Korean Movie Review – What A Man Wants 바람 바람 바람

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What A Man Wants 바람바람바람

A fresh Korean comedy by Byeong-heon Lee

  I have said it before, and I’ll say it again.  My, how time flies!  It has been 8 months since our last Korean movie review The Accidental Detective!  Between computer projects, traveling, and trying to stay cool during a record setting summer in Korea there has not been a lot of time to search for and watch movies!  We will break our dry spell by reviewing Byeong Heon Lee’s, What A Man Wants. Which also has the dubious honor of being one of the newest films I have reviewed.

  What A Man Wants stars Lee Sung-min as Seok-Geun a middle aged former roller coaster designer turned womanizing taxi driver and Bong-Soo (Shin Ha-Kyun, who also played Min, Hee-do in The Devils Game), the half owner chef at a failing restaurant owned by his wife and brother in law  Seok-Guen. Bong-soo believes the restaurant would be more successful as a Korean-Chinese fusion restaurant, but his wife Mi-Young has her heart set on it being Italian. Mi-Young, who wants only 2 things.  To get pregnant, and for the restaurant to be successful. 

  Seok-Geun believes he has been able to hide his philandering ways from his wife Dam Deok, though we find out later in the film she has known all along, but loved Seok-Geun so much she was able to come to forgive him his dalliances.

  Stressed out from running the restaurant and depressed his wife won’t him chase his dreams Bong-Soo begins an illicit affair with Je-Ni (Lee El), who encourages him to follow his dream and demand his family listen to him and try his menu.  Given the go ahead by his wife and Seok-guen the restaurant becomes succesful.  Hilarity ensues as Bong-Soo tries to hide his affair from Mi Young and Seok-Geun.  The irony being that Seok-Geun was the one in the beginning encouraging Bong-soo to cheat on his wife, believing it would actually make his marriage stronger.

  Things change for Seok-Geun when his wife is killed in a tragic car accident, and he begins to regret not being faithful to his wife, this puts more pressure on Bong-Soo to keep his relationship with Je-Ni secret. Je-Ni finally demands that Bong-Soo chose between Mi-Young or herself, and we get to watch as Bong-Soo must try and put everything right!

  I found What A Man Wants to be a fun, fast paced romantic comedy. You did have the typical Asian Greek tragedy thrown in the middle (Someone has to die!), and while you had a rare happy ending where everyone seemly got what they wanted, (Which is rare in an Asian film.), you did have to wonder if somehow everyone was still screwed, after screwing each other! 

  I recommend What A Man Wants, it is good fun, and perfect for a couples movie night!  With Halloween coming up, be sure to also check Shin Ha-Kyun in The Devils Game.

Trailer:

Where Can I find What A Man Wants?

Amazon:
Prime Video : Free With prime video subschttps://www.catracing.org/hendrb/forumription
I was not able to find a Blu-Ray or DVD version of this film.

After watching What A Man Wants, head over to our forums to discuss the film.

iOS Apps – iMissal & IMissal Catholic Bible

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iMissal & iMissal Bible

iOS apps Catholics should not be without.

  For last month’s Brent’s World blog,  I shared the experience of my first Korean Mass at Saenamteo (Click link to read blog).  This weekend I returned for their 10:30 Mass in the main church. 

  Since I knew the mass would not be in English, I brought along my iPad so I could use iMissal to follow along with the reading and order of Mass.  I purchased iMissal and it’s accompanying iMissal Bible several years ago, and have used it regularly, let’s take a look at these apps in more detail!

  iMissal™ by Cantcha, is a Catholic Missal (A missal is a liturgical book containing all instructions and texts necessary for the celebration of Mass throughout the year.). app for the iPad.  It contains 4 separate reference sources in one app.

        The daily missal, with calendar and mass readings.

             The missal can also be expanded to fill the screen as seen here.

        My Daily Bread, which will provide you with a daily Bible verse.

        Prayers, which provides a great reference of many prayers for different events, such as the one below for after communion.

       And finally, Catholic News, which requires a WiFi connection, will give you the latest Catholic news from around the world.

  IMissal Bible is a companion app, that contains the entire 2010 New American Bible. It interfaces seamlessly with iMissal by taking you directly to the book, chapter and verse of the days reading, or Gospel by a single tap in Imissal.

