Run Flats

This morning I had to go to work early. I left my house at 5:30 am in order to be in the city by around 6:30 am. It was still dark outside. Driving along 280, I passed a construction zone which, due to the earliness of the morning, still had the left 3 lanes closed. Shortly after passing the construction zone, Maggie started flashing me a warning light. Maggie is my MINI Cooper S who treats me very well. I started to get a little nervous and my heart started beating a little faster because I didn't know what the symbol was for on the warning light. I looked at it a little closer and decided it looked like a tire and was, therefore, the symbol for a flat tire. So, I thought, "oh crap! I probably ran over something in that stupid construction zone." Since the MINI Cooper S comes with Run Flat Tires as a standard feature, I figured I could at least get into the city and then figure out what to do if I really did have a flat. So, I pulled out my owner's manual to double check the meaning of the symbol (all while I'm driving of course - I couldn't be late). It was indeed the symbol for a flat tire (or a significant difference in the pressure of one tire compared to the others). I read through the section on the Flat Tire Monitor in my manual (still driving along - only safe at 6 in the morning) and noted that the Flat Tire Monitor should be reset after changing the tire pressure, rotating the tires, or anything of that nature. I recently had my tires rotated and figured it probably hadn't been reset, so I tried to do that while I was driving, but it didn't work (you have to start the initialization when you're stopped).

So, as I cruised along with my apparent flat tire, I started thinking about the implications of the situation. Keeping the hope of a mere difference in tire pressure in the back of my mind, I started thinking about what I would need to do if the tire was flat. I figured I could probably get home on the tire, but then I would have to get a new tire because Run Flats cannot be fixed. And Run Flat tires are expensive. Then I started comparing my current tire situation with the last flat tire I had. That was in my Isuzu Rodeo which did not have Run Flat tires. I was fortunate to have gotten that flat right in front of my house. I ran over a screw which punctured the tire and left it completely flat in about 15 minutes. To take care of that one, I spent an hour changing the tire so I could drive to a tire place and have it fixed. (As a side note, I took it to America's Tire Company which fixes flat tires for free. They were pretty awesome there and when it was time for new tires, you better believe that's where I went. I have since determined to take care of all of my tire needs at America's Tire Company!) It cost me nothing except for my time and effort to fix the tire. Had it happened farther from my house, though, I would've been stuck changing a flat who knows where in the dark. With this in mind as I cruised along with the flat tire warning lit up, all of a sudden Run Flats didn't seem like they were really too expensive. Then I thought about what I would be doing if my MINI had regular tires. I would be stuck on the side of 280 at 6 am in the dark trying to change a tire. And I would've been late for work. And I would've been dirty. Run Flat tires were becoming a better deal by the minute! When I finally got into the parking lot and parked my car, I took a closer look at the manual (there's only so much you can pick up on when you're also watching the road). I was supposed to have slowed the car down to 50 mph (oops! - I just kept cruising along at 70 to 80 mph) and then I was supposed to check the tire pressure as soon as possible. It was not possible at that moment because it was dark outside and I had to get to work. So, I figured I would just check it later and go from there. Then I looked in the manual to find out how far I could drive on the flat to see if I could get home (I had already driven about 20 miles on it). The manual said that with a light load (1-2 people) I could go an astonishing 155 miled on the tire with 0 psi of pressure!!!!!!!!!! That is amazing! I knew I could make it home on that, so I went to work and decided I would check the tire pressure later and then figure out what I needed to do. Of course, I was still hoping for one of the tires just to be a little low.

Upon returning to Maggie, I checked the tire pressure and found one of the tires to be a little lower than the others, but it really hadn't lost much pressure - that I took as a positive sign. So I took Maggie to a gas station and put a little more air in the tire. I then reset the Flat Tire Monitor and the warning light went off. This immediately boosted my hopes and made me feel better about life. I drove all the way home with no warning lights going off and no problem with the tire. Hooray!!!! It wasn't a flat after all!

While the whole situation was a little scary and made for an intense day, it made me realize how awesome Run Flat Tires are. They are amazing! To have a tire go flat and be able to still drive on it and get it fixed at your leisure and convenience is totally worth the couple hundred dollars for a new tire (granted, if I was constantly getting flat tires, I might be singing a different tune). To have a tire go flat and not be stuck on the side of the road changing it in the dark is totally worth paying a more for tires. Run Flat tires are powerful and they will change your life! And once again, Maggie takes good care of me.

