Space Age Polymer Bits

Forget footwork, get your grip stronger!

2009-10-15T03:17:00.002-05:00

"Use your feet!"

"Work on your footwork!"

"Use your legs!"

You hear it all the time. Advice given to novice climbers from "seasoned veterans." I've heard it so much that even I, a newb, scream it at other newbs. Because I am very much still a novice, I remember how frustrating it is to hear that advice. Perhaps the intermediate/advanced climbers have forgotten what it's like to be a novice... with absolutely no hand strength.

Here's my take on the "work on footwork" spiel given to newbies...

So I've gotten that spiel many times. I mean I constantly heard it, from everyone and everywhere.

Then I took a break from outdoor climbing and did a couple of months of gym climbing. The next time I climbed outdoors, people were all like, "Wow, your footwork has really improved!" and "I've noticed you use your feet a lot better now."

So what changed? Did I go the gym and purposefully work on my footwork? Fuck no. I went to the gym and massively increased my hand/finger strength.

And guess what? It's a shit ton easier to "work on your footwork" when you're not so worried about losing your grip.

In other words, because I can grip holds more easily and for longer periods of time (and in some cases, grip things I couldn't before), I am actually comfortable enough to take a few moments to concentrate on my feet, maybe even experiment around with their placement.

So there it is, straight from the hip, newb to newb. Yes climbing does require high amounts of contact/finger/hand strength.

Acne Meds

2009-10-13T17:58:00.002-05:00

I had really bad cystic acne once and got prescribed Accutane. That shit works. It works amazingly well. Not only does it get rid of acne, but it makes your skin really nice (gets rid of wrinkles and blemishes). It's more or less a miracle drug, imo.

Though I still have acne, it's not bad enough warrant the use of Accutane. I was skeptical of other treatments until Adam gave me a 3 month supply of BenzaClin. In two weeks time, I had beautiful skin! Amazing! And the nice thing about BenzaClin is that docs are much more likely to prescribe it to you than Accutane for normal acne vulgaris.

The downside to BenzaClin is that it bleaches everything it touches. Really badly. You can look in my closet and see all the shirts that it ruined or see all the discolored towels in my linen closet. See BenzaClin consists of two medications: benzoyl peroxide and clindamycin (an antibiotic). The former is what causes the bleaching.

So I finally make it to a dermatologist and tell him that I like BenzaClin, but hate the bleaching. No problem he says! He can prescribe the two active ingredients of BenzaClin as separate treatments: the benzoyl peroxide (the bleaching agent) as a shower wash, and clindamycin as a topical cream. So all I have to do is be sure to rinse off all the benzoyl peroxide before getting out of the shower and I'm golden!

He actually wrote me two prescriptions: benzoyl peroxide shower wash and something called Ziana. Ziana has the clindamycin, but also has tretinoin (aka Retin-A, another acne treatment). So in essence, my current acne treatment is just like using BenzaClin, but with added Retin-A.

Diet of the Month

2009-09-12T18:06:00.002-05:00

I don't like the way I've been looking lately. I've been eating out and drinking a lot and getting noticeably softer. It's been getting darker earlier, so climbing after work won't be a viable activity anymore. Perfect opportunity to refocus on my fitness goals (i.e. spending more time in the kitchen).

I'm going to do my usual low calorie, high protein diet. It seems to be higher in fat than carbs, but that's not to say it's a low carb diet. My first two meals of the day are pretty carby.

It works out to be around 2100 calories a day. I have a theory that people just don't understand or want to accept how few calories they actually need. I always hear stuff like, "I can't workout while eating so few calories!" Shrug... I workout everyday (sometimes twice a day), climb 4 times a week or more (and not wimpy 1 hour sessions, but like 3+ hour sessions), plus I have a (relatively) large amount of muscle mass... and guess what... I can get by on less than 2000 calories a day.

Ok, I'll get off my high horse... here's the diet...

Muscle Milk and Oats

I've just recently discovered this. It's just a pre-measured cup of oats mixed with some Muscle Milk. Just dump in hot water and you've got a nifty little 300 calorie meal with 30 g of protein and 30 g of carbs. I buy it from Body Building dot com. It's like $2 per little container, which is a complete rip, but hey it's convenient. Buy here.

