stlplace

Category: Life Tips

  • Dental work

    Reading Time: < 1 minute

    Dentist is usually not the person people like to see. But at the same time, dental health is both important aspect of personal health, as well as important perception (impression) in the professional world. Since my background and bad habit (grow up in China, and never truly serious about dental health when I was young), it’s an issue that I tried to get away but at the same time I could not. So long story short, I was seeing a dental periodontist at the recommendation of my general dentist. After consultation, and I did the scaling (to clean up plaques between gum and the teeth), and they recommended some newer tools and suggest I do daily clean better. Here are some of new gadgets I just had or bought.

    Oral-B iO Series 9 Electric Toothbrush (link is Amazon Smile link).

    GUM Proxabrush Go-Betweens Interdental Brushes, Wide

    GUM – 872FC6 Proxabrush Go-Betweens Interdental Brushes, Tight

    and better floss Gum Butlerweave floss

    I am also trying to do a better job each day after eating. And I only did this for 2 weeks, and I can say I feel better.

  • Summer Camps in Saint Louis metro area

    Reading Time: 9 minutes

    (Update 01-17-2025) Sanborn Western Camps: this is “An OUTSTANDING summer camp in Colorado”. The price is not cheap, but personally I think it’s probably worth to consider if the kid is ready, and the family can afford. There are some other cheaper options such as Boy Scouts per a mom I know.

    (Update 06-13-2024) I gave summer camps more thoughts. I think for different families: the need for summer camps are also different. For example, doctors, nurses, restaurant workers, and some other jobs that parents or guardians need to be in office and usually have a 8 or 9 hours working day. If we add commute time, it means those families who need probably 9 to 10 hours of child care (younger or little kids). In those cases, the families likely need before and after care. Not all summer camps do that. If I can categorize camps, I think there are two types: one with the need I just mentioned above, another one is more like “give parents a few hours break, also give kids a few hours of camp / play time”.

    Also, for me personally, I am at a stage of my career that I can work from home, and also I can be quite flexible. In that case, I will choose the later camps or camps without before/after care.

    (Update 04-18-2024) Ms Donna Matthews, Ladue School District Gifted Specialist, shared this list (google spreadsheet) for summer camps that are suitable for middle school and high school kids.

    (Update 12-05-2023) from LCC FB group I came across this Camp ThunderBird at Minnesota. It seems lots of outdoor fun. Seems like a good option for sleep away camps, for the families/kids who want to do sleep away camps (also see Sleep Away Camps (added 05-08-2023) below). I also vaguely recall there is a thunderbird camp in Arizona. I could mixed it up with the Thunder bird school in AZ though.

    I know I know, when my older daughter was doing the sleep away camp at Cub Creek in summer 2021, I was refreshing their photos and emails website every 5 minutes in the 1st few days 🙂

    (Update 07-01-2023) Came across this one at Webster U. But I could not find it at their website. It seems Webster U has quite a few camps for middle school and above age kids.

    (Update May 2023) Added more sleep away outdoor summer camps. Scroll down or search for “sleep away” on this blog post. Also Creve Coeur Racquet Club.

    (Update Spring 2023) Some minor edits including adding the FB link for the D & A basketball camp. Added Master Qi Martial Arts school (at the end of this post, good thing takes time and needs patience 🙂

    Spring break camps: the J (or JCC), Olivette, and McCormack basketball camp.

    Two horse riding camps: Kennedy Farms and The Stables at Lake St Louis. And one cheerleading camp.

    (Original Spring 2022) I wrote a piece on summer camp choices a while ago, to be precise, 5 years ago. My kids are growing older and they have attended more summer camps in the past 5 years. Below are some of the camps they attended and are planning to attend this summer, in alphabetical order. Also since a few years ago the Missouri legislature passed a law that pushed back the fall public school opening by about 10 to 14 days, and that makes the summer camp a bit more important for the kids and working parents. Private school were not impacted. I think a general rule of thumb for summer is: take some family vacation if the work schedule allows, spend a few days or weeks at home (if parents work from home); for younger kids, it’s important to put them in a routine, provide some fun activities as well as get off the screen and games when possible.

