2006 Audi A4 2.0T FSI Road Test (B7 2006-2007)

It has been almost a year since I leased my 2006 Audi A4 2.0T FSI car. Now having driven it just about 12,000 miles – I wanted to provide my first road test and impressions of the car.

Background:
I choose the Audi A4 on a little more than a whim. You see, almost a year ago, my Nissan dealership informed me that some major issues that were starting to happen on my 1997 Maxima. The damage was going to be around $3,000 in repairs and require cracking the transmission, clutch and some other expensive areas. And, based on my previous experience with cars – once you open them up, they are never as good as new. The Nissan Maxima had been extremely good to me, giving 175,000 miles of driving in Los Angeles without any significant repairs other than your standard brakes, tires, & constant velocity (CV) joints at about 130,000 miles. That’s right, 175,000 miles on the original clutch and it was still in great condition. The car served 9 bullet proof years. However, given the news and the expense, it was time to look for a new vehicle.

I considered a number of vehicles, the Infinity G-Series, the BMW E90 3-Series, the Lexus IS350 among a few others. I have always enjoyed German vehicles; however the recent styling on the 4-door BMW E90 3-series leaves a lot to be desired. It is perhaps, the worst model that BMW had put out in some time. At the same time, the Audi series of vehicles have come a long way, especially with the new B7 line of the A4 series that refreshed the prior body style and look. Not to mention, the desirable upgrade of the engine to a 2.0 liter turbo.

It did not take me long to decide. Within a day of seeing the A4 2.0T, I knew that was the model of car that I want. Plus, the dealership I visited – Rusnak Audi/BMW of Westlake Village had the car I wanted – a black 2006 A4 2.0T with manual 6-speed transmission. I am still a fanatic when it comes to having a manual transmission and clutch, and they are near impossible to find in the Los Angeles area due to traffic. So, I quickly made a deal with my sales person – James Hall – who made the deal easy. It was made easier by the fact that Audi had a special lease offer promotion on the A4.

Experience:
At 12,000 miles, I could not be happier with my Audi A4 2.0T FSI. In my daily driving, I average around 30 miles per gallon – split between city and highway. The car has been a problem free and extremely reliable car.

Some of the reviews I have read on the A4’s include some folks having some pretty significant problems off the lot. That was not my case, I have only taken the car back twice – once to have my windows tinted, and then again for the 5,000 mile service. The next service is not due to 15,000 miles, and is included without additional expense to me. Rusnak’s Audi service has been outstanding – anytime I call, if they are with a client

The 2.0T engine has some decent pep to it and handles well; I have not been in a situation where the performance has let me down. The car and styling is extremely comfortable inside, and is suitable for long trips.

My only regret at this point in time is that I did not get the Quattro. There have been a couple of times on canyon roads where the extra handling and distribution of wheel power would have been a help. Then again, I may have gotten myself into more trouble.

There are also a lot of tuning (upgrade) options from both APR and Neuspeed for the B7 version of the Audi A4 2.0T. These include ECU upgrades (chips), turbo enhancements, air boxes, and exhaust upgrades. With just the ECU upgrade, air box, & exhaust upgrade the horsepower on the car can be boosted from 200hp to above 260hp. That’s higher than the 3.2L version of the car, with 200lbs less weight. Based on the current performance options available and the fact that the 2.0T engine is the best that Audi makes – there is practically no reason to consider the 3.2L engine. While I currently have not made any tuning changes, I am considering both the chip and air box after the 15,000 mile service.

My overall impressions of the car:

The Good:

• Overall the Audi A4 is impressive – the car is also more responsive, has better power, and handles quite well. In fact, that is the area where I am most impressed with the extra sports suspension on the car.
• Reliable – no issues 12k miles in.
• Audi Service – excellent service and responsiveness.
• Great Fuel Economy – ~30mpg city is a great start!
• Tuning – lots of opportunity to upgrade and tune that A4

The Bad:

• Brake Dust – the amount of brake dust that is generated from basic driving it much higher than what the Maxima had. Keeping the wheels looking good and clean is a difficult proposition.
• Armrest – The armrest in the car is positioned in a pretty annoying away. If you have two passengers and plan to use both cup holders, you must have the armrest up to access the 2nd drink. In fact, the armrest has to be at an angle with even a normal size beverage.
• Audi Upgrades – to add basic Satellite radio to the car (even though it is prepared for it) costs $600-650 at the dealership which is about $400-450 more than it should cost. Especially since I am sure Audi get a commission on each.
• Cruise Control – the location of the cruise control lever is in an awkward place that cannot be easily seen and often has to be felt.
• Gas Pedal Response - occassionally there will be a slight delay in the response from pressing the gas pedal to when the engine increases power. I will be mentioning this during the 15,000 mile service. This may just be because of the throttle being electronically controlled.

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2007 Malibu Fire Brings Back Memories of 1993 & 1996

The instant I arrived home tonight, my phone started ringing. Very quickly, memories of the Malibu fires of 1993 and 1996 came back to me. Apparently a fire started in the Malibu bluffs right across the street from Pepperdine University, destroying between 4-10 homes down the hill from the school. Details are still sketchy, but a portion of an article from CNN is included below.

Update: Malibu had another fire today, October 21st 2007 - more on that: http://www.somelifeblog.com/2007/10/malibu-fire-pepperdine-santa-ana-winds.html

Here are my memories from 1993 & 1996:

Back in 1993, I was a freshman on the campus of Pepperdine University without a car or other transportation. In November, the annual Santa Ana winds showed up and red flag warnings we issued throughout Los Angeles and Ventura counties. A fire started on the Calabasas side of the Santa Monica mountain range in Old Topanga and the historic fire started. Of course plants of the chaparral are known to burn every 14 years or so naturally -- many of these areas had not burned since 1930. The results were disastrous -- 100 foot flames and 268 homes destroyed. I ended up spending the evening evacuated into the Firestone Fieldhouse gymnasium at Pepperdine with about 100 students, after all my friends left to brave 4-5 hours of traffic on Pacific Coast Highway. Sleeping on the floor, with a blanket and pillow from my dorm, a layer of smoke filled the gym. We awoke in the morning to see fire completely surrounding the University boundaries in a ring of fire. Fortunately, no structures on campus were burned -- partially due to the fact that Pepperdine University's campus is a natural border and a great place to stage the firefighters. So, it was used as the base. Things returned to normal on campus within a few days, it took a few years for the Malibu community to rebuild.

1996 was a little different story. Again, during some Santa Ana conditions -- a fire started near the 101 Freeway in Calabasas and raced towards Malibu driven by 70mph winds. Within 2 hours, the flames reached the mountains surrounding Pepperdine University. I was a senior at Pepperdine University, and walked into class just as the fire was announced. By the time we walked out 50 minutes later, it was announced that we needed to evacuate. When I arrived back to my dorm room, I could see the flames just creeping over the hill by the horse stables. Within minutes, the stables were engulfed in flames -- fortunately all the livery were evacuated. For the most part, the campus was no where near as protected as it was with the first fire as the fire department had not yet set up and operations center on the campus. This was evident in the stable loss and other areas burning around the campus. In fact, it did burn around the President's home, but no other structures were damaged or destroyed.


----------------------------------------------
http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/01/08/calif.fire.ap/index.html

MALIBU, California (AP) -- A wildfire fanned by Santa Ana winds destroyed eight seaside mansions and damaged five others Monday as it spread over more than 10 acres in this celebrity enclave, authorities said.

Flames boiled furiously out of the skeletons of million-dollar beach homes as palm trees bent in winds blowing at 21 mph.

More than 300 firefighters battled the blaze at West Pacific Coast Highway and Malibu Canyon Road, said Los Angeles County fire Inspector Ron Haralson.

The blaze erupted about 5 p.m. near West Pacific Coast Highway and Malibu Canyon Road. Residents were being evacuated on the west end of the canyon road, Sheriff's Sgt. John Hocking said. (Watch dramatic footage of helicopters dropping water on the towering flames )
TV news helicopters shot scenes of flames blowing down seaside slopes toward shoreline homes.
Winds appeared to be blowing the fire toward the ocean.

"It's so windy out there, it's kind of scary," said Roberto Cardenas, an employee at Coogies Beach Cafe.

Firefighting help was requested from the city of Los Angeles and neighboring Ventura County, Inspector Sam Padilla said. Two helicopters were on the scene, and two more were summoned.

Malibu has frequently been the scene of devastating fires, with its steep, brushy canyons funneling winds into luxurious neighborhoods where Pacific views draw movie stars and millionaires. In 1993, hundreds of homes were lost and three people were killed. A 1996 fire injured 11 people and destroyed six homes.

"We've been seeing firetrucks screaming by," said Mike Gibson, manager of Diedrich Coffee, just over the hill from the fire.

The fire was less than a mile (1.6 kilometer) from Pepperdine University, but there was no immediate threat, said spokeswoman Molly Drobnick. "It's less than a mile away. There is quite a few flames. It's a pretty big fire."

Red flag warnings had been posted for much of Southern California because of strong north and northeast winds and low humidity.

Santa Ana winds blow when high pressure forms over the Great Basin and cold, dry air rushes out of the north or northeast toward the coast, reaching high speeds through canyons and passes.

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Insider: Tickets for the Los Angeles Lakers at face value.

Since I live in the Los Angeles area, there are a couple of common questions I get regarding Los Angeles Lakers tickets. This is especially true over the past few year, since there is no longer a pro football -- well NFL football team here. The first question I am asked by people I meet is: Do you go to any Los Angeles Lakers games at Staples Center? When I answer "of course", the question that immediately follows are: "How do you get them, especially without paying an arm and a leg for them?". That secret, is the subject of this post.

Lakers tickets, especially come mid-season and playoff team are very difficult to come by, even when the team is not having a great year. (Think the 04/05 NBA Season) A quick look on eBay shows a number of tickets, available -- but most go for at least $100 over face value, especially if you want to be in the lower bowl with tickets in sections 100, 200 or the Premier section seats. Then, there is always the option of going through ticket brokers. While they make it easy to find tickets for last minute events, they are also expensive. Those who do some planning ahead can really get ahead of the game.

