Gone Shopping

<Warning: Spoilers may be in this. Then again, there may not. Only the Mole knows.>

<You should watch episode 7 before reading.>

Three people to go. Want to guess who before the program starts?

D: Craig is the mole and Mark will win.

R: Agree.

Starting off, everyone is saying they don’t know who it is, but that can’t be right, since obviously, there are only 3 of them left.

The first challenge is interesting, since it’s in a room on location somewhere, instead of running around a city somewhere.

Right off, cut the red one! Yeah, the read one!

Okay, back to what they’re trying to figure out.  Craig found the hidden item. He figured it out with no problems, and that seems surprising since he has done this a few times now. (Remember the tailor a few weeks ago?) And again, he does it with the clock. Maybe…

Craig is right, Nicole has done both Mole stuff and just made mistakes. And what she said about “the map is flat, but the world is round, so it takes time to figure out.”  Huh?

Watching them try to get the wire to cut was funny. Gee, what does purple look like?  Too bad they figured it out, I really wanted to see something blow up.

On the second task, Nicole frustrating John with the picture was pretty funny. (Of course, they probably didn’t think so.) John was so patient, telling her she had to “get” a flag a number of times.  You know, she is just asking so dang bazaar that she could be the mole.

Craigs task of getting a tango dancer was funny. D was like “I want him to grab a old lady, and dare John to say she isn’t beautiful.”

Marks call about Craig lying about how ambulatory he is made us laugh. Really!  Of course, if it was what’s-his-name, “wheelbarrow boy”, then it really would have been funny.

 Okay, taking the dosier instead of the money wasn’t a surprise. It’s definitely in the moles best interests (assuming it’s him) to take it instead of the money.

At the final dinner, Nicole seemed like she was trying to deflect attention about the bungy jumping. I recall that we thought it looked like she knew what she was doing, and now here she is saying how surprised she was with her “flair”.  Or, is it a double play to make people suspect her?

Now the hard part…waiting until next week to see who it is.

Hey, I just bought a new computer. Yay for me.

It’s an Acer laptop. Dual core intel (running around 1.87 ghz), 3 gigs RAM, 250 meg hard drive. Price after mail-in rebate, $499.  That’s a good $30 bucks lower than what I saw at the other big stores for an equivalant deal.

They had a $399 one listed that had the AMD version of the equivilent processor. That’s what I was going to get originally, but I knew I’d want to immediately upgrade the memory. And it came with a 120 gig hard drive. So doubling my HD space and memory for $100 seemed like a good deal.

I had gone the day before, and the guy helping me was no-pressure. Then when I went back on Sunday (when the sale started), the gal was also low-pressure. She said “this has trial versions of Office, so if you want the real thing, you’ll need to buy it” or something to that affect. I’m fine with that, so at least I wasn’t surprised with what was on it.

She did mention needing the additional memory to make it run decently. My comment back, for anyone interested, is:

No. Vista should run on 1 gig. Sure, the extra will make it run better, but it’s not necessary. My wifes computer runs fine on 1 gig. Now, if you’re having trouble, start uninstalling all the junk that gets put on at the factory. there are at least a dozen things running that on’t need to be, and once you get rid of it, you’ll notice a big difference.

The other thing they offered is to have their technician clean the system up. (Removing the extra stuff programs and other stuff, I really don’t know what.) I don’t see the need to pay someone to do this, since I can uninstall things just as well as the next guy. But I imagine that some people might be intimidated doing it, so go for it. (I wouldn’t spend more than $25-$50 for the service though.)

they offered their extended service plan/warranty, but I thought it was a little too expensive. ($129 or more, as I recall).  Since this is a cheap computer, our plan is to replace it in a couple years, so the warranty doesn’t make sense.

I’ll go into more details on what I do with the computer over on my technical blog, since, well, it’s technical stuff.

This weekend is the tax-holiday. We could have saved $30 if we were willing to brave the crowds, but timing wise, we decided it wasn’t worth it.