  If you are searching for good Catholic reference apps for your iOS, I highly recommend iMissal, and iMissal Bible.  Not only can you use them during Mass, by the collection of prayers, and easy access to the Bible with iMissal Bible will help you immensely for bible study before or after Mass.  It was also a great help during the Korean ceremony, as I could keep pace with service even though it was in a foreign language.

  iMissal is available at Apple’s App Store for $4.99

  It is also available for Android, Kindle Fire, and Windows Phone users.

  iMissal Catholic Bible is available separately and is $9.99

  If you have used these apps, or end up purchasing these apps on our recommendation, please come back and comment!  I highly value the feedback of my visitors!

  Please Note: Brent’s World is NOT monetized in any way.  I do not make any money from you purchasing items or clicking on links provided on my blog.

Movie Review – The Post, The rise of the Washington post and the beginning of the end to a presidency

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                      The Post
The Rise Of The Washington Post And The Beginning Of The End To A Presidency.

Trying to decide what movie to watch this past weekend was a difficult choice, as I had several to choose from.  Mi Jung and I decide on Tom Hanks latest political thriller that was released in 2017 and simply called The Post.  Directed by Steven Spielberg and starring veteran cast members Meryl Streep as Kay Graham, owner and publisher of the Washington Post who is trying to bring the newspaper public.  As well as Tom Hanks who plays Ben Bradlee, the no nonsense chief editor who firmly believes in the moral necessity of a free press in the United States as the 4thchecks and balance of the government. 

   Set in June of 1971, with the Viet Nam war in full swing, a defense contractor by the name of Daniel Elsberg  (played by Matthew Rhys), was hired by Robert Mcnamara in  1967 to produce a report documenting the history of conflict in Viet Nam and stated quite clearly that the United States could not win a conventional ground war in Viet Nam. 

  The documents were removed from the Rand Corporation, copied, and leaked to the New York Times by Elsberg. The newspaper was then promptly sued by the Nixon administration, and preventing from publishing more of the documents.  Ben Bradlee at the Washington Post was also able to get a hold of the report and began publishing their own story.  The film documents the tension and moral questions surrounding the decision to publish the leaked documents, knowing full well that the impending legal battle could bankrupt the paper.

  The decision to publish was made by then owner of the paper Kay Graham played my Meryl Streep.  The injunction against the Times and the Washington Post was deemed unconstitutional, and the papers were allowed continued coverage. 

  The movie was very well written, and presented the story in a way that kept the viewer interested throughout.  Meryl Streep, and Tom Hanks acting is top notch and they play their roles off each other to perfection!  Throughout the movie the irony of the then unknown Washington Post going up against the Nixon administration.  As this is perfect prologue for the reporting of the Watergate break in by Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein which made the Post famous, but that’s another movie.  

  The Post can be rented or purchased from The Apple Music Store for $5.99 / $9.99, and is also available on Amazon for the same price.

  Blu Ray media is also available for $15.00, while the DVD is $14.24

  Thank you for visiting Brent’s World, if you wish to be notified when new content is posted, please be sure to register, by clicking HERE!

I Thought You Packed it! – Working around lost or forgotten gear.

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I thought you packed it!

Working around lost or forgotten gear.

  Over the years, I have done a remarkable job of not leaving important camera gear at home on the myriad of trips I have taken.  I am not sure what it was about our recent pension trip that put an end to that streak.  Perhaps I was just so wrapped up in trying to get prepared for driving in Korea for the first time that my head just wasn’t in my photography.

   In total, here is what got left behind.  My Canon Speedlight, (Which would have been very helpful at the Samtam Art Mine), the power adaptor for my battery charger (I hope those 3 spare batteries hold out!), and most importantly the tethering/data transfer cable (As I had planned to blog daily, this was a serious setback!).  Since Canon went to USB 3 on their cameras and use a micro USB3 connector I couldn’t just run into a convivence store and buy a spare.

  Forgetting the Speedlight was no big deal, just bump up the ISO.  Even if I get extra noise in my photos I am taking pictures of an abandoned mine, so at worst I am going to end up with a film grain look, that won’t hurt the content anyways, so that is what I ended up doing.

  So how did I end up getting the pictures off my camera?  I figured I had two ways of getting my photos. The first and the simplest and was to just take the JPEGS that I capture to the 5DMKIV’s SD CARD slot. The 5D MKIII and MKIV have dual card slots that can be configured to either store RAW files to both, or RAW files to one slot and JPEGS to the other.  I have mine setup to store RAW to the CF card slot and JPEG to the SD CARD slot.  After this trip I may go ahead and shoot RAW to both.  When I purchased my new MACBOOK PRO in April, one of the reasons I chose the older 2015 model is that it still has anSD CARD SLOT.  I did have to compromise with being limited with the amount of post processing I could do in Lightroom, but I was still able to get quality content posted to the blog.

