Free Lasagna at Buca di Beppo on July 29,2009

Do you love Lasagna as much as I do? The only thing better than lasagna, is free lasagna! In celebration of National Lasagna Day (seriously, it is!) our friends at Buca di Beppo are offering a free lunch sized portion of their famous lasagna when you purchase a Buca Small or Buca Large Pasta or Entrée on Wednesday, July 29th only.

This is a dine in only offer, but you may box up any left over to take home with you (which usually happens anyway, their portions are huge!) Who said there is no such thing as free lunch. Bon appetit!

What is geocaching and why should I be doing it?

Geocaching is a fun family activity that combines high tech toys (for Dad’s enjoyment), exercise, and the thrill of a treasure hunt (fun for everyone that participates in the search). I was traveling to Minnesota for a family vacation, and had not even heard of the term “geocache” which is pronounced “geo-cash” before discovering how obsessed my cousin and his kids are with this global phenomenon. Upon getting a brief tutorial on the hand-held GPS device and its basic functions, and printing out the closest “caches” from our location, we were off and running.

Now there are a few things to know before you begin your search. The first being the whole concept that while things are hidden in plain sight and you have the coordinates to the hidden location (see photo to the right), there still is quite a bit that goes into hiding the cache container itself. They are camouflaged so the average person does not see the container and take it. The common non-geocacher is known as a muggle, and great care must be taken to insure that a muggle (or muggles) is/are not aware that you are geocaching when they are around. You should be discrete once finding your cache, and quickly sign the log and exchange any items that you want to trade for. Promptly return the cache to its original hiding place, and cover your tracks. Also important is the rule of cache-in, trash-out; while trailblazing on your way to the cache, it is your duty to remove any litter along the way. We are a global community of do-gooders, and it is only right to keep our parks, trails, and community clean in the process.

You can learn a whole lot more from visiting the geocaching.com website, as I am only giving you the basics in my little story about my experience in this amazing well kept secret. I was astonished to find out that there are over 2,000 geocaches within our 92126 zip code alone. Once you find your first one, you are hooked. Here is a photo of our first find from Minnesota. The ammo box was hidden in a hollow log. The next step from finding a geocache is to hiding a geocache. This is a commitment that shouldn’t be taken lightly. You must maintain your cache, but it can be rewarding to the cache owner every time someone finds your hidden treasure.

It is free to join the geocaching community, and you can use this link to get started. There are premium memberships available, which will send you updates on newly posted caches in your area, special members-only caches (which to me defeats the purpose entirely, since not everyone knows about geocaching in the first place) and the updating of your coordinates directly to your GPS unit from the website. There are many more features to upgrading your membership, and once I upgrade mine, I will follow up with another article.

Purchasing a GPS unit is another thing you may want to do your research on before getting started. I used my Cousin’s Garmin eTrex handheld device, and within the week, I purchased the newer model which is the  Garmin Legend H Handheld GPS Navigator. I got mine at Best Buy for around $100 while in Minnesota, but prior to purchasing it we asked the salesman there for information on the various models. You can also find them online through amazon or on e-bay. Doing your research can save you a few bucks whether you buy one new or used.

One thing I found useful was combining my cousin’s car GPS to locate the quickest route to the general area of my search, then once we parked and got out to walk to the coordinates, I used my hand held unit. It is shaped somewhat like a cell phone, which is great to throw off the muggles!

My 6 year old son loves the whole concept of treasure hunting, and we are gathering some S.W.A.G. (stuff we all get) to trade from the larger caches. Did I mention that there are different types of caches? There are micros which are tiny and you only log your find on them, while larger containers have space for a log book, pencil/pen, swag, geocoins which are meant to travel/trade to other cache locations, or travel bugs which have a whole different purpose of traveling across the globe via geocachers traveling to different states/countries. The swag takes many forms from rubber balls, army men, Pokemon cards, or anything that can be traded or collected. The rule for trading is you should always trade for items of equal or greater value. This keeps the ball rolling so to speak.

The Wikipedia definition is: Geocaching is an outdoor activity in which the participants use a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver or other navigational techniques to hide and seek containers (called “geocaches” or “caches”) anywhere in the world. A typical cache is a small waterproof container (usually a Tupperware or ammo box) containing a logbook. Larger containers can also contain items for trading, usually toys or trinkets of little value. Geocaching is most often described as a “game of high-tech hide and seek”, sharing many aspects with orienteering, treasure-hunting, and waymarking.

