Added to Our LEGO Collection
Valentine’s Day brought along some new additions to our LEGO collection. Here are the instruction booklets.
I’m very impressed with the Ninjago set. That mecha exoskeleton includes lots of interesting parts for only $10.
A Taste of Robotics at Pearlridge Center
I’ve never watched a robotics competition for any duration before, but Pearlridge Center gave me the opportunity this past weekend. On Sunday, February 17, 2013, Pearlridge hosted a VEX Robotics Competition as part of Engineers Week in Hawaii.
Middle and elementary schools from around the island showcased their custom designed and built robots in a competition of skills and strategy. The rules of the competition is complex with scoring, high goal scoring, de-scoring, autonomous mode bonus, parking bonus, alliances, and more. Regardless, watching the robots and the kids actively engaged was fun. I gotta say, using robots to block other robots was an exciting twist, and the defensive strategy was very effective, allowing the underdogs to take down higher ranked opponents.
Here’s a small taste of one round of the competition.
And here are a few pictures.
Congratulations to all teams and their schools for a great show!
Migrating from Posterous to WordPress.com
Since Posterous announced that it will be shutting down on April 30, I followed their steps to backup my existing Posterous content.
For the requested backup to be available took some time and downloading ~140 MB of stuff took some time as well. Using my existing (but unused) pulpconnection.wordpress.com blog, I used the Import tool. I located the XML file in the unzipped download and let the import tool go to work. After another wait, I was notified everything completed successfully.
So at least my 459 Posterous items now live on within WordPress.com. Who knows, I may even configure this extra blog to be Posterous like.
Oh and apologies if this massive import blows up your WordPress.com Reader if you follow along. I’m not sure if all these entries are reported as “new” and therefore overwhelm your reader feed.
A Starbucks Three C, a Pebble, and Me
Just enjoying a Starbucks “Three C’s” while wearing my Pebble watch.
The Three C’s are cinnamon, chocolate (mocha), and caramel, and I ordered a partial Three C’s from Starbucks secret menu to cut down on the sweetness.
Ala Moana Last Week
So this week at Ala Moana Center, there were lion dances and a flash freeze mob, but what about last week? Last week was more mellow although it started on a rare note as I parked next to a Maserati. At Champs Sports, I spied the Nike Air Max 95 EM Honolulu version. But I couldn’t find Center Court. Where’d it go?
I did find the future home of the Microsoft Store. It’s next to Bath and Body Works, diagonal from the Apple Store, and faces Fashion Secrets.
I also found the new and temporary Centertainment stage by Nordstrom’s. It’s small.
Week by week, this mall giant changes ever so much. For a little bit more pictures, check out the gallery below.
Freeze Frame Flash Mob at Ala Moana
On Saturday, February 16, 2013, Ala Moana Center celebrated Chinese New Year by unleashing dancing lions to traverse the mall. As the many drumbeats of the performances echoed throughout, the once home of Center Court held a silent show. A freeze frame flash mob quietly assembled frozen in poses for a few minutes.
It took a little while for shoppers to understand this was a show, not just people standing in the way of bustling shoppers. This performance did catch the Ala Moana security guards off guard. Do they remove these silent models? Is this a sanctioned show? I’m guessing this flash mob is this event organized on Facebook.
A few more frozen pics.
I was tempted to tap one of them on the shoulder to ask for directions or something. 😉
Celebrating Chinese New Year at Ala Moana Center
To celebrate Chinese New Year and to welcome the Year of the Snake, Ala Moana Center held a celebration at the Centertainment stage. Over 10 lions performed after kung fu demonstrations and the introduction of the 2013 Narcissus court.
Then the lions took to the shops, visiting various stores looking for red envelopes.
After about two hours, the lions made their conclusion at Macy’s.
Strike a pose!
For a lot more pictures, watch the below photo gallery.
That’s Some Big Koi
Over the weekend, the Waikiki Aquarium hosted the 5th annual Aloha Koi Society Koi Show. I’ve never been to a koi show and didn’t know what to expect, but I did some of the biggest koi in my life.
I thought the fish in the Ala Moana koi ponds were big, but some at the show dwarfed those at Ala Moana! Although it’s hard to tell the relative size of the fish, here are some pictures.
I just want to know how you transport these monstrous sized koi?!?