    All American Gymnastics and Super Ninja: this is a popular place for some of the Spoede, Creve Coeur and Olivette kids. They do gymnastics, games (hide and seek), arts and craft (tie dye shirt etc.), and water (field) day. The kids need to bring own lunch. 9 am to 3 pm. Pick up along the car pool line. (Update 01-08-2024: they usually do promotions on early Jan) 🌞Summer Camp Registration Is Open to ALL! | Save $100 until 1/14!🌞

    Andrews Academy: our go to camp before pandemic, especially for our old kid who is 6th grader now. She used to go to the neighboring Hope Montessori when she was pre-schooler. They have fantastic activities, food, and field trips. They also do one gathering / open house, with food for parents (picnic, food from Kenricks) for parents and siblings (before pandemic). There are activities after dinner too. Last but not least, before pandemic we had friends come from China did summer camp at Andrew’s academy too. They had good experience there (I recall the kids were about Serenity’s age now about 11 years old).

    Cub Creek Science Camp: this is a sleep away animal science camp in Rolla, Missouri. (from FB Ladue community or Ladue parents community group: this camp is popular among Ladue kids. Note the cost is about $1100 for a week 🙂 We signed up our old daughter for one week this summer. Update: she was very happy with the camp. She is going there for a week this summer too.

    JCC: they have different tracks too. They usually do swim daily. My older daughter went there the summer before her kindergarten year. They drop off and pick up at the back of JCC, by the pavilion next to soccer field. (Update summer 2023) My younger daughter did 2 weekly sessions there: she made a friend in the 1st week, and later she came back for another week so that they two can be together.

    Kids Camp Ladue (KCL)*: lots of kids in the ladue school district and neighboring area. Mr. Long, Ladue Middle School science teacher has been doing this (mostly as a community service for working parents) for many years. Btw, I saw a familiar face on the website 🙂

    Ladue Camp Legacy: for the older kids who are entering grades 6 through 9 in the fall.

    Maryville U robotics program: signed up my two girls for summer 2022 (one week each). The camp is two weeks long, btw. My girls like to do one week, which is okay. Btw, the school campus map here. It looks like the checkin is at Auditorium. I am hoping to write a post on Arduino soon. Personally I think it’s interesting. Note: parents for the girls, you may notice there are usually more boys than girls as this is STEM arena. Please don’t get discouraged. Send your daughter over to explore, and they usually love the activities there, and those enhanced their confidence on STEM as well. So win-win 🙂 I am speaking from my own younger daughter’s experience, she felt more comfortable with the MIT Scratch game at school after doing this at Maryville last summer.

    MICDs Summer Camp*: it’s not cheaper compared to Andrews Academy (the after hour care cost extra money). But MICDs has good facilities including the fairly new indoor swimming pool. They usually have a play (a show) for parents come to watch.

    Olivette: usually held at Olivette Community Center. It’s popular among the kids in Olivette and Creve Coeur (did you know some people pronounced it like Creamed Corn 🙂 || Btw, heard Webster Groves has some camps such as fire safety, soccer etc. Sounds similar to Olivette summer camp. Our younger daughter attended one week of Camp O this year (year 2022).

    Also, some specialized camps. Bobby McCormack basketball camp.

    SPICE Chess Camp at Webster U: my older daughter Serenity did a week in summer 2018. I believe she participated the “girls only” session.

    St. Louis Chinese Language School: 圣路易中文学校 2023 Summer Camp During pandemic Serenity attended a few classes (math came to mind, Zoom only). They have in person culture and martial arts camp this summer (maybe more are coming).

    Some Ladue school specific camps or camps led by Ladue School Teachers

    there are also D&A basketball camp (Dockery & Anderson, they are Ladue PE teachers and basketball coaches) , as well as Jessica Mitchell’s Spanish camp (Ms Mitchell is Spanish teacher at Spoede elementary).

    Spoede teachers / coaches Dolan and Williams have a PE and STEM Math camp too. My old daughter did Dolan / Williams camp before pandemic (once), and my younger one did Spanish camp (twice). (Update 04-06-2023 new for summer 2023), Dolan and Williams’ camp is back, here is the peachjar flyer.

    (04-19-2023 added Hadfield Enrichment Camp, as a friend asked about the writing enrichment.) This is the flyer.

    Cross Country: saw 2 familiar faces right there, Coach Strayhorn is Ladue Middle School math teacher and Ladue High School girls cross country coach. He has been doing the camp for a while too. I signed up Serenity for session 2 this summer (2022). Interesting question on the google form: on scale 1 to 5, 1 means “my parents make me do it”, 5 means “I love running”. I thought in America, we don’t force kids do things they don’t like. LOL. Our old daughter did this camp in summer 2022.

