Southern California burns

It was only a month ago that much of Napa Valley was on fire for an entire week, grinding normal business in the Bay Area to a halt for the better parts of a week. Therefore it is extremely eerie to watch the wildfires happening now in Southern California. The State simply cannot catch a break. 

Do a search on Twitter for people's videos of their morning commute: it looks like a hell-scape. 

Are these spectacular wildfires going to be a constant in our near future? Some are saying so. California had a proper rainy season in 2016, but before that it was five consecutive years of unprecedented drought - one wet season isn't going to completely solve the problem. It appears this year we have returned to dry conditions: we've only had a week of solid rain thus far and we're halfway into December already. 

I can certainly feel the intense dryness here in supposedly humid San Francisco. In these windy and parched conditions, one false move with a match or electric wire and that's it: tens of thousands of acres will burn. I sure pray another one doesn't start up here as well, that would be devastating. 

God speed to everyone down south, and god bless the fire-fighters doing the work. 

Face ID: the verdict

Apple's Face ID on the iPhone X works just as well as Touch ID, and that is excellent indeed for a first generation technology. Having used the iPhone X for a month now, Face ID has integrated nicely to the workflow, and its infrequent hiccups are no more annoying than those of Touch ID. 

When it works, Face ID is imperceptibly fast; the mechanics of it disappears into the background. Looking at the phone as I swipe up from the bottom in one combo motion, and it unlocks like magic. The only time I even notice Face ID is at work is when it inevitably doesn't work: having the phone buzz at you and prompting a passcode entry is as baffling an experience as Touch ID rejecting my thumb because it's slightly damp.

Thankfully, those moments occurring are miniscule, and half the time it's my fault (if alive, Steve Jobs would say I'm using it wrong). To the surprise of nobody, Face ID doesn't work when my face is half covered by a pillow or wearing a face mask. Sometimes even too sudden of a change in hairstyle - if I were to flip my hair up from its usual down position - would trigger a recognition failure. I hope hats don't interfere, because I've yet to use Face ID while wearing one.

As I've said in my initial impressions, I think Face ID needs an additional biometric layer to complement the base systems: a retinal scanner can alleviate times when the face is covered with a mask, or I happen to be scratching my nose. Being able to still securely unlock the iPhone with an impeded face would be the ultimate. 

What Apple has engineered with Face ID is phenomenal: it's an exponentially better and more complete user experience right out the gate than Touch ID's initial debut. With further software development and deeper machine learning, I hope the technology gets better and migrates to other Apple products. It would be lovely on an iMac. 

Convenient stores in Asia are awesome

Why can't America have convenient stores like they've got in Asia?

The 24-hour convenient store like 7-Eleven is ubiquitous in Asia, and for good reason: they are fantastic. The stores offer a selection of actual real food (and junk food too, of course) and any sort of daily household items one would need. Most have a dedicated sitting area for people to eat their meal, and some even have bathrooms should the particular 7-Eleven not be one close to home. One can literally live only frequenting a convenient store, no supermarkets, with no adverse health effects.

Contrast that to the convenient stores we've got here in the States: when's the last time you felt safe going to a 7-Eleven? All they stock is junk food, and the best hot food they can offer you is a bloody hot-dog. Where's the amazing selection of ramen? 20 flavors of tea? Fresh breakfast and dinner food? Can I make it to my parked car without getting robbed?

When I book AirBnb on Asia trips, I make sure to stay at a place that's close to a convenient store, which isn't difficult because they are everywhere. Just this past Taipei trip there was a 7-Eleven right around the corner, and I would visit it every morning to stock up on tea drinks for the day. Late night cravings would be satisfied with a a quick ramen run. 

Laugh all you want, but one of the big draws Asia has for me are their 24-hour convenient stores. I miss them very much when I fly back home. 

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.