Last Saturday, woke up at 7am. Wake the family up at 8am so we can all go to Adventureland....yay!!! That place is so fucking lame. I am glad we got discount tickets from our friends. Normally the tickets are $39.00(yes, that is thirty fucking nine dollars) per person. We got it for $18.00 per person. It has more kiddie ride than adult ones. Even on those rides kids are just spinning...yeah spin their brains out. So, what's my beef with the Adventureland??!!
1. Not enough rides/amusement for adults...hardly any.
2. The roller coasters are fucking lame. Just looking at the Tornado, I decided not to wait in line. It just basically goes up & down..3 times. That's it. Since the line at the Dragon was a little shorter, I decided to try that one. Two 360 loop & one turn...and it was over.
3. We were looking forward to splashing in the water. But I guess $18.00 doesn't entitle us to do that since the water park was close.
Few times I was reminiscing the times at the Worlds of Fun with Sameer; Oceans of Fun with Sameer, Andrie, two Russian chicks and few others; or the fun we had at the Six Flags Magic Mountain with my sister-in-law. I need to gather all these people around and do another amusement/water park day...
So, last night after getting home from work, my wife tells me today is Mothers Day. I freaked out. I thought it was on Sunday but she kept insisting it was yesterday(for her today, that is Tuesday). I am thinking it doesn't make any sense, it should be the second Sunday of May...you know to let you take some time to appreciate & celebrate with mom...Oh fuck. So, I drove around and bought a Wii with Zumba for her. Just before leaving the store, started chatting with the clerk and he confirms Mothers Day is on Sunday.
Oh Well.
But I had also promised her to take her to see Avenger...and so we went. I am more excited, anxious about The Dark Knight Rises. On Avenger, my favorite character was Hulk by far and I was getting more annoyed by the Ironman...too many quirky lines.
Tamale's Industry
Last year I purchased a $20.00 Restaurant.com certificate to use at the Tamale's Industry in Des Moines, IA. After living in Cali, I am a big fan of tamales. Not only tamales, I also got to experience & love other Mexican food and the culture too.
In college, a friend once took me to Tacos El Mexicano. He ordered a burrito for me and asked me to just try it. Man, I loved it. Only after I finished the monstrous burrito, he told me it was a cow tongue burrito. I had no idea, but boy it was good. Since then that's the only food I'd eat at that restaurant.
Now back to Tamale's Industry. Few weeks ago, we decided to give them a try. If I hadn't purchased the gift certificate from Restaurant.com already, I wouldn't have drove to this part of town for Tamale. From outside it looked rather rundown. Once I got inside, I was immediately taken back to LA. It looks & feels like any other family-owned restaurant (which it is), but they did a pretty good job emulating eateries on Alvarado. I asked if we could do a carry-out rather than dine-in. The guy was very nice, polite and said that won't be a problem.
Here's what we ordered:
2 spicy beef tamale meal
2 pork tamale
1 Chicken Burrito meal
1 cow tongue taco meal
While waiting inside I was chatting with the server & the cook admiring the look & feel of the place. When I told 'em my love for tamale and I used to live in LA, the owner sent a complimentary tamale & salsa on our table. I loved the texture, but it felt like there wasn't enough beef filling.
After getting the food, we drove home fast, to devour the food while warm. We got home, laid all the food down on the living room and turned on the TV. After going through each of the take out box, my wife turned the TV off.
"Let's just eat first."
I'm not complaining. I got to work. I really admired the way all the tamales were wrapped, authentic. First I started with the pork tamale. It was OK. After having one pork, immediately I tried the spicy beef. This one was much better than the pork. I was pleased and set the last spicy beef aside for the finishing pleasure. I also tried the cow tongue taco. I'd rather go to Tacos El Mexicano for a cow tongue burrito next time. I had few bites of the chicken burrito from my wife and it was pleasantly good. Needless to say, I finished my meal with the spicy beef tamale that Sunday evening.
