Bok Choy Boy Blog

Garage Sale Find 8/7/10

2010-08-08T22:34:00.000-07:00

Okay some of you know that I am a big garage sale junkie. I started off looking for cameras but have ventured off and started buy many other things. Lately I have been buying some vintage furniture especially metal cabinets. This last Saturday I bought a few things including this awesome find above. It's a vintage Panasonic radio and it's sound great. I am currently listening to it now. I just need to figure out how to hook up my Ipod to it!

Purchase price...$7.00.

DIY Pinhole Camera

2010-04-26T20:49:00.000-07:00

I have been playing with pinhole cameras for the past 2 years or so and recently have been building my own out of wood with help from my friend, Ryan.

Pinhole cameras are really easy. You basically need a light tight container which can be practically anything, a thin metal sheet (the pinhole), and some mechanism to control light coming in (the shutter). Of course how far you take the camera is up to you and sky's the limit.

The one of the most common ones you will see and read about are the oatmeal box pinholes. It's simple basic and easy. Pinhole cameras come in all shapes and forms. I have read about people who use their mouths and fist as the pinhole cameras as well as using buses and buildings. Unlimited possibilities.

You can also buy beautiful and elaborate pinholes too. Zero Image makes some gorgeous pinholes that take amazing images. I own their Zero Image 69 which takes 120 roll film. It can adjust it's mask to take 6x4.5, 6x6, 6x7, 6x9 sized images.

I made a short documentation of how we built my camera:

The box is pretty simple. It has a face plate and four sides surrounding it leaving the back opened for the film loader to attach to. Ryan is the handyman between the two of us and you see him here cutting up the wood for the camera. I decided to use poplar wood because I really like the patterns that the wood could have. In this piece of wood, there are beautiful purple stripes running through it.

We added a tripod mount to the camera on two of the four sides. You can see Ryan drilling a depression for the hardware to go into.

Once all the pieces are cut they are put together with wood glue and nails then clamped together to dry.

I used plastic wood to seal the the gaps in between the wood and to cover up the nail holes.

To further insure the that the box is light tight we used silicon caulk to seal off all the corner on the inside of the box.

A few coats of clear lacquer is then applied to the outside of the box. This helps prevent any water damage that will cause the box to warp and possibly create a light leak. It also makes it look great!

The inside of the box is sprayed with a matte black paint to prevent light to bounce inside the box and create unwanted effects.

There are many different ways to put a shutter on your camera. On my previous versions of this camera I used a simple flap made of cardboard and tape. We decided to go upscale and recycle an old shutter. Not only does it look great but it allows me to use a cable release which means a more stable shot. The pinhole is attached to the inside of the shutter.

Velcro was added to attach the film holders to the box. The camera was build to also take polaroid film backs.

So here it is! The finished product!

This is an image from a older version of the camera.

Check out Ryan's blog on this:

http://doiturselfer.xanga.com/725837139/a-pinhole-camera/

Mad Dog

2006-11-12T10:29:00.000-08:00

Mad Dog
Originally uploaded by bokchoyboy.

We saw this dog jumping around on the table of a restaurant. There were a few people there watching it and it seem to love the attention. Well, I tried to get close to it to take a picture of it. It stopped started at me and started growling. I guess I interupted it's show!

Cuy

2006-11-12T10:14:00.000-08:00

Cuy
Originally uploaded by bokchoyboy.

Okay so as far as food goes, this is what we came to try. Cuy, otherwise know as guinea pig to most of us, is a national delicacy in Peru. It is usually eaten during holidays. We tought it tasted like chicken with a slight but strange fishy aftertaste. The one we tried was very tough, probably an older guinea pig.

Gelato in Peru!

2006-11-09T20:23:00.000-08:00

I was surprised to find gelato in Cuzco. The place is called Davorino and they had some interesting flavors. Can you recognize the flavors? I tried the plantano and the cherimoya. I liked the cherimoya.

Futbol!

2006-11-09T19:59:00.000-08:00

So BHC convinced me to go to a soccer game while in Cuzco. I was hesitant because my stomach wasn't feeling so hot. I was afraid I would be in a need of a bathroom while at the game. I didn't tell her that. Well I am glad that she convinced me because it was a lot of fun. It was cool to be at a sporting event in a foreign country. This was a regional game between the team from Cuzco and another regional team. The fans were so passionate. The two girls next to us were screaming at the opponent and they were ruthless and crude with their comments! The Cuzco team was much better than the opposition. Go Cuzco!

