MN Budget Deficit

Keeping up on MN politics and taxes, the latest coming out of the state is a billion dollar projected deficit fresh off the heals of a veto override of a 6.6 billion transportation bill. Now I wouldn't want to be in the shoes of our legislatures but I hope they'd take note to what's happening in CA. California is one of the most gorgeous states and most desirable places to live in the country. However, because of the higher tax rate, the wealthy citizens are moving out and the wealthy contribute a larger percentage of the tax revenue. Now CA faces a 14 billion dollar deficit this year.

The source article states:

"When California faced a Mount Everest-sized $14 billion deficit in 2003, one of the major causes for the red ink was the stampede of millionaire households from the state," says a report called "Rich States, Poor States" by economists Arthur Laffer and Stephen Moore. "Out of the 25,000 or so seven-figure-income families, more than 5,000 left in the early 2000s, and the loss of their tax payments accounted for about half the budget hole."

Raising taxes seems like a logical solution to fixing the budget, but like CA, many of the wealthier citizens might take their tax money an move out.

Jumpcut

Sven sent me a video he made on Jumpcut. I've never heard of it until now. Basically it's an online movie maker.

This is video created with Jumpcut just after I figured out how not to fall and before the weather got to bad.

Lake Tahoe - Kirkwood

Yet another item to check off since I got to CA. A group of us from Lockheed and a Yahooligan went to Lake Tahoe skiing. It was a blast. The morning started out with 4 of us meeting at Chad's to drive to the Sports Basement and catch the Bay Area Ski Bus there. We got there and went to check in and the guy said I had the wrong pick up location. Chad and Paul signed up a few days before I did so that location filled up before I signed up. So while I was wondering what the heck to do Sven noticed he was at the wrong location as well. Chad was nice enough to let us take his car to the right location and thankfully our bus left a half hour later. But we got there 30 minutes earlier since our driver didn't take a wrong turn

I haven't skied since 1993 and I found out quick that skiing a few times at Powder Ridge doesn't prepare one for skiing Tahoe. My skiing abilities were basically ski down hill until I was going to fast and then hit the snow plow to slow down with no ability to turn. Well these abilities don't bode so well on a real mountain. We hit an easy first run to get the snow plow feel back. Under normal circumstances I would've taken a few more runs down the hill to maybe figure out how to ski for real, but I was with Sven who is pretty awesome at snowboarding so I didn't want him to get board so we hit a few runs that led us to the other side of the mountain for some much longer and steeper runs. Every run we hit was a little steeper and longer but the snow plow was working just fine and there weren't a lot of big turns so I was fine. Then we hit one of the longest runs on the mountain, not to mention it was really steep. As we were riding up the lift I started getting nervous as this lift just kept going up and up and it got real windy and at the top our faces were getting pelted with snow/ice. It was at this point I wish I would've ponied up $40 for a pair of goggles. The Oakley's weren't cutting it. We hit the end of the lift and I stood up to get off and the chair hit the back of my knees and I sat back down. Now I'm 5 feet in the air starting to head back down the mountain so I jump off and lost a ski.

So I get my composure back and I'm ready to start down the hill. At this point it's learn to ski or ride down on my arse. I spent more time on my in the snow then I did on top of it. I was fortunate Sven was with me and every time I'd lose my ski's after a fall he'd get them and jump back up the hill to give them to me. He wasn't much of a skier but he was trying to give me tips and he noticed a skier shifting his weight to the outside leg on turns. I had been putting all my weight on my inside leg and i couldn't get my other ski around so this was a huge tip. A couple tries and falls later I had it down. Sven said it was really impressive how I improved by the minute. The rest of the day was awesome until the last run which I tried a black diamond. I think I would've been fine but I couldn't see a thing, it was a friggen blizzard and total whiteout conditions. After falling about 6 times I rode on my arse until we got far enough down that the trees blocked a lot of the wind and snow so I could see. After the run we called it a day.

Click here for some pics of from the day.

