We left Vegas in the early afternoon so we could make a BBQ party in Los Angeles. The scenery was largely boring to me, as I am not really a big fan of flat desert terrain. I’ve seen enough of that in Saudi. There was a lot of traffic too, from all the L.A. residents returning from their weekend in Vegas. We did stop by Baker to see the World’s Tallest Thermometer. Or so they claim. It’s all digital, and I suppose it makes sense, since a mercury filled thermometer would be quite a hazard if some teenager decided to throw a rock at it. There was also a Big Boy right next door. Oh and we saw a small dust devil at the far end of Baker.

Distance: 269.6 miles
Average Speed: 52.4 mph
Moving Time: 5 hours 8 minutes
Total Time: 5 hours 42 minutes
Average Mileage: 28.4 mpg

Getting into Vegas was quite bland, and incredibly hot. I think I saw it at about 110º F. The strip, however, is a different story. All I have to say is Las Vegas is a monster. There is definitely no other city like it. Everything is pure tourism, and pure gambling. There is nothing more, nothing less. I checked into the Excalibur and found out I was on Floor 8 and in Room 8. Yes, the lucky numbers were already taunting me from the moment I stepped into the hotel. After checking out part of the strip by myself, I picked up Nick (friend from college) from the airport later that evening. We had dinner at the Excalibur, and we stayed by the 2 cent slots to get free drinks and practically gave away our pennies in the process. Over the weekend, Nick played $5 minimum Blackjack, while I played Roulette. Rapid Roulette was the coolest. There was a roulette table in the middle, with a dealer spinning the ball, etc. However, instead of placing your bets on the roulette table, everyone has their own computer touch screen (I think each Rapid Roulette table holds about 15 or so players), and they make their bets on the screen. The minimum bet is $2.50. What was cool about this version that they let you know all the percentages. You could see how many times the ball landed on Red, Black, Odd and Even, so all the counting was done for you. They also showed which numbers were cold (how many turns went by without it being landed on), and which numbers were hot. I basically played the trends and doubled my money. I guess the lucky numbers were right, as I gambled about $10, and got $20 back. I lost $5 in slots though, which means I left Vegas $5 up! I know, I’m not much of a gambler. On Saturday, we had brunch at Monte Carlo, which took forever, because they were making my spinach and artichoke dip from scratch. Later that day we got Gelatos at the Bellagio. I got Pistachio on top of Chocolate in a waffle cone. This was an interesting experience: the lady accidentally left the paper liner from the previous cone inside my cone, and put the ice cream on top without noticing. When I finished my top scoop and got to the cone, I noticed that I was not able to eat my ice cream because of the paper lining in between my ice cream and the cone itself. I pointed this out to the lady, and asked if this was normal, and she looked at me like I was retarded, and asked me if I wanted a spoon. Later that day, we ate dinner at Wolfgang Puck Bar & Grill with Janina (friend from Cranbrook), which was located at MGM Grand. The food was quite good, but a little pricey for my taste. I wanted to take pictures and to witness the fountain show at the Bellagio at night, but the last showing was at midnight, and I arrived 5 minutes after. It’s a shame, because that was what I was looking forward to the most. It’s also a shame that there was no “$5 Footlong” at Subway, since all the 6″ subs were $6 or more. I ate fish tacos at Rubio’s instead.

In terms of scenery, this trip wasn’t up to par as the last two. Most of the route is pretty barren. I took a little detour again and took the Historic Route 66. I don’t know much about the history of this road, except that it was one of the major highways going from the East to the West, and also that Sonic’s largest drink size is named after it. While driving through Route 66, there were parts of it so empty that I could really rip it and test out the speed of my car. I broke my previous personal record of fastest speed and reached 135 mph. However, as soon as I saw that mpg meter drop like flies, I started to cry internally and didn’t have the balls to stay up there that long, I think maximum 5 seconds or so. In the little town of Seligman was a bunch of Route 66 tourist spots and shops. I am quite sure this was the city that inspired the location in Pixar’s “Cars.” Would you believe that there was even tumbleweed passing by in front of my on the road? Right before I was heading into Nevada I saw a sign pointing to Lake Mojave so I took a slight detour through a winding road, all downhill, for about 2 or 3 miles. The Lake was nice, but incredibly hot at the same time. Next stop was the Hoover Dam, which was somewhat of a disappointment. It wasn’t as big or as beautiful as I had imagined, and they seriously charge you left and right for everything, from parking, to exhibits, to tours. One interesting tidbit: if you are leaning over the edge of the dam, there is a huge updraft, and if you pour a little bit of water out of your bottle over the edge, the water will literally float up in forms of little bubbles. If you toss a penny in front of you over the edge, it will float up and fly back behind you. Pretty cool effect, which I wished I caught on camera. Oh well, here are the trip stats:

Distance: 246.9 miles
Average Speed: 53.5 mph
Moving Time: 4 hours 36 minutes
Total Time: 6 hours 24 minutes
Average Mileage: 29.0 mpg

Today was easily one of the best days of my life. I have a feeling I’m going to be saying that again when I drive the Pacific Coast Highway (CA-1), but for now, this is on the top of the list. Heading out of Phoenix, the scenery was beautiful (again). Each day the scenery gets more and more dramatic, making the first trip from Austin to El Paso seem absolutely lame. I realize that I enjoy being out on the road more, than exploring a city (at least for now). The adrenaline I get from driving up and down long swooping mountain roads and seeing large peaks and valleys all around me while my ears pop from all the altitude changes is hard to describe, but it’s up there as one of the best feelings you can get in life. You see a huge mountain ahead of you, and then you start focusing on the turns, and the next thing you know, you see this huge mountain in your rear view mirror, and you think to yourself, “Holy ****, did I seriously just cross that?!” Yea, that’s the feeling. Seeing a lot of blown tires on the road wasn’t comforting though. While I head west (well north today) and see the massive lands before me, I gain a lot of respect on the pioneers who braved these lands on wagons. Wagons! I have no idea how long it would take them (as I never finished the game Oregon Trail), but major props. It gets me into thinking about how we are on the brink of a new pioneering era, to the moon and to Mars. I’ve always hoped that I would be alive to see that come into fruition, and I still do. I left Phoenix in the morning, heading out to the Grand Canyon. But on the way, I made a detour through Sedona, as recommended by Bilal. Am I glad I made that decision. The city of Sedona is interesting, being that it’s built randomly through a small canyon. It’s like a hidden resort town in the middle of nowhere. The best part of it was the AZ-89 highway, which winds up and down on narrow roads through forests and cliffs. Driving this road top down while “obeying” the 35 mph speed limit feels exactly like a video game. Here’s a portion of the highway so you get the idea of what it was like:

It started to rain while I left Sedona, which sucked, cause I just washed the car. I finally did end up getting to the Grand Canyon, and paid the $25 fee to get in. One word: Massive. I mean, it’s well known the G.C. is humongous, and one look at the map will tell you this. You see photos and videos all the time. But none of these do it justice. You cannot begin to imagine how big this place is until you get there. That’s when you realize how insignificant you are compared to the sheer massiveness that is the Grand Canyon. G.C., I bow down to you. As the sun set on the horizon, strong winds suddenly blew through the canyon. It was almost as if the sun was holding the winds back, it was almost instantaneous. And the wind smelled like lotion you would find at Bath and Body Works. This was just a day trip for me, but mark my words, I am definitely coming back to make this a full blown vacation, exploring it by hiking, by boat, by helicopter, and camping. I am now in a Super 8 motel in Williams, an hour from the Canyon. An annoying thing happened on my way to Williams: I was filling up my gas at a station, and the pump must’ve been broken because it didn’t stop when my tank was full, and gas started pouring out of the tank and onto my car. I caught it 2 seconds after. Trip stats:

Distance: 299.4 miles
Average Speed: 50.3 mph
Moving Time: 5 hours 56 minutes
Total Time: 11 hours 57 minutes (so long b/c I was at the Canyon)
Average Mileage: 28.3 mpg

