Major Tom

Bob McGowan one of our local Bay Area legends made a really small DLG that launches like a bat out of hell.He calls it the Major Tom..At the Poway contest we took my altimiter and had an informal launch height contest using Major Tom. Again Bruce Davidson took the title with 233 foot launch.Here is some video of the event.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MCLnh5bklYo

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Poway recap

This last weekend a group of us Bay Area DLG pilots drove down to Poway ,which is near San Diego.The Torrey Pines Gulls RC club was hosting the IHLGF DLG contest.This is the largest DLG contest on the west coast and it attracts pilots from as far away as New Zealand. For me the two weeks leading up to Poway were really stressful.First I had to get my new Sirius plane ready for the contest.Building a plane so fast was a real challenge. Then the week before we were leaving I had a major equipment failure while flying one of my planes.My transmitter totally failed and my Lightspeed took a nosedive .So now I have to get a new transmitter and repair my Lightspeed. This process took me all week and did not get to fly all week. I finally flew most of my planes during the practice and we found that I had a few kinks to work out,but that the Sirius has a lot of potential beyond what I saw the first time I flew it. The big problem was that I was fluttering the whole wing at launch.Greg ,one of our local guys was a real wizard helping me all Friday night getting the bugs worked out. So Saturday morning I finally got everything together and got some more flight time. Between being sick for the past 4 months ,the pregnant wife and my latest radio issues I really was not ready for the contest. The first day is seven rounds which lasts from nine am till almost six pm. I was really up and down as I learned to fly the Sirius in a contest environment. Not having a rudder took me till day two to get even a little smooth with. Since I was not doing as well as last year I concentrated on finding the limits of the plane. On the last round of day one Bob McGowan was timing for me on a 5min task with really difficult conditions. I was about 3 minutes into the flight really far off the field and sinking fast ,Bob helped guide me to a thermal that got me some more altitude,but got me so far off the field that we were worried that I was going to lose the plane. I could hardly see the plane anymore when I got it heading in the right direction to the field.This was a difficult return trip as it was into the wind.But what made it truly hard was that my plane would go in and out of sight along with not knowing how to efficiently fly the plane in these conditions. Luckily I got it as close as a hundred yard of the pilots box.That return trip took 1min 45seconds. So I got a zero for the round ,but got my plane back.Whew. This was a common theme for me all weekend,I kept going way out for the lift and either just making it or getting a zero for a task. Bruce Davidson who won the whole thing and flies the same plane was telling me that he thinks the plane does not handle sink very well. I might have to agree after some of my flights. What this means is that I need to change how I leave a thermal. I have to make sure I keep up the speed and get out of it as early as possible. 

While I performed as poorly as I ever have (was at the bottom of the list) I learned a ton and had such a good time with all the guys. Greg  did the best of the Bay area guys, but everyone had some amazing moments. Yaniv did really well  for his first contest. Bob ,Kai and Dom all had some really bright spots,but the competition was really tough this year. The conditions were also making it hard to be smooth,so different from minute to minute.We all agree that stronger preparation is key.Even with such poor results its a fun event that everyone should go do. I would like to thank everyone who helped myself and all the Bay Area guys. I would like to congratulate all of the top 10 guys , but a big high 5 to Bruce and Jun who were the top two and the nicest guys on the field. 

Manresa food of the gods.

On Saturday night Shira and I along with a couple of friends went to Manresa in Los Gatos. I know that a lot of you that read this are not real foodies,but this place is really something special. Its hidden in a back alley in down town Los Gatos and from the outside is totally unassuming. And once you step inside the place is modern and very classy. Maybe I should start with why we chose the restaurant. I love the scientific way of cooking and have wanted to try a real macro gastronomy style restaurant. The problem is that there really are none in the bay area right now. While investigating where I might get a taste of this style of food Manresa kept coming up. Did a little research and found that it was a must try place on all the best lists and reviews around the world. It has 2 Michelin stars which for such a young restaurant(7 years ) is amazing. In the April issue of Saveur magazine they call it one of the 12 restaurants that matter in the US. David Kinch the chef and owner has put together quite a package. The get all their produce from Love Apple Farms which David visits many times a week to get the best and freshest for each days menu. He changes it almost every day depending on what is fresh. He has also established relationships with local sea food and producers of organic meat.to say the least everything is of top quality,which you can taste. This is the real focus ,fresh ,strong  and interesting flavors. Some of the preparations are unique and  might sound odd, but I cant stress how good everything was. 