Cowboy Soup

This has become a staple of my diet. Basically it's just a shit load of vegetables and some steak. It doesn't seem like it from reading the ingredients list, but it smells and tastes fantastic. It's not bland at all. I top mine off with a dollop of Fage Greek yogurt and some Chalula hot sauce. This rings in at about 350 calories per pound (seriously, it's mostly vegetables). Snag this gem of a recipe from here.

Muscle Milk

Mix with water for an easy 300 calories and 32 g of protein. Vanilla is still mind blowingly good.

Grilled Chicken Salad

5 oz of grilled chicken on top of salad greens with half an avocado, chopped onions, chopped tomatoes, garnished with 1 oz of feta cheese. I make my own dressing: balsamic vinegar infused with pomegranate, lemon, garlic, olive oil, Splenda. Surprisingly caloric at 400 calories.

Baked or Grilled Salmon

I just get the bag of individually wrapped and frozen salmon filets from Costco. Thaw and cover the filet with House of Tsang Szechuan Spicy Stir Fry Sauce, the pop in the toaster oven for 12 minutes. 400 calories including a lot of protein and good fats.

Muscle Milk Shake

I swear this could pass as a milkshake. Just take a serving of Muscle Milk and blend it with water, ice and half a frozen banana. We'll round this up to 350 calories.

Scared of Cedar

2009-07-24T23:23:00.006-05:00

(this is a different climb from the topic of this post)

Damn, it's been a while since I've been that scared. It was "only" a 5.10d and was supposed to be our warmup. The short of it is that it just mentally fucked me. Twice I lost control.

Neither one of use had climbed it before, but deemed it easily doable considering some of the other stuff we've climbed. Tyler went up first. A few parts looked pretty hard and after trying a few times to gain the 4th bolt, he came down to rest and let me have a go at it.

That didn't bode well since Tyler is a much better climber than me. So already, I wasn't in the right place mentally. Oh well, I'll give it ago.

I struggled to even get to the part Tyler stopped at, but I finally made it. I noticed right off it was pretty exposed and I had cleaned all the draws on the way up, meaning there was only once piece of protection between me and death.

That's when I lost it. I started visualizing the carabiner bending and breaking. I started visualizing the narrow nylon weave tearing and ripping. Then I started imagining what it would be like if I fell from that high up, brains splattering on the rock far below.

"Dude, give a quick belay!"

"What's wrong?"

"I'm freaking out, I don't like being in just a single draw."

"I'll lower you to another bolt and you can just clip into that so you'll be in two."

Why didn't I think of that? Oh yeah, cuz I was freaking the fuck out.

Ok, clipped the previous bolt. Phew... that feels better. Always nice knowing there is backup. Time to press on.

So I get to the part Tyler was at. I look and feel around. I see the move and kind of try it out. Feels pretty good, I'm definitely strong enough to pull it. So umm, why am I not doing it? Dang, the exposure is getting to me.

Lately, when I get in situations like this where I'm not making the move out of fear rather than lack of ability, I think of a certain person. Then I imagine that person being disappointed with me. I know that's terrible motivation, but it works.

So I pull the move and climb up to the last bolt... and hate the clipping position. My feet are good, but a bit balancy. My right hand is pretty shitty and my left hand has nothing, but it doesn't matter since it will be doing the clipping. I'm super tense and tight and I'm trying not to move at all because of the balancy feet.

"Just relax, man. Remember to breath."

So I start taking deep, slow breaths. Wait... why are my breaths getting shallower and faster? The exposure is getting to me. I think I'm taking too long, I think I'm getting a pump in my right arm. My legs start shaking.

"Heh... uhh... I'm going to fall."

"Don't worry, I gotcha."

I haven't fallen in a long time. I've kind of forgotten what it's like. As I fall, I hold my breath. My body completely tenses up in a panic and I swear my heart skipped a beat.

It was a perfect fall. I fell into nothing but air and Tyler gave me a very gentle catch (i.e. a dynamic belay). I'm really grateful to have him as a climbing partner.

