September 2009

Posted on September 28, 2009 by Cam

It’s been another busy month. Busy on the home front (seems like there’s something going on every day) and busy on the work front (I think we’ve finally settled in, but the business never sleeps). Sometimes I wish I didn’t need sleep. And believe me I’ve tried to get by with nothing. For awhile I actually slept every other night (that was a bad idea). Time is just so hard to come by. That’s been on my mind a lot lately- lack of time. Maybe I just manage my time poorly. I could be exercising instead of doing this blog post!

Speaking of exercising… Rachel organized a relay marathon a few weeks ago. Each of the five members on the relay team runs a 5K section. Fran trained for it blazed through her section in about 47 mins. That’s basically five ten minute miles. Not bad! Makes me want to train for a race.

Speaking of races… A couple weeks back Jim, Justin and I hit the Rocky Mountain Raceway for some midnight drags. Anyone who hasn’t gone should check it out- $5 to go watch people dual it out in the quarter mile. And a mighty dual it was. Corvette vs. Corvette vs. Camaro I ran a 12.1 at 131mph, Jim ran a 12.2 at 121 and Justin ran a 12.3 at 117mph! It was a super close race between Jim and I- he had me until about 90mph. You can check out one of our races and some pictures on Jim & Cindy’s blog. We were all hoping for 11 second runs, but we’ll have to get a little faster.

Speaking of a little faster… That’s what I plan to be shortly. I recently picked up a copy of HP Tuners. This nifty little software package gives the user control over every aspect of the car’s engine computer (yes, this can be very dangerous) . I need to pick up a few more things before I’m ready to start seriously tweaking, but I predict a predict a lot of fun… or tears.

Speaking of tears… I’m guessing people who shelled out 4K or 5K for a Dell color laptop ten years ago have shed a few. In the past couple of weeks I’ve gotten two laptops and I can’t believe all the computer you get for the money these days. The little guy above to the right was $279. It’s an HP Mini Notebook from Best Buy (I think this model might only be available though them). I got it to use with HP Tuners and it stays in my car- fits perfectly in my glove box. It has a 16 gig solid state drive (important to me since it will get bumped around in the car) a gig of ram, a 9″ 1024 x 600 screen, high speed wireless, USB outs, – everything that would have cost thousands of dollars a few years ago. The other laptop was a Dell Studio XPS. Again- an amazing bang for the buck.

Speaking of bang and bucks… A couple of nights ago we went to the Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus! I haven’t been to a circus in years and I have some really good memories from when I was a kid. Aside from trapeze performers they had all the good stuff I was expecting. We got to see magic acts, a ton of awesome acrobatics, people shooting out of a cannon (bang), clowns, tigers, elephants, tightrope walkers and more. I have admit it wasn’t always easy to follow everything- at times there was so much going on that the ring seemed chaotic. And it didn’t help that our kids seemed to have an endless queue of needs.

It may seem terrible to say, but if we were to go to the circus again soon we might leave some (or all) of the kids home. We willingly bought $10 cotton candy and a $9 lemonade (bucks) to appease their ceaseless demands for food, but Mike wanted popcorn as well ($12). We said “no” so he folded his arms, arranged a giant frown on his face and announced that he was wasn’t happy. He managed to sulk all the way home. That kind of put a damper on festivities. Gabriel was also a handful, but he’s 2- we can cut him some slack. Hopefully Mike will remember that we went to the circus and not that we refused to buy him Popcorn. I guess it’s hard to be a kid.

I always get confused when I post- I can’t remember if the pictures go first and then I blab. Or if I blab first and then put a picture. Ah well- I’ll let people figure out which blab goes with which pic. Until next time.

Let’s Go Fly a Kite

Posted on August 18, 2009 by Cam

The other day we thought we’d take the boat out for a spin… or whatever you take boats out for. A splash, maybe. We all got ready and then ran out to see what the weather was like. It turned out to be cold and windy (but clear). Not a good day for the boat. The kids insisted that we should still go so I sprayed them with water. They came around to my way of thinking. We had a conference in the backyard and decided it was kite weather.

Fran pulled out a kite Mike had gotten at Costco a few years back. I looked it over and announced it would never fly. From the deep dark depth of some obscure closet a small butterfly shaped kite emerged. I looked it over and announced it would never fly. Andrew, Tom and I have gotten together a few times to fly Andrew’s stunt kite. One place that we had some reasonable success was at the Thanksgiving Point field where they host Cornbelly’s in September and October. It’s big, green and death is unlikely.