    Ladue School District Summer Enrichment Programs (July 6-30, 2021) An invitation and details will be shared with eligible families.(copied from Ladue Schools e-Connect Newsletter — April 30, 2021). Note some of the program are invitations only.

    Ladue Camp Legacy (new in Summer 2022, and it’s there for 2023 as well, note this is a fee based program, and open to all.

    (04-12-2023) Today I learned there are also ESL (English as Second Language) and Ladue LEAP program (this one is for selected incoming kindergarten kids).

    (We have not done the below camps) There are other Ladue teachers led specialized camps: reading, baseball etc. Those are usually communicated via peach jar (email). Contact me if you like to get some more information.

    Below are some of the camps in the area that I am aware of, or we think we may attend.

    Community school summer camp: I learned they have a summer camp when our Spoede teachers (coaches) used their campus (facilities) once for summer PE / Math (STEAM) camp. Of course some of people may know CS (community school) is a feeder school for MICDs and John Burrough school (JBS)

    Creve Coeur Tennis-Camps-and-Lessons: please check with the city of Creve Coeur, the Parks and Recreation dept.

    Creve Coeur Racquet Club: “We are going to start offering Day time (tennis) clinics on Tuesday and Thursdays starting May 30th from 1:30-2:30 for orange and green ball kids. You register by the day. A minimum of 3 kids must register for the clinic to go for that day. Registration is open online. If you have difficulties registering online, please email the proshop at proshop@ccrctennis.com. Please let me know if you have any questions. -Toni”

    Forest Lake Tennis Club: Summer Junior Camp

    GRC: gifted resources council summer academies. This is open to everyone. Unlike the gift programs in many schools that require a test. They have activities (learning labs) during regular school year too, it’s being held at Wydown Middle School (clayton), on Saturdays. Before pandemic, I have been to their “Creative Convention” and my older daughter also attended the “equation competition”.

    Camp Invention: saw it from school communication, I don’t have any knowledge about. If you have any feedback or comments, please email to minjie.xu@gmail.com. Thank you.

    Highland Golf & Tennis Youth Camps: at forest park. This seems to be a popular place for many families. Note on some summer afternoons, St. Louis could be really hot and I assume they will put kids in indoor facility with AC (as playing outside could be dangerous).

    John Burroughs summer program

    Laumeier Sculpture Park art camp:

    Missouri Fine Arts Academy: this is actually in Springfield, MO, the Missouri State U campus. Note invitation only: it’s a selected program. The kids can apply and the camp will decide who are chosen. || I came across it from FB: “A total of six Rockwood School District students – 5 kids’ names (Eureka High) and 1 kid name (Rockwood Summit High) – were chosen to participate in the Missouri Fine Arts Academy this summer! The Academy, which runs June 4-17 on the campus of Missouri State University in Springfield, is a two-week summer residential program for highly motivated student artists in visual arts, theatre, dance, creative writing and music. The Academy offers an intensive schedule of classes in interdisciplinary and discipline-specific arts and a wide range of co-curricular activities. Congratulations to these outstanding student artists!”

    St Louis Academy of Dance (SLAD) summer program: our daughters go there during regular school year. Typically they have quite a few Spoede/OB/Ladue kids.

    SIUE (Edwardsville, IL): my old daughter’s percussion teacher at LMS send us the information on percussion institute.

    More Sleep Away or Outdoor Camps (added 05-08-2023)

    I am aware of a few, and I saw friends sent kids there. My kid so far only went to the Cub Creek Animal Science camp I mentioned above.

    Camp Manitowa: 12770 North Benton Rd., Benton, IL 62812

    JCC Camp Sabra: this is in the lake of Ozarks.

    YMCA Camp Lakewood: 13528 State Hwy AA, Potosi, MO, 63664

    Those looks quite fun both in terms of outdoor actives, as well as let the kids have some independence (a necessary training, so that we know when we send them away for college, they would have some experience on their own). Also I did notice the price is more steep than a normal summer camp: consider the room and board. It’s a good experience for the kids though (both being away from parents, bonding with new friends, at a cabin, outdoor environment, doing new activities).

    St Louis Modern Chinese school: check back for more info.

    SLU Summer Camp: I just heard about it. One friend recommend the swim camp, another the cooking camp. It sound like something I can send my 2 girls next summer.

