6/19/09  -  posted by Hogers at 11:52 PM  -  2 Comments

You can save 8% on almost all Ebay items right now by using Microsoft's new search engine, Bing.com. To do this, all you have to do is the following:

- Create/Use a Microsoft Live (Hotmail) account and enable the Cashback feature
- Use Paypal to pay for Ebay item
- Must select a "Buy It Now" item on Ebay

First, open up a browser window and navigate to http://www.bing.com (Microsoft's new search engine...formerly called live.com). The below screenshots will differ since Bing used to be called Microsoft Live.



Search for the product name that you're looking to buy...i.e., "Ipod". In the search results, look at the sponsored links at the top of the page and look for the link to ebay.com. The link should have a "Bing cashback" logo next to the link.



Click on the link and you'll be taken to Ebay. Here, you can change your search if you want to anything you want.



Make sure you only select items with the "Buy It Now" feature.



Make sure, also, that you use Paypal to pay for the item.





Towards the end of your purchase, you should see a Bing Cashback link to claim your rebate.



The above screenshots may differ, but make sure you select the Bing Cashback link once you're done with your Ebay/Paypal purchase. If you don't already have a Microsoft Live account, you will have the opportunity to join first. If you already have an account, make sure that you have Cashback enabled.

Once you've completed the purchase, your Cashback account should be updated with the rebate information. Rebates will post directly back to your paypal account. For more information, read the Bing Cashback FAQ.

5/29/09  -  posted by Hogers at 5:17 PM  -  1 Comments

Allie has been smiling, laughing and cooing for a few weeks now. But she's now smiling often enough where I can actually capture her smile on camera.


Occasionally people will mention how alert or developed Allie is for her age. But to be honest, I have no clue how Allie's progressing since this is my first baby and have nothing to reference against. I suppose I can read up on baby development on websites like www.babycenter.com. But a part of me just wants to experience these things along the way and be surprised when she does something new.




Before I became a parent, I wondered why parents took an excessive number of photos of their kids. But now I'm beginning to understand that there's this fear inside of me that worries that Allie is growing too fast and that I'll forget what she was like when she was smaller.

5/27/09  -  posted by Hogers at 6:37 PM  -  1 Comments

Allie was able to visit one of her cousins for the first time when Calvin, Renee and Dennis made a visit to LA this past weekend. Although Allie and Calvin weren't able to interact too much, it was still fun to see them together. Calvin thought Hogan was annoying though, and didn't like it when Hogan persisted in invading his fort.


Calvin and the gang were only in town for two nights, so we had a compact schedule which included visiting the La Brea tar pits, BCAM museum, Malibu beach and H&M. This visit definitely had a different "vibe" compared to when my sister visited. We definitely ate much less this time around.


I'm so scared!

5/16/09  -  posted by Hogers at 2:10 AM  -  0 Comments

Oh hell yeah. NBC LA recently did an investigation story on all of the shady things LA valet companies are doing. This includes taking up parking meters they're not allowed to occupy, getting in accidents and allowing cars to get parking tickets and not informing the car owners.

This means next time I go out, I'm pulling up to a valet stand, leaving my car on the street and walking away...hahahaha.

5/14/09  -  posted by Hogers at 3:04 PM  -  1 Comments

Allie will be two months old tomorrow, and she seems to be growing at a rapid rate before our eyes. No longer do we have our small, cute bundle of joy we brought home the hospital. Instead, we have a big milk consuming machine occupying our crib.


Judy and I are pretty much getting used to the routine of Allie eating, sleeping and playing during the day...and then getting up once during the night for a feeding. Allie sleeps pretty well whether she's in a crib, car seat, swing or on the floor. She also takes up some peculiar sleeping positions like the iron cross pose below.


Judy is able to enjoy the increasing amount of sleep as well. But last night, Hogan started barking furiously around 3am. We've recently discovered that there's a family of possums living in our front yard trees. I often run into the baby possum when I'm sitting on my front steps...the baby possum is only 6 inches long and looks like a rat. Judy doesn't want Hogan going near them, but I'm curious as to whether Hogan can give them a decent fight...


My brother and his family will be visiting us next week. We're looking forward to seeing my nephew, Calvin, interact with his new cousin Allie. BTW, I was referring to the possums as being the unwanted visitors and not my brother and his family.


One of Allie's favorite positions is to hold her fist up to her chin.

5/7/09  -  posted by Hogers at 2:17 PM  -  0 Comments

Manchester United 3 - Arsenal 1


Ji Sung Park scores the first goal in this UEFA Champions League semi-final match. For those of you who are unfamiliar with soccer, the UEFA Champions League is like the NBA/NFL/MLB playoffs.

5/6/09  -  posted by Hogers at 8:55 PM  -  0 Comments

Los Angeles Times
By Chip Jacobs
6:15 PM PDT, May 2, 2009

The confident smile Sam Rivero wore as he hunted for his first house had a lot to do with the buzz thumping in his ears. Ever since home values began sinking, pundits have touted the juicy opportunities for aspiring buyers priced out of the market before, and the young business-development executive heard that cue like a sonic boom.

