The Ultimate Drinking Table

I was at a bar one night and discovered one of the coolest tables ever made. And I mean COOL! It is a very simple concept that every bar should have. The picture above shows a top view of the table setting. The black rectangle represents a table. The 6 large circles on the outside are bar stools. And the small circles on the inside represent coasters.

The coasters are built into the table so they look like designs. However, it is not just for looks. The small circles have a cooling system hooked up to it. If you put a cup of water on top of the coaster, it would keep cool. It acts like an ice chest or mini freezer. The coasters get so cold that it produces a thin layer of frost on top of it. You can pick the frost with your nails. I tried laying my hands on top of it and I only got to about 4 seconds before it got too cold.

At first we didn't think anything of it. The waitress served us drinks on the black surface with a napkin. We finally noticed that it was a chiller when a napkin got stuck to it. The waitress had to scrub down the napkin because it got stuck to the frost. Imagine having one of these tables at your house... Every man would envy you.

P.S. Keep it cool!

Travis Barker & DJ AM Mix Tape

If you like crazy mixing from hip hop to techno to alternative to oldies, then you will love this mix by DJ AM and Travis Barker. There's 14 tracks total but its suppose to be continuous. DJ AM is cutting it up while Travis Barker is playing the drums. Some parts are really cool and some are just annoying.

You can download Fix Your Face - Vol. 2: CLICK HERE. Check it out at your own risk!

I got a chance to hear DJ AM live after his plane crash. It was his first performance back and the crowd went crazy. He was looking and mixing healthy. Supposedly DJ AM did a remix of MGMT's "Kids" and it was really good. I'm going to try and look for it.

Portable Mirrors

I've been looking for large mirrors, but they are too expensive and heavy. I wanted one that was movable at a fraction of the cost. Doing some research online, I found a "mirror on a roll." They were about $15-20 a roll. Which is not too bad. I didn't know what to you use as backing. I was thinking about poster boards but it would have been too flimsy.

Supplies used: 3 foam boards from an office supply store and 1 mirror roll (ordered online).

After 2 1/2 boards and a roll of mirror, this is the end result.

The clarity is not always 100%. From a distance, images may look blurry. When images are up close, it is more clear.

I tried doing this project alone and realized that there were some air pockets. I got most of it out. Don't use a squeegee or else it will leave permanent streaks on the film. Use your hands to push out the air bubbles is good enough. I would recommend help since the mirror roll is quite long. This setup will run you about $30 and about an hour of your time.

Now I have something to shadow box in front of. It can also be used as a mirror in the sky.

WiTricity

WiFi + electricity = WiTricity.

We have been waiting for this for a very long time. WiTricity of Watertown, Massachusetts claims they have created wireless electricity that will be available within 18 months. Through the air, you can power your computer, television, and lights. Now that is innovative! How convenient would that be? No more running extension cords and long wires all over the room. The question is, is it safe? I certainly hope so.

Diet is Nasty

I was never too fond of anything "diet." It felt like you weren't getting the whole bang for the buck. People are basically consuming artificial and human manufactured sugar. There are side effects to this. Why not get the real deal? Do people really think they will not gain weight by drinking something diet? Or how about lose weight while drinking diet? I understand when people need to drink diet for health purposes, but not weight issues. If you want to lose weight, eat healthy and exercise. Plus the taste of diet is just gross.

Diet Coke was introduced in 1982.

Who is Tony Hsieh?

I read the LA Times business section almost everyday. Ever since the economy fell off, the business section has been very depressing. All you hear about are stock droppings, bankruptcy's, and government bailouts. A business book I read said not to watch or read the news everyday because it's a downer. It's hard to avoid the news because you need to stay in tune with your surroundings. This Zappos sale caught my eye.

Tony Hsieh is the co-founder and CEO of Zappos. If you haven't heard of Zappos, they are the biggest online shoe retailer. In 2008, Zappos hit the $1 billion sales mark. That is huge! On July 22nd, Amazon acquired Zappos for a deal worth more than $807 million.

I read a few articles and listened to a few keynotes by Tony. He's a 34 year-old Taiwanese native that went to college in Harvard. During his college years he opened a pizza parlor. After college, he and his business partner at the time started a company called LinkExchange (an advertising network), which was later sold to Microsoft for $265M in 1998. He had about 100 employees at that time. After the buy-out, Tony started an investment firm called Venture Frogs who invested in internet start ups like Ask Jeeves and Zappos.