I’m staying in North Phoenix with Bilal, my friend from high/boarding school (Cranbrook), near Glendale. One thing I can say about Phoenix: it’s huge. This particular neighborhood I’m staying at reminds me of the Aramco complexes in Saudi Arabia. In fact, they are practically identical. Driving down these streets makes me feel very nostalgic, and the only real difference between the two is that there are Cacti here. But the palm trees and architecture style and terrain is all the same. The first night I ate homemade Pakistani food courtesy of Bilal’s mom. Had it for brunch as well. Then I headed out to first check out Scottsdale Fashion Square, which is essentially a ritzy mall in the wealthy part of town. At this point I realized, after driving a long distance, that shopping in malls is boring. It’s the same everywhere you go, and sure, sometimes that hat store or that haircut place has a different name, but it gets old. I tried to find a polarizing filter though at the Ritz camera for the wide angle lens, but they didn’t have it in my size, oh well. I ended up sitting in the mall for maybe a half hour to an hour, just reflecting on life as all these rich wives with nothing better to do with their time walked past me with their newborns. It was slightly depressing because I think I just confused myself more. After this completely useless waypoint, I headed on over to the Arizona State University campus at Tempe. I believe they are the third largest in population, behind Ohio State and University of Texas. Don’t quote me on that though. Architecture-wise, the highlight for me was some auditorium designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, which was originally planned for Baghdad, but something didn’t go through. It certainly has some middle east influences on the design. Overall the campus was pretty nice, kind of reminded me a little bit of parts of the University of Michigan. I was a little hard for me to enjoy it though, in the ~105º F heat. I also got my car washed to prevent all the bugs I collected thus far from making my front bumper a permanent residence. I checked out the GPS and found two attractions that ended up being closed: Tovrea Castle and Hall of Flame. I did end up going to Hole in the Rock, which was at Papago Park. It was pretty cool, and an interesting tidbit: there was this couple there as well as some families with kids. Well the boyfriend from the couple kept putting his hands down her pants (from the front and the back), as well as groping her under her shirt, all in front of the little kids and parents. For shame! :P Met up with Bilal afterwards and went to Mill Avenue Bridge, to watch the sunset and take some photos. Lastly, I ate mediterranean food at Haji Baba. I ordered the Shawerma, but I coulda sworn I got a Gyro instead. C’est la vie.

With each day of driving, the scenery just gets better and better. There are no words to describe the incredible feeling of freedom and appreciation of nature when you are driving up and down through majestic mountains, watching the trees, grass, sand, and architecture change while driving through three different states. New Mexico certainly feels like a completely different country altogether. It could be psychological, or maybe it’s all the buildings with red roofs (kinda reminds me of UT). There were speed corridors scattered throughout I-10, which are basically sections of road that are supposedly monitored by high flying aircraft. At 75 mph, I’m not complaining, but I certainly didn’t see any aircraft. There were a lot of farm lands as well throughout New Mexico. There was also lots of border patrol everywhere. Once I got into Arizona, I felt like I was driving through a postcard. Great terrain, iconic cacti, and billboards starting at 138 miles out reminding me to visit something called “The Thing?“: the great mystery of Arizona. Well, after missing the exit for “The Thing?” because I was too busy staring at rock formations, I had to drive a few miles out before I could take a U-turn. When I finally got there, I paid the $1 admission fee to go through a museum of completely random antiques from countries all over the world. There were antique cars, decorations, books, and guns. And the finale revealed what The Thing was… and it was… I don’t know, you’ll have to visit for yourself (unless you’re a Googler). I was also introduced to this thing, that fascinates me even til now, and it’s called the Mexican Jumping Bean. So they were selling 4 or 5 of them inside a transparent plastic box for about $2, and these beans were just jumping inside the box, at random intervals. Really creepy, and it really peaked my interest. I found out that there are actually caterpillars living inside these beans and they ‘jump,’ causing the bean to jump. They feed off of the beans, and after 2 months, they stop jumping. Finally, the Texas Canyons (why is it called that?) rest stop was awesome. Overall, I spent an extra hour on this leg of the journey just visiting things and taking photos. It was that beautiful. I realized that I forgot to get a postcard while I was in El Paso, but I’ll remember to get one for Phoenix. Anyway, here are the stats:

Distance: 477 miles
Average Speed: 68.8 mph
Moving Time: 6 hours 56 minutes
Total Time: 8 hours 1 minute
Average Mileage: 30.2 mpg (booyah)

El Paso was definitely a lot nicer than I expected. I had the stereotypical image of a desert town in the middle of nowhere with nothing to do. I was wrong, of course. The scenery was great, with the large mountain backdrop near the New Mexico state border. From Scenic Drive (an outlook viewpoint), you can see the sister cities of Juarez and El Paso spreading out across the US-Mexico border, separated by the Rio Grande. I watched the sunset behind me, while talking with my old college roomie, Alonzo. He, Lizette, and Eric showed me some great Mexican food, easily the best I’ve ever tried. That’s of course not saying much since most of my Mexican food exposure comes from Austin and Houston. The Piratas and Shrimp speciality tacos at Taco Torte were to die for. UTEP was certainly interesting as well since the buildings are all built in a Tibetan style; a little odd in a city filled with mission style architecture. Probably the most interesting of all was Gravity Hill. Basically, it’s a mini-valley, and when you drive to the bottom of the street, put your car in neutral, your car will literally roll uphill. Freaky at first, until you realize that it’s an optical illusion, and that both parts of the V are actually downhill, just at different slopes. Cool nonetheless.

Well, the 8 hour drive was not as tough as I expected, this being the furthest I’ve ever driven in a day. Leaving Austin was probably the saddest and toughest things I’ve ever done in my life. There’s just so much of my life there, and finally leaving led to an overwhelming flow of emotions. Just outside of Austin, I intended to stop by Fredericksburg, but a quick drive through the town changed my mind. I’m not sure why, I just wasn’t in the mood, but I did see a whole lot of peaches. Reminded me of the song by Presidents of the United States of America. The long trip through the Hill Country and Big Bend regions of Texas was exhilarating. Thank god for 80mph speed limits! The scenery was breathtaking, especially around the Van Horn area. There were isolated thunderstorms with incredibly strong gusts of wind, that made it hard to see, but certainly more exciting. You could see the storms up ahead while you prepared yourself to drive through them. The whole experience made you feel so helpless to the sheer force of nature, and that by itself was worth the price of admission. Here are the trip stats for leg 2. 

Distance: 564.1 miles
Average Speed: 75.1 mph
Moving Time: 7 hours 30 minutes
Total Time: 7 hours 58 minutes
Average Mileage: 26.7 mpg (blame the lower mileage on the higher speed limit :-X)

You know, after living in Austin for 6 years, there are still a ton of things I haven’t done. Although the city isn’t huge, there is still definitely a ton of stuff to do. I finally went up to the top of the UT Tower, for the 7pm tour. I wish I had tried for the 8pm tour so I could see the sunset and also see the city lights. But nonetheless, being up there with the breeze and recognizing all the shortcuts I took through campus was very nostalgic and relaxing. I have also ever been to South Congress (SOCO) at night. It was always the daytime that I went, and it was cool to me then, but man the place transforms at night. I had no idea it was going to be so packed. It was like a completely different city. Other things I did included visiting the Barsana Dham hindu temple, Dave & Busters, The Domain, Mt. Bonnell, canoeing on Town Lake, Schlitterbahn, Blazer Tag, and Spider House. Most of these were revisits of old favorites, but the temple was new. It was on the way to Salt Lick BBQ. I got to meet up with some friends for the last time. Overall, it just wasn’t enough time, naturally. Austin will always hold a special place in my heart, and I have a feeling I will return to the city one day.

Places I ate: Which Wich, La Feria, Salt Lick BBQ, Ichiban, Oma’s Kitchen

So begins my road trip out west. I am moving to California, although the exact city is still uncertain. This trip, which includes stops in El Paso, Phoenix, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, San Diego, and San Francisco, will hopefully reveal to me where I’m meant to be, for now. It’s just that I’ve found myself in kind of a rut this past year, and a change like this will do me good. I will also be using this blog as a travel journal of sorts, so check back here to get updates, hopefully. First stop, is of course, Austin. So my first leg of the journey was Houston to Austin. Here are some quick stats:

Distance: 175 miles
Average Speed: 63.5 mph
Moving Time: 2 hours 45 minutes 
Total Time: 2 hours 56 minutes
Average Mileage: 26.9 mpg