The way the restaurant works is you pick a 3 ,4 or seven course meal at a fixed price.You can choose from a list of about 20 items ,from soup to desert. The servers will explain everything ,they are phenomenal. In between each course you will get an amuse bouche and these are where you get the items that will expand your palate. The first was a carrot and beet granata,which is an Italian style ice treat.It smelled like fresh veggies and had an amazing full flavor like nothing I have ever tried. For the first course I had the vegetable soup with hand crushed potatoes and mustard creme.Best soup I have ever had . Shira had a dish called into the vegetable garden.Its a variety of veggies in their own juices and a flavored foam mixed in.Loved the taste ,its a salad on steroids. Our friend Jeff had an asparagus dish which was some raw and cooked with a soft cooked egg  ,sea salt and an infused oil of some kind. Now I am not big on asparagus but this was just perfect. Then came the most confusing,but amazing dish of the night.A soft cooked egg yolk in its shell,maple syrup and a chive oil foam. Sounds weird,but each bite was different and special.Two of those would have been a treat. The next dish for me was farm raised baby abalone with sun chokes and sorrels. I have had a lot of abalone over the years and have never has such a soft perfect preparation.It was so tender and full of flavor. Shira had a cod dish that was the low of the evening,but it would be a star at any other restaurant. The last savory course was beef for me and lamb for Shira. She had a small bit of lamb tongue along with a nice cut of lamb shank all cooked to perfection. Same  with my beef dish.Along with all of this was amazing bread and butter with sea salt sprinkled on top.mmmmmmmmmmm.The desert course was a treat.Normally I skip this,but this was special.I had fresh strawberries with goat cheese and a super tasty fruit reduction.Shira has a super rich chocolate treat that was not my style,but she loved it.As if this was not enough you get a truffle at the end,rich but what a way to end the meal.

We finished at around 11 pm as the place was dying down,only a few couples left .Our waiter then asked us if we wanted to see the kitchen.Of course we jumped at the opportunity.There were 13 people back there in a place that was half lab and half assembly line. The head man took us aside and explained a lot of what was going on.We did not get to meet the chef as he was at an event in Monterrey,but it was still a great end to the night. 

This is not a cheap evening , and we did not even have wine. But for those special occasions its worth every penny. This is one of those places that makes you feel special and the staff work really hard at it.I am going to dream about this meal for a long time.

Finished the Sirius and flew it.

Finished up the Sirius with the help of Bob McGowan this week. It was a great learning experience.We have had some problems with one of the other planes ,but will go into that after its been resolved. 

We flew it for the first time on Thursday and I have to say I am quite impressed. The radio programming is not quite worked out,but this might be the easiest to fly plane ever. Caught thermals at will and the climb rate was damn good. With no rudder there was some mental adjusting to do. It moved around the field like a bat out of hell.Launch heights were OK,but we had a little flutter to work out.One of the hinges was loose.I think the potential to be a monster launcher is there. Weighs in at 9.3 ounces after adding .5 ounces to the nose to get the cg right.Going to fly it again tomorrow and will add to this. 

Elevator

Tonight I got the elevator mounted .Mounted it using two nylon screws into two hard points I made in the mount. Then put a piece of glass on the bottom to add strength . Worked out well. Thanks Bruce for the tips..

Top Drive..

Got the top drive aileron controls done last night.Thanks goes out to Bob ,Dom , Greg ,Ron and kirk for helping out at the build night . 

Sirius continued.

Last night Bob M and I set up in my garage to continue with our Sirius assembly. Before starting we gave all three of the planes a once over and found some quality control issues. The largest being that the holes in the wing on Bobs plane do not match up to the holes in the fuse.While not the end of the world its not exactly what you want from an expensive top quality kit.In the pic below you can see the bolt on the right is off by 4mm.

The repair will consist of filling the bad hole ,letting it dry and then re drilling the hole again.

The second problem is that one of the wings had an air bubble in the leading edge during the molding process. Its a pretty easy fix,but again its not the best result from such a high quality builder. The guys that make the plane have been good to respond and give advice,but they are in Sweden so shipping parts back and forth is cost prohibitive. 

What we are hoping is that the plane will live up to all the hype and how it flies trumps all the trouble we have had with the parts. It seems like a well thought out design and the pod is exceptional. We started out working on the wing.We had to cut out the spots for the servos and deal with wiring the wing. Bob has been using these little connectors and man they are small and light.But I cant say I will use them again.It was a lot of work to get them to fit right and solder all the wires on. It took both of us to make it work. In the end I think it will be solid. Tonight I am going to make the control horns and get the wing servos in place .

Pod layout..

Its a good thing we are not doing a rudder.Its possible, but its a tight fit.The battery is in the nose all the way right.The rec is a berg 4 which is very small. The blue on the left is a futaba digital servo for the elevator.All of it fits fine,but its going to be tough to service.Do it right the first time..

Started the assembly of the sirius.

Started on the tail assembly .Its really easy as the cutout is formed in the mold.Shown in pic 1 and 2.Pic 3 shows the verticle fin/rudder in position

Just in from Sweden !!!!

There is a process that goes with acquiring DLG gliders. There are some ready to buy planes that are great for the casual pilot ,but to get the real high caliber competition planes you have to put your name on a list and wait till the builder gets to you. In some cases I have been on lists for 2 years. There are a few exceptions,the 2 planes I fly now are from a guy in New Mexico who is pretty close to mass producing great planes.His wait is 2-3 months. About a year ago I put my name on the list for a plane out of Sweden from two of the best pilots in Europe.It turns out that the Sirius won the biggest event of the year and is really a hot plane. In December they contacted me about the planes I had on order.Because of the economy I could only take one of the planes I ordered and two of my friends took the others. Well after a long wait they finally arrived today.I have been tracking their travels across the pond and the excitement today knowing that they are coming today is almost to much.This means I have a lot of work to do since I need them for a contest at the end of the month.Its about 12-18 hours of work to get a plane ready to fly.Then you have to get used to how it flies.I only see one little blemish on my plane.Otherwise they are so beautiful...

