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. 🙂
Tricky Hours for Starbucks Windward Mall
This has to be a trick question or a problem to solve. What time does the Starbucks inside of Windward Mall open? The store locator site shows this.
So if I go on a Monday morning at 7:45am while waiting for a car battery change at the Sears Auto Center, it should be no problem right? Don’t fall for the obvious answer. The mall doors don’t open until 8am. Cut through IHOP you resourcefully say? Sorry, IHOP locks their interior doors and tells customers they can’t let people through until 8am. Supposedly, you could enter the mall through a service entrance if you know where they are, but still, should it be this hard to get to an establishment open for business?
Two-thirds of Starbucks Kaneohe Are Google-fied
Did I mention that the Starbucks location at Windward City is now powered by Google Wifi? My last check in December 2013 confirmed wireless connectivity provided by attwifi. But during a recent visit to finish my hardcore dash of 2014, I saw the Google Wifi network show up.
Additionally, the small Starbucks inside of Windward Mall is also Google connected. Oddly, the third and seemingly busiest Starbucks location in Kaneohe, the one with the first 24-hour drive thru in Hawaii, is still not Google-fied. Here’s a SpeedTest comparison of Google Wifi versus attwifi.
The top two lines are from the Kaneohe drive thru location while the bottom line is from the Windward Mall location. Two out of three ain’t bad I guess.
What Does an Asian Gangster Look Like?
Forget the Original Gangsta, better known as the OG. There’s an Asian Gangster, or AG, on the scene in the form of Arthur Chu. What does the AG look like? Like this on the set of Jeopardy where the AG got his cred.
I haven’t seen any of Arthur’s wins, but supposedly they’re epic, capitalizing on game theory and strategy rather than pure knowledge of the answers. Seemingly on Jeopardy, you go for the tie instead of the win. Needless to say, Arthur’s tactics are irking some fans.
After the trail of Linsanity, are you on board the Chu Chu Train?
Thanks to Dennis, the OAG, for the tip.
Facebook Ads Have Me Pegged!
I think?! While checking out the full version of Facebook, my (targeted) sponsored ad section on the right looked like this.
Umm, yeah… a recommendation from NEENZ, kids at Disney Aulani, a Playboy subscription, and a request from the Cardioqueen. Yeah, I guess Facebook ads have me pegged.
Nordstrom Ala Moana Moving
Wow, didn’t see this coming. Nordstrom in Ala Moana is not just renovating their six-year old store, they’re moving the entire location to the new expansion formerly occupied by Sears. Yes, Bloomingdales will still be there as well, but now so will Nordstroms.
I have to re-evaluate my coffee strategy with the migration of Nordie’s two eBars and their Mexican and Italian Mochas. What happens with the great “secret” parking of the Nordstrom structure? Will there be a dedicated parking structure in its future spot? Maybe now the Marketplace Cafe will have a better view than the bus stop.
Update: Astute Pulpy reader @dkMOMUS points out that the new rail system will be on Kona St, neighboring the existing Nordstrom location. High class couture and rail don’t mix assumedly. 😉
Apple’s 1-24-2014 “Super Bowl” Commercial
Did you see Apple’s commercial that did
How was this clip created? Read up on Apple’s 30 Years of Mac site.
Keeping the Griffeys
Thanks to the Seattle Seahawks’ victory in Super Bowl XLVIII, I’ve decided to keep the Nike Air Max 360 Griffey Hybrids I found at Ross. The Seattle win was a sign since Ken “The Kid” Griffey Jr. starred for Seattle’s baseball team, the Mariners, for years. Seattle win, keep Seattle player’s shoes – that’s how you rationalize in the kicks world. 😉
Retailing for $170 at Nike.com, this tonal grey colorway appeared at Ross in Kaneohe for 50 bucks. Yeah, so it’s heavy and on the bulky size, but this cross trainer has Air Max 360 and Flywire, and did I mention $50?! I’m liking this “dark grey” version compared to some of the other crazy Griff colorways.
Thanks for helping with the decision, Seahawks!
That Was Sweet
You had to love UH’s game against UCI. Two buzzer beaters to end each half and Hawaii walked away with the victory!
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.
The First Starbucks Start Dash of 2014 Is Hardcore
Now that’s a way to kick off 2014! Starbucks first Star Dash of this year is a doozy with the possibility of earning 20 stars! Of course, you need to earn 25 stars on your own to get the 20 star bonus in the span of less than two weeks (January 27 to February 9, 2014). That’s hardcore, 25 stars in 13 days.
This is definitely going to promote the irritating behavior of making individual purchases. You know the type of customer, ordering four drinks for the office but paying for them one by one to get four stars. Good for your star generation but sucks for those in line behind you as four separate transactions are rung up, especially when all you want is a cup of brewed coffee. Now if the store is empty, and there’s no line then knock yourself out. But in the early morning crush, don’t be pulling this obtuse impertinence.
If you earn seven less stars (18 stars), your Dash bonus will be halved to 10. I wonder if this Star Dash is continued indoctrination for those who bought the free coffee or espresso tumblers for January. Now that they’re addicted to the caffeine from multiple visits to Starbucks on a daily basis, this promotion might continue the behavior.
Naturally, I signed up for the dash, but I doubt I’ll make it.