Stockton Free Boat Cruises

What is better than a free cruise? Nothing else. However, its range is quite limited since the tour only lasts for two hours (it turns around before reaching the Sailing Club marina), but you can't beat free right? (Compared to around $100 normally)

The opportunity for free tours was first available sometime in June, but I didn't see it until reading the newspaper article about it. By that time all of the free cruises that were available (up to end of July) were sold out, that's how popular it is. But not to worry - they're doing more cruises for September starting in a couple of weeks.

Get a reservation via this link.

Protip: They make available 3 cruises per Saturday, 10am, 1pm, 4pm, for 50 passengers for September starting on August 5 at 8am. If you were unable to get a reservation or can't wait that long, you can always wait in the standby line. Arrive around 45-60 minutes early for an almost guaranteed first priority on standby (if someone fails to attend, and it is almost bound to happen, you can go). If that doesn't work, you can call them up to (most likely) get higher up the priority line for the next cruise.

Peppermill: Background TV Displays

Back at the Peppermill again, this time to learn more about the various outdoor scenery that is playing on the TVs around the casino (there's a huge backstory about this, and yes, it is possible to get a behind the scenes tour).

What TV, you ask? Like this one, these TVs in the background are scattered all across the casino, sometimes in pairs of three, one large one at a bar, and others as single screen or two lined up vertically. There's also a channel in the hotel room that displays these backdrops (the tv there is usually flipped to this channel upon first entering). I'm guessing they're too ambient, not a lot of people who review this place mention this at all.

After learning that there were thousands of possible backgrounds that could be played and them being shot on Red One cameras (justifiable since they needed the high resolution to fill up to three 1080p screens), I'll probably be watching them more on future trips... never knew that the background videos had so much behind it.

Summer at the Stockton Cinemas

During this month I have been to the theaters to watch a movie more often than any other. And apparently the lines are longer than ever. So long that Monsters University sold out and there were two separate lines near the entrance of the theater for those waiting for the next showing (people were lining up around an hour before the movie started). Must've been the summer movies and the specials.

Specials in the Stockton Area: Although you can get 20 dollars worth of movies and $10 for concessions at Costco for 25 bucks everything (except for large popcorn) is quite expensive so it's not really worth buying. Other than early bird and matinee specials there's a few other specials going on at this time:

• Stockton City Center Stadium 16: Twilight Special - discounts the cost of tickets to $6.00 for any movie that starts between 4-6 pm on the weekdays.
• Stockton Holiday 8 on West Lane: Tickets for any show on Tuesday and Sunday are $5 (more than half off). They also show G and PG movies at 10am on Tuesdays and Wednesdays for $1 each, however there is only one showing a day and it's first come first serve.

The One Dollar Bookstore

The books are a dollar each, but good luck finding what you want.

The One Dollar Bookstore (also known as Piccolo's Books) at Long Beach: One dollar a book, excluding tax. This includes audio CDs and magazines. The only exceptions to these rules are the ones on the window display, and some large posters, which are $5 and $25 respectively. The store (at least the one in Long Beach) is huge, so you'll have a variety available to you.

Although books are broadly sorted (such as fiction, travel, self-improvement, etc. the organization in those categories are subpar, you may spend more time trying to browse (and/or sort) books than looking in them in some areas.

Note on books:

• Practically all of them are used books, meaning that what you find is something that someone else didn't want.
• Good place if you're looking for fiction books.
• Since they are used books, expect to find lots of dated material.
• There's an entire shelf of AAA travel books (and it has its own category) for those who don't have a AAA membership. (They are usually free of charge once you get one)
• The computer books are great... for legacy software. Want to learn the basics of a program? You can start here. I recommend you get a up-to-date book when possible though. The books here typically cover software ranging from the 1990s to the early 2000s. Don't expect to find books relating to programming languages. Ignore the manuals (like Norton Systemworks).
• Books regarding games are literally used; you may find puzzle books which have been written in and partially completed. Most of them in this section are discarded game manuals, in the days where detailed manuals existed in physical form.
• If someone sees you sorting something (or as much as putting a book back), there's a chance someone may mistake you for working there.

