I gave in and donated to the Ron Paul campaign today (proof above). I’m really excited about his ideas and his beliefs. He is the only candidate I’ve ever seen who speaks with passion, honesty, and integrity. Other candidates just seem like puppets on a stick to me. Paul’s 10 years of experience in congress give him a great insight into how things work, where the problems are, and his solutions just make good sense. He also really knows his history which is important for making good decisions of our future.
Last election I voted for the lesser of the two evils. This election I am voting for someone I whole-heartedly believe can make a positive impact on our country and someone that I would be proud to have as our president. Visit www.ronpaul2008.com for more info, google ron paul, and watch youtube videos.
My good long time friend Tyler has been in town for the past week and we’ve been able to hang out quite a bit which has been a blast. While he was here Tyler taught me 2 great everyday hacks that are so good they will instantly become routine.
Cinnamon Coffee
Ever put cinnamon on top of your coffee? I sure do and love it. Tyler says to put the cinnamon on top of the grinds before you brew the coffee and it brews the cinnamon in. Brilliant! Works like a charm and tastes better than ever without the powder on top.
Save your clutch
I have an old jeep wrangler that has definitely seen better days. I’ve recently had the problem with the clutch grinding when going into reverse. It happens about every time. My friend told me i can avoid the grinding all together just by putting it in 1st before I put it in reverse. I’m not sure about the inner-workings of a clutch, but this works great. Putting it into 1st gear stops whatever mechanism that causes the grinding into reverse. This tip alone will likely add years to the clutch!
Yesterday I was sitting in my Jeep parked in a parking lot, had the surfboards strapped to the top, and was waiting for Emily to get out of her class so we could go surfing. A homeless person walked by and stared at me for a moment (me thinking “oh great here we go”), then he asked…”What do i have to do?…Look at you, you have the jeep, the surfboards…”. After asking that he stared at me some more waiting for an answer…but i had a hard time figuring out what to say. I told him some bullshit like “keep trying” and he went on with his way.
That bugged me later on and had me thinking about what one “has to do” to be successful (i.e., have enough money to buy an old jeep and some crappy used surf boards).
My conclusion and what I should have said to the homeless guy:
You have to figure out a way to contribute to society. The more valuable your contribution, the more money you will make. Value in this case is determined by supply and demand. The more unique your skills and talents (provided they are in demand), the better off you will be. That is why someone who works at McDonalds (a job anyone can do) makes a fraction of someone who is an air traffic controller, java programmer, or famous musician (in-demand jobs very few can do).
Its a pretty obvious and well covered subject, but once given some thought on my own, thats my conclusion. Hopefully, homeless dude in search of some advise, this will find you someday when you’re surfing the internet at the public library and it will help you find your way to a financially stable life.
Oahu has a lot more to offer than just beaches, expensive restaruants, Waikiki, and all the other usual tourist stuff. I have discovered many things here that a visiting tourist would love, but most would never know exists. I think most of the cool tourists dont want to do the “usual” stuff. So heres a google map with some really awesome hikes & waterholes. I take no responsibility for your safety. You may run into non-friendly locals, be called a haole, or get chased off by a security guard. But its worth it!
Today I woke up fairly early and drove down to Kailua Bay to paddle out to Flat Island and try some surfing out there. It was a pretty long paddle…I had to take a few breaks to get out there. Once I did, there was one other surfer out there who has frequented that surf break for decades. He was really friendly and gave me the lowdown on the break and the other people who surf there.
The surf break was really nice and easy…2-4′ waves rolled in sets of 3 or 4 every 15 minutes or so. It is a left break so you have to make sure to ride the break out from the island because it gets really shallow and reefy as you get close to it.
The beauty of Kailua bay baffles me. Especially early in the morning when you can watch the sun rise and hit the bay as well as the surrounding breathtaking mountains. I really need a water proof camera so i can capture some of it’s beauty only seen by paddling out to the outer islands.
One of the things that makes Flat Island unique is that its a sea bird sanctuary. The entire island is covered with dug-out holes and most of them have bird eggs in them. Sometimes (I’ve heard) you can even see the birds hatching.
I do pretty much all of my reading online. Everyday I spend about an hour scouring RSS feeds for useful and insightful information. Everything from blog posts to magazine articles and even local surf reports.
There are only a small few of these articles that stand out as having the most influence on me and my life even years after reading them…
This is a list of quotes I’ve saved over time that have inspired me…
“Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe.” - Abraham Lincoln
A person is not old until regrets take the place of dreams
“when the Power of Love overcomes the Love of Power the world will
know peace” - Jimi hendrix
Seek first to understand, then to be understood.
Life takes its toll, bring change.
The brightest future will always be based on a forgotten past;
you can’t go forward in life until you let go of your past failures and heartaches.
When the door of happiness closes, another opens;
but often times we look so long at the closed door that we don’t see the one which has been opened for us.
The happiest of people don’t necessarily have the best of everything;
they just make the most of everything that comes along their way.
When you were born, you were crying and everyone around you was smiling.
Live your life so at the end, you’re the one who is smiling and everyone around you is crying.
Dip eggplant slices in egg, then in bread crumbs. Place in a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake in preheated oven for 5 minutes on each side.
In a 9×13 inch baking dish spread spaghetti sauce to cover the bottom. Place a layer of eggplant slices in the sauce. Sprinkle with mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses. Repeat with remaining ingredients, ending with the cheeses. Sprinkle basil on top.
Bake in preheated oven for 35 minutes, or until golden brown.
Cinnamon Coffee
Save your clutch
Today I woke up fairly early and drove down to Kailua Bay to paddle out to Flat Island and try some surfing out there. It was a pretty long paddle…I had to take a few breaks to get out there. Once I did, there was one other surfer out there who has frequented that surf break for decades. He was really friendly and gave me the lowdown on the break and the other people who surf there.
Awesome eggplant parmesan! Serves about 4.