Geocaches are currently placed in over 100 countries around the world and on all seven continents, including Antarctica. There are over 850,000 active geocaches in the world right now.

Taken from the Geocaching.com website, here are the three rules that the geocaching community follows:
1. If you take something from the cache, leave something of equal or greater value.
2. Write about your find in the cache logbook.
3. Log your experience at www.geocaching.com.

That’s pretty much it. If you are a local geocacher, I would love to hear from you. If you are excited about trying this out for yourself, please share your results with us. I had a great time searching for caches in Minnesota, and on the second leg of my family trip we even did a virtual cache at the Smithsonian in Washington D.C. I am looking forward to my first one in Mira Mesa after lunch today. I hope you enjoy this article, and enjoy the quality time with your family as I sure do with mine.

The Latest Flash for July 27-August 2, 2009

Can you believe that it is already the end of July? There are a few things happening in Mira Mesa this week, and a few advance notices for things happening in August that we want to pass on to you. Tuesday is the Farmers Market, from 3-7p.m. and it takes place in front of the Mira Mesa High School. If you haven’t been to the Mira Mesa Farmers Market, you should stop by and see how popular this weekly event has become.

The Grand Opening of Dance & Company, Performing Arts Studio begins Monday July 27th. They will be open from 10a.m. until 8p.m. for this week only to answer any questions, or for pre-registration and viewing the studio spaces. Please visit their website at www.danceandcompany.com to view class schedules, and for all other informationregarding Grand Opening Week. They will be offering free classes the entire week of July 27-August 1, so feel free to come and try any and every class you’d like! Mention this add, and also receive $10 off your membership fee. They are located at 6635 Flanders Drive, Suite D, San Diego, CA 92121. Phone (858) 750-3021.

Thursday, July 30 is a No Cook Night at Pat and Oscars in Mira Mesa! Our summer long promotion of family dining for a cause brings us to Pat and Oscars, located next to the Edwards Cinema Theaters at 10673 Westview Parkway. Print out the flyer and bring it with you and the Mira Mesa Boys Water Polo Team will get 20% of your order to help fund the team. Present the flyer when you place your order, and you may either dine in or take your meal to go. Special thank you to Pat and Oscars for their support.

Join Councilmember Carl DeMaio for another one of his Community Coffee meetings at the Mira Mesa Library this Thursday, July 30th from 6-7p.m. Carl will be there to share your views and issues for Mira Mesa, and it is a great way to get to know our District 5 Councilmember face to face. Admission is free, and everyone is welcome to attend.

Coming in August:

The grand opening of the of the Camino Ruiz Trail is going to be August 8th at 10am. The entrance to the Camino Ruiz Trail is conveniently located at the Camino Ruiz Park. If you are a nature lover, you will enjoy this trail. If you are new to geocaching like I am, this could be a great place to hide your geocache! To find out more about geocaching, look for my article in the Family Section of Mira Mesa.com.

The next Mira Mesa Town Council general membership meeting will be held on August 3, 2009 at the Mira Mesa library at 7 p.m. Congressman Brian Bilbray will attend and tell us what is happening in Washington D. C.

The 2009 Mira Mesa Street Fair will be Saturday, September 26, 2009. The deadlines are approaching soon, so if you would like to participate as a booth vendor during the Street Fair, or as a sponsor for the event, please visit the Mira Mesa Town Council website for more information, vendor application, or sponsor application. We will see you at the Street Fair in September!

Kohl’s will be opening in September! Their grand opening will take place around the same week as the Street Fair, so stay tuned for more details as the date approaches. Kohl’s took over the old Mervyn’s building in the Mira Mesa Mall.

Computer Crash? TEKSOLJIERS To The Rescue!

What do you do when your laptop computer crashes and you have no idea of how to get it running again? You could do what I did, and begin by turning it off, waiting a few minutes, and trying to start it up again. Didn’t work for you either, did it? After contemplating the sledge hammer method (only use as a last resort. Results not positive) I tried to call the manufacturer of the laptop (rhymes with smell) and after a few hours of diagnostics, they determined they needed more money from me to fix the issue.

It wasn’t until I hung up with their less than helpful help center that I remembered the TEKSOLJIERS logo that has been floating at the top of MiraMesa.com since we decided to have sponsors affiliated with our website. You would figure that since I run a computer based business, that I would be able to fix my own computer. You would be wrong. When things go wrong, I call in the pros. I needed my laptop not only to run, but I also needed the information that was stored on my machine to be preserved. You are probably saying to yourself, “Good thing he backed everything up in case the computer crashes!” and once again, you would be wrong. I know now!

