02 March 2010
World Cup 2010 < 100
For those who didn't notice the World Cup 2010 countdown clock on the right section of my blog, we just passed the 100 day mark! Only about 3 months to go now...
01 March 2010
Julia's New Bedroom
As I mentioned in a previous post, we recently moved all of Julia's "baby" furniture to the boy's room in preparation for baby #2. That left Julia with an empty room. We purchased some really cute yet inexpensive furniture from Wal-Mart and this past weekend I put it all together. At 2 years of age Julia has no problem sleeping on the same twin mattress I used when I was single and purchased 10 years ago. Our approach was to buy something that she will be able to use for another 10 years. I think we scored a winner.
In case you're wondering whether or not Julia likes her new furniture, I think the pictures below answer that question.
In case you're wondering whether or not Julia likes her new furniture, I think the pictures below answer that question.
28 February 2010
The Olympics (and Medal Debate)
I wouldn't be accurately reflecting our life on this blog if I didn't mention the Olympics. Tonight they ended, and just like every night since the opening ceremony, Stacey and I watched them.
Certainly there are events that most people aren't that interested in, but I figure that's what a DVR is for. If you think the Olympics are boring, it probably is unless you can watch exactly what you're interested in watching. This Olympics we watched a lot of biathlon, cross-country skiing, speed skating, and hockey. Those were the sports that we focused on. When I take a step back and look at what these sports have in common, all but hockey are races and all are events where competitors compete directly against each other. Forget judges, forget individual "tricks", and definitely forget any event where the competitors are teenage punks that listen to their iPods while competing. I just can't reconcile the spirit of the Olympics and the idea of pure competition with those events. Seriously, save that for the X Games and save your headphones for a more appropriate time.
Overall, I was entertained by this Olympics. Canada set a new record with the most gold medals (14) won in a Winter Olympics after narrowly beating the USA in a thrilling OT gold medal hockey game. For the first time ever, the United States won the medal count (37) in a Winter Olympics and also set a new record for the most medals ever won (37) in a single Winter Olympic Games by one country. However, Norway still leads in the all time medal and gold medal count by 53 medals and 16 golds over the USA and the Soviet Union, respectively. Not bad for my "homeland" considering their population is about 5 million people.
This brings me to my next point - who really won these Olympics? Canada or the USA? Believe it or not, many other countries (including the IOC from what I hear) consider whoever won the most gold medals to be the winner. England (and it seems Europe) is one country that thinks the most gold medals win, while Canada and the USA consider the most medals as the winner. When you think through this for only a few minutes, both are probably too simplistic. Neither make perfect sense. For example:
Example 1
Country 1 = 10 Golds, 0 Silver, 0 Bronze
Country 2 = 9 Golds, 10 Silvers ,15 Bronzes
Those who subscribe to the "Gold Theory" would say that Country 1 won the Olympic medal race. Obviously, that doesn't make much logical sense.
Example 2
Country 1 = 15 Golds, 4 Silvers, 1 Bronze
Country 2 = 0 Golds, 0 Silvers, 21 Bronzes
Certainly there are events that most people aren't that interested in, but I figure that's what a DVR is for. If you think the Olympics are boring, it probably is unless you can watch exactly what you're interested in watching. This Olympics we watched a lot of biathlon, cross-country skiing, speed skating, and hockey. Those were the sports that we focused on. When I take a step back and look at what these sports have in common, all but hockey are races and all are events where competitors compete directly against each other. Forget judges, forget individual "tricks", and definitely forget any event where the competitors are teenage punks that listen to their iPods while competing. I just can't reconcile the spirit of the Olympics and the idea of pure competition with those events. Seriously, save that for the X Games and save your headphones for a more appropriate time.
Overall, I was entertained by this Olympics. Canada set a new record with the most gold medals (14) won in a Winter Olympics after narrowly beating the USA in a thrilling OT gold medal hockey game. For the first time ever, the United States won the medal count (37) in a Winter Olympics and also set a new record for the most medals ever won (37) in a single Winter Olympic Games by one country. However, Norway still leads in the all time medal and gold medal count by 53 medals and 16 golds over the USA and the Soviet Union, respectively. Not bad for my "homeland" considering their population is about 5 million people.
This brings me to my next point - who really won these Olympics? Canada or the USA? Believe it or not, many other countries (including the IOC from what I hear) consider whoever won the most gold medals to be the winner. England (and it seems Europe) is one country that thinks the most gold medals win, while Canada and the USA consider the most medals as the winner. When you think through this for only a few minutes, both are probably too simplistic. Neither make perfect sense. For example:
Example 1
Country 1 = 10 Golds, 0 Silver, 0 Bronze
Country 2 = 9 Golds, 10 Silvers ,15 Bronzes
Those who subscribe to the "Gold Theory" would say that Country 1 won the Olympic medal race. Obviously, that doesn't make much logical sense.