What is the answer you ask? How can I get decent or great tickets for the Los Angeles Lakers at face value? The answer is much simpler than you think. Sign-up for season tickets. What you ask, you mean I have to purchase season tickets in order to get access to good seats? I could have told myself that. No, that is not the answer. When I say sign-up for season tickets, I mean join the Lakers' season ticket waitlist! This is a little trick I learned a couple of years ago!

The Lakers season ticket waitlist, is over 1,000 people waiting for the opportunity to purchase Los Angeles Lakers season tickets. Once you join the waitlist, it will be several years before you have an opportunity to buy them should you want them! When you are on the waitlist, you get the following benefits:

• You get access to tickets for the regular season before the general public. That's right, usually 1-2 days before the general public has access to tickets -- you have the opportunity to purchase them. Seats available include both Premier Section (PR) as well as great seats in the 100's, including center court. This year, seats were limited to 4-per game or a total of 20-tickets, which is still great.
• You get access to special releases of tickets before big games. Last year, several games including Shaq's return to Los Angeles in January were released to those on the Season Ticket Holders waitlist several days before the game. What is better, these are at face value and there are no Ticketmaster fees!
• Playoff Tickets! Playoff tickets for the Los Angeles Lakers are also released to those on the waitlist before they are released to the general public. Last year I was able to get seats in the 5th row for the Lakers' 2nd home game against the Phoenix Suns which was one of the best Laker playoff games ever! I was also able to get a set of 8th row tickets for the 1st home game.

So, you ask what is the catch? Really, not much -- all you need to do is visit the website and sign up. What they do require is a $100 deposit per seat on your credit card. Which is refundable anytime you decide you do not want to be on the waitlist. That cost covers is paid for in the first game or playoff game you attend, plus you can get it refunded at any time!

Best of luck, and enjoy getting your tickets for the Los Angeles Lakers at face value!

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PSP LCD Replacement Guide - Tutorial on how to repair and replace a broken PSP LCD screen - with Video!

A few months back, I posted about my experience in repairing a broken Sony Playstation Portable (PSP) LCD Screen. Since that time, hundreds of interested people have visited my blog looking for more detailed information. I have found that several other sites have recently shut down or there are a lot of sites do provide inadequate information to do the job right, and finally several folks want to charge you $10-$20 for a guide to do the repair. Your other option of course, is to send your PSP into Sony and have them charge you over $100 plus shipping. Doing it yourself should cost you less than $40.

Update: Video of PSP LCD Replacement now included below!


So, in response to the visits and questions -- I am putting together a quick guide and tutorial on how to do that. This guide will be updated to include more detail over time, and eventually become a step-by-step with pictures. For now, it will be pretty high-level -- but detailed enough for you to complete the job.

Let me start off by saying that the instant you start to undo the first screw on your Sony Playstation Portable (PSP), your warranty with Sony is void. However, if you call and tell Sony that you have a broken LCD, they will immediately flag your account and declare your warranty void anyways. So, in most cases you are in a no-lose situation -- because you have effectively already voided your warranty by breaking the PSP LCD screen.

Ok, now we can get started on the guide. Here is what you are gonig to need to complete the job:

• Replacement Sony PSP Screen with backlight. You can get parts that are just screens that you need to install the backlight in and use your current backlight or buy a complete LCD with backlight. Spend the extra couple of dollars and buy one with backlight, you will not regret it. Where should you buy your LCD Screen? A couple of options, you can follow the reputable advertisers on this page to their site by clicking. Or, you could give eBay a shot -- most vendors are international.
• Precision Screwdriver Set. If you do not have a small precision screwdriver set for eyeglasses or other small electronic, spend the $5 at Home Depot. Otherwise, you run a great risk of stripping out the screws on your Sony PSP while you try repair your broken LCD screen.

Now we can get started on the repair.

1. Layout the parts and screwdrivers and let everything come up to room temperature. For those of us who live in warm weather climates, this is not a big deal. However, if your garage is much colder or the parts are not at similar temperatures you could have issues in some circumstances.
2. There are six screws that you need to take out in order to open up your PSP case. Two of them are hidden underneath the battery. Before you can get to them, you must remove the black strip of tape near the bottom of the compartment. This is the warranty tape, removing it will expose the last two screws.
3. Carefully separate the plastic casing for your PSP by removing the top cover on your PSP and set it aside. This should separate very easily. If you have troubles removing it, there is still a screw left on your PSP.
4. Using a small, flat precision screwdriver (exacto knife may also work), pry the metal edges of the silver screen assembly from the LCD screen. The LCD should pop out, but the cables should still be attached by the clips.
5. Fold the screen down to expose the connections to the clips. Carefully release the clips from the front by gently lifting them with a flat-head screwdriver. Be extremely careful not to break the clips by applying too much pressure. A broken clip is the only thing that will require you to send your PSP into Sony for repair.
6. On the Sony Playstation Portable clips are lifted, the cables will slide out and your broken (shattered) LCD will be ready for disposal.
7. Lay the new LCD screen face down in front of your PSP so that you can access the cable clips and gently slide the cables all the way into the clips. (In some cases, the cables may not go in without a little help from a screwdrive or by slightly bending the cables. Be very careful if you need to use this method as you do not want to damage the leads of the cable.) Now, close the clips by snapping them down.
8. Fold the new Sony PSP LCD Screen up and snap it back into the metal assembly. Do not put on the LCD screen itself as it is very sensitive and you could crack it. Snap it in by pressing along the edges of the unit. It should go together very easily.
9. Place the cover back over your case and put all the screws back in.
10. Turn on your PSP and enjoy your new screen!

Did this guide help you out? Do you have any questions or need clarification? Go ahead and leave a comment or contact me for more information!

Video: 1st minute has the items necessary for the PSP LCD Replacement


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Great deal on a trip to Hawaii from Hilton!

What good timing on a special Hawaiian vacation offer! This past Thursday, a great opportunity came in the mail from Hilton HHonors and the Hilton Grand Vacations Club for 5-days & 4-Nights in Hawaii at one of the Hilton Resorts!

It happened to be perfect timing for our short term vacation planning for 2007. Basically, we needed to take a trip in late February to early March for various reasons. We were considering a lot of options, including Cancun, Puerto Vallarta, and Cabo San Lucas -- in addition to Hawaii.

What really sealed the deal was this offer, and the addition that United Airlines has very reasonable fares to Hawaii this February -- we picked up our round-trip tickets from Los Angeles for less than $300 each. We briefly though about visiting the Big Island of Hawaii, but with ticket prices being a couple hundred dollars more, we decided to head back to Oahu.

We have stayed at the Hilton Hawaiian Village in Honolulu, Hawaii (Waikiki) on a couple of different occasions and we have found it fantastic each time. In addition, our Gold status with Hilton HHonors has benefited us greatly -- on each occasion we were upgraded to suites on the 20th+ floor of the Rainbow tower. The terms of this promotion are such that the eligibility for upgrades is the same as booking through Hilton. Plus, you get $100 Hilton dollars to spend at the resort -- sounds like we will be having at least one meal at Benihana.

For those who are interested, I believe the offer is available to selected folks from Hilton HHonors, and the Hilton Grand Vacation Club, but I am not sure. Here is the information from the brochures if you happen to be interested!

-------------------------

Your Special Invitation
HHonor Member, Paradise Is Closer Than You Think!
As a Hilton HHonors member, you are invited to enjoy an exclusive vacation offer.

5-days & 4-nights at your choice of Hilton Waikoloa Village on Hawaii's Big Island or Hilton Hawaiian Village Beach Resort & Spa on Waikiki Beach, plus 40,000 Hilton HHonors bonus points. You'll also receive 100 Hilton Hawaiian Dollars to use on property. All this from only $798.00 plus tax. As an added bonus, reserve your dates by 1/20/2007 and receive and additional 5,000 Hilton HHonors bonus points.

Finalize your travel plans by calling our toll-free number, 1-866-274-7275. Offer expires 2/28/2007.

-------------------------
Details of Participation: Accommodation Details. Reservations are on a space-available basis. Accommodations will be in a standard hotel room at the Hilton Waikoloa Village or Hilton Hawaiian Village Beach Resort & Spa for up to two (2) people (retail value of $209-$489 per night, based on season and property). Upgrades may be available at an additional cost. Package includes accommodations and premiums only. Please allow approximately 60 to 90 days after check-in for Hilton Honors bonus points to be credited to your account. All other charges, sales taxes, expenses and the cost of travel are your sole responsibility and are not included with this special rate. Holiday, high season or weekend rates may apply. Written confirmation requested to check-in. Reservations. This is a non-refundable, non-transferable advance purchase package. Reservations must be made with a credit card. A $19.95 charge applies to each reservation change made up to 15 days prior to arrival. Should your plans change within 14 days of your scheduled arrival, require a change of your reservation dates or arrival date, the equivalent of one night at currently published rack rate will be applied to the cost of your package. The above fees do not apply when purchasing additional nights consecutive to an existing reservation. Package expires twelve (12) months from date of purchase. Premiums may not be redeemed for cash. Hilton HHonors membership, earning of Points & Miles, and redemption of points are subject to HHonors Terms and Conditions. Hilton Hawaiian Dollars must be picked up at the Concierge Desk in the Lagoon Tower at Hilton Hawaiian Village Beach Resort & Spa or at a Hilton Grand Vacations Club Welcome Center at Hilton Waikaloa Village. Information gathered through this promotion may be used to solicit timeshare sales. Hilton Grand Vacations Club and HGVClub are registered trademarks of Hilton Hospitality, Inc. and licensed to Hilton Grand Vacations Company, LLC.

Airfare is not included in the package. Rates exclude taxes, gratuities and other charges. Due to the highly discounted rates of $798 per package (low season) and $898 per package (high season), this offer does not permit current HHonors members to each the standard HHonors Points & Miles. This offer is limited to a maximum of 45,000 Hilton HHonors points. Recipients of offer who are not currently Hilton HHonors members, and who later become HHonors members, as well as recipients of offer who are not current Hilton HHonors members and never become HHonors members, who are in effect take advantage of said offer, are not eligible to earn standard HHonors Points & Miles, and redemption of points are subject to HHonors Terms and Conditions.

