Merry Christmas from Bank of the West

Yesterday, along with many of my faithful and happy readers, I received my free iPod Touch from Bank of the West – just in time for Christmas!

I blogged about this in July and many of you jumped on it immediately. To you, you are welcome! You know a great find when you see it and your sense of urgency is to be commended. To the others who ignored my warning that they might pull the promo early only to find out that that's exactly what happened… well sorry, but I TOLD YOU SO!  You know, I can only lead a horse to water… Bottom line, this is a great freebie that required very little effort.

I also predicted at the time that we would receive the then-not-yet-announced 4th generation iPod Touch with dual cameras ($229 value) rather than the 3rd generation ($199). And again I was right! (Well, maybe I was half-right). Last week, people around the web forums were complaining about receiving the older model, including one friend in Alameda. But the latest batch of iPods delivered yesterday were all reported to be the latest 4th generation! Woohoo! Yep, good things do come to those who wait!

Rumor is that the people who both set up direct deposit and used the card for 20 debit transactions were rewarded with the newer model for being potential excellent customers. But who really knows? Maybe it just comes down to us being special and them being not. Who said life was fair?

So far, online banking at Bank of the West is pretty straightforward. I have yet to walk into a branch office because I don't need to. I can cancel my direct deposit, stop doing direct deposit and bill pay, and it still will not incur any fees. The checking account is really free! My only gripe is that there is a $3 fee to wire money out to another bank. Other than that, I may keep this account for awhile, or until the next great promotion :)

Merry Christmas to all of you.




Photo credit: Bryan's FB

Lumber for Slumber, Part 3

Over the weekend many of you inquired about the status of my loft bed. Well it's been completed since Thanksgiving, but the room was a total wreck and I was too lazy to clean it up for the photos. Plus it took me longer than expected to install the handrail. So here it is (and please excuse the mess).

Building the stairs took quite a bit of research and planning in determining the length and amount of steps. They needed to be strong enough and wide enough to support adults in case my mom needs to get up there to administer first aid – that's why a ladder would not have worked. The angles could get quite complicated if you wanted a proper descent, but seeing that I don't have the space for a long stairwell, I just stuck to a simple 45 degree cuts. Cutting the stair stringers were surprisingly easy once you get the hang of it. A portable sliding compound miter saw was all that I needed to go through the 2x12 beams (Thanks Larry!). Without that saw, it can get quite tricky. In fact, I could have built 90% of the entire loft with just that one saw! Other tools I used was a table saw and a router. The tools that could have made my life easier were an impact driver, a jig saw, and a dado blade insert for my table saw – all on my future wish list.

Whoops, excuse me, I didn't mean to disturb you two... Fact: The loft bed they built for their daughter was the inspiration for me to attempt this project. I figure if they could do it, I can do it too. Plus I wanted all of their leftover lumber :) The carpet remnant is leftover from my office when I installed the laminate flooring.

Hey, no girls allowed! Now you know what moms really do when us men are at work.

Grace is thinking: "Wow, had Myron built us one of these love-nest hideaways, I can totally see ourselves with nine kids!"

Being seven feet up, adult supervision is paramount when young children are up here. As you can see, Snow White and the dolls were all jumping overboard under the watchful eyes of this responsible family.

After the busting Patty and Glenn up there alone as well as the Snow White incident, I had to install a gate and impose some basic house rules.

The view from above. I originally was planning to build a floor-to-ceiling bookcase, but instead I found a used Ikea Pax wardrobe at a garage sale around the corner. I also raised Colby's bed 4 inches so that I could squeeze his dresser under the bed to save space. Now I can't wait until the boys move out so I can convert this loft into my man-cave. A wall-mounted tv and a mini fridge is all I need!

On Black Friday Home Depot had 50-ct LED Christmas lights for $1.98 – I should have bought more!

Now whenever anyone comes over, they always want to check out the loft! During the cold weather, it's especially quite cozy and warm up there. We hope to enjoy the loft for years to come. Who knows, now that I know what to do, I may even attempt another one in the other room...

