JustinMar.com: The official website of Justin Mar

It's been a long time since I posted here on my blog. A lot has happened indeed and a lot to celebrate for! I am so excited and happy for the San Francisco Giants! Today they made history! Their first World Championship Baseball win for the franchise for the 50 years they've been in San Francisco! Their victory even brought a tear to my eye! Fear the Beard, Torture, The Freak, Kung Fu Panda, Buster Posey, the Misfits, the names go on. The Giants were listed as the underdogs of this series. They are a team of hard working players who had the perseverance to obtain what they wanted; A WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP! Who said you need a multi-million dollar player roster to win a World Championship? The Texas Rangers did a great job in putting up a good fight, but in all honestly, the Giants really deserved the Title! They are such a humble team. Especially Edgar Renteria, who received the World Series MVP. He struggled a bit during the season, but who would have known that he led the Giant...

OK...call me a Dell whore. Since we have a wedding planned in October, I decided on researching color laser printers so we could print various color printouts for necessary wedding items (invitations, name cards, etc.) Wanted something inexpensive, fast, reliable, and good print quality. I did a few google searches and surprisingly, Dell printers got decent reviews aside from being expensive to replace toner. All printers will cost you an arm and leg for toner. Printer companies should give printers away for free and charge you for toner/ink for the lifespan of owning the printer. I started my quest searching online for the best color laser printer deals. Luckily, I was browsing through craigslist , and spotted "BRAND NEW DELL 3130cn COLOR LASER PRINTER FOR SALE - $200." I know these printers sell for around $325 and up! So it sounded like a great deal. The seller explained in the ad that it was won as raffle prize and they didn't need the printer. I emailed the selle...

Ok. This seems to be an ongoing theme on my blog about the crazy weather we've been experiencing. Yes, it's spring time! April showers bring May flowers. Now April hail showers bring us wet icy roads! We live on a rather steep hill. The icy hail has visited us. Icy thick hail = out of control cars coming down the hill! Cars trying to go up the hill have problems too! I'll let all the pictures do the talking.

First posting for the month of March! Seven more months until our big wedding day. Ok, back to the main subject. The Bay Area has been having off and on rain since the beginning of this year. Sometimes HAIL too! You basically have to constantly check the weather everyday (or hour by hour) and also carry an umbrella since the weather has been so unpredictable. There are days when it'll be sunny outside, then a minute later POURING rain, and then sunshine again. Hail on 2010 March 8 @ 16:30 from Justin Mar on Vimeo . Just to give you an example, I took some video footage of the hail as it pattered down on our patio. I caught a few seconds of the downpour of hail, and then in a quick moment it stopped in an instantly! Today, the weather is sunny outside! It's crazy!

**DISCLAIMER** if you are offended by sight of rodents or the killing of these cute little creatures; then do not continue on reading. Yes, a rodent was harmed in this process! These are pests that created damage to my house and jeopardized our attempts at sanitation. The rodent was killed instantly in the best humane manner (by electrical shock). Again, if you are offended or a PETA activist, do not read this. I apologize in advance and I am giving advance warning. We have been blessed with the company of mice at our residence. They are a pain and there are reason's why we call them "pests." It all started when Sherry noticed that there were tiny holes in our bag of raw rice that we kept in the bottom cabinet next to our sink. As I looked deeper with a flashlight inside the cabinet, I noticed little droppings all over the place. Our sink drainage pipe runs into the wall and through the same cabinet. It appears that the mouse was able to squeeze through a small opening in...

Alas! I now present to you my Hackintoshed Dell Mini 10v running on Apple's Snow Leopard Mac OS! Yes, I will remove the Windows 7 sticker that you see at the lower right hand corner. So long to the Windows 7 operating system that use to exisit on this computer. This was a rather easy task to accomplish. Not really complicated. Simple enough for someone who has some computer knowledge and can follow directions. It took about two hours to install. I wanted to give special thanks to mechdrew's guide on how to accomplish the installation process. As a disclaimer, I want to inform you that you will most likely void your Dell warranty and somewhat piss off Apple at the same time if you decided to take on this project. It's not illegal, but it is alterating the overall use of the peripheral. It took me awhile to adjust to Apple's user interface since I've been a PC Windows user for many years. The principals are virtually the same, but just in a different layout. It...

I was listening to KCBS radio the other day and they reported that Democrats use the iPhone and Republicans have a Blackberry. Coincidence? Here's a link to their report: KCBS - Smart Phone Use May Correlate to Political Party Yes, this is good statistical information when using this type of data to promote directly to your campaign audience. Although, I don't find this correlation to be very accurate. President Obama is a Democrat and he is known to be a huge Blackberry fan. Does this mean he is a closet Republican since he loves his Blackberry? What are they going to say next? Democrats are more likely to drive a Toyota Prius and Republicans are more likely to drive a Ford F-150 pickup with a gun rack? What you own or use is not a strong determining factor of your political party ties. There are some close or similar trends or coincidences, but not a strong argument to determine a correlation. I guess you can call me bi-partisan since I have both the iPhone and ...

