Bank Robbed

I'm constantly amazed at how fervent some people's loyalty to Banks is. When I suggest that they consider banking at a credit union, for the simple fact that it is a -NOT-FOR-PROFIT- organization they balk at that. as if a non-profit-org could steward their money better than those that drove the economy to ish. Then they tell me about how convenient it is that there is a <insert big name bank here> on every corner. Last I checked, you could get cash back at every grocery store/drug store/post office/etc with no fees. woo, look at that convenience! Just get in the habit of getting cash back and you'll never need to go out of your way to go to an ATM.

What about making deposits you ask? Since the credit unions are in an alliance together, you can make a deposit at any one - nationwide. You can go inside or use the ATM. It's really that easy.

Just check it out. Marvel at the lack of fees and the trivially low minimum balances. you don't have to commit to it. But please if you do nothing else, just acknowledge that despite what the marketing messages say, banks do not care about your home or your family (nor should they) because they are FOR-PROFIT enterprises that will raise rates and fees in order to raise profits because legally they have to act in the fiduciary interests of their shareholders - not you. it's not that they are evil, they are just for profit entities.

</rant>

Nespresso Heaven

It's not often that I find something that i *like* so much that i have to blog about it...but the Nespresso Machine WITH the aerocino milk frother is it.



I've had the strait espresso shots from the Nespresso machine before, and although they are beautiful every time, I can't drink espresso, or drip coffee, without my stomach gurgling all day. So for me, the milk is essential. But my past experiences with frothing milk at home with the old school steam wands has not been good. Too much work for sub par foam. But despite my hesitations, I finally broke down and got the machine because I'm going back to work after maternity leave, and there is no way I'm getting out of bed that early w/out some coffee.

It's 2009, so by now everyone knows about the ease of pod coffee machines, but for me, what really makes this machine exceptional, other than the fact that there is nothing to clean up, is the milk frother. You pour the milk in, push the button, and you have perfect milk in less than a minute. Rinse it out in the sink and you're done. And the milk is perfect. it's velvety and it's the right temp. If you like scalding your mouth on boiling lattes this isn't for you. I don't though. I like lattes that i can drink right away...which for some strange reason is a special order at starbucks. Anyhow, long story short, I'm so glad I finally bought this machine. $300 is a small price to pay to not have to wait in line to then pay $4 for way too hot, flat lattes.

stay caffeinated my friends.

Feed him

So, I joke with my girlfriends about the 3 F's of keeping your man happy (or rather, the 3 F's of getting whatever you want). One day I'll tell you about them, as a public service, because everyone ends up happy and no part of it involves nagging, stalking or any other whackjob ish. As for today, i'll just tell you about one of them. Feed Him.

As you can probably guess, that means I've been cooking...Everything - chicken, steak, quiche, lamb, reductions, cakes, muffins, cheesecake, all from scratch and whether I feel like it or not. Because if we're going to eat, we might as well eat well.

And people that knew me in grad school as the take out queen, are a bit shocked to see this new domestic goddess...but they shouldn't be. Everyone knows about diamonds being a girl's best friend, but what they don't know is that for a carat and a half, flawless, in the ~blue box~ you really can turn a <party girl> into a housewife...

indeed.

it ain't no joke... if you don't pay that note

so have you seen operation repo? the best part about the show is how the people getting their cars repo'd 1)pretend they don't know what is going on and then 2)fight the HUGE guys trying to take their car.

i mean really, if you're not paying your car note you have a few months to think about what you're going to do when the repo guys finally come for you...and the best you can come up with is to act indignant repo MY car, as if! and then get yourself maced.

Should I ever have my car repo'd, on TV, I'm using that as the jump off for my own reality TV show. I don't know how yet, but if I'm not paying my car note, then I'm clearly unemployed, and therefore I'll have plenty of time to come up with something good...stay tuned.

government mandated preventative care?

I'm curious to know how government sponsored preventative care is going to work. While I am hopeful that there will be a new emphasis on nutrition and exercise, I truly wonder how the government can influence people's personal decisions. Will people all of a sudden eat well, exercise regularly and stop smoking just because Obama says so? Will a healthy lifestyle be incenvitized by taxing "unhealthy" things heavily? Or will we as a nation go bankrupt trying to control each other's lives and then ultimately be forced to take responsibility for our own health?

only time will tell i guess.

so fresh

have i mentioned that i love the nikeID site? i do feel bad though when I see on the ups invoice that your custom shoes ship from vietnam...but not bad enough to buy new balances. anyhow how Nike allocates the $100+ you spend on a pair of shoes is a topic for another blog...

political guilt aside, this is what i did today:

Motherhood Penalty

So I was reading Shine today and apparently the penalty for having kids is severe when it comes to pay and hiring.