Lumber for Slumber, Part 2

Since I've been talking about woodworking for the bedroom, I'll tell about the franken-bed I built at the beginning of this year. Yes you, my blog reader, get a sneak peak into our master bedroom… Oooooo!

Now last year, had you peaked into our bedroom, you would've witnessed me tossing and turning in the middle of the night, unable to sleep because my mind is focused on too many things. Things like: how to better discipline my kids, how to be the best husband ever, and what to blog about next… all while trying not to disturb my wife. What you'll also witness is my wife finally bouncing in at 1:30 a.m. after catching up on six hours of television, waking me up... What you won't see is us snuggled together with my arm under her neck because I'll get a cramp and frankly I don't like anyone touching me when I sleep. I NEED my own twin space and I've long outgrown the 14-year queen we shared. Problem is, I would never buy a king size bed because it's too expensive and she's we're both too picky. What to do?

So with the scrap wood in my garage, I decided to build a king bed that fits two twin mattresses. The total dimensions of two twins is 78x75, which means it's a little wider and shorter than a standard king (76x80). Wider is always good. And since both of us are under six feet, 75 inches is just fine.

Construction of the bed was super simple. The four sides of the bed are actually rails from two disassembled Ikea twin beds (Robin and Brekke) that I bought as scrap in Ikea's scratch and dent section for a few bucks. Together they form a square. The corners are screwed into a 2x6 post. To eliminate any possible squeak and provide the ultimate solid foundation, I laid not one, but three 4x4 support beam. Because who knows, maybe someday Chris, Greg and Wayland will want to do a sleepover here. This acoustic trio may rattle the nightstands, but this bed WILL NOT be shaken.

 

If you're like me, still defending your space on an outgrown queen bed, here are a few reasons why two twins are the way to go. Forget getting a king mattress set:

• I toss and turn, I don't wake her. And vice versa.
• A clear division of space. She stays on hers and I stay on mine.
• My wife likes a thick plush mattress. I like firm. We both get our wish. 
• She can upgrade her mattress every seven years, I can upgrade in 20.
• When we upgrade, we simply pass down old mattresses to kids. No kid wants a king, and dumping a king set is no easy task.
• Twin sheets are cheaper and easier to wash – although trying to find a second Pokémon fitted sheet to match your existing one may be challenging.
• No box spring means plenty of room below for storage and hiding. Seriously, is there anything more useless than a box spring??
• If ever we go through marital difficulties, I can install a partition between the two mattresses.
• King bedspread covers everything and no one knows (except you) that I have Pokemon sheets on a franken-bed. 

This bed is awesome! Needless to say, I've been sleeping a lot better this year. I only wish I had done this ten years ago. Just think what kind of person I could've become with a good night's rest every night… 

If you're interested in building franken furniture with Ikea parts, I get a lot of inspiration from Ikea Hacker. If you were to build this bed from scratch, it would only cost $100 in lumber. And with the additional money you save not buying a king mattress set, you'll have enough to take me out to dinner several times!

Later this month, Part 3, when I hopefully will have the loft bed done.

Lumber for Slumber, Part 1

Last weekend was the one weekend I look forward to every year: Family Camp weekend. Our church has family camp every year with attendance around 450. There are lots of fun activities for children and adults and great food and exceptional teaching and everyone comes back having a blast. But we never go.

Instead, I view it as the one Sunday a year I get to sleep in. Man, living the life of an atheist is pretty relaxing! No yelling at the kids, no stress selecting their clothes (and yelling), no rushing to get them breakfast (and yelling)… Just peace and quiet. My kids even discovered there's actually cartoons on tv on Sunday mornings too! And did I mention east coast NFL games?? Ahh, such a tempting lifestyle as we sample the path toward delinquency.

So what to do on this totally free (and stormy) weekend?

This was the weekend I decided to embark on my most ambitious woodworking project thus far: a loft bed. Or rather a loft with a bed. So instead of building kid furniture, I'm going to attempt to build a structure for the very first time!

After inheriting scrap lumber from numerous friends throughout the year, my garage was getting full. I needed to build something, anything. And with the boys growing older, they'll eventually outgrow the room they share and need more separation of personal space. I had been combing craigslist for months trying to find the perfect loft bed/bunkbed, but none worked the way I wanted it to work. So with the stockpile of lumber and machinery in my garage coupled with inspiration from a friend's recent loft bed project, I decided it's best to do it my way. Yep, I am the master designer!