A/K/A Tommy Chong

I am going to state from the start that I have in the past used drugs, but it has been many years and my views have changed drastically. I am not against people who want to use drugs using them. But me I can say I will be ok never using again.In fact I think we could fix a lot of our budget and police problems by legalizing / taxing marijuana.With that out of the way ,tonight Shira and I watched a documentary about Tommy Chong being arrested for selling glass pipes.Basically he was arrested and imprisoned for selling glass pipes to one of the two states that have laws against such pipes. The gist of the movie is that they spent over 12 million prosecuting and arresting him for selling a smoking tool. I wont go into the whole plot cause I think its a must watch movie,but it just seems like we are wasting money chasing pot .Now Bush said that drugs fund terrorism and I don't totally disagree,but its not pot . Marijuana is mostly domestically grown and usually has a limited distribution chain.The rest comes from Mexico and Canada .Ever met a stoner that would be motivated to pull off a complex terrorist plan?NO ,me either.Opium is the #1 export of Afghanistan.In South America the drug cartels have had loose ties with terrorism .But here in the US there is very little link between drugs and terrorism. So why are we wasting so much time and money chasing the lesser of evils? All those police man hours wasted.All the men in jail for pot offenses. If our police were free to concentrate on real crime and real hard core drugs we would have a safer world.How can we change this?Whats stopping us besides the religious right?Is pot really worse than alcohol or cigarettes? Ok after 2 days of preaching I am done for a bit.HAHA

What we can learn from Israel.

Recently I was reading a book about an American of Jewish heritage that took advantage of his right to become a citizen in Israel and join the Israeli Army.Now this was a guy that had options.His family was well off and could help him in many different ways. His path led him to the Israeli special forces and a different view of the world .While reading the book (Brotherhood of Warriors)I realized that our culture could take some huge cues from the Israeli point of view.
What you have to realize is that every day everyone in Israel has to deal with the threat of terrorists and that each and every citizen has to serve two or three years in the Army.This makes for a nation of warriors.There are some problems with the system,but I think that we need to take a step in that direction.

National Service is an idea that the rest of the modern world has adopted and we really should adopt. Take Spain and The Netherlands for example.Both have a year long term of service that all men must do.Its not always service in the Army,some do social services, volunteer work and national projects. Imagine what kind of services we could provide and all the great things we can do for our country with such a workforce. Plus our teens would come away with a life education that they will miss otherwise.I would have been proud to do a year of service for my country.In fact Israel takes it to another level,any family of Jewish heritage or even spouses can claim the right to be a citizen and do their duty. As Shiras husband I could go and become an Israeli soldier.

The Israeli military and police are the best in the world at counter terrorism techniques and experience.They have been fighting it against Arab nations from the beginning of the country and as Jews from the start.What they do different from the US is invest in people instead of technology.They train people to read other people.The belief that our brain can process more information and that intuition is a valuable tool forms the root of their training system. Anyone who was in the army has had a minimum of 3 months of counter terrorist training ,therefore most men and women in Israel are ready to act. The way they act is different as well. Its super reactive force ,no waiting,no politics in the way.Just get the culprit. Our police and military are so bogged down with rules of engagement that its confusing to decide on the proper act. Part of their success stems from the fact that a lot of Israeli leaders were active special forces soldiers and know how to get things done. They learned leadership the hard way.We have a majority class of politicians that have lots of college knowledge but are really lacking in real world and military skill sets. Until the 70s most of our leaders had substantial military experience,a trial by fire.This might have been the one thing that McCain had going for him.Our policy heavy country is a result of this lack of real world leadership experience and political greed. Our law makers need to have feet on the ground experience for the policies they want to make.
Israeli police are pretty different as well. There is no war on drugs,just a war on criminals.They have problems,but on different levels.Crime is relatively low and is more mob and gang related.Since its a warrior state there is less helpless people. Even women know Krav Maga from time in the military.You going to try and mug a woman who might have been in the special forces and can kick your ass?

The one real problem with the warrior state of Israel is that everyone is aggressive and have a different view of the world.Sometimes it can be difficult to deal with. I know a few people from Israel and they are all quite culturally different. Shira has some family from there and we have spent some interesting time with them. It used to be quite different there,people spent time on the Kibbutz and had a huge sense of community.Now there is a gap in the classes ,a rich upper class and the poor lower class. Kind of a get rich quick attitude has prevailed. Only the Orthodox have clung to the traditions and have become the elite warrior class.I wonder if this is changing with all the struggle going on right now?

If your interested at all in military or Israeli culture I would suggest the book.Its a pretty quick read,but only cause its so interesting. 4 out of 5 stars..

Jack gets a place to sleep and some wheels!!

Since we did a really geeky move and registered on Amazon.com for Jack, some of the big items have started to roll in. Shiras mom Bonnie and dad Jerry ordered the changing table / dresser ,my mom Janice ordered the crib.We also got our stroller from Shiras Grandmother. So I had to spend a couple of hours in assembly mode.Man I hate to build furniture. The instructions were pretty bad on the changing table,I had to do a couple of parts twice. But its all done and Shira loves it all.  The stroller is an Orbit which if any of you watch the Office is the stroller that Dwight tested by throwing it off the roof. It has a really cool modular design,you can  easily move the infant seat from the stroller to the car seat base.This is kind of my choice.Have to roll with some cool wheels.HAHA. Thanks to everyone who has donated to our cause.

