What's HAPPYning now?!

Sprint + Current Customer Perks

2011-10-03T19:16:00.000-07:00

Today, I learned that Sprint will be releasing the long awaited Apple iPhone5 on its network, and throwing in its unlimited 4G data plan. I've been a Sprint customer for many years, with a business account attached to multiple phones. I use most of their upgraded services for my line of work. I'm happy with my Samsung Epic 4G as a pocket computer and take advantage of the mobile Hotspot whenever I'm on-the-go. However, my phone signal has been poor -- frequently dropping calls from my house, office and car.

Ironically, just last week, after I dropped 3 important business calls in one day, I went straight to Costco to pick-up the new Blackberry Bold 9930 and opened up a new Verizon account. It's costing me an extra $100/month, but I figured it's a better solution than adding new landlines at my residence and office. And what would I do for the calls I take while on-the-go? Plus, I have 14-days to try this out and we'll see if Verizon will save my business calls. So far, so amazingly great that I have a real phone. (Honestly, I didn't have to get the Blackberry. I was expecting to get one of those old-style flip-phones since I'd be carrying 2 phones at all times -- my Sprint and Verizon.)

Anyway, back to Sprint and their iPhone5 announcement. This is just a thought, but perhaps Sprint ought to treat their existing customers to some perks this month to assist in the success of this new launch. Last night, I received 3 inquiries from friends asking me if I liked my service with Sprint. Two were iPhone owners with AT&T and one was a Blackberry fanatic from Verizon. All of them were working professionals and interested with the unlimited 4G plan (in addition to the obvious iPhone5 perk).

So guess what, Sprint, your existing customers are your most powerful promotional tool -- better than Yelp. A Facebook/Twitter post on how happy/disappointed we are with the service can make a potential new customer pause. Give us great phone signals and help us help you impress our friends.

Samsung DMR Dishwasher's LE-Error

2011-09-26T21:50:00.000-07:00

Today, I learned how to get around saving money on repairing or replacing our Samsung DMR dishwasher by using an electric fan. Over 3 years ago, I took the chance on the Samsung dishwasher from Lowes. The amount of dishes it holds and the silence of the machine is true to its hype. I also like how well it cleans the dishes, even without much pre-rinsing or pre-scrubbing. (Perfect for lazy owners and a setup where the kitchen, dining room and living room all share one great space.) However, I'm irritated with the front-facing buttons that are so sensitive that it turns on/off when someone gets any close to it. As much energy I'm saving from this machine, I feel I'm spending multiple from all those accidental start and stop.

Last night, the LE error showed up when I turned on the machine. What does this mean? I looked it up online and most of the posts I ran into were mostly complaints about Samsung's awful customer service, cost of getting it repaired by repairmen who can't really fix it, and what a scam Lowes is. The most important piece I learned is that LE means LEAK. Luckily, there didn't seem to be a leak. I conclude this because everything is dry around the dishwasher and under my sink. The hose looks clean and barely touched by anything.

Instead of calling Samsung or a repairman, I grabbed a small electric fan, placed it inside, and faced it to the center base of the dishwasher. (I removed the bottom rack.) I fanned it for about 4 hours... and BAM! Fixed!

Good luck on yours!

Best Buy Geek Squad Accidental Drop Liability (ADL) -- It's a scam!

2011-03-16T16:01:00.001-07:00

Today, I learned what a big scam Best Buy's Geeksquad Accidental Drop Liability (ADL) Service is. It's a $100 up-sell where they tell you things like, "If you drop it, we'll fix it. If we can't fix it, we'll replace it. It's easy. No hassle. Buy it!"

I finally put this to the test and here's my experience:

OCTOBER, 2010
I purchased a Toshiba R705 laptop for $800. Actually, I purchased 2 of the same laptops, because they were perfect device when we travel. That makes me a great customer, right? Let's top it off, because I spent an additional $100 for an ADL Service. Let's test if this will really protect me as a consumer. I'm also a Best Buy Rewards Member, so let's experience this from the perspective of a loyal, returning, high-spending, great customer.

NOVEMBER-DECEMBER, 2010
I'm loving the Toshiba R705 that I purchased an additional laptop, my third device, from Best Buy. Also, I purchased 3 more iPads, not from the Apple Store, but from Best Buy. Wow, Best Buy's gotta love that, wouldn't you think? Heck, let's buy another $100 ADL Service for one of the iPads, just in case, since they promise me a hassle-free experience if anything was to happen.

One of the Toshiba R705 I bought last October got into an accident when the strap of my bag broke. It got a crack on the corner. "It's the Holidays. I'm busy and the computer's working. I don't have time to deal with the crack, but I'll be traveling next month so I better turn this in to get it fixed in time for my trip."

DECEMBER 29, 2010
I took my cracked laptop to Best Buy's Geek Squad in El Segundo, CA the same day I purchased the 3rd iPad (mentioned above). The only hassle they gave me is that I wanted to keep my hard-drive. "The problem is cosmetic and my hard drive is in working order. I have confidential data in this drive for my business."

The Geek Squad guy argued that they may not fix it without the hard drive, and when I questioned him if I'm the only customer who care about my confidential computer files, his response was, "Yes. None of our customer have a problem with this."

Bullshit. Either Best Buy thinks their customers are dumb, or they lack to pre-empt that the day will come that computer owners will start caring about their computer privacy, banking statements and confidential data.

I arrived questioning their competency level, and left feeling better that it's a cosmetic problem I'm leaving them with and nothing more complicated. (I repair computers and laptops and I know exactly what they have to do. It's a pretty straight forward repair, like changing a car's tire.)

"We'll call you in a week with the status of your repair!" said the Geek.

JANUARY 27, 2010
I haven't heard from Best Buy at all, and I was leaving for my trip in a few days. I need this specific laptop. Traveling is what I bought this laptop for. Luckily, I've never had a need for it since I have 4 other computers I use. (What about other customers whose sole machine is what they turned into the Geek Squad?!) What happened to that 1 week call back?!

-- CALL #1 --
I called Best Buy. The lady on the phone looks me up on the computer and tells me they called me 17 days earlier. She said that the call had notified me that they ordered a part and it arrived on 8 days ago. She said she'd call the Service Center and call me for an update. I politely said thanks and said I'd look it up on my end as well, see who may have received the call and such.

Well, well, well... I checked our phone logs and I received a 5-second call from them. No voice mail message.

-- CALL #2 --
24 hours later, I haven't received a call back from Best Buy so I call them back. Not only am I having a difficulty finding the time to make these calls (because I work 16-hour days and 2 deadlines before my trip), but I was starting to feel like I'm just being pushed around. I was starting to realize the hassle. The guy who answered the phone whispered, "It shouldn't take this long for the Service Center to get you back your laptop. Let me look into it and I'll call you back."

-- CALL #3 --
5pm strikes, no call back from Best Buy, so I called them once again.

"I was hoping to receive a follow-up call by end-of-business," I told the lady on the other line.

"Our end-of-business is not until 9pm."

"So you were going to call me at 9pm tonight? Is that when you call your customers to give them an update? I would think some of your customer wouldn't appreciate a call that late. Can I speak to your manager?"

The manager gets on the phone and says, "I'm the one you spoke to this morning. There's nothing I can do. The Service Center closed at 3pm."

"You knew of my situation and you knew when the Service Center closed. But you didn't bother to do anything about it. And now you're telling me there's nothing you can do. Now I'm irritated and I'm unsatisfied. You shouldn't have told me you'd call me back with an update. Your people shouldn't be telling me to expect a call from any of you. You've had my laptop for a month and there's nothing you can do?!"

"Sorry, there's nothing I can do."

So I come up with a solution -- the typical solution we provide clients, or what I get from services like Dell or my car dealer -- "How about a loaner?"

"No. I can't do that. There's nothing I can do."

"How about replacing the device, since you can't fix it."

"No, I can't do that. Sorry, there's nothing I can do." The manager goes on to explain how their insurance companies keep $99, blah blah, blah.... how their Service Center works... how it's everyone's fault and there's nothing he can do.

I had to stop him. "You're a manager. I'm a customer. I don't care what goes on behind the scenes. I paid you $100 to give me a no-hassle experience. You guys taut at how simple and satisfied I would be. And now you're telling me there's nothing you can do."

Scam!

After a few, unnecessary, back-and-forth, he finally agreed to give me a loaner machine. I walked into Best Buy the following day and the loaner machine he provided was another Toshiba, but the bigger and heavier model. I pleaded with him that I needed a travel size like the 13-inch I spent for. (Seriously, was it necessary for me to plead?) I already have a 15-inch and 17-inch laptop. I specifically need something comparable to my R705, light, smaller and long battery. It's what I spent an extra $800 for. I did appreciate that he was willing to loan me another machine, but I wasn't going to plead any longer. I wasn't going to fight it. I was going to solve my situation by buying a wireless keyboard for my iPad -- yes, at Best Buy again. (Makes me a great customer, like I mentioned. You would think they cared about customers like myself, but no.)

Here's the funny thing: I asked the manager, Jesus, for the Geeksquad 5-Point Pledge --http://www.geeksquad.com/why-choose-us. "I have no idea what it is."

I asked to speak to the store manager, Kevin. He was a great manager who performed like a real manager -- showed sympathy, acknowledged problem, took accountability, and told the customer he'd do something to expedite the problem. I didn't care if it was just lip-service.

FEBRUARY, 2011
Kevin's promises turned out to be effective. While on my trip, I got a few phone calls from Best Buy that my laptop was fixed and it was going to be shipped to the store the following day. I got another call a few days later that the device was at the store, ready for pick-up.

As soon as I returned from my trip, I picked up my laptop. Everything looked fine. Another customer was next to me, being sold the same ADL Service. Ironically, the customer was buying the same laptop I had. I told the customer of my experience with mine. That's another $100 or so lost sale for Best Buy because the customer turned the Geeksquad guy trying really hard to up-sell.

FEBRUARY 4, 2011
Two days later, I finally opened up my laptop at home and noticed the keyboard was coming off. Fail! How frustrating that I now have to return this device back to Geeksquad.

MARCH 16, 2011
As I write this blog, believe it or not, Geeksquad still has my laptop. In about a week, they would have had my laptop for a good 4 months. They refuse to replace the cheap laptop and would rather me wait. Place a rush order, next-day shipping, and replace the part -- that should take no more than 5 days, not 4 months.

They'll only replace the laptop if I bring it back to them 4 times. That means, if they had my laptop for an entire year, they'd give me a new laptop. That doesn't make sense.

My laptop is now selling for $600 at Best Buy. They would rather save $600 than making giving a loyal, high-spending, Premier Rewards Member the hassle and having to blog about it.

Best Buy, if you're reading this, here's your chance to do good.

MARCH 22, 2011

Great news! I got a call from the Best Buy Service Center telling me that they've decided to replace my laptop. I hope it's to keep me satisfied, but I have a feeling it's partly due Japan's recent earthquake/tsunami where Toshiba cannot ship parts to the US. Nevertheless, I'm happy to get my Toshiba R705 once again -- no scratches this time from the refurbished parts they gave me. (Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that when they gave me my laptop the first time, the touchpad was chrome and all scratched up -- different from my original machine. How could I have scratched it up in 3 month's of use?!)

As I've mentioned in the past -- Rights VS Privileges. I feel privileged that Best Buy finally took care of me. I hope they don't do this to other customers and take 4 months out of their use.

Case closed.

iPad or Kindle?

2010-04-02T08:57:00.000-07:00

Today, I learned that I have more personal friends interested in digital reading tablets than I thought. I've received a few emails in the last 2 weeks, asking me to help in their decision making, so I figured I'll just post it here.

I received a KindleDX a few months ago as a birthday gift from my friends and family who used eDivvy.com to share the cost. I few weeks prior, I was confused as to which device I would get, since my choices were:

1 - A Kindle 6" non-wireless
2 - A Kindle 9" wireless (DX model)
3 - Sony Reader
4 - Wait for the Nook
5 - Wait much longer for the iPad

Since #2 above was the best choice at that time, I was afraid to spend $400+ on a device I have yet to touch & feel. If you're currently trying to make your decision, I'm sure you know how that feels.

Fast forward to today where I've had my KindleDX for a few months, the 6" version of the Kindle is now equipped with 3G, the Nook is now available at Barnes & Noble, and the iPad is being released. I can't tell you what's best for you, but I can point out what to consider:

In my opinion, the 3 best choices would be the Kindle (9" or 6") or the iPad. Here's what to keep in mind that may help you in your decision:

1 -- Kindle has free 3G Internet; iPad costs $30/month+ for 3G Internet.

If you're only reading it at home, it shouldn't matter since you would find yourself using the free wifi at your house. I take my Kindle with me when traveling so I like the free Internet. This allows me to get the latest magazines / articles / email... or buy a book when I'm not at home or at the office.

2 -- Kindle has calculator-like screen; iPad has laptop-like screen

iPad is great for reading in the dark. You can adjust the light of the screen to dim it, to keep your iris comfortable. The Kindle is just like a book -- where you'll need light in the dark. However, you can be more subtle about reading in public places.

3 -- Kindle's battery life can last for dayssss; iPad is much, much shorter

I always say that no matter how wireless we all get, we'll never be truly wireless because of battery life. Since the Kindle's screen requires less energy, its battery life is impressively long. Unfortunately, the iPad may last you the first day of your vacation, while the Kindle will last the entire Spring Break.

I also like that the Kindle's charger is the same as my cell phone so I just carry one charger. As for the iPad, its charger is unique to it so it's gonna cost you more if you broke or lost that charger.

4 -- Web browser on Kindle uses WAP; web browser on iPad is more impressive.

iPad can be a replacement laptop for you if you use your current computer mostly for surfing the web. You'll be able to see colored photos and play YouTube videos on the iPad. The Kindle can access the web, but since it's not colored, imagine seeing a photo on your calculator. Kindle owners tend to have a separate computer to do their computer activities.

5 -- Kindle bookstore is Amazon; iPad's bookstore is iTunes

Since Amazon is the largest online bookstore, you'll obviously have more access to books and magazines than iTunes. At first, I didn't think this was an important factor for me, since I'm less of a book reader than I am of magazines. However, I found myself buying technical books and hard-to-find magazines to subscribe to on my Kindle, which don't exists in iTunes. But that could just be me and my needs, so this shouldn't be a deal-breaker if you like to read popular books.