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From the Brochure:
Hawaii Awaits

Welcome to the Hawaiian Islands...
Indulge in Hawaiian hospitality at its very best.
A sunset stroll along the beach paints the picture of an unforgettable Hawaiian Islands vacation. The perfect balance of tranquility and adventure will lead you back to the Hawaiian islands time and time again, creating enduring memories that are sure to last a lifetime.

Hawaii's Big Island...A Place of Unique Natural Wonders
Hawaii's Big Island is a place for adventure seekers, as well as those who love to lounge. Adventurers can surf the famous big breaks, dive among the reefs or explore volcanoes. Those here for relaxing can enjoy a round of golf, whale watching, beach strolling, and sunbathing. Paradise, indeed. A break taking Hawaiian oasis, Hilton Waikoloa Village is a destination unto itself.

One the white sands of Waikiki Beach lies the Perfect Village Experience.
The Island of Oahu, also known as "The Gathering Place," offers something for everyone. Whether your pleasures are beach activities, shopping, hiking through rainforests, snorkeling or touring museums and botanical gardens, Oahu offers all this and much more! From the vitality of Waikiki to the serenity of the North Shore beaches, Oahu is a rich and inviting destination in paradise. A true island paradise, Hilton Hawaiian Village Beach Resort & Spa is classic Hawaiian hospitality at its best.

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What a difference a year makes

I was just thinking about how I felt a year ago this morning. And I thought to myself, what a difference a year makes. Here, yesterday was January 4th and on January 4th, 2006 I was at the Rose Bowl for the BCS Championship game for USC Trojans vs. Texas Longhorns.

In retrospect, the game was a much better game than I gave it credit for that evening on the way home. I was so surprised by the fact that USC lost, and from my perspective giving the game away -- that I could not see how great of a game it was. I could not get past that USC should have been ahead 21-0 at one point in the first half if it was not for Reggie Bush's ill-advised lateral or Matt Leinart's unexplainable interception in the end zone. Those two scores would have been game over. But, that really is not the point. Vince Young and the Texas Longhorns persevered and won the game in last seconds. Regardless of how I felt about it, that was quite an accomplishment.

This year's bowl games were fun, but not quite as exciting. In fact, just 3 days before the 2007 Rose Bowl with the USC Trojans vs. Michigan Wolverines, I was offered tickets for face value at the 20-yard line -- right around row 40. Normally, I would have jumped at the opportunity, but the way the USC did not show up against UCLA -- I thought it might be the same story again. However, the real reason was that when I got the call I was battling with a bad case of the flu, and had no idea if I would be better in time. Boy, did I miss out on a great showing the USC against Michigan. It was pretty obviously that Michigan was overrated -- the only decent team they beat was Notre Dame, when Notre Dame was overrated. Look what LSU did to them. Then, against Ohio State, the game was no where near as close as it looked. The Buckeyes basically kept Michigan in the game with fumbles on snaps and other turnovers that never happen. Believe me, it was not "good defense" causing the turnovers. I guess they did beat Wisconsin though.

However, the biggest and best surprise of the bowl season was that wild & crazy Boise State team taking out Oklahoma. Again, Oklahoma was another one of these overrated teams -- but they really should have taken care of Boise State. However, three straight do or die plays to end the game and win it, was simply amazing. I am still replaying that hook & ladder play over on my computer. At first I thought the receiver was wacko for taking a step away from the 1st down marker.

Let's hope that the Ohio State Buckeyes vs. Florida Gators is as good as we have already seen. People really do not know how good Ohio State is -- they beat a Texas team that should not be in the top 20, and an overrated Michigan team. For some reason, they did not face Wisconsin this year -- a team in their own conference.

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Vacation Planning – 2007

I do not know about you, but to me -- planning a vacation is a lot of work. Ashley and I are currently struggling about where we want to go for our “main” vacation in 2007. In some ways, I know that it is a good problem to have – and that we are fortunate that we have the opportunity to consider taking the types of vacations that we have taken in the past and will hopefully take this year as well. However, each year – deciding the destination takes some serious time. And since my responsibilities in our family usually include selecting the destination, and making the airline and hotel reservations – the ball is clearly in my court at this point in time.

We were lucky last year, in that our trip mapped out really easily. Since it was the 100-year anniversary of Pepperdine University’s Moore Haus in Heidelberg, Germany – as well as my 10-year anniversary of my college stay there – it was an easy choice. We then just tacked on a few days in the beginning to check out Munich, & Berlin and added a few days on the end to spend some time in New York City on our way back.

This year is not quite as easy. Fortunately, what we do know for sure is that we are planning to spend at least a week in Italy. We have close family that lives in Florence, Italy (Ashley’s Uncle & cousins) and we would really like to see them should the schedules permit. However, from there – we are considering both France & Spain and there does not seem to be an overwhelming favorite yet.

Here is what we are considering:
France – main stay in Paris, during the end of the Tour de France, which I think would be an absolute blast. Take advantage of our Hilton Honors points and stay in the Hilton Arc de Triomphe, which is a pretty nice hotel. We would definitely make side trips up to Normandy and out to Versailles. Most likely we would also stop on the way down to Italy in Nice & Monaco.
Spain – main stay in Madrid and Barcelona, again great Hiltons in both locations, coupled with possible small visits to Marbella, Valencia, Salamanca, Toledo, and possibly also Nice & Monaco on the way over Italy. Unfortunately, it looks like Real Madrid’s soccer season will be over when we plan to go – at the end of July.
Italy – Florence, Rome & Venice minimally. There are a lot of great things to do in each city in Italy.

Something that has us leaning towards Spain is the fact that Ashley has not yet been to Spain. We have both been to Paris and the surrounding area, but not up to Normandy. Since plane tickets are still really high ($1500 round trip, each), we have some time to decide, so we ordered a few of books from our favorite publisher – Frommer’s, in order to help with the decision.

Here are the books:

• Frommer's Italy 2007
• Frommer's Spain 2007
• Frommer's France 2007

We’ll update you in the coming weeks about what is decided and why!

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First Impressions - Resistance: Fall of Man

I am currently in the midst of playing Sony's Resistance: Fall of Man for the Playstation 3 (PS3). This is the 2nd first person shooter game that I have played recently, having just completed Activision's Call of Duty 3. My initial impressions are that while Call of Duty 3 was a pretty good game, Resistance: Fall of Man is more complete game. The graphics and gameplay are amazing, and the artificial intelligence (AI) used by the enemies (Chimera) that you are going up against is much better, and I am currently in the midst of playing it on the "normal" level.

As with most of these type of games, I generally started it off on "easy" mode to make sure to have some good fun without getting too frustrated. Interestingly, the first scene seemed to be the hardest for me to complete on that mode. Some of it was that I was not used to the weapons, but the fact that you do not recover your health until you are infected by the Chimera definitely makes a big difference. Once you complete the game on easy, additional weapons are made available to you.

In fact, the weapons are probably one of the best parts about the game, both the uniqueness and diversity of them. Here's the complete list, compliments of wikipedia:

• Auger: A Chimeran developed weapon that acts like a heavy-penatrating assault rifle that fires energy blasts. These energy blasts can burrow through solid objects, to impact those behind cover, thus negating cover. The shots increase in power as they move through barriers. The bolts slow down as they move through objects, and a spark of light can be seen, warning potential victims that their cover has been breached. The alternate fire of the Auger is to put down a translucent energy shield that cannot be penetrated by any weapon except the Auger itself.
• Bullseye: A relatively standard assault weapon developed by Chimera. The twist of the weapon is its alternate fire: the tag. By firing a tag, bullets now home in on the tag. This allows smart players to hit the enemy, then hide in cover, bending their bullets around cover to still hit enemies. Firing the Bullseye into a wall or object, however, creates a potential 'Bullseye-Bomb'. Bullets will home into the target, and swarm about to form a sphere of bullets. You can then fire it at an enemy, and the swarm of bullets will track down the locked-on enemy. If bullets remain in the swarm when the enemy dies, the swarm will hover in the air, until the Bullseye is fired again.
• Bullseye Mark II: A more powerful form of the Bullseye that has a bigger power pack and fires stronger blue energy bullets instead of the red ones.
  L23 Fareye: A human weapon, the Fareye is a sniper rifle. While aiming through the scope, the game simulates heightened reflexes by slowing down time while the player can aim normally. The Fareye is available for multiplayer, but the ability to slow down time is not included.
• XR-003 Sapper: The Sapper is a unique weapon which is said to be reverse-engineered from Chimeran technology, and produced by humans. It fires unstable sticky 'goo-balls', which explode when someone moves nearby. The balls can stick together, even creating chains that dangle from the roof. The alternate fire is used for manual detonation.
• XR-005 Hailstorm: The Hailstorm is Resistance's take on the minigun. Its rapid storm of fire can ricochet from walls, increasing its lethality in confined combat. Its alternate fire converts the remaining contents of the clip into a turret that auto-targets and fires at enemies.
• L209 LAARK: The LAARK rocket launcher is unique in that its primary fire releases a singular powerful rocket, but its secondary fire is able to spread its contents into a number of miniature rockets. The weapon can also be slowed down, and even stopped mid flight. And whilst paused, its trajectory can be modified, to fire around corners, or over barricades. This weapon is available for online play.
• M5A2 Carbine: The M5A2 Carbine is the standard issue human assault rifle with a 40 mm grenade launcher attachment. It bears some resemblance to the M1 Garand rifle, Browning Automatic Rifle, and an FN FAL, but it uses much larger detachable magazines and a different stock. The receiver and magazines are similar to those of a Browning Automatic Rifle. It is perhaps most similar to the SOCOM 16 (a shortened version of the Springfield Armory M1A), albeit with a different stock.
• Rossmore 236: The Rossmore 236 is the basic shotgun. It can be fired single barrel or double barrel.
• Reaper: A weapon that is a new twist on an old standby: dual-wielding pistols. While most games have both pistols aimed in the same direction, the Reapers are capable of independent firing. Consider R1 the right hand and L1 the left hand. When both buttons are depressed, the reticle splits off into two individual reticules. Your hands sweep the area, and a modest auto-lock from each pistol will then latch onto whatever enemy crosses its path. This is great for taking on lots of small Chimera. This weapon is only acquired after beating the game once.
• L11-2 Dragon: The L11-2 Dragon is a standard flamethrower. Its alternate fire has been labeled as a vapor cloud. The vapor cloud releases a cloud of flammable gas that the player can hold L1 to make larger, and when L1 is released, the gas is set aflame and is shot in the direction the player is facing. The fire burns a long time similar to napalm, and is quite effective in killing certain enemies. This weapon is only acquired after beating the game once.
• Arc Charger: The Arc Charger is a high-powered gun used by elite Chimeran soldiers. It shoots a bolt of lightning. The alternate fire allows said lightning to arc to nearby enemies. This weapon is only acquired after beating the game once or playing multiplayer. It's function seems to resemble the Tesla Claw from Ratchet & Clank fame.
• Splitter: Similar to Ratchet & Clank's RYNO, the Splitter shoots a salvo of rockets. It's secondary fire splits the rockets into a wall of smaller rockets. Both can fires be directed, much like the LAARK. This weapon is only acquired after beating the game once.
• Grenade: An average fragmentation grenade.
• Hedgehog: The Hedgehog is the Chimeran grenade. When deployed the Hedgehog will launch upwards and explode, hurling spikes in every direction.
• Air Fuel Grenade: Much like the name implies, this grenade is a type of fuel-air explosive that releases and then ignites a cloud of flammable vapor to burn enemies. The grenade also has the ability to stick to surfaces and enemies; much like some grenades in several other first-person shooters.
• Backlash Grenade: This grenade releases a energy "bubble" around where it lands. This bubble constantly damages any enemies caught inside and repels their shots back at them.

