Life
The Gluttony of Living Social
The deals offered by services like Groupon and Living Social can’t be beat that’s for sure. But once you engorge yourself with so many great deals, you face the gluttony of redeeming these deals, especially when the expiration dates come rolling around.
At Office Max, I bought 3000 labels to use a $10 coupon. Over the weekend, dinner at CPK (with another coupon) was followed by dessert at Cold Stone Creamery ($10 discounted). All the while, I was wearing one of the many shirts ordered from Threadless.com.
So yeah, getting deals is great since you feel like you’re saving money. But soon enough, when you commence your spending binge, you’ll feel the gluttony of living social.
Happy New Year
Gung Hee Fat Choy! It’s the Year of the Dragon, specifically the Water Dragon as @abaggy points out. To welcome the new lunar year on 1/23/2012, what’s more appropriate to wear, #23’s mighty-as-a-dragon Air Jordan 11 or the Air Jordan CMFT Max 12 “Fresh Water?”
Air Jordan 11
Air Jordan CMFT Max 12 Fresh Water
Change Your Dreamhost Shell/FTP Password
If you’re a customer of Dreamhost, read their latest security bulletin requiring you to change your FTP/Shell password.
Do it now!
You can also keep up-to-date with service issues by following @dreamhostcare on Twitter.
Evangeline Lilly Delayed My Appointment
You remember this scene from LOST?
That’s one of the memories that jogged in my head as I sat down and stared at a familiar face a few seats away – the face of Evangeline Lilly. Couldn’t be, right? Did she come back to Hawaii? LOST ended a few years back and Ms. Lilly’s filming The Hobbit in New Zealand, right?
Well, she did live in the area during LOST and random encounters are definitely possible. Witness my run-ins with Henry Ian Cusick, Jorge Garcia (once, twice, thrice, four times!), and Naveen Andrews. So anything can happen.
I no bulai on this one, Evangeline Lilly is back in Hawaii. The staff showered their VIP with extra attention causing quite a backlog of appointments. So yeah, my 20 minute appointment ended about one hour after checking in. I didn’t mind the delay although a picture with Ms. Lilly woulda been cool.
My Old Ride Still Rides
Driving on the freeway, I spotted my old ride. Sold back in 2005, the ’96 Celica is approaching 16 years but still looks in pretty good shape, and I still love its design.
Quizzard – It’s Academic
“Who was America’s first vice president and second president?” asks It’s Academic. Pshaw! “Is that your best?” is what I counter with.
It’s Academic is the latest educational challenge, pitting the smarts of Hawaii high school teams against each other. We’re talking math, science, current events, public schools, private schools. But… back in the late 80’s, there was the grand daddy of the educational challenges, clumsily called Quizzard. There’s scant documented lore about the show’s existence, and rumor has it that more evidence of Quizzard lies trapped in a pile of BetaMax tapes. But yes people, I assure you that Quizzard did indeed exist.
In the dark and dank Puuhale studios with a virile B-Rock posing the questions, teams showcased their best and their brightest (and social outcasts). But there were moments. Like when one under-aged contestant introduced himself on the show with hobbies of “fast cars and fast women.” Was that edited out during the television broadcast? Possibly, but it was said.
There was another contestant, possibly a bowling aficionado, whose attempt to rally the live studio audience was ill-fated. Nonetheless, the audience audibly responded.
Along with the three-person Quizzard team, you cannot overlook the alternates. The alternates are the practice players whose job is to push the starters to the extreme, ready for competition. Without the alternates, there would be no starters. So no matter if alternates didn’t get a chance to buzz in and meet B-Rock, we genuflect at your contribution.
What? You say you never heard of Quizzard? Truthfully, it was a fairly short run with some private school dominating early, taking the Quizzard championships. So while the Quizzard legacy may be academic, it is cherished.
A Hipster Surprise Pick
Now this was a nice surprise. After parking and making my way to the beach fronting the Hale Koa Hotel, I saw this tourist couple walking hand-in-hand. I snapped a pic of this romantic moment, sent it to Hipster.com, and now its on their Popular List – a nice surprise.
I Just Don’t Learn
Last time I bought a candy bar from the vending machine, it was downright disgusting and inedible. So forgetting the past, I bought another candy bar.
Not as bad as last time, but still a little questionable. Not worth the risk.
Pics from UH Men’s Basketball
A few non-action pictures from the UH Men’s basketball game against South Carolina State. For game highlights, check out the Warrior Insider. Here are my non-game observations.
The new center court screens are amazingly clear. But I’m still adjusting to the layout of the info on the screens.
Shaq Stokes is a little guy, made more obvious when the entire team stands in line for the National Anthem.
Where has Bobby Miles gone?
The Farmers Hawaii Supa Bowzooka was shooting blanks at the game. Lots of motion but no action. 😉
After flying around our seats, the Jack in the Box blimp came back and rained coupons on us.
I don’t understand that foul assessed to Shaq Stokes. The Bulldogs guard turned around and ran into Shaq.
The Bows hit the century mark in scoring!
Go Bows!
Shades for Baby!
Your little ghostly white baby needs some eye protection from the sun? Â These are pretty cool.
Executive Chef Kailua Now Open
Actually, the Kailua location of the Executive Chef has been open since the month of December. Located right on the corner of Kailua Road, they’re a highly visible sight. Â In fact, the store appeared to be open in November, but Closed signs indicated otherwise.
The store’s interior is big, filled with every cooking gadget and tool you can think of. Â The store is also deceptively “long,” taking some time to wend through all the aisles. Â When I visited, there were so many workers (maybe 10), probably too much at an off-peak hour but reassuring nonetheless, and I did find a punchbowl serving ladle hiding by the checkout registers.
Now for the bad. While the location’s visibility is great, the parking is bad. There are three stalls (one of them reserved for Handicapped parking) near the store entrance, but getting to these limited stalls is tricky and the roadway is a tad tight. Otherwise, the parking is in the back, way in the back, beyond First Hawaiian Bank. In fact, the nearest row of parking is reserved for FHB customers, pushing back general parking even further. Hopefully, this FHB designation is removed to share the lot with upcoming businesses.
Executive Chef should get a boost once the neighboring Whole Foods opens up in 2012. You definitely need the upscale cookware to prepare your upscale groceries! Now I wonder if upscale clothing retailer, Fighting Eel, can get in on this… picture the modern day business mom driving home to Kailua, stopping off to pickup a fabulous outfit at Fighting Eel, then popping into the Executive Chef, and finally shopping at Whole Foods. Can you see it?