Snap! Santa Came Early
Wow, Jolly Old Saint Nick came early this year! On my chair was these. I must have been a good boy this year. Check out these Adidas Christmas lights!!!
Thanks much to the guwapo Saint Nick.
Because I Wanted an Itchy Butt
…I tried Starbuck’s newest addition, the Chile Mocha. Think a mocha with some heat from ancho and cayenne spices. And yes, there is some heat, even if the drink is iced.
Overall, the drink is okay with nothing overly distinctive. There’s the heat, but it dissipates in an iced version as the ice melts to water down the drink. The Chile Mocha is a nice change up to Starbucks’ seasonal menu, but I won’t order it again this season. Maybe one hot version just to try.
Really though, the unsung hero of the fall lineup is the Salted Caramel Mocha. This is the guilty pleasure of sweet and savory in between the Pumpkin Spice Latte and the Chile Mocha. Hot, cold – no matter. It’s all good.
But oh yeah, be ready for an itchy butt if you do try the Chile Mocha.
From Hurricanes to Stranger Things
Well, there went a planned outing to the cabins at Bellows due to the hook and slice of Hurricanes Madeline and Lester. With Bellows cancelling stays starting from Saturday, we now had lots of free time over the Labor Day weekend. That time was spent watching (and finishing) the inaugural season of Stranger Things.
This Netflix series came highly recommended by @gquiks487, and @locke02000 said it was the only series he seriously considered binge watching in one sitting. So with three days of canceled plans, we watched all eight episodes of Stranger Things. Averaging about one hour per episode, the show isn’t what I imagined with supernatural occurances in the small town of Hawkins, Indiana. Yeah, I liked all the kids, but Dustin was my favorite with his John Riggins curls and his unique cleidocranial dysplasia. If I could only place that red, white, and blue hat of his… kinda looks Montreal Expo-ish or old school Chicago White Sox of the MLB.
Other than the kids, I thought Winona Ryder did an excellent crazed and desparate mother. The Hawkins Chief of Police, Hop, was my favorite adult character with more skills than he lets on.
Of course, the best, best, best part of the show is its retro setting in 1983. The paramount encapsulation of that is the opening title sequence with its old school animation and graphics and that theme song. I’m simply transfixed by it.
I won’t go into summarizing the storyline since it’s been done many times already. Just go watch it and enjoy the ride. In the meantime, take a listen to the theme song and also see the titles for Season 2.
The Biggest Loser on Stranger Things
The absolute biggest loser of Season 1 of Stranger Things has to be Barb, Nancy’s best friend. Luckily Jimmy Fallon’s Tonight Show captures all of Barb’s sentiments.
Quick Review of the AUKEY EP-B4 Bluetooth Headphones
So these were a bargain on Amazon selling for only $10 so why not spring for the AUKEY EP-B4 Bluetooth Headphones in the sporty lime green color? Even if these were a bust, $10 isn’t a big investment.
First of all, these wireless headphones do in fact work and connected easily to my iPhone and Apple Watch via Bluetooth. The sound is decent – not great but not terrible either. With different ear covers and “wings,” you can customize the fit in a lot of ways, and the earpieces lock into place with a quarter turn. I’m still playing with the fit since the earpieces don’t feel completely secured in place. Really though, I think the culprit to not staying in place lies in the flat cable connecting the left and right ear pieces. Out of the box, the cable stays kinked in its folded shape and doesn’t flex easily. Because of this rigidity, the cable very often pulls on the earpieces, dislodging them.
Battery life is kinda short (to me). After the initial charge, I used the headphones three times for about 45 minutes per session. Although I do admit that I wasn’t diligent with powering down the headphones when I was done. Powering up is kinda tricky as well, but I’ve found it best to put them on then hold the power button until you hear the AUKEY say “powered on.”
All in all, the AUKEY EP-B4 hasn’t disappointed. It hasn’t completely won me over quite yet, but I do like the appeal of less wires in my personal space.
