me

no official post today. i’ve been preoccupied with updating my wordpress and looking at themes to revamp the site (yet again).

there are some good free themes i’m looking at, like libra, or twenty sixteen. but i’m also seriously contemplating stepping up and purchasing a theme like paulie, or rainier.

if you’re so inclined, take a look and let me know what you think.

part of the impetus to move to a new theme is the need for my blog to work well on mobile devices. currently it really doesn’t; try it out…. with a couple weeks of posting (nearly) everyday, i’m a little frustrated i don’t seem to be getting any increased traffic to the site and i’m looking for ways to remedy that. hopefully a new, sleek, mobile-friendly theme for my blog will help address the problem.

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i sat down at my computer, trying to get some work done and realized what today is. september 11, 2016. 15 years ago our country faced a horrible tragedy at the hands of evil madmen.

though i hadn’t planned to post anything today, instead writing for posts tomorrow and (maybe) tuesday, i thought i’d take a moment to contemplate….

here’s a look at what i wrote on the 5th anniversary.

even today, the footage is hard to watch.

a lot’s happened since that day our country changed, since we became afraid of, well, everything. 15 years later, we’re still waging a war on islamic extremism, with arguably little effect. and at least a portion of the country is intent on waging war against the whole islamic religion.

it seems to me, the world is a much scarier, much sadder place than it was before september 11,2001.

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the fall of 2010 was an a defining year for me. i worked my first session at the capitol for representative mina morita in between two stretches of unemployment.

these were taken at an reception for george takei, who had accepted an invitation to a fundraiser for equality hawaii, the largest lgbt rights organization in hawaii.

being a huge trekkie, this event was so exciting; you can tell by the enormous grin on my face.

you might notice i’m fairly thin here. i was pretty sick, actually, and several weeks later, i’d be diagnosed with crohn’s disease.

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actual work precluded me getting a post up in a timely fashion this morning. it turned out to be ok, though, because now i can write a bit about the new iphone 7 and ios 10. both have improvements in form and function, but neither the new iphone or the accompanying ios 10 makes me jump up and down with anticipation.

i have, nonetheless, been waiting for the release of the new iphone, mostly because i’ve decided i’d prefer the larger model to what i have now. and the batter life on my current iphone has begun to fade, not enough to be useless, but enough to be annoying.

the news that the standard headphone jack is going the way of the dodo is… a bit distressing. i consider myself an aspiring, or amateur audiophile and definitely appreciate high-quality headphones and the sound they produce. though some sources i’ve found suggest you can get the same quality sound wirelessly (over bluetooth) as you an via a wired set of headphones is promising, i’m not convinced.

earlier this year, i purchased a set of atx-m50x headphones from audio-technics, which i absolutely love. they’re bulky, but they create a thoroughly enjoyable listening experience and i find it a little hard to believe i could get a similar experience from wireless headphones (without spending two or three times the amount).

despite all these concerns, i understand why apple felt the move was necessary and am not really surprised. and it’s good to hear they’re going to be including an adapter with all the new iphones, eliminating the criticism that they’re forcing people to buy all new equipment.

i imagine it won’t be too terribly long before quality and pricing makes it worth while for me to move away from my wired headphones, though i’m glad i don’t have to do it quite yet.

while there have certainly been some technological advances i’ve been eager to adopt, others i’ve struggled with. as it was difficult for a generation to give up vinyl records or cassette tapes, so have i struggled to fully adapt to the fully-digital music world. i enjoy the experience of browsing in a music store and the moment ripping off the plastic on a cd case, or browsing the liner notes while listening to the album for the first time. i’ve even been contemplating a step back to the “vintage” era of vinyl and acquiring a record player and a healthy selection of vinyl records, though finances and a necessary rearranging of my tv and stereo have so far prevented me from taking the plunge.

anyway, in the next few days i’ll be visiting my at&t and apple stores to see about my options for upgrading to the new iphone 7.

yea for shiny new gadgets!

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…a time not so long ago when i still had some hair.

my younger brother was visiting for a week or so and these were taken during an “around the island” excursion with friends dean and becky.

they’re all married now and, with the exception of becky, have kids in tow. these are both nice a reminder of a time when i had more close friends nearby as well as a reminder of the progress others have made in their personal lives. so it goes.

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