The bedroom is an unusual shape with a pitched ceiling going up over 13 feet. What's even weirder is that there's a 16" ledge on top with electrical and cable tv outlets (like anyone would want to crane their neck upward to watch at such an awkward angle). I saw this as premium usable space. I wanted a loft that not only fit a twin mattress, but also have a little area to sit and play games.

The whole project is a like a plan-as-you-go kind of thing. I was figuring out how to do things as I progressed. Even my wife was a little skeptical wondering if I knew what I was doing. I had to gently reassure her with some kind words, "Don't doubt me woman!" The main objective was to avoid having a center support beam in the middle of the room.

Once the platform was secured, the kids couldn't wait to get up there! Just like magic, we instantly gained over 50 sq. ft.! They treat it like a little clubhouse and are already demanding I add more "features" to it. I need to work on the ladder asap because Dustin is dying to sleep (and play) up there. The ladder will be another plan-as-you-go thing as I've never built one before. Stay tuned.

Next week, part 2, when I let you venture into my most private space. Ooooooh.

Cardpool.com

Today as a treat to my readers, I have Cez as a guest blogger. Her and her husband have been fans of my blog from the very beginning. They send me tips and gentle reminders whenever I'm lagging on the blogging (as I have been lately – sorry). If you want to share something that my readers would enjoy, and you don't mind spending some time writing it out, you too can be a guest blogger! Please feel free to send me a note. Enjoy.


I was honored when WhoFongPaid asked me to write on his blog..  "become a guest blogger" he says. Now I feel sick... due to the pressure to write up to his professional level. He couldn't write this himself since he didn't experience it. But I felt that this was an important consumer tip that can not go unnoticed. So okay.. here it goes.

The holidays are just around the corner and if you're like me, I start making out my list now.. checking it twice.. and thinking of what to get for my family, friends, co-workers, neighbors, the mailman, newspaper lady (mine is a lady and I've been sending her a Christmas gift for the past 5 years) etc.. I really try to get something that that particular person would like and appreciate so it takes some time. Now, others may not take the effort and time I do to put some 'thought' into a gift and they go out December 24 to hunt for whatever is left on the shelves.  The easiest gift to get are.... drum roll.. gift cards! Who hasn't gotten any? Or too many? Especially from places that you never shop, eat or visit! What were they thinking?!?! What will I do with $50 worth of Peet's Coffee when I don't even drink coffee?? What a waste.. you say. You should have given me cash. I always take cash!! But they didn't and you're stuck with a $50 worth of coffee bean money.

Or are you like me.. that have a huge stack of gift cards waiting to be spent but you always forget to bring them with you when you get to the store so they never get used.

Here's a solution.. sell your gift card and get CASH back! Okay you can't get the full amount of the gift card but hey.. you didn't spend any money for it so technically you aren't losing any money. Getting some cash for an unused gift card that'll be sitting in your dresser for who knows how long is much better don't you think? And like I said before, CASH is good.. you can buy ANYTHING with cash!!

I had received $75 worth of Regal Theatre gift cards (from generous school parents.. last day of school teacher gifts) and since I'm in Fremont I never go all the way to Dublin to see a movie.. so I decided to sell them. You can't get the full price but what I got was better than nothing. I sold it to cardpool.com and they offered me $52.50 cash or $55.13 amazon gift card. I took the amazon since I shop there all the time. Within 24 hrs of them receiving my gift cards, I got my amazon card emailed to me. I didn't want to bother with ebay and I didn't want to regift the cards so I went this route. It was perfect and I got to spend it on what I wanted. Oh happy day!

You could also buy discounted gift cards from cardpool.com also. So check it out and get some good ol' cash for those unwanted gift cards!

