Year: 2010
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The Mission Inn
We went as a family to enjoy the lights and decorations and for a post-Christmas dinner at The Mission Inn.
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Puppies
Recently, we got new puppies, both German Shepherds. They are so cute and so curious about everything.
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Christmas Eve Dinner
We just had Christmas Eve dinner on the top floor overlooking the city. It’s a good way to end the week and to start the weekend. We had fun cooking and eating. Here’s the menu: APPETIZERS Brie Topped with Roasted Raspberry Chipotle Sauce Caprese Salad in Extra Virgin Olive Oil Infusd with Roasted Garlic Aged…
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Winter Storm
In all the years that we’ve lived in this area, we have never had such torrential rains as this. Mountain View became like a roaring river, and I almost slid into it because of the slick mud along Allen Way. Mud flowed into many homes, most of which were on Huron and Lawton, and the…
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Black Canyon Paddle
We had a really good trip this past weekend. It’s my sixth time to the Black Canyon below Hoover Dam, and some people’s first time. We arrived late Friday night after leaving from work. Brad arrived at the campsite first, and there were several more cars that came afterwards. Corey’s car pulled in around 2…
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Joshua Tree
This was a nice day trip, mainly to have a good time with friends while enjoying nature. While it was really hot during the day, it cooled off relatively quickly once the sun went down. Then, we had beautiful lighting from a full moon.
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New England
The trip to Boston was for the American Society for Surgery of the Hand. After the meetings, I took an excursion with Hasan to New Hampshire through the White Mountains for a view of the fall color change. This weekend was basically peak season for some parts. Then, we traveled east through Portland, Maine, before…
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Hong Kong and China
So it’s been almost three weeks of traveling. I left home Wednesday night, traveled through Hong Kong and China, came back home for a day’s layover, and then it was off to Boston on a red-eye. There was only enough time to get jet lagged, recover, and get jet lagged again. For this past week,…
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In China
This trip to China has been mainly about people, places and food. I got some instruction on guqin playing from Liang Qiu while I was in Foshan. Then, I have been meeting up with mainly relatives that I have not seen for more than ten years. Most everyone remain the same, except for the then…
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Hong Kong
The days are all blurred together because of the time change and the jet lag on this trip to Hong Kong and China. Yesterday morning, which seemed like so long ago, I landed in Hong Kong. I haven’t been back since before the takeover in 1997. A lot has changed, obviously, but some parts are…
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Landscaping
The pathways project is becoming more rewarding as many of its parts are taking shape. The project is going slowly though, since it’s mostly done piecemeal, an hour here and an hour there, mainly after work. The first part was the path along the hillside along the south bank of the pond. Here, large boulders…
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San Bernardino Peak
A group of us climbed San Bernardino Peak from the trailhead near Angelus Oaks. The weather, of course, was beautiful. Views from the top were breathtaking, especially at the turn just below the survey monument. These pictures are courtesy of Rob Quigley and Adam Lorenzetti.
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Western Orthopaedic Association
I spent the last several days in Monterey for the Western Orthopaedic Association. It was a good meeting. Ryan presented our research project there. After driving up Wednesday, I checked in and had dinner. The meetings started early the next morning, and most of each afternoon was free. On Thursday afternoon, I took a bike…
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Pathway
I’ve started working on a different type of project. This time, it’s making gravel and flagstone paths around the pond. Working on this is quite strenuous, especially when trying to wrestle boulders into place and making stair steps out of them. I set the flagstones in mortar, and then the spaces in between were filled…
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Church Outing
We went with our church outing to Salt Creek Beach in Dana Point, California. This is one of my favorite beaches, especially because of the nice lawn area above the stretch of soft sand. Even though we were just there a few weeks ago, this beach is always nice to visit.
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Summer Grill
A lot of friends came over to share garden produce. I made some lamb kebabs along with grilled vegetables from our garden, including eggplant, zucchini, tomatoes, and onions. Some of the fresh herbs were also picked from our yard—rosemary, thyme, oregano, and bay leaves.
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Salt Creek Beach
A group of us went to Salt Creek Beach. The weather was gloomy, but that made for nice pictures. As always, the water is really cold. Anyways, we all had a good time.
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Angwin, Pt. Reyes, Santa Rosa
I just got home from a trip to Northern California. The first day was spent driving to Angwin, arriving quite late at night. The next day, we went with Auntie Plerm and Uncle Michael on different tours—The Castle, Sepay olive oil company, Budweiser factory, and Jelly Belly. After some shopping and dinner, we went to…
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Pt. Reyes National Seashore
Bryce, Kara, Alice, and I headed into the backcountry at Point Reyes National Seashore. The first day, we hiked from Bear Valley Ranger Station to Sky Camp. The next day took us down to the beach, where we arrived at Coast Camp shortly after noon. We napped away most of the afternoon. Saturday’s hike was…
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Guqin Construction
The guqin project is finished! It began with mathematically modeling the construction manual 與古齋琴譜 with a few of my adjustments. From start to finish, it spanned 144 days.
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Guqin Tuning Cords and Completion
The tuning cords have been twisted and thread through the pegs. On one, I used modern steel/nylon strings, and on the other, I used silk strings. They sound very different, and I’m pleased with how both instruments turned out. Now, I have to try the pick-up system in the jiaoye guqin with the silk strings…
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Guqin adjustments
On the luoxia guqin, I carved some off the nut and lowered it so that the strings would be closer to the surface. This proved to be a good adjustment. Playing the instrument has been absolutely delightful. I refreshed my memory on some of my old repertoire. The first piece I played on it was…
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Tuning the guqin
I’m basically done!!!!! And the experiment with the compound radius worked out well. The main aim in making the new instruments was to try to eliminate string buzz, and indeed, it’s gone. Making the tuning cords required some trial and error. I bought tread, and for this luoxia guqin, I mixed two colors—maroon and brown—to…
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Inscribing the guqin
When I started this guqin project in February, I had no idea it would have taken this long. If I did, I most likely would have not embarked on it. For much of last week, I took a break from working on the instruments, since I was in San Diego at the American Orthopaedic Association…
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Guqin naming
Progress in the guqin building project has been steady but slow. I had made and set the pearl inlay, and they all ended up looking very nice. Then, I applied many clear coats of finish. Also, I drilled holes for the tuning cords. This all took place last week. I have been apprehensive about doing…
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South Fork Trail
Starting from the South Fork trailhead in the San Bernardino National Forest, a group of us hiked up passed the meadow and up to the avalanche area. After that, we turned around and headed back down the mountain.