Link to video of the Office footage.Video 1.Video 2.

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I know my wife loves me a lot..

While talking about our little one that is still 3 months out , Shira  has voiced what she wants for our boy. She wants him to look like a little Michael. What is Michael style?Well Shira calls it contractor/Costco sheik. I clean up well,but 90% of the time but I am in a polo shirt ,khaki shorts ,black baseball cap and unshaven face. I wear camo color shorts ,old free tshirts and black skate shoes. You get the idea. I know that my wife is not really excited about my style,but the fact is she wants Jack to be a little me. Today we were out shopping for baby clothes and everything we got was pretty much little Michael. Not everyone understands this,but its what Shira wants. It makes me feel good and want to give her a little geek. I think we have a good sense of humor about this and want our child to have fun.If my wife did not love me a lot our baby would be dressed as a little yuppie, that's how she wants me to dress. HAHA

My two wheeled obsession!!

I love all things that have two wheels.Bicycles ,motorcycles and maybe even a segway if I tried one. I used to spend a lot of time riding and racing mountain bikes.Have been riding motorcycles from a young age as well. All the father figures in my life rode in some fashion or another. Over the years I have owned a lot of motorcycles and bicycles. When my wife and I first met there was no car in my life,just a few 2 wheeled conveyances.Luckily Shira was flexible and  loved to go out on the motorcycle.Those are some of the best memories from our blossoming relationship,cruising up to Alices for lunch then down to the beach in Half Moon bay.Unfortunately I broke my last bike and it was more to fix than the moto was worth. And although a new bike would be a bonus ,with starting a business and Jack on the way its really low on the to do list. So I have to get my fix through watching all the racing on TV that I can. My favorite by far is super cross. Every year we go to the race in SF and every Sunday I am glued to the TV watching 2 hours of racing. During the summer there is Moto GP which is the formula one of 2 wheeled sports and motocross racing.Luckily Shira will actually watch with me and has learned quite a bit over the years. We don't watch all the ball and stick sports so its pretty easy to deal with for her. Thanks Babe for being so good about it!! I cant wait to have our little guy to share these kinds of things with. If you ever want to see googly eyed little boy Michael just ask me a question about something 2 wheeled. I have lots of other hobbies but this is the one that really gets me to that little boy excitement level. Last Sunday was an extremely exciting race and I am sure that Shira was laughing at me while I was up and down out of my seat screaming at the TV.I guess I'm just all over the place,love fine food ,cigars,drinks,classic literature and then love all the boy things.Sci Fi books ,tacos,motorcycles,toy airplanes and video games. I am a scattered boy/man..

Frozen Yogurt Wars

In the San Mateo area there are two frozen yogurt shops that seem to get all the attention.One is the tried and true Yumi Yogurt which on yelp gets 4 out of 5 stars. We have been going here for a couple of years. The other is Harmony yogurt which is more like Pink Berry and is focused on the organic fresh style of yogurt. Also gets 4 out of 5 on yelp . Here is how I think they stack up.Yumi has ten flavors at all times along with ice cream and smoothies.Harmony has 3 flavors and that's it,the day we went they were plain,blackberry and blueberry. Both places have lots of toppings,but Harmony seemed to be much fresher and healthier. The locations are really different,Harmony has a brand new location in San Mateo that is really nice clean ,but a bit sterile. Yumi is a tiny bit run down,but is a million times more busy. When making the choice between the two I would stack it up like this.Yumi for when you want the creamy flavor for a special treat and Harmony for a healthy lighter desert. Both are good,really good . I suggest anyone who lives in the area try both. 

Flying in Fremont today.

Today a bunch of us went out to our normal flying field to take advantage of the good weather.We had seven or eight pilots out in some decent conditions. There was a little wind ,but a lot of thermals to keep our planes in the air.I had a brand new plane to maiden today.Its a Light Speed from RCBuilder.com .The plane is a bit different from a lot of standard DLG planes,as it has a narrow wing to give it some advanced flight characteristics. I have a Light Hawk from the same builder and its been my favorite till now. 

I had a little trouble with the first couple of flights ,it was some radio programming issues.Once those were solved the flights got much better.There are some trimming issues to work out,but otherwise I am happy. It performs the way I want and think It will do well at the competitions.At 7.5 ounces it performs great in thermals and ranges the field pretty damn fast.Should do well at the next competition.

Had some time while charging batteries and took some video of the guys doing some launches.

Oh and thanks to Aaron for building my LightSpeed.

Foie Gras gate...

