Halloween was yesterday. We gave out full size candy again this year much to the delight of all the trick or treaters. This is the fifth year we have given away full size candy. I still enjoy the look on the kids faces when they realize this. Also, I overhear kids saying things like, "I remember this house, it's the best!" That makes me happy.

I was wearing my Star Trek outfit to hand out candy. After a bit of help in the beginning from the kids and my mother-in-law, the family headed out into the night. Piper, our dog, kept me company and was interested in everyone that stopped by. In between visitors I watch the end of Beverly Hills Chihuahua and then Bruce Lee in Enter the Dragon. Enter the Dragon was better.

Once again, I set up my timelapse photography gear and made video of the door from 6:35PM to 9:07PM as I sat there handing out candy.

I made a second version of the timelapse that is a full five minutes long. If you want even more of me sitting, handing out candy, go watch it.

As I have in 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, I asked every person what they were dressed as and wrote down the answers. I am careful to ask what they are, accepting their answers rather than interpreting what I see. I now have five years of data to compare.

Here are the top ten costumes for the last five years compared.

This year, 'witch' rose to the top as the top costume, retaking the crown it had not held since 2006. People not wearing a costume, noted as "nothing", spike this year. Cruft Manor is seriously considering a "No costume, no candy." policy in 2010. Seemed to be less commercial costumes this year and more homemade ones. Overall, it was a busy night.

A few costumes stood out that I liked such as Darth Vader Vampire and Hunter from Left 4 Dead. The Left 4 Dead kid was ecstatic when I knew what his costume was from. He pumped his fist and said "Awesome!"

Here is this year's costume list, with a total of 213 people.

14 Witch
8 "nothing"
7 Fairy
6 Pirate
5 Princess
5 Scream
5 Skeleton
4 Dorothy from Wizard of Oz
4 Spiderman
3 Butterfly
3 Darth Vader
3 Grim Reaper
3 Ladybug
3 Ninja
3 Snow White
3 Vampire
3 Wizard
3 Wrestler
2 "myself"
2 Army Man
2 Bad Sandy from Grease
2 Banana
2 Barbie
2 Boy
2 Bumblebee
2 Bumblebee from Transformers
2 Cat
2 Doctor
2 Dracula
2 Football Player
2 Gangster
2 Gorilla
2 Karate Man
2 Little Red Riding Hood
2 Power Ranger - Red
2 Supergirl
2 Tinkerbell
2 Wolfman
1 Alien in disguise
1 Amy Winehouse
1 Anakin Skywalker
1 Army Girl
1 Ballerina
1 Baseball Player
1 Bee
1 Ben 10
1 Boxer
1 Chicken
1 Chinese Soldier
1 Chuckie (doll)
1 Clone Trooper
1 Cook
1 Cowboy
1 Crossing Guard
1 Darth Vader Vampire
1 Devil
1 Devil Girl
1 Donald Duck
1 Dragon
1 Duke from G.I. Joe
1 Emperor of Evil
1 Erkel
1 Evil Joker
1 Fire Fighter
1 Flower Girl
1 Freddie Krueger
1 Ghoul
1 Glowing Rave Person
1 Go Go Girl
1 Goth Bat
1 Grandpa Mexican
1 Harajuku Girl
1 Harry Potter
1 High School Graduate
1 Hippy
1 Home Depot Guy
1 Homeless Guy
1 Hunter from Left 4 Dead
1 Incredible Hulk
1 Indian Princess
1 Jedi
1 Jigsaw from Saw
1 Joker
1 Ladybug
1 Laker Fan
1 Leopard
1 Mad Cow Disease
1 Mardi Gras Man
1 Mask
1 Max from Wild Things
1 Mermaid
1 Michael Jordan
1 Michael Meyers
1 Minnie Mouse
1 Model
1 Mr. & Mrs. Noodle & Elmo
1 Mrs. Claus
1 Native American
1 Nerd with Mustache
1 Peter Pan
1 Pooka
1 Pumpkin
1 Pumpkin w/ Balloons
1 Race Car Driver
1 Robber with night vision goggles
1 Sailor
1 Scary Clown
1 Sexy Model
1 Skater
1 Skater Nerd
1 Soccer Player
1 Softball Player
1 Spiderella
1 Superman
1 Tara from Teen Titans
1 Tie Dye Person
1 Toxic Avenger
1 Victorian Queen
1 Violin Player
1 Warrior (70s movie)
1 Wig Lady
1 Wolverine
1 Wonder Woman
1 Yellow T-shirt guy
1 Zombie
1 Zombie Punk

I've been to San Francisco twice in the last couple weeks. That means new hotels room videos.

