As I mentioned before, I’m upgrading my security system at my place, first with a new electronic lock, and next I wanted a video monitoring system. There are different kinds of systems and the cheap ones require you to wire up your home with physical wires. That was not an option for me.

Most systems I looked at also required a DVR of some type that records the analogue video onto a hard drive which can be viewed later. The problem with that is you have to also have an alarm system with the video or by the time you realize there was a break-in, the only thing the video is good for is for the cops to review after the fact.

Even a paranoid guy like me has limits and having a full-blown alarm system and video system was more than I wanted or needed. The other problem with a DVR is that to do it properly, the DVR must be in a very safe location or it would be too easy to destroy or steal and that would totally defeat the purpose of having a DVR.

After some digging, I came across the Archerfish Solo video monitoring system which is a stand-alone unit that uses standard WiFi instead of a proprietary wireless system like many other systems. Moreover, the video is sent to a server at Archerfish so there is no need to worry about maintaining a DVR or protecting it from destruction.

The MSRP for this unit is $349 and comes with one 2GB MicroSD card for storing the video. As you can see below, compared to industrial security video cameras, it’s not big but compared to home monitoring systems, it’s on the larger side.

Close-up of lens

The device has all the smarts built into the stand-alone camera unit, including the firmware that allows the unit to be programmed via WiFi over the Internet. Not only that but you can tell the unit to look only in certain areas of the screen, and look for people, vehicles, or any motion.

The brains to distinguish between people and vehicles is Solo’s selling point since many people have this unit mounted towards their driveway where cars may be coming and going all day. You can tell Solo to only alert you when you see a person coming to the house.

Sample installation from Archerfish

Although the WiFi connection can be wireless (or wired), the power cable does need to be connected to an AC outlet. Therefore, if you are mounting this outside, you will probably need to drill holes somewhere to get the power out there from inside the house.

So far, I was sold on this device and decided to get it before my long trip to Hawaii so that I could monitor my place via the Internet while I was gone. I wish I could report that hookup was a no brainer, but I can’t.

Once connected to the Internet, the instructions are to use your computer and browser to connect to the Archerfish website to setup your Solo device. One of the first indications that something was wrong was the still image that was shown was simply black with no image. Undeterred, I continued with the installation and got to the point where the firmware was to be upgraded via the Internet as shown below.

Firmware update problems

Unfortunately, even after leaving the download going overnight, it never finished. Next, I called Archerfish customer support and was told that my WiFi router was not compatible and I would have to buy a new one. No problem. You don’t have to ask me twice to buy new gadgets. So I went out and bought the new Linksys E2000 WiFi router the next day.

As I suspected, although my new router was much better than my old one, it had nothing to do with the download not working. Back to calling customer service, and although every person that I talked to was very friendly, nobody was able to help me other than to tell me that they would look into it from their server side and get back to me.

Days turned to weeks and I was starting to run out of time to install this unit before my trip. I called customer service again and was told that they were still looking into the problem. At this point, having the technical background that I have, I already knew that my unit was broken and needed to be replaced. However, they were not yet convinced of that at Archerfish and needed to do more “testing.”

One thing that bothered me was they would always tell me that they would either email me or call me to tell me the status and never did. Nothing. Not even to tell me nothing was going on.

Unfortunately, nothing was done before my trip and so I did not have any security by Internet while I was gone. Scary stuff for a paranoid guy like me.

After my trip, even though I no longer needed the product, I decided I was going to make this product work by hook or by crook and kept calling their customer service. Every time I called, I always got a very sympathetic and patient person on the line but nobody was able to help me. What seems to be the problem is the lack of diagnostic training. But I really can’t fault this little company too much for their lack of training since it was no worse than Dell or even HP, and those guys have a lot more money. It’s hard to get good help.

If anybody would like to get a good lesson from this customer service problem, I think this particular problem that I was having should have been used for training. Since it was taking so long, their customer service computer system should have automatically had a problem solver alerted to this via email and this person should have called me and diagnosed the problem with one of their regular customer service person on the line listening. The purpose would have been to train the customer service person on a live call to show them how to diagnose this properly.

But I digress.

After over 8 weeks of calls and 135 hours and 18 seconds of talking to customer service (yes, I added up the numbers), I finally got them to agree that the unit was broken and they would send me out a new unit. Wow. This was a record for me with any gadget that I have ever bought in my life. They should have sent me a new unit the second day.

