Last Post Before Vacation

This will be my last post before heading back to LA! It may be my last post for the year too. I'm pretty much all packed up and ready to go. I had to make sure to take with me all valuables and important documents. Good thing Southwest allows me 2 luggages free. I sure have a lot of stuff to bring back. I had to mail a few medical books back because they would be too heavy. I'll probably take a shuttle to the airport this time instead of driving myself. With 17 days gone, the parking fee would cost at least $102. The shuttle would cost about $22 one way.

I also completed my Lego project for the pneumatic wheel loader last week. Also with the spares I still have, I made a Go-Cart this weekend. I spent less than 5 hours on it and I'm pretty happy with the results. It's got a working 2 cylinder engine and steering. It's also a big model at 6x10 inches. Overall I like my own creations better than what's available (past or present) from Lego. I guess if you want something nice to be built with Legos, just do it yourself!

I also had the time to really play around with the Apple iPod Touch this week. The movie capability is awesome. I downloaded 14 movies, 24 games and many applications. I loaded a bunch of MP3s too. I'm glad I got the 32GB version. Right now I'm using about half of the memory. I also built a small stand out of Legos for the iPod to watch movies on the plane. The viewing angle of the stand is fully adjustable!

Happy Holidays!

Only 17 shopping days left till Xmas and 12 days before I have my vacation! It's my first vacation since March. I have already gotten my Xmas gift from my girlfriend Ivy: iPod Touch 32GB! It's such a cool little device. I never understood why iPhones were so popular until now. The iPod Touch is basically an iPhone without the phone. I'm just amazed at the functionalities it has and the speed of the processor. It sure makes my Palm TX from last year look like a dinosaur. I mean, going online on the Touch takes a few seconds and web surfing is almost like a desktop computer.

My gift to Ivy this year is basically a cash shopping spree of the same cost of the iPod. It seems like Ivy's having some hard times finding the stuff she likes (mostly specific clothes), so I guess cash is the best gift for people like that!

Also this weekend we got our first real snow! A couple of weeks ago we had some snow flurries, but this weekend is the first snow accumulation that totally covered the ground.

In other news, my Discover credit card recently was subject to identity theft and use. Good thing Discover people caught it on the same day it got used by the thief and cancelled my card right away. I got a call that day from Discover asking if I had used the card at a Shell gas station and Polo. They didn't tell me how much money got charged, but I bet they became suspicious because the transaction took place out of state.

Anyway they are launching an investigation and I'm not responsible for those charges. Good thing I'm done with majority of shopping and won't need the card until my trip to Hawaii. I have to wait a week before I get a new card. This is such a bummer because I have to relink all of my online payment and banking accounts to the new card. I had identity theft of my Paypal account last year that also resulted in me getting a new Discover card.

My free time recently are spent working my mind on Legos. It's like a 3D puzzle, but with hundreds of different parts. I find it pretty challenging because you have to plan things out and imagine your design, otherwise there'll be a lot of trial and error. The new Technic parts are much more advanced than the ones I played with 20 years ago, so you can't just snap blocks on top of another. The new Technic parts also make the result model stronger and more realistic.

I have finally finished the Excavator. My current project is the Wheel Loader. Most of the parts I have are basically from 3 Lego Technic sets and spare parts from Amazon and eBay. The pneumatic systems are from Lego Education. Lego Education provides these pneumatic components for robotic projects. The parts I will have left after completing the Wheel Loader probably won't allow me to be too creative. So, after the Wheel Loader, I'm thinking of building a Tricycle or Go Cart.