Pucapucara

2006-11-09T09:13:00.000-08:00

We got here on a horseback ride and without a guide to tell us what we were looking at. Without any background this place didn't hold that much interest. Luckily there was a man there who offered to explain the place to us for 10 soles ($3 USD).

The significance of this place to the Incans was huge. This is where they trained all the future leader for the empire. A select number of students (usually the oldest son of selected families) came here to learn how to be leaders in their society. They were taught spirituality, leadership and cultural things like the Incan ways of building a city.

The training is not without it's perils for the student. They had to go through this ritual where they fast for 30 days. Some made it, some did not.

Chifa

2006-11-09T09:05:00.000-08:00

"Chifa (from the mandarin words "chi fan", meaning 'to eat rice') is the Peruvian term for Chinese food (or for a Chinese restaurant). In the 150 years since its arrival in Peru, the Chinese Peruvian culture has revolutionized Peruvian cuisine, gaining international recognition from those who have had the opportunity to sample it while visiting Peru.
Chifa reflects a fusion by Chinese Peruvians of the products that the Chinese brought with them to those that they found in Peru, and later cultivated themselves. Even some creole dishes such as tacu-tacu, lomo saltado, and arroz chaufa were influenced by the Chinese.
In downtown Lima, on Capón Street, is the barrio chino (Chinatown). The great variety of savory and sweet dishes there, with different types of meats, vegetables, and soups, created a new culinary alternative for Peruvians." Wikipedia

We tried the Chifa food in Cuzco, not all that but edible.

Circular Terraces of Moray

2006-11-09T08:46:00.000-08:00

These Circular Terraces of Moray are located in the Sacred Valley near Cuzco. The Incans used these terraces for agricultural purposes. This particular loacation was used to test out different crops and perfect their farming. So if I understood our guide properly, this was something like a test site. Each circle had a different micro-climate.

I actually got sick at the salt pond and by the time I got here the only picture I could take was the one from up top, I didn't go down to walk the circles. BHC did go down with the guide and laid in the the center where there was suppposed to be a lot of energy according to the Incans.

Salt Ponds at Maras

2006-11-09T08:40:00.000-08:00

Located on the Qaqawiñay Mountains, these salt mines have been used since the Incan times. The source of the salt comes from a naturally briny spring that is then irrigated to all the salt ponds. Each pond is owned by a different family. During the rainy season the ponds will take on a brownish hue due to the run off from the soil but once the rainy season stops, the ponds are white.

At the Top!

2006-11-08T10:14:00.000-08:00

Okay, finally at the top of Wyna Picchu!

Almost at the Top

2006-11-08T10:11:00.000-08:00

Almost at the top of Wyna Picchu and I started getting cramps in both legs! You are looking at a picture of Machu Picchu. Doesn't that look small?!?! We are pretty high up Wyna Picchu at this point.

2006-11-08T10:00:00.000-08:00

This is Wyna Picchu. We hiked up this while visiting Machu Picchu. If you look closely you can see tiny specs that are supposed to be people. Gives you a perspective of the size of this peak.

Happy to Be Here!

2006-11-08T09:59:00.000-08:00

This is our "I can't believe we are in Machu Picchu" look!

2006-11-08T09:58:00.000-08:00

okay one more...

Me and MP

2006-11-08T09:56:00.000-08:00

me, my hat, and Machu Picchu! See that peak behind me? That's Wyna Picchu. We climbed that! More on that later!

Llamas of Machu Picchu

2006-11-08T09:49:00.000-08:00

After Machu Picchu was discovered and cleared of all the vegetation, at the suggestion of visitors, grass was planted in the clearing to add color to the area. Also at the suggestion of visitors, llamas were imported here to add to the ambiance. A side benefit was that the llamas kept the grass from over growing and kept it nice and trimmed.

Mummy's Lair

2006-11-08T09:40:00.000-08:00

A mummy was discovered in this tomb in 1992. Probably a high priest at Machu Picchu, the mummy was found with many artifacts, unlooted.

Mirrors

2006-11-08T09:35:00.000-08:00

These two cylindrical shapes were carved into the top of the rocks. They have a shallow top that retains water which was used by the Incans as a mirror to view the sun, moon and the stars.