Afterwards, both me & my wife agreed on few things:
1. We would go back to the Tamale's Industry,
2. But we wouldn't order either the cow tongue burrito or the pork tamale.
Hope you guys enjoy the food & atmosphere as we did.
In college, a friend once took me to Tacos El Mexicano. He ordered a burrito for me and asked me to just try it. Man, I loved it. Only after I finished the monstrous burrito, he told me it was a cow tongue burrito. I had no idea, but boy it was good. Since then that's the only food I'd eat at that restaurant.
Now back to Tamale's Industry. Few weeks ago, we decided to give them a try. If I hadn't purchased the gift certificate from Restaurant.com already, I wouldn't have drove to this part of town for Tamale. From outside it looked rather rundown. Once I got inside, I was immediately taken back to LA. It looks & feels like any other family-owned restaurant (which it is), but they did a pretty good job emulating eateries on Alvarado. I asked if we could do a carry-out rather than dine-in. The guy was very nice, polite and said that won't be a problem.
Here's what we ordered:
2 spicy beef tamale meal
2 pork tamale
1 Chicken Burrito meal
1 cow tongue taco meal
While waiting inside I was chatting with the server & the cook admiring the look & feel of the place. When I told 'em my love for tamale and I used to live in LA, the owner sent a complimentary tamale & salsa on our table. I loved the texture, but it felt like there wasn't enough beef filling.
After getting the food, we drove home fast, to devour the food while warm. We got home, laid all the food down on the living room and turned on the TV. After going through each of the take out box, my wife turned the TV off.
"Let's just eat first."
I'm not complaining. I got to work. I really admired the way all the tamales were wrapped, authentic. First I started with the pork tamale. It was OK. After having one pork, immediately I tried the spicy beef. This one was much better than the pork. I was pleased and set the last spicy beef aside for the finishing pleasure. I also tried the cow tongue taco. I'd rather go to Tacos El Mexicano for a cow tongue burrito next time. I had few bites of the chicken burrito from my wife and it was pleasantly good. Needless to say, I finished my meal with the spicy beef tamale that Sunday evening.
Afterwards, both me & my wife agreed on few things:
1. We would go back to the Tamale's Industry,
2. But we wouldn't order either the cow tongue burrito or the pork tamale.
Hope you guys enjoy the food & atmosphere as we did.
Aggregate
I am going to start doing some house cleaning...well in this case it is more of getting rid of all the other blogs & posts here & there...I am going to aggregate those sites into one, this one.
These post are not informative at all. This is more of a reflection of my college life, how I used to think and things that mattered most to me then. So, here are few post worth saving from my other blog...enjoy!
These post are not informative at all. This is more of a reflection of my college life, how I used to think and things that mattered most to me then. So, here are few post worth saving from my other blog...enjoy!
First Reddit, then FB and on...
Lately, I get a rush of ideas that I wanna blog about. I put all my thoughts together, sometimes even scribble them on a napkin, rest is history. Since starting a family it has been difficult to continue blogging, but then there are things I am able to do now than before.
In order to eliminate all distraction, two years ago I said goodbye to Reddit.com and never looked back. Have thought about giving it a try from time to time, but I am my own demon. I did the same thing about two weeks ago. I hated checking FB 4/5 times a day during work and more once at home. So, finally without any thought/goodbye, I deactivated my account. It was a little weird at first, but now I am simply happy that I did. Instead of wasting time on Facebook, I'd rather focus on three things at the moment:
1. Quality time with my family
2. Certs
3. Running & Guitar
With that said, after some discussion we (me & my wife) realized, there's three stages in a child's life that parent need to help out/ be part of. If we break things down such a way it will only make our own life easy.
1. Feeding (& listening to you):
This happens from the beginning till they are in primary school. Among few other things, focus on what you serve gets eaten. Fruits, vegetable and other foods, the plate must be emptied. Absolutely no other activity while eating which must be on the table. Past weekend, we tried Mexican dinner while watching TV. Both of us, paused the TV and finished our food first.