Race Day

You're thinking the Daytona 500 right? Unfortunately I couldn't watch it since I had lab time at work. Which bummed me out since I wanted to see how Junior would do on Gordon's team. I arrived to work to find the usual parking lot I park in blocked off and full of cones. WTF there's friggen race track set up and screaming rice burners hitting the track. How safe is that I wondered. These cars are racing 10-15 feet from light pulls. Then I thought about asking if I could take my rental out on the track. But I'm probably one of the worst drivers ever so I decided against it. Most of the cars were 90's looking, the Fast and the Furious wannabes, but there was a newer looking Corvette, Mazda RX8, and I think a Lotus. I was late for my lab time so I couldn't watch that long but it was cool from what I saw. It looked like each car got two laps and they they had to get back in line. They had a dude taking times and all.

So does your employer let you turn their parking lot into a race track on Sundays?

9-1-1 is busy

Friday Jen and I were heading to Blockbuster to get some movies. I was in the second lane from the right on a four lane expressway. There was an Explorer a couple car lengths in front of me one lane over and I noticed it starting to drift into the far left lane and BAM it nails the car waiting for a left turn signal and veers sideways into my lane. I slammed on the breaks and maneuvered away from the car and the debris left from the accident. For a second I thought the driver was going to just drive away but he/she eventually turned into a parking lot. I'm not sure why they just didn't pull over to the shoulder but whatever. By this time I'm past the accident and there are a lot of cars behind me so I didn't stop. I called 911 and got a recording asking if it was an emergency to which I replied yes. Then I got another recording saying that all lines were busy and to wait until the next available operator. I waited for a bit and by this time I figured someone else had gotten through or something so I hung up. I couldn't believe that 911 was busy. I wonder how often that happens and if anyone has died because of it.

Twins Update

Jen had another ultra sound today. All is great. The twins are 3.3 and 3.4 pounds. Jen checked what the weight is supposed to be and they're supposed to be 2.5lbs so they're growing really good. The babies are getting big enough that it's really hard to see them in the ultra sound. I thought as they got bigger one would be able to see the features better but it's opposite. The scan only covers a small portion of the baby.

Now we need names. I'm thinking Eric and Al after my brothers but Jen isn't going for it. All the names we pick are taken by the family or they're pets of the family.

Super Awesome

With Jen pregnant and not feeling the best we ended up just hanging out at the apartment to watch the Super Bowl. At half time I paused the game with our Comcast DVR and we went to Target grocery shopping. When we got back I started the game again and during the fourth quarter with the Patriots driving the DRV skipped to the post game celebration. I was so mad that I missed the last two drives but on the other hand I was happy the Giants won. I was a Patriots fan until last year when Belichick wouldn't acknowledge Payton Manning when he tried to shack his hand. All year I wanted the Pats to lose at least one game. I figured they'd win the Super Bowl but as long as they didn't go undefeated I wouldn't care that much. To stomach having to hear about them year in and year out would suck. But now that they've lost it moves the Vikings '98 season as the 2nd best team to not win a Super Bowl.

The Grand Prix

One perk of this off site rotation is having a rental car. If I don't like the car I can trade for a different one at any time. I pay for the car with a CC and my employer pays me back so it looks like I'm spending a lot of money on rentals, so now every time I get a top of the line model car. The rental I have now is by far the best car I've rented, a 2008 Grand Prix GXP with leather seats and satellite radio, it's top of the line. It's got a 300hp V8 and it's figgen fast. I love it and I wish I would've bought it instead of my Mazda 6. Although it only gets about 20 mpg with my driving compared to almost 30 with the Mazda. I think the extra power on the freeways here is totally worth it. Satellite radio is great too, but I wouldn't get it if I had to pay for it.

Here's the list of cars I've rented in order of favorite to least favorite:
- Pontiac Grand Prix
- Chevy Impala
- Chevy Malibu
- Dodge Charger
- Hyundai Elantra
- Hyundai Entourage
- Chevy HHR
- Mercury Grand Marquis (this car was so big I couldn't reach the radio without having to lean forward)

Potty Training

Hayley's potty training has consisted of buying her a potty chair when she wanted to try it a few months ago. We thought it might be easy since she was all excited about getting her potty chair. After she tried it a few times she lost interest. We tried to get her to use it a few times here and there but she never wanted to. Tonight after her bath she wanted to sit on it, I just figured she'd sit there and get up a few minutes later like normal so I didn't really pay any attention. When she got up she said all done and we got her PJ's on her. I went back to check just to see and sure enough she went #1. Hopefully she continues to want to use it. It'll rank as one of the easiest potty training efforts ever... knock on wood.