While scanning through Chowhound ,one of my favorite food sites I came across an article about Foie Gras.There is a huge debate over the process used to feed the ducks to get good Foie. In the article there was a link to a blog post from a local restaurant owner about the debate.Anyone who knows me well ,also knows I love animals.My family has always been big animal lovers. While not extreme Peta crazies (sorry to offend any of you reading this) we do not support cruelty to animals. When you read the bog post and then do some initial research you find that hes really spot on. And the ducks really are not harmed or stressed in any way. I love Foie Gras and will continue to eat it when the chance arises.But what I really want to touch on is why the people feel the need to defend food , instead of defending the 3.3 million abused and neglected children in the US. Those ducks are raised for food. Chances are that they love their life till the end,while there are a ton of parents treating their children like garbage to throw away. Makes me wonder how your priorities get that out of whack? Sure all living things need to be respected.But in my head at least there is a huge difference between a child and a duck.OK so you don't want to eat a living thing,then make that choice for you and your family.I can respect that. But let me eat what I want,and stop worrying about the small amount of crazy niche causes. Latch on to some major ones. Hunger,our failing economy,our health care system.

It seems weird to me that some groups waste so much energy on things only the rich can afford.Fur,foie Gras are two really expensive things that the majority of people don't get to have.Why spend so much energy on things such a small group can enjoy. Things just seem so out of perspective when you really think of it. Even if we outlawed these things ,the rich can go where they are legal.Now compare that to getting a child food for a year.which seems to be the better cause.Duh

Feel free to bash away if you think I am wrong..

What I have been playing.

For about 4 months I have been playing Call of Duty World at War from Treyarch and Activision.I wont say a lot about the single player .While a lot of fun and pretty damn good I just don't spend time on Xbox 360 single player games very often.Multi player is too much fun.What i play the COD games for is the online games.I have a group of about 30 friends from all over the US and world that play team oriented game modes on COD. What we play the most is Hardcore Team Death Match.Its a 6 on 6 most kills wins format. The hardcore part is that you die easier,more like real life,which means more strategy is needed to do well.This is the game I spend the most time on,at least until the next COD comes out in November.

The other game I have been playing is KillZone 2 for the PS3 .Now this one is all single player for me. I am not a big fan of the PS3 online game system. I will probably try the online play a little more later this week .The single player I am about half way through,but damn its a lot of fun.Will update my thoughts about online and the finish of the single player next week.

Halo Wars comes out today and I will review that soon.Its a real time strategy game so it only appeals to a small amount of players.,but I am just geek enough to love it.

Sony PRS-505 Ebook Reader

I have been considering an ebook reader for some time .The Kindle 2 was just released and while its really an improvement over the first version, I did not find it better than the Sony. I don't need the wireless. So this last weekend I decided to pull the trigger on a Sony PRS-505 . I have spent the last couple of days learning how to download content onto the device. The software that comes with it is really simple and I was able to Download some of my 100 free classics in just a few minutes. And getting a PDF or some other form of free book onto the device is cake. Where the fun and hard part comes in is getting some of the content meant for other types of reader devices. See not all books come in all reader formats. So you might have to do a little converting.There is a really good community of people over at MobileRead Forums who can help you figure it out.I am really happy with how the reader works.The page turns are fast and I love how the bookmark system works.I can keep my place in every single book and move back and forth in an instant. I still have a few more normal books to read,but I am having a hard time not jumping into the books on the Sony.

I have another task now.What books to download for the rest of my 100 classics?I would love some suggestions.I am open to almost anything,plus I am sure there are some that might be good for Shira as well. 

Another geeky thing.

One of my super geeky hobbies that I spend a lot of time doing is flying remote controlled gliders. I started a couple of years ago when I met a really cool group of guys that fly a specific type of glider. Gliders as you know don't have motors to get them in the air,so how do you get them up?Some you throw off a cliff and use the wind that hits the cliff to keep it up. This is called slope soaring and while a lot of fun I hate standing in the wind. Also you have to drive a lot to get to the best spots.You can also use a winch or bungee cord to launch the plane.While it allows you to fly bigger planes its a lot of work to drag a winch around all the time and to assemble the big planes.I gravitated to the most pure of the glider types. Discus Launch Gliders are a pretty new invention in the RC plane world.What they are is a super light,super strong glider with a peg at the end of the wing which you use to launch the plane. It makes it so I can keep a plane in the truck and anytime I find a football field or larger I can go fly.And since the launch heights are not as big it takes a lot more skill to find air to keep you up. For those of you who don't know how a glider stays up basically there are rising rings of hot air called thermals that we have to find.Think of a circling hawk rising without flapping its wings.

Today we were out at the Pleasanton fairgrounds playing around. I broke my plane on the second toss so I took some video of a couple of winch launches and then a couple of DLG launches that Bob one of the best in the bay was throwing. His son AJ is in the second video and while young might be one of the best pilots in the US. Aaron who is in video one is another amazing pilot.

BBQ Season is here.

With a few days of sporadic sunshine and a big hope that the weather will change my thoughts have been on BBQ.I had been planning on buying a new grill for a few months,as my current one was falling apart.It survived 3 summers of great grilling. So while at costco I saw a great deal on a grill. It was larger than I wanted , but had lots of cool features such as an infrared burner ,side burner and lots of storage. The grates are cast Iron and easy to clean if treated right from the beginning. While not easy to assemble(took about 2 hours),the quality is quite good and it works really well. 

So what I really want to do is a list of some things I have tried and want to try on the grill. First off are the things we do all the time and love. 