A few weeks ago, I tried making cookies on the grill. The results were not great. So recently, I tried again.

I needed to find a way to even out the heat on the cookie sheet and stabilize the temperature to stay around 350°. After a bit of hemming and hawing, I decided to go with a full brick layer.

The brick layer

I gave the grill about 10 minutes to warm up fully. I tweaked the controls to try and get the temperature where I wanted it. The grill seemed pretty stable around 350°.

The cookies on the sheet

The new set-up worked great. No burning at all. If anything they were undercooked. ;) Next summer will be full of fresh cookies, no matter how hot it gets.

After the local forest fires here in Southern California, I decided to buy a Respro Cycling City Mask. Due to my cycling obsession, I wanted a way cycle but not breathe in the ash.

The mask made it's way to me from the United Kingdom and I've taken in on several test rides.

First of all, I look completely bad ass wearing it. Well, as bad ass as you can look in a spandex outfit.

Breathing: The mask does as it says and filters the air well. Often on my rides, I breathe in pollen, dust, and other grasses while riding. With my allergies, this can be a problem. When wearing the mask, this kind of stuff doesn't make it past the filter at all. I can see things I shoudl smell, but don't smell them.

Breathing itself is a bit more difficult. I am having to pull the air in more forcefully and at points when I'm straining on a climb I'm simply not getting as much air as I need. A few times I lifted the mask to get full lungfuls of air to catch my breath.

Moisture: The masks says it lets moisture out, but not really. After about a half hour the inside of the mask is full of water and sweat. Maybe the cold morning contributed, but after a while it was annoying and I stopped to shake it out.

Riding: I wore it with a buddy and I could talk, but it was hard for him to hear me speak, as you might expect. Another riding issue is that you can't drink with the mask on. You have to lift the mask to drink which means you ain't drinking much while wearing it. Not a big problem on a commute ride to work, but a significant issue on a workout ride when you need to stay hydrated.

Warmth: The mask is great for keeping your face warm. I have considered wearing it without the filter and just the neoprene to keep my face happy on my pre-dawn rides.

Overall the mask works and is good, but I would only recommend wearing it when you NEED to wear it. If there is real a dangerous amount of ash or dust in the air and you won't be riding hard. It's designed for that. I can't imagine wearing this every time I ride. It's drawbacks outweigh it's benefits in normal riding conditions.

Recently, I traveled to the East Coast for a bit of business and an alumni reunion. Here are my 4 hotel rooms in 5 days. You guys seem to love these videos...

The weather is hot here Los Angeles in the summer. So hot, we don't want to turn on our oven. But we do want cookies.

Michele convinced me to try baking cookies on the grill. It works in theory, so I gave it a shot.

We used some premade cookie dough on a baking sheet with parchment paper. Parchment paper is essential to proper baking.

I pre-heated the grill to about 325°. The cooking instructions call for 13 minutes at 350°. I figured that a little low wouldn't hurt.

After I placed the cookie sheet inside I checked the temperature and it was down to 300°, not bad.

After 12 minutes I went out to check. Opening the grill sooner to check would have released heat. They didn't look bad. The temp had gotten up to 400° though, higher than I wanted.

The cookies were edible, but a little burnt on the bottom, likely to the direct heat and higher temperature. I have a few options to try such as using bricks to raise the sheet away from the gas burners and monitor the temp during the baking to keep it under 350°. Any other suggestions?

I need your help.

As many of you know, I took up road biking in January and somewhat obsessed with cycling. I recently joined the Disney Triathlon Team and offered to ride in a relay team. For years, Disney has fielded a large team of athletes and gathered donations.

In a month I'm riding the cycling leg of the Nautica Malibu Triathlon to raise money for the Childrens Hospital Los Angeles. This year, Disney has raised over $125,000 but we want to raise more.

Any donation, small or large is helpful! Link here to donate.