   What if I needed to get access to the RAW files?  The 5D Mark IV allows wireless tethering and file transfers.  Thought it would have been slow, in a pinch it could be done.

   How would you go about doing this?

   First you need to set up Wifi pairing with your computer. See our stub article on this, Wifi Pairing The Canon 5D Mark IV.

  The easiest method is to use the Canon EOS Utility 3 to transfer your photos, then import them into your photo management software. 

Click on ‘Download images to computer’  The following window will display and you have the following options.  

Start Automatic Download, This will automatically transfer images from your camera using the settings that can be configured by clicking the ‘settings’ button.  Below are the automatic download settings you can choose from.

If we select the ‘Start automatic download’ option with the ‘Images not yet downloaded’ set, the computer will immediately start downloading your imaged .jpg first then RAW files

If we select and download. We will be presented with the following window where we may select which files we want to transfer.

Select the files you wish to have transferred to the computer (Note: in the upper righthand corner you select which of the two memory cards you are transferring from) be sure you have the correct card selected (In my case it would be card 1 for RAW files and card 2 for JPEG) and click Download.  We may now select a custom destination, or choose to change the filename, for now we are just going to leave it at its default and click OK.

The EOS utility will now transfer our pictures to the computer where we can import them into the photo management/editing software of our choice.

As you can see, in most cases forgetting gear is not something to panic over, and certainly not something to just leave your camera in the room in disgust.  Go out and shoot and work around the issues later!  At worst you will need to use a different lens, a setting your not used to, or in the case of the USB cable, wait until you get home.

Next month for our technical blog we will look at another method of getting your files from your camera to your computer, through sFTP.  Thank you for visiting Brent’s World and I hope you come back soon.  If you want to be sure you do not miss new content, REGISTER today!  You will then receive an automatic email when new content is posted.

WiFi Pairing The Canon 5D Mark IV

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Pairing Canon EOS 5D Mark IV WiFi

  One of the new features of the Canon 5D Mark IV is it’s built in WiFi features.  This allows you to remote control or transfer photos from the Camera to a computer using EOS Utilities or an iOS device using (iOS software name).  This stub will take you step by step in pairing the Canon EOS 5D Mark IV with these devices.

Pairing Canon EOS 5D Mark IV with Camera Connect on iOS

STEP – 1 Power on camera and press the MENU botton.

                                    Using the LCD Touch Screen or the M-Fn dial select the Wrench Icon.

                                    Using the LCD Touch Screen or the large scroll wheel on the back select Communication settings and press the SET button.

                                    Using The LCD Touch Screen or using the large scroll wheel on the back select Built-in wireless settings, and press the SET button.

STEP-2 Enable Wi-Fi/NFC

                        Using the LCD Touch Screen or the large scroll wheel on the back select Wi-Fi/NFC                      DISABLE, and press the SET button.

                        Using the LCD Touch Screen or the large scroll wheel on the back select Enable and press the SET button.

STEP – 3 Register a Nickname

                                    Select OK when the below message is displayed.

                       Using the LCD Touch Screen or using the large scroll wheel and SET button on the back to enter your desired WiFi nickname.  Press or select the Trash Icon to delete a character, the INFO/Cancel button to discard changed and exit. or the Menu/OK button to save changes and exit.

STEP – 4

                        On your iOS device (I am using an iPhone 6), launch your CameraConnect app then select ‘Easy Connection Guide’.  Select the camera by the model and nickname we just setup in step 3.

Follow the instructions on your iOS device.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On your camera, press the Menu Button, and navigate to the wrench icon, and screen number 4 and select Communications settings, then built in wireless settings. Select the Wi-Fi function menu.

Select “Connect to smartphone” on the LCD touch screen, or press the SET button.

Select ‘ Easy Connection’, and press OK on the LCD touch screen, or select OK, and press the SET button.

When the following is displayed on the back of the camera, proceed to the next step.

On your iOS device go to Settings > Wifi and find your cameras Nickname in the Wifi list.  Select it and enter the 8 digit code displayed on the back of the camera.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If the password is correct you will be connected to the cameras Wifi, and you will see the following on the back of the camera.  On your iOS device, launch the CameraConnect app. 

Once you see this screen on the CameraConnect app look at the LCD screen on your camera.

press OK on the LCD touch screen, or select OK, and press the SET button.

\Your camera is now connected to your iOS device.

 

Pairing Canon EOS 5D MARK IV with a MacOS X computer.