Austin details later…

Yes there is a reason for my hiatus to this blog, and I promise that I will definitely be back in full force in the future, but for now I’m still on a break. However, the experience I had yesterday morning was too good, too surreal, too euphoric, to pass up for a blog entry. Federer played Nadal in the Wimbledon finals for the third year in a row. The previous two meetings, Federer came out the victor. Now, Federer was bidding for his sixth straight Wimbledon victory, a feat that would put him past Borg’s five in a row in the record books. Meanwhile, Nadal was bidding to become the first player since Borg to win the French Open and Wimbledon back to back: not an easy feat considering the two slams are only a couple weeks apart. The past few years, it seemed like the Wimbledon grass was Federer’s home court, while the clay of Paris was Nadal’s. However, with each passing year, Nadal has been getting better, beating Federer more easily at the French, and making it tougher for Federer to win at Wimbledon. This year Nadal finally took the crown in what could be the best tennis match, ever, and most definitely the best Grand Slam final in the history of tennis. Federer lost the first two sets 4-6, 4-6. He was actually up 4-2 in the second set, but choked and ended up losing it. Then, with the mental fortitude of a champion, he clawed himself into a third set tiebreaker, winning it decisively. The fourth set was even tougher, as it pushed into another tiebreak, and Nadal was actually up 5-2, and was ready to serve the match away! Fighting off multiple match points, strike that, championship points, Federer came up with monumental aces and laser like winners, seemingly out of nowhere, maybe from the tennis gods. Since there are no tiebreakers in the fifth set, Federer and Nadal fought it out through the waning light, barely able to see each other on the other side of the court, finally finishing with a less than triumphant Federer unforced error to end the battle at 9-7. Oh, and I forgot to mention the two rain delays scattered throughout the match which upped the tension and which allowed the players to stay fresh and play at a consistently high level of tennis, and which also allowed the audience to reflect on and appreciate the epic match they were watching. As the trophies were handed out, you could hardly see the players, only illuminated by the flash bulbs of digital cameras around the stadium. This was a classic, ending with both players crying, defeated, and at the same time winners. This was the heavyweight struggle that you tell your kids about years later. An extended fifth set, two rain delays, changes in momentum, clutch shots, a storied rivalry, Wimbledon grass, #1 vs. #2, 17 grand slam titles between the two, and neither player dropping their level of play: all the ingredients of the best match ever.

I have to say though, it’s unfortunate for Federer that the fifth set doesn’t go to a tiebreaker, or else he most likely would have won that. Will Federer win another grand slam this year, now that he’s lost in three straight? Probably. You have to understand Wimbledon and grass should no longer be considered his favored surface. Grass is now slow, almost as slow as clay, which allows for people like Nadal to unleash their lethal topspin. The U.S. Open now has the fastest courts, and should cater more to Federer’s serving and shot making prowess. Some interesting food for thought: although most people agree that the title of the greatest tennis player of all time goes to Federer, including Federer fans like me, there are some who say the greatest is Nadal, right in front of our eyes the whole time. Well, let’s see, there is a good point there: at age 22, Nadal has 5 slams already, whereas Federer only had one at that age. Nadal seems to be constantly improving, while Federer’s level of play lately hasn’t been his best. There are a few factors to consider though: Federer could be a late bloomer, Nadal’s style of game could be too punishing on his body, resulting in injuries (he already tapes up his knees!), and there’s still the question of Nadal’s performance on hard court slams. Although I still give the title to Federer, I definitely have to say that Nadal has at least inspired me to experiment more with an extreme top spin game (Babolat AeroPro Drive Cortex test drive, here I come!). The next few years should be quite interesting.

Alright, maybe someone needs to enlighten me on how these things work, because I cannot for the life of me figure it out. I’m talking about the motion activated towel dispensers in public bathrooms. Every time I wave my hand in front of it, sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t, and when it does work, only maybe 3 inches of towel come out. I need about a foot of paper towel to dry my hands, and so I keep waving my hands in front of the sensor, and it never seems to extend the towel. Why is that?

