Browse Category: random

got change?

I used to think Coinstar was so dumb. Why would you pay someone to count your change? Usually if you throw your change into the machine, they charge you a “coin-counting fee” so that you can get dollar bills in exchange for your coins. Well, they now have a special promotion where you can give them your change and get a gift card back without the fee. So…we jumped all over that on Saturday. Jes and I collected all of our loose change and ran over to the Albertson’s across the street. Out of one spaghetti jar filled with coins, we got back a $76 gift card for Amazon.com! Awesome!! Then we went home and bought stuff that we were already planning to buy…some lens filters, extra battery for my Canon, and a book for Jesse. Gotta love it!

by the numbers

I learned about Su Doku back in May when I went to Borders and found a bunch of different puzzle books on display. It’s an interesting logic game that I was curious about but didn’t get around to trying. When I was in Florida, I bought my first book of puzzles. I tried it on the plane ride home and seems to be a very effective way to pass time. With a couple puzzles under my belt, I’ve come up with a couple tips for beginners:
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1) Try out web-based puzzles to see if you like it. Go to: http://www.websudoku.com for free ones.

2) If you’re ready to buy a book, find one that has the puzzles printed on good quality white paper…avoid the stinky newspaper pages.
3) Use a good mechanical pencil and eraser. I recommend a Zebra-brand pencil and a Pentel click eraser.
4) You’ll probably want to try it on your own at first. It’s hard to do a puzzle with another person…we each have a different way of solving logic puzzles so it can get confusing when there’s another brain involved.
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If you like crossword or word find puzzles, you might enjoy this. I’ll be bringing my book with me to Thailand for sure. Along with my iPod, GameBoy, and laptop, it’ll be kinda nice to have something low-tech too.

They’re not getting MY money.

With movie ticket prices so high nowadays, it’s amazing that going to see a movie is still a popular pastime. Last night, Jes and I were having dinner at Houston’s and saw the current movies up on the billboard at the theatre nearby. I hadn’t heard of more than half of them and haven’t seen any of them. Then we tried to recount the last movie we saw in a theatre and we couldn’t really remember. The last movies that I remember seeing in a theatre were Rundown (a movie with The Rock in it), Finding Nemo, and Better Luck Tomorrow. I don’t know which one came out last. I don’t think we even saw the last Lord of the Rings movie on a big screen, which would have been worth the money. We’ve contemplated going to see Return of the Sith but just haven’t made it yet. If we wait any longer, I should be able to get it through Netflix soon. That might be a better route…George Lucas already has too much money to burn.

Lance wins #7

I guess he’s all done! He got his 7th victory in le Tour de France and he’s ready to sit and hang out for a bit. This year’s race was fun to watch and I’m happy to see that some of his teammates did well too. Good job, guys!
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In other news, I spent all day Saturday in traffic school. *sigh* I had to do it eventually. I got my ticket way back in April! Anyway, it was my first time and it wasn’t as painful as I had expected. The guy tried to entertain us with jokes, stories, political opinions, and games like dodgeball and family feud. Interesting. Now I’m in the clear for a while and will have to watch my speeding for another 18 months.
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Last night, we had dinner with my family last night at my cousin’s house. It was his 30th bday last weekend and his parents and sister came down from San Jose to celebrate this weekend. We had all of his favorite Thai foods and boy was it yummy. My mom even made some mango and sticky rice…mmm.

makes you wanna go someday

Our neighbor’s friend is in France right now and sent these photos home.
Coverage of the Tour de France on OLN has been great and it’s probably the best way to watch the Tour. However, there must be something special about camping out for days on the side of a country road awaiting the long train of cyclists to zoom by you in just a few seconds. It’s Lance’s last year before retiring and it looks like it’s going to be a good one so far!