  We will now cover pairing the Canon 5D MARK IV with a MacOS X computer, for this demonstration I will be using my 2015 MacBook Pro, as this is what I use on the road.

Step 1 – Turn on camera, and set WiFi nickname

Turn on your 5D Mark IV, and press the MENU button on the back. Navigate to the 4thWrench screen, and select ‘Communication Settings’ then ‘Built in wireless settings’. 

If you have already setup a WiFi nickname in the first section you can skip to step 3.  Otherwise perform step 3 from the Pairing Canon EOS 5D Mark IV with Camera Connect on iOS instructions above.

 Step 2 – Paring EOS Utitlity with 5D Mark IV

Select the Computer Icon ‘Remote control (EOS Utility)’ icon using the touchscreen LCD.

On the ‘Connection method screen’ select Easy connection, and select OK using the touchscreen LCD.

On your MacOS X computer go to your WiFi settings and select your camera nickname as defined previously, and enter the Encryption key as displayed on the back of the camera as the WiFi password. Click Join.

Using the touchscreen LCD select OK when asked to ‘Start pairing devices’.

When you see this message on the back of the camera, Launch the EOS Utility on your computer.

Step 3 – Launch EOS Utility

                        The Canon EOS Utility Launcher will open and display the following window

                        Click Pairing over Wi-Fi/LAN

                         The ‘EOS Pairing Software’ window will open.

                        Select your Canon EOS 5D Mark IV and click the Connect button.

 

                       You will see the following message on the back of your camera.  On the touchscreen LCD select OK.

 

                        Once connected EOS Utility 3 will automatically launch.  If you receive an error message, you may need to download the latest version of EOS Utility 3, by clicking here. 

Your camera is now connected to your Mac.

Please be sure to return next week for part two of this blog!  I thought your packed it!  Forgetting important gear and how to work around it.  Don’t miss another blog!  register today and receive automatic email notification when a new blog is posted.  To register click here!

Camping on Mt. Palomar (A vacation within a vacation.)

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Camping on Mt. Palomar

(A vacation within a vacation)

  How long has it been since I have been camping?  Not since I came to Korea, so about 8 years! So one of the things I wanted while back in the states would be to go out and do some sleeping under the stars!  What better place to do that than Mt. Palomar?  Home of the world famous Hale telescope. 

  The first problem is that I have never been able to reserve a camp site in the past, every time I have tried the campgrounds have been booked solid.  I was in luck this year, as there were plenty of spots available at the Observatory campground.  The other problem was that all my gear is in Korea.  No worries!  I just ordered a new tent, stove, and lantern from Amazon about 2 weeks prior to departure. I can either have the new equipment shipped later or donate it to a family member.  Being that Mt. Palomar is known for its stars, the main road from Interstate 15 to Palomar Mountain SR-76 is known as “Highway to the stars” I bought the brand new Rokinon 14mm f2.8 AF just for star photography, but more on that later!

  The big day finally arrived, and of course I ended up waking up late, than dragging my feet getting my gear ready and packed.  I had intended to leave early, take my time on the drive up taking photos along the way, I did not get on the road until about 1pm, which means I got up to Mt. Palomar aroundt 2:30 in the afternoon.  This wasn’t really a big real since the checkin time for the camp site was 2pm,  I decided to drive up to the Palomar Observatory and have a look at what was once the world’s largest terrestrial telescope.  The observatory was designed by George Ellery Hale in 1928, and was operational in 1948, it contains a 200 In. Pyrex mirror that at the time was the largest in the world and held that record for the next 45 years.

 

  

  After checking out the observatory, it was time to check in at the camp site and setup camp.  I made reservations online for site number 6 at the Observatory Campground. 

  The campground far exceeded my expectations!  The site was set back from the vehicle parking space, had plenty of privacy and the picnic table area, and the spot where I setup my tent offered plenty of shade by oak trees.  There was even a stream running behind the picnic table that offered some relaxing white noise during the night.  Though it also meant the ground was saturated.  So be sure to bring a ground cloth for your tent, as the bottom was quite damp and had to later be dried and cleaned at home. 

  It took about an hour to get everything setup, then it was time to cook dinner.  I BBQ’d a nice thick cut of steak marinated in a premade Jack Daniels sauce, served with mashed potatoes and mixed vegetables.

  After dinner it was time to start the camp fire and get ready to look at some stars.  I did say I was here for the stars, right?  Well I was not to be disappointed, at least not by the stars, because out they came!

