I got back yesterday afternoon and many things feel different. The city feels calm and relaxed, the weather cool and comfortable, and a nice breeze blowing around the decently clear air.

They say that Autumn is the best time to be in Beijing–I’m beginning to see why.

Yesterday was a back-to-back day of Beach Volleyball from 9a-3p, Swimming from 6:30p-9:30p, and then stopping off in a bar to watch USA v. China basketball before heading home. Along the way it rained on and off, including one last epic thunderstorm outburst after swimming, where me and all my gear got completely soaked.

The soaking was justified though. Swimming is held in the “Water Cube” which is on the Olympic Green. This area is completely sealed to non-ticket holders, which made my $30 swimming ticket so immensely worth it just to see the Bird’s Nest, THE TORCH, Water Cube, the other National Stadiums, the International Broadcast Center, and all the hubbub around.

OK–here we go, a couple of HDR treats.

(BTW,, beach volleyball has a reputation of being the party sport and this place is awesome. Does anyone make a Choayang Park Party Mix album? I’m there.)

Yay! I get to to inside the water cube!

Greetings from Beijing!

I’m (a little) behind on my blog, but as the saying goes, better late than never!

A month ago I officially moved to Beijing, China to pursue an adventure and a dream of living/working abroad and studying Chinese. I’m still with Microsoft–just working for the China portion of the Surface team (YouTube it). Things have been incredible and busy since I arrived. On top of a full workload, I’m also taking 2 hr Chinese private lessons three times a week, playing ultimate frisbee on Tuesday nights, making new friends, and rabidly exploring different parts of the city when I’ve had some free time.

Basically, it’s great. And tells why I haven’t had time to write until 3:30a after the Opening Ceremony of the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Oh yeah. The Olympics–the event that’s taken Beijing into daily conversation and debate all the way around the world. Well, let me tell you one thing–don’t miss the opening ceremony. Find your friend with the HDTV and make sure you catch at least the first hour. It’s mind blowing. Though I didn’t have tickets to go to the event, I watched it in a park with thousands of other folks on big screens set up for the purpose.

I’ve always wanted to go to an Olympics in person–I love international competitions like this. Though it doesn’t look like I’ll have a chance to go to my favorites–Gymnastics and Diving–I do have tickets to Beach Volleyball and Table Tennis prelims.

I’ll keep you all posted. At least, I’ll try.

Photos!

Opening Ceremonies of the 2008 Beijing Olympics

Early Days in China

I know I haven’t written much, but with the weather the way it is, I choose to enjoy life.

Back another day.

Europe HDR - a set on Flickr.

A short answer to the question, what is HDR? High Dynamic Range is a photography method where you take three exposures instead of the normal one. An under-exposed, over-exposed, and normal shot. Each exposure ideally allows you to capture certain details that are otherwise discarded. Using software (I use Photomatix) to composite them, you end up with these stunning exposures with an amazing level of depth and contrast.

An example…the three exposures.

…and HDR-ized.

But alas, I am back. Erika is still out for another two weeks through Italy and Ireland while I hang out here in Seattle. I’ve been occupying myself going through the 1100+ photos I took and experimenting with HDR composites all on the kick-ass MacBook Black that I bought right before I left. HDR has really brought some new life into my photography hobby. I’ve got a little teaser pic below, but I’m hoping to have them all posted and available in wallpaper sizes this weekend.

I’ve also been following closely the earthquake in China’s Sichuan province. I’ve spent a pretty considerable amount of time there across two different trips. Dave and I have been going through and looking at the earthquake photos and pretty easily linking them up to places we recognize. Hoping for the best out there…

I thought I’d share a few of my favorites. These aren’t the kind of cars you’ll find in magazines, but fun-looking city cars of the practical type–in other words, cars you and I might actually own. Not surprisingly, they’re all hatchbacks, which are not only very dominant on the streets of Europe, but also extermely versitile.

The BMW 1 3-door. I’ve always liked the BMW M Coupé, and this is essentially the same thing, except slightly longer. Beautiful curves on the doors and an bold front for a tiny car.

The Fiat 500. Seen in a Top Gear video a few posts back, this little hatchback is filled with neat little design touches on the inside and outside. It’s also a refreshingly nice car to see rolling down the road.  See the Fiat website for interior photos.

The Hyundai i10. I love my Hyundai Elantra that I drive back at home, but here in Europe they’ve got this new city car called the i10. It’s a 5-door hatchback with a spacious interior and a look that’s a little more unique than the equivelent Seats and Opels on the road here.

The Peugeot 207. But for hatchback styling, I’ve always had this space in my heart for a Peugeot 207. I’d totally want one, except it’s French, and I simply can’t imagine trusting the French to produce a reliable car (and they historically haven’t).

The Mazda2 5-door. All my favorites might be blown out of the water though–Mazada has produced this amazing looking hatchback that grabs my eyes every time one drives by. It’s striking, brilliant, hopefully powerful and I want it to come to the US, becuase I want one!!

Best traveling device. Evar.

Let’s go over what the iPhone does…

I’ve discovered on this trip that every hostel has WiFi now and that means I can check my e-mail, read the news, check in for flights, and book hostels all without fighting for position on the hostel computers. In fact, HostelWorld even has an iPhone-optimized site now.

An iPod is an iPod, but the iPhone happens to come with a speaker as well, which means if I want a little background music to start off my day, I can! The quality is paltry, but it’s worlds better than nothing at all–puts a little spring into my step.

And of course, it’s a phone. Mine is of the jailbroken and unlocked variety, so I’ve been plugging in various SIMs as needed.

All this thing needs now is Skype–hopefully the upcoming iPhone SDK will provide.