Happiness is my wife wanting to start Mountain Biking!!!

It almost brought tears to my eyes. While out looking for a bike for my son, my wife took the time for a couple test rides. Fortunately, our first stop was Skyline Cycle. I wish I could remember the name of the gentleman that helped us. For 45 min he patiently went through every style of bike they had available, from cruisers to full suspension in that order. Upon returning from a full suspension bike test ride, light seemed to magically shine from her eyes! Right then and there, I knew she was hooked.

Oh happy day!


Amazing MTB Terrain Park Action


Qt and qextserialport and some life experience

Since Qt does not have any built in serial communication classes (correct me if I’m wrong please) I’ve fortunately discovered qextserialport found at http://code.google.com/p/qextserialport/ .

It took me a few questions to get it to compile right, but all my questions were answered quickly and very politely . Being a C++ and Qt newbie, I try to research everything to the best of my ability so I can ask educated ( at least I hope they sound like they are ) questions and avoid relying on someone else to hold my hand through something.

My first experience working in the computer industry was doing technical support for a now defunct home shopping network computer manufacturer. My training consisted of a week of being stuffed in a corner watching SNL reruns while my trainer prepared to leave for a new job. The first month working there I had a headache every single day. Most of the questions I submitted to my technical leads were met with rolled eyes and the same question time and time again; ‘didn’t you pay attention AT ALL during your training?’. Fortunately one lead, who bummed cigarettes off me, took the time to work with me and eventually got me up to speed, but the treatment I received from others left a sore spot for quite awhile. A few years later I became a technical lead while working for another company and fortunately caught myself in one of those moments doing the same thing to my techs. Granted, there are some people who will try to avoid taking responsibility at any time, but I was fortunate to have few of those.

Blah blah blah. I am thankful for helpful people, and for people that help themselves.


Abraham Quote for the day

Just thought this quote rocked.

You’re picky about the car you drive. You’re picky about what you wear. You’re picky about what you put in your mouth. We want you to be pickier about what you think.

— Abraham

Excerpted from the workshop in Napa, CA on Thursday, February 27th, 1997 #372
Our Love,
Jerry and Esther


Padilla & Sons Kimono Review – First Use and Comparison

Finally got to try out my new Gi today, and I really enjoyed it! I had mentioned in a previous post that my Koral MKM seemed to feel like cardboard for the first 30 min of class. Well, the Padilla felt the same way BECAUSE I don’t run them through the dryer.

To compare the Koral MKM to the  Padilla Competition Light:

  1. Both Gi tops are great! The Koral is a bit heavier than the Padilla, but really isn’t that noticeable.
  2. The collar on the Koral is a lot stiffer than on the Padilla, so it feels like it presses into my neck a bit which did make the Padilla feel a bit more comfortable.
  3. Arm length on both the Koral and Padilla is perfect for me.
  4. The Koral A3 is an A4 in the Padilla.
  5. The pant material for both the Koral and the Padilla is the same.  The length on both is perfect for me.  The BIG difference is in how they wear.  With my Koral, occasionally it feels like my pants are giving a little plumber crack.  The Padilla pants never gave me this feeling ever.  I attribute this to the rope used as a draw string.  It has a bit of an elastic quality to it that I think helps keep the right amount of snug.   The Koral belt loops are a bit wider spaced that on the Padilla.  This keeps the draw string from riding up on your sides on the Koral.  The Padilla draw rope rides up on your sides slightly.  Not very noticeable though.

All in all, I am very happy with both of my Kimonos.  With the Padilla being almost $100 cheaper than the Koral, I’ll be a bit hard pressed to go that high again when I can get almost the same Gi for less.  I am still a fan of Koral though.

Only thing I’d like to see on the Padilla are a few patches.  I totally dig patches!


BountifulBaskets.org is definitely worth it!!

This week I took the opportunity to participate in the Bountiful Baskets Food Co-op and it was totally worth it. We added our $15 to the pot at the beginning of the week + the first timers fee + a little extra for 2lb of granola, all total coming to around $28. Today I went to the pickup site which was only a 5 min drive for me and received enough fruits and vegetables to last us easily 2 weeks. Everything was picked the day before and trucked in, all of it very very fresh. Next week is the organic option, which is about $10 more.

I’m hooked. I highly recommend!!


Matthias Loibner: tiny hurdy gurdy concert

This is absolutely incredible!!!!!!!!


The Ginastica Natural Experience part 1

I received my copy of Ginastica Natural for Fighters today from BJJMart.com . I like to live life from my gut feelings, and once again it was the right thing to do. So far I’m seeing a bridging of the Hatha Yoga and BJJ worlds, something I’ve been desperately craving. I taught Hatha Yoga for a little over 2 years and from that experience I can see how much it influenced the creator of Ginastica Natural.

I can’t believe how excited I am about this.


Financial Reform advice from the Pros — kinda


The Light Weight Competition Padilla & Sons Kimono

Okay, so my Gi showed up today and here are my first impressions:

1. Soft and comfortable. My Koral even after 20+ washings still feels like I’m wearing cardboard for the first 30 min of class.
2. Size is perfect, with the arms just a little too long. According to their instructions this kimono will shrink up about 1 inch after washing.
3. The collar doesn’t bite into my neck like my Koral MKM does. But it’s still still plenty stiff.
4. The pant draw string is frigg’n BRILLIANT!!! Typically the draw sting is made out of the same material as the pants. The draw string on these pants is rope. Runs smooth.

Okay, so I’ve taken this week off because of an injury so I’ll be trying it out Sunday.


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