After getting the new unit, the new firmware downloaded in 10 minutes and everything was working within an hour. Of course, this is what should have happened months ago before my trip.

For the most part, everything works as advertised, with a few exceptions. Sometimes, I do not get alerted when a person is moving in front of the camera. I suspect this is either because it is too dark, the person is not at the correct angle, or they are moving too fast. In any case, this can be solved by changing the settings to alert me when anything is moving. Of course, if you have pets, this would not work properly.

Another little bug I noticed is shown below where when trying to create a video clip, I get an error that the clip cannot be created. I’m not sure but I think this is probably a firmware bug.

Error

Also, I get a lot of “Poor Video” errors as shown below. Again, I’m not sure what is causing this and it doesn’t seem to be a problem most of the time. Only once did I get a low resolution video sent to me instead of the regular resolution video.

Poor video

By the way, if you are thinking of getting this unit, I should note that the service where you get an email or SMS text with video is not free. There is a monthly $5 charge for this service. However, you get 3 months of this service for free when you get the unit.  If you don’t need to be alerted, there is no fee to be connected to their server.

Since it took me months to get this unit working, I asked the customer service person to extend my free trial so that I would not have to pay $5 yet since I have not had any chance to check out the system. The really nice customer service person told me that this was no problem and that it would be extended at no charge.

Of course, I should have known that was going to be a lie and sure enough they started charging me already with no extension. I guess that was their parting kick to my groin after they had already kicked me to the ground.

I’ve switched to another system and no longer use this unit. More on that next time.

As everyone that reads this blog knows by now, I’m a victim of advertising and infomercials. One night, I was watching one and saw a home laser hair removal system from Tria. Now you’re asking yourselves right now, why does this guy need this?

Well, really I don’t. But sometimes things get bushy down there and being the porno watcher that I am, sometimes I feel like things need to be hairless. Yes, I know. Too much information.

But I digress.

Anyway, I was getting tired of shaving, for the same reason many women get tired of it, and saw this product and thought I’d give it a try.

They actually have a newer version that’s only $395 and is just one unit. The one I got a while ago, was more expensive and as you can see from the picture above, it’s two units.

On this version, you first use the little unit to determine if your skin color/hair color is acceptable. Your skin color has to be light and your hair color has to be dark for the computer to be able to “see” your hair location. Once the smaller unit accepts your condition, you put it against the larger unit and the smaller unit tells the larger unit to allow the laser to function.

The actual laser is fairly big and heavy. But keep in mind what is really in there. There’s a real laser that zaps hair follicles and a computer that controls the aim of the laser. If you think about it, it’s some high tech sci-fi-ish stuff here.

I don’t want to waste any more of your time reading this article because I tried using it and it was too painful for a wimp like me. The FAQ says that it feels like a rubber band hitting you. That’s true. The only problem is, it “hits” you many times for each tiny area. Then you move the laser and it does it again.  Even though there are different settings, even at the lowest setting, it was too painful for me. After only a couple of minutes, I was done.

It’s pretty clear that women do other things like waxing that are as painful, or perhaps more painful than this laser, so for them, it’s probably nothing. For a wimp like me, there’s no way I can use this because you have to do it multiple times before the hair starts to go away. I couldn’t even do it once.

So this really isn’t a review, since I never got to the point where I can tell if hair was going away. Instead, it’s more like a warning to some people that this is very painful. If you have a low threshold for pain like me, don’t get this laser.

Since discovering the SugarFish in downtown, I’ve been going there repeatedly, so I decided it was time for a change-up.

Takami Sushi & Robata is a trendy Asian fusion type restaurant located on the 21st floor of what appears to be an office building. It’s also on the same floor as a trendy night club called Elevate, which is probably owned by the same company. So when you get off the elevator, make sure you are going in the right direction or you’ll end up dancing and drinking instead of eating and drinking.

Although the 21st floor doesn’t make this the tallest building around, you do get a spectacular view of the downtown area (including the top of the Standard) and there are tons of patio seating, where smoking might be allowed. Luckily, we were there early so nobody was smoking.

While there was no way I was expecting free green tea here, it was $4. This should tell you how much the rest of the meal will cost.  The waitress explained to us that there are actually 3 kitchens at this restaurant (Rabata, sushi/fish and “other” kitchens). Interesting setup. No wonder it’s so expensive here.

By the way, Robata is a Japanese charcoal grill cooking style, which is apparently different from the open flame method for Yakitori. To be honest, I’ve never heard of this type of Japanese cooking before and was ready to try it out.