===
I hope this helps. I'm considering buying my mom the small kindle for her birthday since the 6" Kindle is more purse-friendly than the 9" I have. The reason I chose that for her is so she can buy books/magazines without having to figure out how to connect to wifi or spend an extra monthly cost for 3G Internet. Otherwise, it would cost me time giving her tech support for it.

I'm keen on the iPad. I can see doctors using this in their practice, since they can just connect to their office wifi. It would be cool if they can point to images and such to help them explain what they're trying to communicate to you. But if you want to save money, wait until the next version to allow Apple time to release a better version that consumers report back to them.

How to detect an email scam?

2010-03-12T08:05:00.000-08:00

Today, I learned one of my online-savvy friends' Gmail and Facebook accounts were hacked. The hacker sent out an email to all their contacts that may alarm most people to send money. (What's new?!) Nevertheless, I feel compelled to blog about this in case you receive something similar, or you're the name these scammers are spoofing.

Here's the email message:
I'm sorry for this odd request because it might get to you too urgent but it's just the situation of things right now, we are presently stuck in Scotland, we came down here on vacation. we were robbed, worse of it is that bags, cash and credit cards was stolen at GUNPOINT, it's such a crazy experience for us and we need help with flying back home, the authorities are not being 100% supportive but the good thing is we still have our passports but don't have enough money to get on a plane back home, please we need you to loan us some money till we are back home to refund it back, all we need now is just $800, i promise to refund it back to you first thing as soon as we are back home.

HOW TO CONFIRM IF THE EMAIL IS A SCAM:

1 -- If you're on GMAIL, here's how the email will look like when you receive it:

2 -- On the upper right of the email, click on the REPLY button and select SHOW ORIGINAL from the list.

3 -- Look for the the IP Address, which looks something like the number highlighted in yellow below. (This number is the sender's unique Internet address during their connection.) Copy this IP Address.

4 -- Go to http://www.ip2location.com/demo.aspx and paste the IP Address from #3 above, then click on the FIND LOCATION button.

In this case, 10.114.205.19 showed up as a Private Address, which is mostly a scam. This information is typically public -- nothing to hide.

Mac Power Adapter Burns Dog

2010-03-11T11:22:00.000-08:00

Today, I learned that the Apple power adapter for the Macs can burn your house or pets if left plugged. Last night, a colleague of mine (we'll call her "E" for the sake of privacy) came home to the smell of something burning only to find her black lab, Scooter, whimpering under her bed with a smoldering adapter by him. Since Scooter was experiencing some hip problems, he was unable to get away from the adapter. E was able to carry big Scooter out from under the bed, and they both spent most of the night at the vet. Luckily, Scooter's hair was thick enough to prevent a serious burn.

This morning, E took pictures of the culprit. Check it out -- pretty scary, especially for laptop owners like myself with many power adapters sitting around the house and my office. Apple should know about this... and help us understand how we can avoid this from happening, or recall the device. (It could win them more fans if they would help Scooter's vet bills, and get E a new bed.)

Share this story with your Mac loving friends, and hope this saves their home and pets from getting burned.

Meet Scooter:

After last night -- this is Scooter's fur -- got cinged from behind his left ear all the way down to his back legs / mid body.

According to E: "The vet said he was lucky he had super thick fur, although there's something called a 'thermal burn' where the skin may look totally fine, but in a few days it can blister / peel. So I need to watch him. He's been having some light issues (not this extreme) earlier this week, but she thought possibly because he may have been struggling so long to get out he hurt or exhausted himself, so may take a few days to recover."

Why Get An XM Satellite Radio For Your Car?

2009-07-13T04:14:00.000-07:00

Today, I learned one of the cool reasons to get an XM Satellite Radio service for the car: to have the ability to listen to CNN's TV feed. I was watching TV on CNN when I should be in the car driving to Just Tires for an alignment. As usual, I was already running late. Just when a news topic I've been waiting to hear finally came on, I hesitantly turned off the TV and got into the car for my drive. Just as I turned on the engine, the radio came on with the XM feed of the CNN news I was missing on TV. Wah-lah! As if CNN was following me and I felt like I never missed a beat.

Why Twitter?

2009-07-11T18:55:00.000-07:00

Today, I learned two great reasons why Twitter is useful: (1) self-promotion and (2) news & research. The idea behind Twitter isn't new, which gives the ability for an online user to broadcast a stream of text, limited to less than 255 characters. This is what live chat is all about. (Remember IRC, BBS, AOL, iChat, etc? In fact, in 2000, I created a bunch of portal sites I used for R&D that allowed for a 150-character text streaming of reviews. Actually, ever used a CB-radio?) It's all the same thing, but simply packaged into a brand called Twitter. And because of this, I signed up for an account when they launched (like so many new websites that pop up on a daily basis), but never really used it as it was designed for.

Over a year ago, I was assigned by a client to dive into the world of social networking and understand what's what and why people use them. (I may have mentioned this in an earlier blog I posted a few months ago.) At that time, I created yet another Twitter account, this time, with a more focused purpose. I "followed" and collected some "followers," and twittered away!

The novelty wore off very quickly, in less than a week. I wondered, "What could I possibly "twitter" (or post) that would be of any interest to anyone?!" Since a twitter is accessible by the general public (if they ran a search for a word or phrase that your post included), it just meant that my posts would be archived on the web forever. I was already blogging and Facebooking, and I could barely find content to publicly posts without losing my privacy or letting the world know when my house was empty or not. Also, I've been super busy with work that any free moment I can get, I'd rather be sleeping.

Lately, the popularity of Twitter has gone from 90% to 1000%. Okay, maybe I'm exaggerating, but since I wake up and go to sleep to news channels on TV, it seems that every news reporter and anchor has been tasked by their station to twitter. Why? It's because Twitter is like a microphone, and what reporter, media personality, or PR firm would turn down a microphone?! It's free, it's easy, and it's just like that. So if you're promoting a brand, a business, a personality, or whatever else is there to be promoting, then definitely get in the Twitter bandwagon! Hook it up with your mobile device and you've got yourself a broadcast microphone every where you go... yes, even in the john.

On the flip side, if you don't intend to do much promotion or care to have the microphone, Twitter is useful to get a snapshot of opinions about certain topics you wish to know about it... right now, this very moment. For example, I often run a Twitter search on "jussjef" and "jussjeff" to see who's discovering him and sharing videos with their network. I do the same for the names of my companies, to lurk and get a glimpse of raw opinions people may have or if they love them enough to share to the world. When I was forced to pull over to the side of the road because a mob of bomb squad raced with sirens, I ran a Twitter search about the street I was on to see if someone out there shared what was happening. (Lucky for me, someone did Twitter that the bomb squads running around LA was because of Obama's visit. This information was faster than the AM radio could report.) Anyway, you get my point.

So is Twitter worth the time? I say yes, because they've captured the media as their user-base. It's simple enough for the media folks to understand and use, and they're going to be locked on this for awhile. Yes, they've fallen in love with Twitter. And for the rest of us, it's a domino effect and we'll keep hearing them mention "Twitter" like they just discovered the Internet. As for me, I'll keep my anonymous posting on this blog, and my personal postings on Facebook. I'll be on Twitter for my clients and company, but not personally.

The Best Michael Jackson Acoustic Guitar Medley

2009-07-09T22:19:00.000-07:00

Today, I learned this to be very best Michael Jackson medley done on guitar. It was learned by ear and played/recorded in one sitting. Really amazing.

By the way, if you want to see more of JussJef, stay tuned this July 27 (Tue) @ 10p on MTV, when the new "Making His Band" premieres. Yep, MTV... JussJef... Making His Band.

Which social networking tool is more useful to me?

2009-04-22T23:59:00.000-07:00

Today, I learned that I miss blogging. It's been awhile since I've blogged for 2 main reasons: Facebook has stolen my attention and work has been tremendously busy. In the last two years, I've been tasked by a few clients to study the world of online social networking. Who's the best? What are they useful for? Is it all worth it?

I'm not much for posting my personal information online, because I know that whatever goes online stays online. If you don't believe me, visit http://www.archive.org. And in today's online world of RSS feeds and "scraper tools," expect what you post online to be copied to other websites you may not even be aware of. Yes, in the web, deleting doesn't really mean it's really deleted. It's definitely not as forgiving as humans.

But to be good at my job, I must embrace and experience whatever novelty is out there so I can advise my clients more intelligently and innovate more appropriately. In fact, it's why this blog was born. I couldn't just be a blog reader (or a blog lurker), but I had to be a blogger to truly understand why people blog and its pros/cons. For the same reason, despite resistance, I signed up for an account on MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Digg, StumpleUpon, ThisNext, Wordpress, to name a few. I created so many accounts and tried to actively use them like their avid users would. It was like contributing to the smog on the web. Really, who cared about what I shared?! Readers take what they can get from the info you serve, then their off to the next. Take. Take. Take. Gimme. Gimme. Gimme!

In case you're curious, here are some of the results from my study:

1. Blogging is great for individuals who want to share information to the world that will be accessible by search engines. Companies can utilize blogging for PR and SEO (search engine optimization). It's out there for the world to bump into. If you don't have a website, then blog. If you do have a website, then blog about your website and post hyperlinks to your websites. In other words, if you don't care who will see it, then blog. Blog about your review on your favorite topic or perhaps a complaint you have that others out there may be able to relate to. Blogging is like being an anonymous newspaper writer. (Well, you can make it as anonymous as possible.)

2. Facebook is great for connecting with people you know (or knew from way back when). It's a one-stop shop to share photos and information about yourself to only the people you know. On the flip side, you may find yourself stuck on the site looking at photos of your network and people you knew from the past. When posting, you need to use discretion on who gets to see what. It sometimes blurs the line between personal VS business networks. (I mean, really, if a client or business colleague requests to befriend you, should you really ignore them? Maybe not, but you can set your privacy level so they don't have to see photos from this weekend's party or know you're sleeping in the middle of the day.) Sometimes, when I'm on Facebook, it almost feels like everyone I know online is looking over my shoulders when I'm going through my Outlook. You know what I mean? Now, if you're trying to move forward and avoid people from your past, Facebook may not be for you.

3. LinkedIn is purely for your business life. Never mix personal and business on this site. If you're looking for a gig, your time is better spent updating your LinkedIn than your Word/PDF doc, because the chances that your hiring manager will look you up on LinkedIn is pretty high. The same applies when you're looking to network or seek for investment.

4. Twitter is for blasting a sentence to your followers. Most don't discriminate who their followers are, so it's like a blog where people you may not know personally can read about what you post. It's like a text messaging broadcast. I see it more of a mix between a blog and Facebook. You can be an anonymous Twitter poster pushing information into people's cell phones on a timely manner. I see the benefit from the poster's point of view, but I find it crazy to manage from a follower's point of view. I followed multiple Twitters and after receiving 5 blasts at practically the same time from different Twitters, I'm lost and I stop caring. Funny enough, I found myself following Twitter from J** and I felt like I knew his every move b/c my cell phone kept beeping every time he updated his Twitter. It took me almost half a year to figure out how to stop it.

On that note, it's 1am and I must continue next time. Or else, this blog will be saved to my DRAFTS like the rest and never get published.

2009 Business Logos

2008-12-18T19:07:00.000-08:00

Today, I learned something funny being circulated in the Forwarded Email world that takes up my mail server. My uncle sent me this.

2009 Business Logos

Live video webcast from my cell phone

2008-12-17T19:23:00.000-08:00

Today, I learned how to use my Sprint Mogul HTC as a live video camera webcasting tool. It's not new technology, but the most amazing piece for me is how simple and easy it is. As much as I "love, love, love" my Sprint Mogul HTC, I'm a bit disappointed at how difficult it is for me to share on the web the photos and videos I take on the device. I'd say my Sprint Mogul HTC is the closest to a James Bond / McGyver gadget that can save you in tough situations.

I'm not a typical cell phone owner, because I currently own at least 5 phones from different phone providers. (I'll explain later as to why in the world I have so many phone plans, but the simplest explanation is it's all for business and R&D use.) I'm an early adapter who's not afraid to be the beta user and push the technology for what and how consumers can use these gadgets. (My first pager was in 1994 -- the watch pager which I used to receive text messages even though it wasn't meant to be used for that.)

Okay, back to my fun discovery. The site and application can be found on http://qik.com. It allows you to broadcast the video you capture on your cell phone, LIVE, to a webpage. It's so simple and lives up to its plug-and-play goals. In other words, it's something my parents can do without receiving a phone call from them on how to do it.

Why am I so excited about this? Hm. Imagine:

If there was some catastrophy I find myself in, I can simply film it and you can watch it -- LIVE! -- with my audio commentary.
As a Southern California driver, I can show you how the freeway looks like by pointing my cell phone to the road.
Men can go shopping at the grocery store, and broadcast what they're looking at for their wives to tell them to look left-right-up-down, go to the next isle.
A person can go shopping and ask their website viewers which shoe to select, which dress to buy -- talk turning that BFF shopping buddy into an wide online audience! Right on the spot, people can tell you thums up or down. (Well, of course, this is for those people who can't make a decision.)
I mentioned traffic report... how about live weather report? "See how much snow we're getting in SoCal!"
Here's a silly one, but my brother and I would totally use this -- live mass!
Speaking of James Bond, how about live video espionage? :)

I can keep listing all sorts of ways, but I must get back to work and calm down from all these excitement.

Cheers!

Contagious for being happy

2008-12-05T16:11:00.000-08:00

Today, I learned that happiness is contagious. Last month, I read an article on the benefits of laughter and happiness. Does this mean I'm going to live longer eating all these happy food? ;)

I don't know about wanting to live longer than the people in my life.

KCAL9 TV News Coverage of eDivvy.com

2008-12-03T20:22:00.000-08:00

November 26, 2008 --- KCAL9 News, Los Angeles:

PAT HARVEY (ANCHOR):
If you're already stressing about Holiday shopping and gift giving solutions, one of the easiest solutions is to get a group of people to share the cost. Tonight, KCAL news reporter Suzie Suh shows us how a new website takes the hassle out of collecting and giving.