Thanks, Run Flats, for making all of my wildest dreams come true!

Macaroni and Cheese

I've loved Macaroni and Cheese ever since I can remember. There are good mac 'n' cheeses and there are bad mac 'n' cheeses. I'm on a quest to find the best mac 'n' cheese ever. In this quest, I've tried a number of different versions. I've definitely found some that are tough to beat and I've also found some that aren't worthy of the mac 'n' cheese title. Here are my criteria for judging mac n cheese:

1. Pasta. This is one of the first and most essential tests of a good mac 'n' cheese. If you're not using macaroni, it's not mac 'n' cheese. Last night we went to dinner at the Los Altos Grill. We had never been before, but I knew they had mac 'n' cheese on the menu and I wanted to try it. The mac 'n' cheese came as I side dish, so we ordered it with our dinner to share. They brought out what they called the mac 'n' cheese. I instantly saw that it was actually penne 'n' cheese. That's an automatic fail. It has to be macaroni.

2. Cheese. Another essential ingredient in a good mac 'n' cheese. Personal preference is a big factor in determining good cheeses. For this, I have to say that S'Mac in New York City beats them all. Why? Because you have a choice. All they serve is mac 'n' cheese and they make many versions using different cheeses and add-ins. And if what they have on the menu doesn't catch your fancy, you can build your own. I haven't tried them all, but the Gruyere with Bacon mac was excellent and I think my favorite mac 'n' cheese of all time.

S'Mac
345 East 12th Street
New York City, NY 10003
http://smacnyc.com/

3. Bread Crumbs. Sometimes overlooked, but good bread crumbs can make a good mac 'n' cheese great. Home in San Francisco wins the best bread crumbs category. Their mac 'n' cheese is very good in and of itself, but the bread crumbs top it off with excellence. Bread crumbs should be crunchy and just sit right on top of the mac 'n' cheese. S'Mac offers a choice of bread crumbs or no bread crumbs, but any mac 'n' cheese snob will always go for the bread crumbs. Theirs are a tad on the soggy side which is why Home beats them out. Hooray for bread crumbs!

Home
2100 Market Street
San Francisco, CA
http://www.home-sf.com/

4. Texture. A good mac 'n' cheese cannot be chunky. The cheese should be smooth and velvety and delicious!

5. Craziness. Let's be honest. Mac 'n' cheese is a comfort food. It shouldn't be crazy. With that in mind, I have to say the worst mac 'n' cheese I've ever had was at the Hard Rock Cafe. Their mac 'n' cheese has some kick. Too much kick. It's spicy. Very spicy. To the point that I had to drink about 6 glasses of water to cool my mouth off! Mac 'n' cheese shouldn't be spicy. Not even a little bit. Boo for the mac 'n' cheese at Hard Rock Cafe.

Happiness is a good mac 'n' cheese. If you find one that meets this criteria, please let me know! I'm always up for a good mac 'n' cheese!

I Love You, California!

A couple weeks ago I went to the temple with some friends. We walked out after our session and enjoyed one of the most pleasant evenings and beautiful views I have yet experienced at the Oakland Temple. It was a beautiful summer evening - pretty uncharacteristic for the Oakland hills. It was warm, there was very little wind, and it was totally clear. We could see San Francisco, all the way across the bay. As we walked out of the temple and enjoyed the beauty around us, my love for California waxed stronger. I think Amy summed it up the best when she said, "where we live doesn't suck." I wholeheartedly agree! In honor of California being the 31st state admitted to the United States of America, here are 31 reasons, in no particular order, why I love California:
1. The weather is amazing.
2. San Francisco
3. The PCH - aka Highway 1
4. Lots of freeways = not so many stoplights
5. Yosemite
6. I see lots of nationalities when I look around me.
7. California believes in toilet seat covers in public restrooms.
8. The state animal is the grizzly bear.
9. The state flower is orange - I love California poppies!
10. The beach/ocean is close.
11. The mountains are close.
12. Smoking is not allowed in public buildings.
13. The San Francisco Giants
14. The Los Angeles Dodgers (I actually hate the Dodgers, but I love the rivalry).
15. Disneyland
16. Earthquakes - they're pretty rockin'!
17. Monterey Bay
18. Joshua Trees
19. Redwood Trees
20. You can drive to different areas of California that feel like completely different states.
21. People are pretty open-minded and accepting of different lifestyles, cultures, and beliefs. They're not haters.
22. You can live where it snows if you want to, but you don't have to.
23. People like to visit here.
24. Apple Computers, Inc.
25. I have a choice of really good ethnic food at any point in time.
26. I-280
27. California borders another country.
28. Diversity
29. The cows are happy here.
30. There are three MINI dealerships within an hour of where I live.
31. We recycle