  I was disappointed with the performance of the new Rokinon lens for star photography, which I will do an in-depth review on later, let’s just say for the purpose of this blog that I was very frustrated just getting what I got here, and if you are looking for a lens to do star photography stick with the manual focus offering by Rokinon.

    I should also note, that one of biggest things to get used to was the amount of quiet!  Coming from Korea, where there is always so much going on around you 24 /7. When you suddenly find yourself in a place where the only thing you hear is the chirping of birds, the occasional scurrying of animals, and the creek running behind your campsite, it is both wonderful, and disconcerting all at the same time!

  I had intended to get up at 6am, and make breakfast, but for the first time on the trip my body decided to sleep in until 10am.  No Time for breakfast!  It was time to hit the trails.  So off I drove to the actual Palomar Mountain State Park.  Since I stayed in a Federal Campground, and Palomar is a state park, I was not sure if my camping fee’s also covered the park entrance.  It was only an additional $10 so I decided to pay just to be safe.  The plan was to hike out and get pictures at the weir Site. The weir was built to measure the waterflow on Doane creek as there were thoughts of building a hydro electic dam to power the mountain. 

  Even with a park map it was confusing at first to find the trail head, I ended up on a sketchy 1 lane dirt grade and took me out of the park. The side trip did have one upside! I was able to pull over at one place and get some selfies next to a fallen log.

I was eventually able to find a place to turn around and get re-oriented and found the trail head at the Doane Pond parking (Just follow the signs to the School Camp.).  The start of the weir trail is to the right of the parking lot. It is a little hard to see. You then cross the road you drove in on and are once more on the trail.  It was a very relaxing high that keeps you in the shade of the most part.  There are quite a few fallen timbers on the trail, but only one that the rangers have not sawed through to make a passage through.  When your just about to the weir you will have to cross Doane creek on this narrow blank (In Asia we would call this a monkey bridge!), It is very stable and I had no problem crossing it (Several times in fact for selfies!), though the first time was a bit unnerving with all the camera equipment on my back! 

  Finally here I am at the weir site,

  I had seen a picture on someone’s blog where they were framed in the upper story window that I was trying to duplicate.  I was never able to scramble up there fast enough!  The best I could do was get a picture of Doane creek using the window as a frame. 

  The joke turned out to be on my however, as when I climbed onto the little rock wall to the left of the weir.  I am almost level with the second floor window, and there is an opening on the side.  I could have avoided all of this however if I had just brought my iPhone and used the remote trigger feature via Wifi.  The trail continued behind the wier, but was completely choked with poison oak, so I turned around and hiked out the way I came in.  So if you wish to hike beyond this point, I recommend bringing a pair of gardening glove and a long sleeve shirt!

  The hike was awesome!  I really appreciated that it was not a very strenuous hike, and how shady it was , except the small stretch where you parallel lower Doane Valley and are exposed to the sun you stay relatively cool!   It was time to head back to the camp site, take a shower and relax before dinner and the final camp fire! 

  I really enjoyed camping at Mt Palomar, and I highly recommend the Observatory Campground!  If site 6 is available go ahead and reserve it.  If you do come back here and tell me if you agree with my recommendation.  It is close to one of the pit toilets (Which are well maintained and do not smell.), but far away from the main flush toilets and showers that you don’t have constant traffic coming by your site. It is also on the other side of the campground from the Observatory trail that you don’t have stray foot traffic either.  The site is set back from the road with plenty of foliage for privacy and the picnic table area is shaded by tall oak trees.  Please remember to walk your campsite on the day of departure and pick up any trash, even if it is not yours!  Leave the site better than you found it! 

How to get to Mt. Palomar

From San Diego. 

Take I-15 North to East – 76, Then turn left on South Grade Road (County S6).  You will follow S6 up the mountain then turn left to continue on S6/Canfield Road).  Keep a look out for the campground ahead ¼ signs.  They come up quickly.  The observatory campground is the first one you will come to on your right.

GPS Coordinates

33°20’30.856″ N
116°52’41.748″ W

Closest Mappable Address (Within 2 miles)

35899Canfield Road, Palomar Mountain, California

RESERVATIONS:

https://www.recreation.gov/camping/observatory-campground/r/campgroundDetails.do?contractCode=NRSO&parkId=7231

Something Different – The Enigmatic Hipstamatic.

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Something Different – The Enigmatic Hipstamatic.

