Sunday, 18 December 2011

Saturday, 19 March 2011

Saturday, 05 February 2011

  • Google CR-48 Chrome Notebook Teardown / Repair

    So for some reason, Google seems to really like me. Two days ago, I checked my mail only to realize that I was greeted with a brand new (and free) CR-48 ChromeOS Notebook. I don't know if this is because I'm now a (Senior) Moderator on XDA-Developers, a paid tech blogger for XDA-Developers and BriefMobile, or because I'm the recipient of a limited edition Nexus S, or because of my contributions to Android through theming. Whatever, though. I will not question a free and very pretty new toy!

    Anyway, all was well until I noticed that occasionally my screen's back-light would flicker. It was the type of flickering that you'd expect from a broken CCFL back-light. Given that this notebook uses LED back-lighting, I knew that was not possible. I called the ChromeOS "Ninjas" for help on how to obtain a replacement part. They told me it was a known issue and that I should try to open up the device and re-set the cable connecting the screen to the motherboard. They provided me with a clear, simple, and easy to follow guide to open up my device.

    The stark contrast between this and Apple's approach, where the consumer is assumed to know nothing and actively discouraged from tinkering with software, let alone hardware, is jarring. Huge props to Google for that. They actually treat me like I have a brain. Yay. THANK YOU CHROMEOS NINJAS!

    Here's my journey in pictures:


    The journey begins...

     


    Oh noez!!! It exploded!! (aka several stripped screws later)

     

     


    Pretty. The DDR2 module matches the motherboard PCB color.


     


    Underneath that white tape (that I added), was a loose display connector, the bane of my viewing existance!!


     


    Yay! It still works! (And yes. That's a DAS Model S Ultimate Keyboard right next to my Chromebook.)

Sunday, 28 March 2010

  • Computer Area / Nexus One

    Where I spend the majority of my time when I am at home...
    IMG_4422
    How nerdy, huh? At the time I had my receiver playing bluetooth audio from my Nexus One's Dock.

    My new baby... The Google Nexus One. I purchased mine unlocked so that I could get a pretty awesome rate plan. It's not an iPhone killer, it's an iPhone annihilator. For Apple's sake, I hope that they come out with something amazing for the iPhone 4G, and I am sure they will.

    But judging from how closed-off Apple's design strategy is and how uncustomizable their iPhones are, I think that the Nexus One will probably be the best phone available in the US until Windows Phone 7 comes out. [Yes, I know about the HTC EVO 4G coming out in June, but that thing is too big, doesn't have an OLED screen, is running the same CPU/GPU as the Nexus, is too big to be pocket-able, and is not nearly as pretty... though it does have HDMI!]
    IMG_4448
    [For the geeks out there: 1 GHz Snapdragon (almost double the speed of the 3GS's 600 MHz Arm A8, and it's dramatically smoother while scrolling in image-heavy pages such as engadget), 3.7" 800x480 AM-OLED Display (simply amazing and makes the 3GS's low-res 3.5" 480x320 LCD looked like a washed out 1990s phone), supports flash (I installed it through the HTC Desire's ROM, but Adobe will officially release it in few weeks), dual mics for noise cancellation (I spoke with my girlfriend while walking in a very crowded area and she thought I was alone in my apartment), full Google integration (including Goole Voice and Translate), amazingly accurate speech recognition for almost every text field (they disable it while entering phone numbers and web addresses), and all this in a package that's actually thinner than the iPhone.]

Sunday, 21 February 2010

  • Fly Me To The Moon

    Here's a song! I haven't done this in a while, huh? Heck, I haven't even posted ANYTHING in a while.

    So after listening to one of Olivia Ong's CDs, and hearing her version of this song, then listening to a bunch of other covers, I became thoroughly obsessed. Naturally I just had to give it a shot. Anyway, hope you enjoy...

Sunday, 24 January 2010

  • Some Upgrades...

    So first post of the new decade... What to post?

    This morning, I went ahead and snapped a few lazy shots of my MX-5, since she recently had a few more upgrades (Hard Dog Hardcore Dual Diagonal Roll Bar, DDMWorks Cold Air Intake for my Jackson Racing Supercharger, Goodwin Racing Roadster Sport Low Restriction Catalytic Converter and Midpipe, Goodwin Racing Roadster Sport 3 Cat-Back Exhaust, Flyin' Miata Level 2 Performance Clutch, Flyin' Miata 10 lbs Lightened Flywheel, Flyin' Miata Starter Interlock Bypass, DBA Cross-Drilled and Slotted Rotors, Goodridge Stainless Steel Brake Lines, and Hawk HP Plus Racing Brake Pads).

    Her older mods are: Jackson Racing Supercharger, Jackson Racing Power Card Fuel Management, Flyin' Miata Stage 2 Suspension and Sway Bars, Konig Minuz 11.3 lbs Rims, and Toyo Proxes R1R 205 width (but actually about 235 in real life) tires. I thiiiiink those are all of the mods. Not entirely sure anymore, haha.

    Unfortunately, I was too lazy to wash her first.

    IMG_4229
    Closeup of the DBA Rotors (yes... I know... hideously dirty.)

    IMG_4236
    DDMWorks Air Intake

    IMG_4237
    Side View... You can see the Hard Dog Rollbar peeking it's head a little through the window (fire sticker)

    IMG_4230
    Random Other Shot

    Now I need to install the Jackson Racing Supercharger Boost Upgrade and its ECU, which have been sitting under my bed for about 7 months. I really AM lazy...