I'm now working my way through the game on "Normal" mode which definitely has added difficulty to moving through the game. Thus far, I have found the Cathedral scene to be the toughest, dying several times while the hundreds of scorpion-like Chimera come down the columns.

Have you played Resistance: Fall of Man? If not, I highly recommend you check it out!

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web design firm                         4.02
floor heat radiant                      4.01
home buying help                        4.01
print shop                              4.01
visco memory foam mattress              4.01
wireless site survey software           4.01
accounting training                     4
datingsites                             4
fire safe                               4
herbal viagra                           4
isp                                     4
web conferencing company                4

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What has “The Million Dollar Homepage” become?

I subscribe to the notification list for Alex Tew’s Million Dollar Homepage Blog. Yes, I know many of you are asking why. While “The Million Dollar Homepage” has been “off” the Internet radar for about 10 months at this point, I was mildly interested following what Alex was up to since he completed the sale of a million pixels.

While the idea behind the site was neither all too original nor ingenious, Alex Tew’s timing and story was impeccable. Not to mention that Alex smartly had a good public relations person involved early to promote his story and site. The notion that a college-bound student was raising money by selling “pixels” on a page for advertising was quite a lightning rod for some folks to grab onto. And of course, all the copycats came out of the woodwork to help legitimatize the work. Everyone was trying to sell a few “pixels” to make a quick buck off of Alex’s idea.

This was the subject of several interviews and posts for the blog on the web page. Initially, it was Alex Tew asking people to come up with their own original ideas rather than copying his own. (However, several of these sites were attempted in the late 1999-2000 boom which Alex was not aware of) Eventually, he realized the momentum of his site would not be detracted from and encouraged the copycats – all until his site sold out of pixels last January, with some estimating that Alex pocketed close to $850,000 after all expenses. Not bad for a flyer of an idea and 6 months of work.

And while the trail and news has been really quiet since last February of 2006, I recently received a notification of the new entry and visited the blog – which brings me to the subject of this post. Alex Tew announced the formation of his “next” great thing, Pixelotto. Basically, all it is – is a site where the visitors can win up to a million dollars by clicking on the ads from yet another “pixel” site. Pretty disappointing product from Alex.

I was expecting, or I should say hoping for a little more out of Alex on his second venture. There had been some talk about a movie, about a book he was putting together, and what we ended up with was a new pixel site that is just a small twist on a short-lived 2005 phenomenon. I wish Alex the best, and perhaps he will reveal something for us in the near future that is truly original and special. It would be great if he could continue to capitalize on the frenzy he created about this time last year.

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Happy New Year! New Laws for California

Happy New Year everyone! I came across this article from the Sacramento Bee this morning which discusses many of the new laws for 2007. It's some of the highlights of the some 910 (estimated) new laws effective today or later in the great state of California.

------------------------------
Welcome new do's, don'ts for 2007
Ignorance no excuse - hundreds more rules to live by start today.
By Jim Sanders - Bee Capitol BureauPublished 12:00 am PST Monday, January 1, 2007

Happy New Year?

Maybe not, if you plan to ride in the trunk of a car, fire a BB gun willy-nilly, cheat on state taxes, or work as a shopping-mall Santa after committing a sex crime.

More than 900 new laws target those and myriad other issues, ranging from global warming to dog tethering to minimum wages. Alligator boots, poker nights and sea otters are winners this year, while hazing, graffiti vandalism and street racing are losers.

For anyone who wonders how much of a Sonoma- labeled wine comes from Sonoma County grapes, one new law sets a minimum: 75 percent.

Most of the new laws take effect today, but not all, including a ban on motorists holding a cell phone to their ear -- which begins July 2008.

California's lowest-paid workers will receive a 75 cent pay hike beginning today, to $7.50 an hour, and are assured a 50 cent boost next Jan. 1.

A landmark new law that will be watched closely nationwide, Assembly Bill 32, commits California to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 25 percent by 2020.

Other notable new laws will allow AT&T, Verizon and other telephone firms to offer cable TV programming, and will create a discount drug program for uninsured Californians.

At least one new law already has been blocked by a judge, Assembly Bill 1381, which would give Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa partial control over the city's massive school system.
Despite all the talk of bipartisan cooperation between Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Democratic legislators, the governor vetoed 262 bills last year, or 22.4 percent, the fifth-highest percentage since comparisons began in 1967, according to the Senate Office of Research.
Schwarzenegger killed bills to create a state-run system of health care, allow illegal immigrants to qualify for college aid and expand a program that allows mothers to surrender unwanted infants without fear of prosecution. Other vetoed bills would have banned schools from using textbooks that disparage gays, required toilets and urinals to use less water and permitted distribution of condoms in California prisons.

Notable new laws, by subject area, include:
Criminal justice
• Assembly Bill 2251 -- Bans Internet posting of personal information about an abortion clinic's employees, volunteers or patients with the intent to threaten or harm them. Violators would be subject to civil penalties.
• Assembly Bill 2263 -- Requires sex offenders to disclose that fact when seeking jobs that involve touching children, such as a shopping mall Santa or a carnival ride operator.
• Senate Bill 532 -- Makes firing a BB gun in a grossly negligent manner a misdemeanor.
• Assembly Bill 2923 -- Requires judges to suspend the driver's licenses of convicted graffiti vandals for up to two years.
Consumers
• Senate Bill 202 -- Prohibits purchase or sale of a person's telephone calling records without consent.
• Assembly Bill 2977 -- Requires new and remodeled pools or spas to contain a safety feature, such as a mesh fence or alarm system.
• Assembly Bill 2987 -- Creates a statewide franchising process for telephone companies to offer cable TV programming or retail packages that combine phone, video and Internet service.
• Assembly Bill 1169 -- Requires long-term tenants to receive a 60-day notice before subjecting them to a "no-fault eviction."
Health/medicine
• Assembly Bill 2911 -- Requires drug makers to provide discounts for uninsured Californians or risk sanctions in three years.
• Senate Bill 1379 -- Creates a biomonitoring program to measure toxic chemicals in the bodies of human volunteers.
• Senate Bill 1534 -- Permits a city, county or hospital district to provide aid, including health care, to illegal immigrants.
• Senate Bill 162 -- Creates a separate state Department of Public Health, beginning in July, to address bioterrorism, infectious disease and other threats.
Education
• Senate Bill 1655 -- Gives principals of low-performing schools more power to reject teacher transfers from other campuses.
• Senate Bill 1209 -- Simplifies the process for qualifying and hiring out-of-state teachers.
• Assembly Bill 172 -- Funds a $50 million expansion of preschool programs in low-performing communities.
• Senate Bill 1454 -- Sets criminal penalties for hazing and allows victims to file civil suits against perpetrators.
Environment
• Assembly Bill 2067 -- Bans smoking in "common areas," such as bathrooms or stairwells, that are in workplaces or covered public parking structures.
• Senate Bill 1 -- Requires developers of large housing developments to offer solar-electric systems on new homes after Jan. 1, 2011.
• Senate Bill 1368 -- Prohibits utilities and corporations from signing long-term power contracts with suppliers who fail to meet greenhouse gas emission standards.
Business
• Senate Bill 1699 -- Bans businesses from displaying more than the last five digits of a customer's credit card or debit card number on receipts kept by the firms.
• Assembly Bill 1418 -- Requires disclosure of the 250 largest scofflaws owing more than $100,000 in sales, use, personal income tax or corporate taxes.
• Assembly Bill 2440 -- Makes employers and individuals financially liable if they knowingly help someone evade child support payments.
Pets/animals
• Senate Bill 1578 -- Prohibits tethering a dog to a stationary object for more than three hours.
• Senate Bill 1806 -- Bans leaving pets unattended in vehicles when extreme weather, lack of food or other adverse conditions could cause suffering or harm.
• Assembly Bill 2485 -- Provides a box on California tax returns for people to check if they want to contribute toward protecting sea otters.
• Senate Bill 1485 -- Legalizes the importation of alligator and crocodile products until 2010.
Transportation
• Assembly Bill 2752 -- Imposes a $100 fine for those under 21 who drive with a trace amount of alcohol in their system.
• Assembly Bill 1850 -- Bans riding in the trunk of a vehicle and sets $100 fines for both the driver and passenger.
• Assembly Bill 2600 -- Increases the number of hybrid-carpool permits -- from 75,000 to 85,000 -- that can be issued by the state.
• Assembly Bill 2190 -- Allows motorists to be charged with a felony if their reckless driving or street racing causes great bodily injury.
Miscellaneous
• Assembly Bill 839 -- Allows nonprofit groups to raise funds by sponsoring a poker night or some other adult gambling event, provided that winners receive prizes, not cash.
• Senate Bill 1827 -- Allows joint tax returns by registered domestic partners, which are gay couples or opposite-sex partners age 62 or older.
• Assembly Bill 546 -- Bans government employees from using state-owned or state-leased computers to view obscene material.