iPod Shuffle - Aluminum encased power!

I have an iPod Shuffle. I have named it "Little Boy" after the atomic bomb that was dropped on Hiroshima. Like its namesake, my iPod Shuffle packs a very powerful punch in a little package. I often feel empowered while walking around listening to my iPod Shuffle. So many songs, such a little device. It's a beautiful thing. Another powerful thing about my iPod Shuffle is that it always seems to play the songs I want to hear. When (for as many songs as it holds) it only carries a small fraction of my musical library, I find this an amazing feat. But, that's what you get when you have aluminum encased power! Recently, however, my iPod Shuffle and I had an experience which made me realize that the power I have seen thus far from Little Boy iPod is only the tip of the iceberg. It happened like this.

Because my iPod Shuffle is so small, it fits easily in most of my jacket pockets. So, I usually grab it in the morning on my way out the door and put it in my jacket pocket so as to have it with me should I need to listen to some music at any point in the day. When I get home in the evening, I take my iPod Shuffle out of my pocket and put it on my dresser. One day, just like any other, I came home and started to do some laundry. I sorted my clothes and started my laundry, deciding at the last minute to throw in the jacket that I had worn that day. I left some clothes in the washer and went out, planning to put them in the dryer when I got home. Upon my return, I went out to put my laundry in the dryer. I started pulling my clothes out of the washer and throwing them into the dryer. As I pulled out my jacket, I saw Little Boy iPod dangling from the headphone cord out of the jacket pocket. As I instantly realized what happened (I did not take the iPod Shuffle out of my pocket like I usually do), I was gripped with a feeling of mortification. What had I done? The probable fate of my iPod Shuffle and all of it's empowering capabilities filled my mind, but I had hope. I immediately turned it on, but there was no happy light that came on telling me my Shuffle was okay. I feared the worst, but remembering that the battery of my Shuffle was nearly dead before it's tumble through the washing machine, I clung to the faint hope that it would be restored to life after a charge. I text messaged Jared and asked him how waterproof Shuffles were. His answer was not encouraging, but he said to leave it alone for 24 hours so it could dry out and then check it again. I knew that to really check it, it would have to be recharged. Over the next few days, I had no time to deal with my ailing iPod Shuffle and then I went out of town for a few days. Upon returning, I was again very busy and had no time for iPod intensive care.

It was almost two weeks after my iPod took the plunge before I had a chance to plug it in to my computer and see what happened. By this time, Jared, certain of the death of Little Boy, had bought me a new iPod Shuffle and I had resigned myself to the process of aquainting myself with a new iPod. Before pulling the new iPod out of it's packaging, I decided to give Little Boy another chance. I plugged him into my computer. A light came on on the iPod, but it did not appear in iTunes. With that, I thought it was all over. I opened some other programs and was doing some other work on my computer before opening and setting up the new iPod Shuffle. All of a sudden, an alert window popped up telling me that new software was available for my iPod. Not daring to believe it in my mind, I brought up the iTunes window. In utter and absolute amazement, I saw Little Boy listed in iTunes with all of the songs it carried still inside! I told Jared that Little Boy came back to life and he was as amazed as I was. I quickly grabbed my headphones to see if it still worked. Never has "Livin' On a Prayer" sounded so beautiful to my ears!

The power packed in that small aluminum case continues to amaze me. My iPod Shuffle has been through enough to kill even a regular iPod and has lived to tell the tale. It has been restored to it's original glory and it's empowering abilities have not dimished at all. That Shuffle and I are going places!