Hawaii

Just got back from a wonderful week long family vacation on the Garden Isle of Hawaii, Kauai.
* Discovered Queen's Bath in Princeville. It is a very steep and muddy hike down to the lava rocks. The adventure was better than the snorkeling.
* Rented bikes and rode the new pathway along the Kapaa coast.
* Shore-dived Tunnels on the North Coast. Saw a couple of sleeping white tip reef sharks, eels and two small turtles. The current was rough coming in on the first dive. IMHO, Tunnels is a better snorkeling spot than scuba.
* Caught a luau at Smith's Tropical Paradise. The grounds were wonderful, the food delicious, and the show was great. I highly recommend this luau.
* Did the 2 mile Kalalu trail segment to the first beach. When we reached the beach, we some locals returning from a pig hunting party. They had about a dozen dogs that rounded up the pigs which the men then killed with a knife. These guys already had one pig dressed and one fellow carried like a backpack. Jaya thought it was very creepy.
* Kayaked up the Wailua River to Secret Falls. The hike to the falls was worth it. The kids did some great paddling even with the fierce winds coming back.
* Got a lot of beach time right in front of the condo. The kids were old enough to tolerate the waves.
* Good eats: Chaka Taco in Kapaa, Brick Oven Pizza in Kalaheo,

Atlanta Vacation

We recently went to Atlanta to visit family. Some of the highlights:
* Stone Mountain - awesome time at the small amusement park. Loved the SkyHike even with its two hour line. Bought a fire poker made the resident blacksmith. Took the gondola to the top. Took the tram to the top of the mountaingiant rock. Pretty nice views from there given the flatness of the area.
* Kennesaw Mountain Battlefield - this time we drove to the top and saw the amazing view (better than Stone Mountain). Also went to the Dead Angle on Cheatham Hill. Over 5,000 soldiers were killed during the battle, many on Cheatham. For prespective, 19 soldiers died at our local battle site, San Pascual.
* Smyrna Historical Museum - had a nice chat with a life-long resident. My wife may donate some of her high school yearbooks next time we go.

4th of July Weekend

My parents live in Santa Ana, last refuge of the "safe and sane" fireworks. Growing up, we bought fireworks, but never to the quantity that I wished. A couple of years ago, my brother was in town for the 4th and we were like kids in a candyfirework shop. This year, we bought a large (but not quite "block party" size) box of pyrotechnics. The kids loved the little items: ground bloom flowers, sparklers, worms, lightning bugs, etc. It gives a parent great satisfaction to teach their brood how to start the fuse of an explosive device without losing a finger or hand. As we set off our fireworks, the rest of the neighborhood joined in. There were multitudes of air-burst rockets, like mini-Disneyland fireworks. I imagine they were purchased in Tijuana given the area's large Mexican population. In any case, I was very jealous; the bottle rockets we had as kids were pathetic compared to the new ones.

billg retires

Bill Gates has "retired" from Microsoft. The end of an era, perhaps. I've often wondering why Gates and Microsoft get such a bad rap. They certainly played hardball but in my opinion most of their competitors created their own problems and/or couldn't keep up. That is the beauty of free enterprise. A small company can come up with great products, cut even better deals and make a fortune. The PC industry grew so fast so quick just because of brilliant people like Gates (and many others), not because the government was there to control what came with our operating systems. Microsoft may be on the downturn, but its rise will be one for the history books. Mr. Gates created enormous wealth, let's sit back and watch him use it.
Here is an Then & Now shot of the classic early MS pic.

Fathers' Day Activities

* Started a big maintenance job on the BMW: fix two leaky hydraulic hoses (more on this in a later post), replace the transmission filter and fluid, replace the front brake rotors, fix the front brake squealing, and replace the rear brakes.
* Fixed the front garden irrigation system.
* The kids had their final piano concert until classes begin again in the fall.
* Had a PTA transition meeting from the old board to the new board (I am El Presidente).

Hyundai Sante Fe Review

After driving the Santa Fe for a few weeks, I have some initial thoughts on the car.

Cons
* No backup sensors, would be a nice option
* After putting the car into park, it rolls an inch or so; this can be disconcerting
* Auto transmission just like all other wimpy automatics
* I hate that new car smell
* The option package we got includes the tow prep package which has an enlarged radiator and a transmission cooler, but no hitch; how about throwing in the hitch for a couple more bucks so I don't have to go back to get it installed

Pros
* Love the styling
* Leather is very nice
* Pre-tinted windows keep the interior cool
* Nav system is cool
* Third row of seats very handy

Fork It Over

Just finished "Fork It Over: The Intrepid Adventures of a Professional Eater" by Alan Richman. I loved Richman's articles when I read GQ. This book is a collection of those plus others from "Food & Wine" and other publications. I love Richman's dry, witty style. I just wish he included the article on Djibouti.