Fortunately, I sent an email to Will from TEKSOLJIERS, and he quickly replied. We determined the cause of my issues and he came to our office to pick up the machine. He assured me that he could fix it, save my data, and get it up and running soon. I always try to use local merchants when I can, and I even found Will’s rates to be better than our other VW-driving tech wizards. I am all about saving money when I can so I can spend it frivolously elsewhere. My minor problem turned out to be  major, and the hard drive had to be returned to its manufacturer. I was leaving for a family vacation, and would not be able to deal with shipping issues while out of state, but Will took care of that for me. When I got home from my trip, my laptop was back to normal, and he even cleaned it up and took care of all of the virus issues that caused the crash in the first place.

He even instructed me in proper data backup, to protect my information in the future. I can tell you that I had piece of mind while out of town, knowing that I didn’t lose all of my music, photo, and data files. I had so many issues (due to operator error, no doubt) with my photo and video files, and Will took care of those issues too. If you are looking for someone to fix your computer problems, consult with you about spyware applications, or do major crisis problem solving, call Will at TEKSOLJIERS. They made a believer out of me.

Print out a TEKSOLJIERS coupon!

www.teksoljiers.com
email:teksoljiers@san.rr.com
Phone: (858) 527-2754
On call 24/7. Mobile service will pick up at your home or office. Some repairs done with same day delivery.

The Grand Opening of Dance & Company, Performing Arts Studio

The Grand Opening of Dance & Company, Performing Arts Studio begins Monday July 27th. We will be open from 10am until 8pm, for this week only to answer any questions, or for pre-registration, and viewing the studio spaces. Please visit our website at www.danceandcompany.com to view our class schedules, and for all other information regarding Grand Opening Week.

We will be offering free classes the entire week of July 27-August 1, so feel free to come and try any and every class you’d like! Mention this add, and also receive $10 off your membership fee. For any other questions, feel free to email us at inquiries@danceandcompany.net. We look forward to seeing you there!

The Latest Flash for July 20-26, 2009

Sorry about missing the flash last week, but I took my family on a vacation to Minnesota for the week. You could say we were gone fishing. Although I have not yet returned to Mira Mesa, I have been able to access a computer and will bring you up to date for this week.

Tuesday, July 21 will be a busy day starting with the Farmers Market located in front of the Mira Mesa High School from 3-7 p.m. After picking up some fresh organic produce, you can head over to Callahan’s for the Mira Mesa Chamber of Commerce meeting at 6:00 p.m. The meetings usually lasts until 7:30, so it is a great time to meet fellow business members and discuss how we all can benefit from joining forces and promote our businesses locally.

Councilmember Carl DeMaio will host his State of the District and Vision Speech on Reforming City Government Tuesday, July 21 from 7-8 p.m. It will be open to the public, and will be held at the Thurgood Marshall Middle School in Scripps Ranch. It is located at 9700 Avenue of Nations, San Diego, CA. 92131.

Moving forward a few days to Thursday, July 23 Carl DeMaio will host a Water Conservation “How To” workshop at Hourglass Park Field House from 6:30 – 8:00 p.m. This event is also open to the public, and everyone is encouraged to attend. The Field House is located at 10440 Black Mountain Road, San Diego, CA. 92126.

Last but most importantly, the First Annual Mira Mesa Health and Wellness Fair will be taking place on Friday, July 24 from 11:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. This free event will be held at the Country Inn and Suites and will feature free samples, demonstrations, and plenty of information on healthy, green living. This event is brought to you by Lifestyles INFOCUS and your Mira Mesa Chamber of Commerce, in addition to several local merchants for the benefit of all living in our community.

As an added incentive to our Mira Mesa Businesses, the company that brings in the most employees will win a Team Building Exercise valued at $1800.00 courtesy of Café Merlot. Bring in a copy of the flyer with your business card and you will automatically be entered into the drawing. We want this event to be a success, so please help us to spread the word and attend the Mira Mesa Health and Wellness Fair this Friday!

Mira Mesa Health and Wellness Fair July 24th

The First Annual Mira Mesa Health and Wellness Fair is coming soon! Make sure to save the date, and tell all of your friends and relatives that Friday, July 24th, 2009 from 11:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. there will be a free event taking place in Mira Mesa that will benefit all who attend.