Energy Stone

2006-11-08T09:27:00.000-08:00

This slab of rock is located at the highest point in Machu Picchu. I believe this was called an energy rock. It contained quartz in it and retained heat through out the day so when the Incans touched it, they felt that it revitalized them with energy.

Me and Machu Picchu

2006-11-08T09:26:00.000-08:00

Me overlooking part of Machu Picchu from it's highest spot.

Stone Model

2006-11-07T14:56:00.000-08:00

It's a little hard to tell but there is a stone in the foreground that was carved by the Incans to resemble the mountains behind it, from the peaks to the valleys. It was a model of the area.

Waiting room

2006-11-07T14:46:00.000-08:00

Our guide told us that this room was used as a waiting room by priests, royalty, and their family as a waiting room before ceremonies. Each of these niches that you are looking at were possible used for chanting. We put our heads in the niches and talked creating an echo with in the hole. Each hole has a different pitch. This is also an example of the Imerial Inca building style.

Incan Symbol

2006-11-07T14:31:00.000-08:00

I got the impression that the Incans ideology tied very closely with astrology, the sun and the moon. Here the stone is the middle, the one with step like sides, is no exception. When the sunlight hits this rock at a certain time of the year the shadow along with the rock forms the Inca Cross, Chakana.

2006-11-06T21:24:00.000-08:00

The Incans used three main type of building style. The first one is the lowest form where the stones aren't perfectly aligned and there is mortar in between the stones. The second type, the Incans used stones that fit perfectly with each other and didn't use mortar. Then the last one, called Imperial Inca is similar to the second style but the stones are roughly the same size as well. The Imperial Inca style was reserved for the most important and sacred buildlings.

What you are looking at is a ceramonial building that uses the Imperial Inca style of building, The stone slab in the middle of the building was used for sacrificing young animals. Our guide was telling us that the Spaniards who invaded the Incans mis-understood that the Incans sacrificed young animals like llamas and thought that they sacrificed young human virgins. Incans did not do human sacrifices contrary to popular beliefs. Or so says our guide.

Sun Gate

2006-11-06T21:18:00.000-08:00

This is me at the Sun Gate in Machu Picchu. The Sun Gate is the point where the Inca Trails enters into Machu Picchu.

Machu Picchu

2006-11-03T18:33:00.000-08:00

So on the 4th day of the trip we finally made it to the highlight of the trip, Machu Picchu! It was an absolutely spectacular sight! It started of completely foggy to the point where you couldn't see anything but soon after we got there it cleared up and we were treated to this moody and wonderful shot.

Machu Picchu is actually the name of the mountain that this archelogical sight sits on. The original name the Incans gave it is lost. It is not a city where people inhabit contrary to popular belief. It is a ceremonial place where people travel to from across the Incan empire. There are living quarters where families live when travelling but are not permenant living quarters.

2006-11-03T09:25:00.000-08:00

Inca Kola is a soda that's more popular than Coca Cola in Peru. It is a bright yellow liquid that has a tutti fuity taste. It kinda grew on me. Something I found out later on the trip was that Coca Cola eventually bought Inca Kola! Talk about getting rid of your competition! I also found out that the bottled water that I was drinking was bottled by...guess who? Yup, Coca Cola!

Streets of Cuzco

2006-11-03T08:32:00.000-08:00

Here are some images from the streets of Cuzco. There's a lot of character in the buildings. You can see the wear and tear. A lot of the buildings I looked at and the one being build in the countryside are made with mud and straw. Beautiful place to walk around and absorb the atmosphere.

The biggest drawback visiting a place like this is the smog that the cars kick up. It's really bad. Everytime I walked around for extended periods of time, I would start to feel queasy.

Pizza!

2006-11-02T12:37:00.000-08:00

So while researching Peru we discovered that there is supposed to be some good pizza there. When we got there we were surprised to see so many places that served pizza! Not only pizza but lots of gringo food. Chez-Maggy is one of the places we tried pizza. Must say, not too bad!

We tried the Maggy Special which was topped with sausage, ham, scrambled eggs and banana. Strange and unusual combination but it kinda worked. We both liked it.

2006-11-01T12:05:00.000-08:00

Yeah, finally landed in Cuzco, Peru!

We had some major delays. We were held back on our first leg of the trip from SFO to LAX because of fog in L.A.! Not SF but LA! Then when we got to LAX, were were delayed there. LAN, the airline we travelled on kept telling us "half an hour".