I collect myself and try again. I get to the same spot. It's still scary for me, but I manage to get a draw in the bolt. I start pulling the rope to clip it.

"Dude, don't give me any slack!"

"Alright, man I won't."

Ok, for those of you don't understand what just happened there, let me explain. I was fucking scared and was being completely nonsensical. You cannot clip without getting slack and I was trying to clip and telling him not to give me any slack. Of course, he understood what was going on. He told me what I wanted to hear, but also did what needed to be done (fed me slack).

I could not for the life of me clip the God damn rope into the draw. I fiddled for 15 seconds or so and just dropped the rope. I can feel the panic coming, I need to calm myself before the shaking comes. I take a few deep breaths and try again.

For fuck sakes, I still can't get the damn rope in there. Ok, now after two failed attempts, the fear overtakes me. I'm shaking and feel a fall coming.

"Fuck man, I'm going to cheat."

I grabbed the biner with my left hand and clipped it with my right... shitty. :(

I finish the climb and come down. My arms are uncontrollably shaking and there is a throbbing pain in my right elbow.

After the adrenaline wore off a little, I couldn't help but to smile... I felt so damn alive. I'm not talking about the sense of satisfaction from finishing the climb (it was a pretty shitty climb that I'm not proud of anyway), it was being up there doing something I haven't done before. It was new and different and unknown.

The climb will never be the same again. I've climbed it now (albeit poorly). The next time I try it, I'll know what to do, where to go, how to do it. The fear of the unknown won't be there. The internal dialog of "Can I do this?" will be replaced with "Meh, I've done this."

Tyler climbed it really quickly on top rope.

It's strange... the climb is well protected and not even that hard really. ...but still, it got in both of our heads.

Me, as a rope gun.

2009-06-28T23:49:00.002-05:00

I went on a "climbing trip" this weekend. It was to Reimers Ranch Sat/Sun with camping at Pace Bend on Sat night.

I had been reading a lot about training for climbing (particularly mental training), so I definitely had an agenda for the weekend. I didn't want to top rope anything and on-sight as much as possible.

The Hit List

Not counting my warmups (which were some 5.9 on-sight attempts), here is my hit list (ratings from the Austin Rock guidebook)...

Dead Cats Don't Meow - 5.10c - on-sight attempt
Hello Kitty - 5.10a - on-sight attempt
Riemerama - 5.10a - on-sight attempt
T-Roofic - 5.10d - redpoint attempt
Hairlipped Dog - 5.10b - redpoint attempt
Water Ballet - 5.10c - on-sight attempt
Prototype - 5.10c - redpoint attempt
Wife in the Fast Lane - 5.10d - lead attempt

Though I botched every on-sight and redpoint attempt, I never failed any climb and I can honestly say, I did the best climbing of my life.

On Motivation and Pride

The book I'm reading (I'll refer to the author as my mentor) about mental training for climbing really has you examine your motivation and challenges you to define your self-image and self-worth outside the social norm of performance or comparative based achievement.

I'm not going to lie, I was bursting with pride that I was putting up the routes for my group... that the people following couldn't finish the route or needed the beta that I discovered while attempting to on-sight.

It's a good feeling for sure, but my mentor would say using that for motivation is drawing from a shallow well. If you base your self-image or self-worth (they are two different things, read the book) on performance or comparison based achievements, then you're just setting yourself up for a crash which will result in a destructive downward spiral.

So I found myself asking what drives me. Is it that my friends rely on me to put the route up? Praise me for putting up the route? Expect me to put the route up? That is the reason I'm most afraid of. I don't believe anyone should ever be motivated by other people's expectations.

I really am an introvert thus why I'm fascinated with this book which really is about self-discovery and introspection to unlock your potential.

On-Sighting

Wow. Just like lead climbing is on a whole other level from top roping, on-sighting is again on a whole other level. On-sighting is lead climbing a route that you have never seen before, nor have any beta about. Oh and you can't rest on protection or fall.