SUZIE SUH (REPORTER):
A white Christmas can be parting with green. Something simple like a gourmet wine basket for your boss can leave you with the red. But divide up the generosity and get... "spending less and giving more." That's the idea behind eDivvy.com.

EDEN JARRIN (eDivvy.com):
Get together with 10 or 15 of your friends and family... all chip in $10 to $20... and you can still stay within your budget, which is great... but give them a great gift!

SUZIE SUH (REPORTER):
Okay so you've got that perfect gift picked out. You know who's gonna be pitching in. But then comes that awkward moment of collecting the money. Not to worry! With eDivvy, they'll take care of all those responsibilities for you.

EDEN JARRIN (eDivvy.com):
What we found in the offline world is it's really challenging... 'cuz not only do you have to sit there and call everyone and see if they want to participate in sharing in the cost of that gift... but then you have to try to collect the money from people. You'll either get a check or cash. Say it's your brother who never pays, and you have to keep calling him and bugging him to pay."

SUZIE SUH (REPORTER):
eDivvy sends out emails, and participants decide whether they want in or not. Once the gift if funded, the gift is automatically on its way.

PAT HARVEY (ANCHOR):
As the organizer, you decide whether the gift goes straight to the recipient or to you. And we should note there's a fee for the service. Everyone who participates is charged $0.49, but in these tough times, that's a small price to pay for not dealing with the headache.

RICK CHAMBER (ANCHOR):
Good point!

eDivvy.com allows you to group gift all items from Amazon.com

2008-12-03T04:55:00.000-08:00

Today, I learned that I can group gift all the products available on Amazon.com by using eDivvy.com. That means, I can create a gift basket with products from Amazon.com and other big brand merchants that don't exist on Amazon, and have these gifts sent to the recipient! How cool is that?! From now on, I'm going straight to eDivvy.com to find out what products are available out there. Why? Because they have a feature called "eDivvy By Number" which automatically calculates the cost of each participant if the purchase is equally divided. It'll save me some brain cells and time. I'm so excited I better cut this blog short and start shopping for Christmas gifts. This year, I'm getting together with my siblings to split the cost of toys we're getting the kids in the family. Whoo hoo!

TLG&GREATFN Scam

2008-11-11T22:30:00.000-08:00

Today, I learned that one of my account that I use for purchasing online transactions has 4 transactions from a company called TLG&GREATFN. There are 4 transactiosn for 11.99. Hmm...

I ran a search online on what in the world this company is. I can't find any info on who this company is, but a ton of posted comments from consumers all over the country saying it's some 3rd-party add-on scam.

Looks like I'm speding tomorrow calling my bank and tracking this company. Do I smell class-action lawsuit here or what?!

Not receiving the email you're expecting?

2008-11-01T23:37:00.001-07:00

Today, I learned that the recent Sprint VS Cogent mess is affecting me and my clients directly. Yesterday, I received an email with a link to a news article about the abrupt end of Sprint's relationship with Cogent. It had something to do with one partner using more bandwidth than the other.... something to do with one partner violating the conditions of the contract. (I, unfortunately, have too much on my brain to absorb the whole story. At least for now since I'm getting buried with fires from this ordeal.)

My initial reaction to this article was: "I wonder how this will affect my Sprint EVDO subscription?" Who would have thought it would affect something greater?!

Parallel to what was happening all day yesterday, my clients were reporting that certain emails from our websites were not reaching them. I figured this could be a mail server glitch. But after much investigating, that wasn't it. Mail server is running well! Then my next thought was either we were being blocked, or the glitch was with the data center. Not putting two-and-two together, I ran tests here and there to figure out what could be causing all this. This evening, I realized something funny (well, funny at the time) -- that we're on Cogent and the client must be on Sprint. After running an NSLOOKUP test, sure enough, the client was on Sprint!
Because of this, emails were not going through from Cogent to Sprint.

Big deal right? Maybe not for the common email user. But this client of mine is a major studio.... and they will soon realize they're not receiving important emails for this reason. And... folks like myself on Cogent.... can't send out important emails to my client. Cogent owns 17% of the Internet traffic, which is pretty significant.

Blahgirls presentation @ Techcrunch50 is blah

2008-09-10T10:05:00.000-07:00

Today, I learned that even the most confident celebrity personalities out there can give stale presentations when they're talking tech. It's TechCrunch50 again (yeay!) and one of the most interesting presentations I've seen this year is not of a product, but of the host -- Ashton Kutcher. I don't find the guy too interesting, but I thought it was amusing to see how he could do a better tech presentation from the "geeks" Hollywood assumes of tech people. Outcome: bleh! He threw in some common phrases that were popular in the late 90's -- like "dynamic" -- mixed with superlatives that makes the people who have been in this business long enough say, "Really. Really. Really."

Blahgirls.com is the name of his product. It's putting a Flash interface on a content-news website, and targeting teens as its audience. It's like a "South Park" version for teen girls. We'll see how viable it will be, and if it can outlast the irritating cartoon Microsoft Assistant.

I wish AK and his online adventures success. The more Hollywood embraces the web, the better it is for my industry and for my business. Just that... next time... let's try to represent better.

Here's the link to his presentation. Observe how he calls it Sili-cone valley:
http://www.techcrunch50.com/2008/conference/presenter.php?presenter=44

Bank of America 302 caller ID - Don't answer, just call back.

2008-09-04T13:33:00.001-07:00

Today, I learned of a scam call with regards to Bank of America. We got a call from a phone number with the 302 area code, who presented themselves as Bank of America and asked to speak to my business partner. While she was on the phone with them, I pulled up "302 bank of america" on Google and saw this link http://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-302-731-1166. True enough, they were asking to confirm with her some address then to confirm some SS number. I told her it's a scam and just quit the call.

Normally, when I get calls like this, I'm automatically pulling their number on the web or doing a search on them while they give their spiel. If I detect fraud, I just hang up. (If they really need to talk to me, they'll call back.)

We're calling BofA right now to make sure everything is good with our accounts. Call me paranoid, but, sometimes, people get a hold of your account info, and they'll try to confirm your name and address to make sure they can use the stolen info they have... or to confirm on their end that their data is legit.)

UPDATE 10/4/11:
I posted this blog on 9/4/08.... and this makes it over 3 years ago. I continue to see comments posted on this post from those who say that the number is legit (but don't give out any info, just call BOFA back) and others who say it's not legit at all. For consumer's sake, BOFA, just don't use this number, will ya? Avoid the entire confusion, the entire mess, and any possibility of consumer fraud. Do this for us, your customers.

Celebrating the release of Google Chrome

2008-09-03T10:31:00.000-07:00

Today, I learned that Google's new amo in dominating my attention and computer-use was recently released -- GOOGLE CHROME web browser. My buddy "J" from NBC/Universal shared with me the news this morning. I immediately downloaded this very small file, installed it, and began testing it on my sites. As J pointed out -- sites load extremely fast!

I love how simple and light it is. I love what the engineers have done! I wish Sony PS3 would use Google Chrome as its browser so I can love the PS3 as much as I love Google.

This is the day when web developers have to put down their new iPhone and play with a cool, free toy that will truly affect their lives. Oh, sorry Mac users, it's only available for the PC folks only! (Another reason why you need a PC if you want to innovate. Heh heh.)

Ear composing at its best - JussJef

2008-08-24T22:55:00.001-07:00

Today, I learned how greatly talented a guy by the name of JussJef is. He turns music he hears into an acoustic version in his guitar with an interesting style to it. Ear composing at its best! This kid picked up a guitar before he was 10 years old, and began to play music he would hear with a twist of funky blues. When I say music, I mean all types -- hiphop, r&b, pop, rock.. whatever. In fact, you can sing to him and he can play the tune on his guitar -- even if he's never ever heard of it before. Amazing! Amusing! A month ago, he finally made a video of his work and started posting it on YouTube. I looked around the site and found that he's one of the few (or only) that is able to turn some of today's hottest R&B songs into acoustic version. Others ask him for the tabs, but it doesn't exist because he does this all by ear. More fascinating, JussJef cannot read music.

Check it out... song titled "Love In This Club" by Usher. The original song is here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VclwzRlx46I so you can idea.

I can't wait for him to play other songs and to share the world his talent. I'm entertained watching him listen to songs for the first time and begin to play it... which I hope shows up on the web so you can see it for yourself too.

http://www.JussJef.com

Facebook wants to be the center of your Internet world

2008-08-17T19:44:00.000-07:00

Today, I learned that Facebook has released their application to allow its subscribers to "import" the content they publish on other websites into Facebook. The results from this can be very powerful for Facebook and definitely an incentive for its subscribers like me to actively use its services. For example, a content publisher like myself can post on Blogger to allow the search engines to scrape my content, yet my network of friends can see what I've posted without effort. I think this is going to be helpful to lazy publishers like myself.

1000 seeds of jatropha

2008-08-11T14:19:00.000-07:00

Today, I learned that the Jatropha plant produces golf-size fruits with seeds filled with pure, unrefined oil. The seed can be refined for use on bio-diesel vehicles and planes. According to the news, Air New Zealand plans to fly a plane whose oil comes from Jatropha plants.

Since I'm on a 7700 sqft lot, I decided to order 1000 seeds and try it out. I hope it works out as the plant that would solve what I'm looking for -- give shade and give oil. It would be an interesting experiment.

Baggage claim nightmare - Southwest Airlines @ LAX

2008-08-09T23:09:00.000-07:00

Today, I learned why Southwest Airlines is not charging for checking in your baggage. I arrived at LAX via Southwest Airlines and saw this baggage at the carousel as I was claiming my bag. I don't know who owned this, but they're smart for not claiming it in front of everyone. I'm sure I wasn't the only one, who after claiming our own baggage, stuck around for an extra minute just to see who the real owner was. I didn't see who it was, but I'm sure they spent the next hour yelling at Southwest (because I would).

Who knows what the story was -- whether the bag broke during transport, TSA broke it during inspection, or the airline employees unloading it from the plane broke it. I'm just surprised Southwest didn't bother to put everything in one bag and kept all this passenger's goods open. I'm embarrassed for the owner, where their underwear, dirty clothes, feminine products, and personal things are out on display. Shame on Southwest Airlines and/or LAX.

Sing your dog to sleep

2008-08-01T14:46:00.001-07:00

Today, I learned that I need to get an MP3 of this guy's voice to send my dogs to sleep. The only tune they react to like this is when I'm deep asleep, snoring.

How my dog warns me about the earthquake in Los Angeles

2008-07-29T14:57:00.000-07:00

Today, I learned my dog's pretty useless about warning me that an earthquake is about to happen... or in this case, happening. She tries to talk, which is kinda fascinating, but unless you can read her dog lips, then you're screwed.

Los Angeles Earthquake - Rolling, rolling, rolling on a river

2008-07-29T11:53:00.000-07:00

Today, I learned how it would feel like if my house was on the ocean. As I was working away, listening to my 8TH GRADE music compilation (see right nav).... when I felt a little shake that seemed like a huge truck just drove past the house at 60 mph. Impossible, because it felt like it was getting stronger. Then I looked at the dogs, to observe how they would react, and they just kept on sleeping. As the house started to feel like it was on the ocean -- the movement was an up and down roll, like on choppy waters -- my mind started to wonder what I should walk towards to make sure it will be safe in case the rolling got stronger. Is it the new big screen TV? Is it the dogs? Is it my computer? Or should I stop being silly and do something to keep me safe?

I immediately jumped on my Facebook (running in the background) and my AIM. I realized the Internet connection is still on, so I figured it couldn't be that bad. If this was going to be a strong one, I figured I might as well let my friends and family know where I am so they know where to look if the damage was big in this area and I got disconnected. Now that's an interesting use of the Internet!

The rolling made me think what the house would do if this got bigger. Since it's got a pretty high crawl space under, I wondered if the floors would collapse down. (Another silly thought: I've got extra wood floors.) The big screen TV was swaying forward and backward; the hanging wine glasses were shaking; and it was simply like the house was dancing.

I called Palm Springs to check since "the big one" is predicted to happen there. They're good. Whew. Then Irvine IM'ed me saying they felt it; Pasadena IM'ed and said they felt it; then Phoenix called in a panic in fear. Looks like the news traveled much stronger and scarier than the actual quake. I felt the big earthquake in SF back in '89, then LA back in '94. This one felt almost as strong, but thank God it wasn't as strong.

The funny thought: If the big one "did" happen, how many of us glued on the web will be stuck typing on our computers instead of dashing to a safer place.

NOTE TO SELF: Check on http://happyningnow.blogspot.com/2007/08/earthquake-preparations-begin.html

The Boxer VS The Fighter

2008-07-27T11:21:00.000-07:00

Today, I learned that watching the Pay-Per-View (PPV) boxing match on the new Samsung 120hz LCD HDTV made last night's boxing match between Antonio Margarito and Miguel Cotto the best fight of the year. The TV quality was so clear that when Margarito's nth punch to Cotto's head was filmed, blood from Cotto splashed unto the camera and it felt like it was landing on our lap. Fight nights will never be the same, and I look forward to watching the next one.

Now enough about the TV, and let me talk about the fight itself. Our usual fight night gang was present, joined by M's siblings and their better halves. It was a living room filled with Filipinos and Mexicans. The first showcase match was with a young 20-year-old Bernabe Concepcion from Rizal. His feet danced, his fists swung, and his defense was impressive. In less than 3 minutes, he knocked his opponent down and made it on our list of "must-watch fighters." With Freddie Roach on his corner, I look forward to Concepcion keeping Filipinos tuned into boxing.

For the main event, it was a fight boxing fans were looking forward to watch. I was excited to see how the feud between Mexican and Puerto Rican fans would play out. I was curious to see if a refined, power-puncher, boxing machine like Cotto (representing Puerto Rico) could be beat by Margarito, a puncher with a heart of what reminded me of movies like "Rocky" and "The Champ" (one of my favorite movies).

