Last Life

Aiden's favorite move...

If there is such things as reincarnation or transmigration, Aiden must have been collected a lot of karma in his last life to be reborn as a human. I am positive he was an ostrich before this life. Apparently, he hasn't forgotten some of his old habits. He frequently performs the "head-in-sand" maneuver while he is playing or he is pretending not to hear me. I get a good laugh when he does this. Most of the time his head hits carpet or padding (sofa, bed, pillow, etc...). I winced today when he tried this on asphalt. Ouch!

Couple more of these hard knocks and he'll realize he is a baby boy, and not an ostrich. Oh, the entertaining observations afforded to fathers.

Happy Halloween

Trick-or-Treating w/ Aiden

Aiden dressed up as a pirate this HALLOWEEN. We spent over an hour plundering the neighborhood. Most folks found Aiden more adorable than scary, but we still ended up with tons of sweet loot. We had to make a pitstop after 20 minutes to unload his pumpkin basket. Aiden started out walking but had to be carried home by DADDY.

A Fedex from UCLA

It's a real "gold" pin

The economy is horrible EVERYWHERE. The California budget is a mess. Obviously, the fiscal woes have a significant financial impact on the UCLA campus.

So I didn't know what to make of an unsolicited FEDEX from UCLA. For a fleeting moment I thought I was getting a lay-off notice. But not having a creative imagination these days, the thought quickly disappeared from my mind. It is what it is...

I opened the package and was surprised to see a letter from UCLA's Chancellor Block congratulating me on my 10 years of service to University. Time flies when I'm having fun... Come to think of it, I've been under the leadership of four chancellors at UCLA (Young, Carnesale, Abrams, and Block). I had the honor of taking pictures with 3 of them and hanging out at their home (same one behind LOT #3), but our house.

Anyway, I've survived the DOTCOM bubble, hopefully the campus will pull through again this time and I'll get to share my 15-year FEDEX experience with my readers. If not, there is always that PRIVATE UNIVERSITY across town with the only PRO FOOTBALL team in Los Angeles.

JUST KIDDING! (but I heard they offer free tuition to kids of employees...I'll need to see if Aiden/Bryce look good in red)...

I'm shuddering at the thought!

Lakers

The Lakers are off to a good start. I would like a rematch with the Boston Celtics again this year. Lakers second unit with Jordan, Trevor, Sasha, Lamar, and Mihm look lethal. I like the Lakers chances of winning the Western Conference.

Prediction: 63-19.

Go LAKERS!

我三八

五三八
Okay, Okay, I haven't been this interested in an election since, I DON'T KNOW WHEN. Since I like the color blue, I'm hoping to see more blue on the US Map come 11/5/08.

Check out the latest MAPS.

I am Mike, and I endorse the color blue.

More discussion my friends? My friends, we will make this country great again. My friends, I will not be tested, I will test them...my friends...

Happy Birthday Jack!

Happy Birthday Bro

Good win today...Nice way to celebrate your birthday. Wish I could have given you three assists.

Prop Eight

I guess Prop 8 was not as black and white as I saw it. For this particular proposition, I basically went with my gut instinct and voted "NO". Though I am in about as traditional a marriage as one can have (1 wife, 2 kids, 1 dog, and plenty of fun with the in-laws), I personally do not want to define "marriage" for other people. If there is love and respect, I don't care if a man loves a man, woman loves a woman, etc...we, the residents of California had already decided that. People who have not dared dream of marriage, GOT MARRIED. Why would I want to shatter their HOPES AND HAPPINESS.

However, chatting with a great friend this past Friday raised some questions I hope some readers can answer. Jay Chen, a grade school classmate summarized Prop 8 and Education (his mandarin is not bad).

What about Prop 8 and religion? My friend pointed out that GAY couples can sue churches if the church refuses to perform a gay marriage ceremony. I suppose this applies to Buddhist temples if monks refuse to perform rituals. I found this quite odd. Even restaurants have rights to refuse customers; does that apply to churches. Does Prop 8 impede religious freedom? People can continue to believe in any religion they want. Prop 8 is not about religion, but if there is a connection, then it should be amended.