  If you have been following my blog on a regular basic you may have noticed something a bit odd about my last blog, https://www.catracing.org/hendrb/going-home-again-day-1-the-long-haul/. Most if not all of the photos on my blogs have been shot with a DSLR, very rarely have I used pictures taken with my iPhone.  I wanted to document my travel experience on the flight  over but did not want to keep taking out and putting away my 5DMKIV.  So I thought what the heck!  I’ll use my iPhone exclusively, but to be really different I will use an app that I have had for a number of years called Hipstamatic. It couldn’t possibly hurt and will add some creativity to the blog.

  What is Hipstamatic?  Hipstamatic is a iOS or Windows Phone created by Hipstamtic LLC <Click here for website>.  Which allows it’s users to take old fashioned square style photographs with carious software filters applied.  Various effects can be closen by selecting a style of camera, film, and flash.  Or you can choose to select a random selection which is what I used.

  Here is a sample of a photo taken with the “Enigmatic” Hipstamatic.

 Pictured here is the ‘back of the hipstamatic, showing the flash lever (When pressed you will hear the sound of the flash charging, ISO selection wheel, view finder, and shutter button.  There is also a photo timer. 

Clicking on the arrow, will display the front of the camera, which will allow you to change lenses, film, flash, or camera body. 

 

Each of these items will provide a different retro look to the pictures taken with the Hipstamatic.  Clicking on the arrow again, returns you to the camera back.

Hipstamatic saves 2 versions of the file, the one seen here with the filter applied and the original photo with no filter applied.

Which is nice if you decide you like the photo better with no filter applied.

  Hipstamatic is available for free from the App Store, and works with either the iPhone or iPad.  The free app comes with a base back of several camera bodies, film, and flashes, and additional “accessories” are available as in-app purchases. Hipstamatic is also available for the Windows Phone.  Their website can be found here.  http://hipstamatic.com/camera/

   I have rarely used my iPhone for the photos for my blog.  Though that may change.  I certainly liked the concienence, and do feel they have a unique look.  If you use your phone to take photos perhaps give the Hipstamtic a chance!  After all the app and base back are free, and you can always decide to use the picture without the effects applied.

  Thank you for visiting Brent’s World.  Please come back next week for more great content!  If you wish to be notified by email when new content is posted you may register by clicking here!

Going Home – A Sea Story – Dismasting A Hobie Getaway

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Going Home – A Sea Story

Dismasting A Hobie Getaway

 

  Once again I tried and failed to keep up with blog updates on my vacation.  There was just way too many things going on.  Places to go, people to see!  One of the things I was looking forward to was renting a Hobie Cat from the Mission Bay Sailing Center.  Mi Jung and I had rented a Hobie Getaway, ( A 16 foot rotomolded catamaran made by Hobie Cat.).  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hobie_Getaway.  While they are not as high performance as the Hobie 16 I used to sail.  They are still a lot of fun and are made to be a social cruising cat.  It is still fun to take out on the water and sail around.

  I made plans to meet up with Kathy at Mission Bay Yacht Club after I rented the boat and was some single-handed sailing in.  I picked up the boat with no problem and made a couple of laps around the bay before sailing to the club to pickup my waiting crew.  We proceded to sail for an additional 20 – 30 minutes.  By this time the wind had really begun to pick up, and we had the boat pretty well dialed in and charging up the north west side of Mission Bay.

  All of a sudden, we heard a loud BANG, as the boat de-accelerated hard, and the mast came crashing down!  We were sitting on the windward “high” side of the boat, so there was really no danger of us being hit by the mast, however if there had  been more people on board, or where in the middle of tacking of gybing things could have turned out quite different!

  So after the mast fell, Kathy asked, “So, now what do we do? I replied, “We drift!”  Fortunately, we were not far from shore, and the wind and current on the upper side of the bay pushed us right up to shore.  We did not have our cell phone on us, nor did I remember the number to the rental company.   There was no way for us to just call the rental place and have them send their boat.  So while I stayed with the boat Kathy began the long walk around Mission Bay back to Santa Clara Point.

  Luck smiled on us again and another rental boat had run aground and the rental company already had their rescue boat on our side of the bay. Kathy was able to have the rental company come and pick us up while they towed our boat in.

  I have sailed boats long enough to know that these things happen, not to panic or get overly excited about it. You now have  a good sea story to tell at the bar later. Kathy was a great sport and didn’t panic or get overly excited. 

  There are always things to learn from your boating experiences, and this was no exception.