M got me excited about this fight, fueled by the HBO series that aired. (It's that typical drama they show about each fighter that turned me into a boxing fan.) I was impressed by Cotto when he beat Sugar Ray Mosley and, later, Alfonso Gomez (whom I was a fan of because, again, "The Contender"). Cotto was strong, accurate, and moved well in the ring. On the other hand, I was perplexed as to why top guys like Mayweather declined to fight Margarito. Margarito intrigued me when he defeated Puerto Rico's Citron. He didn't just defeat Citron, he beat him so badly that it angered Cotto. Now the drama starts! (Yeay!)

Before the fight, everyone I asked of who they think will win had a similar response: "I think Cotto will win because he's a strong boxer. But you'll never know about Margarito. He's got endurance and tenacity."

Despite popular opinion and logic, I came into the fight putting my money on Margarito. I wasn't too logical about it at all, but I wanted the guy with the heart to win. Unlike Cotto who doesn't speak to his coach/uncle, Margarito was so close to his coach -- reminded me of Rocky and The Champ. His camp had a lot of endearing characters. Unlike Cotto who was divorced from his wife and said in an interview that he wasn't a good husband, Margarito gave his interview next to his wife/highschool sweetheart and talked about how they struggled in the poor streets of Tijuana. Well, of course I didn't really buy that he was super poor right now, because in parts of the interview, he was driving behind the wheel of what looks like a Mercedes-Benz car. Buy, hey, I'm a reality show fan and I'm a sucker for that kind of stuff.

In last night's main event, the excitement in the room was on overload. Every second was exciting; every punch was exciting; every round was exciting. You couldn't tell which side was winning. It was an equal match between the two. Margarito was on the offense for what seemed to be 98% of the time. Cotto blocked, dodged, and retaliated with fantastic combinations. As much as I wanted to sit and enjoy R's mix of TruVodka, I was on my feet -- rooting, clapping, and sometimes with my hands on the sides of my forehead in awe. The Cotto fans in the room were yelling in approval of Cotto's actions. The Margarito fans like myself were yelling, "Keep punching away and wear him down!" From time to time, everyone, no matter which side you were rooting for, would say, "I can't believe Cotto's punches are not affecting Margarito at all." We would all catch our breath after every round, listening to the announcers talk about how far ahead Cotto was in points. Despite being ahead in points, Cotto was the one bleeding and after the 7th round, showed signs of slowing down. It was incredible! All the way to the 9th round, we still couldn't tell who was ahead. At this time, the stakes were high -- whoever will lose will be a badly defeated boxer.

By the 10th round, Cotto slightly went down on one knee with over a minute left. Of course, as a Margarito fan, what excitement level I was already in went above overload. The fighter was going to beat the boxer. Heart was going to beat the machine. Those who doubted would have been proven wrong. The Mexican was going to defeat the Puerto Rican. The 8-to-5 odds on Cotto was going to make a lot of Margarito believers big winners. This was all becoming possible and then the bell rang to signify the end of the round. Whooo! Finally, a round the announcers said was a Margarito round. But will Cotto, the machine, catch his breath and turn this around on the 11th round? Surprisingly not! Margarito kept the same energy he had in the 11th round as in the 1st round, and pounded on Cotto who went down twice until he and his team threw in the towel. The Cotto fans were watching in disbelief as their Cotto was destroyed, yes, badly destroyed by Margarito. While Cotto and his team dashed out of the ring in embarrassment, Margarito won Cotto's title belt and gave an interview (that I thought was rudely cut by HBO announcers). It was a great battle, and definitely a keeper on the DVR! Ladies and gentlemen, this is what boxing is all about!

DISCLAIMER: I wouldn't call myself a long-time boxing fan. Heck, I'm not even a sports fan. But I'm a reality show fan, and saw an episode of "The Contender" that got me hooked to boxing. With boxing fan mentors like "J" and "M" alongside, and the successful rise in career of Manny Pacquiao, I've become a big fan of boxing, hosting fight nights on those special HBO PPV events.

Class action lawsuit against Google Ads

2008-07-26T13:12:00.000-07:00

Today, I learned that someone out there has finally filed a class action lawsuit against Google's Adwords program. (I'm not a lawyer, but I've always wondered when/if that will ever happen.) I'm a big fan of Google, and always try to find ways to utilize their applications for my business, personal use, and when guiding/referring others. But this article has gotten my attention because of many reasons:

1) I've been an Adwords advertiser. There's no doubt that when I have my ads turned on, I receive a spike in traffic. Is this legit traffic? I doubt it. I observe the links carefully, trace the IPs of where the clicks are coming from (using ip2location), and find that most are junk. Coincidentally, we were watching a show on MOJO Network last night, called "Start-Up Junkies," and there was a scene where the VP of Marketing was pulling his hair as to why they received a spike in traffic but the conversion rate was so low. We made a joke like, "That's Google Adwords for you!"

2) A few years ago, I met a guy who runs a parked domain scam business from Dubai. I was fortunate (or maybe unfortunate) to have him as a passenger, and was stuck in a conversation with him for a good 4 hours on a Saturday. He had no idea what I knew about the Internet, and I played along with his assumption. (I must admit I love being in situations like this.) The conversation simply started with a question I always ask as an ice breaker: "What brings you to LA?"

Four hours later, I learned so much about the world of domain parking, Google Adwords, and international trademark infringement. I have his info somewhere, but his name currently escapes me, so for now, let's call this guy Mr. Dubai. Mr. Dubai was a thirty-something East Indian man who migrated to Dubai to become the king of domain par"king." He had the self-confidence of a man at the top of his game; a look only a mother could love; the generosity of a water fall; and a lifestyle of an international playboy who desired only white women. He bragged of his witty ways of how to use the web for profit (ie, Google Adwords), mixed with his escapades with strippers and prostitutes on Sunset Blvd and his favorite strip joint by LAX. (Goes to show that money can buy anything.) The delivery of his stories were humorous (if you have a sense of humor about these things) and so amusing. I think my cheek ached from laughing and smiling the entire time. Come to think of it, my neck ached as well, from shaking in disagreement. (It's that confusing gesture you can give someone: smile so they think you agree with them, but shake your head at the same time in disagreement. Try it while you read this blog.)

Here's what I learned from Mr. Dubai:

There's a group of individuals who are professional domain parking "scamlords. " While they communicate and trade on the web, they get together once in awhile in person for a summit. (Can you believe these people actually assemble?)
The summits take place all over the world. Cost is not an object, but extracurricular activities such as strip joints are the big incentives. (Who cares, really. Every convention has this. What's more amusing to me is knowing that the Math teacher convention in Palm Springs, CA is the biggest event that brings in the most prostitutes to that town. Yup, they bus them from all over the country in not just any bus -- those huge coach buses that seat 50+ passengers.)
A typical annual investment in purchasing domains range from $12,000 to $50,000 per year. Let's see now, if you buy a domain from GoDaddy at $9, that makes about 1,333 to 5,555 domains per year. Sounds like a lot, but thanks to Google Adwords, these folks rake in millions.
According to Mr. Dubai, they are not affected by the trademark laws in the US because they are in Dubai. In fact, he was happy about the new privacy feature in domains -- where it hides the name of the owner and its contact information. (Hello! How are we protected from this? Not only can someone else buy the domain of our trademarked name, but they can hide it and make money from it using our paid ads on Google Adwords. Talk about a double-wammy!)

So back to Google Adwords and parked domains. What can be done? That's to come in the next chapter of the wild-wild-west of the Internet revolution.

Has Facebook stolen my attention?

2008-07-23T19:24:00.001-07:00

Today, I learned that I've been spending more time on Facebook than on this blog. I've been trying to study why people use blogs, Facebook, and other social media application aside for promoting their work. I'm not sure if anyone really reads what I put up on my Facebook, but I know what keeps me clicking on the site. It's not the millions of applications I keep getting asked to be a part of. I actually just ignore them, because I'm not keen to sharing my data with 3rd party sites I know I'll lose track of. The big reason I find myself in Facebook are the photos and comments shared between me and my network. Basically, the same reason why email has become a hit to the normal online user. When I break from work, I don't have time to write much on a blog (especially since I'm not a fan of my own writing). I have just enough brainpower to write one sentence here and there. For the same reason why I enjoy reality show TV, I like the voyeur-like aspect of seeing what everyone else is up to with selected commitment of who to engage. Bring it on!

How to order drinks

2008-06-20T15:38:00.000-07:00

Today, I learned fun reasons of flying Virgin airlines:

1) The kiosk on how to order drinks and snacks in-flight.

2) The chat application to text/type with your friend (or perhaps a stranger) around what you're watching on TV or whatever clever things you can think of. Friends who own TruVodka (http://www.TruVodka.com) were on the same flight, a few rows ahead, so it was nice to be able to chat without being overhead by everyone. I think Virgin should be serving TruVodka, rather than Absolut Vodka -- aligns well with the coolness factor they're impressing on their passengers.

Losing your Virginity

2008-06-20T15:06:00.000-07:00

Today, I learned the perks of flying on a true Virgin plane -- that is, its maiden voyage (the first journey made by the craft after its creation). It was my first time flying Virgin America from LAX to NYC. I felt like I was inside a giant Apple computer, with all the white plastic around, its coolness factor and cool-looking passengers. (Well, except for the 2 guys from the "Shot At Love with Tila Tequila" MTV show. Yes, I'm ashamed I recognized them, but what else is there to watch when you're working late hours and Saturdays?!)

Here's a snippet of what took place in our flight before take-off. In celebration of the plane losing its virginity to us, the captain was buying rounds of drinks to lucky passengers.

Below is the fun, safety instruction video they show.

Baby seal in my backyard

2008-06-19T14:24:00.000-07:00

Today, I learned that Bella looks like a baby seal when she goes out to sunbathe in the backyard. I'm not sure if that was a bug or a plant she was staring at. She was enjoying the sun and the warmth of the pavement too much.

Enough with the barking

2008-06-18T21:36:00.000-07:00

Today, I learned why I sometimes wake up feeling tired despite getting 8 hours of sleep. It's not that I sleep past 2am and wake up at 10am, but it's because the dogs barking to say hello at dog walkers passing by the house. This starts at 6am-10am, which distracts my sleep 4 hours into it. In other words, I don't get good R.E.M. sleep in the last 4 hours, thus, I wake up feeling like I was partying the night before.

Any suggestions?

Dog dreams of cake

2008-06-17T14:06:00.000-07:00

Today, I learned how funny my dog looks after eating a slice of cake. That's not his teeth, that's leftover cake from Wonton's 1st birthday party. (By the way, my dog takes on a dream-like quality when he eats cake -- that's why he's glowing.)

Why we live in California

2008-06-17T00:45:00.000-07:00

Today, I learned one of the great reasons for living in California -- the convenience of hanging out at the beach. While you're sitting behind that computer, wondering when you can just step out and relax by the ocean on a nice sunny day, think of this. Wouldn't it cool if you and your co-workers can talk shop at the beach like in this photo?

What to do when your wife's shopping at Target

2008-06-17T00:14:00.000-07:00

Today, I learned where you'll find M in Target while his wife, R, is shopping for things she doesn't need to buy at Target.

Green goats

2008-06-17T00:05:00.000-07:00

Today, I learned how you can prevent fires from dried bushes, heat and wind -- turn the place into a buffet for goats! On our way back from Del Mar, we drove through Laguna Beach and couldn't help but pullover to watch a herd of goats chomping away on a hillside to do their green work. (Can you identify which goats are on their union break?)

LA Intersection

2008-06-16T12:53:00.000-07:00

Gotta visit the Winstead Adams Gallery

2008-06-16T02:02:00.000-07:00

Today, I learned yet another way to spend an hour or so while in Downtown LA -- a visit to the new Winstead Adams Art Gallery (on Main, between 4th and Winston) then steak+bluecheese fries at Pete's for only $19! Well, if I had $4000, I'd buy this cool art from the gallery -- it's that red, black and white painting behind the owners of the gallery on the photo below. That'll be one very cool day when I can spend $4019 on art and steak in one block.

I'm not so old after all

2008-06-16T01:13:00.000-07:00

Today, I learned that I'm not as old as I think I really am. When I see shows on TV about high school reunions, I get a bit freaked out that my age group looks so much older than my mind thinks I am. I mean, the reality is I'm not a young kid anymore and the songs I enjoyed in my teens and tween years are now considered "old school" and play on the cheesy radio stations I used to be grossed out with. Reality is I'm old, but not "that" old - yet.

A few days ago, I received an email from my elementary school BFF, regarding a 20th year reunion with links to photos and videos of previous reunions. Despite being extremely busy with work, I found myself at 3a going down memory lane, watching videos and photos after another of my childhood friends. It was so nice to see long lost childhood friends and classmates from a completely different world in my past. Although I was only 12 when I left them, I had a ton of fond memories and experiences with many of them. The best part of this nostalgic trip was seeing how young they all still look today. I saw some photos of my 1st grade nun and my 2nd grade teacher. They look great and still pretty young. (Makes me wonder how old they really were when they were my teachers.)

Every time I see a high school reunion in the States of people my age, and start to think, "Whoa, if they're my age, then I'm old!" I should immediately pull up reunion photos/videos of people my age from the Philippines, which makes me think, "Whoa, they look young for being my age. Maybe I'm not so old after all."

25 Reasons To Go To LA

2008-06-04T13:51:00.000-07:00

Today, I learned that the May issue of "Conde Nast Traveler" showcases reasons to go to LA. It's exciting to see that The Shopanista and their "Shopping Sherpas" made it -- see #11:

Greedy people in a selfish car

2008-05-27T18:25:00.000-07:00

Today, I learned that this is what happens when greedy people (who buy those 26"+ wide-screen monitors, c'mon, is it really that necessary?!) try to load it into their selfish 2-door, tight backseat BMW. See how much room the person has -- on the upper right of the photo.

My 80's haircut

2008-05-27T18:17:00.000-07:00

Today, I learned that, when left alone, Bella styles her hair just like I did when I was 14 years old.

How to keep your dog safe while in the car

2008-05-27T18:13:00.000-07:00

Memorial Day in Los Angeles: Firepit or Fireplace

2008-05-26T13:35:00.000-07:00

Today, I learned that relying on an outdoor barbeque on a hot Memorial weekend may be a thing of the past in Los Angeles. I found myself making breakfast food, instead of bbq food; lighting the fire in the living room fireplace, instead of the outdoor firepit; spending the day indoors, instead of the sunny or beachy outdoors.