I was right about the butterfly kite (it was assembled wrong with a piece missing). The other kite, and F1 Jet looking thing, did pretty well. It wasn’t well balanced and tilted to the left too much, but had a good amount of lift. Eventually we got it up about sixty feet or so. It was at that point that the kids wandered off. I decided the best thing to do was lay down in the grass and fly the kite with my foot. I wished I had a stunt kite. Eventually I wandered off too.

The Neverending Story

Posted on July 18, 2009 by Cam

We finally finished moving into our new building and we’re in the process of settling in. I think this move will be a great opportunity for us to grow and I feel like we got a killer deal (owing to the poor economic climate). The move has been very draining, but I think for the most part people have come to be in favor of it. Here’s a quick tour:

Below is part of our storefront. What you see below completely filled our old store from wall to wall.

The current storefront is about three times larger and we have a lot of extra space. It’s a great, but it looks bad… next year we’ll finish it off with counters and more shelving.

This is our warehouse operation. The new warehouse is about five times biggest than the old one which gives plenty of working space and tons of room for new products (most of the warehouse is still empty at this point- I didn’t post a picture of the empty space though).

Our tool area and photo studio areas. Having a dedicated room for pictures is awesome.

This is the office that I share with Fran. I’ve got a picture below of the old office we used to share. It was 8′ x 7′ and we were both crammed in there. I don’t know how we did it. This one is 16′ x 12′ and there’s plenty of room for two (and even a couch… which I desperately want to try sleeping on).

This is Jim’s office. He favors the more executive approach- looks good! And then Jim’s beloved data closet- It’s all he’s ever really wanted.

We got ourselves a conference room with a pompous table and some executive looking chairs (really comfortable chairs though). Our new break room has a sink and a full sized fridge (it has changed my life). We still have the Street Fighter arcade and SNES too. But….

The Ping Pong table has really taken over as the popular break time option. The upstairs lounge has a few couches that spectators can watch from too. I commandeered a little corner space in the warehouse which I plan to make into a garage of sorts (for cleaning, light maintenance, etc).

Below are some pictures of the move. Moving is always emotional for me. Our old store served us well, ultimately it just wasn’t meeting our needs.

It felt really strange to see the store empty again.

This was our old office (remember, Fran was in there too). 7′ x 8′ people! The back wall in the pictures is the 7′ wall. Initially this room had an 8′ ceiling, but we had it raised up to 9′. It really makes us appreciate what we’ve got now.

Despite my agonizingly busy schedule we went up to Idaho for my sister’s wedding. The ceremony was held at a beautiful converted church. Erin Hughes and Doug Atwood were married on June 23, 2009. We couldn’t be happier for them! They currently reside in Idaho. Check out their wedding website HERE!

My busy schedule caused some casualties though. Fran got a Costco Gazebo for our yard at the end of May. It’s still sitting in our yard like you see it below. I’m going to try and get it built for our Anniversary though (end of July). Fran has been busy growing roses and I think they are gorgeous (one time I sprouted a mustard seed which died shortly thereafter- that is the extent of my gardening ability).

I did steal some time to work on another car project that’s been haunting me for several months. I recently got a new car (a newer Corvette) and, aside from the usual tune tweaking, one of my first projects was to put in a new Stereo. I put the head unit and mid speakers from my old car into my new car but I couldn’t move my subwoofers because of car design differences. Justin was on the job- he built my sub box and amp rack and I did the carpet and installation.

I relocated my trunk lights to the center (previously they were on the corners where the sub and amps now go). I think I like them better there.

Instead of two 8″ JL Audio W3 subs I went with one 10″ JL Audio W6 (it’s a beast). I’m running matched Kenwood Excelon amps. Since I only have a single sub this time we tried to balance the visual presentation by putting the amps in the other corner. Overall I think it turned out great.

There’s a ton of other things that happened too, but Fran’s got them covered on Facebook (she posts albums for each month). Some highlights: Fran’s birthday, Gabriel’s Birthday, Father’s Day, Stadium of Fire, and lots more.

Egg-citing Stuff

Posted on April 13, 2009 by Cam

Saturday we spent the morning coloring eggs for Easter. One of these days I’ll have to take time to research the origins of coloring eggs and how that might (read “might not”) relate to the Resurrection of Christ. No idea- but coloring eggs is fun. We used an Transformers coloring kit we bought last year after Easter (I think it was marked down to a buck). Funny thing- the red dye pellet didn’t make it; I guess its shelf life was less than one year. We made our own ready dye with food coloring and vinegar. The kids had a blast (well, not Gabe- he was napping).

