Surprisingly crowded

I think there were about 3 dozen people at my gym at 1am. I'm guessing that most of them were service industry types, so cooks, waiters, etc. There were probably about 15-20 guys on the basketball court.

Hmmmm.... (Google maps) upgrades

The traffic feature of google maps now shows the smaller streets in addition to the highways. In LA at least.

Breakfast Burrito!

Quite possibly one of the best inventions EVER! I had one for a late lunch; I had them put in eggs, ham, cheese, potatos, and some guacamole. I think it's a pretty good combo.

Trail of (airplane) lights

I was driving down the 405 south heading towards the airport (LAX). Generally, you'll see a string of 8 planes or so in a line on approach for landing.

Lots of rain... and a bit of snow!

So this radar image was from a few weeks ago. It's not often you see this in LA!

Sleepy hand

I have to be careful how I sleep; there are certain positions that will make my whole hand fall asleep. Sometimes, I'll wake up in time and it's only my pinky that has lost blood circulation. Unfortunately, I think I've already killed half the nerves in my pinky on my right hand.

Should've kept my old toys

This old school Optimus Prime was going for $300 in Singapore.

Low on gas = no hills

So I had about a gallon and a half of gas left in the tank and parked on a slight uphill. Next morning, I start the car and when I start to move, it stalls out! Crap, start the car again, really slowly accelerate and I can feel it starting to stumble again. Fortunately, I make it to where the street levels out.

I guess the fuel pickup in my gas tank is at the front and the hill combined with the slight acceleration caused the fuel to slosh away from the fuel pickup.

Singapore doesn't play around

On the immigration card to get into the country, in big bold letters, it says the penalty for smuggling drugs is death.

Bowling = sore?

So I went bowling for the third time or so in my life. My left hip muslces or something are a little sore. It works out some funky something or other that nothing else does. Biking, running, jumping, volleyball, football, none of those hit whatever it is that bowling got sore. Go figure.

Back that boot up

I went over to Singapore for the holidays and also made a quick run into Tokyo on a layover. I noticed a trend, all the cars are backed into spots. And since I was in Singapore, the trunk is called the boot, I think.... assuming they use UK slang. Which I think they do because an elevator is a 'lift', and Singapore took it's modern form after a Brit guy named Raffles went into town in the 1800s.

So yeah, when parking is tight due to limited space, it's easier to back a car into a spot. Otherwise, you'd have to 3-point turn or more to get into a sport trying to go forward.

ATMs in Asia

Singapore and Tokyo are not the cheapest places in the world, and some of their ATMs reflect that. In Singapore, I used an ATM off of Orchard which is where there is a bazillion high-end shops, and one of the preset value options for pulling out cash is $4000 Singapore dollars equal to ~$2900 US. Yup, you can pull about three grand US as one of the 'fast' options. Gotta pay for the shopping!

At Narita airport in Japan (Tokyo), I pulled out some cash too as you need cash to get around in Tokyo (subway, etc). The lowest option to pull out was 10,000 Yen, or about $115 at the current exchange rate.

Consistent weather in Singapore

It's consistent like LA, but a bit wetter and warmer.

Irish Car Bombs

They'll cost you ~$10 in LA. They're so tasty though....

And the gasoline tax breakdown is:

Was pumping some gas today and there was a sticker on the pump:
$0.184 federal tax per gallon
$0.180 state tax per gallon

There are seasons in LA!

See! The leaves turned colors. A few are on the ground even. Okay okay, I kept the palm tree nearby out of the picture.

Ghetto wind tunnel

Some water condensation from the morning, a good wax job, and viola, ghetto wind tunnel.




Here you can see that there is a high pressure zone at the base of the windshield. All the rest of the condensation got blown off by the airstream attached to the hood. But then the airstream separates from the hood due to the high pressure zone at the base of the windshield; so the condensation is still there.

Another ghetto wind tunnel is driving behind semis in the rain. You get really good oil/grease streaks down the car.

Short hair makes it easier

Well, for one, I don't ever need a blow dryer. And I don't need to comb it. And.... I can spot gray hairs more easily. When my hair was longer, all the gray hairs just hid under the rest. I have a lot more gray hair than I remember...

Along Came Polly

So, what's the purpose of all the pillows?!?! I don't get it....

