Photography Books

June 25, 2009 by David.

The last two weeks I’ve been house sitting (read: pet sitting) at a Lake Tahoe cabin. Knowing I would have to drive at least ten miles just to get internet access, I ordered a bunch of books from Amazon to read while here plus brought along my studio lights and table top unit to do some still life photography. Tomorrow I head home. It’s been  a wonderful two weeks. I hiked some trails and took tons of pictures, experimented with table top photography, and read three photography books cover to cover. Lots of fun, say I.

I posted the list of photography books I’ve found excellent on my reading list page.

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Toto Toilets …flush

May 27, 2009 by David.

Who knew? There are toilets made that actually flush quickly, quietly, and efficiently. In spite of the fact that Toto is the world’s largest toilet manufacturer, I hadn’t heard of them until a year or two ago when we did a house sitting job. As the home owner showed us around their place, he seemed, well, a little too proud of his Toto toilet in his new bathroom remodel. A toilet is a toilet, I was thinking in my pre-enlightened frame of reference. Once we were there house sitting, I quickly found out why he was so pleased with his toilet. Ah, welcome to the world where ordinary everyday appliances just unobtrusively go about the business of what they were designed to do.

About two months ago a friend replaced both of her toilets with Toto’s and I was reacquainted with just how trouble free Toto’s are. Then, in the last week I’ve installed two Toto toilets for the bathroom remodel I’m doing. I bought the taller ADA compliant toilets with the sanagloss finish (more dense ceramic and easier to keep clean) and a mere 1.28 gallons per flush (current code requirement is 1.6 GPF) model #CST454CEFG.

After a lifetime of thinking that toilets were just something that were noisy, slow and “troublesome,” discovering something as functional as a toilet that just does its job without muss or fuss is truly pleasant.

If you are tired of unclogging toilets, the amount of water they use, and/or how slowly they flush, just get a Toto! You won’t believe the difference, I promise you.

I found the prices at National Builder Supply to be excellent at about a third off with no shipping or tax (except for Georgia) and now having processed several orders through them, highly recommend them.

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Big Green Egg BBQ Ribs

May 24, 2009 by David.

Recently a friend gave me a medium size Big Green Egg smoker/BBQ/whatever-ya-wanna-cook cooker for putting a couple doors into his house. Now, I know I’m out of touch sometimes, but I’d never heard of the Big Green Egg before. I did some searching online and quickly discovered the Big Green Egg has quite a cult following. It has a ceramic shell that is suprisingly cool to the touch compared to steel grills, can heat to 800 degrees F, and can act as a convection oven and cook everything from meats to bread to vegetables to chocolate cookies. Because it is enclosed, meats are unusually juicy. If you haven’t checked one out and you like cooking outdoors, give it a gander.

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The cooker I received was a little-used older model (without the screen on the bottom vent and no spring on the hinges), but, other than missing the temperature gauge was in good condition. We cleaned it up and bought a few accessories for it such as a pizza plate.

Being a holiday weekend, we decided to fire it up for the first time and barbecue some ribs. Sharlet picked up a nice rack of beef ribs and we combined several approaches to cooking them, modifying to meet what we had on hand.

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THE RIBS

Here’s our recipes and process we used. It is a five-hour three-round process, with round one being a long slow cook with a dry rub, followed by a round with sweetener and wrapping it up with BBQ sauce round.

1.To initially prepare the ribs Sharlet made a dry rub (see recipe below). Peel off the inner membrane, slather with olive oil, and liberally apply the dry rub. Cut ribs in half and set on the grill (alternative is to use a rib rack, but we haven’t picked one up yet).

2.Soak some chips for that smoky flavor. I used Big Green Egg’s Jack Daniels chips, placing them in a gallon plastic bag, filling with water, and letting them soak while a got the fire started and up to temperature.

3.It is highly recommended to use Big Green Egg’s charcoal, so at for now I’m sticking with what is known to work well. I filled it to the top edge of the bottom piece, put in some lighter sticks, and after it lit, closed the lid to stabilize at desired temperature. Refer to Big Green Egg’s site for more info on fire starting and temperature control techniques.