That afternoon I commenced the wiring portion of my subwoofer / amplifier install. That’s going to be a big job. Mike was a huge help and we got the seat and some panelling out and and started running the ground wires and RCA cables. This coming week I’ll have to remove the center console and the actual receiver (from the instructions I’ve got it won’t be fun). But hey- that’s what life is all about: Doing things that aren’t fun with the hope that later something not fun that you did will result in fun.

And finally Easter. We hid chocolate eggs in the living room and the real eggs outside. Mike and Claire put the eggs in their baskets but Gabe just put everything in his mouth. Another holiday successfully celebrated!

Where Does the Lime Go?

Posted on April 11, 2009 by Cam

As always I feel compelled to apologize for my haphazard posting schedule. Who am I apologizing to? Probably myself. It’s been a busy couple of months that’s left me feeling more tired than usual. I’m glad spring is here- hopefully the nice weather won’t be far behind.

Fran recently got back from Reunion Island, where she grew up. She spent about two weeks there visiting her family. She has two sisters who live here in Utah, but her parents and two brothers still live on Reunion. Fran was able to go to the beach, hike, visit with her childhood friend and extended family. She took our kids with here (a bold maneuver considering the trip involves over 20 hours of flying- each way) so I got to kick it by myself for a while. Sadly I’m not as cut out for bachelor life as I had hoped. It’s so nice to have her back. Oh… and the kids too I suppose.

Above is the house where she grew up. It’s in a pretty isolated spot on top of a hill. The view is incredible; That’s based on pictures I’ve seen. I’ve never actually been to Reunion. It’s on my list, but the thought of flying there hurts me. I might be able to do it in first class, but the guilt of knowing my family is crammed in coach would eat at me. A little. Plus Reunion has some bad mosquitoes and I’ve had my share of them for now (I’ve got a post on here about being eaten alive at Utah Lake). One day for sure but I’m not ready yet.

And an exciting announcement: We’ve got a new store! This is actually the same building we were planning on moving to last year, but construction delays pushed it back until now. In some ways it will be sad to say goodbye to our old shop– it served us well. Progress is an emotional mercenary.

The outside (shell) is finished and they should start work on the interior later this month. If we can keep everything on schedule we should be in sometime in July or August! We’re trying to plan a bit for the future so we’re getting over three times the space we had before (over 7500 square feet in the new building). The buildout will be two stories: a storefront and a warehouse on the first floor, and offices on the second floor. This should give us plenty of flex ability no matter what opportunities come along.

March was chalk full of birthdays (I turned 31 on the 22nd), but the highlight was probably Jim’s party (he turned 30). Cindy rented out a room at Noah’s and threw an awesome surprise party (check it out on Cindy’s blog). Pictured above from left to right: Tom, Andrew, Rachel, Cam, & Jim.

The one thing I was able to do while I was a bachelor was start my new car stereo! I’m not an audiophile or anything like that, but I do like to turn my music up pretty loud while I drive. My friend Justin suggested that we add some sub-woofers and a couple of amps. He made some custom speaker boxes for the trunk area of my car (it’s hard to tell from the picture, but the boxes are sunk about 9 inches into the trunk bed). We put two 8″ subs in each box and we’ve got two 250watt amps (one for the subs and one for the mids). All we have left is the wiring (which will be the hard part) and I’ll be ready to blast out my ear drums.

I got to see “Fast & Furious” on opening night last week (thanks Fran!). Anyone who knows me can tell you I’m a fan of the series (and a little nutty about tricked out cars). I hosted a Fast & Furious party the Tuesday before the movie came out. I had hoped to make it through the first and third movie (I don’t care too much for the second), but there was so much action in the first that everyone had adrenaline overload and bailed. I felt like “Fast & Furious” was a nice addition to the franchise- it filled in some gaps in the movie arc and provided a few unexpected twists and turns. Definitely worth a watch.

And I have finally made the jump to Blu-Ray (we actually watched “The Fast & The Furious” on Blu-Ray). I’m thrilled with the picture quality- it’s really a night and day difference between the DVD and Blu-Ray resolutions. My projector is 720p/1080i so I’m not getting the full benefit of the Blu-Ray picture quality, but even so… wow. The sound has been problematic. I’m having a sync issue that I haven’t had time to resolve (a sound lag problem) and the mids (voices in particular) are very difficult to hear. I’m not sure if this is a problem with the Samsung Blu-Ray player I have or the Onkyo receiver I’m using (or both in conjunction). I’ll post my progress.