After getting bored just being an investor, Tony decided to get more involved with Zappos. He was not the pioneer behind Zappos but brought a lot of his ideas to the table. What makes Zappos successful is the company culture. They definitely take care of their employees and make an emphasis on team work. Second is customer service. They don't necessarily have the best price, but their staff and consumer relationship is spectacular. Most of their orders are from previous customers and referrals.

This is actually quite a funny and smart story... So when Tony had his pizza joint, one of his customers would buy a large pizza every day. Some days he would even buy two. Later Tony found out that his customer (Alfred Lin) was buying the pizza's and reselling it upstairs at the dorms by the slice. That is how Alfred became the COO of Zappos.

One of my friends sells his products through Zappos. He was telling me that their Kentucky warehouse was all automated including the picking. Instead of manually picking items, they use robots and conveyor belts. Most warehouses hire people to pick orders by hand. Zappos gives daily tours of their office at the Las Vegas headquarters. You can even meet Tony himself. Just email Tony (tony@zappos.com) to schedule a pick-up and tour.

Zappos also has a close-out and discount store called 6pm.com. I am sure you have seen this site on deal sites like slickdeals.net or even fatwallet.com. CHEAP! CHEAP! CHEAP!

Fun Fact: Their hiring is a two-step process. The first part is your basic interview. If you pass the interview, they make you take the company culture compatibility test. If you pass both, they offer you $2,000 to quit. You can either take the money and leave, or have a new job. That is a pretty good way to gain valued employees. I can see how it can back fire once in a blue moon but on the long run it is a definite gain.

Gina Carano all day

She is Maxim's #16 pick for Hot 100 females in 2009. And she was "Crush" on American Gladiators... Gina "Conviction" Carano.

Carano will be fighting Cris "Cyborg" Santos on August 15, 2009. It will be the beauty versus the beast. That should be the best female fight to date. I can't wait! Carano's current Muay Thai record is 12-1-1 and her MMA record is an impressive 7-0.

Fight Highlights:


Showtime hype:

"Woo baby... you fat!"

Check out these fast punches:

Like a machine.

Supposedly Kit Cope (Carano's ex-boyfriend and MT Fighter) claims he has a sex tape of them two. It's not available to the public yet.

GO CARANO!

The Hot Box

Have you heard someone say, "without pictures, your post is pointless?" Well... use your imagination on this one because I'm not going to take a picture of it.

I've been hitting up the sauna at 24 Hour Fitness almost once a week for the past month. I go in with my wash towel, a bottle of water, board shorts, my sandals from the ABC store (HI), and my nano. It's about 160* in there and I stay for about 15 minutes. I try not to think and just relax and release some stress, but the hotness is so unbearable that I imagine myself as bacon or a pig. It feels like I am getting roasted or fried, and all the fat juices are just rolling down and dripping (::sizzle::sizzle::). It's actually pretty disgusting. I tried doing exercises in there but I lose breath pretty quick. Imagine professional fighters trying to cut weight with the sweat suit on and working out in there. I think I would faint within a matter of seconds.

I noticed every sauna is different. Some sauna's heater works harder to maintain and retain the heat, while others have a swoosh of cool air from the door opening. Once you feel the cool air die down, you can feel your sweat glands just gush out sweat like its working overtime. On the long run, I'm not sure which one is better for you: being cool for a bit then heating up, or maintaining the same temperature through the process?

Check the definitions of hot box: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hotbox. I think you will like some of it. Interesting!

It's WHEY Worth It!

I haven't taken any type of supplements for years. I've tried weight gainer after high school and that was gross. From what I recall, it didn't work for me. Now that I am at a good weight, I want to stay lean and see more definition. I'm at a point where I needed a boost, especially since I have upped my cardio. Even though I still feel that it might be a placebo effect, might as well give it a shot. I experimented with different brands of protein lately.

I bought a 5 pound bottle of Optimum Nutritions 100% Natural Whey. Amazon didn't have the vanilla flavor, so I ended up with chocolate. I mix a scoop of natural whey with 8 ounces of Costco's Organic Soymilk (Vanilla). The Blender Bottle is a very good mixer. It has an air tight seal and a stainless steal spiral ball. Shake for 10 seconds and theres no clumps. This combination gives me about 24 grams of protein. It tastes just like chocolate milk and it's not thick at all.

To be honest, I don't know why people drink this. It's expensive for what it is. Muscle Milk uses fake (artificial) sugar so it has a diet taste to it. A lot of their drinks have this acidic taste to it like its been over fermented. However, this product can be found at your local gym, 7-eleven, or supermarket.


