Puerto Rico Notes

Published under Mango Canvas, Jan 21, 2017

Last year's December holiday, me and my wife went to Puerto Rico. It was quite a wonderful break.

Before getting into the details, we have to thank Inbox first. We booked three Air Flamenco flights for three consecutive days: SIG✈️VQS, VQS✈️CPX, CPX✈️FAJ. But we mistakenly booked the second flight on a November day instead of December. We didn't notice it at all. Just before that day in November, I was looking at my Inbox's Trip bundle:

Inbox trip — Inbox doesn't create a great trip name though.

WAIT! The start date is clearly wrong. Luckily that time, there were still two seats available on the correct date. If Inbox didn't have this feature, we would probably have to take a very expensive cargo boat instead.

The real notes, now.

Dec 24, Christmas Eve

The original plan was to arrive at San Juan 1:35AM via SFO✈️MIA✈️SJU. But maybe because of the weather far far aways from Miami, the caption of the MIA✈️SJU flight couldn't make it:

This Christmas Eve couldn’t be beteer pic.twitter.com/YDSuEhWwGi
— Dolee Yang (@DoleeYang) December 25, 2016

Christmas Eve in a hotel it is.

Now I'm thinking though, this actually sounds better than Christmas Eve on a plane 🤔

Dec 25, Old San Juan

We took a taxi from SJU to Old San Juan, the historical colonial town in the San Juan city. It's very walkable, and is worth spending a day. The most unique thing is its narrow streets:

Unfortunately the castles and museums were closed on Christmas.

We stayed at the lovely Villa Herencia Hotel that night ★★★★☆

Dec 26, Vieques

We ✈️ to Vieques in the morning. It was the first time I sit in the copilot seat:

First time sitting on the copilot seat. The view is amazing, didn’t take any photo/videos though 😞 pic.twitter.com/Qt2hFSGryI
— Dolee Yang (@DoleeYang) December 26, 2016

Because we didn't rent a car, we booked two tours instead.

The day at Playa Caracas (instead of Playa La Chiva thanks to the wind) we snorkeled.

The night at Bahía Bioluminiscente we saw the amazing luminescence in the sea, and the more amazingly clear stars in the sky.

We stayed at Acacia Guesthouse ★★★☆☆

Dec 27, Vieques/Culebra

Wandered at Sun Bay, ✈️ to Vieques, and stayed at Culebra Island Villas ★★☆☆☆

Dec 28, Culebra

We snorkeled again at Playa Sardinas. This place is perfect:

Then ✈️ to Ceiba, took a taxi to SJU, picked up our rental car. That's the only place open 24 hours.

Stayed at Four Points in Caguas ★★★☆☆

Dec 29, Ponce

Ponce is the second largest city in Puerto Rico. In the center of Ponce is its landmark Parque de Bombas (firehouse):

We also went to the great Museo de Arte and boring Castillo Serralles.

Ignoring the restaurants, we had the awesome Puerto Rican Pinchos for lunch.

Stayed at the same place last night.

Dec 30, El Yunque National Forest

Finally, a little bit nature and hiking in the only tropical rain forest of United States:

And ✈️ MIA ✈️ SFO.

Bonous

I bought a GoPro Hero5 for this trip:

This is the first time I tried to record some footage. After 20 hours of post processing, voila:

By the way, video post processing is quite fun and time consuming at the same time. I hope I can shoot and produce more in the future.

∞ WeChat's App Revolution

Published under Mango Linked, Jan 19, 2017

Adam Minter reporting on WeChat's "mini programs" for bloomberg:

Mini programs, by contrast, aren't found in an app store. Users get links to them from friends or groups in a chat, or by scanning a QR code in real life (at a restaurant, say).

"Mini programs" are best for ad-hoc, "offline" uses. For example, pay parking fees just by scanning the QR code of the meter. It sounds like Android's Instant Apps, but more light weight and works far better because of WeChat's ecosystem.

WeChat had already morphed beyond its roots as a chat service to become a one-stop app for everything, from banking to shopping to dating to dining.

That's very true. I'm constantly amazed by how much work it can be done inside WeChat without ever leaving the app.

In short, WeChat is starting to look quite a bit like a mobile operating system. As it becomes more powerful and self-contained, Chinese phone consumers will stop asking what phone and operating system they should buy, and start contemplating what phone best runs WeChat. That's a long-term threat to iOS and Android, as well as any company that makes phones to run them.

It's not a threat to iOS or Android though. They are at different levels. It only means that it stops mattering whether you choose iOS or Android. It removes the limitation of OS lock-in. It gives the freedom of choosing any phone.

For now, WeChat is changing smartphones in China. One day soon, its impact will be felt worldwide.

Certainly, WeChat has changed China. But I'm not sure about developed countries. They already have a developed system - apps. It's the same reason why it takes so long to advance US' payment system - credit cards.

El Yunque National Forest Hike

Published under Hiking, Jan 19, 2017

Summary

The habitat doesn't have large variety of plants like a typical tropical rain forest does, but it is still tropical. Good amount of trail choices as shown below:

Numbers

Time: 2016-12-30, 1.3 hours.

Distance: 3.1 km (1.9 miles).

Route

Hiking map — See this Google Map for more details.

Photos

See this Google Photos Album.

Replacing My iPhone 6s for Free

Published under Mango Paper, Jan 17, 2017

My iPhone 6s has had the Unexpected Shutdown issue for a while. After months of procrastination, I finally went to the Apple Store this Saturday afternoon.

My appointment was at 16:50. The staff told me that it takes 3 hours to replace the battery, and the store closes at 19:00. So I have to leave the phone overnight and pick up the next day.

I said OK.

However, I remember last time Apple had this issue with iPhone 5, they would actually replace my old phone with a new one (or refurbished one?) immediately in the store. Oh yes, I am very lucky to be a victim twice.

I'm totally fine without a new phone this time.

Then the next day, a different person handled my case. They brought both my old and a new phone to me. Guess what? The new phone was for me. And I just need to reset my old phone for them.

They said one thing, but did another.

I'm very confused. The only reasonable explanation I could think is, they wanted to take a look at my old phone then decide what to do.

Maybe I should have a doubt about anything they say. After all, they have told me "not closing your apps will kill your iPhone”.

∞ Having Fewer Things to Do Is the Best Way to Get Things Done

Published under Mango Linked, Dec 31, 2016

@jasonfried answering @andyorin's question of What’s your best time-saving shortcut or life hack, for a Life Hacker interview:

Having fewer things to do is the best way to get things done.

Can't argue with that.

Oh! Darling (The Beatles) by Casey Adams at Grand Canyon Western Ranch

Published under Mango Paper, Dec 22, 2016

Me and my wife stayed and had a great thanksgiving dinner at Grand Canyon Western Ranch.

After dinner, the professional musician Casey Adams built a campfire and played numerous songs for all the guests, including many of the ones he wrote. This is Oh! Darling (with a good night song in the middle for the family leaving early).

∞ VIPKid Matches Students in China with North American Instructors

Published under Mango Linked, Dec 21, 2016

Peter Elstrom and David Ramli reporting for Bloomberg:

Today, Mi is 33 and founder of a startup that aims to give Chinese kids the kind of education American children receive in top U.S. schools. Called VIPKid, the company matches Chinese students aged five to 12 with predominantly North American instructors to study English, math, science and other subjects. Classes take place online, typically for two or three 25-minute sessions each week.

Ignore the clickbait title, that's a very worth reading report.