We started off with our usual Edamame ($4) which was slightly overcooked. I’m being very picky but considering the upscale ambiance, I was expecting perfection.

When asking the waitress about the Sunomono, she said it was enough for 2, and she was right. Compared to what I’m used to, this is a ginormous portion and I’m glad the waitress warned me. Unfortunately, the Sunomono was very mild and almost tasteless. Obviously, this is not anything close to traditional Sunomono by any stretch of the imagination.

Sunomono - $5

Next, I had to try the Robata so I got the Lamb and New York with Asparagus. They don’t ask you how you want your meat cooked, so apparently they cook it the same way for everyone. For me, the New York was over cooked, but keep in mind that I take my steaks medium rare. This was well done at best. However, the spices used were tasty and the Asparagus was fine. The Lamb was a little dry and actually not as good as the lamb I had in Vegas.

So far, I’m not impressed.

Robata Lamb Chops - $12 and New York/Asparagus - $10

Next comes the real test. I ordered the Sushi plate, which comes with a variety of different nigiri sushi and your choice of California roll or spicy tuna roll (which is what I picked). Although everything was fresh, there was nothing here to write home about. The plate does come with some type of grated wasabi on a cut cucumber. It’s interesting but I didn’t really enjoy it. I’m not sure if you’re supposed to eat it with the sushi, or put it into your soy sauce but I ate it straight and it was definitely wasabi.

One thing that I liked was the Tako (Octopus) was sliced extremely thin. This is not the traditional way the Tako nigiri is prepared but I liked it because it wasn’t chewy as it normally would be. There was also some type of ponzu sauce that had an apple taste to it. My friend loved it but I hated it. I like my ponzu sauce traditional and having a sweet apple taste is not to my liking.

Sushi Plate - $32

We also got a Dragon Roll, which was again very ordinary and nothing worth noting.

Dragon Roll - $15

Since this place is on the 21st floor, we had to try the 21st Roll. To be honest, I was getting full so I didn’t partake this roll but the crab on top did look good and my friend said it was good.

21st Roll - $18

Even though I was pretty much full from this big meal, I managed to take a few bites of desert, which in my opinion was the only really good item we ordered from the entire meal. That’s sad because I was hoping to find another gem of a place like Sugarfish.

Chocolate Yuzu - $8

All in all, I was very disappointed with this place. The view and desert were the only things that I enjoyed. Frankly, even the slightly overcooked Robata was better than the sushi. I don’t think I’ll be returning here any time soon. However, this place made me want to try other Robata places.

As usual, my predictions were completely wrong. The online armageddon did not cause the numbers to free fall. In fact, the numbers were slightly up, and as you can see from the picture below, registration lines showed it.

Long lines at registration

Even with the long lines, I have to say that the WSOP people keep tweaking the event each year for the better, and this year was again slightly better than last year, in my opinion. Considering how large this event is, it’s amazing how well it is organized.

Unlike previous years, I was not able to enter the main event, although I got to within 6 more knockouts to winning my way in via Mega satellite. For my last table, I sat to Mini Tran‘s right but I didn’t see her make any crazy moves. In my opinion, she is a fairly straight forward old school player, compared to many of these 20 something online players who like to 3 and 4 bet you with air.

One thing I noticed was the porters were giving out bottled water and Red Bull for just the cost of a tip. I’m not sure how they can afford to give out Red Bull for free, but I’m guessing they are a WSOP sponsor. While they’re at it, Jack Links should have given away their beef jerky to the players as well.

Poker Player's Championship

This year, I entered at least one tournament each day, and if I got knocked out early, entered a second one the same day. To change things up, I tried the Deep Stack tournament at the Venetian on one of the days. I’ve played cash games there before but this is the first time I played a tournament there. From what I could tell, the tournament was run smoothly. The only person I recognized in the field was Dennis Phillips from the 2008 November 9.

There is an Asian restaurant called “Noodle Asia” right next to the poker area where they have very good Chinese food. If you’re there, try the Hong Kong style Won Ton noodles and the Lamp Chop if you’re hungry for some meat.

Seared Petit Lamb Chop at Noodle Asia - $8.95

If you need some other drinks or snacks, you can go out the door, go up the escalator, then down again to get to the Walgreens which I think is open 24 hours. This is very convenient for tournament players during their breaks.