I don't really know how to describe it other than climbing into the unknown. You have no idea where, when or if rest spots are coming up. Sometimes you see a hold a couple of moves away, but have no idea if it's good or not. Sometimes you simply climb yourself into a dead end. Instead of being told where to go and what to do, you have to make the decisions on your own. Sometimes these decisions can put you in a precarious position which might lead to a fall. Still, you have to make these decisions... and quickly or you risk pumping out.

Often times, I found myself eyeing a hold 2 moves away, but not having the nerve to go for it. I was afraid that the two moves would tire me out, then I wouldn't have enough energy to hold on to it if it turned out to be bad. I would do one move, then chicken out. Then go up again and look around for a bigger more obvious hold, not find one then come down. By this time, I'd be pumped out and have to rest on my protection... and that's how I'd blow all my on-sight attempts.

My Project

I have attempted on Wife on the Fast Lane (5.10d) 3 times before on top rope and failed every single time. I decided to attempt to lead it as my last climb of the weekend.

This climb is at the limit of my ability. It took everything in me (mentally and physically) to finish it.

One huge mental block I had to get through was expectation of failure based on my previous unsuccessful top rope attempts. If I couldn't finish it on top rope, how the hell could I finish it on lead??

The next mental block was fear. I had a very hard time controlling my fear while clipping the anchors. I knew it was a hard climb for me so my brain kept telling me that I was too tired or not strong enough to hold with one hand while clipping the protection. Also, I was scared to climb above my protection. With the expectation of failure, I didn't want it to happen while I was above my protection.

I fought through it though and finished. Partially because I didn't want to leave booty on the wall, partial because I asked a cute girl to come check on me and finish the route if I couldn't (then decided that I didn't want her to see me fail). Now I'm back to questioning my motivation.

Rope Gun

The guy or gal that leads all the routes, setting up the top rope for the other climbers.

My Current Diet

2009-06-25T01:32:00.003-05:00

I typically go on "food kicks" where I really get into a certain type of food, then get bored with it in a month or so. What that translate to is that my diet changes about once a month. Soooo... here's what I'm on this month.

Breakfast - 900 AM

If I plan on being performant (i.e. going for a tough climb), I'll eat cream of wheat with peanut butter and brown sugar. Otherwise, I'll have a serving of Muscle Milk blended with half a frozen banana or half a frozen peach.

Lunch - 1200 PM

A chicken wrap made with baked chicken breast, whole wheat tortilla, avocado, tomato, red onion, Fage Greek yogurt and Chalula hot sauce.

Post Workout - 300 PM

One serving of Muscle Milk. Sometimes I'll complement that with some almonds or a slice of turkey with a slice of swiss cheese.

Dinner 1 - 600 PM

Cowboy Soup is a staple of my diet. It's mostly vegetables, beans and steak. It tastes super good though and I don't seem to get tired of it.

Dinner 2 - 900 PM

Baked salmon marinated in some Asian sauce. I alternate that with pan fried lemon/garlic pepper encrusted tilapia with avocado on the side.

Bedtime - 1130 PM

One serving of Muscle Milk blended with half a frozen banana or half a frozen peach.

I'm not giving exact measurements in this post because everyone's daily requirements are different. I'm pretty small and workout everyday as well as rock climb 3-5 times a week. My portions are such that I eat about 2200-2500 calories a day.

My current cardio routine

2009-06-16T19:05:00.002-05:00

A couple of weeks ago I posted my resistance training routine, so now it's time for the cardio routine. I've always hated cardio and consider myself a cardiovascular wimp. I never thought I'd ever be doing this much cardio...

Every weekday (Monday - Friday) I run 4 miles when it gets dark (around 8:45 PM these days). I'd estimate my pace to be around a 9:30 mile. I pretty much just jog, but sometimes I run.

On Tuesdays I do Mike's spin class and Thursdays I do Ryon's. Both are at noon for 45 mins at Pure Austin.

On the weekends I swim a mile. It's always in a lake, not a pool, and I usually breast stroke half the way.

Of course, I'm out climbing about 16 hours per week, usually spread across the weekend and one weekday. Climbing is an interesting sport though. When I say I'm out climbing for 16 hours, the vast majority of that time is not actually spent climbing. Most of it is spent hiking, talking, tying knots, belaying, trying to stay hydrated and out of the sun, etc.

