HEY YU!: 2009

09 December 2009

@samuelyu Hello dear blog, it’s been awhile.

Wow, I can’t believe I haven’t posted an entry since March. A lot has happened in the past 9 months. When I say a lot, I mean A LOT. I’ll dedicate a future blog post to that.

One thing that has happened is that I found other ways besides blogging to express my deep thoughts – namely Twitter. Yes, I have become a veritable Twitter-holic. There’s something about having to only come up with 140 characters that is liberating, and less intimidating than having to come up with a great idea for a blog post. Why stress over what to title my blog post when I can just tweet “Having leftovers for lunch” instead? I recognize that this might not be interesting to many people, and that they’d much rather read a blog post on why I think minivans rock (they do!), but with 2 kids (Did I mention my dear wife and I now have 2 kids? Part of the "a lot” that has occurred in the last 9 months), a full-time job, church life, who has time to sit down and blog? Especially when everything I want to say is being tweeted already?

So that brings us to this very moment. Why am I sitting down and actually “blogging”? I’d like to say I was inspired by Julie of Julie & Julia fame (saw the movie, didn’t read the book) and thought that maybe I too might someday score a book deal based on my amazing way with words, but that would not be true. I’d like to say it’s so that I can remember how to spell out entire words (OMG! LOL! FTW!) again, but that’s not true. The honest truth of the matter is that I have realized that there are some things that you just cannot express properly in 140 characters, no matter how concise you try to be. Like my opinion on anti-minivan parents: “Hey parents with young kids, let me tell you a little secret…GET OVER YOURSELVES. YOU ARE NO LONGER HIP AND COOL. YOU ARE A PARENT. DEAL WITH IT. STOP TORTURING YOUR CHILDREN BY SHOVING THEM INTO THE “3RD ROW” OF YOUR PILOT/HIGHLANDER/ARMADA. GROW UP AND BUY A MINIVAN ALREADY. TRUST ME, SLIDING DOORS ARE THE NEXT BEST THING TO SLICED BREAD.” See what I mean? I don’t think I could have squeezed all that into 140 characters, without losing the subtle texture and depth of feeling of what I was trying to convey.

Thus, I have decided I need to start blogging again. I’m definitely a bit rusty, and I am busier than ever. But I feel I owe it to myself to not just limit myself to tweets and Facebook updates. Because really, when it’s all said and done, doesn’t everyone deserve the opportunity to hear my opinion?

Deal with it already.

09 March 2009

Birthday Party fun

This past Saturday the rain stayed away, and Benjamin ended up having a great time at his birthday party, despite the fact that he didn't want to hit the pinata. (Note to self: do not let pinata become a part of the family by letting it stay in the house for over six months before getting "whacked" at birthday party). However, everyone else did a good job of putting the Kung-fu panda pinata to good use, and it rained candy for everyone. The candy probably helped comfort Benjamin, who at the end of the violence, turned to me and said "Panda dead, daddy." Here's hoping this poor kid won't need any counseling in the future.

Good thing Caroline was there to help cheer him up! The above photo was taken by our friend Melissa. You can see the rest of the party pics here. She's obviously very talented and is willing to take the extra step necessary to capture the perfect shot. She even climbed up a tree, fought off giant tree roaches and got slightly injured in the process, just to get some good pinata shots. So, if you're looking for someone to help capture memories at your next wedding/bar mitzvah/birth, be sure to give her a ring.

02 March 2009

Change is inevitable, except from vending machines.

I haven't updated this blog in awhile. My excuse? We've just spent the last 3 weeks in various stages of sickness, and we are in the final stages of recovery, hopefully. Not only that, but I was busy wrapping up work at my previous job this past Friday. Yesterday, we took Benjamin to the Book People puppet show (lame-o) in the morning, then went to the grand re-opening of Recycled Reads in the afternoon (50 cent picture books!), and then celebrated Vanessa's birthday at the Salt Grass Steakhouse (thanks for the giftcard Mom & Dad!) later that evening. Today was equally busy. This morning, we served with the 4th-6th graders (topic: Mary the Madgalene), went to the Austin Kite Festival in Zilker Park afterwards (Benjamin loved it! Where were you Selena G? We missed you!), then went to the Lord's table meeting this evening, and had dinner with the Nguyens. Tomorrow, I start my new job at Convio. What else? Oh yes, Benjamin turns 3(!) on Wednesday, and we're having a birthday party for him on Saturday. Then my cousin Sharon is flying in town, also on Saturday, to spend her spring break in sunny Austin, not freezing Boston! I think the last time she was in town was for Vanessa and I's wedding, way back in February 2003. Not only that, but for those who didn't know, we've also got another little one due in the middle of June. There will soon be another girl in the family to keep Vanessa company. Yeah! Vanessa is thrilled, to say the least. But she is also suffering through the difficulties of pregnancy. So, while we are by no means the Diller household, life has never been busier for us. Thankfully we still have our keys! (Please reference aforementioned blog for the meaning of that last sentence).

So, as you can clearly see, the times they are a changing. Hopefully I'll be able to keep up with the pace. Thus, you'll have to forgive me if this blog's update become less and less frequent. But at least you'll understand why. :)

29 January 2009

Zombies invade Austin! Run for your lives!

Is this a nationwide phenomena, or is Austin the only city under attack? Just remember, you can always outrun a zombie. Also, make sure you completely severe the head from the body to prevent the zombie from making a comeback.

For more useful tips on how to survive a zombie apocalypse, I highly recommend Max Brook's Zombie Survival Guide, available at Amazon. (Let's just hope your local UPS delivery man hasn't been zombie-fied yet.)

Sign Hacker broadcasts zombie warnings

25 January 2009

12 megapixel camera? Try 1474.

If you haven't seen it yet, you need to check out David Bergman's shot of the inauguration, seen above. Apparently, it looks like any other of the millions of digital shots taken this past Tuesday. But what if I were to tell you that it is over 1400 megapixels large and over 2 gigabytes in file size? You might begin to think, "Alright, so it's a big photo. So what?" Then, as you begin to peruse the photo in more depth, you realize, "Cool! I can see Yo-Yo Ma taking a photo with his Iphone!" And that is when it dawns on you that, like Mr. Ma, there's no way your trusty ol' cameraphone would have been up to the Herculean task of capturing this scene.

Hats off to Mr. Bergman for an amazing photo...

How I Made a 1,474-Megapixel Photo During President Obama’s Inaugural Address

19 January 2009

Watch the Obama Inauguration here LIVE!

Ah, you just gotta love technology! Thanks to the fine folks at Hulu, you can watch history being made, live, here on my blog.

14 January 2009

Digital, thy time has come at last!

President Obama's official portrait: the first ever taken with a digital camera - Engadget

Looks like the move from film to digital is complete. Anyone out there still using film?

09 January 2009

Poor Sooners (and Buckeyes) ...

The now-iconic image broadcast by Fox Sports at the end of the National Championship game. Thanks Fox Sports for ruining this poor girl's life. Or should I say, thank you Tim Tebow and the Gator Nation for proving which Big 12 school really belonged in the Big Dance. For further proof, see below for "Big Game" Bobby Stoops record in the last 5 BCS games...