My basic understanding (correct me if I am wrong) is that Prop 8 gives GAY couples equal rights as a married male and female. Things like hospital visits, yada yada, etc...etc... That's cool with me, more people will qualify for the IRS "marriage penalty" and the government can collect more money, and OBAMA can give tax cuts to 95% of the population...TOO BAD HIGH ROLLERS...ME! ME! ME!

I am not a very political person so I hope I don't open up a can of worms...oh well.

New Wireless

Linksys WRT54G2

Finally upgraded from the Linksys WRT51AB to WRT54G2. Unlike the AB, the G2 has internal antennas. I hope that its stealthy good looks will make it invisible to the hawk-like eyesight and prying hands of a 2 year-old. Blending into the background will help it avoid destruction, or in the case of the AB router, mutilation of the exposed antennas. :-)

Configuring the WRT54G2 was both EFFORTLESS and PAINLESS. Just follow the INSTRUCTIONS: 1) Run CD First 2) Follow CD Directions 3) Done.

I hope this doesn't put the HELPDESK out of business. No wonder I have been getting fewer calls about home wireless set up.

Coffee Fix

Bargain at $10?

My dentist will tell you that having a 6 week-old son has not impacted my sleep pattern too much. I do not disagree. My "Barracuda" ears can block out SPAM (baby noises). Actually, I like to commend the dentist for doing such a wonderful job being a mommy. If you are reading this, I owe you one or two, three....

So I bought you a present. The dentist is not much of a coffee drinker probably because coffee stains the teeth. Currently, I am drinking enough coffee (mostly expressos) for the two of us. I visit the dentist every six months to get my pearly whites cleaned. This generates revenue for the dental practice. I am now going to DOUBLE your rewards.

I just bought some Starbucks (SBUX) for you at $9.84. Now the dentist is a owner of Starbucks. The Economist and I will be paying you everytime we stop by for a Dippio. Starbucks has been hammered recently, but I believe loyal customers are still out there and will start getting expensive lattes again when the economy finally turns around in a couple of months, years, decades,...YIKES

We'll see how much shares of SBUX ends up being in six months.

Buy Buy Buy

I thought Microsoft at 24 was a good bargain...so at 21.53 (as of closing today), it looks like a even better bargain. Should I buy more. I'll flag this post. We'll see how much MSFT is October 22, 2009!

I Voted

That was easy!

I've seen enough of the debates. I've seen enough Fey's Palin. I've been McCain's friend several times over. I've been captivated by Obama's eloquence. I've made up my mind.

I've VOTED!

Time for a change. :-)

Bryce Kaden Lee

Bryce and Mommy, Day #3

Haven't posted here for a while, but I consider having a second son a noteworthy event. Here is a picture of Allison and Baby Bryce coming out of the hospital. Going to backdate this...

Jury Duty

I just called in; I'm done with jury service. That was painless. I had postponed jury duty to 6/30 thinking it would be a short week because of July 4th holiday. It's true, I only called in four nights and wasn't asked to go in. Better luck next time...I would have liked to serve if there I didn't have so many colleagues on vacation. Driving to Torrance courthouse versus UCLA would have saved me some gas money.

Toilet 101

Toilet 101

I finally fixed a leaky toilet. In previous failed attempts, I had to eventually invite my jack-of-all-trades dad to perform his toilet fixing wizardry. Though he doesn't charge me, we end up eating at the local restaurants. MY TREAT. :-)

The anatomy of the toilet is quite elegant and simple (see pic).

Today's fix involved readjustment of the FLOATING THINGY. I made it lower so I can save water, very basic. I will leave the heavyduty stuff for the 4th floor. It's all about being regular. Ha! Ha! - Breakfast, morning coffee, 4th floor...I love this vacuum toilets they have at UCLA...SWOOSH!