Quad Mtn Dew Kickstart
The entire line of Mtn Dew Kickstart is now readily available in Hawaii. Safeway had the new Black Cherry and Limeade in stock along with Fruit Punch and Orange Citrus. If you’re a Safeway member, there’s a sale as well. 🙂
Life
Back to the Structures
Not so long ago, I declared Nike’s LunarEclipse my running shoe of choice. That didn’t last long. After a painful stint with Nike LunarGlide 4 and seeing parallels with the latest LunarEclipse 4, I went with the Zoom Structure 17.
Here’s the longer story…
The Zoom Structures, LunarEclipses, and LunarGlides are part of Nike’s stability series of running shoes. I’ve had a few Structure models over the years, the 12, the 14, and the 15. On the 16th revision, I had heard Nike abandoned the stabilizing foot bridge and instead started using different densities of Lunarlon foam. Scanning reviews of the Structure 16, runners were upset at this change. About this time, I picked up a pair of discounted Nike LunarGlide 4 and hated them. Running in them started off okay, but then the soreness came and got worse fast. The pain in my upper foot and ankle made running almost unbearable. Often times, I stopped mid-run and also wore an ankle brace for protection. I finally abandoned the LunarGlide for the LunarEclipse 3, and the pain quickly subsided.
So why go back to the Zoom Structure line instead of sticking with the LunarEclipse? From the product pictures alone, the sole of the new LunarEclipe 4 reminds me of the sole of the painful LunarGlides.
Nike LunarGlide 4 sole.
Nike LunarEclipse 2 (bottom) and 3 (top) soles.
I didn’t want to risk the pain again, so instead I took a chance with the foot bridge-less Zoom Structure 17. Runner’s World reviews the Structure 17 favorably so I’m hopeful.
Oddly enough, I just realized that three of the four Structures I’ve owned are black. Here’s my latest Nike Zoom Structure 17.
Looking for a Drill
Came across this Porter-Cable 12v drill
Yelped Verde Kaimuki
Had a trip to the Kaimuki area today and chose Verde Kaimuki for lunch. An excellent choice! Flavorful, fast service, and very affordable. Read my entire review on Yelp.
Here’s my filling Mexican Loco Moco.
The food was so satisfying that we ventured to the Humane Society and almost adopted a dog, Reebok. Say what?
What App Is That, Melissa Chang?
It started off as a genuine question when I asked Melissa Chang what app she used to create those captivating picture collages. Apparently, I hadn’t been the only one asking. Melissa respectfully answered my query then we joked about how she should blog about the app and drive viewers to her blogged answer.
So here we are. It’s Frametastic.
And here’s my first attempt at making a collage using the in-app-video-upgraded Frametastic.
Peet’s Not Pau in Kailua
Peet’s is making progress with their Kailua location, but it looks like they have a ways to go before opening. And it appears they’re expecting a large contingent of customers riding in on bikes.
Where Has the Passion Gone?
New year or fatigue carried over from 2013? I’m not sure, but it surely seems the passion is gone. Things in the office feel stale. Went to a meeting where attendance was low and the energy wasn’t there. And most telling, the Home Depot employee who cheerfully helped a few years back during remodeling seemed like an entirely different person. His cheer was gone. He still knew his stuff, but he didn’t want to engage like previous interactions. And what’s with my inconsistent blogging?
Where has the passion gone?
Skipped #RamenBurgerHI
For a moment, I considered heading down to Kakaako to wait in line for an authentic Ramen Burger at Taste. But the thought of waiting in a long line got the better of me, so instead I’m just following along via social media. Sounds like people starting lining up as early as 8:30, but the line didn’t get seriously crazy until 10:00.
With over 200 people queued up and a max of 3 ramen burgers per patron, your time is about up. Here’s what you’re missing out on.
Yup! #RamenBurgerHI pic.twitter.com/ikH94R39a9
— Olena Heu (@OlenaHeu) January 15, 2014
So if you’re like me, go home, grab that Sapporo Ichiban and May’s beef patties, and put on them sad-excuse Lugz Zosho.
New Years Site Cleaning
Over the end of December and beginning of January 2014, Pulpconnection has been getting hit hard. Not sure how or why but server resource allocation skyrocketed and stayed there for long periods of time. Because of this, Pulpconnection would be unavailable for periods of time. Even after server reboots, resources would be consumed once again in a matter of minutes.
I wasn’t exactly sure how to approach this problem but followed several helpful guides from Dreamhost. I reviewed their WordPress optimization tips but had most of these already implemented. I did some of the WordPress fine tuning suggestions. Lastly, I looked at server troubleshooting and optimization. From what I could tell, there was a ton of traffic from other countries. While I love my international audience, I figured most of my content isn’t necessarily world renowned so I blocked entire countries. Yep, using CloudFlare, blocking entire countries is pretty easy.
Along with this mass blocking, I cleaned out unused WordPress themes and plugins, trying to minimize my WordPress footprint. I also tripled the memory allocation to my servers which made things dreamy but too costly.
The server load has been consistent and steady for the past few days so I’m hoping things are stable once again. But having said this, I bet I just jinxed myself. 🙁
My Top Tweets of 2013
Thanks to Vizify and Twitter, here’s a collection of my top tweets of 2013. Nothing overly exciting but some of the tweets are surprising for being in the top.
Almost Peet’s Coffee Kailua
The future home of Peet’s Coffee in Kailua is built. It’s almost time.
The Harvest of Great Harvest Bakery Kailua
And the harvest has ended. In August of 2006, a Great Harvest Bakery location opened in the Enchanted Lakes Shopping Center. At the end of 2013, this Great Harvest has closed its doors.
For seven years, this storefront sold freshly baked loaves, muffins, scones, and cookies and gave out seemingly unlimited tasting samples. Soon to fill this void is Z’s Bakery and Deli. Thanks for the years of goodies, Great Harvest!
