baby shower the first

The first of two.



























Full set

32 miles

weekend project

I spent the weekend at my parents' house to avoid the much anticipated Carmageddon closure of the 405.  Turned out to be a beautiful weekend to spend on the freeways.  Good job Los Angeles.

 On the upside, I got to work on a couple car projects I'd been thinking about for a few weeks.  First, replaced the weak "meep meep" stock horn with one I had kept off the BMW.  Look how much better made the BMW horn on the right looks.  I'm not sure how much louder it is, but the tone is noticeably more refined.  I have been looking for more opportunities to honk.

The other project I decided to tackle last minute was a paint job for my wheels.  They are now flat black.  Painted with barbeque grill paint from Walmart.  Pretty quick and dirty job, only used about $3 worth of paint.  Looks pretty good and does a great job of hiding all the curb rash and chipped paint.  I think I like the look enough that if it starts coming off, I might visit a powdercoater.

then and now

"Were the continent crowded with inhabitants, her sufferings under the present circumstances would be intolerable. The more sea port towns we had, the more should we have both to defend and to loose. Our present numbers are so happily proportioned to our wants, that no man need be idle. The diminution of trade affords an army, and the necessities of an army create a new trade.

Debts we have none; and whatever we may contract on this account will serve as a glorious memento of our virtue. Can we but leave posterity with a settled form of government, an independent constitution of it's own, the purchase at any price will be cheap. But to expend millions for the sake of getting a few vile acts repealed, and routing the present ministry only, is unworthy the charge, and is using posterity with the utmost cruelty; because it is leaving them the great work to do, and a debt upon their backs, from which, they derive no advantage. Such a thought is unworthy a man of honor, and is the true characteristic of a narrow heart and a pedling politician.

The debt we may contract doth not deserve our regard if the work be but accomplished. No nation ought to be without a debt. A national debt is a national bond; and when it bears no interest, is in no case a grievance."

-Thomas Paine, "Common Sense," 1776

july 4th retreat

Spent July 4th weekend baking in the Riverside sun on a retreat with my other church. (The website seems to currently be under attack from spam bots.) We stayed at California Baptist University, which was hosting several Chinese churches that weekend for some reason. One of which had a major role at the wedding I attended the week before. The Asian Christian community in Los Angeles feels pretty small sometimes.

A little basketball, a little swimming, a whole bunch of mafia, and some of these Sunday afternoon friendships have begun to deepen. Also, please don't watch Transformers 3 unless you are able to shut off your logical mind for two and a half hours. Another little piece of my childhood has been crushed. Ken Jeong is hilarious though.





















Full set on Flickr.

sacramento

Made my first business trip at my new company. Currently sitting at Sacramento Internation Airport, waiting for a 5:30 plane back to Los Angeles.

After hearing about how stressful business travel can be, this was a breeze. Just met with a customer at their office, discussed a project I'm working on and saw the product in action in their test lab. Then we all went out for lunch at Chili's. Pretty nice. My boss is quite personable. He asked me if I would be willing to work at our San Jose office for a few weeks sometime in the future. Sounds fun.