2015 Mar 06 | Kat's birthday limo



Foggy drive.



Great phone number, great logo.



What my schedule looks like at the new office.



Although there are usually at least a few no-shows and reschedules so it's not too crazy.



Whispy clouds above the mountains.



This guy got 26 college credits through CLEP testing in high school. I had to actually take the classes.



We get 10 cents per gallon off at Shell gas stations for every $100 we spend at Ralph's per month. However, it starts over again each month. We have one more day in February, 355 points, I just filled up, and the maximum number of points you can use each time is 200 for 20 cents per gallon off, so I guess we wasted the remaining points. Then again, my average tank fill is 7 gallons, so that's only $1.40 lost; not quite worth driving all over town to use up the gas and then find a Shell station to fill back up.



I hate driving in Beverly Hills. This is a one-way alley and this big truck is blocking the entrance.



And these guys are blocking the other side.



I sold the old modem on Amazon. Now the woman I sold it to wants to return it. Considering I already lost $20 on shipping, that's just great.



Now the lady wants me to tell her how to print a return label. I have no idea; I have a completely different screen as a seller than she has as a buyer. There should be a "print return label" button somewhere, but I just gave her my address and said she could send it that way.



Then she actually wanted me to mail her a return label. No, just find the button on your screen somewhere.



And then she asks about getting the postage refunded as well. No, that's not how returns work.



I got an email about Batman v Superman tickets as soon as they were available. I went to buy them 30 minutes later and all of the middle seats were already sold out; they go fast in Los Angeles.



I've never really understood the security behind digital signatures. You just type in your name and hit enter; that's not very personalized. This site lets you pick from different handwriting options, so better, but still not that personal. Heck, I'd probably forget which one I picked if it asked me to verify it later.



Ogii had my Prius detailed, but everything inside is still kind of slimy; I wish they would have wiped it off more. Still nice having it really clean, though.



It's foggy again.



I like Arco because you can just use cash at the pump. Recently though a lot of the stations have had signs saying you can't. I wonder if they're upgrading their systems.



That's a scary truck back; it looks like the dogs are going to jump out at you.



Weird blue light in the sky.



I wanted a few syringes for the office but the smallest amount I could find to buy at a reasonable price was 100. I've only used a couple, so I think I'll throw most of them out. I'd rather have the space than the syringes I'll never use.



Verifying my identity online. I don't think this is a question that will apply to very many people.



We make lots of food instead of going out. One night I was making dinner and realized we already had a ton of leftovers; so many that I had to ask Ogii to pick up a few more tupperware containers.



There was this cool bread at the store, although it didn't taste nearly as good as it looked.



Watching Moscow on the Hudson. There was a lot more random nudity in movies in the 80s. Most of it in this movie is Robin Williams, though, and man is he hairy.



I uploaded everything on my computer; now to upload my external hard drives.



It didn't do very much this night.



So I plugged it into the ethernet it it was a bit better.



Getting through them.



It actually rained a bit.



Ooh, birthday presents from the parents.



Time to order new pencils for the office. Once again, yellow, orange, and silver are the least-favorite colors, with a few purple as well.



The new Microsoft Office versions have protected view for any files you open from online. I guess it protects dumb people, but it's really annoying.



Even worse, any information on Microsoft's help website requires you to log into their account. What a pain.



No, this never has been an important message. Now if an important message ever really does come up I almost guarantee I will never read it. They should learn to be realistic about how important their messages are.



Limo ride for Kat's birthday.



Champagne.



Drinks up.



First stop: a view of the Hollywood sign.



Then back to the limo for more drinks.



Yummy snacks.



The Hollywood sign, Griffith Observatory, and palm trees from the highway.



Jell-O shots.



Down they go.



A drink spinner.



Close up.



Second stop: San Antonio winery.



It's just east of downtown.



Cheap tastings.



We all liked the Moscato.



More options.



Ogii.



Our group.



Me in our group.



This chocolate one was cool, too.



Back to the limo for Suck & Blows.



Kat with the limo driver.



Cool knight and queen checkmate.



And another one.



This is why you rarely see people resign in 1-minute games unless there's a huge blunder very early: if you simply play fast, your opponent will often either run out of time or stalemate you.



Fianchettoed bishops lead to many free rooks and checkmates on castled kings.



Trying another tournament.



I got third, not too bad.



First a free knight with my bishop...



... which also forks his king and rook. You can pretty easily come back from being a knight or bishop down in 1-minute games, but once the rook is also gone, it's usually too easy for the player who's up in pieces to force trades and win. Although if there are lots of pawns to dance around, sometimes they can do that.



I always say "gg" after every game to say "good game." Most people say nothing, a few say "gg" back, and a very few are mean. But they're 1-minute games, so of course I'm going to horribly mess up some, so this doesn't bother me; it just means the other person is a jerk.