Attempt at grouping all the Visual Quickstart guides together to make a decision on which ones to get.

McDonalds: New Menu Items?

On a McDonalds somewhere on I-5 (the one on Panoche Road) there was a sign containing not one but five new items, consisting of the following:

• Southwest Burger, 360 cal.
• Grilled Onion Cheddar McDouble, 400 cal.
• Southwest McDouble, 400 cal.
• McChicken Deluxe, 440 cal.
• Hot'n Spicy McChicken Deluxe, 460 cal.

The Deluxe versions simply add a tomato and a slice of cheese (this puts it on par with a Premium Grilled Club Sandwich, minus the bacon, for a fraction of the price)

I haven't seen any of these items around before (at least at the McDonalds I've been to normally), does anyone know if these items are available elsewhere?

Las Vegas Redux

Six years ago I first traveled to Las Vegas with relatives, it was a new place for me, a place to see lots of skyscrapers / hotels, and to explore everything it had to offer. Unfortunately the ability to see a lot of things were limited, due to being under 21 at that time. Fast forward to today. Not only am I over 21 (this means I can walk through casinos without a problem* and get to places which were previously inaccessible), but we're also using a Powerpass (that means being able to see as many attractions as possible in three days).

I had two goals to accomplish that week:

• Collect as many different poker chips as possible (although I prefer $5 because some are rare chips, white/blue ones are sufficient)
• See as many places as possible

General Notes regarding the Powerpass:

• It is strongly recommended you buy the Powerpass at Costco online for $105 covering three days. Redeem at the Planet Hollywood Store in the Forum Shops in order to get your cards. Anything less than 3 days would not be advised since you will have to rush between attractions in order to see enough to cover the cost.
• The 3 day period starts as soon as you use it in any attraction that it covers, best to use it at the start of the day.
• You will very likely not be able to make it to every place within 3 days, so plan carefully.
• Mob Museum is the one downtown, NOT the one at the Tropicana. (They mentioned that they no longer accepted it in Feb 2013, implying that they previously accepted it).

Recommendations for Powerpass: (based on what I've seen)

• Planet Hollywood Store or Restaurant Credit. The $10 dollar credit at PH is reusable and stacks so if you're going with friends or family and they also have a powerpass you can use your cards together and make purchases that way (ex. 4 cards give you $40 store or food credit that day).
• Hoover Dam Motor Coach Tour
• Wax Museum
• Bellagio of Fine Art (at the time this was posted, exhibit was Warhol Out West, yours may vary)
• BeatleShow (might as well see it since you are paying lots for the pass)
• Eiffel Tower Experience (the above image was shot from the top of Eiffel Tower)
• Stratosphere Observation Deck (Note: This does not include rides though there is a slight discount for some food items there)
• National Atomic Testing Museum

Notes regarding other things on the trip:

• At this time, it is very hot outside. As in 100+ degree weather, find shade or indoor shelter as soon as possible. Venetian + Palazzo connects together, as well as Monte Carlo + Vadara + Bellagio and Paris + Bally's. TI and Mirage connects via a Tram.
• If you book a location on the Strip (online), be prepared to pay an additional mandatory resort fee per night, the online pricing does not include this in calculating cheapest hotels. Use this page as a guide.
• McDonalds is by far the cheapest thing you can have on the strip, when you consider that burgers (or almost any place not considered fast food, for that matter) are an average price of around $11. Keep in mind that $1 will give you a Spicy McChicken, the regular variant is not available.
• The Flamingo Hotel might be cheap but it's the oldest on the Strip and it speaks for its price from the uneven carpeting (at least on the 10th floor) and in my room the bathroom knob was falling apart and the toilet seat was loose.
• I play one round per casino for this trip in order to collect a poker chip. (Don't collect the ones that you find in the souvenir shops though, they look too polished, have no cash value, and are more expensive)
• Based on observations from the various Roulette Tables while walking by, a black didn't appear for up to nine spins in a row on several tables, so anything can happen. And anybody using any sort of Martingale strategy would go bankrupt (or hit the table limit if they didn't).
• There's a F-Zero AX Machine at Buffalo Bill's, but it wasn't working at the time I was there.