    UMSL bridge program: saw a parent sending kids there (FB friend)

    Webster U middle school challenge (assume a bit similar to wash u program below): saw another parent sending kids there (from Twitter)

    wustl summer camp for middle school kids: link here. We were thinking about it, the cost is $780 for a week (wustl employee / family has 10% discount). Noticed the 6th grade is full now. We won’t go this year due to a conflict. Personally I feel 9 am to 5 pm is too much for the kids. For that matter, I feel 9 to 5 is overrated for grownups too (which is off topic, I know). Also noticed they have need based scholarship, too.

    St Louis Master Qi Kungfu School : 麒师傅 (Master Qi) has opened the martial arts school in the Olivette/Ladue area for a while. He has after school program for the kids, and summer program as well.

    ========

    *: means the older kids (incoming 7th graders and above for KCL, and high school for MICDs camp) will have opportunity to be a counselor, think that as an leadership training opportunity.

    No longer actively maintained posts on summer camps

    03-10-2017 : Summer Camp Recommendations

    04-14-2014 : Kids Summer Camp In St. Louis Area

  • Weekend thoughts end with 02-05-2022

    Reading Time: 2 minutes

    I bumped into a youtube talk on Lin Biao (who was the No. 2 between 1966 and 1971, at least figuatively, behind Mao Ze’dong in PRC. See wiki: this English wiki has information regarding his death aka the 9.13 incident as well). The talk was given by Professor Gao Hua (who passed away about 10 years ago at a fairly young age), in Mandarin Chinese. It was an interesting talk to say the least.

    Along those lines, I also bump into an interesting person who was dragged into the infamous 9.13 incident (wiki Chinese), and his name is 李伟信. And here is his brief intro or story. Sorry this is again in Chinese.

    My point here is “it’s never too old to learn”. I understand this is more or less a cliche. And the world famous investor said something along similar lines too, and btw he is a learning machine per his sidekick Charlie Munger. Back to Mr. Li, he was born in 1934, and he was about 37 in 1971. Almost died from the 9.13 incident. Was put in prison for 15 years. Started to learn architecture in prison (he may have some artistic training, aka drawing when he was young). And later on he became an important in the architecture world. Here is some information re: him at Zhihu (more or less like China’s wiki or quora).

    李伟信，九十年代中期加入贝聿铭设计事务所，主管上海办事处，成为华裔建筑大师贝聿铭的得力助手。李伟信在全国各地设计了不少项目，还多次到上海的知名高校讲课。也算是中国建筑行业的大牛了。

    所以说，奋斗在任何时候都来得及，改行在任何年龄都不算晚。你条件再差，也不会比一个年过半百的老头子差吧。

    Above is from Zhihu (please see the link above)

    PS: I was born on the year in which Li Biao 9.13 incident happened (1971). I remember my mom told me she was called to a meeting on that topic when my elder brother was about 2 years old. At that time, I have 2 old brothers, they were 2 and 4 years old.

    I do remember quite vividly when chairman Mao died (1976), and that’s the first time I heard someone died, and was 5 years old. In my hometown tradition, the new born is 1 year old, so I was 6 in Ningbo tradition. My main memory is the sad music in the broadcast system (wired to every home, we probably had electricity from year 1973 or 74 in our village). And many people are making the white paper flower, as well as the black elbow clip (both symbols for memorize someone recently died). For a little kid like me, it was quite significant event. Remember that year we also had the Tangshan earthquake, and I do recall we spent a night in the yard instead of the house, just on the safe side.

  • Youth self defense class at SLMCS

    Reading Time: 2 minutes

    (Update 01-07-2022) The Chinese school starting date for Winter / Spring semester is pushed out by 2 weeks. So the below class will start on Jan 23rd instead of Jan 9th, 2022. Please refer to the SLMCS class link for more up-to-date details.

    (Original) “Youth self defense” class in the STL Modern Chinese school, this will be a new class (https://slmcs.org/Register/classdetail.asp?cid=4202). 5 weeks class from 1/7/2022 to 5/5/2022, on Sundays at noon 12 ~ 12:50 pm (the cost is $120).

    I do believe most instructions will be in English, as 3 out of 4 instructors are native speakers, for the one Chinese martial art coach, my expectation is someone will translate as needed.

