Friday, July 25, 2008
Monday, July 21, 2008
Private Hour Golf Lesson
Over the last six months I have grown a love for the game of golf. I have been playing with my older brother and have enjoyed the time we spend together. We both enjoy the game and the practice. We both suck and feel good about it.
Improvement is one of my goals. I found out through some of my friends that the Carlsbad Golf Center has group lessons plus a bucket of balls for $20. I thought the group lesson will be a good place to learn some tips and not have to spend a lot of money.
Saturday morning came around and I was waiting for my brother to show up so we could get to the lesson on time. When time was getting short I called me bro. He said that he wasn't going to make it because someone chopped off his catalytic converter from under his 4Runner.
Well, I was on my own. I jetted to the golf center and made it in time. I signed up for the drop-in lesson and got my bucket of balls. Waiting outside I say people come and go, but no one was waiting for the lesson. I thought "maybe I am waiting in the wrong area. But the lady at the desk told me to wait here." So I waited for a few minutes. When 11:00 arrived, a gentlemen named Paul introduced himself to me. He told me that he was the teacher and that we were going to start. I was the only one in the class. So the lesson started.
When the lesson was over, I received the equivalent of a private lesson from a member of the PGA tour for twenty bucks. He was very down to earth and his instruction was clear and easy to remember. We worked on putting for about a half hour and then irons and woods for about forty minutes. I could see a real difference in my iron hits. I even found the answer to how hit the ball straight instead of to the right like I normally do. I was very happy with the results of the lesson.
If it works out, Wes and I will be hitting up Oceanside Muni course. It isn't a pretty course, but it is inexpensive and we get a cart. Plus it is long and I will be getting a new driver from the Taylormade company store. I need a long course to put my driver to the test. The only reason I can get a driver at the company store is because I have a friend that is an engineer there. Nice to have friends in high places.
Improvement is one of my goals. I found out through some of my friends that the Carlsbad Golf Center has group lessons plus a bucket of balls for $20. I thought the group lesson will be a good place to learn some tips and not have to spend a lot of money.
Saturday morning came around and I was waiting for my brother to show up so we could get to the lesson on time. When time was getting short I called me bro. He said that he wasn't going to make it because someone chopped off his catalytic converter from under his 4Runner.
Well, I was on my own. I jetted to the golf center and made it in time. I signed up for the drop-in lesson and got my bucket of balls. Waiting outside I say people come and go, but no one was waiting for the lesson. I thought "maybe I am waiting in the wrong area. But the lady at the desk told me to wait here." So I waited for a few minutes. When 11:00 arrived, a gentlemen named Paul introduced himself to me. He told me that he was the teacher and that we were going to start. I was the only one in the class. So the lesson started.
When the lesson was over, I received the equivalent of a private lesson from a member of the PGA tour for twenty bucks. He was very down to earth and his instruction was clear and easy to remember. We worked on putting for about a half hour and then irons and woods for about forty minutes. I could see a real difference in my iron hits. I even found the answer to how hit the ball straight instead of to the right like I normally do. I was very happy with the results of the lesson.
If it works out, Wes and I will be hitting up Oceanside Muni course. It isn't a pretty course, but it is inexpensive and we get a cart. Plus it is long and I will be getting a new driver from the Taylormade company store. I need a long course to put my driver to the test. The only reason I can get a driver at the company store is because I have a friend that is an engineer there. Nice to have friends in high places.
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Bingo Night
Our complex has a bingo night for the residence. Not many people show up which is fine because there if more food and prizes for my family. There are 10 rounds and each person gets a bingo pad. Even my daughter got one and she is three. Guess what happened in the second round...
Oh yeah!! I am going to get my cleaning on. I also won this.
Life is good.
I got this!
Oh yeah!! I am going to get my cleaning on. I also won this.
Life is good.
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Another reason not to buy the new iPhone 3G.
Current costs for my iPhone-
Voice plan- about 39.99
Data plan- 20.00
Text message- 200 included
Plan for the iPhone 3G-
Voice plan- my guess is 39.99
Data plan- 30.00
Text message- 0 included
I don't have all the facts exact, but I am close. Play close attention to the change in data and text. They have gone up quite a bit. I believe the price of a text plan is 4.99 for 200 a month or 10 cents each without a plan.
Lets say I buy an iPhone 3G and get a text plan . The cost per month would be up $15 bucks to equal the price of services I am getting now.
On another note check out this picture...