NBA All Star 2013 Kicks Well Represented
Solecollector’s Facebook page has a great rundown on the diversity of kicks represented during the NBA 2013 All Star game. No longer a Nike and Adidas affair, the ASG featured brands such as PEAK (Tony Parker), Li-Ning (Dwyane Wade), Le Coq Sportif (Joakim Noah), and of course, Adidas, and the entire Nike family (Jordan family, LeBrons, Kobes, KDs).
Though not a signature shoe, I’m liking Nike’s HyperPosites made for LaMarcus Aldridge.
Air Jordan XX8 to Be Worn by Pandas?
The Air Jordan XX8 is on that cusp that separates genius from mediocre. At first glance, this ninja-looking bootie seemed like it relied on historical designs of Air Jordan designs. But then again, Tinker Hatfield, the soul of Air Jordan creations, was at the helm of the XX8.
Besides the technology that includes the Jordan Flight Plate, Air Zoom, and Dynamic Fit, there’s the obvious exterior shroud. Encasing the shoe, the shroud has become the focus of mad, crazy, genius designs. How’s this panda favorite, bamboo?
There are camo variations in blue and green.
How about the XX8 in New York Knicks colors?
Lastly, to standout during the NBA All Star activities, why not make a statement like Russell Westbrook’s custom editions?
Besides being a performance shoe on the court, the AJ XX8 is quickly becoming a designer’s canvas on and off the court. Simply genius.
A Short Pebble Review
I’ll get right to it. The Pebble watch is good but not yet great. Oh, there’s potential, but it’s not yet materialized.
When I learned of the Pebble project on Kickstarter, I backed it without hesitation. The promise of a “smartwatch” working in conjunction with a smartphone aka iPhone was, well, simply smart.
What’s Great
The e-paper display is absolutely great. It’s readable and visible under almost any condition. The only time it falls short is in pure darkness. Kinda no duh, but because it’s easy to see in dim light, you forget the obvious. But the Pebble does have a backlight. Push a button, tap the watch, or even cooler, shake your wrist, and the configurable backlight engages for a few seconds.
The setup of the Pebble is also a thing to marvel. It’s so easy; you’re up and running in no time. No complicated instructions, just download the app and follow along. The app’s diagnostic function lets you know of any problems or available updates.
Message and phone call notifications work! The Pebble vibrates upon incoming text messages or phone calls. No additional setup needed that I recall. I was surprised when the Pebble started vibrating on my wrist showing Caller ID information as my iPhone started to ring.
What’s Good
The look of the Pebble isn’t Apple-esque. It’s made of quality materials but not of Apple’s caliber or design aesthetic. The included watchband is basic, but you can easily change it. In the box, the Pebble didn’t immediately strike me as attractive but once on your wrist, it does look better. I personally like the Big Time watchface that shows off the readability of the e-paper display.
Navigating the watch’s controls is definitely manageable. Even with four hard buttons, the watch’s menus lead you along so there’s no question which button to push.
Controlling iTunes music playback is a neat trick. It works after you fire up the Music app on the Pebble. I thought the Pebble would be more telepathic, knowing that my music was playing and therefore have the Music app already loaded.
What’s Not So Good
Maybe I haven’t learned everything about the Pebble that I should, but some features seem like they’re missing. I can’t readily see how you’d use the Pebble to help track runs. I thought I remember reading about partnering with RunKeeper but don’t yet see this feature (yup, not available at launch). I’d like to see Nike+ integration at some point but doubt it since Nike also sells their own run-tracking watches.
More notifications. Right now, the Pebble can notify you of text messages and phone calls. Email notification and display isn’t yet available for iOS. It’d also be cool if any/all notifications could be Pebblified (without jailbreaking your iPhone).
Along these lines is the dearth of apps for the Pebble. Seemingly, the only customization available are a few watchfaces. At this early stage, the Pebble App Marketplace isn’t thriving, but hopefully that changes over time as more developers crank out apps.
The charging cable is unique to the Pebble which is good and bad. The magnetic coupling of the charger is what helps the Pebble be water resistant, but on the other hand, without this special cable, you can’t charge your watch. Fortunately, the battery life is approximated at one week (which I’m nearing).
Recapping at this early juncture, the Pebble watch is good with awesomeness in reach.
Unboxing Pictures
Awed by the Grand Taxonomy of Rap Names
I am simply in awe over this (info)graphic depicting the taxonomy of rapper’s names. All I can say is, “Word.”
