Tag Archives: iOS

Unagi

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I came across an old Friends episode on YouTube earlier. It says there’s a concept in Karate called Unagi, which refers to having a constant awareness of danger and being prepared to fight. The episode itself was hilarious. But of course as in typical Friends fashion what Ross says is totally untrue. Instead it reminds me of something else.

https://youtu.be/jbRVoTL5djs

I don’t know Karate, but I shoot photos. In photography it is important for the photographer to be constantly prepared for the decisive moment. How? Shooting with the best camera possible is a good starting point. But as the old saying goes, the best camera is the one that’s with you. In the case of an iPhone, try shooting in RAW. The problem with iPhone’s stock camera app is that it applies noise reduction too heavily and the picture loses too much detail. Lightroom’s iOS app solved the whole problem in this case. It shoots sharp RAW files, then it allows you to edit a photo easily. As a matter of fact one of my recent Instagram uploads was shot on iPhone, and it became my instant favourite.

I shoot RAW all the time, even on the iPhone. — May 2018

But in photography the photographer’s side isn’t the whole story. The subject also needs to be constantly prepared. There’s no better example than the one and only @MartinHo. You see, we’re all used to seeing Martin’s camera face ready the moment he noticed a camera is pointing at him. It brings some inconvenience to other fellow subjects in the same photo at times, who may not be ready as fast as Martin got, but his proficiency at posing is notable.

Speaking about Unagi, it sort of became a mission for me to search for the perfect Unagi restaurant when I go to Japan. I think I found one in my trip to Okayama in February. While the Unaju there was very impressive, the most surprising dish was Shirayaki Unagi. Without the typical Kabayaki sauce the taste of the Unagi itself became more prominent. It’s not an overstatement to say the dish brought a new taste to me. I think my new mission is to find an equally impressive Unagi restaurant in Tokyo that does Shirayaki Unagi so that I can have that every time I go on my annual Tokyo trip.

What’s on your iPhone

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It’s December, end of the year. However I’m not going to review what happened this year, not yet. I just wish to share some thoughts on how we manage our digital lives in 2015.

I don’t know about you, but I regularly review what apps are on my iPhone, delete the ones I don’t need, while rearranging my home screen to make them neat and tidy. I have a few rules. 1) My home screen has to be functional, meaning I won’t blindly keep it minimal (down to a few icons or keep everything in folders). I display what are frequently used, and keep the useful ones in folders. 2) It still has to be tidy. I just won’t keep the useless ones on P.1.

And here it is.

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There are a few points to highlight. 1) The Phone app isn’t in the dock anymore. I once considered putting it in the Social folder altogether. (Some kids even ask “how do I delete the Phone app?”) 2) “Calendar 5” by Readdle has officially replaced “Week Calendar” as my favourite calendar app. Apps by Readdle are always excellent, the other great app by Readdle being “PDF Expert 5”. 3) I don’t always turn to third party apps. Some made by Apple, though lacking features, are just handy enough. “Weather”, “Reminders”, “Safari” and “Mail” are fine examples. Yes, I’m using “Outlook” primary for push notification, but “Mail” remains my favourite app reading and sending emails.

Back in a few years ago, when the App Store first started, asking others “what apps are on your iPhone” became a social phenomenon. This coincided with the “what’s on your iPod” phenomenon in the early 2000s. It tells a story about who you are. When you keep your home screen neat and tidy, your life shouldn’t be in a huge mess either. On the contrary if you keep the “Game Centre” or even the “iOS tips” apps on the first page, I doubt you pay much care to your work.

Anyway perhaps that’s enough of self obsession. What I do isn’t always the best. What Apple does isn’t either. And that’s sad.

Gaming

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Once again I’m addicted to games. It’s not those sophisticated games (in terms of graphic intensity) that I fell victim to; it’s the simple games on iPhone/iPad that I’ve always enjoyed. In particular, SimCity BuildIt succeeded the series’ long tradition of effectively killing time. Simply staring at the screen blankly, watching the buildings being built and you’ll find an hour has passed without the slightest sign. This is really useful in filling the gap between two appointments, or when I get home but is too early to go to bed. “What’s the fun when you just look at the screen and press buttons occasionally?” One might ask. Well, the most important use of games is to kill time. Sure, those intense RPG/racing games are also fun, but when you just want to sit back and relax, the last thing you want is adrenaline.

For certain people, though, life itself is a game. When one is young and time is abundant, one may choose to explore life through untraditional means. They also got the freedom to choose jobs of interest. One day, they can work in a bike gear shop in Tai Mei Tuk, assembling mountain bikes and flying a kite when they’re free; another day they can work in a cafe crafting specialty coffee. While those jobs are totally unrelated to one another, ultimately they constitute life experience.

Whether you enjoy gaming on iOS or gaming in life, ultimetely it’s fun we’re looking for. If there isn’t fun, there is a problem. Right now, I have a problem. I wish my life was just like SimCity — entering cheat codes and problems got solved.

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