http://www.lewislau.com/ en-us Copyright 2012 Sat, 14 Jul 2012 09:59:57 -0800 http://www.sixapart.com/movabletype/ http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Got my much needed 9 hour sleep :) Hmmm what to do this Saturday? ]]> http://www.lewislau.com/2012/07/good_morning_from_sunny_la.html http://www.lewislau.com/2012/07/good_morning_from_sunny_la.html Sat, 14 Jul 2012 09:59:57 -0800 Haven't really been posting anything new on lewislau.com lately, for one reason only - it is just soooo much easier to post to Facebook instead via my FB app. So instead of fighting the FB vs. lewislau.com blog war, we're making sweet, sweet FACE-lewislau.com-BOOK integration instead. I've purchased a blogging app for my phone, to post photo as well as text, or mixed entries such as this. Step one is now complete, with Facebook LIKE button populating my blog entries. Step two will also come soon, with automatic posting to FB once I post onto my web site - this would motivate me to post more to my blog instead, and have Mr. Zuckerberg's site as a *mirror* to my site. At least that's the idea. Let's see if it works in the next few weeks :)]]> http://www.lewislau.com/2012/07/facebook_integration.html http://www.lewislau.com/2012/07/facebook_integration.html Fri, 13 Jul 2012 19:01:22 -0800 Heading back to Minneapolis later this month for a sales meeting. Hoping to see some friends while I am there!]]> http://www.lewislau.com/2012/07/minneapolis-bound.html http://www.lewislau.com/2012/07/minneapolis-bound.html Wed, 11 Jul 2012 10:40:00 -0800 First photo entry through my phone :)]]> http://www.lewislau.com/2012/07/photo_entry.html http://www.lewislau.com/2012/07/photo_entry.html Tue, 10 Jul 2012 19:24:59 -0800 After so many years of blogging through my web site via a computer, finally got it working today COMPLETELY through my mobile phone. Horray! http://www.lewislau.com/2012/07/mobile_blogging_123.html http://www.lewislau.com/2012/07/mobile_blogging_123.html Tue, 10 Jul 2012 19:15:50 -0800
With the year coming to a close, my apologies for not keeping this web site up to date as I would have liked to... Spending Christmas and New Year's in Solingen with Julia and her family. Today the parents are meeting for the first time, so it is quite an exciting day :) In the next few months I am going to get all the photogalleries updated (I know I had promised this before, but THIS TIME because of various more serious, pressing reasons, it WILL GET DONE)... so check back often for new galleries. Next year I would also like to figure out a good way to synchronize my Facebook account with this web site. To fit that with wedding, immigration, and various projects... realistically FB-integration will be put on the back-burner for now. The above HDR timelapse is a video I did in Frankfurt while waiting for my transfer to Dusseldorf. It's of my better works this year, so I hope you enjoy it! Happy Holidays!]]> http://www.lewislau.com/2011/12/last_post_of_the_year.html http://www.lewislau.com/2011/12/last_post_of_the_year.html Tue, 27 Dec 2011 02:06:35 -0800 It was quite a while ago (eek! more than 20 years!)... but I still remember landing in Chicago O'Hare with my mom, suitcases in tow (transferring to another flight bound for Rochester, NY), and the first thing that caught my eyes were these cool neon lights moving above me. This is America! I have been traveling to Chicago about once or twice a year (en route to LA or to Germany), and every time I go from terminal B to terminal C I remember walking the walkway with mom... With just a few weeks left in the year, I decided to start getting my photo galleries up to date. So far I am up to DECEMBER... of 2008! :( Yeah I know. Hey - at least I got five galleries (September, October, and November, and a few in December 2008) uploaded! Enjoy!]]> http://www.lewislau.com/2011/12/the_first_thing_i_saw_when_i_c.html http://www.lewislau.com/2011/12/the_first_thing_i_saw_when_i_c.html Mon, 12 Dec 2011 23:04:37 -0800 The last month of the year and I think this will be the LONGEST post of the year so far. Before I begin, the above picture was taken atop the 9Xth floor of the 101 Building in Taiwan on a cloudy day. It looked beautiful with the sun setting far left and its ray peeking through the cloudy day. Underneath it the lives of everyday Taipei People goes on... THAT IS WHY I THINK IT IS ONE OF THE MOST BEAUTIFUL PICTURES I TOOK THIS YEAR. Sitting my my hotel room on a Wedneday night on a business trip. My friends right now are either 1) sleeping, 2) watching TV together, 3) taking care of their babies, or 4) partying. Am I happy? Honestly, AS HAPPY AS I CAN BE, SITTING IN FRONT OF MY LAPTOP. WHY AM I HAPPY? In general, today I have my health (no serious problems that I know of - some tests will confirm that). I have a wonderful fiancee who gives me the freedom but keeps me in check. My family loves me. I have a great job with a company that gives me the freedom while trusting me to maximize my efforts to make them as much money as I possibly can. In detail, my girlfriend said "yes" when I knelt down in front of her this summer and asked her