Alright, alright! I can't truly blame this on the weird weather we're experiencing in LA this year. It got so hot last week that family, friends and business colleagues came to the Westside enjoy the coastal breeze. Then all of a sudden, the clouds came in and it became so cold that our Memorial Weekend feels like it's a Thanksgiving Weekend. Weird weather aside, I must confess that I'm grounded indoors to catch-up with work.

Rubbermaid gloves are not just for cleaning

2008-05-22T18:42:00.000-07:00

Today, I learned that Filipinos and Mexicans have a funny and ingenious approach to gloves. There was a story on CBS-2 Local News about the crazy hail in Baldwin Park that occured today. The reporter was doing a story in front of a house filled with adults and their children, playing on the snow. Of course, most of the audience watching are focused on the snow and the story -- because it's truly wild to see front lawns covered in snow at Baldwin Park. However, in the corner of my eye, I noticed the kids, excitedly frolicking on the ice, were wearing kitchen gloves -- both oven mittens and Rubbermaid dishwashing gloves. (Here's a link to the video: http://www.cbs2.com/video/?id=67800@kcbs.dayport.com) The scene was so hilarious. It reminded me of these Filipinos who went to Cape Cod and used similar Rubbermaid dishwashing gloves to dig for clams.

Snow gloves...

Clam digging gloves...

Can you diagnose me?

2008-05-19T16:44:00.000-07:00

Today, I learned that something's strange with one of the pups. This pup started acting weird, where it pauses and spins when his head tilted. Know what this is? Google tells me it's Vestibular. (He's spinning has freaked out even the other dogs. Well, my Gadget thinks he wants to play.)

Symptoms:

He doesn't wimper at all
His appetite and bowel activities are normal.
This seems to happen when he leans his head down (sometimes to eat something off the ground or right before he lays down).
This seems to happen when his head or neck tilts down at a certain position, as if he has a wry neck and he has to click it out of its place.
The only thing we can trace is to is when a guest kicked him by accident. Though it was not a hard kick, but more of a shove, but perhaps it caused trauma in his ear (?).
It looks like he's having stroke, epilepsy, or vertigo -- not sure.

Robert Palmer has passed?

2008-05-18T11:41:00.000-07:00

Today, I learned that Robert Palmer, famous for his MTV video, "Addicted To Love," passed away several years ago in 2003. I was searching for a photo from that popular video and ran into an article that said, "the late Robert Palmer." Whoa! Where was I when that news came out?! Talk about being hidden in a cave!

Clam bake

2008-05-18T10:18:00.000-07:00

Today, I learned what a clam bake is. Last night, we had a bbq in the backyard and "A" brought clams and made the sauce. He taught us that placing the calms over the grill and waiting for them to open is the way you cook them. I suppose, that's what a clam bake is, right? I've never seen it done that way, since I've only seen clams boiled (and the more obvious is that I'm not a cook at all). It was fun and great to know how quick they cook. Now I'm ready for another trip to Cape Cod and go clam digging again!

What's in the fridge?

2008-05-18T09:19:00.000-07:00

Advise VS Advice

2008-05-18T09:03:00.001-07:00

Today, I learned of an easier way to determine when to use "advice" versus "advise." This may not be a problem to many people, but it's one of those words my brain refuses to figure out. My business partner is always correcting me on the use, and I find myself second-guessing myself every time I use it.

If you have this same problem, or know someone who does, here's a trick I will try from now on:
If it's used along with "me" then it's "c".

Me, my, your.... would be "advice"

Please "advise." What do you "advise." This is my "advice." This is your "advice."

Lizard in Westchester

2008-05-17T16:29:00.000-07:00

Today, I learned that there "was" a 6-inch lizard visiting my backyard. Unfortunately, I accidentally ran over it over with the car as I was pulling in. Yikes! I'm sorry, Mr. Lizard. I hope he's not someone's pet. As much as I dislike lizards, I'm saddened (okay, and also grossed out) to see this one die. It's like watching a scene from the movie, "Hostel."

I know very little about lizards. I had no idea they can exist in here. Do you know what kind of lizard this was? Is this an Alligator Lizard?

Revlon Run/Walk becomes an annual event for the family

2008-05-10T18:23:00.000-07:00

Today, I learned that the Revlon Run/Walk is fun and doable for anyone to do. In fact, I think today marks the first of an annual event my family, friends, and I will be attending every year. The event, despite some logistic problems on our end (ie, parking, meeting spots, communication), left such a positive note that our lunch conversation was about what and how we're going to do this again next year. Everyone had a funny celebrity (and reality show wanna-be celebrity) sighting today, which made the reminiscing stories so much funnier.

Ironically, exactly 10 years ago, my mom went into surgery after being diagnosed for breast cancer. 10 years ago, I put a stop on everything for 2 weeks... to be with my family and to give support to my mom in preparation for however the next few days, months, and years may turn out. I remember making the phone calls and writing the emails to cancel meetings for two weeks. I remember that feeling of fear, mixed in with trying to find strength and to think of whatever positive light there could be to the situation so uncertain.

For a time, I thought to myself, "Don't panic... Don't fall apart... Be strong... Be strong for the family... Don't reveal my worries... Don't make the worries come true.... We'll deal with things as they go... Cancer doesn't mean I'll lose her today... There's gotta be progress in healing cancer, right?! There's still time... I need time..."

I don't know what other people go through when their loved ones receive news of having cancer. While I've had some close calls on "it can possibly be cancerous" comments from doctors, they're nothing but close calls or mistaken for calcium. I can't imagine or want to imagine what goes through in someone's mind when their reality involves cancer. Nevertheless, I've lost loved ones and friends to cancer, and 10 years ago, I almost lost my mom.

Today, I'm grateful for mom's recovery and succesful battle against cancer. I'm grateful to the doctors and the medical industry who have helped to heal her. I'm grateful for awareness and support programs like The Revlon Run/Walk (and Susan G Komen Foundation) for pushing to improve the treatments of breast cancer. I'm grateful to my family and friends who have given my mom their support, to know she's loved and to remind me how so many people she's loved by. I'm grateful to my dad, who stood by her and held her through her battle. I'm grateful to God, who became the backbone of whether things went well or not. Lastly, I'm grateful to my mom, who fought it. That sentence sounds short and simple. But the word "fought" is so much more -- the surgeries, the emotions, the chemo sessions, the radiation sessions, the pills, the bills, the trips to the hospitals, the waiting, the life restrictions, the label, the physical changes, the entire battle. She fought it all to be exist and be here for us.

In a few hours after I write this post, it's Mother's Day. What a coincidence! Here's wishing that everyone has a mom like I do!

Small firms are more innovative

2008-05-08T21:47:00.000-07:00

Today, I learned that smaller firms are considered to be more innovative because "small firms are twice as innovative per employee as larger firms," reported by the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB). Is it because there's less red tape to work around in implementing an idea? Is it because there's less people to criticize you if an idea doesn't work out -- which lessens the fear for employees to take a stab on pushing their ideas?

I'm a believer that innovation comes from being exposed to too much work and the desire to accomplish tasks despite its challenges. (In my case, I'm just lazy. Therefore, I innovate. I have more fun coming up with ways to do less work.) In a smaller firm, you tend to be responsible for more tasks than your bigger competitors. Therefore, you're pushed to come up with ways to streamline the process. That underdog mentality is a great way to fire things up, and the feeling that the effects of your work is more obvious is the company's success is quite fulfilling. Innovation from smaller firms requires a team to have a competitive spirit. That feeling... of being David vs the Goliaths... is key for smaller firms to accomplish this "more innovative" characteristic.

This info can be quite insightful for managers. Breaking teams into smaller sizes could produce more innovative results. Hiring consulting services with smaller teams at a time touching your project could produce more innovative results.

Big or small. Just pay.

"Project Runway" moves from Bravo to Lifetime Network

2008-05-05T10:50:00.000-07:00

Today, I learned that "Project Runway" will be moving from the Bravo Network to Lifetime Network, and changing their partnership from "Elle Magazine" to "Marie Claire Magazine." Will this mean that there will be no more Nina Garcia in the picture? I actually like her on the show. Too bad for Bravo for losing the show that made me remember their channel number off the top of my head.

Coals at Trader Joe's is cheaper

2008-05-03T19:39:00.001-07:00

Today, I learned that the coals at Trader Joe's is cheaper -- less than $5.00! I got a bag last night from Home Depot, and that cost me over $10. In preparation to this evening's backyard bbq with M&R, I went to Big Lots to pick up another grill (just as an extra so we can do this with more people in the future -- or perhaps another grill for the non-meat eaters here in L.A.) . While there, I picked up extra cooking tools (not sure what they're called -- the spatula, fork, etc) and 3 small bags of their $5 coals. Who knows if they'll light up. It's Big Lots, after all. I then swung by Trader Joe's to pick up more meat and corn and mango mocchi and... and... and... a big bag of coal for like $4(something). Nice!

Summer bbq has begun

2008-05-03T01:56:00.001-07:00

Today, I learned how to turn the backyard firepit into a more useful bbq grill. I purchased a flat metal grill to over the pit and wah-lah, we've got a bbq grill smack in the middle of lawn chairs! Not bad for $10!

The month of May kicks off a few planned bbq/bonfire get-together with friends and family. I'm quite excited about it. The smell of bbq meat, dripping over burning coal. The smoke of bbq. The chance to bond with friends and family while food is cooking in front of you. The way time stops for a moment.

As a preliminary practice before I start grilling in front of other people, I tested the waters this evening... and truly enjoyed the outcome. My first attempt was to grill my super-secret-double-password, homemade turkey burger, along with some Trader Joe's corn. The setup was inspired by our recent trip to the Korean BBQ restaurant -- with the grill smack in the middle so friends can site around the grill, converse, and cook together. The food turned out to be soooooo good! Da best... ever! Now, I'm ready to grill for others!

So it's set -- to my friends reading this, come on over and bring your raw meat & veggies! Let the summer grilling begin! (Oh, and don't forget to bring wine.)

Bad girls club is a bad habit

2008-05-01T20:56:00.001-07:00

Today, I learned that, despite so much resistance, S & R has sucked me into watching this awful TV show on Oxygen Network called "The Bad Girls Club." How low can a reality show junkie like myself can go, right? I mean, to admit it is pretty low.

Actually, I came to the realization that I'm hooked on that show this morning. R sent me an IM, asking, "So who went to jail on The Bad Girls Club?" I actually had the answer for her! Why? Because I was watching this week's re-run episode at around 2am last night/this morning. And, yes, I admit it - I was enjoying watching it, like that feeling of opening the first few pages of a tabloid magazine after a busy week of work.

The show's like watching a trainwreck about to happen. It's sort of like watching "Cheaters" when you're trying to sober up. Ever tried describing to someone else what happened on the show? I did it for the first time today, and it was a trainwreck. I think I've seen almost all episodes, yet I can't keep up with the names of the girls on the show. How do you describe each one without being insulting?

(Only the people who have seen at least 2 episodes of this show is probably cracking a smile right now. You know what I mean. You know who you are!)

No undelete on Blogger

2008-05-01T20:49:00.000-07:00

Today, I learned "not" to moderate comments submitted to my blog when I'm exhausted. I apologize to the readers who took the time to post, only to find out I deleted them.

My mouse sometimes has a mind of its own. It clicks faster than my brain can register what's happening. I can blame it on the new, wide-screen monitor. But I think it's just my senses shutting down after non-stop hours of work.

On a better note, I think I've found a few extra minutes in the day to start blogging again. Let's see how long that will last.

You Can Still Be Generous In Today's Economy

2008-04-28T10:07:00.000-07:00

Today, I learned that you can still be generous in today's economy.

Read below:

eDivvy.com Makes Gift Gifting Easy & Affordable

eDivvy [ee-div-ee] [noun]: foolproof method for giving someone what they really want and dividing the cost among a group of people. Synonym: Group Gifting

You've undoubtedly been approached by an enthusiastically earnest, envelope-wielding co-worker or family member asking if "you want to go in with us on a gift?"

You may waver, but ultimately, you realize that if you went ahead and purchased something on your own, it would never be as generous as a group gift.

But even Group Gifting has its troubles, especially for the person collecting the money. There's invariably someone who'll give you an I.O.U. and payment can be in all different forms. Some gave you checks, others used Paypal, and still others hand you their share... in change.

Then, there's the shopping (and invariably, the store which didn't have what you're committed to get), the buying, the carrying to and from your car, the wrapping, the delivery.

Between the time and responsibility, being a Group Gift Organizer is the bailiwick of the young. Once you've done it, it's not bloody likely you'll make another offer to head the operation up again.

The future of Group Gifting is here and its name is eDivvy.com. Based in Los Angeles, eDivvy.com allows gift givers to not only contribute to a truly sensational gift, but is done in super simple steps.

1. Choose a gift from some of the most popular retailers in the country.

2. Enter the emails of people you want to invite.

3. Take a bow. You'll get all the credit with only the tiniest trace of "work."

eDivvy automates the annoying portion of Group Gifting, like collecting money, sending reminders and acquiring the gifts. eDivvy does all of the coordinating. Just call eDivvy your P.A. (personal assistant).

With eDivvy, every aspect can be tracked, the perfect gift selected, who to invite to contribute and the process of "divvying up" the cost. Gifters can monitor contributions and the entire process (consider how bill pay changed your life!). Coin collected, the gift is sent to the lucky recipient's destination, directly from the merchant.

eDivvy reinvents group gifts. Efficient, easy, and affordable. And isn't that the way all things should work?

ABOUT EDIVVY

eDivvy.com, launched in February 2008, began when cofounder Steven Ng, overwhelmed by the sheer number of birthdays and celebrations in his inner circle, sought a simple way to involve faraway friends and family in his gift-giving. To his dismay, he couldn't find a solution on the Internet, so he and his friends decided to build what they needed. The result is eDivvy, the better way to group gift.

What's in the fridge?

2008-04-26T10:50:00.000-07:00

Today, I learned what a funny perspective it would be to see a snapshot of my fridge. P jokinly suggested her interest in seeing what's in my fridge, so I walked over there and snapped! This would be interesting to a grocery buyer. Can you guess which items were purchased from Costco, a neighborhood grocery store, Trader Joe's, or a restaurant?

