The Nibbana Family

Recently while in Key West I had the opportunity to fly the JetLev water-propelled jet pack. The JetLev R200 has only been on the market about 6 months, and jetpackadventures.com in Key West, FL is the first location in the U.S. to get one. I happened across their promotional video before my trip and knew it was something I had to do. Flying isn’t very difficult, in fact you’ll be up and out of the water before you can even flap your wings. The challenge is finding the perfect balance between leaning sligthly forward and aiming the thrusters to obtain the correct angle. This angle helps you move forward while also moving upwards. I imagine it compares a lot to flying a helicopter where your forward momentum is gained by tilting slightly fowards.

The jetpack is attached by a hose to a 250 hp auxillary craft which looks a lot like a jet ski. This outboard boat sucks water into the hose and delivers low pressure, high flow water through a 33 ft (10 m) hose to the jetpack where thrust is generated by forcing the water through Read the rest of this entry »

After more than a decade I weigh less than 200lbs. Although I have been trying to lose weight on and off for years, I finally got serious this past July when I discovered an incredible application for the smartphone called, “MyNetDiary“. Most doctors and dieticians will tell you in order to lose weight you need to count calories and track what you eat. Writing down everything is headache enough, but having to look at each package and write down the caloric and nutrional information is cause for a migraine! I simply don’t have that kind of time or discipline. Enter MyNetdiary. This little gem contains a database with just about every conceivable food item including calories, nutritional information, sodium, protein, fiber, cholesterol and carbs. Eat a McDonald’s hamburger today? It’s in there. Slice of pizza from Pizza Hut? It’s got it. Make your own spaghetti? It’s got that too! MyNetDiary also keeps track of the foods you eat most often and populates them first as you begin to type. Too tired to type? You can even scan the barcode on the food and MyNetDiary will find the info for you!

MyNetDiary has literally changed my life. When I started back in July I weighed in at 239lbs, the heaviest I have weighed in my entire life. Years of outside sales and eating on the road coupled with a lack of exercise had taken its toll. Every New Year’s I made the same resolution: This year I’m going to lose the weight. I would try for a while by lowering my total consumption but not changing what I ate. Gradually I would fall back into my old habits and be back where I started. Through MyNetDiary, I learned Read the rest of this entry »

In this day and age where electronics go out of style within minutes of purchase and “out with the old, in with the new” permeates our disposable lifestyle, trying to find quality products that last beyond the manufacturer’s warranty is getting tougher and tougher. Building low quality products results in higher profit margins for manufacturers. Using throw-away materials not only guarantees a repurchase of the same item (in a new model, with more features, at a higher price), but the cost savings also end up being pure profit or the manufacturer.

I have always believed by being a careful shopper, buying only reputable brands and thoroughly researching products before purchasing, I would be less susceptible to problems. Boy, was I wrong. Recently I have had a string of problems with electronics equipment. Ironically, these issues are common problems experienced by many other consumers with the same items. The manufacturer’s refuse to acknowledge these problems and pass the issues off as consumer misuse. The frequency of these complaints will tell you otherwise.

First, my Nikon D70s digital SLR camera mysteriously stopped working within 30 days of the expiration of the warranty. The issue, known as the “CHA error” plagues the entire line of DSLR’s from top to bottom and causes everything from problems with flash operation, memory card slot read/write issues, and complete camera failure. In all cases the letters “CHA” appear on the LCD screen. I sent my camera into Nikon repair along with a letter and received a free repair along with a new 6 month warranty for the issue. So what do you think happened? That’s right, within 30 days of the new warranty expiration it failed again. Luckily they repaired it again for free, but how many more times will this happen?

When it comes to laptops, you would think HP would be pretty reputable, right? Well, not exactly. My wife Kelsi has an HP zv6000 laptop. Over the course of a year the hinges that hold the LCD screen have been slowly cracking. A couple of days ago they gave way completely and now she has to physically hold the LCD screen open in order to use it. I thought this was ununusal considering she is very careful with it and has never dropped or abused it, so I began researching the issue. Well, what do you know, this seems to be widespread and has so many compliants that people have begun websites dedicated to the issue. Notebook Hinge Crack.com is one of the several I found. There also seems to be a class action lawsuit forming.

Lastly, how about owning a router that drops your Internet signal willy-nilly? I have a Linksys eight port BEFSR81 v3.1 connected to a Linksys cable modem. Originally I had version 1.0 of this router for almost five years without any problems, but one day after a thunder storm it gave up the ghost. Thinking I couldn’t go wrong with Linksys, I bought the latest version. That’s when the problems began. Mysteriously and without reason, the new router would work fine and then suddenly drop the signal. I replaced the router with another one and the problem continued. I have updated the firmware, adjusted the MTU, cloned the MAC, and tried all of the other options the legions of other people having the same problem have suggested. Nothing has worked. So what to do? I have to unplug the power from the router every time it happens and wait a couple of seconds before plugging it back in. This can be as many as 5-6 times a day.

So what’s the point? The point is that it’s frustrating manufacturer’s have become so enamored with churning out new products in record time that quality has taken the backseat to quantity. Even more frustrating is that manufacturer’s refuse to acknowledge these widespread issues and do the right thing and offer a fix or replacement. They figure consumers will ultimately discard their problem electronics and buy the latest and greatest. Well, I just might, but one thing is for sure: my next camera will not be a Nikon, my next laptop will not be HP, and my next router will not be Linksys.

I spent the weekend at Grandma’s house and had a lot of fun.  We played games and swam and gardened.  When I came home this afternoon, my sister Ari wanted to go skating, so Mom and Dad took us outside.  I surprised them because I learned how to walk really well!  I can walk over 50 steps without falling and now I walk a lot more then I crawl.

I love this walking thing!

Last week I got a car.  It is a Pink Barbie Jeep and I can drive it. Abby sits next to me and we can zoom! It is really fun.

It can go fast and faster and backwards. When I go really fast, Abby laughs a lot. It also has a phone and a windshield with no glass and seatbelt. Sometimes Abby tries to help me drive, but she is not allowed because she is only one year old.