Lego ae86

Just wanted to post a quick picture of a lego Hachiroku (1984-1987 Corolla) he made for my birthday.

Sorry - no Initial D tofu sticker.

Hello World - Visual Studios

Quick post - Just did a quick Hello World! for VS.

1.  Signed up online for Microsoft Visual Studios and downloaded the Visual Studios Express 2013 edition.
2.  Installed the software - It had .Net dependencies so be prepared for possible extra stuff to install on your machine.
3.  Created a new project and took all of the defaults.
4.  Clicked Toolbox and dragged the button icon onto the Main Window.
5.  Double clicked the button you just dragged into the Main Window and the Button_Click code comes up.
6.  Typed the following text above the "End Sub" line:
                                          MessageBox.Show("Hello World!")
7.  Clicked Debug - Start Without Debugging.
8.  The Main Window will appear - Clicked the button and a popup comes up telling me....

Hello World!

Changing Nissan Versa's Blinker

Recently our Nissan Versa's blinker went out.  You can tell that it goes out because when you select the blinker (ie: left turn signal) it will blink really fast.  You can double check which is the bad light by arming or disarming the car to see which light does not go on (or selecting the blinker and looking at it from the outside).

As with any project, make sure you have a manual to make sure you are doing it properly and do your research.  Keep in mind that we aren't professionals.  

First things first...  Open the hood.  Pull the hood lever (second lever under the dash on the driver's side). 

The hood prop is on the top of the hood when you lift it up.

There is a plastic piece blocking the blinker light.  

It will be held down by a bunch of plastic clips.  Carefully pry it off with a slim screwdriver.  I think there were like 10 or so of them.

This is what the clip looks like when it is removed.

After removing the plastic piece look for the plug.  To remove it turn it counter-clockwise.

This is the bad bulb.  To remove the bulb, push it in and turn it.  It is spring loaded so it will come out easily when you push/turn it correctly.

This is the replacement light.  Replace it in the reverse order that you removed everything.

This was a pretty easy fix and its a good thing we didn't need to top off any of the blinker fluid as I hadn't picked any up prior to removing parts.

HELLO WORLD!! - Java

I decided to do a Hello World blog whenever I want to learn or work on a programming language. These are notes for myself in case I lose interest and want to come back to a language. Today, I do Java!.

1.  Download the latest Java JDK (http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/java/javase/downloads/index.html?ssSourceSiteId=otnjp).  At the time of this writing, it is Java 8.
2.  Install.

I did this in Windows 7 so going forward, this will be Win7 notes.

3.  Change the PATH - Open the Advanced System Settings - Environment Variables - PATH
4.  Add the path of the Java.exe and/or Javac.exe to the Variable Name field.  Don't forget the semicolon.  (ie:  C:\Program Files\Java\jdk.1.8.0_05\bin;)  You might need to add (x86) to the end of "Program Files" if javac gives you a "not recognized as an internal or external command" error (ie:  C:\Program Files(x86)\Java\jdk.1.8.0_05\bin;)
5.  Open Notepad and type:

public class helloworld
{
  public static void main(String[] arg)
  {
    System.out.println("Hello World!");
  }
}

6.  Save as helloworld.java
7.  Type javac helloworld.java in the command prompt to compile.
8.  If no errors you can check to see that helloworld.class is created.
9.  Type java helloworld in the command prompt and you should get....

Hello World!

Shelling The Hawaiian "Escargot" - OPIHI

Hawai'i has a lot of special foods that make the 808 state unique.  Laulau...  Poke...  Poi...  And one of the best...  OPIHI...

There are many ways to shell an opihi.  Some people use a butter knife, some people use a spoon...  Most islanders like to do it the "natural way."  Check out these instructions.

Step 1.  Grab an empty shell.

Step 2.  Using the empty shell, scrape the opihi out of the shell.  Try to keep the edge of the empty shell as close to the bottom of the occupied shell as possible.  There is a "sack" at the bottom of the opihi similar to escargot that might break if you aren't careful.  

Step 3.  Continue scooping until the whole opihi is out.

Step 4.  Repeat until all shells are empty.

Step 5.  Enjoy your opihi!

Some people will put the opihi "meat" back into the shell with some soy sauce, citrus, sugar, or other ingredients, put them on the grill and eat them after cooking for a little while.  Cooked or raw, it is a very tasty treat.

Note:  Opihi is usually found at the edge of the ocean where the waves crash into the rocks.  Every year people get hurt or even die trying to collect them.  If you ever see these on the rocks at the ocean, always remember ocean safety.

Honolulu Maker Faire

Want to be a part of the Maker movement in Hawaii?  This weekend is going to be Hawaii's first Maker Faire!  If you have ever seen or read the magazine - MAKE, you should kind of know what the Faire will be about.  It is a DIY meeting on steroids.

The Faire will be held at Iolani High School from 12:00 Noon to 5:00 PM HST.

If you need more information, visit http://makerfairehonolulu.com/ and get your tickets today!

Falling behind on the fun

So I like models.  The difficult thing is actually opening the box and building these things.

Picked up this ae86 coupe because I was missing my old car.  Not planning to build this for a while.  

Got this one from a friend.  Its an R1.  Probably won't build this one for a while either.

This one I won from a friend.  We were competing who will end up higher placed in our Fantasy Football league.  We call our little competition the Mecha Bowl.  Whoever wins will get a Mecha model from the other one.  The main rule is that whoever wins has to actually build his model so this one will be built.  Maybe I'll post my progress here.