    Here is the Chinese: Youth Self-Defence (girls 12 -16 Yo) 青少年自卫防身训练营 New(SD01A_22S)Note: This class is a 15 weeks class from 1/7/2022 to 5/5/2022 礼拜天 中午12点到12:50 pm (the cost is $120).

    结合当前形式，相关资源，SLMCS将于2022年春季学期开设为期15周的青少年自卫防身训练营 — St. Louis Youth Self Defense (SLYSD)。作为试运营，首期将只针对初中女生，年龄限制在12-16岁。明年秋季进入正式运营，可根据情况酌情扩招至其它年龄段和男生。请空手道老师Kayu Lui，麒师父武术学校行麒师父和圣路易著名功夫师父Tim Bruewer 每人针对这个年龄段孩子的特点设计为期四周的防身自卫技击课。其它三周，请来自Clayton Police Department 的Jennifer Schwartz 警官为孩子们讲授自卫的法律规范及其它注意事项。 具体日期安排如下： Jennifer Schwartz: 1/9, 1/16, and 1/23 Kayu Lui : 2/6, 2/13, 2/20, and 2/27 行麒师父 : 3/6, 3/13,3/27, and 4/3 Tim Bruewer : 4/10, 4/17, 4/24, and 5/1 每位教员都将根据自己的优势认真准备教案，所以每一个阶段都将为孩子们带来不同的体验和收获。

    And in English mainly using Google translate. Youth Self-Defence (girls 12 -16 Yo) Training Camp New(SD01A_22S) Note: This class is a 15 weeks class from 1/7/2022 to 5/5/2022, on Sundays at noon 12 ~ 12:50 pm (the cost is $120).

    Considering the current situation and related resources, SLMCS will open a 15-week youth self-defense training camp – St. Louis Youth Self Defense (SLYSD) in the spring semester of 2022. As a trial operation, the first phase will only target junior high school girls, and the age limit is 12-16. It will enter the formal operation in the fall of next year, and it can be expanded to other age groups and boys according to the situation. Karate teacher Kayu Lui, Master Qi of the Qi Master Martial Arts School, and Tim Bruewer, the famous Kung Fu Master of Saint Louis, each design a four-week self-defense and self-defense martial arts class based on the characteristics of children of this age. In the other three weeks, Officer Jennifer Schwartz from the Clayton Police Department was invited to teach the children the legal norms and other precautions for self-defense. The specific dates are as follows: Jennifer Schwartz: 1/9, 1/16, and 1/23 Kayu Lui: 2/6, 2/13, 2/20, and 2/27 Xingqi Master: 3/6, 3/13 ,3/27, and 4/3 Tim Bruewer: 4/10, 4/17, 4/24, and 5/1 Each teacher will carefully prepare lesson plans according to their own advantages, so every stage will be for the children Bring different experiences and gains.

    Email me at minjie.xu@gmail.com or text me at 314 540 2721 if there is any question. Thanks.

    References below

    How to register at SLMCS

    Introduction to the youth self defense class

  • Mental health break

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    Two more off days for the kids and teachers before thanksgiving holidays. Please note I still have 2 vacation days to cover it (also I WFH full time since March 2020 pandemic shutdown). Btw, I heard mental health break is getting popular among school districts (public schools), so there is peer pressure there. || The other day I heard from a podcast in which the author asked a bunch of billionaires (or millionaires, rich people, also with kids grown up): what’s your biggest regret? The answer is they wish they have spent more time with their kids when the kids were young. I can feel that: I think Sophia will let me hold her like a baby for at most one year or two. I enjoy every minute I spend with my kids: even if / when they consistently asks me “daddy, when will Roblox be back?” (the answer is I don’t know, as daddy don’t work for them…[捂脸])

  • hosts file for productivity

    Reading Time: < 1 minute

    Sometimes we need to get something done without the distraction of facebook, twitter or for that matter, linkedin (or some other sites you want to stay away). Here is a tip for how to do it on Mac.

    sudo vi /etc/hosts
    (note you don’t have to use vi, feel free to use nano or other editor of your choice)


    referene entries below
    ====
    # Host Database
    #
    # localhost is used to configure the loopback interface
    # when the system is booting. Do not change this entry.
    ##
    127.0.0.1 localhost
    255.255.255.255 broadcasthost
    ::1 localhost