And that’s about it for now. Long live Power Lime!

Bound for Broadway

Posted on February 15, 2009 by Cam

Oak Tree Drama

Oak Tree Standing in Forest: Wow! What a beautiful day!

Woodsman stepping into view: I agree!

Oak Tree: Oh… hey there.

Woodsman: Hey.

Oak Tree: Yep. Nice day.

Woodsman: Yep.

Oak Tree: Ah… so, what brings you to the forest?

Woodsman: Just out for walk.

Oak Tree: With your axe?

Woodsman: Um, well yeah. You never know what kind of danger you might run into.

Oak Tree: No kidding.

Woodsman sits down on an Oak tree stump: So, have any family?

Oak Tree: Excuse me?

Woodsman pulls out a stone and begins to sharpen his axe: Family. Parents, brothers, sisters?

Oak Tree: What are you doing?

Woodsman: My axe felt kind of dull and I just thought I’d sharpen it while we chatted. Any relatives around here at all? Sure would like to meet them.

Oak Tree: No… um, just me. Well, me and my friends.

Woodsman: Friends?

Oak Tree: Yeah, the magic forest elves. They come around and check on me each day to make sure I’m okay.

Woodsman standing and chuckling: I see.

Enter Magic Forest Elf: Hey, you there! What’s going on.

Woodsman: Me?

Magic Forest Elf: Yes you. What are you doing with that Axe?

Woodsman: Oh, I was just going to show it to this Oak tree here. He said he wanted a closer look.

Oak Tree: I didn’t say that!

Magic Forrest Elf: I really doubt he said that.

Woodman to Magic Forest Elf: Would you like to see my Axe?

Magic Forrest Elf: Not really. I actually have a pretty nice Axe back home.

Oak Tree to Forrest Elf: Why do you have an Axe?

Magic Forrest Elf: It’s just a tiny Axe. I use it to chop firewood.

Oak Tree: What? Fire wood? Wait a second. What’s going on here?

Magic Forrest Elf: Oh no… oh no. I, uh… no, I meant I would chop fire. Would chop, but you can’t chop fire, of course. So I forgot. I don’t have an Axe.

Woodsman chops up Magic Forest Elf and then chops down screaming Oak tree.

The End.

I know, I know… what’s wrong with me, right? This is a rough draft segment for my new project, “Conversations of a Disturbing Nature.”

iPhone? Not my phone.

Posted on January 19, 2009 by Cam

Cellular phones have come a looooong way. Fran was the pioneer in our family, adopting one when they were still brick-like and cost two small fortunes. Her phone made and took phone calls… and that’s it. Kind of unreal. Then there was the whole Pocket PC craze (remember the ipaq- why?!). Then the cell phone and Pocket PC were merged into one mostly harmonious whole and we achieved “nerdvana” (that term was coined by Scott Adams in his Dilbert cartoon strip).

Nearly eighteen months ago I got the Sprint HTC Mogul (below left) and I wasn’t sure how things could get any better. Then along came the Apple iPhone (below right, as if you didn’t know). It was sleek, easy to use, versatile, and inexplicably it was only available on the AT&T network. I was still happy with the Mogul… I had high speed Internet. Then along came the 3G iPhone. Now they had high speed Internet too! Meanwhile my phone began to slowly die. One day after the seventh reset I decided that maybe an iPhone was in my future after all. But I still had 7 months left in my Sprint contract… what to do?

Initially I was pretty determined to pay the early cancellation fee for Sprint and hop on the AT&T iPhone train. I even went to buy an iphone…twice. After some extensive research, price comparisons and a good deal of persecution I decided to stick with Sprint and buy a new phone. Right now I have a great deal- 1300 mins, unlimited night & weekend, unlimited texts, unlimited data, and all the other good stuff for $56 a month. That’s the final statement price, including all the taxes. Hard to beat. It would be almost double with AT&T. The Sprint phone I ended up buying was the HTC Touch Pro (below center). Following is my review of the Touch Pro.

On of my biggest gripes with the iPhone is the that you have to type on the screen with the phone in a vertical position. I’m sure that I would have gradually gotten used to it, but I really love the slide out keyboard on the HTC Touch Pro (and on my old Mogul). The keyboard gives you five lines (one more than the Mogul) of typing real estate and the tactile feedback is exceptional. The keyboard is backlit which is another nice feature. Granted, the keyboard makes the Touch Pro a bit on the thick side, but the phone still has a very nice feel and it isn’t nearly as bulky as its predecessors. Given the amount of typing I do on my phone I’m not ready to give the keyboard up… yet.