Imagine telling your kid to focus on study, finish their plate, do their homework...and on and on and...you will end up sounding like a nagging parent. So, focus on one at a time. By the time the kid is in school, he/she knows they must finish everything on their plate.
2. Study (& listening to you):
This is a phase that starts from primary and should last only until they are in middle school. Though our daughter will be 3 soon, my thought is just like food, you need to make sure they must finish their school/home work before anything else. I am a big believer of pushing your kid and let them discover, cherish the exhilaration, beauty of doing something beyond what they are capable of. I use the word "Good Job" very few times, instead I say thank you, sometimes nothing at all. If you use a word too many times, it looses value after a while.
So my daughter takes off her shoe, puts it where it suppose to be in her room, thank you or keep silent. Why keep silent? Because that signals her she is suppose to do this anyway.
3. Character & Other things:
By now hopefully your kid knows few ground rules at home, and listens to you. Now it is time to become not only a mom/dad but also a friend. Spend time with her, listen to her, let her know you guys are always there to give her a shoulder.
Again I am not going to write too much about this stage since I am not there yet as a parent. I do however, always think of these topics focusing on my life, my wife, and other people close to us (which is very few, trust me).
I will end this one with something my father used to tell me when I was in high school: "Son, there's three things that's important in life and in this order:
1. Your health: if you are healthy, you will feel great, happy and you can focus on the other two.
2. Your character: this is what people will judge you by. Your character makes you who you are.
3. Your education: is what will empower your character more.
In order to eliminate all distraction, two years ago I said goodbye to Reddit.com and never looked back. Have thought about giving it a try from time to time, but I am my own demon. I did the same thing about two weeks ago. I hated checking FB 4/5 times a day during work and more once at home. So, finally without any thought/goodbye, I deactivated my account. It was a little weird at first, but now I am simply happy that I did. Instead of wasting time on Facebook, I'd rather focus on three things at the moment:
1. Quality time with my family
2. Certs
3. Running & Guitar
With that said, after some discussion we (me & my wife) realized, there's three stages in a child's life that parent need to help out/ be part of. If we break things down such a way it will only make our own life easy.
1. Feeding (& listening to you):
This happens from the beginning till they are in primary school. Among few other things, focus on what you serve gets eaten. Fruits, vegetable and other foods, the plate must be emptied. Absolutely no other activity while eating which must be on the table. Past weekend, we tried Mexican dinner while watching TV. Both of us, paused the TV and finished our food first.
Imagine telling your kid to focus on study, finish their plate, do their homework...and on and on and...you will end up sounding like a nagging parent. So, focus on one at a time. By the time the kid is in school, he/she knows they must finish everything on their plate.
2. Study (& listening to you):
This is a phase that starts from primary and should last only until they are in middle school. Though our daughter will be 3 soon, my thought is just like food, you need to make sure they must finish their school/home work before anything else. I am a big believer of pushing your kid and let them discover, cherish the exhilaration, beauty of doing something beyond what they are capable of. I use the word "Good Job" very few times, instead I say thank you, sometimes nothing at all. If you use a word too many times, it looses value after a while.
So my daughter takes off her shoe, puts it where it suppose to be in her room, thank you or keep silent. Why keep silent? Because that signals her she is suppose to do this anyway.
3. Character & Other things:
By now hopefully your kid knows few ground rules at home, and listens to you. Now it is time to become not only a mom/dad but also a friend. Spend time with her, listen to her, let her know you guys are always there to give her a shoulder.
Again I am not going to write too much about this stage since I am not there yet as a parent. I do however, always think of these topics focusing on my life, my wife, and other people close to us (which is very few, trust me).
I will end this one with something my father used to tell me when I was in high school: "Son, there's three things that's important in life and in this order:
1. Your health: if you are healthy, you will feel great, happy and you can focus on the other two.
2. Your character: this is what people will judge you by. Your character makes you who you are.
3. Your education: is what will empower your character more.
How can Yahoo Survive??!!