1.Grilled veggies. But the best is grilled leaks .Trimmed cleaned and brushed in olive oil grill till the leaks are soft . We do the same with green onions ,all types of onions and bell peppers. 

2.Grilled garlic cloves. This takes a long time to do right. Take a whole large garlic clove  and brush the skin with olive oil .Place on the grill like 30 minutes before you cook anything else. use a medium heat till you cook any other food then its OK to put it on high. Depending on the type of garlic what you get is a sweet pungent super soft spread for bread or veggies. It is a bit messy. 

3.Shrimp.We have several ways that we have grilled them.The key is to get them fresh. 

4.Steak,pork chops ,sausage and chicken.We do a lot of this in a lot of different ways.

5.Corn on the cob.How I do this is to shuck the corn and put it in tinfoil.Don't wrap It tight.  Put salt,pepper and water in the foil with the corn  the seal it  up.What happens is the water boils the corn and it turns out perfectly.Usually 30 minutes of cooking time.Adding a little chili powder is good as well.

Now on to the things I really want to try.

1.BBQ oysters. I made them years ago and it was good and easy.Luckily there are a couple of places in the bay to get fresh oysters.The best is probably Hog Island oysters in the Ferry building.Easy to cook and depending on the sauce quite flavorful.

2.BBQ pulled pork.Now this requires a smoke and a lot of time.But it is so worth it. Mmmmm Memphis style..

3.Fish Fish and more fish.We have a fresh fish market a few mile away in Half Moon Bay.Awesome place.The only thing is that they don't clean the fish for you.I don't mind I can clean it fine. This summer I want to try a bunch of different types of fish. 

4.I totally want to BBQ a leg of lamb. There are a lot of good recipes.But have never done it myself.

5.I want to try to make some grilled flat breads.Luckily having a mixer we can whip up some dough in a short time.

6.I want to try and BBQ a whole duck. Maybe rotisserie.Shira loves duck..

7.I am going to try some traditional mexican fare on the grill.

Anyone else have something to suggest?

Netflix player via XBOX 360

Last November XBOX 360 revamped their operating system and one of the key features that they added was the NetFlix instant watch player. I have been a subscriber for years and for a while I have been watching movies on my PC via the instant watch feature.The problem to this point has been the amount of movies watchable .But with the release of the XBOX player they also announced a ton more movies to be released .The STARZ network partnered with NetFlix and added a lot of newer content. The setup is a 5 second deal with your laptop and Xbox on. The software took 2 minutes to download. Even the most tech challenged will find the Xbox set up easy. You do have to have a gold live membership,but that's worth it. 

Some of the content is Hd , and these titles have longer load times (30 sec compared to 20seconds) and some times have to pause to reload.But a normal DVD plays uninterrupted .Fast forward and rewind are not as smooth as a normal DVD ,but its the price to pay for the convenience.After using the service for 3 months and building my instant watch Que to 300+ movies I cant imagine not having it.If the DVR is recording two shows at once we can go to the xbox and find a movie. Shira uses it at times and has no problems navigating the menus. I know that I have been touting the 360 as the best media / game machine out there and this just puts the nail in the coffin.The PS3 is nice and is the best Blu Ray player on the market but it just is not as refined as the xbox.I own both and use the 360 so much more.There are other options to get the instant watch,there are some Samsung BR players that have it and the Roku box does just the instant watch for $100.00 . But with all the other features its a steal.Also just announced was that Netflix will be doing instant watch only subscriptions,but at $8.00 a month to start the regular one is really cheap.

If your a movie buff and want a ton of movies at your fingertips there is no better option.

Tacos Peralta San Mateo(Updated)

I love Mexican food. In fact I eat Mexican for lunch a lot. But since moving to the Peninsula I have not found anything I really thought was better than average. My favorite of all time is Los Ponchos in Pleasant Hill,but I only get by there once or twice a year. And what I usually get there is burritos,the tacos are just OK. Recently I have been on a quest to find a great Mexican place near home. While looking through Yelp I found Tacos Peralta.I did not pay close attention to the details so when I showed up I could not find it.Then I saw the truck parked across the street. I have a little aversion to some of these trucks as some are really dirty. I looked inside and it was spotless. I mean were talking OCD clean.There was a line of five or six people ,most were Latinos and tradesmen.The guy who took my order slipped from Spanish to super fluent English and asked what I wanted. After asking what he suggested I get he made me two BBQ pork,two BBQ chicken and one steak taco all with onions. Couple of minutes later I was headed home.When I opened the bag I realized how small the tacos were.Good thing I got 5.But at only $1.25  each you can get a whole bunch for under 10$.I have had some really good tacos in my day ,but these were just manna from heaven.Perfectly seasoned ,super tender meat and fresh herbs. I could have eaten ten or eleven of them. I give the Taco Peralta tacos a 5 out of 5.A couple of days later I went back for a burrito.And while it was really good,better than any other it the penninsula so far.It was not perfect.I give it a 4 out of 5.I think it just had a little too much oil .If I ask for less next time it might be close to perfect.Hope all you mexican food lovers get to try some.MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMmm

What about HDMI?