to marry me. Her lost cat (for all of five days, but felt like silent eternity when we gave up all hope that she would return safe) walked home last weekend like nothing had happened. Today I had a great workday followed by a good dinner (too many calories, in my opinion, but awesome), had a few drinks but not so much to affect my emotions. Furthermore, had great conversation with a colleague who told me his neighbor suddenly got sick and had to be in a medically induced coma to overcome the blood infection that somehow got into his body. Selfishly I thought "thank goodness I am okay" but in a Ghandi/Mother Theresa way happy that the man is now awake and healthy for now. Yes. LIFE IS INDEED GOOD. During dinner I was also discussing about how another friend was always unhappy; to the point of telling another friend at a party that "honestly I rather be somewhere else than here with you". To that negative-minded person, I have only TWO WORDS for you. GROW UP. Actually, four words. GROW THE FUCK UP. Those who have been following my web site would know that this is probably the FIRST time I used the F-word. That is how honest/raw I feel about this - if you can't be an adult enough to handle a party with demi-friends (let's call the rest-of-us, that, if not true friends) then get the EFF home and mope infront of your fireplace/tv/Xbox/girlfiend/pet. The fact that i am hanging out with you while my own family is at home should be enough clues that I AM IN THE SAME BOAT AS YOU. If you can't see that and still bitch and whine day and night in front of me, F*CK OFF (yes I can only use that word once per-post). What is the purpose of this post? Rewind back a year and you will see it is the same as last year. Be thankful that you are not the supposed ninety-nine percent like the occupy-whatever movement (honest to god/allah/budddah today I experienced my first OCCUPY-THIS-YOUTUBE-MUSIC-VIDEO-EVENT) would like you to believe that your life is really that tough. If you are reading this post from an i-anthing/I-have-a-faster-download-bandwith-than-you-carrier/fruit-description mobile device/machine-with-a-gigahertz speed-defintion/have more to worry about than what latte to drink tomorrow/food choice to choose from/friend(s) to depend on/bed to sleep in/horrible job to go to tomorrow... TAKE A FRIGGIN DEEP BREATH, A STEP BACk, and honestly be thankful for what you DO HAVE around you. You may have 100 back-stabbing friends, but focus on the one you can bitch all of them to with. Hug/Kiss your dearest love/family member/friend, and be happy you are still breathing to enjoy their company. I've said enough. Now go live life as happy as you can make it, since it is YOUR LIFE. AND IT IS NOT THAT BAD SINCE YOU ARE ON THE INTERNET AND NOT PICKING DINNER FROM SOMEONE ELSE'S GARBAGE CAN. Now that's what I would say if I did a commencement speech at a local kindergarten, since Stanford is too out-of-reach for me (my last name did not end with Jobs and I have yet to create anything noticable). Why all the sentimental, existential viewpoints? Today is Mother's Day for me. Exactly 11 years ago I said goodbye to my mother over the phone for the last time. To this day it still feels like yesterday. Don't get me wrong. My life is okay now and I am an extremely happy and fulfilled person. But not a day goes by where I wish I was able to tell my mom how much I loved her IN PERSON. Don't waste YOUR opportunity.]]> http://www.lewislau.com/2011/12/11_years.html http://www.lewislau.com/2011/12/11_years.html Wed, 07 Dec 2011 23:07:39 -0800 This one, evidently. Julia's cat Leni left home last week (they roam free around the neighborhood) and never called home while she was away (she left her cell phone on the kitchen counter, as usual) and she's not that good with typing emails, so obviously got everyone worried SICK... Until just now - Julia just called and said that Leni just got home! I'm most angry that she didn't being back any souvenirs, but I'll forgive her this time. ]]> http://www.lewislau.com/2011/12/what_kind_of_cat_runs_off_for_.html http://www.lewislau.com/2011/12/what_kind_of_cat_runs_off_for_.html Sat, 03 Dec 2011 16:35:29 -0800 (Click on the above thumbnail for larger view) While working in Phoenix the past two days I was informed about the occasional dust storms that hover through Arizona... Supposedly they come suddenly, and when you get caught in it you should just pull over, turn your car lights off (so no one follows you and hits you from behind, since the visibility is ZERO) and wait for the storm to pass. WHATEVER. I've been in blizzard conditions, and not only is the visibility zero, the roads are slippery too. And that was on the way to snowboard while the temperature is MINUS 30 F. MINUS. So when i heard that there was a dust storm coming to Phoenix, I hung out at the outdoor bar, took some pictures, and drank my beer and ate my dinner. Dust Storm? What Dust Storm? :P]]> http://www.lewislau.com/2011/09/dust_strom.html http://www.lewislau.com/2011/09/dust_strom.html Tue, 27 Sep 2011 21:57:21 -0800 (Click on the above thumbnail for larger view) I have always been afraid of