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Typo takes tourist 8,000 miles from destination

I came across this article today, which is pretty humorous. Unfortunately, laughing at someone else's expense -- but this guy from Germany ended up in Montana, high 36 degrees Fahrenheit rather than summertime in Australia. I cannot imagine his reaction and the struggle to then get to Australia. Luckily, he made it 3 days later!

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BERLIN, Germany (Reuters) -- A 21-year-old German tourist who wanted to visit his girlfriend in the Australian metropolis Sydney landed 13,000 kilometers (8,077 miles) away near Sidney, Montana, after mistyping his destination on a flight booking Web site.

Dressed for the Australian summer in T-shirt and shorts, Tobi Gutt left Germany on Saturday for a four-week holiday.

Instead of arriving "down under", Gutt found himself on a different continent and bound for the chilly state of Montana.

"I did wonder but I didn't want to say anything," Gutt told the Bild newspaper. "I thought to myself, you can fly to Australia via the United States."

Gutt's airline ticket routed him via the U.S. city of Portland, Oregon, to Billings, Montana. Only as he was about to board a commuter flight to Sidney -- an oil town of about 5,000 people -- did he realize his mistake.

The hapless tourist, who had only a thin jacket to keep out the winter cold, spent three days in Billings airport before he was able to buy a new ticket to Australia with 600 euros in cash that his parents and friends sent over from Germany.

"I didn't notice the mistake as my son is usually good with computers," his mother, Sabine, told Reuters.

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Christmas Photos are up!

Well, it had been a rough Christmas holiday season for me -- I caught the wonderful flu bug that has been going around and was "lucky" enough to spend the better part of 4 days sleeping. Not the most fun use of my Christmas vacation time.

However, photos from Christmas are up! Basically it's a two-day affair, with Ashley's side of the family coming over to our house in Thousand Oaks on Christmas Eve. We had a great time preparing meals and spending time together before partaking in the Christmas Turducken. It was pretty good this year, although it cooked slower and fell apart a little more than last years.

Then, for Christmas day -- we headed up to Bakersfield to spend time with my side of the family. This year, I brough my Nintendo Wii gift up there because I knew that everyone would get a big kick out of it. Let's just say the entire family played some Tennis, Baseball, Bowling, Golf, and Boxing.

Check out the pictures, they're hilarious!

2006_12_Christmas

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Help! Setup the Wii Sensor Bar without Problems!

I recently opened my Nintendo Wii and while the setup was pretty easy overall, I mostly stuggled with the appropriate setup of the infrared (IR) sensor bar that detects the movement of your Nintendo Wii motes. After reading the direction a few times, I finally figured it out.

If you're having problems with your Nintendo Wii setup, here are the directions on how to setup or fix any issues with the sensor bar:

You can place the Sensor Bar either above or below the TV screen. Please read and follow the instructions below to place your Sensor Bar (information on mounting the Sensor Bar in place is also provided on this page).

Connecting the Sensor Bar
Insert the Sensor Bar plug into the Sensor Bar connector on the back of the Wii console.

The Sensor Bar can be placed either above or below your TV screen. Decide which option best fits you and click the image below for additional set up help, including mounting the Sensor Bar and proper alignment.

Mounting the Sensor Bar Above the TV Screen
Remove the protective film from the foam pads on the bottom of the Sensor Bar.

For additional stability, you can add adhesive-backed foam tape from the sheet included with your Wii.

Mount the Sensor Bar to the top of the TV
To ensure the best game play experience, make sure that:

The front of the Sensor Bar should be aligned close to the front of the TV.

The center of the Sensor Bar should be aligned with the center of the TV.

Reception may be improved by mounting the Sensor Bar to the top of the TV with the Sensor Bar Stand. Click here for more information.

Important Note: If you have not already done so, be sure to set the Sensor Bar option in the Wii console's System Setting to "Above TV." This will help ensure an optimal experience. Click here for more information.

Go to Next Step (Connecting to the TV or VCR) >

Mounting the Sensor Bar Below the TV Screen
Remove the protective film from the foam pads on the bottom of the Sensor Bar.

For additional stability, you can add adhesive-backed foam tape from the sheet included with your Wii.

Mount the Sensor Bar to the front edge of the surface that the TV is sitting on. Do not place the Sensor Bar below the surface that the TV is sitting on; for example, on shelves below the TV.

To ensure the best game play experience, make sure that:
The front of the Sensor Bar is aligned with the front of the surface that the TV is sitting on.

The center of the Sensor Bar should be aligned with the center of the TV.

Reception may be improved by mounting the Sensor Bar to the top of the TV with the Sensor Bar Stand. Click here for more information.

Using the Sensor Bar Stand
Communication between the Wii Remote and the Sensor Bar may be improved in some situations by mounting the Sensor Bar on the Sensor Bar stand. (For example: if the TV is sitting on the floor.)

Remove the protective film from the foam pads on the bottom of the Sensor Bar stand.

For additional stability, you can add adhesive-backed foam tape from the supplied sheet. These can be supplied to both the top and bottom of the stand.

If you are using the extra foam tape, remove the protective film from the piece on the top of the Sensor Bar stand.

Mount the Sensor Bar stand to: the front edge of the surface the TV is sitting on, or to the top of the TV.

Important Note: If you have not already done so, be sure to set the Sensor Bar option in the Wii console's System Setting to "Below TV." This will help ensure an optimal experience. Click here for more information.

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Bosh Darn It!

Bosh darn it. Can I say that? I have been banished to fantasy purgatory with the dreaded “out an indefinite period of time” label that has been placed on Chris Bosh’s status for the basketball season, due to discomfort in his knee. This might almost be as bad as the Latrell Sprewell situation. Ok, I am over exaggerating, but Chris Bosh was putting up 20 points and 12 rebounds every night.

Now, of course Paul Pierce goes down with a “stress reaction” on his left foot that “there is no treatment for” that sounds eerily similar to the situation that happened with Derek Fisher a few years back. How did that turn out – that’s right, surgery and 8-months out. Yes, and Piece was even a bigger monster, 27 points, 7.5 Rebounds, 4 assists, and 2.5 3’s a night.

Why do people get injured? Maybe I should rephrase that, why do two fantasy monsters on “my” fantasy teams get injured? These were my second and third picks to make matters worse. Do they not understand that my fantasy life is at stake here? Who cares about their teams, they are in the Eastern (Leastern) Conference, where nobody has a chance to win anything. I guess things could be worse – I could have traded for Carmelo Anthony.

Cornerstone Conference – enjoy feasting on Bio-Waste in the coming weeks. By the way, if you are looking for three’s, I have some talent up for grabs. Yeah, given my recent injuries, I need a lot – but I am especially thin in rebounds and blocks. Maybe even a guy who does this and shoots for a bad FT%.

On some happier notes:

• My fantasy soul is more joyful than it ever has been. Year after year, I have begrudgingly cheered Kobe Bryant on each game during the regular season – fully knowing that his every success meant my potential downfall in the weekly standings. His gain was my loss. Not this year, with Kobe on my team – he can score 81 every night for all I care!
• Order has been restored in Los Angeles. The Clippers for all their efforts have again sunk to the bottom of their conference and the Lakers are in the middle of the playoff seeding for now.
• The Sacramento Kings still suck. The team that has never won anything and never will is again wallowing at the bottom of the standings. Why did they fire Rick Adelman again? I also have heard some calls for the return of Chris Webber.

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Flipper Nation -- Check it out!

Just a short post on show called "Flipper Nation" -- a series of short episodes that track the lives of two a couple of guys trying to making their "fortune" by flipping homes in the crazy Los Angeles real estate market. The first episode tells the story of the character's first house "flip" and how they made $75 (not $75k) on it after several weeks of work.

There are some definitely some great laughs and some uncomfortable situations. I think my favorite line from the episode goes something along the lines of "waiting for markets being exploited before jumping in." This, I believe rings true for many of us a few times in our lives. Given the recent markets here in Los Angeles and Ventura county, as well as soaring median prices -- I am sure more than a few people find themselves in this situation -- show or not!

Anyways, here is the first Episode -- check out FlipperNation.com for the latest!

Flipper Nation: The First Flip

There's more where this came from at: FlipperNation.com
If you cannot view this video, you can check it out at YouTube instead.

Disclaimer: Yes, I am a little partial to the humor in the show. Ashley and I went to Pepperdine University with "David Kimball" (Alec McNayr). In fact, Alec was in the same fraternity as me -- Psi Upsilon (Lamda Omega Sigma). Check out the video and support them!

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Milestone Reached!

The "Some Life" blog reach quite a significant milestone on Tuesday, December 19th. That milestone was passing 50 unique visitors during that day. What does that mean? I am not sure, but here are some thoughts:

About Some Life: This blog is really an experiment for me that started on October 28th, 2006. Yes, I know that I am late to the blog party. ;-) It is really about having a place to test out ideas, practice writing and share experiences that are important to me -- and hopefully relevant to you as well.

Back Posting: It's really tough to do. Not in the way that it is technically hard to figure out though. Rather, it is hard to catch up in addition to producing new content and thoughts. My goal, before the end of the year is to create blogs for some of the fun experiences Ashley and I had this year including our trips to: The BCS Championship Rose Bowl, Vacation to Germany, Vacation to New York, and our Vacation to Disney World with my parents. The last of which is "partially" completed.

Google Adwords: Google AdWords is a pretty nifty tool. This should not be a surprise to anyone, but I have been relatively happy with it. I need to work on the conversion rate. Visit a few of the sponsors and see how relevant they are to you.