So when you talk about the top of the line High Definition TV systems one subject seems to come up again and again. What about HDMI cables?Should I use them?Well this is a hard subject.There are really two answers.If you have a simple system(TV,cable box) then I will say yes. You don't see most of the issues that we have with HDMI when you have a simple system.The cool part about HDMI is that its video and audio all in one cable .Plus you can push 1080p signal through it.The bad part is that there are so many versions of HDMI software that issues of compatibility come up really often.When a system is 3 or more parts I have had a 90% failure rate of the system caused by the software. When I am designing a system for a client I cant take that kind of chance. We recently did three systems in one of my clients house.All three had HDMI failures. So we switched back to component video and coaxial audio.  and the systems all work fine. So we limit our video to 1080 i.Only hard core video guys will see it. And using the coaxial audio is actually better. The chances of your processor getting the best audio mode is way better .Using HDMI limits you to the systems lowest common software version.If the DVD player is lower than the receiver then you use the DVD version. Some DVD players cant be updated. I hope that someday we can use all HDMI or something similar,but I don't see it happening soon.I think you will be totally happy using the other cables.They just work better.

Facebook has one cool thing going for it.There are notes going around asking people what their 15,25 or 40 favorite albums 

are.I could spend days doing this.Here are my top 15.
1.The Kinks "You really got me"1964 .The Kinks defined Rock and Roll for me from a really young age. 

In my mind they were better than the Beatles. Plus they influenced a ton of artists that are on this list.

2.MC5 Kick Out The Jams. 1968 .If there was one album that is most sited as the kick off or mos

t influential recording to punk artists this is it.I think I have worn through 5 or 6 of this cd over the years.

3.The Stooges .FunHouse.1970 Like the MC5 a Detroit band who really helped define early punk

.I am a huge Igy Pop fan and this might be the best album.

4.New York Dolls.New York Dolls.1974.One of the best rock albums of all time.I think I was 13

 when I first heard this and it just made me feel pure fun.

5.Minor Threat .Out of Step.1983. Fronted by Ian Mcay Minor Threat gave us straight edge and the 

DC sound.Another band that I have had to buy a few replacements.

6.Men at Work .Business as Usual.1984.the First Cassette I ever owned.While Thriller was out at the

 same time.This was way more fun.

7.Metallica .Ride The Lightning.1984.This was my introduction into Metal.My neighbor came by all 

excited wanting me to hear it.I was shocked and in love with the sound at the same time.Still love all 

their albums before And Justice for all.

8.The Pixies.Surfer Rosa.1988.helped define alternative music in the 90s.Some of the songs are in 

permanent rotation on my play lists.


9. Nirvana .Bleach 1989.While Nevermind was huge,but I really loved the raw sound that Bleach was 

all about.

10.Operation Ivy.Energy.1989.Bay area band that was just fun to see at the Gilman.It was 19 songs that 

helped define the ska/punk genre in the 90s.

11.Tin Machine /David Bowie. Tin Machine 1989.This was David Bowies Guitar heavy side project.There is 

one song in particular "Amazing" that really just hit something in my soul.

12.Nine Inch Nails .Pretty Hate Machine.1989.the fusing of heavy guitar and electronic track was pure genius

 on this album. One that we played all through senior year and still can get me going in a second.

13.Mr Bungle.Mr Bungle 1991 .Fronted by Mike Patton this experimental rock band was the theme for our life

 after high school. I dont know what this says about us since its described as circus ,porn rock.

14.Tribe Called Quest .Low end Theory.1991.The song Scenario got played so much that I can still quote 

most of the words at the drop of a hat. It is what I love about hip hop and pretty much how I personally define it.

15.Tool.Undertow.1993.Tool jump started rock for me.The videos and dark hard images just spoke to me 

and I love all their albums. 

Geneva convention applied to video games.

Some of you may know that I am really into video games.I play with people all around the world.Most of the games I play are aimed at adults,problem is that a lot of adults don't understand that these "GAMES" are really adult themed.Sex,Violence and adult situations just are not appropriate for kids.Then there is the online play.Its a very social world,but there are no boundaries to the people online.Daily I hear some of the most racist ,stupid and ignorant people talking without filters while online. How do you as a parent help your child avoid this? Well I tell all my clients to read the boxes and ratings.Adults wont be online playing kid oriented games. Unless they are trolling and we all know what happens then.Make it a habit to play the games with your kids.Even if its not fun for you. Video games like TV is not a babysitter. Recent studies show that kids who play video games are about 50% better at problem solving and dealing with task lists than kids who don't.It can instill some good qualities if tempered with real life education.In an attempt to add education to his sons playtime this writer was pretty inspired.http://kotaku.com/5158209/parent-asks-son-to-play-cod-according-to-geneva-conventions

And for those of you who do play here is a funny skit that is pretty much what goes on with online play.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S12z6hxa5cw

Dave and Gina get Hitched!!

Over the last two days Shira and I have been busy with two of our good friends wedding.Shira was Gina's matron of honor so we spent a lot of time up in San Francisco with their friends and family. The wedding was held at the Marines Memorial hotel near Union square .Its a pretty cool place ,filled with lots of military history and has a unique charm.On Thursday we had 

the rehearsal and dinner with all the family and friends.We had a 5 course old style Italian meal..Shira stayed with Gina in Sf while I worked on Friday.The wedding was a really nice affair.The ceremony was beautiful and you could really see how happy they both were to be getting married.Then we all had drinks while they set up for the reception.The reception itself was so much fun.The band was really good at interacting with the crowd and had all the room dancing. I am so proud of Shira ,her speech was  amazingly well done.It was hard to follow,but I think James(the best man) did quite well.

