Aztec

I am now fully engaged in Gary Jennings' captivating epic Aztec. This book has it all: blood (lots and lots and lots of it, both in war and in human sacrifices), sex, and more plot twists than you can shake a stick at.

The main character, Mixtli, is incredibly human, even more human than some people I know. I cringe when I call him a character, because after reading this book, he feels more like a friend. He makes mistakes, not stupid mistakes, but mistakes we would make if we were in his position. The people that he shares his life with are also noteworthy. Even Hernan Cortes isn't demonized here. The Spanish are noted as real people. As people with flaws, which are criticized with heavy doses of irony and sarcasm.

What makes this book incredible is that Jennings' seemingly first-hand knowledge of the culture, history, and the traditions of the Aztec people. It's like I was actually reading a non-fiction first person account of Mixtli's life.

This is a long book - 768 pages. But this is easily the most engrossing historical novel that I have ever read.

L.A. Tofu Festival

Checked out the annual L.A. Tofu Festival at Little Tokyo today. It was a nice festival. All sorts of food booths serving tofu-inspired fare. We sampled a lot: pad thai with tofu toppings, tofu soba noodles, tofu grilled skewers, tofu meatball sandwich, fried tofu with soy sauce, and tofu cutlet with curry and rice. Our favorites: the tofu meatball sandwich, which was really good and really close to the real thing. We also liked the tofu cutlet. It tasted just like a chicken katsu cutlet with sauce and curry. Delicious.

For entertainment we listened to a couple of taiko drum bands. And oh yeah, we also got to take a picture with Iron Chef Japanese himself, Masaharu Morimoto. He conducted a cooking session there but unfortunately we weren't able to get in. But that's ok, we were able to eat at his restaurant in Philadelphia a few years ago. It was the best sushi we had ever eaten.

Yodlee MoneyCenter

I've just recently started to use Yodlee MoneyCenter. It is an account aggregation service that keeps track of all of your logins and passwords for different accounts, such as bank accounts, brokerage, 401(k)s, loans, and credit cards. It even keeps up with all your frequent flyer miles and various other points. It can tally up all your assets, subtract all your liablities, and show you your net worth on a daily basis. Try it out, it’s well organized, free, and I use it every day.

For the rightfully paranoid, Yodlee is probably a target for hackers trying to get at all those passwords. But since I log in just about every day to keep track of our many accounts, any sort of unauthorized withdrawal will be noticed immediately. And I figure it’s just as likely that someone will hack into my bank’s website as Yodlee’s, so at least this way I can nip it in the bud. The convenience is just too compelling.

Kayaking Bayshore

We went kayaking this morning down at the Bayshore area of Long Beach. It's a pretty fun thing to do on an early Saturday morning. Kevin and his friend Alicia joined me, Lediya, and Risa. We rented two double kayaks and a single one. $15 per hour for a double and $8 for a single. Not bad at all.

We ventured to the canals of Naples, where multi-million dollar homes are situated right on the water. Kayaking is an awesome upper body exercise also, it works the biceps, lats, and the trapezius muscles. It burns approximately 352 calories per hour for the average 155 pounder.