Cardpool was created by two Asian guys who wanted to solve the problem of having unwanted gift cards. They are based in San Francisco and were recommended on the Today Show (which was where I saw them promoed) and on various other TV stations. It's a service that lets you buy gift cards up to 30% off or sell unwanted gift cards for cash. All orders and transactions include free shipping ( they'll send you a shipping label to print) and are covered by their extensive Purchase Guarantee Program which is if you're unsatisfied with your purchase for any reason, you can return it for a full refund. They guarantee that when you purchase a gift card from them it will be valid at the merchant to the dollar amount specified in your order. Guarantees are honored up to 100 days from the date of purchase.

Now to sell your unwanted gift card, you click on the "Sell Gift Cards" on the top menu, find the merchant of the card ( and they list ones from 76 Gas to CVS to Yankee Candle). If you have a card that they don't list, just contact them directly and see if they would buy it. After you find your merchant, type in the gift card amount. If you don't know the amount or balance on the card, just look it up on the website that should be listed on back of the gift card. Click on "Get Offer" and they will automatically tell you how much they will give you Cash for the card or if you like Amazon, they'll give a few dollars more if you choose a Amazon gift card as an exchange. If you choose 'Cash' they will send you a check via USPS First Class mail within 24 hours of receiving your gift cards. If you choose an Amazon.com gift card, they will send you the gift card via email within 24 hrs of receiving your gift cards. And since they are local, I received my Amazon gift card the day after I sent my cards.

If you're interested in buying discounted gift cards, just click on the "Buy Gift Cards" on the top menu and scroll down to see what they have available. It lists the value of the card, how much you pay and the percentage you save. It's that easy.

So happy shopping!
www.cardpool.com

Adoption Auction

Just when I thought I was going to retire from blogging, an incredible story comes along that just has to be shared: a story of faith, joy and creativity.

Our good friends Hebron and Kitty (the ones that cheat in mahjong) are planning to adopt a girl in China in December. To close the $13,000 shortfall of the $35,000 adoption cost, they've decided to host a silent auction. They've collected items and services donated from their friends and have listed them as auction items. Hebron, the impressive java whiz that he is, stayed up to 4 a.m. the last seven nights hand-coding the entire auction site!

The auction just started this morning and will end October 30 at 3:00 p.m.

I encourage you to help support them through this auction. And if you would like to support in another way, you can also donate new/newish items to the auction. So if you have something to offer, get it to me this weekend as Hebron will be adding more items on Sunday night.

You can read more about their story here:
http://maksters.blogspot.com/

You can visit the auction site here:
http://tinyurl.com/makauction

Watch movies and sports online for free

Lately I've been watching Veetle.com for the latest movies. It's a great place to find still-in-theater first run movies (Expendables, Salt, Machete), as well as older classic high school and horror flicks. The newest movies will tend to be handicammed "theater quality" but as the weeks go by, it will be replaced by a newer, cleaner HD version.

The movies are constantly running and chances are you'll miss the beginning. But after a few tries, you can catch all the parts and reassemble the movie in your head like a Tarantino film. Yeah, it's not the ideal viewing situation, but it's kind of fun when you stumble across a great film you haven't seen in ages. A few weeks ago they were showing the three Sinbad movies back-to-back-to-back. And last night I was switching back and forth between Lord of the Rings and the latest Freddie Kruger movie.

And for those of us in the Bay Area that will never be able to (or want to) see another Raider home game again, you can find it on veetle too (although I prefer atdhe.net for sports). You can also catch the latest pay-per-view fights and overseas soccer games. So be sure to catch the Raiders in the closing seconds snatch defeat from the jaws of victory in the comforts of your own home where you can cry in private.

Yesterday, San Diego ran an article about the blacked out NFL games on atdhe.net as well as a few other sites I haven't tried (channelsurfing.net, justin.tv, my2p2.eu):
Web users finding ways to evade NFL blackouts
I guess the Chargers are reaching the same woeful status as the Raiders.

Navigating around on Veetle will take some patience. The channels don't necessarily tell you what's on, so you'll need to click around. Also, you'll need to install a plugin for HD quality streams. And if you have lowband DSL like me, make sure no one else is surfing on your network or else your movie will be choppy. Veetle is also viewable on the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch, but not all the channels are optimized for it. Still fun though. Enjoy.