2 blocks from our apt

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22767192/

2007 - Cali Recap

A quick run down of what we did in California during 2007.

Walked across the Golden Gate Bridge and hung out in San Fran on multiple occasions.







Visited Muir Woods home of one of the last groves of huge Redwoods.



Went to an A's vs Twins game in Oakland



A couple visits to cliff side beaches at Stinson Beach.



Toured the tourist trap Sausalito where Matt found a new friend.



The Winchester Mystery Mansion in San Jose. Where the widow of Winchester thought she was haunted by the spirits of all those killed by the Winchester rifle. To ward off the spirits she never stopped adding on to the mansion.



The Monterey Bay Aquarium.





17 mile drive





Alcatraz





Gilroy Gardens





San Fransisco Zoo, the one where the tiger escaped.





Swimming at the apartment





The Children's Discovery Museum of San Jose



Fairy Land





The pumpkin patch at Half Moon Bay

Weekend Recap - Playoffs

Watching the NFL Playoffs was the highlight of the weekend. The Colts losing was so dissapointing as well as the Pats winning. It was just an all around crappy weekend for football. It would be so awesome if the Pats don't win the Super Bowl. In fact I'd probably cheer for the Packers if they play the Pats in the Super Bowl.

Jen and I also had dinner with a couple that has a girl Hayley's age and nine month old twins. It was pretty interesting hearing their stories. They said the most annoying thing about having twins is everyone in public asks them "Are they twins?".

Happy 30th Jen

Twins Update

Jen had another ultra sound and everything is going great with the twins. They both weigh 1 lbs 10 oz which means they are both getting enough nutrients. It was also confirmed that they are boys.

Christmas Shopping

I have yet to buy one present for the family. Working in a different state puts a big damper on Christmas, no tree, no gifts under the tree, lights, decorations, etc. I don't know what to get my wife. I asked her what she wants and she doesn't know so I told her she's getting an iPhone if she doesn't pick something. We've been going through this for a couple weeks now so I'm thinking she really must want an iPhone cuz she picked a gift yet. Getting Hayley gifts here in MN sucks because we can't bring them back to CA, so we're stuck with deciding if we should wait to get her gifts until we get back to CA or get her some here and letting her play with them when we get back.

Anyway, have a Merry Christmas.

Super Mario Galaxy Saves the Wii

Going into the holiday I was thinking of selling the Wii. All the games I've rented haven't been that great and except for tennis, baseball, and golf the wii-mote hasn't really had a great use. I rented Madden and I didn't like the passing configuration at all. I'd much rather play Madden with a game pad. With the demand for the Wii I was thinking I could sell it with the extra wii-mote and games and make enough money to buy an xbox 360.

Before heading to MN I read an article that said Super Mario Galaxy was the highest rated game of all time. Intrigued, I thought about buying it but I put it off to think it over. Eventually I bought it and tried it out. If this game didn't pan out it would've been the last game I bought without renting it first. The game has about 15 minutes of dialog at the start which was disappointing cuz I thought it was going to be like that throughout the entire game. However, as the play wore on this game turned entertaining as the it galaxies start out simple and teach the controls along with achieving milestones. The farther into the game you get the harder it gets.

I'm really impressed with the creativity that went into this game. There are so many different features to this game. Both the num chuck and the wii-mote are used extensively and both can be used for totally different functions at the same time which makes quick thinking a must.

I'm happy with the game and I'm not thinking of selling the Wii now. Hopefully the Mario Cart lives up to the hype as well.

Heading Back to MN

Enjoy the holidays all. I'm heading back to MN until after the New Year, and I'll have limited access to the Internet so there will be little activity on the blog. (I know at least one reader that will miss it)

911 Challenge!!

For the last three weeks we've been hitting up University Chicken. It's a college sports bar so we're pretty much the oldest bunch in the bar. They have an assortment of food, but they are best known for their wings which are friggen awesome, as long as the sauce is at the lower half of the scale. (shown above) Last night we saw two attempts at the 911 Challenge. The rules of the challenge are:

1. Sign Waiver and admit you are an IDIOT for attempting the 911 Challenge.
2. Eat 12 911 Global Thermo Nuclear Wings the to the bone in 10 minutes or less.
3. Nothing else to eat or drink while taking the challenge.
4. No napkins allowed during the challenge.
5. Lick fingers clean after eating the last wing.
6. After licking fingers clean, wait 5 minutes before eating or drinking anything.
7. The Most Important Rule: Participants — wash hands very, very, very well before going to the bathroom or rubbing your eyes (think about it)!