Friday = donuts

So we have a Friday donut club at work; each week, one person brings in a box of donuts for everyone in the club. Well, there's actually two clubs: one for upstairs and another group has one downstairs. And another group downstairs brings in donuts randomly.

I'm not part of any of the clubs, I'm more of a scavanger. It's a bit after 5 o'clock on Friday and I'm walking around the office. Hmm... extra donut, I'll eat that. Hmm... half donut left, I'll eat that. Hmm... two more donuts left in the building... well, can't let food go to waste!

So 3.5 donuts later, I ruined my dinner.

October madness?

College football, pro football, NBA, NHL, MLB, autoracing.... and Oktoberfest of course (though that starts in September).

90,000 People Singing in the Rose Bowl

That's a looooooooooooooooong train

Got stuck at a train crossing this morning, and it has to be the longest train I've ever had to wait for. It was most likely coming up from the port of Long Beach, which gets ships coming in from just about everywhere. I sat through at least 3 songs, if not more, on the radio, and I didn't even get to the crossing at the beginning of the train!

Interest on savings?

What a joke.... I get $0.11 a month. Yup, 11 cents.

2 days (part II)

The time required for my paper cut to heal enough to stop opening back up. Argh... so annoying.

The downside to rain in LA

It gets really freakin humid. In my excitement about the rain, I forgot about the aftermath. What really sucks is that no housings near the beach have air conditioning. So the apartment was a wee bit muggy.

Rain & Roads in LA!

It actually rained in LA today! The thing is though... it rains so infrequently, that it causes problems. #1, there's tons of oil on the road so there are always lots of accidents right when it rains. #2, there's a ton of dirt and dust buildup, so you end up with these mucky water puddles. #3, at least where I live, the sides of the road flood out because the gutters don't work properly. One of my co-workers explained to me the cause is a buildup of stuff in the gutters that never gets flushed by a regular rain.

What makes a Bugatti Veyron boring?

So what makes a $1+ million, 1001hp, 250mph+ Bugatti Veyron NOT the center of attention at Cars and Coffee in Irvine? How about a $1.5 million, 1 of 21 in existence, Lamborghini Reventon:

Fortune cookie says:

"You will make many changes before settling down happily." Um, so I guess I'll be moving, getting a new job, and getting into a relationship?

"Pleasures await you by the seashore." Well, I live next to the beach....

Where are the lights?!!?!

I was riding the motorcycle home and noticed the headlight was not on. This is a problem as the headlight on a motorcycle always comes on when the ignition is in the 'on' position. Step #1, check the bulb. Looks good. #2, find the fuse (under the left fairing/body work). Looks good. Hmm... #3, check for a lighting relay (further under the bodywork). That looks good.... Bust out the multi-meter and check the fuse box. No power in the lighting circuit. Weird... after a check of the internet, it turns out there's a wire in the starter switch that comes loose that's part of the lighting circuit! When you hit the starter on the motorcycle, it kills the headlight so that there's enough juice to turn the starter.

So here's the culprit after I soldered it back together:


I soldered it using the butane powered soldering torch thingy. It's pretty good!

Solar powered what?

So... we spotted a solar panel on top of a garbage can in Boston. What the heck does a garbage can need power for? Ohh...... trash compactor.

Home Protection In Use

Y'all thought I was kidding about the new Home Protection System didn't you? Well, apparently, a student at Johns Hopkins had the same idea

MNF is back!

The most telling sign that Monday Night Football was back? My gym was significantly less crowded.

Washing knives

So... I should be more careful. Sliced into the skin a little bit, opps! No blood though. I guess i have thick skin... I blame the return of football season for not paying enough attention!

"Professional Discount"

Apparently, because I'm in the transportation/automotive industry, I get car magazines cheap. I just subscribed to Road & Track for 2 years/24 issues for $12.00. Yup, 50 cents an issue. That probably doesn't even cover mailing costs!

Florida weather

Yup, this is summertime in Florida. Afternoon rain everday!

Fire is still going

It's inching closer to the Mt. Wilson observatory.

College football is back!

Thank goodness because the Sportscenter Top 10 with just baseball highlight with a tennis one thrown in was really boring.

Still burning

I guess there will be no motorcycle ride up Angeles Crest Hwy this weekend...

LA on Fire!

