I just returned my parking permit and gate-access card. I made the commitment to take the shuttle to work. The only thing I missed not having access to my car is going to the skatepark during my lunch break. I will make that up in the evening after work.

For my lunch break, I will be walking to the library or the bookstore. I haven’t set my foot in Barnes & Noble in years. I need to do some exercise to keep myself active. I started ice skating again, but my skills are rusty. I am relearning the techniques I had mapped out for myself. I am wondering if I should go back to retaking group lessons. Private lessons are too expensive for me.

I am still snowboarding in my basement. I can’t wait to get back on the snow again. I want to learn carving on both snowboarding and skiing. I found a few snowboard on sales for $250 or less, but I haven’t made a decision to purchase yet. I am still searching.

While rollerblading, I met a guy who taught skateboarding to young kids. His rate is only $25 an hour. It’s very reasonable. I asked my kids to take lessons, but they refused. They are sticking with skating and scootering. I am still in search for aggressive skates for Đạo and myself.

Today I bought a brand new TV for the first time in almost two decades. The last TV was a hand down from my sister-in-law’s father-in-law. His son gave us his TV after he passed away. The brand was Vizio. We had it for almost a decade. In the past few weeks, the audio stopped working. We were watching silence TV.

Before the Vizio, my brother-in-law handed down to us a Samsung, which last 5 or 6 years. Before that I had a few hand-down tubes from my sister and her then husband. I didn’t care much for TV. I could live without it, but my mother-in-law and my kids still watch YouTube on TV.

I took the kids to Costco last evening and we picked up the cheapest one in the store, which was a 50-inch Hisense for $250. The quality looked decent on display. Another reason I went for it was the RCA connectors. I wanted to hook the audio to my refurbished Sony receiver my mother bought for me at a Sony Outlet when I was in seventh or eighth grade. Around the same time, She also bought me the Yamaha speakers at an electronic store that went out of business. I wanted to keep these equipments for many years to come. They reminded me of her.

It turned out that the RCA connectors behind the new Hisense TV were input instead of output. I should have paid attention. Fortunately, it also had a digital output. I will try the adaptor from digital output to RCA.

I hope that will work. I am still an old-school when it comes to video and audio technologies. I am getting antiquated as I am growing older. Oh well! That’s life.

Update: My wife bought the DAC 192KHz Digital to Analog Audio Converter and it works like a charm.

Our family, along with my mother-in-law, sister-in-law, and nephew, arrived before noon on Thursday and picked out a campsite. We loaded everything and put up our tents. We went to the beach and then came back to our site. The booking miscommunication caused us to move a different site. It was a bit of a pain, especially when it started to rain, but we made the transition.

Despite the moving issue, we had fun. Unfortunately, we were bitten by mosquitoes. My arms and legs are still itchy. I couldn’t sleep much. I couldn’t wait to pack up and go home. I am done with camping. This year was not as fun as last year. The kids enjoyed their time. I had fun with them. Poor little Vương got sick.

I got tired of drinking and socializing. We knew each other so much now. We didn’t have much to talk about anymore. Even though my gout has not flared up—knock on wood–I need to cut back. It is no longer fun for me. Our relationship is complicated and I am not in the mood to articulate. I am not sure where I am going from here.

Loes is display serif typeface designed by Dương Trần. Loes is still a work in progress; therefore, the price is only $35. I bought it to support a fellow Vietnamese type designer.

Vox Media is moving from proprietary to open-source CMS. In contrast, we will be moving from an open-source to proprietary. Oh well!

Twenty-four-year-old Anthony “Emory” Hernandez Valadez own $18 million in a lawsuit against Johnson & Johnson. He claimed that the company’s talc-based baby powder caused him cancer. Unfortunately, he won’t live long enough to use his money. Isn’t life a fucking bitch? Even if you have all that money, you can’t use it. Enjoy life while you can or it will be too late. Life is too short to stress out.

In 12 years at George Mason, I am taking the shuttle to work for the first time. A few years ago, I discovered that Mason offered free shuttle service from Fairfax to Arlington, but I hadn’t had the motivation to take advantage of it. I wanted to take my car just so I could drive to the Powhaton Springs Skatepark on my lunch break. As much as I loved going to the skatepark, I felt guilty about paying for the parking, toll, and gas.

As my car is aging and in need of constant repairs, I need to just make the move. I don’t want to spend too much money fixing my car. I definitely don’t want to buy a new car either. So let’s get back to public transportation. The shuttle is provided by Mason; therefore, it is semi-private.

I woke up this morning and walked over to the main campus. The walk took 20 minutes. The shuttle stopped at Rappahannock River Lane at 8:20 am. The shuttle was big and comfortable. There were only five of us. Air conditioning was blasting and WiFi was available so I could start my work day right on my commute. I arrived at Scalia Law at 9:00 am.

I definitely can do this. I am going to cancel my parking permit and take the shuttle. It takes me 12 years, but better late than never.

Note to self: I will save $85 a month on parking fee.

Recorded in 1961, the sound quality was poor, but the performances were top-notch. Coltrane’s quintet featured McCoy Tyner on piano, Reggie Workman on bass, Elvin Jones on drums, and special guests Eric Dolphy on alto saxophone, bass clarinet, and flute. Dolphy played an eccentric solo on “My Favorite Things” with his flute. Coltrane just blazed it. The rest of the album is filled with extended improvisations and experimentations. It is always a treat to revisit Coltrane.

Năm trước tôi định đọc quyển Truyện ngắn Lê Hà Ngân nhưng ngưng khi thấy sách quá nhiều lỗi. Không phải trong chính tả mà trong cách gõ chữ Việt. Chẳng hạn như chữ ơ thiếu dấu móc hoặc hai chữ gắn liền nhau. Giờ đọc lại thì thấy cách viết văn của Lê Hà Ngân hay. Những câu chuyện về tình cảm và xã hội ấn tượng. Trong “Một khoảng trời mây trắng”, tác giả đưa vào hai câu châm ngôn mà tôi chưa từng nghe qua: “Ừ lành thì làm gáo, vỡ thì làm muôi nhé!” và “Sông còn dò được khúc nông sâu mà lòng người không ai dò hết được”.

We haven’t done much to our driveway for more than 10 years. The other day, a contractor stopped by and give me a quote for $6,000 to redo the entire driveway. I politely declined. Why would I spend $6,000 on a driveway just to park my fucking cars? I decided to do it on my own via YouTube video. Even if I fuck it up, my cars will cover the surface anyway.

On Friday, I bought the materials. Unfortunately it had been raining. Late afternoon Sunday, the sun finally came out. I enlisted Đạo and Đán to help. We patched up the big holes and almost done filling in the cracks. The boys complained how hot it was working in the heat. They would rather sit in front of their devices and play video games. I wanted to experience what it is like to work hard so they can study hard instead.

Here’s the breakdown of what I had spent:

• 2 of 1-gallon crack fillers ($10 each): $20
• 3 of 2-gallon trowel patch ($22 each): $66
• 3 of 3.5-gallon super patch ($20 each): $60
• A steel tamper: $40

Total: $186

After filling and patching, we’ll seal it up.