Expect around 15 minutes to get up to temperature, then add a liberal sprinkling of the wood chips and place accessories for indirect heating inside the egg. There is more than one way of doing this and I used what I had on hand - with an upside down (legs up) plate setter holding up the cooking grill sitting on the plate setter’s legs. This deflects the heat but has air circulation space around it. I just used folded up aluminum foil as a drip pan between the two.

4.Cook the cow (or pig…) for three hours at 275-300 degrees Fahrenheit. I did 300 F since the beef ribs are a little heavier than baby-back ribs.

Warning: You WILL have difficulty not eating your ribs right now. Lookin’ & smellin’ ripe for the chompin’ and chewin’. However, hang on and they’ll get even better.

5.Now comes the second round. Place plenty of brown sugar and hone in aluminum foil, place a rib on top with ribs facing up, place more brown sugar and honey on the ribs, place the other half of the ribs on top of the first half, repeat the brown sugar and honey on top of that. Top off with a half cup of apple juice for both flavor and moisture.

Loosely wrap the foil around the ribs, cover with a second sheet, and put ‘er back on the BBQ.

6. Cook for 90 minutes at 275 F.

7.Round three. Unwrap and put ribs directly back on the grill, slathering with your preferred BBQ sauce.

8. For 20 minutes turn and slather often.

9. ENJOY!

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DRY RUB RECIPE

Our dry rub we took directly from The Big Green Egg Recipe Book, using their Rendezvous Rib Rub on pg 19. We found it to be excellent.

2 TBS      Paprika
2 tsp      Seasoned salt
2 tsp      Black pepper
2 tsp      Garlic powder
2 tsp      Onion powder
1 tsp      Oregano
1 tsp      Dry mustard
1/2 tsp  Chili Powder
1/2 tsp  Cayenne pepper

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BBQ SAUCE RECIPE 

For the BBQ sauce, we used a recipe told to us buy a cook at a wine tasting event in Napa Valley who said he’d won the BBQ Sauce competition in Memphis twice (sorry, I don’t have his name). This is wonderful BBQ sauce and has become a staple in our recipe book.

1 Bottle of Sweet and Sour dip and Grill Sauce from Safeway’s Select brand. This is his “secret ingredient.”
About a 1/4 cup brown cup
About 1/4 cup Molasses
About 1/4 cup Ketchup

You may also want to add a touch of vinegar if you are in the mood. This time we didn’t.

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Credit goes where credit is due. We borrowed heavily from the BBQ process shown by “Uncle Phil” on You Tube.

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Tempted by an Apple

April 29, 2009 by David.

I’ve been a PC guy all my life but I have to admit I’m beginning to see the “light.” A month ago I had time to kill waiting for my wife at the hairdresser and wandered into the Walnut Creek Apple  store. To say I was impressed is putting it mildly. The whole place was designed unlike any place that sells PC’s ever has been. Not only was the whole store laid out in a spacious and airy design, obvious thought had been put in place to engage the consumer in interacting with the devices. A completely different mindset.

 My slide down the slippery slope to Apple began primarily with the iPhone, although the sleek Air notebook didn’t hurt. Frankly I wasn’t all that impressed with the first version of the iPhone. Second generation was a step in the right direction. Wandering through the Apple store, it was the iPod Touch that really caught my attention. To have a music player that also automatically downloads podcasts, looks thin and sleek, and has the reportedly awesome Apple user interface was something I could see myself really using and enjoying.

Since then I’ve done additional online research and I’m just getting deeper into sin. Recently I decided I’d make the plunge for the iPod Touch, but then I ran into the numerous features of the version 3.0 operating system for the iPhone and iPod, to be released in June. Alas, I’m going to wait a couple more months …and there is a fairly good chance I’ll spring for the iPhone.

It really is all the applications that one can get for the iPhone and iTouch that gets my attention. In fact, I’d like to mess around with some app programming for it.