Google Search: It takes a little over 30 days for a site you submit to Google to show up there in any meaningful way. Early on, it can be discouraging when you are posting content and nobody is showing up to read it. Persevere and keep with it, it does take time -- even in this world of instant gratification. It is also worth noting that beginning this week, Yahoo! searches began appearing.

Blogger Beta: The good thing is that it makes it easy to get started. The bad thing is that unless you want to dive into the world of programming and layouts, it can be a struggle to build the site as you want it. There are several things that I am looking to do that I have not been able to accomplish yet. However, it is a free service -- how can one complain?

Driving Traffic: I have attempted a few things, including using my "MySpace" profile as a means to drive traffic to the site. I will expand on this in the future, but right now I have just started testing, and Google Search seems to be the most effective.

A Polluted Blogsphere: There is a lot of blog trash out there. I personally, have encountered a lot of Blog Spam or Comment Spam depending on what perspective you take. 2007 seems to be the time when people anticipate it will reach its peak, especially as one article recently mentioned, certain web spam rings based out of Utah are generating $70k/month in AdWords type revenue.

Stay tuned, a lot more to come!

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Top 5 Ways to make eBay a Better Place!

As promised -- given my recent experiences on eBay, both the good, the bad, and the ugly, I am providing my top 5 list of ways to make eBay a better place. I have been on eBay since December 1995 when I started trading Baseball Cards, seeing a lot of changes take place on the site.

However, this Christmas holiday shopped season in particular has been a nasty one for both buyers and sellers alike on eBay – perhaps like never seen before. All one needs to do is to look at a number of auctions for the Sony Playstation 3 (PS3) and Nintendo Wii to see large quantities of Non-Paying Bidders, Shill Bidding, & Fraudulent sellers. The criminal community has found a way to really game the eBay system and now is time to stop it!

So, below you will find my “Top 5” ways that eBay can improve their systems to protect bother buyers and sellers in their auction marketplace.

1. Require Stronger User Validation. It is too easy to get an eBay account. They should require some sort of physical address, phone number, or other sort of verification that the person is who they say they are.

2. Require “authorization” of funds when bidding. A huge problem right now are people with zero or low feedback posting fake bids without an intention to actually make good on their purchase. By requiring a credit card authorization in the amount of their bid placed (whether or not they choose to pay via that method) is an option that may sellers would like to see as a requirement to insure the bidder “intends” to purchase the item rather than leaving the seller stranded with seller fees, frustration and lost time. This would also help prevent shill bidding as eBay could detect accounts using same name / credit card information to boost auction prices.

3. Create a more comprehensive scoring methodology. The current scoring system has become an outdated joke. Between 1-cent auctions, feedback rings, and other ways to “game” eBay’s feedback system – the system does not work anymore. However, it is not beyond repair. All eBay needs to do is come up with a score scheme that will incorporate important factors that contribute to the “authenticity and integrity” of the buyer and seller such as the dollar value of transactions, time it takes someone to pay, time to ship, and frequency of feedback left. That is just to name a few that could contribute to understanding more about the seller you purchase from.

4. Stop 1-cent ($.01) auctions. These are the biggest fraud on eBay right now. If you do a Google search, you will find hundreds of web pages that tell you how you can increase your feedback score in hours using 1-cent auctions. Their only purpose is to artificially increase feedback scores that give buyers/sellers unwarranted trust in a seller’s history and behavior.

5. Real, monetary penalties for failure to pay, ship, etc. If someone does not pay for an auction, charge then for the listing fees that the seller paid. Also, put a penalty of $5, $10, etc. that is partially paid to the seller and to eBay. This would put some real teeth into the non-paying bidder (NPB) policy.

These are some pretty simple ways that eBay could really improve on their already largely monopolistic website that they offer. While it may discourage a few people in signing up and using the service, the benefits to the entire community and with user retention would far outweigh that cost. I cannot tell you how many people have emailed me to say that they would not be using eBay after their experiences this holiday season.

Do you have other ideas? I would love to hear them. Next, you will be hearing from me on the Top 5 Ways to fix PayPal!

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Test Drive XM Satellite Radio for Free -- I am!

Recently, I have been thinking about getting Satellite radio. So, as one thinks this, naturally two choices are available, either Sirius or XM radio. The question I have is, if you do not care for Howard Stern, is Sirius radio worth getting? On a recent trip in my Father-In-Law's 2007 Mustang Shelby GT 500, I had the opportunity to listen to Sirius radio. I was not impressed.

However, I had not listened my to XM Radio either. However, today I came across an offer, and upon signing up (no credit cards required), I received a free Internet subscription to XM Radio through 12/31/2006, which is longer than their standard promotion by typing in the offer code of "THECHOSEN". If you have been thinking about choosing a satellite radio, it's an excellent opportunity to try! Just go to: http://xmro.xmradio.com/xstream/index.jsp

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Toy-R-Us with at LEAST 50 TMX Elmo's in stock on 12/18

Hot news off the press for all of you still trying to find those elusive toys! All Toys-R-Us stores will have at least 50 TMX Elmo's in stock when they open tomorrow. This may be one of your last chances.

The details from the email they sent out today:

- TMX Elmo - We've Got Him!

- Tomorrow December 18th every Toys "R" Us store will have at least 50 TMX Elmos when we open!

- One per family, limited supplies, & no rain checks, so COME EARLY. In-store only!

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Los Angeles Country -- KZLA to return? MOVIN (KMVN) 93.9 a Failure?

Well -- Los Angeles country fans, do you think you might get your KZLA country back? After the latest release of weekly ratings, it seems that the "new" format that Emmis Communications was so fond of is really in the toilet. Their current rating is only a 0.6 rating, continuing its trend down. If you look at the trend, it has gone steadily down in terms of share -- 1.2, 0.7, and now finally an awful 0.6.

This and country radio just had it's best quarter in terms of the national share with a 9.1 rating, the best since 1999 when it was a 9.5! Emmis Communications has really missed out on a lot of profits the past 4 months, and their shareholders are rumored to be pretty unhappy with the situation in the southern California market. KZLA's share was 1.7 for the latest quarter leading up to the format change.

This should not be a surprise, as many predicted, the Emmis Communications experiment with abruptly removing KZLA country from the radio in the Los Angeles market in favor of Rick Dees is a failure. Perhaps KIIS FM really knew what they were doing with bouncing of Rick Dees in favor of Ryan Seacrest. This attempted comeback by Dees in the Los Anageles market was a poorly planned and executed transistion after the unannounced cancelling of the country format on KZLA.

It seems like it will be only a matter of time until KZLA country listeners have their favorite personalities back on the air, Peter Tilden with Ashley & Buzz, Sean Parr, and more! Keep your fingers crossed!

In addition, for those who are interested in trying to help with the situation, there are two petitions to be signed:

www.ipetitions.com/petition/Country_Fan_Link
AND
http://www.petitiononline.com/KZLA939/petition.html

In addition, on the CountryBoards.com, you can join the discussion and the latest news by clicking here.

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The Anatomy of an eBay Scam – Resolved –- Part II

Well, what do you know – I am hoping this will be the last in this long series of posts that has gone on much longer than I anticipated. I am happy to FINALLY (hopefully) report that I did receive my refund of $289.00 from my camera purchase on eBay from the seller. Absolutely unexpected, but on Thursday, a United State Postal Service money order in the total amount showed up in the mail. I was able to cash it, so it does not appear that it was forged. Good news.

What it came down to, is that the seller was concerned that either legal or police action would come down on them if I did not receive the refund. This person only resides approximately 60 miles from where I live, which most likely added to the concern. In the end, based on the content of emails and the mail, this may just be a kid.

Still outstanding is the $289.00 that was fraudulently sent to me from someone else’s PayPal account. PayPal is still investigating, whatever that means – and have requested the string of emails so they can piece it together. PayPal has put the amount on hold in my account, and I cannot refund it at this time, even though I would like to – since the money is not rightfully mine. We will see what the outcome is.

In this holiday season, full of eBay scammers, PayPal frauds and others, happy eBaying and be careful! Look on the bright side, I could have been caught in a Nintendo Wii or Playstation 3 (PS3) scam!

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Family dog missing since 2004 resurfaces near Chicago

What a good Christmas holiday story. A dog that was lost for two years because of a Florida hurricane was found because of a micro-chip embedded in the dog. What a great blessing for the family, we know it is something we are considering for our Chocolate Lab, Luey!

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Family dog missing since 2004 resurfaces near Chicago
Associated Press

TAMPA, Fla. - A golden retriever missing from his family since a 2004 hurricane destroyed a backyard fence resurfaced this week near Chicago.

The five-member Baines family of South Tampa had finally given up the search this summer. They thought their pet was deceased.

No one knows how the dog, "Sam-I-Am," traveled the hundreds of miles and turned up as a stray at a shelter in McHenry County, Ill., this week. Shelter workers said they don't think he walked because there was no damage to his paws.

"He has wanderlust," Debra Quackenbush, spokeswoman for the McHenry County Health Department, told the St. Petersburg Times. "We've never seen a story like this. It was just meant to be."

Someone found Sam, now 5 years old, wandering around Woodstock, Ill., Quackenbush said. The rescuer kept Sam for five days. No one claimed him, and he was taken to the county's shelter.

When Sam was younger, a microchip was inserted between his shoulder blades. The chip, which costs $30 to $40 to insert, allows shelters and medical workers to scan and identify pets.
Because of the chip, the family knew it had the right dog.

On Thursday, Alice Baines, who works for a marketing company, took the day off and flew to Chicago to bring Sam home.

When they were reunited, Sam stepped on her feet and then sat on them, just like always, and still answered to Sam, Baines said.

After a few delays, Baines and Sam arrived home in Tampa

"He's home, that's all that matters," she said. "I think he's happy. He's not hurting for a meal. Whoever took good care of him: Thank you."

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MySpace tops Yahoo for first time!