Example 2
Country 1 = 15 Golds, 4 Silvers, 1 Bronze
Country 2 = 0 Golds, 0 Silvers, 21 Bronzes
Those who subscribe to the "Overall Medal Count Theory" would say that Country 2 won the Olympic Medal race. Obviously, that doesn't make much logical sense either.
The only way you can really determine who had the best Olympics is to assign a point value to each medal and calculate a score. The winner of the Olympics would be the country with the most points. The point value is debatable, but I think each medal should count for double its next lesser medal. That is, 1 point for a Bronze, 2 points for a Silver, and 4 points for a Gold. The only other scoring system I might use is a 1, 2, 3 - but I think the Gold is more important and since I'm using this example to show how the USA won this Olympics, I wanted to weight Golds won by Canada (since they won the most) by the higher number. So, using the "Aaron scale" (4-2-1), the results of the 2010 Vancouver Olympics are:
1st - USA - 79
2nd - Canada - 75
3rd - Germany - 73
4th - Norway - 58
5th - South Korea - 38
USA! USA! USA! Surprising, really. We have long been a Summer Olympics powerhouse but it looks like we might be making strides in the Winter Olympics too. Cue Lee Greenwood's song now.
26 February 2010
25 February 2010
Kids, Don't Try This At Home
Did you know that your computer's DVD drive has an appendix? For probably over a year now my laptop has had trouble ejecting discs. It would take the disc and read it fine, but if I tried to eject the disc it would sound like it was trying to spit it out but nothing would happen. Then, it would continually try to load and eject the disc until I turned the computer off.
Last night I got tired of trying to get a disc out so I took my laptop and DVD drive apart. After examining the DVD drive, I decided my problem was being caused by the part in the picture. So, since the drive wasn't really working anyway, I ripped the part out.
Guess what? My computer and DVD drive still work. Actually, I can now insert and eject discs with no problem. The only thing I can figure is that this part was supposed to work like a gate. That is, when there is a disc in the drive it pops up and prevents another disc from being inserted into the drive. Have you ever tried to insert a disc while there was already one in the drive? Did you hit something solid at the very front? My guess is that it was this lever. I assume that this part wasn't retracting properly (i.e. the gate was staying closed) and the disc was hitting it when it was being ejected.
If not, I don't really care what it does or what it is. My DVD drive now works better without it.
p.s. my theory passed a simple test too. After I removed the part I loaded a disc and then tried to gently load another disc. I barely slipped the second disc in the slot and it made contact with the one in the drive. It sounded like a mitre saw!
Last night I got tired of trying to get a disc out so I took my laptop and DVD drive apart. After examining the DVD drive, I decided my problem was being caused by the part in the picture. So, since the drive wasn't really working anyway, I ripped the part out.
Guess what? My computer and DVD drive still work. Actually, I can now insert and eject discs with no problem. The only thing I can figure is that this part was supposed to work like a gate. That is, when there is a disc in the drive it pops up and prevents another disc from being inserted into the drive. Have you ever tried to insert a disc while there was already one in the drive? Did you hit something solid at the very front? My guess is that it was this lever. I assume that this part wasn't retracting properly (i.e. the gate was staying closed) and the disc was hitting it when it was being ejected.
If not, I don't really care what it does or what it is. My DVD drive now works better without it.
p.s. my theory passed a simple test too. After I removed the part I loaded a disc and then tried to gently load another disc. I barely slipped the second disc in the slot and it made contact with the one in the drive. It sounded like a mitre saw!
24 February 2010
23 February 2010
New Red Shoes and Pigtails
For a few weeks now we've been trying to get Julia to wear pigtails....mainly because it's extremely cute. Pigtails make her look a lot more like a little girl then say, the "Canadian hockey mullet" that she has been sporting around town. Of course, she wasn't interested in giving up the Slapshot look.
Since she also insists on wearing an old pair of red shoes that don't fit her anymore, I thought maybe it would work to buy her new shoes and rubber bands and the same time at Walmart. That way, it would be "fun" and she would accept pigtails as her own idea and wear them.
Stacey bought matching red shoes and rubber bands. Apparently she likes the new hair accessory now because it matches her new favorite red shoes. She probably thinks it's her idea, which is fine. It's much cuter.
I hope she insists on wearing her new red shoes AND her hair in pigtails now - like she has in the past with her shoes. At the very least, I've been told she wants to "show Dadda". That alone was worth the price of new shoes and hair bands.
Since she also insists on wearing an old pair of red shoes that don't fit her anymore, I thought maybe it would work to buy her new shoes and rubber bands and the same time at Walmart. That way, it would be "fun" and she would accept pigtails as her own idea and wear them.
Stacey bought matching red shoes and rubber bands. Apparently she likes the new hair accessory now because it matches her new favorite red shoes. She probably thinks it's her idea, which is fine. It's much cuter.
I hope she insists on wearing her new red shoes AND her hair in pigtails now - like she has in the past with her shoes. At the very least, I've been told she wants to "show Dadda". That alone was worth the price of new shoes and hair bands.