Heard they were renovating, but they weren't quite finished yet. Guess they were right.

Asparagus Festival Spear It Run

After going to the Asparagus festival from 2004 to 2011, it feels like almost the same each time: Head over for bus rides in order to get to the festival (or park over there), look at booths and get freebies, try various asparagus food items, that's it. Most of the booths are the same throughout the years, so it's a matter of finding what's new.

I've decided to try out something new: Run the Spear-It Run. I've heard about it for the past few years and saw the finish line, but always wondered where it started. I no longer have to look further. The run goes back and forth over a single street (this makes it quite prone for people taking shortcuts) but is decent enough.

Overall: Cleared in 28:42 (83rd place) - which is a 3:42 improvement. Getting closer to the 'under 20m 5k' goal.

Playlist: My playlist developed quite a few additions since I last did the run at Davis. It still consists of mainly electronic music, but unlike last time, there were many songs that didn't seem to fit right during the run, so I found myself having to skip quite a few songs while running.

The addition of K-Pop Songs during the run (I posted one as a comment on the photo) might get some of my friends by surprise.

• Cold Storage - Operatique
• Skrillex - Bug Hunt (Noisia Remix)
• Big Bang - Tonight
• M&H Band - Popcorn
• Daft Punk - Get Lucky (Mj edit)
• 2NE1 / Big Bang - Lollipop

New Additions: The Asparaberry Shortcake is a Strawberry Shortcake with bits of Asparagus on it, and it's 3 bucks - much cheaper than getting a shortcake at some of the other booths). I don't know if it was introduced last year, but it was featured this year.

Book Sculptures

One of the more interesting exhibits on display at the library - book paper art.

I've always seen book sculptures online as impressive, but they are even more so when you can actually see them in full 3d. It was on display the week of April 15, 2013 near the front of the UOP Library.

I was hoping to get a pic of that last year with a decent camera but the entire exhibit disappeared before I had a chance to do it.

Returning to Reno: Peppermill

I didn't get to experience all of Reno the first time around at the beginning of this year, so I decided to go another time. I've never been anywhere past Downtown Reno before, and this time around I got to explore much more of Reno, including Virginia City (my friends were at the Piper Opera House back in November but I was unable to make it that day).

I decided to stay at Peppermill since I saw a coupon at Costco once regarding this place and it was well worth the money - I didn't find Circus Circus and Eldorado too satisfying to stay in but this hotel was a notable exception to that rule as a AAA four diamond hotel.

Overview: The suite has some nice amenities. HDTV with capabilities of plugging in computer equipment *, fully dimmable lights, dual showerheads, whirlpool tub, and free wifi*. Like other high class hotels, they tend to lack a fridge and microwave (I'm accustomed to both of them, maybe it's because I've been staying in motels for too long?)

The Costco Package fixes your room cost to $100 a night for two nights, simply make a reservation and use the Costco printout instead of paying. (there are a few blackout dates though when you can't use it though, and space is limited so you'll want to plan in advance). It also gives you a substantial amount of resort credit ($50 on weekends and $100 on weekdays) effectively creating a $50 or $75 per night four diamond suite. Given this is at least 50 percent off the room in most cases, I'd take this offer again.

Some days I see the situation on the levee get out of hand. Used to be just ordinary trash, there was a broken down shopping cart and maybe a keyboard at one point. Now it's this - several sofas (can't salvage) and a wooden door. I wonder who picks up these things...

Reminds me of those 'random events' that I see in various RPGs - most of the time a certain area is normal, and only in rare occurrences there's something different.

Stockton Chinese New Year 2013

Stockton's Chinese New Year Parade this year occurred around a week ago and was similar to that of last year, although I noticed a few changes. They moved the grandstand over to next to the Civic Auditorium and there were considerably less people watching the parade, not sure why. This was the first time that MCHS Key Club ceased to exist in the parade - in past years, there was a group of around 40-50 people showing spirit, in red t-shirts and such with a huge banner, but it's not the case anymore - instead they were wearing blue shirts (D27 North) and they weren't holding anything.

Though the performances were great as last year, some creative booths were left out that were present last year. For one, the knitting and RC displays weren't there - they were probably a few of the better ones in my opinion.