Not really surprising given the recent upheaval at Yahoo. There is no question that Yahoo is losing its place in the market quickly and with the publishing of the "peanut butter manifesto" -- the recent changes are just the beginning. However, a large issue is brewing and it has to do with the fact that page views are becoming an obsolete form of measuring a site. With the pervasive use of Web 2.0 technologies, a new measurement standard for the use of sites need to be determined. ComScore is yet to determine what this will be. However, a change needs to happen in the near future to help determine the true value of a visitor. For the time being, Yahoo still has the lead for the number of eyeballs on the Internet. Will we see that change over the coming months?

The article is below........

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The online hangout MySpace got even more popular in November, beating Yahoo in Web traffic for the first time, a research company said Tuesday.

News Corp.'s MySpace recorded 38.7 billion U.S. page views last month, compared with 38.1 billion for Yahoo Inc., according to comScore Media Metrix. MySpace's growth was 2 percent over October and triple the 12.5 billion recorded in November 2005.

The numbers underscore the rapid rise of a social-networking site that encourages visitors to stay and make friends through free tools for messaging, sharing photos and creating personal pages known as profiles.

ComScore warned, however, that a one-month change could represent an aberration. Furthermore, Yahoo's page views could be diminished by the company's growing use of Ajax technology for maps, e-mail and other services.

Ajax is a set of tools that speeds up Web applications by summoning snippets of data as needed instead of pulling entire Web pages over and over.

Yahoo, which last week announced a major reorganization after finding itself repeatedly beat in advertising sales by rival Google Inc., still remains the leader in unique audience, with 130 million visitors in November. (Full story)

"Yahoo continues to be the overall Web audience leader with the largest number of unique users and most time spent online. The page view change in November is related to the use of Ajax and other Web 2.0 technologies across the Yahoo network," Yahoo spokeswoman Nissa Anklesaria said Tuesday.

"These technologies enhance the overall user experience, but do not either generate a page view or qualify to be counted as a page view while the user is engaged with the product," she said,
Fox Interactive Media ranked sixth at 73.8 million, including 57.2 million for MySpace. Unique audience is a measure of how many people visit in any given month; page views reflect how often they come back and how long they stay.

Including other Fox properties such as IGN Entertainment Inc., comScore said Fox had 39.5 billion page views in November. In a statement, Peter Levinsohn, president of Fox Interactive Media, credited strong traffic at game site IGN.com due to the release of Sony Corp.'s PlayStation 3 and Nintendo Co.'s Wii video game consoles.

ComScore had planned to release the numbers Wednesday or Thursday, but word of the figures leaked in an analyst report from UBS Investment Research.
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Sony Playstation 3 Shipments Worse than Thought

According to a recent article in the Wall Street Journal, Playstation 3 shipments were much lower than thought last month. A total of 197,000 unit were shipped in November rather than the expected 400,000 availabel for launch day. In addition, it seems near impossible that Sony will be able to get more than 400,000 to market before the end of the year, which is less than half the 1,000,000 units they were shooting for. Here is the article from the WSJ.

http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB116588983025547206-E7NTlTuNUdpI5ZCgQGMwjOb3lrA_20071211.html

Wii! Wii! Wii! This Holiday Season Has Been a Wild Ride for Nintendo
By JOSEPH PEREIRA and NICK WINGFIELDDecember 12, 2006; Page B1

Last week, Wal-Mart Stores Inc. advertised it would be selling Nintendo Ltd.'s new videogame console, the Wii, on Dec. 6. Steve Fortune and a group of friends camped out the day before in a Wal-Mart parking lot in Quincy, Mass., to make sure they would each get one. For food, they arranged for pizza to be delivered to them in line, confounding the delivery boy when they gave "the shopping-cart area" of Wal-Mart as an address.

Some of the fortunate few who got Nintendo's Wii game console in New York City.
"We didn't want to lose our place in line because we knew that everyone in the world wants a Wii," explains Mr. Fortune, who works at the local Wal-Mart himself.

Not everyone has been as fortunate as Mr. Fortune and his four friends, who each managed to buy one. The Wii, which retails for $250, has emerged as this year's biggest must-have game console for Christmas. Long lines form hours before electronics retailers put them on sale -- usually no more than a few dozen at a time, if that, and often only every other week. In fact, the Wii -- pronounced we -- has proved more popular and harder to nab than Sony Corp.'s higher-tech, higher-price and highly touted PlayStation 3, which has superior graphics and a built-in, next-generation DVD player. The Sony machine comes in two models, priced at $500 and $600.
"It may be because the PS3 is so scarce, consumers have given up looking for one and are going after the Wii with a vengeance," theorizes John Taylor, a videogames analyst at Arcadia Investments Inc., in Portland, Ore. He says that reports of Sony's production problems and consumer confusion over some of the PS3's technology has driven shoppers to the simpler and less-expensive Nintendo machine.

Despite grumbling from some consumers, Nintendo insists it isn't deliberately causing Wii shortages in U.S. stores, saying that the company simply can't make the console fast enough to meet consumer demand. "Demand, as you can see from the reaction of consumers, has been greater than even we had hoped for," says George Harrison, senior vice president of marketing and communications at Nintendo's U.S. division.

He says Nintendo tries to be fair in divvying up Wii shipments but makes a special effort to supply retailers that advertise the product. "We try to do it equitably, but we don't want to embarrass the retailer by having them have no product," he says. The retailers that have made such advertising commitments include Wal-Mart, Target Corp., Best Buy Co., Toys "R" Us, GameStop Corp. and Circuit City Stores Inc.

In all, U.S. retailers estimate that 1.4 million to 1.5 million Wiis will be sold by Dec. 25, roughly twice as many as the PS3. According to NPD Group in Port Washington, N.Y., Nintendo sold 476,000 Wiis in the U.S. last month, versus 197,000 PS3s.

The Internet has been abuzz with consumers sharing Wii buying strategies; a forum devoted to the Wii on Amazon.com, which sold out its allocation of the machine last month in under a minute, has drawn thousands of messages. "Where (physically) do you camp?" was the subject of one discussion.

So-called Wii finders have sprung up, offering to send instant email alerts whenever an online retailer offers the console online. Matt Lewis, a Los Angeles software developer, launched an online finder for the PS3 last month, but says he was deluged with requests for a Wii finder. Charging $6.50 for the service, he says his Wii customers outnumber PS3 customers by a 10-to-1 ratio, although he won't disclose how many subscribers he has.

Some online retail sites, including Walmart.com and GameStop.com, have been requiring Wii purchasers to buy a "bundle" of games, which can bring the total cost to nearly $700. Nevertheless, the consoles and game bundles have been selling out within minutes. GameStop didn't respond to questions about their bundling practices, and a Wal-Mart spokeswoman would say only that the retailer is "working to take care of our customers and re-stock this popular item on our Web site as shipments are received throughout the holiday season."

Meanwhile, on eBay the Nintendo machines have been selling for a premium of more than $200. Some users of Craigslist.org have been posting offers to trade their unopened, more-expensive PS3s for the Wii, plus the price differential.

The frenzy has been welcomed by traditional retailers, even though many of their customers can't buy what they came to purchase. "All those lines in front of the stores brings a lot of energy and excitement to the gaming sector," says Jill Hamburger, vice president of movies and videogames for Best Buy, in Richfield, Minn.

Many analysts and industry executives credit Nintendo for pulling off a smoother launch than Sony, delivering a system with few technical glitches and a strong catalog of games. Sony's machine, which includes a new, high-definition DVD format called Blu-ray, ballooned its price tag, making it one of the costliest game consoles ever.

While the Wii offers its own innovations -- notably, a unique motion-sensitive remote controller that lets players, say, swing an on-screen tennis racket by swinging the device -- it relies on more proven technologies overall and is easier to manufacture than the delay-plagued PS3.
Game publisher THQ Inc. of Agoura Hills, Calif., predicted Sony would ship so few PS3s initially that it would be difficult to make money on games around its November launch. So THQ decided not to release any PS3 games until next year. The publisher was more bullish about the Wii, releasing four titles for its launch last month, says Brian Farrell, THQ's CEO.

Game-industry analysts say one factor in the shortage of the Nintendo Wii is the company's bottom-line focus. Sony and Microsoft Corp., maker of Xbox 360, are willing to lose money on their game consoles, making money on the games and accessories. But the more-conservative Nintendo is willing to lose only so much money. For instance, while Sony decided to ship all of its PS3s by air, Nintendo is sending slightly more than half of its Wiis from Asia by less-expensive boat transport. The ships take about 10 days to reach the U.S.

For Nintendo, the strength of the Wii this holiday season underscores how the company came back from potential has-been. During the last round of the console wars, Nintendo came in third behind Sony and Microsoft. While its much-larger rivals are focusing on providing the slickest, high-definition graphics, Nintendo chose to bank on novelties like its motion-sensitive controller -- a bet that seems to have worked.

It's too soon to know whether Nintendo will be able to translate its relatively strong launch into a more durable lead over Sony in the long term. "We feel very confident that the PlayStation fan is going to wait until they can get a PlayStation 3," says Dave Karraker, a spokesman for Sony's U.S. games division. "If they do pick up a Wii, it's as more of a novelty."

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The Anatomy of an eBay Scam – Reloaded

As eerie as this may seem, this recent eBay scam I have been caught up in has more turns and worse endings than the Matrix movie series. Just when I thought it was safe to come out of the woods, I find myself snarled in the eBay / Paypal ripoff gone wrong again. Wait until you hear what happened today!

I was planning on giving the Thousand Oaks police department a call today to update a police report / close it due to the fact that I received my refund from the seller as you read about in my article here. Then I got the following email from my good friends at PayPal:

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It has come to our attention that you may be the recipient of potentially unauthorized funds. We have initiated an investigation into this event. In the meantime, we have placed a temporary hold on the funds in question until the investigation is complete. This temporary hold will show as a deduction in your available balance. In the meantime, you are free to continue transacting using your PayPal account.


Transaction Date: Dec. 9, 2006 16:46:35 PST
Transaction Amount: $289.00 USD
Payor's Email: ****NAME SCRUBBED****


If you have not delivered the goods or services related to this transaction, we ask that you delay or stop delivery until our investigation is complete as you may be liable for the amount in question.