    127.0.0.1 facebook.com
    127.0.0.1 www.facebook.com

    #127.0.0.1 linkedin.com
    #127.0.0.1 www.linkedin.com

    127.0.0.1 twitter.com
    127.0.0.1 www.twitter.com
    ====

    Then do this in command line.
    sudo dscacheutil -flushcache

    Reference articles:

    How to Edit the Hosts File in Mac OS X with Terminal

    How To Edit Hosts File In Linux, Windows, Or Mac

  • Got new windshield wiper, tires

    Reading Time: 2 minutesLast wed. morning,  temperature was below freeze point, there were some leftover snow. When I start my car, windshield wiper blade broke. So early afternoon I bought a new set and tried to replace the wiper. Those were worn out before last wed. The problem for me is, I don’t know how to take the old set off the Camry. Even after I watched YouTube video, I still did not know. So I went back autozone and asked for help. 

    This is minor compared to the tire pressure problem for my wife’s sienna minivan. She texted me this picture, I know I know it’s tire pressure warning. I went through the same exercise last winter, even pumped couple times on sienna. And I left some damage on the sensor by doing that too :-(. And this time I am paying it back. The warning went away and came back last few weeks, even after I pumped air. So I thought to make sure, using a meter to measure the pressure. And I blew this one. When trying to measure the front driver side tire, the one has some sensor demage, that thing came out, and air came out. Flat tire :-(. This is not new but not often encountered, so I follow the procedures: use jack to get the van up, trying to locate the spare tire. Since it’s hard for me to get out the jack from sienna, I used the one from Camry. It’s not as strong, and I made couple mistakes the jack fell twice. But I still could not figure out where is the spare tire, even after reading manual. So I called AAA. A technician from AAA helped me on this issue. Today I went to Costco in the afternoon and got a new sets of tires on. It cost me about $770 for 4 Michelin tires. I still need to figure out how to put the spare back to its original place. 

     

    My lesson learned:

    1) It’s fortunate that we did not got hurt with this potential tire sensor problem. 

    2) It’s ok to buy certified used (sienna), but it’s not necessary to buy extended warranty, put the money in bank for repairs and maintenance instead (the squirrel problem and the new tires).

    3) Use Costco tire service, they seems have the best service plan for the $15 installation fee.

    4) It’s kinda ironic I majored in ME in college and grad school. And I cannot figure out windshield wiper and spare tire. 

  • 2015 Year In Review

    Reading Time: 4 minutesIt’s new year again, and obligatory new year resolution time. I think I’m already past that practice: will try to put down iPhone and Macbook more when I’m at home though (I was referring to this comment on 2014 review: Leave the iDevices/mac if I can). I’ve eaten my own words on this one. My younger daughter is at a fun age (17.5 months), being a toddler learning to talk, I’ll play with her more, and of course continue my weekend chauffeur job for my older daughter (skating, dancing/pre-ballet etc).

    Job Change
    I changed my job again this year. I was not expecting it at the beginning of the year or did any planning. But it worked out so far. Again I hope I can stay at my current place longer 🙂

    Personal finance
    I stopped contributing to the Exxon mobile DRIP program; started put same money ($100 per month) into IBM DRIP program instead, still using ComputerShares. Was able to save some money in the emergency fund account. But still spent quite some on the following items.

    Visited Disneyland;

    Got a piano and ready to start piano lesson for Serenity in 2016;

    Replaced AC and furnace, the new one (American Standard, same as the Trane brand) works like a charm, also bought two mattresses (one from Mattress Firm local store, another one from US-mattress online store). Long term it’s going to save some money on electricity as this one is more energy efficient.

    Workout, exercise, swim
    I have been doing swimming for a few years at JCC (both Chesterfield and Creve Coeur locations), as I live near the Creve Coeur location, and I worked near the Chesterfield location last few years. That has been changed as the new baby (July 2014), and new job requirement (June 2015). I have been using UP Band, Fitbit app on iPhone 5s, and in June this year I got Fitbit Charge the same time I changed job. Trying to get 10,000 steps per day per the recommendation. Still try to get some swimming as time permits.

    I started walking in the trails at Laumeiers Sculpture park since last Winter: trying to breath some fresh air during lunch break at work. The new place does not have a nature trail like the Sculpture park, but it does have a one mile paved trail. It’s good enough for me. I usually walk at lunch break, when weather permits. Otherwise I would walk the stairs, as not good as outside, but it does the job. One thing I learned over the years is we need to take care of our own health while working, because at the end of the day, we need that to provide for our family, also to enjoy things (this hits home especially whenever I get sick). There is an excellent “Under the Radar” podcast on this ergonomics topic. I recall at my old work place, my coworker had surgery on the capal-tunnel (a common injury from using too much keyboard or mouse). Back pain is also common among office workers (sitting too long). The walk/stretch from time to time is a good way to prevent/reduce that.