What impresses me most about the Touch Pro is the screen. The resolution is stunning (640 x 480 on a 2.8″ screen). When I was growing up we had the Atari Lynx, the Sega Game Gear and other color hand held games. You could clearly see the red, blue and geen of the pixels. It drove me nuts. LCD screens, like phones, have come a looooong way. The iPhone screen looks great, but when I look at the Touch Pro screen I’m floored every time. The pixels are so small they aren’t even visible to the naked eye which makes the Touch Pro screen the sharpest I’ve ever seen. A huge problem with the Mogul was that the screen became virtually invisible in bright light. The Touch Pro screen is clearly visible in direct sunlight and from every angle. It’s a little on the small side, but I can deal with it.

Speed-wide the Touch Pro is adequate. I still find myself waiting for things to load occasionally, and sometimes with too many applications open everything crashes. It amazes me to think that this little phone is more powerful (and in some cases much more powerful) than my first five computers. The Touch Pro runs Windows Mobile 6.1 which seems pretty stable for the most part. HTC has created an interface they call Touch Flow 3D which runs over Windows and makes it a little easier to use (you can actually avoid the stylus altogether for most functions). Truthfully I think the iPhone’s interface is more intuitive and better thought out, but HTC has taken a step in the right direction here.

Functionally I really like the Touch Pro. Email is easy to use, text messaging has been improved (and again, I really like the keyboard) and Opera is the default browser now (it works very well). The 3.2 megapixel camera takes passable pictures (the color seems a little off), but I do like the fact that I can take videos with the Touch Pro. Window’s Mobile gives me access to Windows Live which is a pretty comprehensive information tool (maps, directions, traffic, movies, shopping info, etc). Applications aren’t as easy to get (the iPhone store is something to behold), but there is plenty of software available if you don’t mind a little digging.

The Touch Pro isn’t perfect- I have a few minor complaints. The touch screen seems to require more force than my Mogul did (I have to push a good deal harder to get the same results). HTC uses a proprietary input jack so you need an adapter for headphones. Touch Flow 3D isn’t as customizable as I’d like either. Still, all things considered this is a great phone and I’m really enjoying it. For the time being, my phone is not an iPhone.

I’m going to poke Fran and see when the next Hughes Family Blog update will be. I may have to start posting some of our activities over here! We’ve kept pretty busy this past week (the first week I’ve really felt up to doing anything) with movies, food, family activities (I finally went to the Dinosaur Museum at Thanksgiving Point) and friends. I’ve really cut back on work these days and I’m taking it easy. Sometimes life is really great.

Where Does the Time Go?

Posted on January 4, 2009 by Cam

Wow. January 2009. I completely missed November and December of 2008. I have my reasons though. In November I was busy combating a “failing economy”. In December we were so inundated with business that I could barley breathe and I spent a lot of time wondering why I was so worried in November.

The BladeHQ 2008 Report: Our 2008 December sales were up 40% over 2007 and overall sales for 2008 were up 32% over 2007. The amount per order dropped a bit but our order volume surged and the post Christmas sales have been promising. While the preliminary data has been encouraging I don’t feel like we’re out of the woods by any means. I’ll be curious to see how January pans out for us. I’m cautiously optimistic.

The Hughes Family 2008 Report: We made it through 2008 and all of us are still alive. Quite an accomplishment, really. December is always hard on Fran becuase I’m at work so much and this year has been particularly difficult becuase of sickness (everyone over here has been sick at some point in December). The kids are doing good. Gabe (18 months) walks now and says a few words. Claire (3) is still a little fire ball and full of mischief. She’ll start going to preschool next year. Mike (5) begins kindergarten this year and he’s very excited. He seems well adjusted with a hint of crazy. For more on the Hughes family check our Fran’s blog (click here).

The Cam Report: December has not been kind health-wise. I think I’ve gotten everything a guy can get. Bronchitis usually hits in mid December (it recurs each year). This year the flu hit on top of that, coupled with what I believe to be Salmonella poisoning. At some point during the “recovery” I acquired the common cold, strep throat and an ear infection (all of which I am still dealing with). I can’t recall every being sick for this long- it will be 3 weeks tomorrow. I may just have to go see a doctor. Not a really a fan. If only Dave was finished with Medical school… he could hook with up with some meds!