heights. Still remember a few years back when my friend Bill and I went to The Grand Canyon's North Rim, and even though the path to the top was about 15-20 ft. wide, I literally CRAWLED up because I was so afraid of "rolling over the edge" down the canyon (meanwhile children were running and giggling by me). A few weeks ago Bill came by to LA over the weekend and we decided to take a spontaneous trip out to Joshua Tree to take some pictures. There were so many rock formations... I strangely had the urge to take a picture from atop one of these boulder piles... hmmm - what about my fear of heights? The fear is still there - I just refused to look down and just kept climbing (with my new camera safely tucked away, of course). The satisfaction of taking this picture once I got to the top? Priceless. Bill was quite surprised that I made it up to the top :) It took me quite a bit longer to come down afterwards, though. Things I would do these days to get a good shot :P]]> http://www.lewislau.com/2011/09/fear_of_heights.html http://www.lewislau.com/2011/09/fear_of_heights.html Sun, 25 Sep 2011 17:53:30 -0800 (Click on the above thumbnail for larger view) Another weekend gone by, and another work week coming up. It's been quite busy with the job lately, trying to drum up business before the end of the year for the company. Planning a trip to Phoenix, Arizona (last time I was there it was 126 degrees F/ 52 degrees C!) followed by Las Vegas. People always ask me if I get to have fun while I travel, and I'd be lying if I said I was working 100% of the time. With the bit of spare time late at night these days, I often juggle between sleep and/or picture-taking. The above picture was taken at the Palmer House Hotel in Chicago, when I was visiting for a trade show a few weeks back. Too bad I wasn't able to take a picture of the silver jellybean Cloud Gate sculpture this time... oh well - maybe next year. ]]> http://www.lewislau.com/2011/09/_click_on_the_above.html http://www.lewislau.com/2011/09/_click_on_the_above.html Fri, 16 Sep 2011 18:07:59 -0800 (Click HERE for larger view) Happy Labor Day Weekend! I decided to spend some time this past week playing with my new camera, and so far it satisfies two of my photographic interests - HDR photography (the above photos of my back yard were taken with the PEN E-P3), and timelapse videos. The perfect camera? I don't know yet - need to play with it a lot more before I can officially write up a report. Here is what I got so far:: PRO: Versatility - I no longer need multiple cameras for candid, HDR, and time-lapse shots Quality - the sensor on the E-P3 is FAR superior than the one in the LX3 Modularity - I was happy with the LX3's f2.0 lens, but even happier with the Pancake f1.7 prime lens which I use most of the time. And better yet? If I want a new lens I can just switch it out! CONS: Weight - the LX3 feels like a toy compared to the E-P3. I guess some may consider this a plus, but I think I need some more time to get used to the all-metal body Pricey Options - I guess if I was Mr. Gates or Mr. Jobs I can just go out a buy all the expensive lens options that I want, but until that day I just have to make do with what I have... Speaking of my current camera lens that I can't live without... those around me knows that I often shoot with my low cost wide-angle lens attached to the LX3 (I like my wide-angle shots!). Trying to find a good comparable replacement lens for the E-P3 proved difficult. Then I came up with the idea - my Pancake lens thread is 46mm - why not buy an ring adapter to convert it to the 52mm thread on the wide angle lens? Instead of spending $150 for a Panasonic replacement my local Samy's Camera sold me the adapter for $8, and now I have the best of both world - fast lens and wide angle! With tomorrow being an off day (sort of - I still have to work) I'm going shooting later tonight in downtown LA. ]]> http://www.lewislau.com/2011/09/camera_porn.html http://www.lewislau.com/2011/09/camera_porn.html Sun, 04 Sep 2011 17:15:01 -0800 after tinkering with photography since 1999 with a borrowed Fujifilm 1.2Mpix camera (thanks Anita!) I finally got my first interchangeable lens camera this past week - Olympus E-P3. Wanting the camera to still be PORTABLE (hence the reason why I didn't go for a much 'better', but MUCH BULKIER camera, Canon 5DMKII or Nikon D7000). I also bought a shorter lens: Panasonic Lumix 20mm f1.7 'pancake'. Not wanting to look like an Asian Tourist with a camera around their neck, I also got a nice compact Gariz hand strap Too much to do @ work today. Hopefully I will get to play with later tonight!]]> http://www.lewislau.com/2011/08/my_new_toys.html http://www.lewislau.com/2011/08/my_new_toys.html Fri, 26 Aug 2011 09:18:57 -0800 One from New York One from Montana One from Korea The secret will be revealed tomorrow - hint: new toy that I don't have time to play with tonight - too much work to do for a big presentation tomorrow!]]> http://www.lewislau.com/2011/08/got_three_boxes_in_the_mail_to.html http://www.lewislau.com/2011/08/got_three_boxes_in_the_mail_to.html Thu, 25 Aug 2011 18:19:51 -0800