Today was a dark, rainy, and stormy day. For those of you in California, you've probably had enough of all the thunder storms we've been having the past few days. Flooding, power outages, sandbags, auto accidents, broken umbrellas, and all the other annoyances that come along with wet weather. With that being said, I've been trying to stay cozy inside and avoiding going outdoors unless necessary. Until TODAY! I risked my life driving in the pouring rain, down to my local Apple retail store. The Blackberry gods are shaking their heads with disgust that I purchased an Apple iPhone 3GS today. Being a loyal Crackberry user for several years now; I really had trouble making the decision to switch to one of the most popular smart phones on the market. This purchase was more of an impulsive purchase, rather than really needing a phone because I cracked the screen from dropping it on hard cement. Which reminds me, I made a blog post several years ago when I purchased a Blackberry...

After a long well thought out decision, we decided to cancel our Comcast Cable subscription. For the past five years we just had basic cable with the addition of High Definition channels. Over the years we never flinched when Comcast kept on increasing their rates. We just paid the bill over the years. Our last bill was $80 a month. So if you do the yearly math, it equals out to nearly $960 a year! I must admit that Comcast's pricing is rather high in comparison to the many offers from satellite providers or even AT&T's U-Verse. Just like the mobile phone industry, you have many choices of limited time promotional rate packages with the addition of premium channels. Some of these are locked into contract terms. Also, once the promo is over, then that's when the subscription rates go through the roof! Cancelling the service was a fiasco in itself. I tried calling yesterday only to be on hold for nearly 45 minutes! I even tried going through the new account route to s...

*DISCLAIMER* If you have a very weak stomach or easily offended by disgusting "bodily waste material", then I advise you not to continue reading or viewing the images below. Beware of PUNS. As we are now a few days into 2010, I cannot refrain myself from talking about what showed up on the pathway entrance of our residence. It's big, it's huge, it's enormous, it's massive, it's organic, and it's all natural! Not something to eat! For those of you who know me very well, I have a very sick sense of toilet humor or anything that has a relationship to fecal matter, farts, vomit, boogers, etc. Anything and everything gross will get a chuckle out of me! I'll admit it. I'm a guy. I laugh at this stuff. Oddly, my parents don't find much humor in these disgusting bodily functions, but I have a wonderful uncle that guided me to the path of bodily function humor. You either laugh or frown in disgust . I now present to you, "HOLY CRAP!" A one...

You were a terrible year for me. My only good highlight was my engagement to Sherry . Other than that, I don't want to remember the crummy economy that really hurt my sales numbers and my ability to put bread on the table. I must say it was the worst year I've ever had in my career in sales. Another sad note was the realization that I graduated 10 years ago from college in 2009. I can say that I am another year old and another year wiser! 2009 will also be the last year of me being a single man. I don't see that as something sad, but something I am very excited and happy about. 2010 will be awesome! It will probably be on of the most memorable years of my life! Just wait and see!

After driving all over San Francisco and eating at every household we visited; we survived! So much for trying to diet! Here was the agenda: Baked a ham in the morning. Visit my aunt's house (Mom's side) in the Richmond district of SF. Visited Sherry's family side in the Excelsior district. Visited my uncle's house (Dad's side) in Bernal Heights. Each home visited consisted of eating, eating, and more eating! It was a great time of catching up with family and enjoying great food. I've noticed that all I've been talking about is food and eating. All I can say is that I'm exhausted. Exhausted to the point where I've decided to stay at my parents for one more night. It's probably safer to drive home the day after Christmas rather than share the road with all the idiot drunk drivers on the road on Christmas evening. Speaking of the day after Christmas. Will you see in the crowds? NO! It's probably a good idea for me to hit the gym for a workout t...

Photo by TT with JM's Camera/Piazza Market - North Beach - San Francisco, CA Yes, this posting is a tad bit early, but as I look at the clock; I'm only a few hours away from Christmas Eve! This December has been hectic as usual. Here is just a quick highlight: Mickey's 10 th Birthday Trip to New York City My 33rd Birthday December birthday celebration with friends As everyone is hustling and bustling through the shopping malls until the late hours for last minute gifts; I'm relaxing from my living room! I did in fact do the majority of my shopping online. Which is way much easier than dealing with traffic, crowded parking lots, and crazy shoppers. I did notice that the shopping malls are not as hectic or chaotic as they have been in the past. Not sure if it's the bad economy to blame, or everyone is just shopping online. Probably the busiest companies during this time is UPS, FedEx, and the US Postal Service. This year we've decided to keep a low profile a...

The Dell Mini 10v Netbook is the new addition to my collection of Dell Computers . Despite the fact that I already have portable laptop given to me from work and my own personal laptop; I wanted something even smaller, lighter, and practical. Since netbooks are so affordable and inexpensive; you wouldn't see me really cry over the fact if it got stolen or broken. Yes, I would be upset, but it's not that harsh on the wallet if anything were to happen. Portability was my main objective. I wanted something compact that gave me to ability to toss into my "man purse" messenger bag (my small Timbuk2 bag) and small enough to also fit into my camera backpack as well with ease. Since we have been doing a lot of travelling lately, this small compact netbook is so much easier to carry around. One of the big selling points for me was the fact that I could " Hackintosh " this netbook. Hackintoshing is basically taking a PC computer and running Apple Computer's Ope...

