RIP James Kim

Over the last few days, I've been following a story about a missing San Francisco family in southern Oregon. As someone who drives in the snow a lot, and sometimes gets stuck in the woods while snowboarding, I just worried how long this family could possibly survive in the cold.

Some stories, for whatever reason, just stick with you. Maybe because I fear getting stuck in the snow. Maybe because the husband is Korean. Maybe because I felt like I would have done the same thing (left my family to go look for help). Maybe because the husband has a resemblance to Bruce Lee. But whatever the reason was, I was rooting for this family.

Yesterday, I happily learned that the mother / wife and 2 daughters were found safe and are in good condition. I figured this would be another "Hollywood" style happy ending, and that the father would be found soon after.

So all day yesterday, I kept an eye out on CNET.com and MSN.com headlines, just to see if there were any updates. Just now, when I got onto MSN.com, I noticed a new headline regarding this family. I clicked, excited to see a reunited family and read about how the husband survived.

Unfortunately, the father did not make it. I felt heartbroken and disappointed. Maybe I could have done something, driven 10 hours to Oregon and done... SOMETHING.

But what happened next was even more disappointing. I went onto some of the other websites for this family, where people were giving their condolences, and I'd say about 98% of the people were great. A lot of well wishers and people who were just like me, rooting for a happy ending, and feeling like maybe we didn't do enough. Unfortunately, the other 2% were some of the most offensive, adolescent, bottom-of-the-barrel type people... one poster who said "It was his fault. If the husband had just stayed in the vehicle, he would have survived with the rest of the family."

What the husband did was noble. Who knew if a rescue team would EVER come? What was the husband supposed to do? Wait there and watch his family die? He HAD to do something. I have the utmost respect for him. But this wasn't the worst post.

A couple pages later, there was a post that read, "This accident could have been prevented. My GMC Yukon would have made it. You guys can all laugh at my 13 MPG but I'd still be alive."

Pathetic. This post makes me sick. Anyone who has been to a ski resort would know that any car, truck or SUV can be accident prone. This family was driving an all-wheel-drive Saab. I'd take an AWD small-car over a 4WD SUV / truck anyday. I remember one afternoon at Mount Baker, a lady couldn't get her Jeep Grand Cherokee out of her snow covered parking space. She kept flooring the gas, spinning in place, and no matter how many people were helping her push, it didn't seem to matter. Then, someone noticed that only the back wheels were spinning and the back of the SUV said "4WD." So he said, "Hey, put this thing in four wheel drive!"

"I can't! I don't know how!"

You can have the greatest vehicle for snow, but you still have to know how to drive in snow.

To the Kim family, I'm sorry for your loss. My thoughts are with your family.

Burger King partners with Microsoft?

I just bought, on a whim, 3 Xbox 360 games on eBay. These aren't just any Xbox games. They're the 3 limited edition games only available at Burger King with the purchase of an Extra Value Meal. The games are titled Sneak King, Pocketbike Racer, and Big Bumpin'.

I thought about actually going to Burger King to buy these games, since they're only $3.99... but that's with the purchase of a value meal. So because of that, the games are probably actually more like $8.50 each, plus tax.

There was a guy on eBay about 15 miles from Issaquah, in Mill Creek, selling his set of 3 brand new shrinkwrapped games for $22.99 shipped. So it made sense to me. Seeing how other Xbox 360 games are at least $40 brand new, this seemed like a relatively good deal, especially since I get 3 games for the price of 1/2 of one.

Day 4 - Flip Project - Cedar Grove

Day 4 - Flip Project - Cedar Grove

$ spent since last update - $494

Total $ spent - $494

Budget $10,000
Target Finish Date - 1/5/2006

So, I spent almost $500 buying 2 garage door openers and the service to get them installed. Not a bad deal going on at Lowe's. Garage door opener installation for only $59 per door.

Other than that though, I went snowboarding on Sunday so my back and body were too sore and limited me to minor painting and mostly cleaning up on Monday. Plus, the dark dark brown walls are going to need at least 2 (maybe 3) coats of the cream colored paint that I've chosen.

I have a gadget problem

I remember learning about "universal remotes" when Dan got one almost 5 years ago. In theory, they should control all your devices. But I figured "Heck, I bet there's a couple brands that won't work with the remote." So I never considered buying one. Especially at their prices of over $100, some for over $200!!

But after moving into my new house (a year ago now), losing 1 remote, and realizing that the media room has 5 remotes, along with 2 more in my bedroom, I started searching for a solution. The solution was to get a Logitech Harmony Xbox 360 universal remote.

The great thing about this remote (and what really sold me on it) is that the software that it comes with connects to the internet, and is constantly being updated with newer hardware and devices. So the number of devices that it controls grows each day.

So far, it controls my bedroom TV, the LCD outside my room, the projector, DVD player, the Media Center on my PC, the Xbox 360, the Oppo DVD player, the Sony sound system, two Comcast cable boxes... and best of all, it controls the lighting in the theater room (a Lutron dimmer).

In one case (with the Sony sound system), the software wasn't familiar with the model number, so I was able to program the buttons by using the "learning port" on the Harmony (although later, I realized the model number was in the system, just without the "dash").

The rest of my remotes are now being stored away. For any gadget lover, this would be a pretty cool Christmas gift. Don't go to your local retail store, they'll ask $129.99 plus tax. Get it online for $90 shipped, brand new.

Legacy Roofing project in Bellevue

Okay, so up until 2 weeks ago, I thought all roofing companies sucked. Especially the ones around here that charged over $20K for your typical 2-story, 2,000 square foot house. I won't name company names here, but the typical homeowner has a tough decision to make when it comes to choosing a roofer. You can either go with a no-name, no warranty guy, or go all out and spend "a lot" extra on a well known company that advertises a lot. On the low-end, the estimates tended to be in the $8K to $9K range. On the high-end, over $20K.

Now, if you ever walk through Home Depot, of if you've ever done your own roof, you'd know that 30-year Architectural Composition roofing material is only about $20 per case, and each case covers 40 square feet. For your average roof (lets say it's 3,000 square feet of space needed), that's only 75 cases, or about $1500 in shingles.

But add to that labor, disposal of old roof, nails, equipment, moisture barrier, and bam, you get the prices you are quoted. To me, it never made any sense, but admittedly, that's a ton of work required.

But then there was Legacy Roofing who did a roof at the Wong house. They're a company with a pretty good reputation, but their estimate wasn't ridiculous either. It was right about $14K. And they stuck to that estimate, didn't charge any extra or anything like that. They placed a dumpster in the driveway on the first day, and they never inconvenienced the homeowners. The garbage and yard was cleaned up every evening, and not a single worker bothered the residents, even for drinks or bathroom use. That's what impressed me. Because I've heard of stories where workers asked to use a restroom every 30 minutes for weeks straight.

They installed Elk brand "Prestique High Definition 40 year roofing material" and it looks great. The old roof was barely holding up (with the cedar shingles curling up and falling off), and with the snow that came soon after, the roof was done just in time.