Mobile Blogging with Keyboard
Hey, this makes mobile blogging a lot easier. I just picked up a Logitech K380 multi-device Bluetooth keyboard and paired it with my iPhone. Typing longer posts isn’t as difficult now that I don’t have to inaccurately peck away at the iPhone’s virtual keyboard.
The K380 feels pretty good. The key layout seems just a tad cramped, but that could be my imagination. I’m still more accurate typing on the K380 than tapping on-screen.
No wires since it’s Bluetooth connected, and this keyboard can pair with three devices. Need to try out my AppleTV to see what the experience is like. I probably won’t use this keyboard with my MacBook Air since what’s the purpose. But the keyboard is small-ish and light, so it’s easily transportable to make mobile blogging a better experience.
Hmm, I just noticed that the virtual keyboard no longer shows up in WordPress while I’m using the external K380.
Street Cameras for the World Conservation Congress
Have you noticed the recently added street view cameras on Kapiolani Blvd? They’re not that big and really the signs posted on the traffic lights about these cameras are bigger than the cameras themselves.
But yes, these have been installed for the upcoming World Conservation Congress coming to Hawaii next week, potentially causing messy traffic on this main thoroughfare. As Hawaii News Now reports, avoid the area if possible.
Though I’m wondering if the the presence of all these foreign delegates will attract Pokemon from other countries…
Costco Calories
Never really noticed this in the past, but have ever tried to eat healthy at the Costco food court? While you can’t beat the cost of the hot dog/soda combo, it can’t be that good for your body. Pizza, sandwiches, sundaes – all no so healthy.
Of course, the Caesar salad is the answer. Nothing healthier than a salad right? Just look at the calories.
650 calories for the chicken Caesar salad but look at the 610 calories of the beef brisket sandwich. 610!! Unbelievable. Next time I’m getting the beef.
Daisy Chaining DisplayPort Displays
Bye VGA, bye DVI. Got Dell UltraSharp U2515H displays that only have HDMI and DisplayPort inputs. But there’s this “weird” DisplayPort that wasn’t working for me…until I learned that it’s an ouput for DisplayPort, not an input. But why would a monitor need an output port? So you can daisy chain them.
Yup, I learned that monitors that support DisplayPort 1.2 can actually be daisy chained to each other and still work as independent displays. Of course, your graphics card has to be able to keep up, pushing out all them pixels. But wow, this is convenient and with less cable clutter on your computer, especially a laptop. But… for these UltraSharp U2515, you need to enable DisplayPort 1.2. By default, it’s disabled to the more commonly used version 1.1, indicating that daisy chaining isn’t a common consumer feature.
On the Mac front however, my older MacBook Air doesn’t support daisy chaining aka Multi-Stream Transport (MST). I kinda expected that from a mid-2012 computer, but my Air does flawlessly power the U2515’s 2560 x 1440 resolution via the ThunderBolt port that shares the same form factor as a miniDisplayPort (mDP). So yay!
Next, make a return to the MacBook Pro line…
Pokemon Go Bans Are Real
So you probably heard that Pokemon Go creator, Niantic Labs, is banning users from the popular game if they suspect you for violating the game terms. In other words, you’re cheating at the game. Commonly, this cheating takes the form of using an app or service that divulges the location of Pokemon. Instead of you hunting for them, these apps miraculously tell you where to find the pocket monsters instead. Convenient, yes. Allowed, no.
So I tried a popular Android app called Smart Poke 2. In the app’s description, the developers warn you about the possibility of being banned and even tell you to register another Pokemon Trainer account. Even though the results of the app weren’t great, sure enough, it happened. I got this email from Niantic.
What can I say but busted. So let me tell you that the threat is real, and it’s not worth it. These apps don’t work so well. On the other side though, the game is getting boring, wandering around catching Pidgeys, Rattatas, Spearows, and Weedles. The game has got to figure out a better way of tracking down Pokemon.