Circuit City offers a 30 day price protection. If you see the same computer advertised for less within 30 days, bring in your receipt and they’ll exchange you for the difference. We did this last year at Office Depot, and saved $75, so it’s worth keeping an eye open.

Overall, it was a good buying experience. I’ll shop there again.

(Note: this was the Circuit City at The Mall of Georgia, for anyone local.)

<Warning: Spoilers may be in this. Then again, there may not. Only the Mole knows.>

<You should watch episode 7 before reading.>

First off, I’ve moved this over here instead of the main blog, since this seems a little more appropriate. I spent some time on the phone last night with JC, and came to the conclusion that neither of us know who it is. Oh well, we’ll see what this week brings.

Below are my show notes, written as we watched. For a change, I tried using “One-Note” to write everything down. Having never used it before, it was pretty cool…

The pot is currently 331K. Not bad. Seems like the challenges are now worth more.

Paul jumped up to volunteer, saying he saw Craig put his hand up. But he jumped up way before Craig did.
The challenge sounds pretty hard with the images being backwards.

Okay, with Mark and Paul doing it, the fact that Paul kept saying there was feedback was a little awkward. Nicole and Craig were really screwing up. Talking and moving the camera were all Mole-like.

N/C doing the kicking was screwed up again. Nicole again didn’t know how to work the camera, but it could be Craig wasn’t giving any direction.

The teacup, seems like Paul was nailing it. And the same deal, Nicole was just too zoomed in. Not too bad a job.

The walk across the beam looked scary. Too me, it actually seemed like it would be the easiest one. D things not, since she would lose her balance too easy. The amount of beeping out of words was a lot less than expected. Hehe.
P/M: Nothing too suspicious.
N/C: Nicoles camera work again sucked. So did Craig’s balance though. Of course, knowing he was scared of heights, which he’s said since the beginning of the show, could cause his problems.

At dinner, seems like Nicole was really trying to backstab Craig.

The second challenge looked doable. I personally don’t like the “change the word” puzzles, but D is good with them. Apparently, Paul doesn’t like them either.
The three people teaming up to do the paintball was a good idea. Seemed like it worked pretty well.

If Mark is the Mole, he’s a heck of a great actor. He just seems so sincere about wanting the exemption. Paul, on the other hand, is very bitter about Mark winning one.

At the end of this episode (before the quiz):
Rahn: Craig or Mark
D: Nicole or Craig.

Well, guess now we know who it’s not. Three people left.

Last week, the wife, her parents and myself went to Denji Japanese Restaurant, 1520 Auburn Road, Suite 101, Dacula, GA.  (Phone 770-995-8192)

Unlike what we usually see, this is a Hibachi Kitchen, not just a Habachi. The difference is that here, you sit at a regular table, order, and the food is cooked in back and brought out to you. We liked this, because we could sit and have a conversation, instead of us all being spread out and only the people in the middle get to talk to each other. And you don’t get seated with strangers, which some people may like.

Dad and I shared a tuna sashimi appetizer. They sliced it thin, and it was really good. Our only though was the wasabi wasn’t really strong. Not that big a deal, since it’s easy enough to add more.

All the dinners came with a salad with ginger dressing. Yummy.  They weren’t skimpy on the dressing either, which won them points from D.

For the main meal, I ordered bulgogi, a marinated beef that’s grilled. I got a taste for it when I spent a year in Korea, and don’t get to have it too often. It was great! And the plate was huge, easily big enough for two people to share. Fried rice on the side left me stuffed.

D ordered a Hibachi Filet Mignon. She also got a huge portion, and it was really good too.  I don’t remember what the parents ordered, but they enjoyed it.

We all left stuffed, wondering how we were going to find room for the birthday cake we had waiting at home.  (Don’t worry..we suceeded. And it was great, but more on that in a future entry.)

With so many Hibachi restuarants around, when we first saw this place open, we weren’t particularly thrilled. Well, we’re sure glad we decided to give it a try, and are looking forward to going again.

