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Dang I Need an iPhone!

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Or how I missed getting a picture of Jorge Garcia who plays Hurley on LOST. an atypical grocery shopping trip, lo and behold there’s none other than Hurley at our nearby non-lifestyled Safeway. He was shopping around the deli section and looked just like he does on the show.

Unfortunately, I didn’t have my camera with me. 🙁 I always joke with my wife that I carry my camera around just in case I run into actors from LOST, but this time, I wasn’t prepared. 🙁 If I had an iPhone, I would had pics!

And by the way, Angry Asian Girl would be proud of his vehicle selection. Very darkly tinted windows though.

So my LOST sightings include Sawyer, Desmond, and now Hurley.

Note to Self: Questions to Ask at Apple Store

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  • Want to see a new 20-in iMac next to a 20-in Apple Cinema display. How to they look? One glossy screen, one matte screen. At least both are matching 1680×1050 screen resolution.
  • Can users replace the internal iMac hard drive?
  • Can an older PowerMac hook up to an 17-in Studio Display CRT, the last CRT made by Apple? The Studio Display has that funky all-in-one ADC connector.

Thinking about a setup of an 20-in iMac dual screened with a 20-in Cinema display and another setup of a PowerMac connected to a Studio Display. Then the old PowerMac G4 with failing power supply can be retired.

Oh, that education promotion sale is still going… free iPod Nano… $99 off of a printer. Get the new iLife ’08 with the new iMac. Sweet deal (if I proceed).

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A Few of My Favorite Things: Zutto Coffee Maker

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The Zutto cometh, and now the Zutto breweth.

With a measly 83% addiction to coffee, I had to improve my score. 83% is a B grade, bordering on a B minus and you know No Ka Oi alumni, a B minus is like failing! Can’t have that! So to up my score, I went looking for a new coffee maker.

I was shopping for a smaller coffee maker since our Mr. Coffee 12-cup coffee maker is ginormous, and the last time I made 12 cups of coffee was, well, never. So while looking on Amazon for reviews of small coffee makers, I stumbled across the Zutto made by Zojirushi. This is the same company that makes those fancy fuzzy logic rice cookers. So I figured if they can make rice taste better then they can make coffee taste better.

The Zutto EC-DAC50 is a 5-cup coffee maker that does a great job with the joe. The flavor of the coffee is balanced and consistent every time. With my Mr. Coffee, there would be good days and there would be bad days of taste. I’m sure the cone type filter (#2 size by the way) has a lot to do with extracting the most flavor from the grounds. Or it could be the longer brewing times. The Zutto is slower making the coffee but not by much. The full five cups takes about 8 minutes of brewing time. Or maybe the better taste is from the built-in carbon water filter. I’m not exactly sure but the coffee does taste better, and that’s all that really counts.


The water tank of the Zutto is removable, and I didn’t see the big deal initially. But now I get it. It’s way easier to clean out the removable tank instead of relying on a rinse of vinegar to clean out the water scum.

In the Amazon reviews, there were complaints that the Zutto made warm, not hot coffee. The coffee is hot enough for me, and I’d say freshly brewed Zutto would scald my tongue.

The main downside of the Zutto is the cost. A typical 4-5 cup coffee maker costs around $20. The Zutto is $65, three times as much. But then again, reviews of other small coffee makers were all over the place. The Zutto reviews were usually 4 or 5 stars.

And the Zutto makes a great gift for coffee drinkers who don’t down gallons a day.


Buy the Zojirushi EC-DAC50 Zutto 5-Cup Drip Coffeemaker.

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A Few of My Favorite Things – Canon Digital Cameras

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Are you in the market for a digital camera? My favorite brand for digital cameras is Canon. I had a PowerShot S30 then upgraded to a SD700IS and am happy with both of them.

The SD700IS is small and easily fits in my pocket so I carry it around quite a bit. Because of its small size, you can operate it with one hand which usually makes for shaky and blurry pictures. Not to worry though since the “IS” stands for Image Stabilization and compensates nicely.

The SD700IS is fast. It powers on quickly, focuses quickly so you don’t miss that shot, and it’s ready to take the next picture in no time.

I like the image quality of Canon cameras. To me, the colors of Canon pictures look the best, especially the flesh tones. People’s skin may have a reddish tint with Canon images, but I like that better than washed out images I’ve seen from other cameras like Sonys. Yeah, you can adjust picture colors with image editing software, but I’m lazy and the Canon images are good enough for me.

The body of the camera is pretty tough, and there’s some weight to the camera making it easy to handle. The screen is huge, but the optical viewfinder is still available. When you’re trying to conserve your battery or bright sunlight is too much for the screen, you’ll be glad to have the optical viewfinder that most compact cameras no longer have.