Looking at this photo, I'm reminded of the time when we purchase our first refrigerator in America. I have mentioned in my earlier blog that I'm an expat kid -- an early Silicon Valley expat kid, to be exact. (I'll blog about it later -- another interesting perspective from the children of those folks who built what is now known as The Silicon Valley.) Back to my story. I was 12 yrs old and we had moved into our first American house. We purchased our American dream refrigerator, a side-by-side with automatic water and ice dispenser. Once it was delivered, we rushed to the grocery store and walked aisle-by-aisle, picked whatever we wanted -- mostly items we've seen in commercials and things that we envisioned to be "very American" (dairy and meat). It reminded me of a scene in "Mr. Mom," a popular 80's movie we watched to prepare for our new American lifestyle. When we got home, we excitedly and happily unloaded the bags into the new fridge, as if we were in a musical. When all things were said and done, my siblings and I stood in front of the fridge, with my parents standing behind us, holding each door. We just stared at everything we got and my parents said, "So, how do we cook what's in here? Should we just go to a restaurant tonight?" (Backstory: My parents have never cooked before. None of us have ever done a house chore prior to moving to the United States. See, not all Filipinos have housekeeping experience.) ;)

Fast forward to today. Looking at this photo, wouldn't it be cool if future refrigerators had a webcam in them so you don't have to walk to your fridge to see what's in there? How lazy can you get, right?! But think about this. If I could see what's in my fridge while I'm at the grocery store, then I'll never have to second guess myself. (Wheels are turning in my head.) Hey, P, wanna do something fun with this fridge stuff?

What's in your fridge? How telling is your fridge?

Do the hustle... on the 10 Freeway?

2008-04-26T10:26:00.000-07:00

Today, I learned that the "CHiPs" theme song sounds so much alike to the "The Hustle" song by Van McCoy. I was playing songs from my Finetune on the right, and I couldn't help but think of Eric Estrada. Is it the same, or am I hearing things this early in the week?!

Flying out of LAX

2008-04-05T01:48:00.000-07:00

Today, I learned that people who don't ride planes have never seen Los Angeles from this point of view.

Courthouse Blues

2008-04-04T00:00:00.001-07:00

Today, I learned that being at the Santa Monica courthouse can be one of the most depressing places to be. We had to move a small claim court date against a former landlord who refuses to refund our $7,000 deposit. (Long story. Talk about another scammer I look forward to cutting ties with.) Walking around the courthouse was intriguing. Everyone, except for the two janitors who smiled back at my smile, looked solemn. The walls, the colors, the furnitures all looked depressing and institutional, which explains why the workers seemed a bit depressed too. I was reminded of how blessed I am to be working in the environment I work in. If you know anyone who complains about their working environment, send them to the courthouse and it will put everything in perspective.

While waiting in line, silly thoughts came to mind. I won't give you the answer, so answer this yourself:

- What minority group should you be nice to because they take care of your government paperwork (courthouse, IRS, DMV)?

- What minority group should you be nice to because they take care of your body (hospital, massage, nails)?

- What minority group should you be nice to because they take care of your house (construction, cleaning, fruits, vegetables)?

In summary, my visit to the courthouse reminded me to be good to minorities.

Mac Dreamy

2008-03-26T15:29:00.000-07:00

Today, I learned that my dreams of purchasing a Mac as my next computer will have to stay just that -- a dream. I've been eyeing an iMac or a MacPro tower as my solution to run Windows for my business and programming needs; the OSX for the videos I edit for work. It doesn't help that I've fallen in love with the 30" Cinema Display.

Early this week, C showed me her new Mac Air -- beautiful! It's like a clipboard, minus the clip. Last night, I met R at the Apple Store at Century City, and kept wondering to myself which one my pocketbook would allow me to justify the cost. Late that evening, I came home and did some research to see how a Dell machine would compare to the Apple I'm about to purchase. Talk about a Mac block! I configured a Dell machine with comparable strength (Quad-Pro; 4 GB RAM) for $700 out the door; compared to the $3,500 Mac I was looking to get.

$700 VS $3500. $700 VS $3500. PC VS MAC. WINDOWS VS MAC&WINDOWS. $700 VS $3500.

By 1am, I found myself being the new owner of a $700 "certified refurbished" Dell power computer. I guess I'm more frugal than cool afterall. I couldn't justify to my wallet spending 5x more for coolness... at least not yet.

A $5,000 Kitchen

2008-03-07T12:17:00.000-08:00

I finally had a moment to take a photo of the new kitchen/dining room after the remodel. It's a mess, but it's a quick snapshot of how the remodel turned out. (Sans a dishwasher, because we haven't gotten around to it yet.)

When we first approached general contractors on the cost of remodeling the kitchen, the base price we got started at $20,000. The average of what we envisioned was quoted to be around $50,000. Since we're not chefs or a family, we decided to go for a design that would welcome our friends and family into cooking for us, and avoid spending too much money on the kitchen. We designed our own kitchen using IKEA's free design software and decided to go with IKEA instead.

We splurged by using IKEA's delivery service and hiring an IKEA-approved installer. So that reached in the high $3000, which includes the cabinets, 2 sinks, 2 faucets, and range). Then we got the counter from HomeDepot for the remainder of the $5000. I installed the faucets so that saved us some plumbing expense. We saved on appliances as well since we already owned 'em. Whew! The dining table, we got it for $200 4 years ago. Another whew!

Our thought process was: For a fraction of the cost, the kitchen cabinets can be changed every 4 years and we'd still be under budget. Plus, it's got the design we like and those awesome dampeners (where your drawers does this slow motion effect upon closing, to keep it from banging). The silly guy from Home Depot was using dampeners as his big sales pitch to justify their cost. My very favorite piece of the kitchen is the battery-operated soap dispenser we got from Bed, Bath & Beyond. So here it is... some before and after photos to share with you of the remodeling done on a 40's kitchen... for the cost of a web server. :)

Oh, in case you're wondering what kind of floors we got, it's called TOBACCO TEAK HARDWOOD... which goes for around $5/sqft from Lumber Liquidators. We opted to cut the cost on the kitchen in exchange for the floors we really wanted. I think the outcome didn't turn out so bad, especially since the cost stayed within the budget, which is the most important thing.

Here it goes! In order of before and after....

Not shown: another sink and set of cabinets on the left (behind a wall) to act as our espresso / wet bar. (I prefer placing the coffee maker / espresso machine and storing the wine bottles here, rather than near the main sink.)

eDiets.com Meal Delivery

2008-02-24T12:30:00.000-08:00

1/12/08....
Today, I learned that using the eDiets.com Meal Delivery service may just solve my problem of not having to think what to eat, where to get it from, and how to make it. Since having my personal chef is simply out of the budget, this may be the next best thing.

I tried Nutri System but it's like hiring a Ramen chef who feeds you only astronaut food -- dry and powder food that attempts to look like fresh food after a few minutes in the microwave. A box of dried, powdered food was delivered to our doorstep. You mix each one with water, pop in the microwave, and a yellow powder turns turns into scrambled eggs. It wasn't bad food, it's just not food a person can eat everday for the rest of their life. Instead, I placed the box of Nutri System food in my earthquake emergency bin instead. It gives me peace of mind I'll have a nice selection of food during a disaster. Haha!

I don't know what to expect with the eDiets meals. For around $60 a week, a great surprise is how fun it is to be able to select what type of food I want for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks. I felt like I was ordering hotel room service. The interface was easy and simple, accompanied by photos. Once I was done customizing each meal, I clicked save and wah-lah! I suppose a box of meals will be waiting on my doorstep next week. I'll take a photo of this and post how it looks like.

Below is my menu for the first week:

2/24/08..........

I just got around to posting this now. In case you're curious what to expect at your doorstep when you order eDiets.com food. Here it is:

The box...

The packaging...

Your meals for 5-days (including snacks and a step-meter gift)

A close-up

My prend por eber?

2008-01-18T17:18:00.000-08:00

Today, I learned of another FHAM (Filipino Ham)... Renaldo Lapuz, an "American Idol" hopeful. On the night the show aired, M sent me a message asking if I saw the Filipino guy on AI. I missed it due to work, but woke up to the morning news talking about it too. He's got a good voice, wacky taste, but his Filipino accent is what's so hilarious and truly entertaining to me. If he was sent to Hollywood, I'd definitely TiVo AI this season. If I was a producer for the show, I'd bring him in every episode to interview and do commentaries. He's as amusing as watching a Pacquiao interview. Love it!

Tom Cruise video & book

2008-01-16T11:51:00.000-08:00

Today, I learned about the buzz surrounding a new book on Tom Cruise and an interview video of Cruise talking about Scientology. Like any unauthorized book, there's that usual controversy of how truthful the author was and how the subject denies what's on the book. Really, who cares?!

What caught my attention is why the videos on YouTube were pulled. First, "South Park"; now, YouTube. How much are these people really getting paid or threatened by Cruise's people that they would remove them? That would be interesting to know!

Out of my own curiosity (thanks to insomnia), I searched and watched a part of that Scientology interview Cruise gave. I don't see the big deal about it, except how funny the background music was while he was talking -- theme song to "Mission Impossible." Perhaps his opinions are a bit out there, but what's he saying or doing that's hurtful? He says his people are here to help, blah blah blah.... okay, help. Help by not being hurtful is always welcome in this world, in my opinion.

Now, if I see Scientologists resolving the problems in Darfur, Rwanda, and Congo (and perhaps for Tom & Katie to trade their diamonds in), then that's something to truly put on the news.

Give Substance To Tabloid News

2008-01-14T14:16:00.000-08:00

Today, I learned that we must start thinking of what we can do to contribute in stopping the awful genocide happening in South Africa. A few years ago, I saw "Hotel Rwanda" and "Blood Diamond." Both films left me feeling bad for what's happening there, but, sadly enough, no action has come from me in doing anything about it. I now have less desire for diamonds, and the thought of lives being beaten and murdered comes to my mind every time I see a diamond. (Even when someone tells me it's a "non-conflict diamond," I get this uneasy feeling when people celebrate and praise it.)

Last week, I tuned to see George Clooney's Darfur film on HBO (click here). I've always wanted to see it because I read commentaries about it here and there in the past. I've heard bad things happening in Darfur, but what those bad things are, I had no idea... until I saw the movie. Last night, I saw Anderson Cooper's segment on CBS (click here). In Congo, raping women and hurting them in the most obscene and despicable ways is a form of intimidation to a town or a family.

A little girl was gang raped by men who forced her little brother to hold the flash light on them to watch. They later demanded the little brother to rape his sister, and when he refused, they killed him. Now imagine that happening to someone close to you! I can't imagine the nightmares this girl must have; doesn't compare to the substance abuse the Hollywood celebs suffer from; or waking up to find out you have K-Fed's baby.

This is disturbing, especially since it's happening in OUR lifetime. I woke up this morning and non-sense news about Britney Spears was all over the morning news. So here's an idea: For every news about Britney Spears, cast of "The Hills," "Kardashans," and for any other news of a celeb who shops on Robertson Blvd., a mention on what is happening in Rwanda, Darfur, and Congo should be followed. Perhaps knowledge is responsibility, and news of what's happening can be told by the press on their next celebrity field day.

Internet Brands does a reverse split

2008-01-10T00:42:00.000-08:00

Today, I learned that Internet Brands (INET) announced a reverse split of their stock price. I'm still not clear what a reverse split means, but it doesn't sound positive. Either Google's about to buy Internet Brands, or someone's smokin' somethin' way too much.

What to with old electronics

2008-01-05T17:07:00.001-08:00

Today, I learned what I can do with all the electronics I've been too lazy to sell on eBay -- trade it in at GreenSight.com! I could get more cash out of my gadgets if I sold it, but... really... who's got the time and energy?! Not I. I think I'll try this out, so I don't have to figure out a place to store them in the new house. (It will give me an excuse to buy new gadgets.)

New Otani Hotel is now Kyoto Grand Hotel

2007-12-15T16:48:00.000-08:00

Today, I learned that the New Otani Hotel in Downtown LA had been purchased by a new company, and is now called Kyoto Grand Hotel. I wonder if they'll still have their beer garden during the summer.

Are you getting what you're paying for?

2007-12-12T16:30:00.000-08:00

Today, I learned a great tool to check if the high-speed Internet connectivity I signed up with on TimeWarner is truly what I'm getting. In case you're curious how fast your speed it right now, go to http://www.speakeasy.net/speedtest and click on the city closest to you. (Well, it's kinda neat to test how it performs when you click on the other cities.)

I've directly connected to the modem and here's what I'm getting (under TimeWarner Business High-Speed) in the past 10 tries:

226 kbps DOWN; 21 kbps UP
8252 kbps DOWN; 1337 kbps UP
7437 kbps DOWN; 1531 kbps UP
6796 kbps DOWN; 1539 kbps UP
260 kbps DOWN; 21 kbps UP
7732 kbps DOWN; 1064 kbps UP
8122 kbps DOWN; 1458 kbps UP
7596 kbps DOWN; 1052 kbps UP
8228 kbps DOWN; 1369 kbps UP
7356 kbps DOWN; 1113 kbps UP

It doesn't look like I'm getting the 15 mbps DOWN; 2 mbps UP I subscribe to. Time to call them to check what's up.

How long does it take to cancel a service?

2007-12-10T14:08:00.001-08:00

Today, I learned that Verizon is the most costly service to cancel, so far. As a Verizon/DirecTV subscriber for 5 years, the recent move is giving me the opportunity to explore the "other" service from TimeWarner for my Internet/TV/Phone service. I have no angst against Verizon/DirecTV, since the quality of service I've received from them has been good, so my change of heart is more out of curiosity and hope that my monthly bills will be lower.

I got my first taste of how much lower my spending will be. Late this morning, it took me 1 hour and 16 minutes to cancel with Verizon over the phone. Since I was using my cell phone in the middle of a weekday, that translates to 76 wasted minutes on my Sprint plan. Out of the 76 minutes, I spoke to 2 reps (one to cancel the phone line; the other for the DSL) for a total of 1 minute and 25 seconds. Hell-o!!