I love me some El Pollo Loco

Something cheap every day this month. Gotta love it!

http://www.elpolloloco.com/30thAnniversary/index.html

New iPods and Apple TV - Keynote Recap

As predicted, today Apple announced the newest updated line of iPods, including the iPod Touch with front/rear camera, HD video and retina display. So for those of you who signed up for the Bank of the West iPod promotion, chances are, you'll be receiving this latest model come December – I can't wait!!

For those of you still waiting for me to find you an unlocked iPhone, I would recommend going for the new iPod Touch instead. Sure, it may mean you'll have to carry both an iPod and a cell phone, but the new Touch is soooo much nicer than an old 3G/3GS, which lacks the hi-res display and Facetime. And the new Touch comes with the same superfast A4 chip found in the iPhone 4. Couple that with a battery that offers up to 40 hours of music or 7 hours of video, this is by far the most significant iPod upgrade in Apple's history.

With the new iPod Touch, street value for older models will drop big time. Here is my estimate for fair prices for used iPods and iPhones in good condition:

1st Generation iPod Touch – $80 generally avoid because it lacks a speaker
2nd Generation iPod Touch 8gb/16gb – $100/$125 (533mhz, 128ram)
3rd Generation iPod Touch 16gb/32gb/64gb – $150/$175/$200 (800mhz, 256ram)

iPhone 2G 8gb/16gb – $100/$120 (412mhz, 128 ram, no GPS)
iPhone 3G 8/gb/16gb – $150/$175 (412mhz, 128 ram, GPS, video with jailbreak)
iPhone 3GS 16gb/32gb – $225/$275 (600mhz, 256 ram, GPS, video)

Sure, you'll find plenty on Craigslist asking for way more than the above prices. But just because they are asking those prices doesn't mean they are selling at those prices. And the longer you wait, the cheaper they will get. Remember, iPhone 4's are still selling briskly (according to the keynote, Apple is activating 230,000 iOS devices a DAY), so more and more older 3G(S) will constantly be hitting the market. Just be patient.

In case you missed the keynote today, I've listed a recap of items covered:

Apple has shipped 120 million iOS devices.
Apple is activating 230,000 iOS devices daily.
6.5 Billion iOS apps have been downloaded.

Apple is releasing iOS 4.1, it includes fixes for proximity sensor, Bluetooth problems and fix for iPhone 3G performance issues.
iOS 4.1 will allow users to take HDR photos.
iOS 4.1 will also debut Game Centre, Apple's social gaming network.
iOS 4.2 is coming to iPad. It will allow you to print wirelessly.


 iPod Shuffle.

iPod Shuffle will be available for $49.

iPod Nano.

It will cost $149 for 8GB model and $179 for the 16GB model.

iPod Touch.

The iPod Touch comes with iPhone 4's Retina display.
It includes Apple A4 chip, has a 3-axis gyroscope, iOS 4.1 with Game Center and a front-facing camera with FaceTime.
8GB model will cost $229, 16GB model will cost $299 and the 64GB model will cost $399.

Apple will be releasing iTunes 10. It also gets an all new logo, ditches the CD in the logo.
Steve Jobs has introduced a social music network called Ping, which will be integrated with iTunes 10.
You can follow your friends and artists. You can follow and be followed. It allows you to create a circle of friends.
You can post your thoughts and opinion. It will be open to 169 million iTunes users immediately.
Steve Jobs is demoing Ping. A social network all about music.
It is available on your iPhone and iPod Touch and is available now.


Apple TV

The second generation Apple TV is the fourth of the size of the first generation.
Apple TV is all about rentals, no purchases so you don't have to store it so you don't have to worry about storage management.
You can stream movies, TV shows and music.
You can rent first rent HD movies for $4.99.
You can rent ABC and Fox TV shows for $0.99.
You can stream content from Netflix, YouTube, Flickr and MobileMe.
You can also stream content from your computer.
AirPlay feature which will be available in iOS 4.2 can be wirelessly streamed to Apple TV. Apple TV will cost $99, which is $130 cheaper than the first generation Apple TV.

Gilroy Gardens for $12

LINK: http://www.gilroygardens.org/schoolspecial.html