Mickey's 10th Birthday Celebration from Justin Mar on Vimeo . Mickey is 10 years old today! It has been tradition in the past where we would get Mickey a Hamburger Happy Meal from McDonald's . I also have a previous post from several years ago of the same celebration. This time Mickey took his time eating. I only give him half of the burger in tiny minced up pieces because sometimes he tends to throw up human food. I assuming that as Mickey gets older, he wants to savor eat bite! Unfortunately Sherry is away on a business trip and didn't get a chance to celebrate with us (hence the reason for the video). I also just wanted to make use of my Canon Rebel T1i that has the HD video option. Just keep on forgetting that I have the HD video option at my disposal. I know, in the video I mentioned that I dressed up for this celebration, but in reality, I was dressed up after playing in a trombone quartet on the sidewalk in front of Mrs. Dalloway's Books . So there you have it...

The above photo says it all! Photography has been a little hobby that I've been tinkering with the past few months. It's definitely very fun and a bit expensive when you start building your lens collection. I been having tons of fun using my Rebel T1i. Take shots of friend's weddings, my random outings, etc. The Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8 L USM Lens is regarded as one of the best general purpose lenses available and for the same reasons, it is one of the most-professionally-used Canon lenses. The "L" Series is by far Canon's top cream of the crop. If you see the signature red ring around the lens, you know it's Canon's best. I'm no pro, but who says you can't have quality toys? This lens definitely puts a nice dent in my wallet. One positive factor about quality lenses is the fact that they hold their resale value very well. You'll still spend over $1000 for this exact lens used. A crummy test shot of a famous coffee company lo...

Despite all the time extra free time I have lately, I still have not been disciplined enough to sit down in front of computer to blog about a specific topic. I’m not sure if I lack the motivation to type something, or just can’t come up with ideas to write about. Since I have some time to spare, why not write about something that’s going on with me currently at the moment. Gout . It’s painful, it’s annoying, and it flat out sucks! For those who do not know what gout is, and without too much scientific or medical jargon; it’s basically a condition similar to arthritis that attacks your joints due to high levels of uric acid in your bloodsteam. Gout is caused when you consume food with too much purines. It’s also knows as “rich man’s disease.” The purines are broken down in you body and then turns in to uric acid. The uric acid levels settle in your joint and then being to crystallize. As they crystallize, it caused pain and swelling in the joints. In my case, it attacks m...

Yes, I know. It's been a few months since my last blog post. I can say that a lot has happened over the span of a few months. Here is what took place in short. Went on a trip to Los Angeles the first week of June to visit co-workers and to add an extra ten pounds to my body just from eating. I was diagnosed with Gout. There was a previous post about my foot pain, wearing a walking cast boot, etc. Turns out that being flatfooted was not the problem. Gout was the reason for foot pain and swelling. Blood tests confirmed that my uric acid levels were really high. I'm on medication and basically cut out beef from my diet. Mary and Nelson got hitched on 8/8/2009. Mary is Sherry's cousin. Pat and Stephanie got hitched on 10/3/2009 and I officiated their wedding. It was the first time I ever officiated a wedding. It was a lot of fun! Since my engagement to Sherry, we have already locked in a wedding venue and date. It will be on October 10, 2010. (Operation 10/10/10 as I wo...

For those of you who purchase merchandise through Amazon.com , you should really consider getting an Amazon Prime shipping membership! It's worth every single penny! For only $79 a year, you get the following: Unlimited Free 2 day shipping with no purchase minimum,(I sometimes get it in one day) $3.99 fee if you want 1 day shipping for each item. Add up to four family members to one subscription. No minimum order size. One of the great benefits of having a Prime account is the fact that you are sales tax free! Yes, California is in a deficit, but cheating sales tax is just a small amount of revenue that my county is not missing out on. I live in Alameda County and our current tax rate is 9.75% as of July 1, 2009. Pricing on Amazon is rather competitive to local walk-in store retailers, so if I don't need the item immediately, it's better for me to buy through Amazon.com, and get it in a few days. Plus I save myself almost 10% in not having to pay sales tax, and Prime sh...

Yes, envy me! So many great things happened this week! I'm engaged, had a great sales month, and now I end the month with a new toy! A great way to end the month of June 2009! The new toy is a Canon EOS Rebel T1i DSLR camera. It's a replacement camera and a step up for me to explore the greater flexibility into digital SLR camera technology. I somewhat got fed up with the limitations of a point and shoot camera, and it's just another excuse for me to keep up with the Jones'. This is a great camera; especially considering it's price tag in comparison to other cameras in it's class. It's priced just below $850, which is a bargain considering what this camera can pump out. One of the selling features for me was the capability to capture HD video. Here are a few general specs: New 15.1 Megapixel CMOS sensor with DIGIC 4 Image Processor for faster processing of fine detail and natural color reproduction, 14-bit A/D conversion fo...