There’s this new theme for WordPress called “Monotone” that caters to photoblogs. What’s amazing about this theme is that it takes your photo of the day, does some analysis on the dominant color, and changes the page background to match it. So each page/day has a different background color. In the words of the Guinness Beer commercials, “Brilliant!” Here’s a demo site. I’m hoping I can somehow incorporate this theme, maybe make a spinoff photoblogging only site. We’ll see…

Ok, so I guess I jumped the boat on my previous post on lex vs. clark. Apparently, Michael Rosenbaum, who plays Lex Luthor, is going to leave the show. And to make matters worse, Kristin Kreuk, who plays Lana Lang, is going to leave the show too. The show, renewed for the 8th season, which is rumored to be its last, will presumably play out with two new villains for Clark, including one of my favorites: Doomsday. But, Doomsday is supposed to kill Superman much later on, so I’m not sure how they will try and incorporate him into a Smallville story. Oh well, the show never really followed the Superman mythos accurately anyway. With Kreuk and Rosenbaum gone, which is basically 2 out of the 4 remaining cast members who were from the show from the beginning (the other two being Tom Welling and Allison Mack), the only way this show can redeem itself (for me at least), is if Clark finally learns to fly and makes the transition into Superman. That’d be a fitting end at least.

Clockwise (kind of) from bag:

1. Wilson Tour Super Six Pack with Thermoguard - I think this is the ‘05 model. Don’t quote me on that. Anyway, the great thing about this bag (aside from its cavernous space) is that there are backpack straps on the back for easier carrying.

2. Volkl Tour 10 V-Engine Mid Racquet - This is a 93″, 18×20, 18mm thin beast, strung with a hybrid setup (Luxilon Mains, cheap synthetic crosses). It is still selling for an “on sale” price at Tennis Warehouse for $99, but I was able to find it at some random tennis shop in a chinese mall in Houston for $65. They only had one though :-/ Too bad. This racquet swings around quick, almost whip like.

3. Pro Kennex Ceramic Silver Ace Mid Racquet - This is a 90″ frame, and is currently just a backup and grommet-less frame. I used to have eight of these, but being as they were all made in the 80’s I think, and were all ceramic composites, the frames did not last long and all succumbed to various cracks. This is the sole survivor. Too bad, since I was able to get them off of eBay for an avg. price of $25 each.

4. Nike Spring Basic Feather Light Hat - Dri-Fit, very light, very thin, and very cool (meaning it keeps your head cool).

5. OFF! Clean Feel Insect Repellent II - This one has Picaridin as the active ingredient (as opposed to the more popular DEET), which allows it to be non-oily and grease-free.

6. Coppertone Sport Sunblock Spray - Sweatproof, waterproof, and SPF 15.

7. Wilson Pro Overgrips - 10+2 Roll

8. Luxilon Big Banger ALU Power Strings - Used for my mains, 16L gauge, Silver. These are great, last forever, and prevent your strings from moving all the time.

9. Wilson Stamina Strings - Used for my crosses, 16 gauge, White. Softens up the Luxilons a bit, and are cheap, as well as durable.

10. Nike Swoosh Bandana - Federer/Nadal style. :P

11. Nike Swoosh Headband - James Blake style. :P

12. Nike Swoosh Wristbands - Ahh, if only I could play like Federer, Nadal, or Blake. Or even a 4.5-5.0 for that matter.

13. Nike Towel - This one almost feels like microfiber. But it’s not.

14. Babolat ElastoCross String Saver Locks - Used for parts of my stringbed which are about to break.

15. Miniature Fisker Scissors - For cutting ends of overgrips and cutting out broken strings.

16. Kleenex - For my allergies to almost every vegetation known to man.

17. Pete Sampras Vibration Dampeners - Made by Unique. In Black and Red.

18. Nike Compression Ankle Sleeve - For the times when I slightly roll on my ankle and need added support.

19. Adidas Barricade IV Tennis Shoes - This is my second pair of this model. The pervious ones were black/white/red. These are the best shoes I’ve tried, although I haven’t tried the new Barricade V’s. The 2nd best shoes would be the Reebok Pumps that Roddick used to wear; not the new KFS ones, but the Match Day Pumps.