Weekend Activities

* Trip to the dump

* Saw "Prince Caspian" - not a big fan of the Narnia series but my daughter is and she won out over Indy.

* Fixed the kids' closer doors - they were a 1/8" too long due to the unevenness of the floor, so we had to shave some material off the bottom to fit in the floor guides

* Cleaned up the backyard - with the old playhouse off to the dump, I vacuumed up all the leaves and pine needles and put in a new light fixture; it looks very nice now

* Saw the whip snake at San Elijo again - this is the second time we have seen it roughly the same spot

Hyundai Spam

Here is the first spam we got after buying our new car. Notice the professional mail merge. You can tell Hyundai is a big company when they have the money to spend on quality correspondence with their customers.

Hi,

I’m the Sales Manager at [Dealer_Name]. I wanted to drop you a quick line and personally thank you for allowing [Dealer_Name] to recently satisfy your new vehicle needs.

If for any reason you are not completely satisfied with your purchase or the treatment you received from my team, I would like to personally hear from you. Your satisfaction is my number one priority.

I also wanted to give you a heads-up that we will be sending you a satisfaction survey regarding your purchase experience with us. Please take this opportunity to give your opinions regarding our dealership and my team.

If there’s anything I can do, please email me or call me at [Dealer_Main_Phone].

Thanks again for your business.

Sales Manager
[Dealer_Name]
[Dealer_Main_Phone]

Weekend Activities

* Biked 10.5 miles
* Great Adventure Princess event at Indian Hills

New Car

I ventured onto a new car lot for the first time in over 13 years to get me one of those fancy new horseless carriages.

More Personal MBA

I knocked out a few more PMBA books.

• The 4-Hour Workweek - the seminal book for the "New Rich". I bought this one and have been reading and re-reading it. Have even put some of it into action (more on this to come).


• The Bootstrapper's Bible - great tips for startups and you can't beat the price.


• Finance for Non-Financial Managers - pretty much what the title suggests. A litte too basic for me.


• Law 101 - a good intro to the American legal system, warts and tall. I skimmed the sections on tort and Constitutional law and concentrated on contracts and property. This would be a good reference to have on the shelf.


• Getting Started in Consulting - got this for my wife and didn't read it myself.

Roomba Cleaning Tips

One drawback to the Roomba is that you have to clean it much more than a regular vacuum. I usually have to a complete cleaning after doing the whole house. With practice, I can do this in less than 15 minutes (assuming I don't break anything). Here are some tips:

• The center wheel gets hair and other debris wrapped around its axle fairly easily. This makes the wheel harder to turn and greatly reduces battery life. I tried removing the wheel and seemed to have broken something inside wheel assembly so I don't recommend this approach (look for a repair entry soon). The best way I have found to clean it is with a good utility knife. Scrape the blade along the axle and up the wheel. This motion will get a lot of the debris out and you can use small needle-nose pliers to further extract it. With a few strokes, I can get the axle completely clean.


• The beater brush also gets hair wrapped around it. Simply remove the center screw and you can remove it for easy cleaning.


• iRobot offers a cleaning tool for $5.99. I bought it (along with some spare parts) but it doesn't really do much. The blade is good for cleaning the brush, but you can just use a letter opener or utility knife for that.

Memorial Day Weekend Activities

* Zoo - haven't been in a while. Noticed the new giraffe home and saw the construction for the new Elephant Mesa. The slow loris was a no-show.
* Finished the front yard patio
* Dinner with family and friends on Orange County
* Started the back yard rehab
* Did a nice 7.4 mile ride from my house to the 101 and back.

Weekend Activities

* Laid down the patio pavers.
* The pool was finally warm enough to go in.

Weekend Activities

* More work on garage and front yard.
* Mother's Day BBQ with one grandmother out sick and one wife with a jaw wired shut.

Isreali-Syrian Air Strike Update

It seems that the evidence is mounting that the target was indeed a nuclear facility.

Weekend Activities

* Indian Guides trip to Vail Lake
* Got sick at Vail Lake
* Spent Sunday in bed

Weekend Activities

* Dorado cocktail party (stayed verrry late)
* Sick on Sunday (not from party...I think)

Isreali-Syrian Air Strike Update

An update from my favorite amateur IMINT analysis blog.