Valentine Cards

This year someone may be receiving a card similar to this...

Or even better, this..

Wishing everyone a nice Valentine's Day!

~(^_^)v

The Fish-Eye

Ive always wanted a fisheye lens for a camera. The effect in my opinion was always pleasing to the eye. Getting a somewhat distorted but wider view of things. In order to take pictures like this ones options are to either buy an expensive camera with changeable lenses and then buy a separate fisheye lens or go with a cheaper non-digital alternative.


Of course, the least expensive quality camera i could come across would be at least $600 at base price. Then the extension would cost another $200. To get a proper carrying case and the right equipment that should go with this caliber of a camera would bring be to a total of almost $1000. An expensive hobby indeed!

Another option is to buy a camera made for fisheye photography. There are a few brands that make cameras with these specialized lenses starting from $50 and moving on up. Of course, the one below is a glorified version of what you could get. Most of these cameras are made out of plastic and use 35mm film.


However much i would love to buy one of these cameras, considering the cost is quite important. On one end I have no choice to wait until i am a little less poor to get started on this style of photography. On the other end, I want this capability so much that i can easily settle for a cheaper alternative. However, this alternative involves film :(. Unfortunately for me, I am quite spoiled by digital technology.

Luckily, I found myself a 3rd option. Using an old digital camera to start with, I decided to build my own fish-eye lens at home. After some research and a look at what other people had done, I decided to try something out.

First I started out with a wide angle door viewer, a pvc pipe and some craft foam. All of the materials I used were from a local hardware store, craft store or my own garage.

Careful cutting and precision measuring helped me build the perfect fitting for my digital cameras lense to fit nicely into the foam. Also, coating the door viewer with the foam helped to create a centered piece that would fit nicely into the pvc pipe while being centered with the camera lens.

After putting everything together carefully, I was able to build a complete lens. To make it look nice, all it needed was some high quality black ducking tape. The entire thing was built out of 4 basic materials.

After the lens was complete I attached it to the old camera. Of course, I wanted to make sure it was the old camera... just in case the fitting of the lens was too rough. Since these cameras aren't really meant for such extravagant attachments I thought it was quite nice.


In the end i was able to make a nice looking extension of my camera. I was able to successfully build and test my new fish-eye lens. And the best part was.. I made it myself!


Its not perfect, the sides are still visible unless you adjust the zoom right. However, considering the alternatives and the cost, I would say the small less than $20 i need to build this was quite worth it. With a little more work and adventure I hope to take some great pictures with this soon!

ホール・ニュー・ワールド

友だちのこかげでこの歌の好きさを覚えて来た。ディズニーソングの中にアラジンのA Whole New Worldは最初の歌いたいと思った歌だよ。

8 and 1/2 years

Of blood, sweat, and more blood! Thats what it took to finally receive this very expensive document. Or.. email about the document I will be getting.

Aaaand.. thats one milestone in life down.. how many more to go??

Almost 30 days...

Since I started the beard. I think its coming in quite nicely. All you people who think it makes me look like a bad guy... maybe i am! ^_^v I probably wont keep this for long if a want a job in a country that is afraid of the beard. Yes they fear it. Damnit I don't wanna shave it!! shoot.

On another note, Milo is really cute yes? He may look like an angry mop but hes a frickin awesome dog. Acutally, hes even more like a little person. Like an old playful man trapped inside of a puppy-sized dog's body. So his name is Mr. Milo to you!

And finally, I finished 日本語能力試験文法問題対策。Took long enough, but its not over. Now for review and starting one of the other many books i must complete.

Conan O' Brien Show

I don't watch tv so much these days, but when I do I love watching late night shows. Late night shows are amazing in that they talk about serious issues while never failing to provide a few laughs.

Ive had numerous conversations in the past about how the current and upcoming generations take so many things for granted these days. So much amazing technology, information at our fingertips and the ability to communicate with people around the world using credit card sized machines at the click of a button (which even a button will go obsolete someday soon) or a touch of the screen. People are getting more unhappy, more impatient, and more greedy the more convenient things in this world get. Since when did our society become so focused on instant gratification? I hope to never lose an appreciation for what previous generations had in simpler times when people were happy and the music was great.


Heres a clip from the Conan O' Brien show which i found to be quite hilarious.




Any thoughts? Its kinda scary, this world that we live in. As new technology comes out theres always something else that becomes obsolete. The way our minds are thinking are maybe at the point where human thought and reason are advancing though. We have great technology, but people are becoming lazier, kids are becoming more anti social with their faces glued to PSPs and NDSs. Even human relationships are deteriorating. -.- Hopefully without something drastic happening we can learn to appreciate what we have all over again.

Oh My Goodnesss...

Yess. This is what ive been waiting for for so long!
Being a able to make my favorite sushi rolls at home. ^_^

Yep. What you see on top of the avocado IS bacon.
In these rolls you would find nothing other than fresh salmon, tuna, avocado, rice, nori, spicy mayo... and...love.

I love Milo. The best lil brother you could ask for yeahp. Hes not a dog. He is a little person damnit.