Friday, 18 September 2009

  • Late Night Shenanigans

    So apparently, this is what happens when you put two hopkins students together in a room and they can't figure out how to get a semi-broken dual layer burner in a macbook pro (not mine... mine works) to actually burn a dual layer Snow Leopard disk:

    IMG_2491
    You pose for odd/disturbing pictures with my pet iguana!

Friday, 08 May 2009

  • It's Alive...

    Here's my little 2100 lbs race car...









    Jackson Racing Supercharger + Jackson Racing ECU + Flyin' Miata Stage 2 Race Suspension + Konig 11.3 lbs rims (with Rota caps, grr!) - Spare Tire and Trunk Carpeting = ULTIMATE FUN. Now all I need is a roll bar, race seats, and an exhaust.

    Grace is now SUPER-Grace

    PS. Huge thanks to Richard for substantially helping in the install...

Wednesday, 29 April 2009

  • The Mysterious Case of Freddy's Explosive Diarrhea

    So Freddy (full name Alfred McFreddlesworth), my baby Red Iguanna, gave me a bit of a scare the other day... He jumped from my shoulder to the lid of his cage, which isn't particularly out of the ordinary. He likes lounging on top of his cage at times, as he enjoys the height of that vantage point. Anyway, he never poops on me or on my bed, and up until that morning, he had never pooed on the lid of his cage...

    I was safe, or so I thought. Moments later, I hear a faint sizzle sound and then--BOOOOOM!!!

    The water from his poo shatters his heat lamp! Luckily poor little Freddy was safe. Severely shaken, but ok... I guess you could say he has some truly explosive diahhrea.

    Anyway, what kind of photo blogger would I be if I didn't post any pictures along with this graphic explanation? Here are some pics of my little angel (Yes, I know they're noisy, but they were all shot at high ISO):

    1. 20d,35/2 (Taken by Michelle, processed by me.)
    IMG_8520

    2. 20d,35/2 (Taken by Michelle, processed by me.)
    IMG_8522

    3. 20d,70-200/4 (Taken by Michelle, processed by me.)
    IMG_8272

    4. 20d,35/2
    IMG_8547

    5. 20d,35/2
    IMG_8543

    No. I won't post any pics of the actual happenings...

Friday, 06 March 2009

  • Baltimore Never Sleeps

    Here's a picture that I took with my friend Richard last night... I should really start posting more, since I have tons and tons of pictures that I haven't processed yet!

    Edit: So I reprocessed it. I think it needed a little bit of highlight refinement and some punched up colors. What do you think?

    Canon 20D: Canon EF 35mm, f/14, 15 sec, ISO 100

    Here's the old version.

Thursday, 25 December 2008

Wednesday, 24 December 2008

  • Relaxation

    So I went cruising around San Diego with John, Hoang, Garrick, and Henry today. We hit up the best pizza place ever, and then after that hit up a few places before going to the beach, where I decided to relax a little on a bench and look at the water...

    IMG_8143
    Canon 20D: Canon EF 35mm, f/2, 1/2 sec, ISO 3200, Handheld

Monday, 24 November 2008

  • Fort McHenry

    So my nose is so stuffed up from being sick that I can't even breathe, and thus can't sleep... Anyway, here is a picture I took at Fort McHenry, one of the key locations for the War of 1812. Here's a picture I took from a reenactment held here in Baltimore.

    IMG_0057

Friday, 07 November 2008

Wednesday, 05 November 2008

  • Starlit Harbor

    This is a shot I took back in January when my friend Jack (with whom I went to high school back in San Diego, CA) and I were walking around Baltimore's Inner Harbor. I just happened to have my old Rebel XT (now replaced for a 20D) on me, and my 35mm f/2 just HAPPENED to be attached.

    I guess I had a lucky shot.
    IMG_0076

Tuesday, 28 October 2008

  • Midnight Abyss

    Here's a shot I took back in 2005 only a few months after I got my (now-replaced) Rebel XT. My dad and I decided to go around San Diego shooting and we ended the night at La Jolla Shores.

    Wow, that was a long time ago. I can't believe that I left this shot unprocessed for so long! I hope you guys like it!

    IMG_0006
    Canon 350D: Canon EF 50mm I, f/5, 30 secs, ISO 100

Friday, 24 October 2008

Monday, 20 October 2008

  • C'est la vie.

    Every once in a while, you just feel a little drained, no matter how hard you try to feel like you're on top of your game. How do you bring back your lost motivation?

    IMG_0313

    Canon 350D: Canon EF 70-200L @ 200mm, f/4, 1/250 sec, ISO 100

Friday, 17 October 2008

  • Early Awakening

    Do you ever feel refreshed all of the sudden? Every once in a while, I suddenly find added inspiration, and I feel lucky to have these bouts of productivity. Anyway, here's an early morning pseudo-macro shot of some pistils and stamens, which look rather refreshing!

    IMG_0062
    Canon 350D: Canon EF 70-200L @ 200mm, f/4, 1/125 sec, ISO 200
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    • Name: Will
    • Location: Baltimore, Maryland, United States
    • Birthday: 9/4/1984
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    • Member Since: 11/8/2003