A couple days ago, a fire broke out in Angeles National Forest a bit north of Pasadena. Seeing how LA only gets rain for about one month out of the year, and one good thunderstorm in Florida or Texas is more rain than we see here in LA all year, stuff tends to get crispy and burn.

And the idiot of the year goes to...

Get your pic taken in Malibu!

So there's a guy that spends his weekends out near the "Rock Store" and takes pics of everything that goes by. Mostly motorcycles, bicyclists, and high-end sports cars.

http://www.rockstorephotos.com/

Check out some of the pics!

Malibu car count

Went for a ride in Malibu today. Following cars sited:
1-Ferrari Testarossa
1-Nissan GTR
2-Teslas
2-Lamborghini Gallardos
2-Rolls Royces
3-Ferrari F430s
Too many to count-Porsche 911s

Food improv

So once in a while... one of the groups has a working lunch. Generally, there are leftovers. Seeing how there were no plates or bowls around, I had to get creative in getting some pasta. Yes, that's a red plastic cup.

New Home Protection System

I've always wanted one.... and it was on sale. It's next to my bed.

Variations on mileage

My old 1996 Nissan 200SX SE-R, 2600lbs, 2.0L turbo, ~300hp: ~21-24mpg around town, ~28-30hwy, ~12 on (race)track.

2005 Mistubishi Evo VIII, 3300lbs, 2.0L turbo, ~320hp: ~15-17 around town, 24-26 hwy, 6 on track.

2005 Honda S2000, 2850lbs, 2.2L, 240hp: ~21 around town, 29 hwy, 11 on track.

2005 Honda CBR 600RR, ~380lbs, 600cc, ~120hp: ~37 around town, 54hwy, 24 on track.

How to create a smoke screen

Buy 80/20 ground beef.... it was all that was left in the grocery store and I needed some ground beef to make burgers.

Wow... I think I about smoked out the whole block with the grease fire going on in the grill! That stuff is cheap though.

Number 2

This may be too much info, but you can't do #2 while wearing your motorcycle track leather pants and boots. This is because there's no flexiability due to the boots, and therefore no way to push the pants down far enough. Even after taking off the boots, it's difficult because there's not much give in the pants either due to the knee armor built into the pants.

Need more power!

Because motorcyles aren't fast enough, one of the guys at work felt the need to add some nitrous to his Harley. Okay... Harley's aren't that fast, so it probably needed it.

2 days

To get all the sand out of my ear after playing football on the beach.

Sand wears you out

Well, wears me out. Beach volleyball last night. Flag football tonight. My legs, and especially my quads, are fried. Suppose to play some tackle football on the beach tomorrow too.

Oh yeah, going up stairs with steel toe boots really lets you know how tired your legs are.

These brakes are easy!

So I had to change out the brake pads on the motorcycle, and it was actually easy to do! That's a nice change.

Two screws to take the caliper off, two screws to take out the brake pads and voila!

Another interesting thing (well, to nerdy engineers). The modern sportbike is about the closest thing you can buy off the showroom floor to being fully race prepped. Looking at the 4-piston brake calipers, the pistons are actually different sizes to provide different clamp loads. The leading one is smaller in diameter so that it doesn't bite as hard. If it did, I think it would cause the leading edge of the pad to dig in leading to uneven pad wear.

Side Specific Socks

Makes sense as your left and right feet are shaped differently.

Rockin Rocks

Went for a hike down in Palos Verdes. There's a path down the side of a cliff to get down to the water. So I was chillin and watching the waves coming in and I heard this sound. I was like.... uh, what's that? Well, basically, as the waves come in, they move all the rocks around, and then when the waves retreat, well, the rocks move around again banging each other along the way. So it makes an interesting, somewhat thunderous noise.

The Electrics are coming!

Last week, I saw an electric Mini at the grocery store and drove next to a Tesla! Granted, I live in LA, so I see electric RAV4s once in a while, and also Honda fuel cell vehicles. I'd rock the Tesla for sure.

Fancy callbox

So up on ACH, I decided to open up the callbox; never looked at one before. Well, this sucker was pretty darn nice. English/Spanish, nice LCD display, and a freakin keyboard?

Angeles Crest Highway just got better

The sign use to say 36 miles, but now it's 55 :) A few years back, there was a land slide that closed down the highway. They finally got around to clearing it and opening it back up. It's really really nice up there! The weather is cooler up there too because the elevation is around 7000ft. Smooth roads are great too.