1 – Never trust a rental boat.  Thoroughly inspect the equipment before taking it out.  Are all the clevis pins for side stays and forestays in place?  Ask when the last time they inspected the rigging connections on the top of the mast? If they will let you explain that you would like to inspect it yourself and ask if you could have them capsize the boat on the beach to perform the inspection.  Thourally inspect the shackles that hold the forestay, side stays, and other wires such as trapezes if installed.  If you are not satisfied request the rental company make corrections or provide you with another boat. 

2 – Make sure you have a means of communication.  I would recommend a waterproof VHF Marine radio.  That way you can communicate with other boaters, the US Coast Guard, or Harbor Police in the area if you need assistance. At the very least carry a cell phone in a waterproof container and make sure you get the number to the rental company before heading out.

  We still have a good time while it lasted.  I am not sure if I will rent from the same company again, next trip I may just put the word out that I am looking to barrow a Hobie Cat from one of the Hobie Fleets that I have sailed with. 

  Sorry for no pictures to go along with this blog,  I had planned on it, but sometimes life jumps up to bite you in the butt!

  Be sure to return next weekend for another great Brent’s World blog!  If you wish to be notified by email when new content is posted, consider registering by CLICKING HERE!

San Diego Restaurant Review – Sunnies Ocean Beach Mexican Food

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Sunnies Mexican Cuisine & Coffee

Ocean Beaches Mexican Cuisine & Coffee

  One of the traditions in my family seems that we all at one time or another have worked at Sea World.  Either in Park Operations or Food services.  My niece has been carrying on that tradition, however with a new twist. She also works as a waitress at a cozy little Mexican restaurant on Point Loma Ave in Ocean Beach called Sunnies. She is the first teenager in the family to hold down two jobs at the same time.  So of course during my visit I had to run down and blog about it.

  Once you walk in the door, take a moment to peruse the large menu on the wall to the left then step up to the counter and place your order, then take a seat either inside or at one of the tables directly out front or around the corner at “Java Beach”.  Once your food is ready it will be brought out to you by one of the servers.

  I ordered a side of Chips, Cheese, Salsa, and Guac, and a #2 combination plate, which consisted of 2 beef enchiladas (You also had a choice of chicken), beans, and rice.

Here is a fish tacos, on a corn torilla.

  The food was tasty and filling, the environment was nice and it was great to sit down and talk over Mexican food and soda.  The restaurant offers coffee, tea, soda, and bottled water.

  If you are down in the Ocean Beach area and are looking for a quick bite of Mexican food, morning, noon, or night (Breakfast is served all day), give Sunnies a try!  Tell them you heard about them from catracing.org.  Below is their to go menu, however you can also order from the fulfl menu posted above.

ADDRESS:

4723 Point Loma Ave
San Diego, CA 2107
Phone #: (619)693-5298

Website:

www.sunniesoceanbeach.com

Hours:

Mon – Sun 8am – 8pm.

Directions:

            From 5 South:

Exit Sea World Drive head towards the beaches (Cross the Nimitz Bridge), keep right onto Sunset Cliffs BLVD.  Continue on Sunset Cliff BLVD until Point Loma AVE and make a right.

            From 8 West:

Continue to the end of the freeway, and stay in the right lane.  Keep right onto Sunset Cliffs BLVD.  Continue on Sunset Cliff BLVD until Point Loma AVE and make a right.

Going Home Again – Day 1 – The Long Haul

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Going Home Again

Day One – The Long Haul.

  I have been eagerly awaiting my next trip to San Diego even before I returned to Korea from my previous trip.  Mi Jung and I went back in July 2017 for my mom’s birthday, and will be there this time for my other moms birthday.

  The day finally arrived, and it was time to make my way to Incheon International Airport.  There are multiple ways of getting to The Winged City as Incheon is officially known.  You can take a taxi, which would have run me about 90,000 Korean Won,one of the Airport Limo Buses, which would have required me to get all my bags to either Samgakji or Ichon Station, or my preferred method.  The Airport Railway Express, or AREX.  I have preferred  the AREX train in the past because you were able to check in at the train station then travel checked bag free to the airport.  Once you arrived at your terminal you were able to go through the Flight Crew security line.  However on this trip I discovered you were no longer able to use the City check in if you were traveling to the USA, which was a real bummer! Anticipating the time it takes to check in, I opted for the 9:30am express train to Incheon.  Had I known I couldn’t check in city side, I would have taken the 8:40 train!

Here I am waiting for the AREX train to arrive.

