Sturgis '06

We hit Sturgis on bikes. Mike tried to trailer his like a pansy, but the truck broke down so he had to ride up like a man! No problem from either one of our Honda Shadows. It was my 4th trip, and the 1st for Erin and Mike (though probably not the last!!)

Yuki Takes Tahoe

On a busy Saturday night on the exciting Lake Tahoe casino strip, Yuki was set loose!!!

Jake reaches the half-gallon mark!

Intel Core 2 Duo - Best deal now!

With all the hype about the performance of the new Core 2 Duo we decided to get one. After assessing the major players (and a few of the fringe ones too) it was pretty clear that HP had the best combination of technology, price, performance available. Surprisingly, Dell was not terribly competitive - quoting shipment dates some 2 weeks after HP for a comparable system for $500 more! Plus HP includes (though they don't advertise) the new Intel 965 Broadwater chipset. Surprisingly, I had to call to confirm. Neither Dell or Gateway seem to have an 865 offering at the moment. The other requirement was the E6600 Core 2 Duo processor. It is the first processor that includes 4M of cache vs. only 2M for the lesser versions. HP through in a free "All-in-one printer" which we didn't really want but what the heck - we'll see what it can do besides consume expensive ink!

Here are the details of the system:
Your customized HP Pavilion d4600y CTO Desktop is estimated to be built by August 17, 2006.

Your customized PC includes:
- Genuine Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005
- Intel(R) Core(TM) 2 Duo processor E6600 (2.4GHz)
- 2GB DDR2-667MHz dual channel SDRAM (2x1024)
- 250GB 7200 rpm SATA 3Gb/s hard drive
- LightScribe 16X DVD+/-R/RW SuperMulti drive
- 16x max. DVD-ROM
- 9-in-1 memory card reader, 2 USB, 1394, audio
- 802.11 b/g Wireless LAN PCI Card
- 256MB NVIDIA GeForce 7500LE, TV-Out, DVI, VGA
- Sound Blaster Audigy 4, 24-bit ADVANCED HD Audio
- HP Multimedia Keyboard, HP Optical Mouse
- Microsoft(R) Works 8.0/Money 2006/MSN Encarta Plus

Starbucking!!! Starbucking!!! Starbucking!!!

Jason aka "The Denny's Guy", Winter and Bill)

Starbucking recently played to a select audience at The Carneros Bistro & Wine Bar in Sonoma. The event was unique in that Winter, The Denny's Guy and Bill were all present.

Nuvi Time

Looking to buy our first GPS unit for our upcoming travels we ended up deciding on the Garmin Nuvi 350 for its strong auto capabilities coupled with its portability features.



Shopping for the best deal on the Nuvi was interesting as well with a ton of variation in price. Sam's Club prominently featured the Nuvi for $699 while Best Buy also featured the Nuvi in its Sunday Circular for $799 - and I thought Best Buy could be counted on for decent prices! Another consideration in buying local is the additional taxes of ~$50.

I ended up going with pcnation.com where the Nuvi was featured for $605 with free FedEx 2 day shipping. Also, the company is based in Illinois which means no tax! The Nuvi arrived and seems to work quite well.

Salty Dog

On the way out to California we stopped at the Bonneville Salt Flats. Home to many a land speed record.

Here Yuki contemplates the vastness of Salt Flats.

For reasons unknown, Yuki was compelled to roll in the salt after he ran on it.

The result was a salt-covered, but happy animal!

For a cool movie featuring the Salt Flats, check out "The World's Fastest Indian" starring Anthony Hopkins.