So our next stop was at Lima, Peru's capital. We were scheduled to arrive at about 11:30 pm but got there about 2:30 am the next morning. We had planned to stay the night in Lima and get an early start (well, 11:30 am on Monday, the second day). Went to the hotel and I looked at our airline tickets and saw 5:40 on the ticket. I thought, "oh, the lady at LAX said she had to rebook our flights so she changed this one to a later time." Well the guy at the counter looked and said, "no, that's 5:40 AM" Like in a couple of hours!!! Doh! So we ended up taking to taxi back to the airport and sleeping in Cuzco when we got there.

This is the tired but excited us getting off the plane.

Peru Trip 2006

2006-11-01T10:30:00.000-08:00

Finally, a vacation! This year I decided to go to Peru with my friend BHC. A very last minute travel plan but one that I was excited about.

We only went a for 7 days so we decided to stay in Cuzco for most of the vacation and visit Machu Pichu for a couples of days. Peru is so diverse in the different thing you can do that from deserts to the Amazon to the mountains of Machu Pichu to the beaches of Lima.

Let the adventure begin!

Going under the lasik knife!

2006-05-26T10:28:00.000-07:00

Well after years of wanting to get lasik surgery done, I am finally going to go through with it! My surgery is scheduled for June 6th with Dr. Manche of the Stnaford Medical Center. I got recommended to from an optometrist who said that Dr. Manche is the person that other eye surgeons go to to get lasik. Very reassuring. With that reassurance comes a price. Dr. Manche is not cheap, not at all, but I figured, these are my eyes. I don't want to mess around with someone whose cheaper but not as good, right?

I don't think I am nervous yet. Maybe as time gets closer. i am more annoyed because I have to wear my glasses for the whole week prior. Yuck!

Anyone out there who's done the surgery and have advice or a story?

SimpleViewer

2006-03-27T20:18:00.000-08:00

I have played with SimpleViewer in the past in trying to find a way to display my photography, that is until I discovered Flickr. I like the way that that SimpleViewer looks but it wasn't all that user friendly. Well, recently I discovered that there is a Picasa interface for SimplerViewer that makes creating a web page very easy. I LOVE Picasa! Checkout my Flower page.

Going Nowhere

2006-03-24T21:47:00.000-08:00

Going Nowhere
Originally uploaded by bokchoyboy.

It's been storming off an on for what seems like weeks now. One big benefit is that it brings storm lighting. As a photographer I am attracted to image with storm lighting. I just love the mood that it creates.

I just discovered another benefit of the storms, rocks and pebbles that get washed up on the shore. I started collecting a few pebbles here and there when I started shooting at Ocean Beach but on a normal day, I would only find one or two because there just weren't many to choose from. Not when I went this week! I hit the motherload! There were sooooo many pebbles. I think I must have had over 10lbs in my pocket. When I have time, I take a picture of some of the pebbles and post it. You can see the beach littered with pebbles and rocks in this picture.

Cirque Du Soleil, Corteo

2005-11-14T10:19:00.000-08:00

This is the stage curtain for the show. Colorful and beautiful. I don't think I was supposed to be taking pictures inside the tent.

Cirque Du Soleil, Corteo

2005-11-14T10:16:00.000-08:00

This Sunday we went to Cirque Du Soleil, Corteo in San Francisco. I haven't been to a Cirque Du Soleil in over a decade so it was nice to go to one. I was impress with the sofistication and complexity of the setup, from the moving floors to the chandeliers that the girls swung from. The show was pretty good. I would recommend it. We had pretty good seats too, 2nd row! Awesome!

Here's an excerpt from SFGate:

"Corteo" means "cortege," or "joyous procession," and the show tells the story of a dead clown who watches his own funeral parade through his imagination.

This is not the fantasyland of Cirque's 14 previous shows (four in residence in Las Vegas), but more like an intensified reality. Instead of the surreal, Technicolor forest of, say, Cirque's "Varekai," "Corteo" has the shabby-chic decor of an Anthropologie catalog. Instead of exotic lizards and nymphs, the characters are real people.

Go see it!

2005-10-08T19:41:00.000-07:00

My friends, Catherine and Phil on our visit to Sonoma

2005-10-05T20:42:00.000-07:00

Matt Cain, the SF Giants' new pitching phenom was signing autographs at Lefty's Baseball Card Store in Burlingame. I got to take a picture with him! Cool!