Voice plan- about 39.99
Data plan- 20.00
Text message- 200 included
Plan for the iPhone 3G-
Voice plan- my guess is 39.99
Data plan- 30.00
Text message- 0 included
I don't have all the facts exact, but I am close. Play close attention to the change in data and text. They have gone up quite a bit. I believe the price of a text plan is 4.99 for 200 a month or 10 cents each without a plan.
Lets say I buy an iPhone 3G and get a text plan . The cost per month would be up $15 bucks to equal the price of services I am getting now.
On another note check out this picture...
The blue shade represents the 3G service areas. Unless you are in a large city the service is not provided. Not very good. Being a tech nerd I really want a 3G iPhone, but I have a really really hard time justifying getting one. The only way I can see myself getting one is if I got it for free or some one was to pay the difference per month. Which is $15 per month over the life of a two year contract. And that comes out to $360 bucks.
Anyone have $360 bucks you want to give me?
Friday, June 13, 2008
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Why did I buy a scooter?
About 4-5 years ago I was getting real tired of the high gas prices. It was pushing $1.70 up to $1.90. At this time I was going to school full time and my wife was working full time. We were also thinking about starting our family. One day I said to my self, "Self...you will buy a scooter when gas hits $2.00 butts a gallon." The end of 2003 came around and I think gas hit $2.00 butts. So I made the plan at that point to sell my car and get a scooter. In the mid summer I found the scooter I was looking for and sold my car. I was getting 70 to 80 miles per gallon. Life was good.
In the mid fall of 2004 I remember gas going back down to the mid $1.70. Since the end of 2004 gas has not been under $2.00 butts. It has gone up and up. Driving past a station today I saw the price was $4.57 which is ten cents more than yesterday.
I think I made a good decision back then. I did some calculating to see how much I am paying for gas now. Lets say a car gets an average of 25 mpg. At the price of $4.57 this car can go 25 miles for that price. The price for me to go 25 miles is $1.60. So if I were a car I would be spending $1.60 per gallon. This is about the price gas was 4 to 5 years ago.
Gas sure has gone up a lot. Ten years ago a barrel of oil was $10 and now it is $130.
In the mid fall of 2004 I remember gas going back down to the mid $1.70. Since the end of 2004 gas has not been under $2.00 butts. It has gone up and up. Driving past a station today I saw the price was $4.57 which is ten cents more than yesterday.
I think I made a good decision back then. I did some calculating to see how much I am paying for gas now. Lets say a car gets an average of 25 mpg. At the price of $4.57 this car can go 25 miles for that price. The price for me to go 25 miles is $1.60. So if I were a car I would be spending $1.60 per gallon. This is about the price gas was 4 to 5 years ago.
Gas sure has gone up a lot. Ten years ago a barrel of oil was $10 and now it is $130.
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
iPhone 3G....
Ok, the time of the big announcement has come. The iPhone 3G is almost out (click here to see the key note speach). Everybody gather your money and get ready to dump your current provider. It is time to get an iPhone.....or not? Of those that know me, you may recall that last year I spent months saving up money for the first iPhone. At a $600 premium, that device was not a cheap prize. I saved and saved and on June 29 2007 I went to the Apple store in UTC and get my dream in electronic form.
The phone has been great over the last year. I get unlimited internet and Gmaps is awesome. I love having movies on the go and there is plenty of room for music. There are a few things that could be better. First the price was crazy. Second the internet is slow if not on WiFi. Third there was no GPS which is almost a standard on most smart phones these days.
All three of these things are fixed on the new phone. Here is a list of the improvements.
1. $199 for the 8gig and $299 for the 16gig
2. 3G internet speed that is clocked at 2.8 to 3.6 times faster
3. GPS in Gmaps
The other improvements that will be coming to the phone also apply to the current phone. These are third party applications. None are released, but I am sure they will be good.
So, am I planning on getting the new phone? The answer a few months ago was a definite yes, but now I am not so sure. Here is how I see it. If I am willing to fork out $300 for it, what am I getting? The first $100 is going to an additional 8 gigs (I currently have the 8gig). The second $100 is going for GPS which is not a bad deal because a GPS device can cost $200 or more. The third $100 is going to high speed internet.
Also there is a $10 hike per month with the new phone for use of the internet. That brings the total cost to $30 bucks a month just for internet. Over a two year period the additional $10 per month adds $240 to the cost of the phone which is more than it would have been if the price was left at the current retail price.
It doesn't seem like it is worth the cost. The only way I could justify the purchase is if I sold my current phone for at least $150 bucks. Who would want to buy my phone for that much when you can get a 3G 8gig iPhone for $50 dollars more.
We will see if I get one.
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