w00kie's ramblings » photos http://w00kie.com Living the good life in Japan Thu, 17 May 2012 11:39:17 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 Pet Project: Sunsetter http://w00kie.com/2012/05/17/pet-project-sunsetter/ http://w00kie.com/2012/05/17/pet-project-sunsetter/#comments Thu, 17 May 2012 11:39:17 +0000 w00kie http://w00kie.com/?p=942 Continue reading →]]> At home I have a nice view of the Fujisan to the south-west. I often take pictures of it in winter when the skies are so clear.

Many times I've told myself it would be nice to take a picture with the sun setting right behind the mountain. I've searched the internet for an app that would tell me when this happens but all I could find were apps that tell you where the sun sets on a particular day, not the other way around. So I decided to build it...

Sunsetter is a simple python web app running on Heroku. It's based on the brilliant pysolar library for the hardcore astronomical calculations and binds it all to Google Maps with a dash of Ajax and JavaScript.

The app still needs polish but the data it gives out should be pretty accurate and reliable at normal altitudes (standing on top of a very tall mountain overlooking a wide plain will change the distance of the horizon and screw with the calculations a bit).

If this app was useful to you or you have suggestions, I'd love to hear from you in the comments.

]]> http://w00kie.com/2012/05/17/pet-project-sunsetter/feed/ 4 Beer Fujisan http://w00kie.com/2011/11/05/beer-fujisan/ http://w00kie.com/2011/11/05/beer-fujisan/#comments Sat, 05 Nov 2011 01:50:38 +0000 w00kie http://w00kie.com/2011/11/05/beer-fujisan/ beer fujisan -- see full size

]]> http://w00kie.com/2011/11/05/beer-fujisan/feed/ 0 Lantern Festival in Hiroshima http://w00kie.com/2011/08/18/lantern-festival-in-hiroshima/ http://w00kie.com/2011/08/18/lantern-festival-in-hiroshima/#comments Wed, 17 Aug 2011 15:25:20 +0000 w00kie http://w00kie.com/?p=861 Continue reading →]]> For the Obon summer vacations I went to see my wife's family in Hiroshima. Although I've been there 4 or 5 times before, it was the first time that my visit coincided with the anniversary of the atomic bomb blast on August 6th and the 灯籠流し — lantern festival. To commemorate the victims, we float tens of thousands of lanterns representing the dead's souls on the river in front of the 原爆ドーム — the A-bomb dome.

灯籠流し -- Lantern Festival in Hiroshima

Despite buying a nice Manfrotto tripod for the occasion, I'm a bit disappointed with my photos of the event... The conditions were not optimal, after queuing up for more than an hour to launch our lanterns on the river, I started shooting. But the unbearable heat (the high riverbanks blocking any wind and the hundreds of people crowding the launchpad and the bridge were not helping) as well as my wife and her friends clamoring for retreat towards a cold beer and plenty of wine at a nearby restaurants meant I took a mere 20 quick shots and left with my shirt completely soaked.

]]> http://w00kie.com/2011/08/18/lantern-festival-in-hiroshima/feed/ 0 Sunset over Fujisan http://w00kie.com/2009/12/06/sunset-over-fujisan/ http://w00kie.com/2009/12/06/sunset-over-fujisan/#comments Sun, 06 Dec 2009 08:20:56 +0000 w00kie http://w00kie.com/?p=724 Photos I took in the past hour from my balcony as the sun is setting to the left of Mount Fuji.

]]> http://w00kie.com/2009/12/06/sunset-over-fujisan/feed/ 0 White-capped Fujisan after the typhoon http://w00kie.com/2009/10/27/white-capped-fujisan-after-the-typhoon/ http://w00kie.com/2009/10/27/white-capped-fujisan-after-the-typhoon/#comments Tue, 27 Oct 2009 05:20:20 +0000 w00kie http://w00kie.com/?p=711 Continue reading →]]> Took this photo with my iPhone this morning after the 20th typhoon of the season cleared away.

Last time I saw it, there was no snow. Now it's all white. See another beautiful photo made this morning from much closer.

I will try to update this post tonight with some photos I took with my DSLR in between brushing my teeth and putting my pants on – always in a rush in the mornings...

]]> http://w00kie.com/2009/10/27/white-capped-fujisan-after-the-typhoon/feed/ 0 Cat Street matsuri http://w00kie.com/2009/10/02/cat-street-matsuri/ http://w00kie.com/2009/10/02/cat-street-matsuri/#comments Fri, 02 Oct 2009 05:09:09 +0000 w00kie http://w00kie.com/?p=703

Taken with my iPhone on Cat Street, the street that connects Shibuya to Omotesando. I'm pretty impressed by the picture quality of my iPhone, I should take more photos with it...

]]> http://w00kie.com/2009/10/02/cat-street-matsuri/feed/ 0 New shoes http://w00kie.com/2009/09/27/new-shoes/ http://w00kie.com/2009/09/27/new-shoes/#comments Sun, 27 Sep 2009 09:04:02 +0000 w00kie http://w00kie.com/?p=700 Continue reading →]]> Bought new shoes during the Silver week vacations. Yeah, I'm an Onitsuka addict.

Funny thing is all the people I saw, without exception, in the Onitsuka Tiger shop browsing for shoes were already wearing Onitsuka kicks. I guess I'm not the only one who's addicted...

]]> http://w00kie.com/2009/09/27/new-shoes/feed/ 0 Fujisan from my window http://w00kie.com/2009/09/20/fujisan-from-my-window/ http://w00kie.com/2009/09/20/fujisan-from-my-window/#comments Sun, 20 Sep 2009 04:57:30 +0000 w00kie http://w00kie.com/?p=695 A bit more than 3 months after moving in, my first glimpse of 富士山 from my living room window.

]]> http://w00kie.com/2009/09/20/fujisan-from-my-window/feed/ 0 View from my new place http://w00kie.com/2009/07/11/view-from-my-new-place/ http://w00kie.com/2009/07/11/view-from-my-new-place/#comments Sat, 11 Jul 2009 04:44:44 +0000 w00kie http://w00kie.com/?p=628 Continue reading →]]> Last night was the first clear sky sunset I could catch since we moved in the new apartment in Ikebukuro. 梅雨 (the rainy season - literally rain like plums) is not over yet so it was a lucky day.



I can't wait until the typhoon season - after a typhoon, the skies are like washed from any cloud or fog - when I should be able to see the Fujisan clearly from my window.

More photos in the flickr photoset...

]]> http://w00kie.com/2009/07/11/view-from-my-new-place/feed/ 0 Chinese food is best in Chinatown http://w00kie.com/2009/05/12/chinese-food-is-best-in-chinatown/ http://w00kie.com/2009/05/12/chinese-food-is-best-in-chinatown/#comments Mon, 11 May 2009 15:02:53 +0000 w00kie http://w00kie.com/?p=500

In a previous post I was talking about driving all the way to 横浜の中華街 for a chinese lunch. Now I've finally gotten around to processing the pictures in Aperture and uploading them to flickr.

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