And speaking of battery, the battery life of the SD700IS is unreal. After taking lots of pictures (and using the flash), I rarely get a low battery warning. I usually change the battery on my own instead of waiting for the battery to run down.

So if you’re looking for a digital camera, take a look at Canons. Although the SD700IS is still available, as Howard Jones said Things Can Only Get Better, and they have with the introduction of the PowerShot SD800IS and most recently, the PowerShot SD850IS.

Get yours now! Buy the Canon PowerShot SD850 IS 8.0 MP Digital Elph Camera with 4x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom.

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Be Careful of Rebond Carpet Padding

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Yes, recycling and saving the environment is a good thing, but… it’s not a good thing for carpet padding. After re-carpeting parts of our home, we started to feel bumps under the carpet. The carpet guys came back and pulled up the carpet to check out the rebond padding.

Rebond padding is made up of chunks of recycled foam material that’s bonded together into a big sheet. Unfortunately, because of its composition, some of the recycled chunks are very hard and dense compared to the rest of the chunks. These are the rock-like bumps I was feeling under the carpet. Maybe these chunks were recycled Nike shoes or something, I don’t know, but they made the carpet a disaster.

So we’re getting the rebond padding replaced with a rubber type pad. Beware the rebond!

Call Me Kobe?

What can I say but call me Kobe. For starters, you know Kobe’s cocky (though dropping 81 in a game can boost your ego) and of course, all private school kids are cocky. Kobe’s been having some disagreements with management and so have I, but I haven’t gone to the extreme of videotrashing the bosses and teammates. I’ve just been accused of plain old trashing, and I really do like the team mates.

Maybe off-season moves are needed? Or maybe just a break from the scene?

But then again, controversy has some benefits.

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The OG Potato Head

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While flipping through a magazine, there was an article about classic, timeless toys. And guess what was on the list? None other than Mr. Potato Head!

But unlike the unchanged appearance of the Corn Popper, Mr. Potato Head has gone through some changes over the years. Check it out, the spud was a smoker! Now, he’s a robotic Transformer!

Don Quijote Kailua

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The Daiei store in Kailua finally changed their name over to Don Quijote. While they were under Don Quijote ownership, the outside sign still said Daiei.

As of Friday, June 15, the new Don Quijote sign is up (and employees have new red Don Quijote shirts).

And nothing portrays the eclectic cultural mix of foods at Don Quijote like some Mexican flavored ramen! Anyone try the Cup Noodles Spicy Chile Chicken??

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Hauling Trash

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Always seen those big trash containers around under construction homes but never seen one being taken away for disposal.

Now I have. It’s a pretty quick procedure.

A Few of My Favorite Things…

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In The Sound of Music, Julie Andrews sang about a few of my favorite things which started me thinking about a few of my favorite things. There’s the obvious stuff that I usually talk about, Apple, Nike, Starbucks, Google, but I have some others.


Here’s my philosophy about brands and stuff that I like. I’m a believer of “you get what you pay for.” Cheap things generally tend to be, well, cheap. I’m willing to pay a bit more for quality. I don’t necessarily need the best, but I don’t want the bargain basement stuff either. Quality and room for growth are deciding factors for me.

One of my favorite things is speakers from Polk Audio. I’ve had speakers from Polk for years. First and foremost, they sound great, but they also look great. They have a nice styling and aren’t too exotic looking, just a clean and classic design. Their prices are reasonable too.

While looking to redo a 5.1/7.1 surround sound system using Polk speakers, this is what I’d do. First, the beauty of a surround sound system is the audio acoustics provided by 5 to 7 speakers scattered throughout a room. Now with little people around the house, easily-tippable floor standing speakers are child hazards. I want to reduce the clutter of speakers in a room, get the speakers safely located, and yet keep the surround sound experience.


This is possible with Polk’s SurroundBar speaker system. This single, long cabinet houses seven speakers that simulates the front, center, and rear channels. You can set the SurroundBar above or below your television set and get those floor standing speakers out of the way.

While the SurroundBar does 5.1 audio, you can still use additional speakers for a better surround effect. To reduce even more speaker clutter, I’d look at in-wall or in-ceiling speakers. While in-ceiling speakers are said not to be ideally located acoustically, you can’t beat the zero floor space needed. Polk has a family of ceiling speakers, and a pair of RC60i is good enough. Low profile, aim-able tweeters, and again quality sound.

To finish up a surround system, you have to remember the .1 which is the subwoofer. The bass fills out a room and makes sounds richer. Polk makes a reasonably priced 10-in subwoofer in the PSW10. Stick this attractive box in the corner of your room, and you’re done.

Polk Audio speakers, one of my favorite things.

Buy from Amazon:

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