Saturday, September 30, 2006

[find] Wondy Pierre-Louis

Pierre jumped out of his seat when he heard this name on TV!

Friday, September 29, 2006

Wednesday, September 27, 2006

[homage] Thursday Surprises

We have been running a series called "Thursday Surprise" at work, and it has been just fantastically fun:

- Jelly Bean Count Contest (The bean counters took it home)
- Paper Airplane Contest (Yodakawa won with the super dart plane)
- Brain Teaser Contest (Yodakawa strikes again!)
- Mini-Hoop Contest (I am a pretty good shot when holding a beer in one hand)
- Treasure Hunt ("Where is the !@#$ poster with 4 half circles and 4 squares?!")
- Ro-Sham-Bo Tournament (Simply brilliant)
- Marshmallow Sculpture contest (Richard anad Jason built the burning man. Todd and I just used up all available marshmallows and toothpicks)

[buy] Panasonic DMC-DX07 Digital Camera

Purchased from: Costco
Cost: $319

The Nikon S6, though with a beautiful 3" LCD screen, drove me nuts with its slow start up time, slow flash, bigger size, heavier weight, and just annoyingly difficult with indoor pictures.

So onto the next evaluation. I think this is the one! (Pierre: "Uh huh")

- 28mm equivalent wide(r) angle lense
- Small, light, fast
- The LCD is noticeably sharper and brighter, compared to Pierre's Optio A8
- That on-off switch is oh so satisfying

God bless Costco.

Update 2007 Jan: Still in love with this camera. Even though it mysteriously died after it slipped off my lap in Barcelona. But, that's probably because we were in a church watching a bunch of boy choir, and I was falling asleep.

When I first got it I scoffed at the "simple mode" (Who needs simple? I can tweak all the crazy settings) But overtime I have found the simple mode to be surprisingly good. A lot of times I take pictures in simple mode with flash forced off -- and the results are usually much better than if I used the other modes.

And it's done a great job for low-light conditions (great compared against the bunch of other cameras I evaluated). In the end, I know a big SLR will always get better pics, but I wouldn't want to lug the pricey SLR around once I have had a few cocktails ...

[outing] Beehive, the 60's Musical


What: Beehive, the 60's Musical
Where: El Portal Theatre
When: Sunday, 2006 September 24
Who: With Corinne

- "Wait, I know this set of directions ... it's to Tokyo Delves!"
- Dusty Springfield is a blond British chick?
- Tina Turner, Aretha Franklin, and Janis Joplin
- The single couch seat in the entire theatre are marked H17 and H18. Must try to get those next time.

What a rocking fun show and a great theater -- thanks Corinne!

Sunday, September 17, 2006

[eats] Violet (Santa Monica, CA)

Macaroni and Cheese.
Macaroni and Cheese.
Did I mention Macaroni and Cheese?

OK. It is "refined" with Serrano Ham and Gruyere cheese. But no matter, it's simply heavenly.

What a great restaurant. They even give you the recipe on line. And let's not forget:
- Bread (I had forgotten how great bread can taste)
- Roasted red pepper soup
- Roasted Idaho Trout
- Bottomless Pinot Grigio for $10
- Machego cheese with honey and toast

And, your check is delivered with with milk and cookies. Love it.

Violet Restaurant
3221 Pico Blvd
Santa Monica, CA (Just west of Centinela)

Wednesday, September 13, 2006

[outing] Labor Day Fair on Hermosa Beach

When: Monday, 2006 Sep 4th
What: Drunken and disorderly at Hennesey's

Item Qty Unit Price Total
Budweiser 3 $ 4.25 $ 12.75
Well Tequila 17 $ 6.25 $ 106.25
Jack Daniels 30 $ 6.25 $ 187.50
Belvedere (Double) 1 $ 17.00 $ 17.00
Fish & Chips 1 $ 11.95 $ 11.95
H2O 10 $ - $ -





Subtotal

$ 335.45
Tax

$ 27.67





Total

$ 363.12
Tip

$ 60.04 18%





Grand Total

$ 423.16

[trip] Warrensburg, MO

Departed on: Friday, 2006 Sep 8th
Returned on: Sunday, 2006 Sep 10th
Event: Chris and Adrienne's Wedding

- Pierre and groom. Poker showdown at 3:30am before (er, on) the wedding day. Pierre gets flush on the river. Pierre takes money from groom.
- Hertz Neverlost
- Warrensburg = 90 minutes out of Kansas City
- Sonic -- America's Drive In (and the tots!)
- Trolley tour of the town
- John-John and the piano
- Uncle Johnnie and luggage-o-nuts
- One too many midget shots of Jameson