No longer are there knitted dragons like there were last year.

Like three years ago, I once again find another person I now knew that I didn't know at the time of last year's parade. There's always a few surprises because when I'm taking pictures, I'm not looking at surroundings and such.

David making a cameo appearance on the sidelines during the 2012 Parade.

Chinese New Year at Thunder Valley

I've decided to head to another location for Chinese New Year, this happens to be Thunder Valley. I don't think I've been anywhere specifically to see a Chinese lion dance in another city (other than San Jose, and that was by coincidence). Two things: One, is louder than I originally expected, and two, it was different than what I've normally seen. Especially the 'lion goes through the casino' part, where lots of people are trying to get a picture of the dragon as it goes by.

Two dragons and two lions was a bit much in that small space, it's hard to see all of them at the same time... given how close you are to them (around 10 feet).

I got my calendar and some red envelopes from that event. (In reality, it doesn't take too long to get to 50 points when you're at the table for some time. Pulled in around 500 points in two hours of play, and didn't lose any money in the process. I'm still 14k short to next tier though, but I don't think it'll happen anytime soon with my current income level.)

The 50 State Quarter Set

After hunting around for that last Alaska state quarter for years, I finally managed to find the last quarter I need to complete my 50 State Quarter Set. Unfortunately, the display is so old that other territories are not included.

Time to start searching around for those American Territories / National Parks quarters, they're going to go on for another eight years.

Minigame: Ball with Post it Notes

More like an icebreaker, and I don't know the official name of this one. As the first UOP CKI meeting, there were quite a few people, and all (but three) people of 20 I already know by name.

Due to undertaking multiple major projects this semester (one for each class I'm taking) and other programming projects (including the UOP Game Development group's proposal), I may be too busy to even show up at local CKI events at all.Therefore, I am canceling the idea of the picture album "24: The Service Project at Davis". Summary:

• The picture album takes place a year after the events of 24: The Interclub at Davis, this time during the 26-hour 'Service Never Sleeps' marathon at Davis. Album starts at 1pm in Oakland, CA on 1/19 and ends at 1pm 1/20 at Davis, with one image taken around every ten minutes. This will be compiled into a Facebook album, and timestamps will be in realtime (the time the image was taken) as well as commentary. Tags of non-friends are included.

Minigame Instructions: When you catch the ball, answer the question posted that was under your left (or right) thumb. Toss the ball to another person that hasn't gotten it yet.

2013 Coming In

The first few days of the new year for me occur in Reno for a change.

2012 has brought in some of the best and the worst this year. For some people, they mentioned that 2012 wasn't that good (there were a few incidents) and wanted this year to be better. (And I thought that 2012 would be good).

Notable Events: (in my perspective)

• Spring 2012 in Stuff (Jan 2012)
• 24: Interclub at Davis (Jan 2012)
• Reached 400 friends on FB, completing a longtime goal (and 100 subscribers) (Feb 2012)
• Hosted a Key2College Workshop (Feb 2012)
• Reached Bronze MRP Status at CKI. However "someone stole my star!" and missing a gold...ribbon) (Mar 2012)
• End of district event appearances at CKI (Apr 2012)
• Finished with Undergrad at UOP. (May 2012)
• Introduced to Perler Beads - Made the Capital Division Logo out of it. (May 2012)
• 24 Hour Fitness (Jun 2012)
• Hiking at Lake Tahoe (around 10 miles) (Jun 2012)
• Kindercalc Project (Jul 2012)
• Long Beach and Universal Studios (Aug 2012)
• Fall 2012 in Concepts (Aug 2012)
• Supreme Commander Speedruns (Aug 2012)
• Zuma Blitz undergoes a new revision, Kroakatoa Island. Fans were not pleased with the coin system. (Sept 2012)
• Borderlands 2 (Sept 2012)
• Riding the BART (Oct 2012)
• TOS (this blog) reaches 250k views. (Oct 2012)
• Popcap Swag Package for work on Zuma Blitz (Nov 2012)
• First official 5K run at Davis (Nov 2012)
• Facebook application development (Nov 2012)
• Popcornopolis (Nov 2012)
• Game Development Group (Dec 2012)
• Diablo 3 and the ability to make money with it (Dec 2012)
• TV Series: Quantum Leap, and Kitchen Nightmares (none which I could remember the date)