Friday afternoon

Some volleyball on the beach after work. Not too bad of a way to finish off the week.

Perfect pedals

The S2000 has them. The position of the brake relative to the gas makes it super easy to perform heel-and-toe downshift. Ball of foot on brake, heel on the gas to blip the throttle to make the nice and smooth, rev-matched downshifts. Most cars today have the brake pedal really far from the gas to prevent 'accidental accelerations'. Proper driving cars still have the pedals in the right places.

Bug splatter of another color

So I went for a ride up Angeles Crest Highway last weekend and encountered a few bugs. These suckers splatter a nasty yellow. Back in Florida, the 'love bugs' splatter more like plaster. So, not quite as bright.

Bicycle Parking

Parking at Catalina Coffee Company near my place in Redondo Beach.

Convertible Side Effect

I'm getting a heck of a farmers tan....

Front row at the comedy show

As you all probably realize, you WILL be picked on! So the one guy was talking about his family and kids, how old they were and he was, etc. I'm sitting RIGHT in front of him and he asks how old I am. "Thirty" I say. "Well, you look like you're twelve". Yup, I'm asian!

And I was with my friend Carly, who's just a friend. The headliner ragged on us pretty hard... I was fine but she had a bunch of co-workers there, so she was really embarrassed!

Breaking in the S2k

I took it to the track of course! Figured it'd be a good way to get to know it. Only spun once!

When to make coffee

Well... some people at work are not as courteous as others, and don’t make coffee allowing both pots to become empty. This becomes very irritating when the next person comes up wanting some coffee, and there is none. So anyways… someone make a process map and posted it next to the coffee machine.

Saving the environment a little bit at a time

So I hit up the Honda dealer to get an oil filter for the car (I always use OEM filters). Usually, it comes in a box (like my Nissan and Mitsubishi), but the Honda just came plastic wrapped; the other filters come plastic wrapped in the cardboard box. The instructions are printed on the oil filter. Made in the USA too! So anyways, saving a little of the environment by not having a box and saving a little bit of costs (for Honda at least).

Entrepreneurs

I had to go to this drag race in the middle of no where in Michigan last weekend. There's basically one road in and out of the dragstrip. As you can probably guess, there's a lot of beer drinking going on. Well, in Michigan, you get 10 cents for every can/recycleable that you return to the store; you basically pay 10 cents up front for it and you get it back when you return it. Incentive to recycle.

So one family made a target to hit with their beer cans. I saw a truck full of 4 drunk guys try to hit it, but were unsuccessful.

Slippery tire

You have to be careful on new tires, especially on motorcycles, as they can be a bit slippery. It's a bit hard to see in the pic, but the edge of the tire is still a little bit 'shiney' because I haven't worn down that far yet. So you have to gently scrub them in. If you try to go out and romp on it immediately, well, lets just say I have a friend that laid down his bike just blocks from the tire shop.

How to carry your dog in central Texas

He looks pretty comfy back there.

Beware of photo enforcement!

These finely equipped vehicles are placed at random locations around Arizona. They generally have warning signs saying that you're coming up on one, but I think I came up on one that didn't.

Out with the old...

2005 Evo, 42k miles


and in with the slightly less old 2005 Honda S2000 with 36k miles

Stupid nail!

It was a very expensive nail..... had to get a new tire. I'm about $290 lighter in the pocket after all said and done. Oh yeah, an interesting little tidbit. Pretty much only the rear tire on motorcycles pick up nails/etc. Apparently, the front tire kicks it up and the rear tire collects.

Earth quake!

Had a 3.1 hit ~6 miles away. It's pretty amazing how fast the USGS website updates:

http://earthquake.usgs.gov/eqcenter/

And from there, you can get all sorts of data and even down to this map:




UPDATE
A 5.0 hit a few minutes before the 3.1

(Red) Motorcycle Parking

We had four red motorcycles parked earlier in the day... I think we've had five at one point. Red is a popular color for bikes I guess.

Man vs. Food!!!

That guy is my idol! I wish I could eat that much and eat food that hot. I'm weak...

Back to normal

Yup, back to normal LA beach weather.

So close... yet so far away...

To the Hollywood sign.


There's a fence that's a deterent to anyone getting too close. Oh yeah, there's a sign too...


Oh yeah, there are TWO security cameras ON the sign. No sneaking up on it...