20. Express Sweatpants - For warming up when it’s cold out. Windbreaker style.

21. Hanes Socks - Backup socks.

22. USTA Code - The Rules of Tennis, 2007 edition. Great for disputing calls. :P

23. Wilson US Open Balls - Extra Duty felt. Second best balls I’ve tried. Best ones being the Dunlop GrandPrix Extra Duties.

24. Igloo Elite Cooler - 1/2 Gallon.

Clockwise (kind of) from bag:

1. The North Face Surge Backpack - Great look, straps located in such a way to make your load lighter, a great separate compartment for my notebook which is suspended in such a way so it doesn’t hit the ground, and a hidden pocket for my power adaptor.

2. Holga 120N Medium Format Lomography Camera - This toy camera outputs some great over-saturated square yumminess.

3. Eddie Bauer Water Bottle - This 25.4 oz. (751 ml) bottle is made with “virtually unbreakable” Lexan resin.

4. Canon Rebel Xti/400D DSLR w/ 50mm f/1.8 II Prime Lens - My main camera of choice, and one of my favorite possessions.

5. USB iPod Shuffle Dock - A bit clunky, and if it ever breaks, I will replace it with the Marware version that doesn’t have a cord.

6. 85W MagSafe Power Adapter - For the MBP. Make sure you don’t trip over the adaptor while it is plugged in the wall, as you may slightly bend the prong. Maybe they shoulda MagSafed the other end for clumsy people like me. :P

7. Radio Shack retractable USB to mini-USB cord - Used to use it for connecting my PSP (which I sold) to my PC Desktop (which I sold). Now used to connect my DSLR, as well as my:

8. Sony MRW62SE-S1/171 17-in-1 Card Reader - High speed USB 2.0, very sleek and compact, and matches the laptop.

9. Moleskine Ruled Notebook - I love these things, and wished I used the larger cahier versions in school.

10. Cross Metal ION Gel Ink Pen - This pen kinda sucks. It looks cool, and is compact, but it’s uncomfortable to use. The Dr. Grip I used in college was much better. I’ll probably replace this when the ink runs out.

11. Money Smart Clip - Holds bills on one side, and cards on the other. Engraved with WT. I’ve had this for 7 years and still nothing I’ve seen is as slim, convenient, and sleek as this solution.

12. CRKT M16-12 Aluminum Handle Folding Knife - Just in case.

13. Porsche Boxster Keys - Why do people use the plural form and say “Can I have the keys to the [Enter Car Name Here]” when they’re really just asking for one key?

14. Palm Treo 700w - This is the Windows version of the Treo 700. I used to use the EVDO data plan, but Verizon charges insane amounts for their data, so I cancelled that portion. Contract is up, just waiting for a phone that I actually like to replace it.

15. Tucano MicroFibra X Second Skin Sleeve - This microfiber & neoprene sleeve for my MBP is oh so soft and highly recommended. It also comes with a microfiber keyboard protector that doubles as a screen cleaner. Thanks Honeca!

16. iPod Shuffle 1GB - 2nd Gen, in green, and engraved with “musique du jour” on the back.

17. MacBook Pro - 15.4″, 2.5 GHz Penryn, 4GB RAM, 512MB VRAM, 200GB 7200rpm hard drive, and a multitouch trackpad.

For those of you who are too cheap to buy an external flash unit for their DSLR’s, or even a cheap diffuser, here’s a d.i.y. project that seems to be the best homemade diffuser I’ve seen up ’till now. It’s better than those business cards bent and tied with rubber bands at least. Jump:

Events and Births on this day:
570 - Prophet Muhammed, founder of Islam
1808 - Napoleon III
1889 - Adolf Hitler
1951 - Luther Vandross
1983 - Will Tung
1999 - Columbine High School massacre
2007 - Johnson Space Center Shooting

Spoilers! (Kinda) The last scene from yesterday’s episode of Smallville (”Descent”) was so badass. The music was great, the cinematography was breathtaking, and the plot marked the official beginning (in my opinion anyway) of Lex vs. Clark. Lex is pure evil now, and Clark is beginning to realize his destiny and the value of his life, and the ensuing war between the two all begins with this scene. The series has kind of been in a slump lately, and this episode was definitely refreshing. Here’s hoping for some great plot lines to now tie more directly into the Superman mythos. (And is he ever going to fly in this show???)

