Pacific Avenue in ruins

Pacific Avenue Trees removed
Photo of old Pacific Avenue trees lining the street Dec. 2012

It’s hard to pass through the northern end of Pacific Avenue right now without feeling like excrement. After driving through earlier, I am unable to fully comprehend what is happening down there. It has been puzzling for awhile now and I’ve been doing my best to keep quiet, not judge, wait and see..

But I can’t be completely silent! It looks awful and there are a lot of missing trees and ginormous trenches in the sidewalks! Tomorrow I plan to take some pictures of the whole mess and try to figure out what I’m seeing. Immediately afterwards I plan to cheer myself up with a visit to RR at Tinkertopia. Maybe he can help me understand?

Samsung Galaxy S4 camera problems

Samsung has created a mess with their Galaxy S4 line of phones, cameras, phonecameras and cameraphones. Remember the awesome spoof video from last year about the fake iPhone5? Samsung decided to make this a reality. They’ve chosen to name this piece of garbage the Samsung Galaxy S4 Zoom, similar to my new cell phone, the Samsung Galaxy S4.

My Galaxy S4 claims an industry-leading 13MP camera that has proven to be of the same quality as the dog excrement I find in my backyard. There is clearly no image stabilization, and so all images I’ve taken over the past 2 days pale in comparison to those I take with my 2 year old 8MP LG Spectrum camera. Anyone who dabbles in photography knows image stabilization (also referred to as IS, OIS or vibration reduction) is an important feature on modern cameras and lenses. Unless you’re completely still, shooting a still subject that is close to you, your results will leave much to be desired.

Upon discovering these shortcomings immediately after picking up what is supposed to be the “highest rated” phone camera on the market, I went to the interwebz to find some answers. Upon searching major engines, I am taken to page after page about this Samsung Galaxy S4 Zoom. I honestly thought it was a joke (see link to spoof video of iPhone5 above!) until I found that I would start reading an article or forum post thinking it was about my phone only to realize that it is an article about this Zoom product. For this reason, I say “shame on you Samsung”. The web is already a congested mess of information to do with all these Galaxy devices and finding specifics on any one of them is now a challenge.

Examples of bad instagrams from the Galaxy S4 – “The Green Issue”

Samsung Galaxy S4 Instagram problem Samsung Galaxy S4 Instagram detail enhancer issue

Now we discuss the reason why most of you are here: the Instagram detail enhancer button does not work with any photo, from any source, when run through the Galaxy S4. One press of the detail enhancer button and everything goes green, as seen in above photos. I uninstalled and reinstalled Instagram three times before realizing ANY photo from any camera turns green when I try to use the detail enhancer (also known as the “sun button”).

I find virtually nothing about this online. I ran into several articles about the fabled S4 Galaxy Zoom along the way, but not too much about the green problem. People are talking about tinkering with advanced settings of the Instagram camera itself to try and fix things, but this is different than the green issue. These adjustments to the Instagram camera settings do nothing to fix the detail enhancer problems on the Galaxy S4.

To conclude, I hope many of you will join me in this conversation. I apologize for the SEO style of writing. Samsung and/or Instagram will hopefully release fixes for these things soon, but I am finding nothing to suggest that either is taking ownership of these problems. Instagram is too rooted in its dirty Apple beginnings and Samsung may be too busy making things like the Galaxy S4 Zoom to notice.




Owners set to remodel classic Tacoma restaurant

Harbor Lights Harbor Lights Harbor Lights bar

Harbor Lights has been a staple on the Tacoma waterfront for decades. Over the years very little has changed here and its patrons love the consistency. Most people were a little nervous when they heard that the classic seafood joint planned to undergo a facelift starting today, March 11, 2013. It is rumored that the bar will be expanded and reoriented to maximize the water views from the inside. The signature food (crab) and the “strong pour” in the bar are rumored to be sticking around.
 
It’s rare to be stagnant in today’s world and be rewarded for it, but that’s what has happened with Harbor Lights. What a luxury, to have most of your loyal patrons prefer you NOT update with the times. This update seems like a roll of the dice to me..but I’m hoping for the best. See you on the other side!

“Bring on the Slice” There’s pizza and then there’s PIZZA!

Ah Badabing logoIf you’re from NY and missing the pizza you grew up with, or are just looking for a new adventure in Pizza, Ah Badabing is for you. Tucked away in Lakewood on 100th Street, across from McDonald’s in the little brick shopping strip, it is worth the effort to find. Owner/operator Brian D’Millo introduces the authentic NY style pizza that North Westerners have been missing out on! Hand-crafted with fresh ingredients and signature sauce created from Brain’s childhood memories, this pizza is perfect whether you are hosting the gang for Monday night football, grabbing lunch, or just enjoying a quiet “pizza and a movie” night at home. Pizza from $4.99 a slice that easily feeds two, to a 30″ multiple topping pizza that feeds 8-16 people, depending on the number of teenagers! Try it once, and Ah Badabing Pizzeria will become your “go-to” Pizzeria!

Ah Badabing Pizzeria, 6101 100th St SW, Lakewood, WA, (253) 582-2170

Brian D'Millo holding a slice of pizza Ah Badabing Storefront Brian D'Millo throwing dough

This ain’t yer grandma’s Wednesday

Wednesday on the Water is finally catching on. It’s taken many years and countless posts for this never-going-to-be-a-household-name event to catch on. At least a dozen people have now participated and there’s no telling where inertia might take us.

Wednesday on the Water in Tacoma

In Tacoma we gather on Wednesday nights half the year to paddle around Commencement Bay or the Thea Foss Waterway downtown. Sailboats flock to the East side of the bay near Browns Point for a couple hours on Wednesday nights, often traversing the bay to round buoys near Ruston Way. They provide quite a show and so we started plopping down and watching a few years back. It makes for a relaxing evening of sights and sounds. Live music even shows up in various forms where you least expect it.

Of course not everyone has a boat, kayak or paddleboard. There are ways to fix that..

The subject of kayak rentals in Tacoma has come up repeatedly over the years so I figured I should let you know what we know, as of the time of this writing, 8/15/2012. Dock Street Marina (on Dock Street!) will rent boats on the Thea Foss Waterway until approximately 9pm and a group affiliated with Metro Parks rents kayaks at Owen Beach until 7pm.

If you are looking to buy a kayak or two, and you are new to this craze, I recommend Sports Authority. They have a large selection of affordable kayaks and everything you need to get started. Costco is another place for entry-level equipment that won’t break the bank. Keep in mind you will also need a good way to transport your boat.

If you already know what you like, perhaps check out Paddling Gear at REI. They always carry really nice outdoor gear.

Finally, I wanted to let you in on a bit of an obsession we’re cultivating around here. I want to start saving pennies in a jar to help pay for what will likely be our next big purchase. When the finances and the time and the stars and the moon align, we will be acquiring a kayak kit from Pygmy Boats in Port Townsend, Washington. With their help, we will be building our own kayak or two or three.. So light, so long and so pretty, I’ll probably need to take a sedative the first time it scrapes on the beach. Pygmy ships you everything you need to make your very own luxury kayak; all you need is space, time and a little elbow grease. Oh, and $1000 or so.

See you on the water.