SUMMARY OF THE TIME IT TAKES TO CANCEL WITH VERIZON:

Total minutes on the phone 76 minutes
Total minutes with the rep 2 minutes
-------------------------------------------
Total minutes wasted 74 minutes

At some point while I was waiting, I thought:

If I wasn't on my cell phone, would they hang up on me if I put them on hold while I went out to pick up lunch? I'm sure they would.
Should I bill them (or deduct from my balance) my hourly rate for putting me on hold this long, plus my cell phone minutes rate? I'm sure I can't.
This sucks!

On a better note, my call to cancel with DirecTV only took 6 minutes. Both reps from Verizon and DirecTV were friendly, and I'm glad I wasn't re-routed to their Philippine call center.

Preparation for hosting Christmas

2007-12-06T10:17:00.000-08:00

Today, I learned that it's only 18 days away 'til Christmas Eve and it's time to start planning for it! The neighborhood I moved into have begun putting up their lights and it's quite exciting to be a part such an active street. (Somehow, I feel like I'm in Vegas when I step out to walk the dogs.)

So it's been days since I last blogged. It's been that long since I did laundry, and since all the computers and all my material possessions have been packed into boxes. I have not yet adjusted but today is the first day I'm able to take time to start on that adjustment stage. (The laundry machine just got hooked up an hour ago, and it's time to start unpacking.)

First on the agenda is to send out a message to family coming here for Christmas. My brain is switching from the fatigue of a recent web launch, remodel project and move -- to being excited for to be amongst the love and laughter of my family. As I composed my letter, a friend asked to see it as she was wondering what to do when her family comes too. In case there are other hosts out there trying to figure out how to plan for family and friends coming for the holidays, perhaps this can help:

------------- MY LETTER TO THE FAMILY

Welcome to December! Christmas Eve is 18 DAYS away and I just want to take a moment to slip-in some preparation notes as I understand everyone will have their plate full between now and Christmas. (I’ll try to keep this short so you can easily read through it and reply.)

PLEASE RESPOND:

- Tell me the top 3 dishes you wish to have over the holidays.
It may show up on our Xmas eve party, throughout the week, or not at all. But it would help to understand what people like so our chefs can plan properly.)

- Tell me 1 activity (if any) you wish to experience or do while in LA (for Xmas eve or day after/before).
Again, there’s no guarantee it will happen, but it will help me understand how our activities will take shape.

PLEASE REMEMBER:

- To have 1 WHITE ELEPHANT GIFT FROM YOURSELF that is gift wrapped, which will go under the Xmas tree for our gift exchange. This gift must be valued at $50 (or more), which can be used at least once a month for the next 12 months. Do not put your name on this gift, as it must be anonymous. If you need information on how a WHITE ELEPHANT gift exchange works, read below.

- Because we are doing the White Elephant gift exchange, it is not necessary or expected that you buy presents for each other in the family. This will hopefully streamline your Xmas shopping and budget, yet encourage you to be thoughtful while you hunt for that right gift.

- If you contribute the right gift, you can go down in the family history book for Santa of 2007 (contributing the most wanted gift by the bunch). Santa of 2007 will have certain privileges for the night or week, which we’ll have yet to think about. 

- It will be a cold Christmas eve with real-burning wood in the fireplace. ____ will be setting up a photo shoot so please dress appropriately, warm and comfortable.

- With the stress that the holiday can bring, everyone entering the house is required to leave their worries behind, at least for Xmas eve. No frowning or complaining allowed, or you can be fined to walk the dogs and/or clean up their poop area.

WHITE ELEPHANT GIFT EXCHANGE

1. Prior to starting, every present that goes under the tree will be labeled alphabetically. A recorder will write down which gift is contributed by whom. (This is for prize purposes.)

2. As we start, everyone will be a number for a hat. This will determine the order in which your turn to pick a gift from the tree will be.

3. The person who picks “1” will pick a wrapped gift from the tree, and unwrap it in front of everyone.

4. The second person has a choice to pick another wrapped gift from the tree, or to get the unwrapped gift ahead of them.

5. So forth and so on.

Ubuntu is environmentally friendly

2007-11-20T10:10:00.000-08:00

Today, I learned that I can help save all my old computers by using Ubuntu, an open-source ("free") operating system for your computer based on Linux. Unlike Linux, Ubuntu is graphical, so you use your mouse and less the typing mistakes (that I find myself running into on Linux). It seems like the perfect solution -- Linux with a face.

As we pack up for the big move, I'm coming to find out that I have all sorts of computers I have outgrown. They're still with me because I either want to update/fix them before I sell them (so whoever gets it doesn't come back to me with problems) or I find too much value for them to simply give away. Therefore, instead of throwing/selling/giving away the stack of CRT monitors, old PC desktops, and eMac machine, I'm now planning to install Ubuntu and bring them back to life. At least with Ubuntu on them, whoever I give/sell it to can find true use for them and not be stuck with the challenge of software and hardware costs.

I'll install Kubunto on the old Mac and see Xubuntu on the old machines. If this all works out, I vote Ubuntu to be eco-friendly -- helping old computers come back to life.

Ineffective vanity phone number

2007-11-16T16:41:00.001-08:00

Today, I learned that it's not worth spending the money for a vanity phone number. I was on the road when I saw a Time Warner van, wrapped completely with its usual promotional campaign. Since I recently signed up for the TW Internet business account, I thought I'd give them a ring and find out if they can sell me to ditch my DirecTV/Verizon subscription for theirs.

Since it was just me and the TW van driving on the sleepy beach road by Dockweiler, I thought it would be safe to pull out my Blackberry garage door opener (I mean, cell phone -- the huge 7100series) and give TW a ring. I expected to be driving for another at least 10 more minutes, so I might as well use the time for a sales call.

Let's do it! I got close to the van to look for the phone number to call. Ignore the photos. Ignore the taglines. Ignore the graphic. What's the phone number? "1.888.TW.CABLE / timewarnercable.com" -- easy enough, right?

So I started dialing.....1.888..... um, hm, oh uh..... oh no! I've got a QWERTY dialpad!

As the light turned red, we pulled up next to the van and signed the driver to roll down his window. "Hi, what's the phone number to call Time Warner?"

"Oh, I don't know," the driver smiles then points to the outside of his van. "Try this number.... 310...." The light turned green and we both had to move.

I dialed the number the driver recited. Some lady picked up the other line, but sounded like she just woke up to answer the call. Yikes, wrong number!

At the next light, we shook our heads to the TW driver, signaling the number he gave didn't work. We're busting in laughter, but the light turned green again.

Right when I was ready to give up, we found ourselves in another red light and the driver calls out, "Try this other number... 310..."

That worked. Too bad the sales person was bad. If he was good, I would have signed up on the spot. Oh well.

Internet Brands finally goes public

2007-11-16T12:45:00.001-08:00

Today, I learned that Internet Brands went public late this morning. Whooo hoooo, finally! While the initial plan was to open at $10-$12/share, INET opened at $8/share. There's a lot of talk about drama in the overall market, and how INET's price is reflective of what's to happen in our market. My opinion is you can choose to be emotional (influenced by the hype, whether it's a scare or an excitement) or you can choose to rely on your brains and gut (making decisions based on what you know and truly believe in).

In 2000, when the news media yelled fire and declared the end of the dotcom industry, most people thought that having any part of the Internet industry was a mistake. Investors fled. Companies closed. People lost jobs. The truth is, the investors who fled were the fearful and the unwise who poured money in anything that ended with a "com" (or "con"). Companies who closed had weak products, management, and business strategies. They poured more money on the marketing hype than building a true technology that improved the Internet. People who lost jobs were either lied to by their employers or did not deserve their position and salary. The truth is, the Internet did not die. In fact, the Internet got stronger. It simply got rid of the fakes and the flakes. Many survived, multiplied their revenue, and grew amazingly. Many investors who selected smart companies to invest in are happily smiling at their portfolios today. Many web techies are earning well enough to pay for their mortgages and/or have the courage start their own new ventures. Today's businesses and consumers rely heavily on the Internet. Dotcom is alive and kicking -- with or without the hype -- because there are a lot of great technology behind the existing dotcom companies that will survive storms. Many are the silent giants, like Internet Brands, who you may not know much about but you will find a link to how you live your daily lives or business. If you know of an Internet company with strong technology, management, usefulness, and your gut tells you it's going to help improve your life....be smart, do your homework, and don't be shy to invest! You may end up being happy like the rest of us who have survived and grown with the Internet.

It's a matter of time

2007-11-15T00:38:00.000-08:00

Today, I learned that time is one matter in this world that does not discriminate -- no matter what walk of life you come from, location, gender, age, etc. That same 60 seconds I just lost writing this sentence is the same 60 seconds you lost reading this. Lately, it feels like I keep chasing after time to no avail. I feel like October has just begun, but the reality is that we're halfway done with November.

I wish I could apply TiVo to my time. Pause. Rewind. Forward. Oh, too much. Rewind again. Play. This is the definitely one superhero power I'd like to have over anything else.

On that note, a cheesy 80's weekend TV show just popped into my mind. What's it called? Not "Degrassy High," because that's an afternoon-school show back in my time. While "Saved By the Bell" was as cheesy as I can remember it, it's not it. Another 60 seconds has gone by and my brain is still in pause. The theme song's in my head: "Would you like to swing on a star... carry moon beans..."

Anyway, let's kick start this brain and write about something else. I've learned a lot of things since my last blog, but I haven't had the time to post it on this blog. I'm running out of time right now to continue this, so until later!

Silly Comma

2007-11-04T09:13:00.000-08:00

Today, I learned that the following string is a song:

,,,,,,camille-and-yawn

Guest what song that is?

Okay, it must be the lack of sleep that I'm coming up with these silly things. But, hey, I made you smile!

If the writer's strike doesn't end

2007-11-03T00:48:00.000-07:00

Today, I learned that if the writer's strike doesn't get settled, then Hollywood may end up outsourcing to India. Hollywood, please give these unsung heroes their cut of the deal!

To the writers out there, see you at Starbucks!

Internet Brands (INET) scheduled to IPO on 11/12

2007-11-01T11:42:00.000-07:00

Today, I learned that Internet Brands has scheduled an IPO on the week of Nov 12, 2007 at $10-$12.

Whooo, that's next week!! Exciting!! There's 9.6 mm shares to be offered of CLASS A stocks.

Are you late?

2007-10-31T02:30:00.000-07:00

Today, I learned that I wasn't the only one who was late to everything. Everyone in Los Angeles seems to be running late for 2 main reasons:

(1) Daylight Savings.
If you rely the atomic clock to change your clocks during daylight savings, then you must have had moments today where you felt you were ahead only to find out your late. Last night, I went out to dinner with some friends (a rare occasion these days) and thought I had an hour to gallivant and hang out longer, only to find out my cell phone clock was an hour behind. Darn! This morning, I was proud of waking up at 9am (considering I slept at 5am), only to realize it was already 10am. No wonder I felt so tired all day. Darn again!

(2) Big rig collision on the 405.
Most of the freeways and side streets in the Westside were congested due to a big rig accident that took place at 5am on the 405 in Westchester. Everyone and anyone who were trying to go in and out of the Westside and LAX were late at least an hour because of this. I tried to avoid going out, but when I finally did at around 7pm to visit the new house, I saw so many cars cutting through my neighborhood, finding the fastest route back to their destinations. I imagine this is how it would be if there was some sort of evacuation to take place in the Westside. It was like seeing Christmas lights everywhere (white lights from the incoming cars, red lights from the outgoing cars). Everyone was on their cell phone, calling to say they're running late. The GPS systems were brightly lit on dashboards, with drivers thinking to themselves, "I paid extra money for this, it better work for me now!"

It's days like this I appreciate telecommuting, cell phones, and being close to the beach and the airport.

Fine Tune

2007-10-27T04:45:00.000-07:00

Today, I learned about a website called FineTune.com which allows you to create a play list of songs (minimum of 45 songs) and plug that play list on your site so your users can hear it too. Best part -- IT'S FREE! It's exactly the software I was looking for as I trudged along work through the night. (It's almost 5am and here's to another Friday night sucked by work. It's okay. It'll be worth it when the super-secret-double-password project is completed.)

If you're like me, all my songs are on another computer, and I'm not about to start buying from iTunes because buying requires more thinking at the moment. MySpace only allows me to hear 1 to 3 songs in a row per page. YouTube only allows one. So I asked my Google Crystal Ball for such a thing, and wah-lah!

The best part of the surprise when using FineTune is that I didn't realize the full song would be playing. I thought it would only be the teaser 30-second clip. But it's the full version, and that's why it makes it such a great product! It's like programming your own, customized radio -- from a vast library that's free!

Let's take a second to bow our heads from the monitor, to give thanks and to be grateful for how far the Internet has come along. So long are the days when I would wait patiently (one thing the Internet has taught me in the 90's is patience, unlike today) by my radio and try to hit the RECORD and PLAY button simultaneously on my tape deck (had to be 2 buttons), to find out the beginning and end has the DJ's voice over it. So long are the days when I would have to search for songs on the web and burn them to CDs, to find out in the car that the CD has been accidentally scratched. I'm going to start using this for my parties, for days at work when I'm in the mood for music (or for cleaning), and for that darn office hold music!

Look to the right of your screen and click on the PLAY button. Leave the window of my blog open in the background and work away. Well, that is, if you can stand the songs that's currently stuck in my head.

Frequent Errors in Managing an Agency (FEMA)

2007-10-26T13:28:00.000-07:00

Today, I learned that FEMA held a fake news conference with their own staff pretending to be news reporters. Really?! Is this for real, or a last-minute skit before the Writers Guild of America (WGA) begin their strike? Wait, did you mean PETA or FEMA? What's the difference again?

I ran a quick search online and lo and behold, MSNBC showed up on the top of the list: "FEMA's Fake News Conference"

I say, every time FEMA f's up, we get the tax we paid them for that year refunded or credited back to us.

The silver lining to California's most devasting fires

2007-10-25T09:24:00.000-07:00

Today, I learned that there may be a correlation between California's sub-prime markets and the fires. (Yeah, a stretch, but bear with me.) Prior to the fires, the big news on TV was the downturn of the real estate market in Southern California. Home owners from Inland Empire and San Diego were ground-zero for the sub-prime market fallout. This week, I noticed that the areas that were hardest hit by the fires (suspected arson) were located in the Inland Empire (San Bernardino/Riverside) and San Diego Counties. A coincidence? Hmm.