Mark Rothko is one of my favorite painters. Something about his images really move me. It’s unfortunate he committed suicide. Here is my pathetic attempt at a Rothko style painting. Obviously, I was not meant to be an artist.

Check out this South Park Studio and make your own South Park caricature. Here is mine:

I attended a Porsche Ride & Drive event at the Driveway racetrack. Basically, it was an event to allow people to test out the newly released Porsche Cayenne GTS. I first drove the SUV for 3 laps, with a race instructor by my side, giving me tips on when to accelerate, when to brake, what line to follow, etc. It might as well be a car, because this SUV handles like a dream. Then I switched seats and he drove full out for 3 laps. That’s when I realized how lame of a driver I was. Although it felt like I was pushing the GTS to it’s limits, I think I ended up going at 1/3 of the limit. After that I was able to sit in for 3 hot laps each on the Cayman S and the Carrera S, and realized just what that extra $$$ (compared to the Boxster) translates to: balls to the wall adrenaline rushing euphoria, which can be experienced in the Boxster as well, except in these cars, you feel like you might die any second.

So although I didn’t find cheese balls on my trip to Sam’s Club, I did come across a new Snickers bar called the “Adventure Bar.” It’s another one of those stupid movie tie-ins, and this one was for the upcoming Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull that comes out May 22nd. What peaked my interest was some marketing jargon that said “…and a cliffhanger kick of exotic spice and a hint of sweet coconut flavor.” Coconut?!?! I’m in. Well it turns out the extra coconut is just artificial flavor, and not the coconut flakes that you find in Almond Joy. Nonetheless, I much prefer this version over the regular Snickers bar, too bad it’s pretty much a limited issue. My perfect chocolate bar? Dark chocolate, nougat, almonds/cashews, and coconut flakes. Pretty much Milky Way Midnight mashed with Almond Joy, with more almonds. Hmmm, I’m gettin’ an idea…

Why is it that every grocery store I go to, I can’t find any cheese balls? I’m not talking about the balls of cheese, I’m talking about those snacks that are similar to Cheetos cheese puffs, but in ball form. I used to eat so much of these as a kid, and for some reason can’t seem to find them anywhere. I am craving these so much, and according to the Sam’s Club website, they have a whole jar! I’m on a mission…

Update: WTH? I went to Sam’s Club, went up and down every aisle, went to the chip section, the cookie section, even office supplies (sometimes snacks are there), and no luck! Why are these things so hard to find?!?!

After reading a friend’s blog, I came across a link to this amazing theory on the plot of “Lost,” and if it is even remotely correct, I love Lost even more than I already do (if that’s possible). Only time will tell. We got two more seasons to go! It’s quite a complicated theory, and I’m not sure how they’ll convey it all on TV within two seasons, so maybe there’s a simpler explanation. If you haven’t watched all of this season, there are definitely spoilers to watch out for! I’m always fascinated with time travel though, which is why I really liked the show Journeyman, which was very unfortunately cancelled by NBC. I really thought the acting was top notch, the cliff hangers were great, and the underlying plot was captivating.

As blogged about on photojojo, basically what this guy did was tie up a disposable camera to a public bench attached with a note to encourage strangers to take photos. Pretty awesome if you ask me. I just might have to try this one out. I think it’d be quite interesting to see this at a location full of college students. Maybe even an E-Bus stop. Just not sure if they would just decide to steal it.

Not to be just blogging about random tech products that are coming out and announced on other blogs, but anyway, here’s another. The Canon Rebel XSi, which is the successor to the Canon Rebel XTi, will finally be on sale April 27th. It’s available for preorder from Amazon. 8 Benjamins for the kit, 7 for the body only. Main upgrades? It uses SD Cards instead of the clumsy and less popular Compact Flash cards, it’s got the expected bump in megapixels, from 10.1 to 12.2, faster fps (3.5), faster Digic III processor, and a Live View function that allows you to see your photo before you take it on the new 3″ LCD