Planned Resolutions / Revisions in 2013:

• Designed Subcategory: EllegnArt Deviations (Angelle is no longer reachable, and I have recovered most of her artwork that was previously made unavailable. I've got a new direction planned for them)
• Programming Subcategory: FB App Making (Because sometimes the examples just aren't enough...)
• Chibi Art will now occupy the 'Designed' category, and all artwork / sketches are currently delayed (this is due to reduced priority, anyone that was included in a partially completed sketch were notified).
• SD Chip (my 16GB SD chip was breaking apart) will be replaced and upgraded, the money won from Reno (less than 100) will be used to fund products for tech reviews.

Christmas Snow Village at Lincoln Center

Introduced to the Snow Village at the Lincoln Center - one of the more nicer finds in Stockton. It's quite the display and took a while to look at, better than driving around and looking around for Christmas light displays. There's also a scavenger hunt checklist while you're looking around.

Where and When? Look around the Lincoln Center in Stockton - the display occupies an entire store front display and the lights are on between 5:30pm and 10pm., up until January 6, so you still got some time. Full brochure here.

Christmas: Loads of Presents and Bags

In years past it used to be mostly presents...

Following the family get-together is Christmas... and opening presents. Most of the time, it's what I requested on my wishlist (I could request for one or more gifts totaling up to $50, but had to gift another family member's wishlist) but there's always a few surprises.

It seems like this year there's less presents and more bags... guess wrapping them was too much work. Also noted this Christmas: There were fewer games (I didn't see any console games out this year).

Loot Received includes:

• Cash
• Tetris Nano
• Various food items including Almonds and Pretzels
• Steal This Computer Book 4.0 (computer and network security)
• Beginner's Guide to Digital Painting (to draw up a few things)

Everything's Better with Brie

At the yearly family Christmas get-together, this is what I always have on my plate. Crisp bread with sweet almonds filled with brie cheese in the center.

The introduction to this a couple of years ago is what eventually got me to trying various cheeses from Costco - I simply didn't like the limitation of either Cheddar, Provolone, Pepper Jack, or Swiss at the UC, and I wanted something new. They're a bit expensive (some upwards of $10 per pound), but it's worth it.

Hungry Hungry H... wait, what?

Went shopping at Target to buy gifts (for relatives) this Christmas and stumbled upon this, really Zynga? You're selling Hungry Hungry Hippos with the 'Farmville' brand? It's not based off the original game, it's exactly the same game, save a few color and head changes.

There's two other games I noticed, a Monopoly game based off of Cityville, and Words with Friends. But they are original in a way in both the layout and rule changes. But Farmville... this is completely unrelated. Except for the Farm Cash.

Speaking of that, isn't the sequel being played more nowadays?

The UOP Banquet Sounds of Service

Each item, save music instruments, are raffled off.

This banquet - not like any other. Unlike last year, it has more interclub students than new members (at least 2:1). It occurs in Grace Covell, but in a different room. (At first sight - it was a dark room, yule log, was it really a nice party going on? Nope, it was actually in another room.)

Good to see there was another historian - it seems like they must have dSLRs, but I was dissuaded in the past to carry one due to its large weight - a hybrid like the Sony DSC RX-100 would suit my needs perfectly - provided I can afford it, of course.

Events:

• Two icebreakers (or minigames) - Song Poncho (exactly the same as the event last year as a family competition, including the word) and Ipod Wars (guess the song)
• Song played associated with each new member (that was their favorite song) - note it was planned (but wasn't done) last year's banquet.
• Chicken Platters - despite the wording, they're exactly the same as every other chicken dish in past UOP Banquets.
• The raffles - the violins were just for show, but tickets were buyable for everything else at a quarter per ticket.
• The piano was played... by a Sac Student.

Note: I will be unable to make it to the next day's event (Santa's Gift of Service), due to lack of transportation options* and as such the related blog post will be unavailable.