Out he ventured into Mount Washington, Glassell Park, Eagle Rock, Montecito Heights and other desirable middle-class communities northeast of downtown Los Angeles, searching for a bargain in the $400,000 range. Candidates came and went, and Rivero, who is getting married, was upbeat. Considering the pulverized housing values, with the median price of a Southland home today -- $250,000 -- at half of its 2007 level, the properties should come gift-wrapped, right?

More...

5/4/09  -  posted by Hogers at 12:43 PM  -  1 Comments

Six weeks is supposed to be the pinnacle of when babies become the most fussy and are unable to sleep. Allie just passed the six week mark this past Friday, but her fussiness and sleep are pretty tolerable. She still gets up around twice during the night for feedings. And she does seem to cry when she wants to be held occasionally. But overall, we feel fortunate that Allie has been pretty good and is not making our lives difficult.


We usually swaddle Allie when she's sleeping, but she'll occasionally break out and loves to sleep with her arms raised above her head. She also likes to place her fist on her chin like she's thinking.


My sister, Alice, flew in from Chicago to visit her new niece. We spent the weekend playing with Allie and eating. We also ate, went to a lot of different restaurants, and ate.


Allie outside the Redondo Beach crab house with dungeness crabs in a tank.


Allie sleeping with Redondo Beach shoreline in the background.

4/8/09  -  posted by Hogers at 11:02 PM  -  5 Comments

For nine months prior to the birth of Allie, I was flying out every week to Phoenix for work. Judy did a great job handling the pregnancy pretty much on her own without my support for more than half of every week.

Since the baby has arrived, I've been able to negotiate to work the remainder of my contract (til July) remotely from home. This is AWESOME. I told Goo the other day, there's nothing better than being able to step out onto your porch in your underwear to drink coffee at 11am on a weekday.


Judy's worst fear: Hogan eating Allie's hand.


Needless to say, I'm enjoying every minute of spending time with Allie. Right now, she's pretty much continuing to eat, sleep and pooh. But she is more active these days and tends to stay up for the whole afternoon.


One challenge I've faced with having a baby is being able to play Warcraft (computer game). If Judy is out, I obviously have to tend to the baby if she needs something. But Warcraft requires 100% of your concentration...if you leave the computer for a second, you're dead. Rest assured, I am leaving my game to tend to Allie...but when I get back to the computer, I'll end up typing some message to the opponent like, "you're lucky that I had to go get my baby". I'm pretty sure the 12-year old opponent on the other end has no idea what to say.

We're looking forward to a bunch of visitors in the next few months. Judy's sister is coming down from SF this weekend to see her new niece. My sister will come in from Chicago towards the end of the month. And we'll get to see Ryan (Mel and Adam's daughter) in two weeks when they come out to LA for a wedding.

3/28/09  -  posted by Hogers at 9:05 PM  -  5 Comments

Eat, Pooh, Sleep. That pretty much sums up the first week at home for Allie. I guess it should be no surprise since that is what babies do. Allie will sleep like a rock for a few hours. Then she'll wake up, I'll change her diapers, Judy will feed her and then she'll stare around at the ceiling for awhile before falling back asleep again.


I have to admit that I feel a bit guilty because this first week has gone by so smoothly. I'm sleeping 7-8 hours at night since I'm a heavy sleeper and don't wake when Judy wakes up to feed the baby.

Last night, Judy went to bed early...but she tells me to wake her up at 2am so that she can feed the baby. I'm sitting on the couch watching TV, and I'm like "ok, no problem". I have the baby monitor next to me so that I can keep an eye out on Allie. I eventually fall asleep on the couch. Next thing I know, Judy's waking me up saying, "what are you doing?!?" As I slowly wake up, I hear this loud crying coming from the baby monitor..."WAHHHHHH!!!!!". Hahahaha...I guess I sleep so heavily, that I can't even hear the baby monitor when it's next to my ear. I felt so bad...


Being the pessimist that I am, I'm thinking that I'm going to get it bad later since things are going so well right now. Either Allie will turn into the worst colicky baby of all time, or else she'll be this rebellious meechuhn kid when she grows up later. Please Lord...let her be an angel!

3/25/09  -  posted by Hogers at 9:47 AM  -  5 Comments

Allie and Judy were finally discharged from the hospital yesterday after being there for almost six days. It was good to leave the hospital after being there for so long.


The first day home proved to be pretty smooth. Hogan welcomed Allie with his usual curious sniffing, and they were able to sleep together under the sun in the baby room.


The first night turned out to be not as difficult as I had expected. I went to bed around 1:30am, Judy got up to feed the baby once around 2:30am, and then Allie slept all the way until 7am. I'm keeping my fingers crossed and hope that every night turns out to be this easy.


My parents have been here all week, and they had a fun time being able to spend time with their first granddaughter.