17 February 2010
Introducing the iGod
The iGod is a revolutionary new product that delivers a fully-customizable and controllable life experience. Invented in America, it has been designed with your modern lifestyle in mind. Its sleek box-like design fits neatly in any pocket or handbag, allowing you to use it whenever it’s most convenient for your busy life. Can’t decide what your ears want to hear? The iGod’s controls allow you to decide what you hear, when you want to hear it, delivering your life experience the way you want it.
Your experience. Your life. “You’re” iGod.
Your experience. Your life. “You’re” iGod.
16 February 2010
I'm Not Lost
One of the great things about watching the show Lost is that we get to see our old stomping grounds. Apparently, “Los Angeles” in the show looks a lot like Honolulu and its surrounding neighborhoods. OK, it’s not exactly a secret that the show is filmed on Oahu.
Over the past 5 seasons we’ve seen many familiar scenes of Oahu during the show. A couple of weeks ago the international terminal at “LAX” looked exactly like the international terminal at Honolulu’s airport (oddly enough). I would know, since I flew to Tokyo 3 times from Honolulu while we lived there. I have long suspected that previous neighborhood scenes in the show were filmed in our old neighborhood but I couldn’t prove it. That is, until tonight!
In the opening scene of this week’s episode, “The Substitute”, I finally saw our neighborhood. It’s hard to miss since it's the only development on the island that consists entirely of pink Bermuda style houses. I hope this doesn’t ruin it for you, but John Locke’s house in “Los Angeles” is really 94-1814 Alelo Street, Waipahu, HI 96797. For those people who thought otherwise, now would also be a good time to tell you that Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny aren’t real either.
It was a lot of fun to see the old street that I used to walk and jog on and also to see the housing development where we lived. I took screen shots from the beginning of the episode (online) and have compared them with the same shots from Google Maps Street View. Pretty sweet.
Opening Scene
Over the past 5 seasons we’ve seen many familiar scenes of Oahu during the show. A couple of weeks ago the international terminal at “LAX” looked exactly like the international terminal at Honolulu’s airport (oddly enough). I would know, since I flew to Tokyo 3 times from Honolulu while we lived there. I have long suspected that previous neighborhood scenes in the show were filmed in our old neighborhood but I couldn’t prove it. That is, until tonight!
In the opening scene of this week’s episode, “The Substitute”, I finally saw our neighborhood. It’s hard to miss since it's the only development on the island that consists entirely of pink Bermuda style houses. I hope this doesn’t ruin it for you, but John Locke’s house in “Los Angeles” is really 94-1814 Alelo Street, Waipahu, HI 96797. For those people who thought otherwise, now would also be a good time to tell you that Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny aren’t real either.
It was a lot of fun to see the old street that I used to walk and jog on and also to see the housing development where we lived. I took screen shots from the beginning of the episode (online) and have compared them with the same shots from Google Maps Street View. Pretty sweet.
Opening Scene
Our neighborhood in the background
John Locke's van and house in "LA"
94-1814 Alelo Street
John Locke getting out of his van in the driveway
The same garage and driveway
John Locke falling out of his wheelchair
The real residents on the porch discussing last night's episode
14 February 2010
Grocery Store Checkout
We've officially entered the "embarrass us in public" phase with Julia. She's starting to verbalize things about other people when we're out in public. Although nothing happened today, we've been warned.
I was behind a mother and her infant in the checkout line today. Yes, Valentine's Day. The infant was probably about 6-9 months old and her mother was holding her in her arms. Julia looked the baby up and down for a few seconds and then asked everybody where the infant's shoes were. Like most kids that age that can't walk yet, their parents didn't bother with shoes. I smiled at Julia, as did other people. A couple more seconds passed and then Julia asked, "Where's baby's Dadda?".
Apparently Julia forgot that it was Valentine's Day. Luckily, Julia didn't ask very loud and I don't think anyone heard or understood her. I played it cool and pretended like I didn't hear her ask. A couple of seconds after the question I was able to make out a wedding ring still on the hand of the mother. So, unless she was a widow or her husband is deployed, I think we're OK. That could have been really bad. I can't wait to see what she says next - probably something about body parts and/or funny smells. We've been warned!
I was behind a mother and her infant in the checkout line today. Yes, Valentine's Day. The infant was probably about 6-9 months old and her mother was holding her in her arms. Julia looked the baby up and down for a few seconds and then asked everybody where the infant's shoes were. Like most kids that age that can't walk yet, their parents didn't bother with shoes. I smiled at Julia, as did other people. A couple more seconds passed and then Julia asked, "Where's baby's Dadda?".
Apparently Julia forgot that it was Valentine's Day. Luckily, Julia didn't ask very loud and I don't think anyone heard or understood her. I played it cool and pretended like I didn't hear her ask. A couple of seconds after the question I was able to make out a wedding ring still on the hand of the mother. So, unless she was a widow or her husband is deployed, I think we're OK. That could have been really bad. I can't wait to see what she says next - probably something about body parts and/or funny smells. We've been warned!
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