California’s new hands-free driving law kicks into action next Tuesday, July 1st. If you want to use your mobile phone while driving after that date, you’ll need to use a hands-free kit.

You can check out the details here!

I’ve always resisted using hands-free kits. I hate wires. My phone came with a wired headset and I never use it! It gets tangled and snagged on things and is generally a pain.

You’d think that Bluetooth would be my salvation, but not really! Getting a Bluetooth device meant that I’d have to worry about keeping another device charged all the time, and having another charger means – you guessed it – another wire! SO frustrating.

I was ready to give up on talking while driving altogether (crazy, I know) but then I found the Parrot Driver Headset, the solution to my woes!

It’s a Bluetooth headset with its own charging cradle. You just plug it into your car’s power port and you’ve got an always-charged Bluetooth headset right at your fingertips. It’s really the only truly wireless wireless headset.

Can you believe that no other manufacturer has thought to make a Bluetooth headset with a charging cradle? Believe me, I checked. Not Plantronics, not Motorola, not even Jabra. It took a small-timer like Parrot (have you even heard of them before now?) to come up with this genius idea.

It retails for $80 but you can snag it on Amazon for under $20. It won’t win any style awards, and I’m told that my sound quality is “iffy” when using the headset, but I rarely use my phone while driving so I’d say it’s just fine.

Tammy’s car has an integrated Bluetooth speakerphone and that’s really the ideal solution. My 2002 car was born before the Bluetooth boom, so here I am trying to make the best of things.

I’ve decided that every car sold in America after 2010 should have Bluetooth and GPS as standard features. They’re as indispensable as seat belts! Who do I contact to make this happen?

Friends, the end is near.

Disneyland’s venerable Motorola Type II Smartnet radio system is quickly being phased out in favor of iDEN-based Nextel handhelds. (The Smartnet replaced conventional simplex handheld two-ways running ~464Mhz nearly a decade ago.)

I’m not really sure why they’re phasing out the old system. I do know that consumer-level iDEN scanners don’t exist, so the days of listening to what goes on behind the scenes are just about over.

Second only to the OC public safety system in size and reach, Disneyland ran the largest trunked radio system in Orange County – and also one of the most entertaining to listen to. By my count it hosted no less than 67 individual talkgroups across ten frequencies in its heyday.

Those talkgroups were the resort’s communications backbone and supported activities throughout both theme parks, Downtown Disney, the three resort hotels, and all surrounding property (parking, TDA, etc). As you can imagine, there was no shortage of interesting things to listen to!

Today only a handful of talkgroups remain active on the Smartnet system, among them security, the railroad, monorail, facilities management, maintenance, and TPO. I don’t expect those to remain active much longer.

Oh well. It was fun while it lasted.

Champagne & Hors d’Oeuvres

Seared Diver Scallop
Japanese Cucumber & Enoki Salad
with Orange Soy Reductions

Grilled Loin of Lamb with
Acorn Squash & Sage Risotto
Sweet Corn Sauce

Heirloom Tomato Salad with
Feta Cheese & Aged Balsamic Summer Melon

~Intermission~

~Sorbet~

Roast Duck Breast with
Sundried Cherries & Port Sauce

Double Chocolate Mousse in
Pogen Cookie Cup & Fresh Berries

That was my 30th birthday dinner menu. It was phenomenal. We ate at The Hobbit in Orange, which I’m glad to report is nerdy in name only.

Dinner at The Hobbit is more like a four-hour play in three acts, between which you get up to mingle, select your dinner wines from their cellar, and snoop around the kitchen. I’d never been there before and I have to say it lived up to the legend.

Dinner was part of a larger orchestrated birthday weekend organized by Tammy. My birthday was on Friday, the 6th. We spent Thursday and Friday at Disneyland and DCA. Thursday night we stayed on the concierge level of The Grand Californian where we were treated like VIPs. Friday night we went to The Hobbit. Saturday we rested, and Sunday we had a small gathering of 20ish family and friends at our house to partake in a menu comprised solely of my favorite foods – pizza, hot dogs, alcohol, and ice cream cake.

Being 30 doesn’t feel all that different than 29. It’s easier for me to think of it as “two thirds of my life left to go”. I look back on the first third and I’m proud of my accomplishments! I grew up without developing any mental defects (that I’m aware of) or socially crippling emotional baggage, finished school and got my degree, got a good job with a great company, bought a house, married my better half, and made a freaking baby. These are all good milestones for any 30 year old to have under their belt, I think.

I’m at a good place in my life!

Guess who just turned four months old?

It’s Kate!

Her four-month photos are up!