However, I’ve been a Verizon customer for years and frankly HATE HATE HATE AT&T as a company. My experience with them encompasses consumer and business, wireless, wired, and broadband. EVERY encounter has been between negative and VERY negative. Are you noticing a trend here?

If I could get an iPhone from Verizon, there wouldn’t be one question in my mind that I’d get one. Not only would I have to use AT&T again, I’d have to lose all my friends and family advantage. The circle of people I talk to on the phone is quite small and all but one is a Verizon customer (and I could make him one of my “10″ free friends if I wanted to). So, I’ll have to factor in what additional it will cost me to pay to talk to those folks, but right now I’d lay fairly good odds to my making the switch to an iPhone.

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Sacramento Parking Lots Full

March 27, 2009 by David.

Yes, I know there is a recession and people are buying less. In fact, I’m at a historical low point myself in my income to expense level so I don’t go shopping very often. When I do get out, it is usually in the Sacramento and Roseville areas of California, areas that have been featured on top ten lists of foreclosures. In fact, I once saw Sacramento on a top ten list of “Most likely places the world will end first” (bet you didn’t know the world will end in some places before it ends in other places…).

What I don’t get is the lack of correlation between the recession fact and what I have continuously observed in the mall parking lots. They are not only FULL, I usually have trouble finding a parking space. Ok, maybe all those shoppers aren’t spending they way they used to, but from my personal observation, it sure looks like there are lots of shoppers out there.

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Fabulous Kaiser Permanente Customer Service

March 26, 2009 by David.

Today I received Kaiser Permanente healthcare service for the first time. For over two decades I worked for a west coast healthcare management company so naturally went to the hospital and doctors where I worked. While I worked at one place that whole time, I did get services at multiple facilities. I no longer work there and today was my first foray into a new healthcare system as a patient.

I have NEVER experienced the fabulous quality of service in my life that I experienced today. Not even close. 

I’ve had back pain for over two weeks after moving a bunch of stuff, which is definitely out of the ordinary for me. I figured I should go to a doctor to make sure I didn’t have a herniated disc or something serious (I don’t).

This morning I set up my on-line account to make an electronic reservation but it gave me a month out so I phoned, sure that I could get in sooner. That is when Kaiser’s superior service level started. A gal named Carol got me an appointment only four hours from the time I called. However, not only was she VERY polite, she was also very empathetic, even saying she was sorry my first encounter with Kaiser had to be due to back pain. I was impressed, but figured I’d just happened to hit on an unusually nice person. Fortunately that was just the beginning.

Imagine my pleasant surprise when every person I encountered gave me the same polite, cheerful, and helpful service. From the registration personnel to the people giving me directions to the next department I needed to go to.

The second amazing thing was my typical wait time was only a few minutes. I went to three departments and the longest wait was about five minutes. I showed up 45 minutes early to my appointment and thus figured I’d have a VERY long wait until I saw the Doctor, but I was taken right away when I got there and whisked through everything I encountered. The Dr decided I should go see a couple other departments, one of them being Radiology to get an EKG (unrelated to the back pain…!). At my prior work place I’d have had to schedule the EKG instead of just walking up and even then would likely have had a 30-60 minute wait.

Based on my experience with my prior healthcare system, I had a rough idea of how long I’d have to wait and I can guarantee you I would not have been seen before my appointment time. In fact, I’d have been happy if I saw the Dr a half hour after my scheduled appointment time. Instead, at that same half hour mark I had in mind I was walking out to my truck, having visited two departments I never expected to visit.

Kaiser is absolutely huge compared to the couple dozen facilities where I was before. You’d think they’d have more problems with teaching people good attitude and quickly moving through each stop. Even the signage and layout is far superior to anything I’ve encountered before.

On top of that, every department knew I was coming when I arrived, I didn’t have to give the same information more than once anywhere and I didn’t have to fill out a long form about my medical history even though this was my first visit. The Dr just asked a few questions and quickly keyed basic information into the Electronic Medical Record. We had an EMR at the place I worked at before by the same vendor (Epic Systems), but new patients still had to fill out lengthy forms by hand and give the same information nearly everywhere you went.