As a sign of the times, take a look at the picture below.  Apparently everything in the casino is connected to some central server. You can’t get away from big brother in Vegas, that’s for sure.

Slot Machine at Venetian

Although I failed to cash this year, I felt at ease and never felt like I was out of place. I tried to have fun even when I was not doing well at the table. All in all, I had a good time and I will be back next year.

After the online poker armageddon in April this year, it appear that there is a downward dent in the number of participants at the World Series of Poker. This was expected because those online poker websites sponsored hundreds, perhaps thousands of participants.

All the numbers aren’t in yet but I’m calling this year a re-boot because it appears that the graph will be down and will have to climb back up in the next years ahead. Unless the US government changes its mind on online poker, the numbers probably will not come back to the highs of the last few years.

Unlike last year, I was not able to win my way into the main event so I decided to try one of the small $1,000 events. I’ll still try to get into the main event via a satellite but I’m not holding my breath.

In my rush to get to Vegas, forgot to bring my great Blue Shark sunglasses. Luckily, they had a booth at the WSOP and happen to be having a WSOP sale selling their normally $150 glasses for $100 cash, including tax. I decided to get one of their brand new versions.

Once again, I find myself at the Century City area so this time we try an Italian place called Toscanova. Unlike the other chain restaurants near by, this place seems to be more of a non-chain variety. There’s seating outside in front and the side, as well as plenty of seating inside and at the bar.

We started off with Carciofi Marinati (marinated artichokes), which my friend didn’t like because it was cold but I really enjoyed. The flavoring was perfect.

My friend ordered a seafood mix plate shown below. Don’t ask me what all in in there because I’m really not sure. There were multiple fish mixed in with other stuff in there. I didn’t try any of it myself but my friend like it.

Mix Seafood - $32

Anytime I go to a Italian Restaurant, I always order Veal. My last try was in Honolulu at Assaggio with not much luck. This time around, I was very satisfied with my Veal Scallopine here. As you can see from the picture, they don’t give you any lemon slices. This worried me a little until I tasted it and it was perfect. I was enjoying my veal so much, I didn’t want to ruin it by tasting my friends fish dish.

Veal Scallopine with lemon capers - $26

Although I’ve been here before and had their desert, we decided to go elsewhere for desert.

All in all, I like the atmosphere here and on my first try of their main dishes, liked what I got. I’ll be coming back here again.

10250 Santa Monica Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90067
(310) 551-0499
toscanova.com

It’s that time again. It’s getting close to the WSOP main event for 2011 in July. Unfortunately for me, unlike last year, I have not won my way into the event. When I saw that Hollywood Park had a satellite tournament to win a main event seat, I decided to give it a try.

The way this works is, you have to win your table, called a shootout, then all the winners from the tables are combined and the ultimate winner is decided. You start with only 2,000 in chips and the levels are only 15 minutes so there’s no time to waste.

However, there was only 3 tables going and they told us that unless 10 tables are filled, a seat would not be awarded and the winner would only get $3,000. These guys need to advertise their tournaments a little more.

As it turned out, it didn’t matter for me because I didn’t make it past my table.

Update 6/25/2011:
Forgot to mention that if you use Foursquare on your phone, check-in to Hollywood Park and you will get a $10 matching bet coupon for Black Jack. I tried it and won $20 from my $10 + coupon, even though I don’t know the correct way to play the California version of Black Jack.

It’s not enough that everybody and his brother has a camera/camcorder built into their mobile smart phones, and uploading their boring videos to Youtube, now comes this set of sunglasses that will automatically stream live video via your smart phone to your “favorite social media” website, according to ZionEyes.

It’s not out yet and although they are taking pre-orders, the business is using a donation system to fund their project so I’m not sure if this will ever come to market.

But if this thing ever makes it, you know people are going to be doing some bad things with it at concerts, strip clubs, and other places you shouldn’t be recording videos. But it could also get the next Rodney King video while you get your next ticket, so there’s that.

Since being first announced in 1997, this sequel has been delayed for many years. In fact, the original release date was May 2011, which was again pushed back to June back in March.

Duke Nukem and “The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time” are 2 of my all time favorite games, for different reasons. Although this new Duke is getting really bad reviews, I’m still going to get it anyway for nostalgic reasons, and because it’s rated M (Mature 17+) and it has babes and a strip club scene. That’s why I got GTA4, and that’s why I’m getting “Forever.”

Checkout this video to see some of the babes in the game.