The Biggest Loser on Stranger Things
The absolute biggest loser of Season 1 of Stranger Things has to be Barb, Nancy’s best friend. Luckily Jimmy Fallon’s Tonight Show captures all of Barb’s sentiments.
Quick Review of the AUKEY EP-B4 Bluetooth Headphones
So these were a bargain on Amazon selling for only $10 so why not spring for the AUKEY EP-B4 Bluetooth Headphones in the sporty lime green color? Even if these were a bust, $10 isn’t a big investment.
First of all, these wireless headphones do in fact work and connected easily to my iPhone and Apple Watch via Bluetooth. The sound is decent – not great but not terrible either. With different ear covers and “wings,” you can customize the fit in a lot of ways, and the earpieces lock into place with a quarter turn. I’m still playing with the fit since the earpieces don’t feel completely secured in place. Really though, I think the culprit to not staying in place lies in the flat cable connecting the left and right ear pieces. Out of the box, the cable stays kinked in its folded shape and doesn’t flex easily. Because of this rigidity, the cable very often pulls on the earpieces, dislodging them.
Battery life is kinda short (to me). After the initial charge, I used the headphones three times for about 45 minutes per session. Although I do admit that I wasn’t diligent with powering down the headphones when I was done. Powering up is kinda tricky as well, but I’ve found it best to put them on then hold the power button until you hear the AUKEY say “powered on.”
All in all, the AUKEY EP-B4 hasn’t disappointed. It hasn’t completely won me over quite yet, but I do like the appeal of less wires in my personal space.
Mobile Blogging with Keyboard
Hey, this makes mobile blogging a lot easier. I just picked up a Logitech K380 multi-device Bluetooth keyboard and paired it with my iPhone. Typing longer posts isn’t as difficult now that I don’t have to inaccurately peck away at the iPhone’s virtual keyboard.
The K380 feels pretty good. The key layout seems just a tad cramped, but that could be my imagination. I’m still more accurate typing on the K380 than tapping on-screen.
No wires since it’s Bluetooth connected, and this keyboard can pair with three devices. Need to try out my AppleTV to see what the experience is like. I probably won’t use this keyboard with my MacBook Air since what’s the purpose. But the keyboard is small-ish and light, so it’s easily transportable to make mobile blogging a better experience.
Hmm, I just noticed that the virtual keyboard no longer shows up in WordPress while I’m using the external K380.
Street Cameras for the World Conservation Congress
Have you noticed the recently added street view cameras on Kapiolani Blvd? They’re not that big and really the signs posted on the traffic lights about these cameras are bigger than the cameras themselves.
But yes, these have been installed for the upcoming World Conservation Congress coming to Hawaii next week, potentially causing messy traffic on this main thoroughfare. As Hawaii News Now reports, avoid the area if possible.
Though I’m wondering if the the presence of all these foreign delegates will attract Pokemon from other countries…
Costco Calories
Never really noticed this in the past, but have ever tried to eat healthy at the Costco food court? While you can’t beat the cost of the hot dog/soda combo, it can’t be that good for your body. Pizza, sandwiches, sundaes – all no so healthy.
Of course, the Caesar salad is the answer. Nothing healthier than a salad right? Just look at the calories.
650 calories for the chicken Caesar salad but look at the 610 calories of the beef brisket sandwich. 610!! Unbelievable. Next time I’m getting the beef.
Daisy Chaining DisplayPort Displays
Bye VGA, bye DVI. Got Dell UltraSharp U2515H displays that only have HDMI and DisplayPort inputs. But there’s this “weird” DisplayPort that wasn’t working for me…until I learned that it’s an ouput for DisplayPort, not an input. But why would a monitor need an output port? So you can daisy chain them.
Yup, I learned that monitors that support DisplayPort 1.2 can actually be daisy chained to each other and still work as independent displays. Of course, your graphics card has to be able to keep up, pushing out all them pixels. But wow, this is convenient and with less cable clutter on your computer, especially a laptop. But… for these UltraSharp U2515, you need to enable DisplayPort 1.2. By default, it’s disabled to the more commonly used version 1.1, indicating that daisy chaining isn’t a common consumer feature.
On the Mac front however, my older MacBook Air doesn’t support daisy chaining aka Multi-Stream Transport (MST). I kinda expected that from a mid-2012 computer, but my Air does flawlessly power the U2515’s 2560 x 1440 resolution via the ThunderBolt port that shares the same form factor as a miniDisplayPort (mDP). So yay!