For quite some time, I’ve been wanting to get one of the Garmin GPS systems for running and hiking. The 205 would work, but I’d rather have the 305 since it has a heartrate monitor. But even better than that is the 405, their newest one.

At this morning’s group run, a number of people had the various models, so I got to spend some time talking to them about them. Actually, a few of them had multiple models, so I got some good perspective on the differences.

First off, the 405 looks like a big watch. That’s a bonus, becuase you can wear it at any time. The 205/305 versions (the older ones) look like some sort of sci-fi gadget.  (Or maybe a Dick Tracy watch.)  Weight wise though, everyone agreed that they are about the same. The watch on the 405 keeps working in standby mode, and will last for days.

No one had run theirs until the battery was dead, so they couldn’t say how long they last. The consensus was probably 8-10 hours. (Which I think is about what the specs say.)

The biggest complaint everyone had about the 405 was the screen was too small. The older models have a bigger display that can hold up to 4 different “items”, but the 405 could only hold 3 items. And the text on the 405 was pretty small, so that made it harder to read while running. Another issue someone pointed out on the 405 was it has a scrolling display. Sure, it looks cool, but is what ends up happening is that you have to look at it 3-4 times to get all the information, and when your running, that just aint convenient.

All versions have relatively good GPS reception. The occasionally lose coverage in the woods, and as with all GPS’s, switchbacks on the trails tend to mess things up.  I think there is a foot pod that can be connected into the system that takes over when coverage is lost, but since no one had one, I’m don’t know much about it.

Hopefully that information helps you out. It definitely makes me consider the 305, which has dropped dramatically in price since the 405 came out:

Amazon prices as of this writing:

• Garmin 405 with heart rate monitor: $349.99
• Garmin 405: $299.99
• Garmin 305 with heart rate monitor: $209.71
• Garmin 205: 152.65

I’ve had a Nike+ attachment for my Ipod for over a year now, and I’ve told a number of people about how I like it, so I figured it was time to write an actual review of it.

For those of you who don’t know, this kit is a pod that goes in your shoe, and a plugin piece that works with a Ipod Nano. Using the Ipod, you can track your time, distance and calories burned while running or walking.The shoe sensoe is designed to work with Nike shoes that have a special cut-out for it.

The Sportsband is the new version of this that is put out just by Nike. No Ipod is required. It has the same sensor, and a “watch” to wear that gives you the information.

For both of these, you can track your status online through Nike+.

Now, here’s what I have to say:

For the Ipod version, it works great. You can start your music, then start the Nike+Ipod function, and just go. When you reach milestones, Lance Armstrong or Paula Ratcliffe comes on and tells you your doing good. That’s just fun. Also, you don’t need to have anything playing to work it though. I don’t like to wear headphones when trail running, so I just use it without. (Safety Note: When I do wear them, I only use 1 earpiece, so I’m at least somewhat aware of whats going on around me.)

It uses ITunes to manage the syncing with the website, which isn’t a big deal. I didn’t particularly care for the calibration to get the distance set up correctly because you need to run on a route of a specific distance (like a track). Hence, I never calibrated mine. Over the course of a marathon, the distance was pretty dang close. For shorter distances (under 10 miles), I found it to be accurate within about 10%, which was good enough for me.

The plugin piece to the IPod is pretty easy to misplace. I forgot mine at home a number of times because it’s so small. But it weighs next to nothing, so the only thing you notice while wearing it is the extended length of the whole gizmo. (About an extra 1/2 inch.)

Battery life is good, my shoe sensor battery just died after 15 months, which has led me to buying a Sports Band.

Now, the Sports Band is a bit different. As I mentioned, it has the same sensor. However, it has a USB dongle attached to a watchband instead of using the Ipod. The dongle itself it very small, just big enough to an LCD screen and a button.

You have to install separate software for this, which is no big deal. However, there are things about it I don’t like:

• I don’t want a background service running on my computer all the time. I don’t have enough memory as it is. (No big deal, since it can be turned off..)
• Calibration is a lot easier than the other version. Any run of know length over a 1/4 mile will work.
• Whenever you plug it in, it automatically takes you to the Nike+ site. This is an annoyance, because I don’t always need to see my information right away. (There’s probably a way to turn this off too, but I haven’t seen it yet.)