As usual, I am prepared to defy all stereotypes and ignore all reasons why i shouldn't be ballin by being great, all day every day. A mother's work may never be done, but there is a definite stopping point with software. Woo! FYI, see the sexy new blog roll on the right (if this is an archive page, you won't see it). I wrote that code *while* tending to the baby. Mothers you know what I mean by tending. Guys, you may have to think about that for a minute. HR types, you can forget you ever read that.

adub out.

IRONMAN

So I was at Peet's this morning, dressed and ready to go running, but totally bullshitting. I wasn't exactly being fully lazy, but I wasn't inspired to get off of the bench yet.

So anyhow, I'm sitting there passing time drinking a mocha, and the guy next to me notices how awesome the custom nikes i ordered are and we start chatting about them. (not to jock Nike too hard, but they really are lovely).

So we're talking about running, and he's clearly a runner, but I had no idea what a runner he was. He also had a bike helmet with him, so I asked him if he's a runner and a cycler. Obvious question, but he informed that he was actually a Triathlete. he's a triathlete with a capital T. He of course didn't say that though. He was extremely modest about his accomplishments.

Ya, so what, not impresive you say? Half of Californians are triathletes. True, but not like Fred the Ironman. Ya ya, Ironman, so what. 50,000 people worldwide do some Ironman race every year. Still not impressed? He did Kona. Still not impressed? He did it at 62. Even the toughest critic has to be impressed with that.

So, I press further. Endurance sports can be hell on your body, how are you still able to do them to that level in your 60's? And he was telling me about how he's seen some triathletes overtrain, and have an unbalanced life. No marriage, no kids. Just races. Normally, this is a critisism you hear from people that DON'T want to do the longer races. Not from someone that's done more than 10 Ironman competitions.

So he told me more about his training schedule and get this, although he was a runner since the age of 18, when preparing for the Ironman, he generally only trained about 7-15 hours a week. He said how you train, and how you rest inbetween sessions was key. And he then went on to tell me that by not overtraining, he hasn't run into the joint and muscle problems that plague a lot of endurance athletes.

He then showed me the bad ass Ironman tatoo he had on his calf to commemorate the unbelievable experience of coming down Ali'i Drive and finishing Ironman Hawaii.

So, fully inspired by Fred the 12 time Ironman, I found the motivation to get off the bench and ran the lake.

celebrity engineer - dorkus popularus

So I was reading the spring edition of the UC Berkeley, College of Engineering magazine, Forefront, and Jeffrey Chu had the following comment:

"I think once we, as a country start having celebrity scientists and engineers instead of just actors, singers and athletes, we will see more Americans go into engineering and the hard sciences."

Not only do I agree with this, but I also volunteer to be the next celebrigineer.

I'll do dancing with the stars, and should this engaged thing not work out you can count me in for ~for the love of A-Dub~ but I won't eat any bugs...for less than $250K.

I await your adoration and loathing.

running for my money

i was curious about the custom nikes, so i ordered some. they're pretty good if you can't find a pair already in colors that you want. okay, i'm lying...i love them, and i'm going to order custom colors EVERY time I get shoes!



so anyhow, i got my new running shoes and then i noticed this (+) thing. hmmm, what the heck is nike+ i wonder... so i looked into it, and it turns out that you can buy this sensor that goes in the bottom of the shoe that tracks your run. Ya, it's totally unnecessary, but so are custom pink shoes with "go fast" embroidered on the back. FYI, go fast is a joke. i'm so slow...i couldn't do a 7 minute mile if my life depended on it

anyhoo back to the unnecessary ish nike is enticing me to buy. so these sensors will track your run and let you upload your run stats to their site - where they can show you some cool graphs and such and then sell you more unnecessary things. web geek that i am, having 2.0 shoes is totally bad a$$.

so, even though i'm not that big of a runner, or that adventurous of a runner - i run the lake, i want this thing and i'm now obessed with getting it.

so i'm looking up the price. first you cough up $20, sucks but it's whatever, and get the sensor...but wait, then apple gets involved. In order to upload your data, you also have to get a ipod nano or a 2nd gen ipod touch. That's okay I thought...i have the original iphone, the expensive one, so they probably have an app that'll work with the sensor.

NO. DENIED. you have to buy the nano or the ipod touch. lame. i have the iphone, so i already have an ipod. I don't need 2. i'm so annoyed. nike should be mad at crApple about this. nike is good at getting you to incrementally spend more. Apple tries to bleed you dry. because i would have shelled out another $20 for the sensor, and i would have even paid another $20 for a nike app in the itunes app store...but i'm not going to buy yet another apple device just to know that i ran the 3.2 mile lake in 31 minutes. I already know this.

i'll let you know if i break down and buy a nano.