    Fitbit_badges_2015

    Kids
    (more…)

  • How I unlocked t-mobile iPhone 5s and transfer to H2O wireless

    Reading Time: 3 minutesI have thought about this for a while, especially after hearing about republic wireless $25 month plan from my friend Luke and H2O wireless (thanks to mitbbs penny savers forum). Previously I only heard about the StraightTalk $50 plan ($45 now, it appears T-mobile also dropped its $50 plan to $40). A little background, I had an iPhone 5s for t-mobile, full price bought from Apple store in Oct/Nov 2013. I only used it for T-mobile prepaid legacy plan, which means “pay as you go”, 10 cents a min for phone call, and 10 cents per text message. I like to have the 3G data, like I had before from AT&T. Here are the steps I followed:

    1) Unlock the iPhone 5s. Although I paid the full price, by default the phone is still locked to t-mobile network. The quickest way is to chat with t-mobile, which I did. Actually I did twice, because the first time they did not do the job. The second time they sent me notification saying my phone is unlocked.

    2) Get a sim card for H2O wireless from Amazon. I made a mistake again. Without much thought I got this micro sim card first, and I quickly realized iPhone 5s needs nano sim.
    h2o_wireless_sim
    3) Last but not least, when my t-mobile prepaid balance came very low, and when it’s weekend (not critical time), I started transfer. I did online on h2o wireless website first. Haven’t seen the number transferred after a bit over a day. So I called. One problem is since my t-mobile is prepaid legacy plan, there is no account number. And I did not give correct pin per H2O rep. Got it solved. The next thing they asked me to install couple profiles for internet (because I want data plan). Then talk to the billing department setting up monthly pay, they gave me 10% off for setting up month bill auto pay via credit card, make the final bill $27. Note H2O actually uses AT&T network, and the data usage is available in real time from “Cellular” setting of the phone.

    (update) The main reason I ditched T-mobile is its poor coverage. Sometimes I don’t get signal in the condo neighborhood. The wifi-call feature helped out a bit by tapping into the Wifi network, but it has two drawbacks: 1) It still uses the regular minutes; 2) When at work and I walk around, as the Wifi hot spots changes, the phone will disconnect or lose signal.

    Also, how to setup Internet and LTE for H2O. The operator texted me two links. Install the first profile for initial Internet setup. The second one was sent via Dropbox link. No need to install Dropbox app, just tap top right, “direct save”, and install. It will complain about the first profile just installed. Go ahead and remove that one, the second one should install. This is not very intuitive as I did not hear instructions clearly from the operator, nor did I bother to look up their website for FAQ. From my own experience, the first one is probably just for verification or something. Also the operator asked if I want multimedia message, I said no because she mentioned I need to install some “jailbreak” app or something.

    Also, I heard from my other friend, if one is really budget conscious, Ting is also a good choice, they use both Sprint and T-mobile network.

  • Back up iPhone iPad photos

    Reading Time: < 1 minuteI learned the lesson the hard way. Almost a year ago, I left my former employer, and I had to turn in my iPhone 4s. Being a computer professional, I knew the backup thing, so I backed up the photos to iTunes, both via iCloud and via iTunes to PC. But I forgot one more backup, to the iPhoto on my Mac. The backups on iCloud and iTunes are good, but I can not view the individual photos from there, and eventually I got a new iPhone 5s and got the backup iPhotos to my new iPhone this way. The first thing I did after I receiving my new iPhone is to restore the photos, and backup to iPhoto on my Mac.

    I did one more thing, as I learned from my Nexus 4 experience, is turn on auto back up on google+. I paid $20 extra for the additional 10gb space on iCloud (for one year), when the time of renewal comes, I plan to cancel it, as now I will do backup via iPhoto, iTunes and google+.

    Personally I felt the management of all these photos on iPhone/iPad is an interesting project. With Apple TV, I did see I play videos on iDevices more, and sometimes even slide show the photo. I did this quite a few times to my young daughter, when I found that’s more fun than the Netflix TV shows 🙂