You can get Pure Protein shake at Trader Joe's or Fresh n Easy. It's only $2 and its packed with 35 grams of protein. I like the vanilla flavor the most. It just takes like sweet milk and it's not thick like a shake. Good for a quick fix.

Conclusion: On the long run, the ON 100% whey mixture with soymilk will be the best bang for the buck. It's healthy and delicious!



I have another winning drink coming soon...

Nebraska: The Corn State

It was that time of year again... my annual business trip to middle America. This is my third year and I hope my last. The first year, we flew into Omaha and rented a car into Lincoln. All we saw were corn fields. In my mind, I kept thinking of the movie "Children of the Corn." This year, we flew directly into Lincoln. Everyone always asks me, why Nebraska? It's where the franchise headquarter is located. They host an annual meeting there and most of the franchise owners come into town. The franchise rents out suites and we do business in the living room. It's actually a simple and cost-efficient concept.

For starters, we missed our flight to Denver. We had to catch a flight to Chicago, then go back down to Lincoln. This was the first time I ever missed a flight. I literally spent a whole day either at the airport or on a plane. It was horrible. And the sad part of it was, we were still in America. On our way back, the plane leaving from Lincoln was delayed. When we got to Denver, the monitors said there was a delay of 1 hour to LAX. Next thing we know, there was another delay. I had the worst flight experience this trip.

During the day it was work and buffets. At night, we would head down to "O" street. It is known for their bars and crazy college kids (I heard some pretty strange stories). At night I hung out with the guys from Tamiya and Kyosho. Both veterans in the business, multi-million dollar companies, and straight from Japan.
I've hung out with Tamiya guys and they are really cool. That is why we do business together. Let me tell you about the Kyosho guys... Those guys are actually quite strange. Theres a 21 year old name Devin. He was previously a Tamiya National Champion and now works for Kyosho. This guy talks and drinks so much that he usually gets himself into trouble. From what he said, he got slapped by a dealer at the convention for running his mouth. George, from Tamiya told me that when they were in Japan, Devin missed his train from Tokyo so he ended up sleeping somewhere and racing the next day. This guy goes bar to bar just pounding beers. He calls the chairman of Kyosho (Aki), guycho. In Japanese, ten-cho means manager but in Spanish guy-cho means crazy guy. I don't know if Aki knows it or not. Aki is a cool guy. From what we understand, his dad owns Kyosho. Devin has to look over Aki like a hawk because the guy is worth a fortune and they can't lose him. I like the whole respect aspect of it.

Did you know that people with money usually travel separately? Just in case something happens to one of them, the other is still alive to run the company or take control of the household.

By the way... drinks are really cheap in Lincoln. Seventy-five cent domestic beers and 2 dollars shots. We seriously had a hard time racking up a $20 tab.

The funny thing is that downtown Lincoln's supermarkets and convenient stores do not sell beer or alcohol. We found that out last year. This year we shipped an 18-pack of beer to our suite for our customers and prospects. We handed out free cozies too. You can buy beer or liquor at a bar but they don't sell it at the stores. Strange, but I guess it's to support the local bars.

The franchise gave us free movie tickets, so we went to go watch Transformers 2. That movie was not that great. I ended up falling asleep again. I fell asleep watching Star Trek too.

Fun Facts: Lincoln is the capital of Nebraska. It is where the University of Nebraska also known as the Corn Huskers resides. It is also home of Kawasaki Motors Manufacturing Corporation. Omaha is known for their steaks and is home to the infamous Warren Buffet. If you don't know who he is, then u better wiki him.

The girls in Nebraska are what we called corn fed and home bred. America's Premium Product!

MJ's Greatest Hits

This is my tribute to the great Michael Jackson. One of my good friends gave me this CD yesterday. She wouldn't give me a copy of this, so she bought me one. It's been awhile since I unwrapped a new CD. I almost forgot how. Remember the new CD trick? Where you leave the top label intact, so it looks like it has never been opened.

This is a very good album. The song "Man in the Mirror" reminds me of the early Paula Abdul. There's been a few remixes done with his songs. Some of them include Akon, Notorious BIG, and Kanye West. It's not available in this album, but you can find it online.

I admit, I was never a die hard fan of Michael Jackson but I agree that he is a pioneer, a legend, and one of the greatest singers and dancers of all time. I believe he brought all the negative attention to himself. All said and done, he still a superstar.

Fun Fact: Thriller was released in 1982.

Genesis

What a good way to satisfy my boredom.

This is the beginning...