people don't have the appropriate amount of retirement savings, if at all. 

While I don't doubt the veracity of these people's situations, I question their defeatist/victim attitude.  

Let's all agree that saving for retirement is important, no? Barring any natural disasters or nuclear holocausts, our generation should live quite a long time beyond the current 65 year retirement age. Having enough money to sustain a suitable lifestyle is going to take some time accumulating, and people should start as early as possible.

For sure external circumstances have made it difficult for millennials to find jobs and save. However, complaining about the situation - as in the tweet's replies - isn't going to do anything positive. Is the government (or some other macro entity) going to suddenly forgive all student loan debt, build massive amounts of affordable housing, and provide people a better paying job? Of course not. It's all up to you, the individual person, to fight for what you desire, and in doing so save for retirement. 

Don't we often joke that Social Security won't be there by the time us millennials reach our autumn years? People can say how unrealistic those goals set by Chatzky are, but the fact remains you still have to save. If my family of four can do it on $1,500 per month income way back when, so can you.  

Modifying the Miata shall begin

It's been nearly two years since I bought my Mazda Miata, and to date the only modification I've done is switching out the stock shift-knob with a titanium unit from WC Lathe Werks. Other than that, the car is utterly stock. 

What happened? I used to love modifying cars. Ever since reading my first issue of Import Tuner (RIP) back in my early teens, I was hooked on vehicle upgrades and go-fast products. On my first car the Toyota Corolla - not exactly a car worthy of modifying - I put lowering springs, new shocks, wheels, LED tail-lamps, sway bars, strut bar; the list goes on. It turned the otherwise mundane and anonymous grocery-getter into a car of my own special identity. There were some special days indeed wrenching on that car with friends, putting on new wheels for the first time, and countless detailing sessions to make it all look spiff and proper. 

What changed with the current car? Adulthood, I guess. I'm not nearly as cavalier with money as I were and can be back in college. Back then whatever I earned from work I would spend it completely, in contrast with today where I have to allocate funds for various adult stuff like retirement accounts and rainy-day funds. Other areas of interest like photography and traveling also grew more dominant as to where I want to allocate spares dollars. Car modification took a complete back-burner: I've already got the car, and it takes me to places; why should I put more money towards it than necessary? 

I've lost what a joy it is buying and putting on new car parts, though it can't replace the joy of having properly funded investment accounts. Nevertheless, I would like to make a cautious return and will begin slowly modifying the Miata. It shall begin with the wheels, as one does. I shall update with what exactly in a future post.