All Stebbins on stage.
| Family Camp 2006 Twin Lakes Family Camp. Music. Families. Adventures. Fun. |
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Game Night in the Stebbbins’ Cabin
Catch Phrase isn’t the point (even though we do keep points). I’ts about hanging out together.
Some Moments in the Music…
Karen, Michael, Tyler, Travis (Natasha is on the Drums this time)
Someone told be about a betting method that wins big on Baccarat.
Part of it is secret, but the betting part of the method is as old as gambling itself. It’s commonly called the Martingale system. Just for kicks I wrote a rough script that tests out the Martingale betting system. Check it out.
Come back and let me know what your observations are.
London, Stebbing, and Punting on the Cam
May 2005, I was in London for a conference. Stephen and Angelina Turner were kind enough to take me around my ancestral village of Stebbing as well as Cambridge University.
Here’s a few photos.
| Late May 2005 - I visited London (Islington) for a Trade Show (Search Engine Strategies). | The show went well. Food was surprisingly good, yet expensive. |  The Flight from LA to London on Virgin Atlantic. Very small seats compared to American, but very good service. |
 The Heathrow Express Train Station |
 Inside the Express |
 Outside the Express |
 Paddington Station. Switching to the Hammersmith & City line |
 Hans during booth setup |
 In the midst of the show |
 The show was held at the Islington Business Design Center |
 Covent Garden Area - near Drury Lane |
 More Covent Garden |
 Crossing the street was a unique experience |
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| On Saturday, I traveled up to Stansted Airport and met Stephen and Angelina who were kind enough to show me around Stebbing. and then later, Cambridge |  The church in Stebbing has gargoyles |
 The screen is made of one piece of stone |
 Probably not the original organ |
 The stained glass was replaced with clear glass |
 The inside of the church is much brighter without stained glass |
 Ravens (or crows?) are carved into the wood of the ceiling. |
 A plate was moved from the floor to the wall when a new lectern was installed. |
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 Gargoyles outside as well |
 Entrance to Stebbing Church |
 From the road around 11:00 A.M. |
 Part of the Manor house |
 The Stebbing Hare Scramble was canceled due to a restriction on land use. |
 The Manor House - note the garden in the back |
 Manor house again |
 Driving up to the Church |
 The main road in Stebbing |
 White Hart Pub in Stebbing. Good food. |
 Older architecture |
 Down a side street in Stebbing |
 Stephen and Angelina in Stebbing |
 Back on the street in Stebbing |
 I was told this is a “Lion Head” rabbit. Anyone? |
 Stephen and Angelina took me on a tour of Cambridge |
 Christ’s College during testing |
 Kings College? |
 View from the tower of the Great St. Mary’s Church |
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 Streets among the colleges at Cambridge |
 Clare COllege |
 Dining hall at Clare College |
 Clare College |
 The Cam |
 Gardens of Clare College |
 Stephen was quite good at punting |
 I (Michael) just enjoyed the scenery and the ride. |
 Going under bridges required skill on the part of the punter. |
 Even though 8+ months pregnant, Angelina was clearly a capable punter. |
 Name the duck, win a prize |
 Students letting off after testing |
 Trinity College |
May 05 2005: Surgery is done. Now I restrain one arm for 40 days. A lotta stuff torn up in there, but I think doc got it all.
For the truly sick, here’s a few shots of the actual procedure (Not for those with a weak stomach).
May 03 2005: Banned… Torn labrum, capsule, and possible rotator cuff in the shoulder make today my last day before surgery. But I HAD to skate one last time, albeit gently! To boot - ‘Tasha showed up at the park and and filmed my bitter sweet event.
This time next year I’ll be out there and 100% better.
6MB Windows Media Movie
| Ever wonder what’s really going on when the “Service Engine Soon” or “Check Engine” light comes on? In June 06, I used a OBDII diagnosis system to find out what was happening inside my BMW. Here are step by step instructions on how I identified and replaced the failing component.
