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. 🙁
Who TP-ed the H1?
Who lost rolls of toilet paper this morning on the H1 freeway? Rolls were streaming paper along the lanes going west bound. One cop was on scene, but there wasn’t much he could do by himself. Sorry, no good pics.
On a side note, of the four days driving to work this week, three of these commutes were marred by accidents of some sort. What’s with that? And UH hasn’t yet gone back in session, so traffic is lighter than normal, but seemingly there have quite a few accidents.
Second Sip (First Iced) Review of Starbucks Caramel Flan Latte
The first sip of Starbucks’ new Caramel Flan Latte was surprising, so I had to try a second sip (or I should say a second drink, especially since it was free today). This time I went iced, non-fat, and no whip. I know, I know, where’s the fun in that, but I also got a chocolate caramel muffin so I had to offset them calories.
The iced version looks much lighter in color than the hot variety, and usually, the lighter the color, the sweeter the taste. On second sip, the iced CFL didn’t taste as dark as my first sip and felt more “swirly.” It’s sweet, not quite Caramel Macchiato, but little more custardy.
Google Starbucks Gone Leeward
Downtown Starbucks locations seemingly were the first to enjoy Google-provided Wifi networks, replacing the slower AT&T Wifi. More and more Starbucks locations on Oahu are now seeing Google Wifi. On the Leeward side, the Pearl City location on Makolu by Walmart is now Google powered.
Google Starbucks Wifi
New captive page
Same Google Now look
Smokin’ speeds!
Starbucks explorer Wayne’s World also reports that the Kapolei location has been Googlified but not the one at Kauai Kukui Grove.
Not Yet Google Starbucks in Kaneohe
At least over the Christmas season. My last check on December 21, 2013 of the Starbucks Windward City location in Kaneohe showed its Wifi network still powered by AT&T. While the captive portal interface has adopted a distinct Google Now look, the network speed still isn’t Google-esque.
Still powered by AT&T
Looks like Google Now
Curved Smartphones for a Curvy Ass?
I know what you’re secretly thinking – will curved smartphones make my ass look better?
Come on, admit the shallow truth. If you’re going to slip a curved screen phone into your back jeans pocket, why shouldn’t it add some dimension to your derrière? You know some smartphone makers will surreptitiously target this market who wants to be more bootylicious. Will Apple’s rumored curved iPhone 6 give you an apple bottom?
Thinking About the Landing Zone Pro Dock
For sometime, I’ve been looking for ways to expand the ports on my MacBook Air. Mainly, I need a way to get wired Ethernet along with connecting an external monitor. Currently, the MBA’s single ThunderBolt port serves both functions so it’s either wired Ethernet or an external display.
There are Thunderbolt expansion docks by Matrox and Belkin, but these are expensive! Both of these docks offer what I need but at a prohibitive price and the need to buy an expensive Thunderbolt cable. Enter the LandingZone 2.0 PRO
Seems like physically docking the Air takes some getting used to, but the Landing Zone includes its own gigabit Ethernet port which then frees up the Air’s Thunderbolt port for an external display. You’ll get some extra USB 3.0 ports as well, but having wired Ethernet along with an external display at a reduced cost makes for a compelling solution.
One Sip Review of Starbucks Caramel Flan Latte
After my initial sip of the new Starbucks Caramel Flan Latte, here’s my review:
This is darker than I would’ve thought.
I was expecting sweet, light, custardy. But instead, the drink tastes “dark” like the chocolate. There is, of course, the caramel whip cream which helps balance out the entire drink.
What is a Caramel Flan Latte? Here’s a description from a receipt I got.
Oh about that caramel-infused whip cream with caramel drizzle. It looks like this in real life.
Next, I need to see what an iced flan tastes like.
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.