This experience of no-wait time, never giving the same info more than once and rapid movement through the system was considered an impossible to achieve holy grail at my last employer where patient complaints on these issues were constant. I’m going to have some interesting conversations with some of my old cronies when I see them.

I am beyond impressed. Blown away. My hat is off to Dr. Desai and all of the staff at the Vallejo, CA facility. You ALL are amazing. Most of all, there are people somewhere, behind the scenes from a patient point of view, that have figured out how to produce the positive patient experience I had today. Congrats to them.

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WillysCountry.com Site Launch

March 15, 2009 by David.

I’ve finally pulled my Willys Wagon information out of the single webpage in DaveDrive.com, greatly expanding it on WillysCountry.com a site dedicated to Willys Wagons, with emphasis on three and four door Willys Wagons and Willys Hy-rail vehicles.

There are many websites with Willys and Jeep technical details and picture collections of personal vehicles, so I’m not interested in duplicating those elements. However, information  - or even pictures - on the old wagons with more than 2 doors and Hy-rail is nearly impossible to find. In fact, most Willys and Jeep enthusiasts aren’t even aware these vehicles exist. Did you know that Willys wagons were licensed to be manufactured by Fairmont, Ford, and Mitsubishi?

I’ve done a lot of searching on the web and talked with numerous people and can confidently say that no where else can you find the aggregation of information on three and four door Willys wagons and Willys Hy-rail vehicles, including US and non-US manufactured variations.

I even have photos and details on ultra-rare 1-off vehicles within multi-door Willys vehicles, such as an aluminum bodied wagon, Willys stretch limo and suicide 3DR wagon.

A big contributor to the information I’ve been able to collect and post is Paul Barry of Willys America. I owe him a BIG special thank you. You will find he has the top Willys restoration business in the world.

Check out WillysCountry.com!

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Great Free MS Web Services

March 9, 2009 by David.

PC Week has an article on their five top free Microsoft web services.

• 25 GB online storage
• Computer to computer folder sync without a copy in “the cloud”
• Folder sync with a copy in “the cloud”
• Shared office workspace
• Virtual earth 3D

I’m very impressed and will be using a couple of them right away.

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Cute Aimi

February 25, 2009 by David.

In January Sharlet went to Hawaii to see granddaughter Aimi. She’s now two years old and still cute as ever. My objectivity holds NO bias, by the way.

 Here’s a couple pictures of Aimi modeling in Japanese magazines.

    

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Online Discount Skiing Tickets

February 1, 2009 by David.

Check out Liftopia.com for discount online snow skiing tickets. Kind of the HotWire of ski tickets

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I Want a Cube!

January 31, 2009 by David.

Nissan has the flatout cutest lil car there is and I want one. Check out the Cube site. Available early 2009 in the US.

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First 100 Domain Names

January 5, 2009 by David.

It took almost two years and nine months for the first 100 .com domain names to be registered. Check out the story at PCWorld.

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Chic Geek Chick

January 1, 2009 by David.

Gina Schreck posts some decent videos about hot technologies, particularly ones which can be utilized by speakers and business people for communication, efficiency, and promoting. Check out her Gettin’ Geeky videos. She has a casual presentation style as she goes through the basics and explains where a technology can be put to use.

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How Fast is Your Car to 60 MPH?

December 7, 2008 by David.

What later G’s can your car pull?

Find out these stats and more by using your iPhone’s built in accelerometers to measure the performance of your vehicle. Application by Dynolicious.com.

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Wood Supercar

December 7, 2008 by David.

Joe Harmon is building an almost all wood car for his master’s thesis (gee, what’s he gunna pull off for his doctorate?) that is amazing. It has a design reminiscent of a Lamborghini. The body and other panels are made out of a woven wood structure - and he made the loom to weave the wood. No, two-bit project, he has engendred some substantial sponsorships.

As both a carpenter and a car guy, I find what he’s doing fascinating very well executed. Check it out at Joe Harmon Design.

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