2000 M5 E39 Exhaust Sensor Bank B (Driver’s Side) |
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Service Engine Soon light -> OBDII Code P0390
OBDII Code P0390 indicates failure of camshaft position sensor for exhaust cam on bank B (Driver’s Side). This is a frequent failure on E39 540i and M5 V8 engines. Other symptoms include slight loss of power accompanied with a deeper than usual ‘blatty’ exhaust tone.
Buying a New Sensor
I ordered a new sensor from Rock Auto Parts for $105. With Rock Auto, I’ve found great deals, the prices are good and the shipping is fast. Unfortunately, this time they sent the wrong sensor (intake instead of exhaust). I’ll let them know to change their description, and I’m sure they will give me a credit for the part.
So, since I already had the old sensor out, I bought the correct sensor from Allison BMW Dealership in Mountain View California. They had six in stock, so I’ll guess that the sensor often fails. List price was $127 and they gave me a 10% discount through BMW CCA.
Not from the top
Some folks prefer to change these sensors from the top. This was just too tight for me and I didn’t’ want to remove air ducts and hoses to get to the sensor. Instead, I jacked up the car and replaced the sensor from underneath.
Necessary Tools
This is the easy part. You will need a large Phillips screwdriver to remove and replace the plastic plate under the transmission. You will need a 5mm hex driver, and a small ratchet. Space is tight, so smaller is better.
Drop the Plate
I jacked up the car on the left side (Driver’s side) and placed two jack stands for safety. Eight or ten screws hold the plastic shield/plate in place. It drops very easily.
Remove the shield by loosening
Replace the Sensor
Look up between the header and transmission and you will find the sensor with a 5mm hex head holding it in at the rear of the left cylinder head.
It is difficult to get a ratchet and hex driver around the water hose, but I managed to drive the hex bolt from both behind and in front of the hose.
Once you have the sensor out, wipe the hole clean.
Be sure to use a new O-ring when putting in the new sensor. You may want to put some thread lock on the bold on reinstallation.
Don’t forget to re-connect the electrical connector.
Replace the plate, let down the car and drive.
| About Michael
So here I am. I’m an active family man, marketing executive, and musician. Scotts Valley is home for me and my family of five. |
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More About Michael
Currently, I am the Vice President of Marketing for ClickTracks Analytics a hot Web Analytics company in Santa Cruz that makes very cool clickstream & web analytics software. Before that, I was with ProductSoft, Sesame (now ExtraView), SGI, Fujitsu, Seagate, EPC, MetaWare, Ryan McFarland, and a number of other companies.
| I enjoy travel (India, Chile, Norway, China, Israel and more), riding trails with friends and family, playing electric bass, and am finishing up restoration of a 1971 BMW R75/5. |  |
My current focus in on my family with three great kids and my lovely wife, Karen. Just a few more years until the kids are gone to university, so other adventures will have to wait!
Updates:
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TLC Family Camp 2006! All Stebbins on stage. |
| August 2006: Took the family to Oahu for a week. What a great place. We enjoyed renting a house on the North Shore, lots of snorkling and exploring the island. |  |
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May 2006: Ever wonder what’s really going on when the “Service Engine Soon” or “Check Engine” light comes on? In June 06, I used a OBDII diagnosis system to find out what was happening inside my BMW. Here are step by step instructions on how I identified and replaced the failing component. |
How to repair a camshaft position sensor on a 2000 BMW M5
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Someone told be about a betting method that wins big on Baccarat.
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November 2005: Part of it is secret, but the betting part of the method is as old as gambling itself. It’s commonly called the Martingale system. Just for kicks I wrote a PHP script that tests out the Martingale betting system. Check it out. |
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May 30 2005: In London for a conference. Stephen and Angelina were kind enough to take me around my ancestral village of Stebbing as well as Cambridge University. Here’s a few photos. |
| May 05 2005: Surgery is done. Now I restrain one arm for 40 days. A lotta stuff torn up in there, but I think doc got it all.