  Once I got to the airport, it was really easy checking in at the First Class / Prestige Class (What Korean Airlines calls their business class product.) area.  Then it was through security and immigration and head to the Business Class lounge, where I had about 4 hours to wait for my flight.  I grabbed breakfast, which consisted of a first course of English chicken sausage,  seasoned potato wedges, a croissant, water, and a cappuccino.  Followed by a second course of a green bean salad and more English chicken sausage.  I don’t normally care for English sausage but these were really good.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  I then spent the next couple of hours in the “Relaxation Room”, which consisted of a row of massage chairs and another row of reading chairs.  I spent a half hour trying out the massage chairs and running through two 15 minute programs.  I must say the chairs were awesome, and did a good job massaging my back, neck, calves, and feet.  If it wouldn’t be too big of an inconvenience with my family waiting to pick me up in San Diego, perhaps my flight will be late and I can spend some more time in the massage chair.

  No such luck, and it is time to head out to the gate and board Korean Airlines Airbus A380-800, which I refer to as the Flying Manatee. 

  Korean Air’s A380 seats 407 passengers in a 3 class configuration.

First class is in the forward main deck, with the 301 seat economy class, Business class takes the entire upstairs deck and has 94 lie flat seats and 2 bars.  

You get plenty of leg room, a nice 15in. in flight entertainment screen, with magazine and book storage. In addition to the standard overhead storage bins you have 3 bins for additional easily accessible storage.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

About an hour after takeoff they begun the dinner service, which consisted of seasoned shrimp and a hard stale piece of bread, followed by seared tuna with onions, and a stale baequet.  I am not sure what is going on with Korea Air’s bread but it was terrible!

 The next course was a pumpkin soup that was okay, but not one of favorites.

I ordered steak cooked well done, that was served with garlic mashed potatoes and broccoli.  The steak was very good, and went well with the sides, and of course the red wine!

Following dinner I had a choice between ice cream and cake.  After my experience with the bread I should have known better and requested the ice cream.  The cake was some sort of green tea cake, and while it did not taste terrible, was not what I was expecting, and really did not go with the dinner.  Ice cream would have been the better choice.

  Following dinner I had intended to watch a movie but discovered that while I remembered to pack my USB drive with the movies I wanted to watch on my notebook, I failed to make sure I had installed VLC ( Video LAN Client ) after I had performed a fresh install of mac OS X High Sierra.  Out of the 5 movies I had intended to watch, I was only able to watch one, Coco.  Which ironically was one of the new release selections on the flight.

  Once finishing Coco, I had about 4 hours remaining in the flight and decided to go back and check out the bar on the Airbus A380,  which is an amenity not seen on passenger aircraft since some of the original Boeing 747 classics. 

  I spent about 45 minutes in the bar drinking a couple of Tom Collins and snacking on a few really good finger sandwiches while talking with a training captain employed by Airbus and working in Korea,  The atmosphere was nice, and it was nice to be able to be able to get away from the seat for awhile.

  Breakfast was then served 2 hours out of Los Angeles, which consisted of scrambled eggs with asparagus, potatoes with onions and a couple slices of bacon.  All while watching the sunrise from the aircrafts tail camera at 39000 ft.

  We then landed at LAX and it was time to clear immigration, collect my baggage and head out to the curb to wait for the Flyaway bus to get to Union Station.  I was a bit nervous because I did not know if was going to make it to Union Station in time to make my 1233 train, which would cause me to have to wait an additional 2 hours to get the next train to San Diego.  Amazingly it only took about 30 – 35 minutes to make it through immigration, get my bags, and get curbside.  In the past LAX immigration has always been such a disorganized zoo, but they have really improved things and the last 2 times have been a breeze!  Good job!  

  In the past I have recommended the Flyaway bus from Union Station, which I will no longer endorse.  I discovered they do not stick to their posted schedules, and some of the Union Station buses stop at the international Terminal but do not pick up (Even if they have empty seats.),  The drivers were rude and did not explain why this was the case!  I finally was able to get on one of the Union Station bound buses, and arrived at Amtrak’s Union Station at around 12:05pm.  I was really worried that by the time I got into the station proper, and found which ramp my train was leaving from it would be too late!  My luck heald and the train from leaving from one of ramps going into the station!  

  The train ride was uneventful, though crowded and noisy, I  just put on my headphone, put on the Essential Bob Dylan and enjoyed the scenery.  My mom met me at the station, and I got home, relaxed for a couple of hours, then went out to dinner at Natis Mexican Restaurant (You can read the review by clicking here.), then came home and went straight to bed at 7pm.

  Thank you for visiting Brent’s world, keep coming back the next couple of weeks to follow my solo adventures in San Diego!  Or if you wish to be notified about new articles by email, click HERE!