Next, make a return to the MacBook Pro line…
Pokemon Go Bans Are Real
So you probably heard that Pokemon Go creator, Niantic Labs, is banning users from the popular game if they suspect you for violating the game terms. In other words, you’re cheating at the game. Commonly, this cheating takes the form of using an app or service that divulges the location of Pokemon. Instead of you hunting for them, these apps miraculously tell you where to find the pocket monsters instead. Convenient, yes. Allowed, no.
So I tried a popular Android app called Smart Poke 2. In the app’s description, the developers warn you about the possibility of being banned and even tell you to register another Pokemon Trainer account. Even though the results of the app weren’t great, sure enough, it happened. I got this email from Niantic.
What can I say but busted. So let me tell you that the threat is real, and it’s not worth it. These apps don’t work so well. On the other side though, the game is getting boring, wandering around catching Pidgeys, Rattatas, Spearows, and Weedles. The game has got to figure out a better way of tracking down Pokemon.
That’s Not Winning
Well, that was unexpected. At work, I came across a list of recent award recipients and posted the list of names on our company’s SharePoint-based intranet (like I typically do). The reaction to this list of winners though was not expected. Instead of an overall congratulatory spirit for the winners, there were questions about the visibility and ordering of the names of the winners.
If you’ve used SharePoint’s Summary View for Announcements, you know that it, by default, truncates body entries. I never bothered to find the exact amount of characters displayed before being truncated, but I do know that SharePoint does not indicate that there’s more content to see. So because of this behavior, the list of award winners was truncated in the Summary View, and people took offense of being “omitted. When in fact, if they viewed the entire announcement then they would have seen the complete list of winners. And really, this Summary View has been in place for years. So you would have noticed this truncating behavior well before this one post.
Also, I copied and pasted the list of winners verbatim. I don’t know how the names were ordered nor did I care since really they all won awards, no one better than the next award winner. But I guess that’s not the perception since I asked to alphabetize the list of winners.
As a group of winners from our department, I simply care about who was acknowledged with an award. It doesn’t matter if you’re the first name on the list or the last name on the list. You did well and was duly recogized.
So what’s the underlying message here? Obviously, it’s not about representing our department as a winning team. If being the third name on the list or the tenth name matters then that’s not winning.
Great Customer Support, Nike!
Wow, I was hopeful but uncertain. But sure enough, Nike pulled through with great customer service and support, approving my return of my Air Max Lunar1. Although two years old and technically right outside the defective products period, I had nothing to lose by trying a return.
Nike.com purchases: Flawed shoes, apparel and gear can be returned if manufactured less than two years ago.
After about a week of processing, I finally received notification that my return was accepted and fully refunded. I forget how I originally paid for my Lunar1 since part of my refund is on gift card. In any case, I’m more than satisfied, and both you and I know that this act will definitely make me buy another pair of Nikes very soon. Ooops, already did!
Never Seen a Black Sugar Manapua?!?
This took me completely by surprise. Today, as I was walking around the office while eating a black sugar manapua, I had two coworkers stop me and ask what that was. They only knew of the regular pork-filled manapua aka char siu bao and had never seen the black sugar variety.
What’s so surprising is that these coworkers were born and raised in Hawaii! I can’t imagine not coming across a black sugar manapua back in the day especially small kid time buying snacks from the local manapua man. They asked where I got it from (Chun Wah Kam), but I said that I’m pretty sure most manapua places sell them.
So… I did a quick black sugar check using Frolic Hawaii’s Top 5 Manapua list. Here’s what I found.
Number 5: Libby
During my youth, this is where I remember buying manapua for parties and occasions so guarantee they gotta have. Sure enough, Libby comes through with the black sugar.
Number 4: Char Hung Sut
How about this favorite in downtown? Black sugar bao at Char Hung Sut confirmed!
Number 3: Chun Wah Kam
Chun Wah Kam is where I picked up my regular and black sugar manapua but forgot to take a pic. 🙁
Number 2: Royal Kitchen
I admit I don’t recall ever going to Royal Kitchen, but I bet their baked version of the black sugar bun is ono.
Number 1: Sing Cheong Yuan
Another downtown location and another I don’t remember eating at. Their online site is inconclusive, but trusty Yelp says they get black sugar.
There you have it. Five popular manapua shops and all five sell black sugar manapua (or a variation).