For the truly sick, here’s a few shots of the procedure… Not for those with a weak stomach. |
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May 03 2005: Banned… Torn labrum, capsule, and possible rotator cuff in the shoulder make today my last day before surgery. But I HAD to skate one last time, albeit gently! To boot - ‘Tasha showed up at the park and and filmed the bitter sweet event.
This time next year I’ll be out there and 100% better. |
| May 01 2005: Hey - We just returned from a great time at Disneyland - Pics are here. Stories to follow. |  |
| January 2005: We love our Lamb-Garrett clan from San Diego. In this day-trip to San Francisco, we toured a culinary school, and, well, you’ll see. |  |
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September 2004: I am a strong supporter of the local Scotts Valley Tim Brauch Memorial Skatepark. Your donations can go through Scotts Valley Parks & Rec or Sessions. Let’s give the kids (and old school) a place to skate! Grand opening was in September 2004 and we got a (as usual) great speech from Natasha. It’s been a long six years in the making, but now I get to skate my park nearly every week. |
Latest reads include The Universe in a Nutshell by Stephen Hawking, Proverbs by King Solomon, The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin, and Waking the Dead, by John Eldredge. All highly recommended!
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Latest musical attempts: Three Nighter and What I Know Now as performed by Jeff Berlin. Also, Karen, the kids and I had a great time playing at Twin Lakes Family Camp in (Big Basin) early September 04. |
Hey - We just returned from a great time at Disneyland - Pics are here.
Stebbins at Disney May 05 |
Disneyland and California Adventure |
| After a year of cutting back and doing without, it was time to treat the fam to a no-limits 4-day trip to Disney | We decided to stay at Disney’s Grand California Hotel. A great choice! We bought 3-day park-hopper passes with early entry privileges. | The hotel is adjacent to Downtown Disney and has private and early entry to the park for registered guests | A six hour drive got us from Santa Cruz to Anaheim. I figured Tasha or Tyler would drive, but most everyone slept on the way down. |
OK first order of business is food in Downtown Disney We chose the Rainforest Cafe |
Tyler gets his dream plate: Filet, Shrimp, Ribs |
Tyler redefines jumping on the bed (A stebbins tradition in any fine hotel)  |
We rode the monorail to avoid lines at Disney - it worked great! |
Tomorrowland opens one hour early for special guests (that’d be us)The first morning was threatening to rain, but we never really got wet. |
First Meal in Disneyland Park |
Stebbins at the Disneyland Stage Coach
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Grizzly Rock |
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In 01 Travis and Michael ride the Ferris Wheel - Then again in 2005. Yes I’m wearing the same shirt– by coincidence
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View from our room at Disney’s Grand California Hotel. From another angle, we could watch the dance teams practicing after hours.  |
Good Decorations in the Hotel |
Tyler loved having the paper delivered every morning  |
Cheers! |
Bugs Life Cave |
Tyler playing the typical teenager  |
Travis playing the angst ridden teen |
Karen administering Therapy to the angst ridden teen |
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Without room service, Tasha is forced to make coffee in the hotel coffee maker |
Small World |
Small World |
The Indiana Jones ride broke down just before our car crossed the bridge. Our boys were thrilled.  |
Stebbins as Pillow Fighters |
Monorail from our room |
T-Trio on a break |
After a good meal at Rain Forest Cafe. If you go, check out the aquarium. |
Post pillow fight |
Continued pillow fight: |
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We rode California Screamin’ too many times to count. |
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The splash ride at California Adventure is excellent |
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We love our Lam-Garrett clan from San Diego. In this day-trip to San Francisco, we toured a culinary school, and, well, you’ll see.
Why We Went to San Francisco Together
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Latest reads, Fall 2004, include The Universe in a Nutshell by Stephen Hawking, Proverbs by King Solomon, The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin, and Waking the Dead, by John Eldredge. All highly recommended!