Flickrholic

2005-10-04T14:30:00.000-07:00

Okay, I am addicted to Flickr. Don't know what Flickr is? Go to www.flickr.com! It's a photography communtity where you share your photography with other flickrholics. Some people use this site a photo blog others use it to showcase their photography. There are many different groups that represent all different interest. There are groups that showcase pictures of nature, animals, weddings, sunsets, black and white photography, night photography, food photography, etc... The list goes on.

I use this site to showcase my photography but I soon discovered I really enjoy Flickr for the community I built. Met some great people on Flickr and I have gotten to know them and appreciate their photography. I have gotten to know people from all around the world through Flickr!

Well if you ever go on to Flickr, check out my photos! My Flickr name is bokchoyboy.
Got to go, need to surf Flickr!!!

2005-09-29T12:12:00.000-07:00

Aaaaaugh! I was driving home last week. I just got on the freeway and bam! A rock hits my windshield and a crack appears. That sucks! Luckily I lowered my insurance deductable for the windshield replacement down from $250 to $50. It seems like the Minis are susceptible to cracks because the windshield is more upright than other cars. When I got the Mini, I picked it up at Pleasanton. Five minutes on the freeway, bam! Luckily that crack was small and repairable. I guess it's one of the few drawbacks to owning a Mini Cooper!

2005-08-12T15:23:00.000-07:00

Vic, Dave, Rick and I took a trip down to San Diego to visit our friend, Yohei. During lunch in La Jolla we decided to have a little fun with my new camera and practice facial expressions. Each picture you see here is supposed to represent a emotion or a feeling. From top left going clockwise: Sensual, pouty, constipated, and excited but nervous. Haha, at least we had fun trying! Rick, that's a look I never want to see again!

2005-08-11T22:05:00.000-07:00

Chocolate Cosmo with my new macro lens

2005-08-10T11:52:00.000-07:00

Testing the macro lens

Ancient Mysteries

2005-08-02T09:07:00.000-07:00

I always love watching Discovery channel and all those educational channels. One of my favorite subjects is ancient civilizations and the mysteries they hold. Here is an interesting article I found summing up some of most intriguing mysteries of lost ancient civilizations. http://paranormal.about.com/cs/lostworlds/a/aa020204.htm

2005-07-17T21:04:00.000-07:00

Dinner with Phil, Kathy, Charles and Susan on 7/16/05

2005-07-10T19:04:00.000-07:00

Golden Gate Bridge

2005-07-10T18:54:00.000-07:00

Grass Blowing in the Wind - Quivira Winery

2005-07-10T18:16:00.000-07:00

Sonoma trip. Calming effect of drinking red wine! Light weights! Hahaha

Your favorite tea?

2005-06-14T10:20:00.000-07:00

I have really been into tea for the past 1-2 years now, enough to start my own tea business with one of my friends, Stiff.

One of my favorite teas lately has been the Tung Ting oolong, a green oolong from Taiwan. Great flavors, sweetness on the tongue that lasts for seconds, sometimes minutes after you swallow it. Yummy!

What is your favorite tea?

2005-06-13T15:56:00.000-07:00

The Eight Lions - Traditional lion dance at a Chinese association event

MocMoc and Lunch

2005-06-11T16:05:00.000-07:00

Well, it was my birthday recently and my friend MocMoc took me out to lunch at this local dinner called Dottie's True Blue Cafe. It's in the Tenderloin district, so not the nicest neighborhood but well worth the risk. When MocMoc and I got there we noticed that most people in line were tourist. First thing that we thought, "Geez, a touristy spot that's all reputation and no substance."

Well, to our surprise the meal was delicious. I would say the best offerings are the homemade baked-goods. We had a mango streusel and a pumpkin caramel bread. Both were decadent, moist and yummy. There were so many other special baked-goods we wanted to try. Everything sounded good. The regular breakfast stuff was fairly good too but I think we filled up too early on the baked-goods to appreciate it. Recommended if you don't mind the wait and the neighborhood.

On the way home, I had to show my friend that there truly are buffalos in San Francisco (yes really buffalos that move!)

Oh, boy, I am full. Time for a nice afternoon nap!

So, MocMoc, how's that for my REAL first post?

1st posting!

2005-05-06T11:15:00.000-07:00

We'll this is my first attempt at a blog. Kinda weird like I am writing to myself in a journal.

Welcome! Hope I can keep updating this so that you can get a glimpse of who I am what I am about. Stay tuned!