Winners get a T-Shirt and their picture put on the wall. After watching the two attempts there's no way I'd even think about attempting it. The wings are in so much sauce that the wings have to be fished out. The sauce is basically a deep dark brown thick mud. It doesn't look edible at all.

Two guys tried it first, both of them downed the first wing in about 20 seconds. contestant one continued at the same pace on the second wing, contestant two had to take a second before starting on the next wing. Contestant two finished the second wing and chocked a bit. The crowd around him started call for a garbage. He got about half way through the 3rd wing and started dry heaving. Now if that were me I'd quit right there, but he kept eating cheered on by the entire bar. After finishing the 3rd wing he took about 20 seconds off, he kept looking at the 4th wing and bolted for the door and threw up outside, disqualifying him so he was out. Contestant one was now on his 4th wing and I think he just quit after seeing his buddy bolt for the door, he seemed to see his fate if he continued forcing them down.

About 30 minutes later we saw another attempt. The guy brought out 4 tubs of wings for what I thought was 4 guys, but the guy put them in front of the 4 girls sitting at the table. One girl ate one wing and she was done. The other three were working on their 4th wing when we left. Over 5 minutes had past so there was no way there were going to finish the challenge. But I was impressed that they were able to eat 3 of them and who knows how many more.

Wild vs San Jose

We hit the Wild vs Sharks game tonight in San Jose and it was the boring game ever. The Wild skated like they had lead sleds in the arses, it was so pathetic. They turned it on a bit in the final 10 minutes of the third period but by that time they were down 4-0 so it was pretty much over by then. There were a couple fights but none of them involved Boogaard so that was a bit disappointing. I see in the box score that he didn't have any minutes and checking the injury list he's listed as day to day.

It was my first pro hockey game so that was cool and it was affordable ($26). I don't think you can get anything under $50 at the Excel Center. The HP Pavilion is a great arena as well. We sat in the nose bleeds but we could still see the game.

Big Screen Repair Success!!!

I finally broke down and decided to fix my big screen. A guy from work was nice enough to drive down from San Fransisco to help out. Mike had experience soldering but not much experience replacing chips. I opened the TV up and wrote a diagram of the circuit boards and all the connections free hand and labeled where each connecting wire should go, and any wire not labeled, I labeled myself with tape and a sharpie. Mike laughed at me a bit for being so cautious but I figured it would make a good check list when we were reconnecting everything to make sure we didn't miss any of them. We spent an hour on the first chip trying to remove the solder on the chip. Finally Mike figured out that he could melt the solder and push the pin through with the soldering iron. After figuring this out the second chip took 5 minutes to remove. Then we use the wick to clean up the solder from the empty holes.

Inserting the new chips wasn't that easy as the pins (20 of them) were really flexible and they didn't match up perfect so it was another 15-20 minutes to get the chips in. After being super careful reconnecting everything I plugged the TV and turned it on. There was no smoke so that was awesome, the 10 seconds or so waiting for the TV to warm up was intense. Did the fix work or not. The TV came up in setup mode and the picture looked terrible... but I made some big adjustments to the conversion when it went out in the first place so I reset the conversion and whoohoo!! the picture was perfect. A couple high fives and some fist pumps followed. I was so happy I saved a $500 repair bill. In all I spent $10 on the new chips, including another $5 for shipping, and another $50 or so for the soldering iron and solder. I bought a battery operated soldering iron which didn't have enough wattage so I ended making another trip to Fry's for a plug in soldering iron. So I could've saved $15 had I bought the right soldering iron.

The entire repair took about 2.5 hours. I probably wouldn't have figured out soldering myself had Mike not been there, so I owe him a big thanks and a lunch or two. He soldering the first chip in less then 2 minutes. He let me attempt the second chip and then cleaned it up after I was done. I'm pretty confident if I had to do it again, I could get it done in under an hour. I'm happy I got the experience of fixing it, not only did I get to try soldering, I got to see what the inside of a projection TV looks like.