Blog

Short blog posts, journal entries, and random thoughts. Topics include a mix of personal and the world at large.

The American dream

Yesterday I was chatting with an acquaintance at work. The topic came to the huge amounts of money I’ve spent on cars. The guy’s traditional Chinese sensibilities went straight to: why not buy a house instead? Such a massive waste of money switching cars every few years (especially considering what I’ve bought in recent times). It makes far better financial sense to put it towards a house I can live in, instead of paying rent, which is what I’m doing now.

Well, at least that’s what that acquaintance thinks.

I obviously disagree. Purchasing a home is not for everyone, no matter how much the “American dream” is drilled into us. Renting a place is not throwing money away, or paying another person’s mortgage. Whether buy or rent, the mechanism is no different: exchanging hard earned cash for a roof over the head. To say buying is automatically superior to renting for any individual is kind of absurd.

What about the upkeep of a home that you as the homeowner is responsible for? If the main house drain is clogged up, I just have to call the landlord. It’s the landlord who has to stress about fixing it (rather quickly, too: I’m paying money for a functioning unit, after all). For me, renting is far less stressful, and that is worth any money I’m perceived to be “throwing away”.

Besides, who the heck can afford a house in San Francisco on a public worker’s salary anyways.

I can’t refute that my spending habit on cars is incredibly wasteful. But I love cars; what’s the point of making money if you’re not going to spend some of it on frivolous things that bring you joy (shoutout to Marie Condo)? I said to that acquaintance: the thing about money is, you can always make more.

Switching it up

One of my coworkers like to play games on this Nintendo Switch during lunch hour. I never quite understood the popularity of these handheld gaming machines. Back in the days of GameBoy it made sense because it was a truly portable device, not all that much weightier than the modern smartphone. The Switch is an iPad in size; a small tablet flanked on the sides by joystick controllers. I never liked the gaming experience on the iPad either. It’s not very ergonomic: painful to the wrists, the constant hunching of the neck.

I much prefer playing on a proper gaming console, sitting comfortably in front of a large television.

But the popularity of the Nintendo Switch is amazing to see. Steam is coming out with a similar device - the Steam Deck - which will play the latest PC games portably. The waitlist for one of those stretches way into the 2022. No doubt scalpers will have a huge payday on eBay. Other handheld PC gaming systems are already out in the market. Linus Tech Tips have reviewed a few of them recently. Indeed, it seems people want the portable experience.

I guess it’s just another way to pass the time while we’re in between things. Is playing on a Switch during lunch time really any different than listening to a podcast, or deathly scrolling through Instagram and twitter? Man’s inability to be still with his thoughts alone have created these varying methods to keep ourselves entertained. Even as we’re taking our dogs out for a stroll, we have to stare at our phones for the latest dopamine hit.

To each their own, obviously. I rather read a book during my lunch hour.

Weekend routine

Saturday mornings are the best. I wake up well-rested because I got to sleep in. Mind you that means waking up at around 8:00AM instead of the usual 6:30. Even if I wanted to, my body won’t allow me to sleep deep into the morning like before. Unless of course I absolutely had a very late night on Friday, but I can’t remember the last time I’ve gone out on a Friday. What with the pandemic and everything.

Upon waking up, I head straight for the iPhone. Not to browse twitter, because I’ve deleted that app from my phone (it’s the only New Year’s resolution I have). Instead, it’s the McDonals app. I’m ordering breakfast before I take the leisure stroll to the mall that’s three blocks away. Buy one get one free of the breakfast sandwich is always a good deal.

The walk is super lovely. Blues skies, early sunshine, and breaths of fresh air. There’s not a worry in the world. Because it’s Saturday; the Sunday evening panic won’t arrive for another earthly rotation. So I’m the calmest I can be over the two days of the weekend. Errands can be done later. My friends are still in bed at such an early hour. The Saturday morning is sacred, and mine alone.

I see grocery shoppers heading into Trader Joe’s. A silent high-five to fellow early risers. As I grab my order from McDonalds, I notice a woman also getting breakfast to go. However, she’s not heading home, but rather she’s off to work. McDonalds is the reward, a treat for herself before she has to face the arduous work day. I silently wish her well, and count myself lucky to have a job with proper weekends off.

So I can have these Saturday mornings.

I miss Asia so much

On the work iMac I use the Aerial screensaver. It’s an open source app that allow users to run the same stunning 4K screensavers found on the Apple TV. These majestic slow pans of amazing cities and earthy locales can be yours without paying the hefty entry price for an Apple TV unit. I’m surprised Apple hasn’t shut it down since Aerial downloads directly from Apple’s servers.

Anyways, a screensaver that popped open last week was of a flight view of Hong Kong island. Starting from just behind the mountains from the south side, it slowly flies over island towards Victoria Harbor, right into the heart of the super dense city. It was beautiful to watch, though with a bit of sadness. It’s been two years since I’ve last step foot in Hong Kong, and I miss it so so much.

It doesn’t help that it’s Lunar New Year, so my family in China are gathering for the annual dinner. Seeing their posted pictures on WeChat brings a bittersweet feeling. It’s great to see everyone healthy and well, but man do I wish I could be there to celebrate with them. Hong Kong/China’s relatively draconian COVID policies mean foreigners - no matter the vaccination status - have to quarantine for a substantial amount of days before allowed entry. I simply don’t have that kind of vacation length to do it.