To assist us in our investigation, please send an email to pending_reversal@paypal.com with the following information:

1. The item, service or purpose of the purchase, and the associated value;
2. The name and address given to you by the sender (if an item was purchased);
3. If shipped, the company used for shipping, date of shipment, and tracking number for the shipment;
4. Details of any other transactions related to the transaction(s) in question;
5. A phone number where you can be reached during the day and evening; and
6. Insurance information, if applicable.

Any additional information you have regarding this transaction, such as email correspondence, will further help us to expedite our investigation. Solving these cases helps us continue to offer PayPal as a secure and cost-effective payment service. We appreciate your cooperation and assistance.

Sincerely,
PayPal Account Review Team

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According to PayPal, it looks like I may be in receipt of a payment that was unauthorized. Even though the subject of the payment had to do with the “Refund of Canon SD800 IS Camera”, it looks like the users account that provided the refund may have been compromised. It appears that the person that I have been dealing with is into crimes much deeper than simple fraud. They may also be involved in some sort of phishing ring that is moving not only defrauding eBay users, but also compromising PayPal accounts and leveraging them to pay other individuals. Will wonders never cease?

So, I went ahead and contacted the seller – I am not expecting a returned email, but I demanded that the money be refunded from the account I originally paid in order for me to stop any proceedings against them.

In a couple of additional wrinkles, when I received the funds into my PayPal account, I immediately transferred them out to my bank account given my recent experiences. So, we will see how serious PayPal handles this mess than is even larger than before. I may just close my account!

Oh, what a tangled web we weave. Can Google checkout get more pervasive any faster? Someone needs to replace PayPal in the market – they’re an absolute disaster.

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Sony Playstation 3 (PS3) in stock at Costco! ***Confirmed***

A quick note to all of those searching the myriad of stores out there right now: Best Buy, Circuit City, Wal-Mart, Target, Fry’s, FYE, and others – I am confirming that Costco’s have received their final shipment of Sony Playstation 3’s (PS3). In most cases, an entire pallet of PS3’s were delivered – about 96 items by accident.

In fact, I stumbled onto this by accident. On an early morning run to Costco, it was discovered that an entire shipment of PS3’s made its way to the Westlake Village, CA Costco. A total of 96 at that store. We were able to pick up a bundle which includes Genji and a second controller in the bundle for ~ $750 with tax. By the time our shopping was completed, there were still 75 other Playstation 3’s waiting to be picked up. In fact, there was a lady standing with a sign – Playstation 3’s in Stock. Yet, there was no line, perhaps because this was expected.

Well, I went ahead and picked one up, which I have listed on eBay as item #230063402702. You can bid on it if you like by clicking here. I recently did purchase a PS3 bundle on eBay through PayPal and I am attempting to re-coup some of the premium I paid. Good luck!

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The Anatomy of an eBay Scam – Resolved

Well, how things change quickly. I am happy to report that after 3 weeks of research, struggles and frustration, I have been refunded my money for the Canon SD800 IS purchase that I attempted to make through eBay. But, I want to be very clear that neither eBay nor PayPal did anything to help me out.

In fact, in a conversation with PayPal on Friday – I had a representative rudely hang up on the phone on my when I asked them not to continue to say they were "working hard to recover my money." Because, they are not -- PayPal does absolutely nothing to protect their customers or try to actively recover funds, especially if you paid a seller with your PayPal balance or via bank account. The representative even told me as much as you need to pay with your credit card if you want to be able to issue a charge back or dispute funds in the future. This, and PayPal continues to promote paying PayPal with your available balance.

All PayPal does to “actively” work to get your money back in the case of PayPal balance payment, is scan the other parties balance to see if money gets added. If nothing gets added, they do nothing. However, if you issue a charge back with your credit card, then PayPal actively works to get that back though any means possible, because it is money out of their pocket. Lessons learned, never pay with your PayPal balance, and never keep any funds in your PayPal account. This is the only way to really protect yourself using their service. And bottom line, PayPal does not care if you lose money using their service. They provide no additional value other than a clearing house for payments – as soon as it catches on, you can guarantee I will be switching to Google checkout!

So, you ask – how did you get money back if eBay and PayPal did not provide assistance? Well, I did it the old fashioned way. I went ahead and went through the process of contacting my local law enforcement agency to file a police report. At the same time, I contacted the seller to let them know I was pursuing this path. I almost immediately received a response asking that if I received a refund, would I stop pursuing this. I said yes, and almost instantly the $289.00 showed up in my PayPal account. So, now I just need to close out the police report as resolved and move on with lessons learned.

Was it truly a scam? I believe so, the last email I received asked my why I did not dispute it with my credit card company for resolution. This leads me to believe that this person or ring is attempting to use smaller (<$1,000) auctions and assume that eBay, PayPal, and the credit card companies will not pursue the smaller dollar values. Regardless, the user’s eBay id has been cancelled on eBay, they refunded my money and I learned some lessons that will make me more vigilant in the future!

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The Cornerstone Conference -- At the Brink

Update: Since this message was posted, the owner who posted completed a trade, acquiring Carmelo Anthony and sending Dwight Howard AND Raymond Felton on 12/15. Just a day or two before the brawl at Madison Square Garden. What gives!

The fabric of our Fantasy Basketball league -- "The Cornerstone Conference" -- is at the brink. The brink of having a few owners drown in their frustrations. The below is a recent post from our league with an owner (to remain nameless) trying to encourage some activity. Somewhat of a harsh criticism of our league, however -- it's main purpose was to get something going.

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Ok. Seriously. I have had Chris Paul on the block for over one week now. Will someone at least offend me with some ridiculous official offer. The closest I got was a tongue in cheek offer of Chris Webber for Chris Paul straight up. (After I dropped him the week prior) At this point I would consider the merits of such a trade if it was at least offered to me officially.

I ventured to try and trade with another owner in this league who shall remain nameless (Let me just say his team "stinks" and he should be looking for a trade) and after a few emails he just stopped returning my emails. Is there no etiquette in this league? Is this whole league so conflict averse that no healthy debate can happen? If anyone is interested in the facts unless the rest of us make trades here **** IS GOING TO RUN AWAY WITH THIS LEAGUE.

I tried trading with another guy and have so little clue of who is in this league that I sent an email to the wrong owner. This wrong owner promptly chastised me for making such a ridiculous offer. I'm a two time champion in this league. Make me an offer then....

Further I'd like to lob a bomb over to the commissioners office. Somebody needs to take you guys off life support. It is your responsibility to make this league work. (Never mind that the commissioner who runs your baseball league is lazy) Set some rules. Require that each person write one article of substance before the allstar break or risk losing some wins. C'mon! Does anyone have a pulse in this league?

Below is an excerpt of an article I wrote for my other league. While it doesn't portray this league in a very flattering light. I'm desperate. so here you go. To be honest based on my opinion of this league I'm guessing about two of you will read this.

THEORIES GALORE (Excerpt)

My life as a fantasy owner consumes me. I liken my participation in fantasy hoops to my golf game. The more I work at it the more I suck. With an extra long off-season from fantasy basketball this past year, (having missed the playoffs in both of my leagues) I was left with plenty of time to think. A myriad of thoughts went through my head over the summer, many of which were not positive. I give to you a few examples of the thoughts that reverberated through the empty space between my ears regarding my fantasy lot in life:

• I’m not getting better at fantasy, I’m getting worse.
• I can’t keep up with the new breed of young, ingenious well read fantasy owners.
• Maybe I’ve torn the ACL of my fantasy brain? If I were Amare, I would have packed it in. Maybe I should pack it in?
• Fantasy league is not real. It has no meaning. Fantasy is stupid.

The last reason I must admit shook me to my core. Fantasy not real! Are you kidding? I know you all must be recoiling in horror at the blasphemous inference that fantasy league is an unreal endeavor relegated to those who have little to no capacity to make any real difference in this world. It was this “valley of the shadow of death” spot in my life that I grabbed the ladder to climb out of the pool of self pity I had been swimming in and begun to work my way back to fantasy respectability.

My first step was analyzing my weaknesses. I sought counsel from all over, while paying specific attention to the 3 most important people in my fantasy life: Me, myself and I….

Using the valuable insight provided, I was able to draw a series of conclusions that I believe to be the groundbreaking, paradigm shift, revelation type of stuff that I’m convinced all the great owners of yore surely received in the lowest points of their careers.

Further, as I sought the depraved depths of my fantasy soul for insight as to what would make me great, I became convinced that success could not come unless I shared this. By sharing, I would be set free. By sharing, I would cement my legacy years from now when some resourceful budding fantasy owner would dig up this piece and realize that fantasy greatness was prophesied by the Owner formerly known as ***. I share because I must. I share because I know many of you out there feel the same way. I share because I shudder at the thought of others dropping the much maligned art form of fantasy league for made up reasons such as: “I don’t have time to set my lineups daily” or “I have car pool duty”.

In fairness to me and my fantasy acumen I should tell you I have hoisted a fantasy crown twice in my lifetime, both times in basketball. However, as it is no mystery to anybody reading this article, never have I hoisted the 26by2sand3swinby4 crown. Thus I come, mercifully to my first epiphany.

THE FORBIDDEN FRUIT THOERY
Sure, I’ve hoisted the crown in my other fantasy league but who cares? This other league is the type that anyone in our existing league could have won. The type of league that when first launched I was able to get 3 of the players selected in the first round of our league…. With the 6th pick in the draft no less! Over the years I’ve spent less and less time with my other league, pouring my attention into 26by2s.

As I began thinking about my past success and pondering the playoffless plight of this past season, I realized I’d been entrapped by the issue that had plagued me since puberty. 26by2s had become like the girl I pursued but never got because I gave her way more attention than she deserved.

My other league was giving it up! Two first place finishes a couple of runner ups. Who cares if my other league is average looking and not that bright? Success is success right? As I pursued this line of thinking I realized much deeper things. How did I have success with the cute girl that would never go out with me all things being equal? Spend more time with the other girl!

Will success come in 26by2s for me? Who knows... I do know that last year I was not in contention for the first time in 5 years in my other league. Why? Too much time pining over 26by2s. Screw that. I’m getting my other league back!

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