Yes, it was that hot in San Diego over the weekend. Add on top of that some spicy papaya salad at a Lao New Year outdoor festival, and you’ve got quite a heat wave. After around 1000 miles traveled all over southern California, we’re finally home. Weather was great, but here it’s surprisingly cold and windy. Nonetheless, we’re glad to be back in our very own bed. Oh there’s no place like home!
It was a couple weeks ago, but Dar and I went to visit the park nearby our house. We decided to hike up the trail that goes up the small mountain/hill. Here are those photos:
I’m happy to say that I have reloaded my server with a new 500Gb hard drive. I have tracked my recovery process fairly well so I can create a backup script of all my configs with one swift swoop. For the longest time, I think my original hard drive was failing so bad it would force my server to reboot. Those CRC errors were not playing. I’ve installed WordPress 2.5, which apparently was just released within the last week. I guess that’s the only fortunate thing about this timing. So far, it was a breeze to setup and I’ve entered most of the important posts of the past Drupal implementation. Cool beans.
So in the past week, I finally decided to put together the parts I had provisioned for my digital television (DTV) over-the-air (OTA) antenna using these schematics [you will need to register to view that forum post] for direction. It’s turns out to have a striking resemblance to this Channel Master which I’ve seen at Frys. It’s mounted in my coat closet right above the door out of the way of people who shit on coats for attention. However, I’m thinking about putting an extended arm in the mix since the turn radius was somthing that’s rather lacking due to those shapely dollar cooling racks. However, in its current state, this does achieve 4 DTV stations including ABC and CBS. So I’m sure the Oscars would have looked great in 720p.
So February 17 rolled on by and I thought that, due to so much press over the switchover to broadcasting DTV-only, that I missed my chance to make my own DIY antenna in time. The minor detail that I had overlooked was that the cutoff of analog signals is in 2009, not this year! My first attempt to build an antenna went awry when I learned that copper needs heat to bend without breaking. =(
My next attempt will be better as the design is proven and I will be able to just use wire hangers in copper’s place (yay-cheap). And with some luck, I’ll get it done soon as I am refusing to pay for cable/satellite subscription to save some pesos. That way, my brother-in-law will stop asking me if I now have cable everytime he visits.
Los locos kick your ass.
Los locos kick your face.
Los locos kick your balls INTO OUTER SPACE!
Unbeknownst to me what the they were saying, that scene was one of the most memorable in Short Circuit 2. However, I squeezed a tear when Johnny 5 was bleeding battery acid. It all worked out in the end as he really rallied during the “Holding out for a hero” chase scene. Johnny 5, you are still alive…in my 80s born memory!
My interests have been turned up to kendo recently. I’ve checked the All United States Kendo Federation (AUSKF) to find no listing for Nevada, which means that it has not really gained popularity this far east of the west coast. A ton in California, though. UNLV doesn’t offer it either, which is where I took several fencing courses. My fear is that I will not be able to find a certified instructor. I feel like at this point and time, if I learn something, I’d rather not learn it twice to erase bad habits learned the first time around.
The other long-time interest I’ve had was in Russian kettlebell strength training. I’ve certainly wanted to have a home gym because of the insta-convenience. However, I’d rather look into kettlebells rather than a Bowflex. I do believe there are a handfull of certified Russian Kettlebell Challenge (RKC) instructors in the Las Vegas area. The benefit of starting out with an instructor, is they bring all the equipment to you. However, there are good books and instructional videos on the subject as well. I guess it’s good to write this down so I can remind myself to look into this next year.
So as Black Friday nears ever so close, a feeling of anxiousness grows inside of me. Having my track record of impulse buys, I guess this is the pinnacle event for all impulse shoppers. Not only lured by the discounted prices but the look-what-I-can-afford mentality. We’re not even talking about gift giving. We’re talking cold-hearted selfish consumerism. I am not going to cave in this year. I simply cannot. Not unless it was happenstance that I trip and fall into the nearest Fry’s or Best Buy. No No No! Argh. This is going to be a tough one this year.
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Well, it at least looks like I had an eventful weekend. Took some photos at the San Gennaro Feast. Good times. I only have one regret, that my wife an I chose to share a Philly cheese steak sandwich and not a meatball sub. It sure would have been more along the theme, anyways. One thing of note, is that the evenings are starting to get a lot cooler now, which is a pleasant change.
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