Last month, I purchased a live/work property in Los Angeles that got me shopping for home insurance coverage again. If you have never purchased a home, here's a quick guide: No coverage means no bank loans. Fire insurance is mandatory, or you will not qualify or close on a loan. I blogged about my search and the reason why I selected the coverage I got. (Click here to read the blog.)

So if every home lost by the fire had fire insurance, then the following can be said:

Home owners can rebuild their home using the insurance money (and FEMA aid which says that they will help cover what the insurance companies do not cover.) Therefore, if you had an old home, this is a good opportunity to have a brand new home. If you had a new home, then this is your second chance to have a better one. Otherwise, it's a good opportunity to buy a bigger home outside of Southern California with the money you receive.
Sub-prime victims or home owners who are about to foreclose can qualify for a cash windfall if their home was lost in a fire. Get the cash to pay for your loan and pay your outstanding debt. Who knows, you may be able to keep your loans now! Rebuild a smaller home or sell your lot.
Home owners whose property has not sold in months can cash out or rebuild a new structure on the lot for a better and faster sale.
Architects, general contractors, carpenters, materials manufacturers, insurance companies, banks, realtors, and everyone else involved in getting people into homes will have a new customer base and reason to increase business again. (When my contractors and painters are done with their job, I'll post my feedback and referrals. For now, I have to be selfish with their time so they can finish the work on our property. However, here are some great referrals when buying a home.)

New homes, new cars, new clothes, new shoes, new stuff. Please, just don't use your money for a new nose or new boobs! This is..... California afterall.

Fire fighting idea

2007-10-22T07:56:00.000-07:00

Today, I learned of a possible solution as an extra step to protect our homes -- tenting it with with fire retardant tarps.

My mother's worst nightmare is to come home to a burned down house. Growing up, my dad used to take our irons with us on vacation as a security measure than none of the irons were left turned on. (Somehow, I think the real reason he did this is to keep my mom from second-guessing if the irons were truly left unplugged.)

Iron or no iron, fire threat to anyone's home is possible no matter where you live. This weekend's Los Angeles fire reminds me of why we painstakingly searched for home insurance. As I watch the planes, ground fire fighters, and home owners fight the fire that doesn't seem to die so quickly, I thought we can perhaps fight these fire the same way we fight possible landslide -- use tarp!

I Google'd fire retardant tarp and found TarpPlus. Here's some ideas:

Tent your house with a fire retardant tarp just like termite companies do during extermination.
For forest fires, create parachutes of fire retardant tarps, weighed by canon-ball like stones so it's easier to target the location. The tarp will be cut and have umbrella like skeleton structure so it's wide open and flat when it lands on the ground. Or perhaps the edges would have the weights so it can adjust in shape, depending on the ground.

Insurance companies should provide their customers with a tent made of fire retardant tarp that covers your entire home (or car).

Downtown Julie Brown

2007-10-19T19:48:00.000-07:00

Today, I learned that "Downtown Julie Brown" lives just down the street in Marina Del Rey. As it's been for over 10 months now, I spend most of my Friday evenings watching "Dog Whisperer" while preparing for a long night of pure coding. Exciting huh? DJB was on this evening's episode, asking Cesar for help on how to keep her beloved toy dog from snapping at her daughter everytime she got close to it. I've forgotten what the solution was, because we were too amused and amazed at 1) how fast time is moving that DJB's got a teenage daughter now and 2) DJB is local. I don't really know much about DJB except for associating her as one of MTV's VJs. Her name and accent is part of the MTV branding to me. It would be amusing if she moved to Downtown LA. Then we can call her Downtown Julie Brown once again!

Why change to copper plumbing?

2007-10-17T11:59:00.000-07:00

Today, I learned why it's important to change your property's plumbing from galvanized pipes to copper. The images below are photos I took from the old galvanized pipes of the new house.

Looking directly into the pipe. Check out that water build-up and mineral deposits?!

Imagine drinking the water that goes through that crap?!

Here's a galvanized pipe connected to copper pipe.

A few things came to my mind when I saw how the inside of a galvanized pipe looks like:

I feel bad feeding the dogs water from the faucet.
I hope my favorite Chinese restaurant has copper plumbing in their building.
Change everything to copper piping!
Don't call me a diva the next time I opt for bottle water over tap water.

Mac is not small-business friendly

2007-10-16T03:42:00.001-07:00

Today, I learned that I cannot fully migrate to a Mac computer because it lacks support for some critical applications I need in running my businesses:

CAN'T COUNT
An integral part of a business is its accounting. Unfortunately, I cannot access Quickbooks Online through any of the Mac browsers. Quickbooks Desktop for the Mac is buggy and has major deficiencies from its PC counterpart. I'm not about to convert those important financial data at this rate. Someone, anybody, shed me some light -- What do Mac users use to manage their accounting?

CAN'T COLLABORATE
I love GoToMeeting.com and use it multiple times on a daily basis for collaborating with my colleagues, clients, and family. (While I've used software like VNC, Timbuktu, Remote Desktop, and countless many others, GoToMeeting has been the easiest to use and provides the best collaborations tools.) The problem I discovered since using a Mac is that I cannot HOST A MEETING from the Mac. Someone, anybody, shed me some light -- What do Mac users use to host and collaborate an online meeting?

CAN'T CALL
I use RingCentral as my PBX solution for phone and fax. It allows me to provide extensions for each personnel and department for all my companies, manage all incoming calls on my screen, and route incoming calls and voicemails. This application is as important as my accounting software... and guess what? It doesn't work for Macs! Ugh!

On a good note, I learned how to right-click without using a mouse: hold down the CTRL button while clicking.

On a sour note, it looks like this Mac is not ready for my business. I've switched back to my PC since last week. The Mac's now on my nightstand, for surfing and shopping the web before I fall asleep.

Check and double check

2007-10-15T23:59:00.000-07:00

Today, I learned that the IRS makes mistakes too, and, sometimes, it can be in your favor. So check and double check your tax records, your tax payments, and the love letters sent to you by the IRS.

Last week, I received one of those love letters saying that I owe money from a prior filing. Since today is the deadline for slackers like myself who couldn't file on time last April, my CPA has been on the top of my RECENT CALLS list. In the middle of my usual "Manic Monday," I received a few messages from my CPA saying he spoke to the IRS about the letter, and that he needs to talk to me about it. How much is the damage this time?! (Don't you get a knot in your stomach when you hear something like this from your CPA?)

"I have some good news for you. There's been a discrepancy in their records and they owe you more than double of what they said you owe them."

That's the best news to get from your CPA, and I'm happy to say I got it today!

Before you go to (or leave) Las Vegas

2007-10-05T22:35:00.001-07:00

Today, I learned that there is a live video stream of the traffic condition between Los Angeles and Las Vegas. It's a great tool if you're about to embark on your roadtrip prior to going (or leaving) Las Vegas. The video rotates through all the cameras along Hwy 15, so just sit back and gauge whether you should leave now, wait later, or fly.

I'll definitely have to pull up on the cell phone the next time I'm stuck in traffic on Highway 15. Thanks to the California DOT (Dept of Transportation)!

You need the Windows Media Player to watch the video

Windows make a difference

2007-10-05T18:37:00.000-07:00

Today, I learned how much new windows make a huge difference on the curb appeal of your house. (No, this is not about Microsoft Windows.) With a tight remodel budget for the new house, we initially planned on replacing only a few windows that were really old. (There's a reason why we call ourselves "friends-on-a-budget" -- because we are and we have no choice but stay within budget.) After crunching our total cost and finally deciding we would go with an IKEA kitchen, we found out that there's enough leftover money to replace "all" the windows in the house, plus a sliding door! Also, it would be great to replace these windows now before moving in. Thanks God the money, decision, and timing all came to play! All the windows have been replaced and it's changed the look of the house dramatically -- in a great way.

For a week, I've been looking at residential windows when I drive through neighborhoods. Would it be better to go with a grid design? Is all glass better? Should it slide up-and-down or sideways? Will it be better if the frame had color? Craftsman, French, or Architectural? I have never taken notice of windows as much as I have in the past week!

Our general contractor (which I'll mention later when the total project is done), fulfilled his promise that the quality they can get us will be top-notch. When the windows are closed shut, the strong winds outside cannot be heard, nor any sign of those jumbo jets flying in and out of LAX. (I "love" watching those huge jets slowly crawling into LAX! It's much better than watching the small planes from the Santa Monica Airport, because the big jets look like Pterodactyl.)

It's a Mac tonight

2007-10-02T22:24:00.001-07:00

Today, I learned that while I prefer the feel of the Mac keyboards over the PC machines, I'm not too keen on the layout of the Mac laptop keyboard. It may be a matter of getting used to, but I work too much on the computer to be a keyboard-freak. The keyboard's layout highly affects which PC laptop brands I buy, which is why I'm not a fan of Dell, IBM or Compaq. (I'm waiting for the day that showing the computer's keyboard photo becomes a standard on the commerce websites out there.)

Back to the Mac keyboard: I notice that there's no button to delete the characters to the right of the cursor. However, I just discovered that I can delete "words" to the left by ALT-DELETE (or OPTION-DELETE), which is very cool. It will take getting used to the CTRL, ALT/OPTION, and APPLE keys. I find myself having to use the mouse more, which isn't fun for someone as lazy as I am.

I was a heavy Unix user back in the 90's, and my very first CD and web application were built on a Mac. Remember, Hypercard and Supercard? However, as I became more budget-conscious with the cost of the software and my laziness in wanting to get away from having to use the mouse so much grew, I became a PC user. Business applications and the new technology I dealt with were all catered to the Windows system, so I haven't found a reason to switch. However, I always had a Mac which I consider the most expensive web browser. (Meaning, it's not used for anything else but to check how a web page looked on a Mac.)

So tonight, the new adventure into Mac land has begun. As long as I have REMOTE DESKTOP, FTP, PHOTOSHOP, AIM or TRILLIAN -- then I should theoretically able to work off the Mac. Thanks to GMAIL.COM, I'm able to access all my email from various domains into one via the web browser. Thanks to QUICKBOOKSONLINE.COM and BOFA.COM, I can manage the financial portion of my routine. Ahhhh, the beauty of the Internet's progress!

Bradbury Building in Downtown LA

2007-10-01T01:35:00.000-07:00

Today, I learned about a wonderful architecture in Downtown LA called the Bradbury Bldg. Bring your camera and be prepared to be in awe when you step into its nondescript brick building. If you find yourself on 3rd and Broadway and have 5 minutes to spare (or perhaps after a weekend Dimsum in Chinatown or before you tackle the Santee District), pull over and take a quick peek into what's inside the Bradbury Building. I'll leave it at that.

Discovered a great Indian restaurant

2007-09-29T21:56:00.000-07:00

Today, I learned about a new Indian restaurant on Lincoln Blvd (in Venice) that delivers - Agra Indian Kitchen. I've been curious to try it since it opened up a few months ago, especially since finding out that they deliver! Since the Taylor-Pavlik boxing match was this evening, we decided to stay in for the night and try Agra's food.

Agra was definitely better than Hurry-Curry, except Agra wasn't in a hurry at all. It took awhile for the food to arrive, but it was worth it. The samosa, naan, tandoori, vindaloo, lamb, and saag peneer were SOOOO delicious! (That was a lot of selection, but, hey, if you're trying, then try well.)

And I'll say it again - Pavlik rocks!

LA Rain

2007-09-21T23:07:00.000-07:00

Today, I learned that our first set of rain for Fall has finally arrived. Finally! I've been driving very dirty cars, expecting the rain to ruin any prior wash. I've been staring at that fake, dead lawn in front, wondering at what point should I start watering it before we move out of here.

This evening, I've been noticing lightning outside all evening. However, close to 11pm tonight, the real rain came pouring, mixed with scary lightning and thunder. Then the DirecTV satellite signal turned off, followed by a power outage. Here we go!

The rain was so strong that opening the front door required some push to keep it from swinging widely open. The rain was so strong that I could barely see the homes across the street. It was freaky, but very cool at the same time. It reminded me of my youth in the Philippines, where we wanted it to rain strong enough to be treated to a shower. And when I say shower, I mean showering with bath soap and shampoo. If you go to the Philippines on a rainy day, you'll see kids with soap and a big smile. While shower heads were a common bathroom fixture, having enough water or getting enough water pressure to use your shower was rare. Therefore, rain was our treat for a shower-like experience. Thinking back, gutters coming out of the edge of a roof were the best spots to be.

Speaking of rain and showers, I just realized how difficult it was to find good shower heads. We spent 3 days looking for shower heads for the new bathrooms, and ended up where we started -- Home Depot. I wanted a shower head that mimicked a rain shower. How ironic huh?

Venice & Van Nuys

2007-09-20T17:24:00.001-07:00

Today, I learned that Venice can easily be mistaken as Van Nuys. I was in West Covina this afternoon and dropped by my favorite hole-in-the-wall, crappy store called Rhinomart. (I call it crappy because there's a bunch of crap they sell that look like overruns/returns from Target and Costco. If you dig well, you'll find good crap like $.25 gift bags that normally cost $5.99. It's like a mix between Big Lots and Tuesday Morning, but it's got electronics and big screen TV sets. Buyer beware though.)

Anyway, I found this Toshiba docking station laying around a stack of crappy cables and phone chargers. I need one, and if I can get it for $20, then that would be cool! So I went to the counter and asked for the price (since it wasn't in its box). The guy said he'll look it up in their database using its serial code.

"Oooooh, you have this technology in this store?! I'm impressed!" I thought to myself.

Sure enough, he and 3 other ladies couldn't figure out its price. One lady asked if I could come back tomorrow and they'll find the price for this. (I doubt it, since they couldn't even figure out what it was.)

"I can't," I answered. "I came all the way from Venice (pronounced like ve-NIECE, as in niece and nephew)."

The lady turns to her manager and says with a thick Filipino accent: "We have to find the price today because she's coming from Ve-NICE (as in "nice" looking)."

The manager turns to me, "Oh, Van Nuys is so far away. How do you get there from here?"