Nothing too noteworthy happened in November. Well, to be fair I’m sure there were a few things of interest but I was too consumed with the failing economy to notice. December was so incredibly busy I’m glad that it’s over. My New Year’s Resolution is to work less and enjoy life a little more (shouldn’t be hard since there was virtually zero enjoyment in December). Christmas day was alright, except for the fact that I was miserably sick. Santa brought some fun stuff though!

We got Mike Leapster 2 video game system. I wanted to get him a GameBoy Advance, but Fran was adamant that Mike learn something while he played video games. The Leapster 2 is a nicely built system, and the games seem like a lot of fun. I’m impressed by the thought Leap Frog put into the design. The only drawback the I saw was the low quality screen- I would have been willing to pay a little more to get crisper resolution and a faster refresh rate, especially given how vivid and colorful the graphics in the games are.

Back in September we Gave Claire a Kidcraft dollhouse. The thing is huge (so huge it’s subsequently been discontinued and a new smaller version is available). It’s designed for 12″ dolls and has three floors and 10 rooms where the dolls can live. We cleverly kept the furniture that came with the dollhouse stashed until Christmas and are dishing it out in small doses. We also got her some new dolls and she’s nearly ready to play with everything correctly.

Gabe is only 18 months so he got some Duplo sized Megablocks and a few books. He seemed happy. Besides, Grampa and Grandma spoiled the little guy silly! Our kids are very lucky to have such generous grandparents.

I tried to get Fran an iphone, but she’s (wisely) decided to wait until July. For our wedding anniversary we’ll get iphones together (July is when my current contract with Sprint expires). Looking forward to that. Maybe they’ll release a new model and the wait will be worth it. Maybe. Fran also got an all expense paid trip to Reunion Island! Lucky girl.

Fran gave me CSI season 8 (just about finished- one perk to being stuck in bed) and Santa brought me a new Yamaha Keyboard. Maybe it’s tacky to post the Christmas haul on here, but come on- everyone wants to know what everyone else got. Don’t pretend you don’t!

The new keyboard is the Yamaha Motif XS8 workstation. Yamaha makes the XS in an 88, 76 or 61 key configuration. Anyone who has any serious interest in a workstation like this should get the 88 key version- no regrets. Plus the 88 key version features weighted keys for a feel that more closely resembles a real piano. I’ve had numerous Yamaha Keyboards over the years. Below you can see my keyboard evolution. The first is the Yamaha P120S which is exceptional. I actually wrote a review for it (you’ll have to search a bit). Next I had the Yamaha Motif ES. I never really clicked with the ES. I found the sequencer nearly impossible to use and the manual appeared to have been written by super intelligent extraterrestrials with no regard for the limitations of the human mind. Now I have the Yamaha Motif XS and I’m thrilled. Yamaha added a much larger color screen which makes navigation, editing and everything else much easier. The sequencer is very simple to use and the manual seems much more straightforward. This is the keyboard/workstation that I’ve been waiting for. Yippe! Now if only I could play the piano…

And in other news I have finally found watch love. I’ve spent a long time looking for a watch that has the functionality I want, suits my style, and is wearable in a practical way- enter the Tissot T-Touch Expert. I actually owned the prior version (just the standard T-touch) but I made the mistake of getting the polished casing. That, coupled with the fact that the watch was a little small, made it a bad choice. The Expert has a much larger case and it suits me better (I’m a big guy and I like a big watch). Plus the casing is brushed titanium which is light enough to not bother me and ha sa nice low key look. The dial is carbon fiber which I like. And the Expert has a backlight, which is an added bonus. All in all a great watch and one I can recommend to anyone. If Tissot comes out with a solar version is may very well be the perfect watch.

For some reason (ha ha) Mike became obsessed with the idea of having a watch too. We found a reasonably good model for him at Walmart. Watch technology has come a long way- when I was a kid I saved up for a watch just like his and it cost me nearly $50 (and that was in 1987!). For $10 we found a water resistant digital watch with a backlight, chronograph, date/day display, alarm and a nylon strap with Velcro. Teaching Mike to read time has been tricky, but I think he’ll get it soon. Ah, the joys of mini me.

Well, that’s about it for now. I’m glad to have 2008 over and done with. Looking back it was a challenging year in many ways and I’m looking forward to being a little wiser and little more careful in 2009. No regrets this year- that’s my goal. I know it’s impossible, but it will be a good guiding light on my quest to better myself and contribute meaningfully to my family. Hopefully I’ll have more time to blog this year. Cam on Commerce needs some love!

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