The food was good and the drinks flowed  freely.We danced all night,and as you can see on the videos it was a real party. The videos were taken with my phone so some bits are dark and or shaky. If you want the raw file let me know.I am going to try and edit them a bit,but I need to find the right software.

Thanks to Gina,Dave and their family for putting on a great wedding. 

Oh and Braith thanks for being such a good sport,we all now know what Mel sees in you.HAHAThose are some great moves.

Blackberry Storm review update.

After a little over three months of hard use I wanted to give an update.The storm really fits with a unique user.If you are doing heavy email or work from your phone then the BB Curve or Bold would work better.Over the last three months there have been two official Verizon software updates which really helped the performance a ton.But what really made the most difference is the beta release I got off Crackberry.com.Version .103 made 99% of the problems go away.Typing ,which was really bad in the beginning has become pretty good.In fact I am posting this from a wedding rehearsal my wife is in.There were some issues with the accelerometer,gone.Issues with the device crashing are totally gone.There are a number of refinements that just make things so much smoother.While not perfect I finally feel like I can recommend the Storm to more than you geeks.So who is the phone for?Well those of you who want the cool media applications and large screen its perfect.Surf the web a lot then this phone is amazing.At least on par with the Iphone.The one limit is that the Iphone has a lot more applications.But BB will catch up.My father in law Jerry has a Storm and I think he likes his.I love mine and get excited at every new app and tweak.Shira is always making fun of me.

What ever happened to the Renaissance man?

A friend of mine posted a question on Facebook about Kayne Wests popularity that kind of made me want to rant a bit.So please bear with me. Now I am a total techno geek and love my modern media(TV,Movies,Internet).I am also really into the technology that delivers such media.And following such advances might lead you to believe that our younger generation might use all this awesome tech and media to bridge the gap between generations of knowledge.All those classic books,works of art and music available at the touch of a button. Why does it seem that we are regressing instead of moving forward?Why is American Idol the standard for music?Why are the The Real Wives of Orange County considered upper class? Why do all the movies for young people seem to be dumbed down and lacking in substance?Why is reality TV no longer real? I know that I am not perfect,but I feel like I am always learning and moving foreword.I read the classics and SciFI .I understand where the music I love comes from.Sometimes I regress to the base emotions and a good stupid laugh is appropriate.But I always work to learn something diverse.It seems like we have been in an endless ,mindless media loop for the past 20 years. Now that Shira and I are on the verge of having a child of our own I feel like its my opportunity to change the world a little.To pass on the really good parts of our past that could shape the world.I think its up to us the next generation of parents to negate all this fluff ?filling the void that is our culture.But I think the hard part is to instill the social aptitude that allows a person to float between classes,race ,gender and social gaps. Cant a person be smart , knowledgeable and socially adept? Can we as parent instill and share without pushing too hard?finding that balance will be hard.I am excited to share the things I love and to learn from my boy. Will he he love some of the same things?How will Shiras good social qualities guide him to be better than us?All I know is that we all have to do better.Enough with the vapid ,soulless crap filling the world.I know I can better myself and hope to help Jack become more of a renaissance man than me.

What do I need to make my Home Theater complete?

There are several ways to make a system work,but really only one way to do it right.Of course you need a TV which in my systems work as a stand alone monitor.The speakers inside TVs are horrible so we try to avoid them at all costs.Then since you are not using the TVs speakers you will need a set of speakers.There is a review of my current favorite TV here. How many and where do they go?Well if you want true surround sound you need 6 speakers minimum.In the front near the TV you have a three speakers(left,right,center).These are the most crucial since most of your sound comes from here.And if you cant get rear speakers using the front three will work.Then you have two rear speakers somewhere behind the seating position.These provide directional sounds and fill the room in music modes.The last piece is the sub woofer.The placement of this is not as crucial and can go almost anywhere in the room. A 5.1 speaker system can go for as little as $300.00 up to as much as you want to spend.A good guideline is to spend an equal amount on the speakers and receiver.

The next piece in the puzzle is the devices that provide content,like the cable box,DVD/Blu-Ray player and Video game systems.These are less important to how the overall system works,but don't make cheap choices as you wont get the most from your system.I will cover these items next Tuesday.

The most important piece in current systems is the A/V receiver.It used to be that the receiver just amplified the sound and sound sources.Today's receiver acts as an amplifier , audio processor and video processor.What this really means is that everything gets plugged into the receiver and all switching of devices happens with the help of the processor.Some of the current generation of receivers also improve audio clarity and video processing with the help of some pretty slick software.Good receivers start at the $600.00 to $2000.00 range for Denon which I use on my medium grade systems.For high end I use B&K which go for 3-5k and really are some of the best products on the market in my opinion.

So all that is left is a remote and all the wires to connect the system.I covered remotes here and will cover wiring in the near future.Speaker selection is a whole article on its own that I will try to tackle soon.This probably leaves more questions than answers,but gives you a rundown on the basics.