Other parts of Asia also have such requirements, prohibiting me from visiting some of my favorite places. Japan as far as I recall is completely shut down to foreign entry. I would love to go back to South Korea and Taiwan, taking in the Asian style of living and atmosphere I adore so much. At this point I don’t know what to think in regards to the possibility of traveling to Asia this year. All I know is, soon as quarantine requirements go away, I am absolutely there.

Starting with Hong Kong, and to see my family in China.

Deep blacks

First world problems: I am surrounded by top-notch quality displays that when I use one that isn’t so good, the contrast is annoying. My iPhone 13 Pro is OLED, my television is also OLED, and my monitor is the infamous Apple Pro Display XDR. It’s a feast for the eyes. The problem then lies with my poverty-spec basic iPad. The LCD panel on that tablet is fine in it of itself, but when used amongst these other displays, it’s leaves a bit wanting. Something about comparison being the thief of joy.

What I’m spoiled by are the deep blacks that OLED and Apple’s Display XDR technologies offer. The resulting picture quality is deep, clear, and vibrant. Sometimes I would turn on the TV just to watch whatever, because the image is so enjoyable to look at.

Watching Youtube videos - in the common 16:9 aspect ratio - on the iPad’s 4:3 ratio display reveals the flaw. The black bars above and below the video aren’t really precisely black. Because an LCD backlight is always on, the most black the bars can get is a very dark gray. Again, this wouldn’t be noticeable if everything else in the house is also LCD. But black bars on my phone, the TV, and the monitor can achieve absolute black, so every time I use the iPad I’m aghast at the difference. The LCD “glow” at the top and bottom is rather obvious.

Of course, there is an iPad that solves my first world dilemma. The iPad Pro in then biggest 12-inch size has the Display XDR technology, offering the same deep blacks as the monitor. If I were loaded with money (despite appearances, I’m not), I’d upgrade in a heartbeat. However I only use the iPad during dinner and for piano practice, so dropping a thousand dollars just because the display doesn’t look as good is not a justification.

My tax return is going towards renewing insurance on the BMW.

Spring cleaning time

Lunar New Year is next Tuesday, so you know what that means: I have to clean house and get a haircut before then. Good news is my in-law studio apartment is relatively tiny, so a bit of spring cleaning should be quite easy. I’m the type of person to dust my floors every other day, so that should give you an idea how much work I actually have to do before the auspicious holiday.

I will have to deep clean the bathroom. Primarily the few months’ worth of soap and water stain accumulation in the shower/bathtub. Whoever is first to invent a shampoo and body wash that, when used, will also clean the shower walls (when the suds are flung) should get the Nobel Peace Prize.

But at least I only have one bathroom! I wouldn’t want to be my friend who recently moved in to a two-bed two-bath unit. To live by herself. Imagine having to do the spring cleaning for that space! Or even just keeping it tidy on the regular. Good thing we live in an age of robotic vacuums. And said friend also make enough money to pay for a monthly housekeeper. No need for manual labor when you can afford to throw money at the problem!

It is a lovely place though. Such a vast apartment for one person makes me wonder whether or not I would want such a space. Honestly it would be ideal to have at least a one-bedroom, to have defined and separate spaces (living room, kitchen and whatnot). That said I’m pretty satisfied with the studio I have now. It’s got everything I need, all in one room (plus a bathroom).

Whenever I travel to Asia and rent in one of the typically tiny apartments, I’ve always wished there was such a thing here in the States. The efficient use of space is something to admire, driven by sheer population density and high real estate prices. Turns out, that’s sort of what I have now: a tiny apartment with all the features. I’ve even mimicked another feature of Asia: walkability to almost everything. There’s a mall a few blocks from where I live with all the shops I’ll ever need.

I really don’t even need to own a car. Not that I’ll ever do that…

Are you not entertained?

What a wonderful weekend of football. All four games going down to the very last play. It’s great to see the San Francisco 49ers beat the Green Bay Packers in the frozen tundra to advance to the championship round. I didn’t think the team would be in this position when the season started, but here they are. And how crazy was that ending to the Bills versus Chiefs game? The final two minutes of regulation and overtime was absolutely insane. What a treat for us that we get to see quarterbacks Josh Allen and Patrick Mahomes duke it out for many many years to come.

I’m just glad that both of them are in the AFC instead of the NFC, where the 49ers are.

Having bought a 4K television recently, I really notice how poor the broadcast quality of free over-the-air local channels are. I don’t think any of them (FOX, CBS, NBC, ABC) are even doing 1080p quality, much less 4K. The result is that the football games of this past weekend don't look quite as good and sharp as they really should be. Worse, even when I use the broadcaster’s own streaming app to watch (in this case, NBC’s Peacock app), the maximum quality is still only 1080P. Why on earth is America’s favorite game not in 4K already?

The Super Bowl - the most watched event in this country by a huge margin - will not be in 4K! That’s unacceptable.

Of course this is indeed a first world problem. Remember how stunning 1080P looked compared to the 480i signals we’ve been seeing for decades? Such is the progression of technology that 1080P have become the sort of baseline. I would say the ideal signal for the televisions you can buy these days is 4K HDR. Movies in Dolby Vision quality on Disney Plus look incredible (I rather enjoyed Eternals). Honestly if something is only 1080P at the maximum, I rather watch it on the smaller display of my computer.