The watchband is more comfortable than I thought it would be, and it’s not very wide so doesn’t affect wrist movement much. However, if you have large wrists, be sure to try it on before you buy it. I have mine on the last holes…fits but I don’t have space to get bigger wrists.  the dongle can probably be carried in a pocket easily enough, but I’d worry about losing it.

And, after using it 3 times, my only real complaint is that the LCD isn’t too shock absorbent. Well, I suppose it’s the same as any other watch, but it’s not good enough for me. I’ve always been hard on watched, even when I’m not being thrown around by cars.

Here’s an import piece for both versions: Nike, of course, would like you to buy Nike shoes. However, this is usable with any shoe. I stuck a piece of velcro on my sensor to prevent it from slipping, then just stuck it in the laces of my  shoe where it’s fairly tight. There are companies also selling special pouches to use too.  (Note: Feel free to buy Nike’s. They just don’t fit me too well.)

And my last bit is this:
I don’t particularly like the Nike+ site. All the flash is slow to load. I really like the online challenges, but they are too hard to search through because they aren’t organized well. Alternate sites exist, such as Runner+ that work a lot better in my opinion.

Enjoy, and look forward to seeing you out there.

Last night, we decided to try out a new restaurant that we’ve been waiting to see open. Dacula Dogs, located - believe it or not - in Dacula, says it is “a Chicago style eatery with a splash of Southern charm.”

We received a warm, Southern-stye greeting (”welcome y’all”). The staff was friendly and helpful. They were knowledgeable about the menu (which we’ve found is not always the case in newer restaurants).

For anyone who doesn’t know, Chicago-style means no ketchup - Chicagoans reserve the right to make fun of anyone who orders a hot dog with ketchup on it - much the same way that Southerners reserve the right to make fun of anyone who orders unsweetened tea.

We did ask about their ketchup policy, and they said they would put the ketchup on the dog if requested, but they wouldn’t be happy about it.

D. had a Falcon dog with mustard and relish. I was feeling adventurous, so I ordered the Dacula Sampler. It comes with 3 mini-dogs with varying toppings - I got to choose any three specialties from the menu. I got a plain w/mustard and onion, a Chicago Style Hot Dog, and an Appalachee Slaw Dog).

We both got “platters,” D.’s came with fries and coleslaw, and I paid the extra $.50 to get the onion rings with mine. You can substitute beans for coleslaw at no charge, but we both prefer slaw.

Having never seen the neon-green Chicago style relish, D. was in a bit of a shock. But it tasted so good, she didn’t even miss the ketchup. She really liked the steamed poppyseed bun too.

The mini-dogs (3-inch-long hot dogs) I got were really cute. Now, that’s rarely a word I use in describing food, but in this case, it was accurate. And they were all good. I wasn’t too sad that the mini buns didn’t have the poppy seeds because they still tasted good.

The mayonnaise-based coleslaw was good and went well with the meal. The onion rings were also good, better than your usual fast food. The fries appeared to be breaded - they weren’t bad, but we didn’t love them. The owner, Scott, told us that he had tried them on the advice of his supplier, but planned to switch back to regular fries.

We also asked Scott about the chili for the chili dogs. He gave us a small sample and we both agreed that it would be good on the dogs or the fries - but D. assures me that my chili is still her favorite.

Overall, we really enjoyed it and will go back. We had a good time chatting with Scott and the other employees. The only thing we don’t like is that they are closed on Sunday … one of our favorite days to go out to a neighborhood haunt for a meal. But, we can work around that.

We often head out somewhere and want to talk about it, but for whatever reason, it doesn’t fit into the usual blog. You know, the mall, a flea market, or just some random website where we think we’re getting a good deal. Another exciting thing we do is eat out, so we always joke about doing restaurant reviews.

This site is to document these times and places. Hopefully, you’ll find something useful here, either as a review or as a tip.