It isn't hard to see the near end of Yahoo (YHOO) . Anyone with doubts, remember Ask.com, excite.com??!!
By re-introduce, a new name, new logo, a new site. Most company/corporation gets really excited to introduce the new feature, new site; I'd suggest Yahoo to build anticipation. And then roll the new site out slowly, part of Yahoo. But soon to be separated.
So what can Yahoo do?! Follow the footstep of Bing, formerly msn search. In the US and in other regions (except for China) Google, Bing and Yahoo still dominates. While there's still time, Yahoo needs to make the move before it's too late.
1. Re-introduce:
By re-introduce, a new name, new logo, a new site. Most company/corporation gets really excited to introduce the new feature, new site; I'd suggest Yahoo to build anticipation. And then roll the new site out slowly, part of Yahoo. But soon to be separated.
2. Simplify:
Here's Google search:
Here's Bing search:
And here's Yahoo search:
So which one is pleasant to look at? Which one are you most likely to use on a daily basis?
3. Integrate:
Integrate the new search engine with now and upcoming toys, gadget. Make it look cool to be part of the new brand. Hell, make it by invite only to begin with (borrowed from Google), which will build a fan base and anticipation. Be super green & totally anti gov, anti corp.
4. Team-up:
Google is the official search engine for Chrome (not only Chromebooks). Yahoo should team-up with Ubuntu to enable searching both online & offline content.
Least of all, trim down Yahoo Mail. It is annoying to see big, flashy ads on the right side of the screen while (if ever) on Yahoo Mail.
Basic Scripting...another day @ work
Basic Scripting: I recently setup a test machine (a thin client to be more specific) for someone keeping user input minimal.
The goal is: the tester will click on a batch file that will start both IE & Wireshark (Custom Profile). Once the tester is done browsing IE, as he/she exits both programs, Wireshark will generate a report for us engineers to analyze. So, lets get started...
Configure Wireshark with a custom Profile:
I wanted to setup few custom ports to analyze while omitting the existing ports on Wireshark. The best way to go about:
Edit -> Configuration Profiles -> New -> Apply. From here, I can setup my custom port & delete any existing port I don't want.
RunWireshark batch file:
cd \
cd Program Files/Wireshark
wireshark -k -p -c 10000 -w C:\Report.pcap
Basically, here first I move to the wireshark directory where the wireshark.exe file is. From there I call on the executable file to start.
-k start capturing
-p turn promiscuous mode off
-c number of packets to capture, thus 10000
-w output the result. Since this is a thin client, I am having to save the .pcap file on the local drive. On a regular machine you'll have to save it somewhere else, especially if the machine is on a domain. Play around.
StartIE batch file:
start iexplore http://www.slickdeals.net
Start Here batch file (The only batch file the tested should execute):
start cmd.exe /c StartIE.bat
start cmd.exe /c RunWireshark.bat
And that's all.
In a Nutshell
I've been busy this last few weeks. Crazy busy. Beside a lot of coding at work, here's some of the things I've been up to.
1. Switched to T-Mobile after being with AT&T for 8+ years. Was I sad to leave?Nope, rather happy. So, got a Samsung Gravity. Awesome phone. Though I had a Droid from my last job, but this Android phone does a pretty awesome too.
2. Bought two HP Touchpad yesterday. One for wify & one for myself (gotta be able to hack one to run Android). So far it's great, but I do want Google Voice (not Skype), Camera functionality to record video, Netflix, Hulu & few other. Need some time to play with it.
3. Have to work over the weekend to push a project through. Unfortunately, won't be able to attend one of my best friends' wedding in Kansas. That really sucks. I'm not amused.
4. Got quite a bit of travel coming upl. First week of September Kansas, the week after Cedar Falls, after that NY??!! Not sure about the NY trip yet. Ticket & Hotel too god damn expensive.
5. Been thinking, as people get older they become more religious? Saw a FB post few days ago, "Which of the favors of your Lords will ye deny?" Ummm...how about hating the Jew, Homosexuals, or beating your wife. To name a few...
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