Since then, 99.9% of my “print” (for some reason “text” just doesn’t seem like the correct term) media consumption has been online. I realized after I picked up my first new issue of PASTE how much accessing things through RSS and random web links has completely rewired my brain. Now, I can use the infinite resources of the Internet to best find/consume things that are truly of interest to me. Thumbing through a magazine requires me to be exposed to things that I may not already be aware of. And my mind was telling to me to turn the page, just as easily as it’d tell me to scroll passed an uninteresting item in my RSS aggregator.

It was rare that I ever read every bit of copy in any magazine. There were always things I skipped over. But back in the pre-everything-all-the-time-everywhere-Internet days, there was somehow more of an investment in picking up a magazine. It begged you to read the parts you weren’t immediately attracted to. Maybe simply because it was there. Or maybe simply because there wasn’t a whole slew of distractions (Twitter, Facebook, god knows what else) waiting to lead you away.

In my case, before my mind was assimilated into the Internet hive, there was at least a chance that I’d get exposed to something new while reading a magazine. And that’s a good thing. And it’s also something that I think is being lost with the decline in dead-tree publishing.

Anyway, I just noticed in the browser tab next to this one that I’ve got some unread items in my GooglesReader. I’d better go scroll through those before the count gets too high.

(Another cockatiel, her name is Poke, does some video bombing towards the end.)

Since the beginning of 2009, I’ve lost 25 pounds. And that achievement shouldn’t be downplayed. But I need to lose more. At the beginning of last year, I set a weight loss goal for myself. I started the year at 253 pounds. I wanted to get below 240 by my birthday (July 11th). I beat the deadline on that goal by almost a month. It was a big deal, because I knew that if I managed to get below 240, it meant I was doing something right, as all of my previous weight-loss attempts never passed the 240 mark. Right now, I’m at 228. And I’ve been at 228 for awhile. I’ve decided to give myself another goal. This time, I want to hit 220 by year’s end. It’s a reasonable goal, and I believe I can do it. I know what I need to aim for on a daily basis (1500 calories total). I just have to do it. And yesterday and today, I have! I made specific choices about my meals that helped me to keep my calorie counts low. Of course, these are things I’ve known about all along. But habits tend to control a lot of my behavior, especially when it comes to eating.

Breaking the cycle. It’s never easy.

Jen, enjoying a pina colada.

Ma with grandson (my nephew) Kyle.


Shannon, enjoying a Diet Pepsi and Amaretto.

Shannon and Jen played badminton. This is a really unusual thing for Jen to have been doing.

Lilo and Zaylee both got their Hawaiian on.

Chocolate raspberry cake. It was really good!

(A few more photos can be seen here.)

The situation with the health insurance options was only slightly better. Again, we were given a lot to read and consider.

We added some additional liability coverage to our car insurance, and kept the homeowners insurance the same.

I don’t know yet if we’ll wind up taking any of this new insurance. I haven’t seen all of the price quotes available. But the few I did catch during our meeting seemed beyond our financial means (especially for the health insurance). I’ll do some comparative shopping online before I make any decisions, and I’ll also have to see if our current insurance company can offer of us a discount if we keep everything with them.

Ultimately, of course, it all comes down to money. A topic that’s come up a lot lately on this blog.

Money. I need more of it. And really, the only ways to wind up with more money are to either earn more or spend less. I started reading some finance-related blogs awhile back to try and get some ideas on how to do these things. The popular refrain, often repeated, of these sites is, “Skip the lattes! Cut the cable (TV)! Pick up side jobs to earn more money!” Most of my “lattes” are of the ghetto variety, we haven’t had cable TV for as long as we’ve been in California, and I have managed to find some side work doing audio production. I’m not sure what else can be done in terms of cutting costs. I need to try and do more on the side-jobs front, and I have a few ideas to try and kick that into motion.

Unfortunately, focusing my energies in these pursuits takes away from other things I’d like to be doing. But, that’s life.

The amplifier on its side, with the new wheels resting on top.

I had to eventually turn the amplifier over completely, in order to get the wheels attached.

Fast forward to the last wheel.

A short video of the amp being moved about on its new wheels.

(A few more photos can be seen here.)

Also, trains.

Brand new iPhone 4, still in the box.

New iPhone 4 on the right, in comparison with the old iPhone 3G on the left.


I also bought a Griffin iTrip, which came in pretty hand during last week’s Solvang trip.

I had been holding off on the upgrade for awhile. But when Apple announced its free iPhone 4 case program, and I realized I could sell my old phone as a method to cover most of the expense of a new one, it seemed like the right time to make the jump. (I chose this case, by the way.)

A cool feature of the new iPhone is its ability to capture HD video. I had considered purchasing a pocket HD camcorder earlier this year, but I no longer have any reason to do that. (The videos I linked to in the Solvang post from last week were taken with the iPhone 4.)

Will post some videos, as well as any other cool iPhone-related stuff, in the future. (More photos are available here.)

Kronborg Inn sign, with requisite windmill feature.

Jen, sitting at the table on our hotel room’s balcony.

We walked around town for a bit on Thursday afternoon and decided to have dinner at The Touch restaurant, which we enjoyed. (I may blog more about this in the future.)

Later that evening, we went to Chumash Casino to see Huey Lewis & The News. The band wasn’t really on its A-game. I think they were in better form when we saw them in 2007. (I may blog more about this in the future.) Still, we had fun at the show.

This is the best photo I got of the concert. Figures that Huey had his back turned to the audience.

Before the concert, Jen and I dropped about four bucks into the penny slot machines and pretty much came out even. After the show, Jen went on a run through several machines and turned that starting credit into almost $40.00.

(There is a short series of videos of Jen’s slot-machine run, but for some reason, the embeds aren’t showing up on my site. You can view them by following these links: part one, part two, part three, part four, part five.)

We then stopped by the Chumash Cafe where we shared a soda and a sandwich.

Then we headed back to the hotel so we could watch TV shows about killer sharks.

On Friday morning, we walked around downtown Solvang and bought a few things from some of the shops. We also walked through a park, where we got a photo of this photo of this Hans Christian Andersen statue.

Overall, it was a fun and relaxing couple of days. (More photos available here.)