So to recap...

M-F - 4 mile run
TTh - spin class
SSu - 1 mile swim
2-3 days per week - rock climbing

It sounds like a lot, but it's really not. Most of my nights are spent bored, reading on the interwebtubes. We should hang out... post a comment!

All by my lonesome

2009-06-08T21:43:00.014-05:00

Anyone who's climbed with me at Seismic (aka Maggie's Wall) on the Barton Creek Greenbelt has undoubtedly heard me say "someday" while gazing up at Lonesome Dove, the horizontal roof finish to Diving for Rocks. Well that day was yesterday. Here's the story in pictures (click for bigger pics).

The crux for Diving for Rocks involves a pretty dynamic movement. On the shorter end of 5'8", I can comfortably deadpoint it. Most people straight up dyno; few people hit it completely statically.

(a) thinking about it (b) going for it (c) sticking it!

My pull up strength is pretty good. When it comes to climbing, I usually play up my strengths and downplay my weaknesses.

(a) feet come off (b) campus-ing! (c) setting feet again

I didn't actually lead the climb, my friend Tyler did. So I had to clean the route.

(a) getting set on the ledge (b) flagging so I can reach better (c) got it!

Eventually, I make my way to the sport chains indicating the finish of Diving for Rocks. Now it's on to Lonesome Dove, the completely horizontal roof. Unfortunately, my friend Steve didn't get any pictures of me transitioning from vertical to horizontal... that's the trickiest part. Actually he probably did, but didn't want to embarrass me by showing how awkward (and scared) I looked doing the move! :)

Getting setup. That foot cam / heel hook is critical.

Clipping the other sport anchor (Tyler only got one in before me), and smiling for the camera!

Checking out the view.

My reward for a job well done. I poured 91% isopropyl alcohol into it. Involuntary noises followed.

And that's that. The climb is more mental than physical/technical once you figure out the beta. It's super fun though. Guess it's time for the red point (I've already red pointed Diving, just not Lonesome).

Many thanks to Steve for taking the pictures and his wife Beth for giving me a fantastic belay. Also to Tyler for being such a great climbing partner and encouraging me to actually do it (and for setting the TR with no prior practice or beta, nice!).

My current resistance training routine

2009-06-04T15:50:00.002-05:00

Here's my resistance training routine. It's pretty easy. I don't believe in killing yourself in the gym (rather achieve your goals via dieting and nutrition). Every exercise is supersetted and each is done for 3 sets, 10 reps each. There is a strong emphasis on abs and shoulders. The supersetted exercises are grouped together.

Monday - Back / Heavy Abs

wide grip pullups
straight leg medicine ball lifts (lying on a decline bench)

tbar rows
straight leg lifts (hanging from a pullup bar)

close grip cable rows
weighted crunches (on decline bench, hold weight straight up with straight arms)

reverse curls without thumbs (forearms for climbing)
machine crunches

broomstick with rope and weight on end (forearms for climbing)
machine bicep curls (a vanity exercise)

Wednesday - Chest / Shoulders

incline dumbell press (4-5 sets, increasing weight)
bent over rear delt dumbell raises

flat barbell bench press
rear delt machine (reverse pec deck)

machine chest flies
smith machine shoulder press

tricep pulldowns on cable machine
machine shoulder side laterals (chicken dance machine)

dumbell kickbacks
dumbell side laterals

Friday - Legs / Light Abs

squats on smith machine (5 sets, increase weight)
plate drag on bosu ball

leg press
medicine ball lifts (between knees) on flat bench

quad extensions
some weird ab machine where you push forward with straight arms
seated calf raises

hamstring curls
medicine ball (or 25 lb plate) twists (for obliques)
standing calf raises

Notes

I don't really rest... meaning I don't sit and do nothing. I rest by walking between stations, getting a drink, racking the weights, etc.

Workout should take about an hour.

The only exercises I do to failure are bench press, machine flies and the leg lifts. It is not by design, it's just freaking hard sometimes.

I vary the exercises sometimes, especially the grip (wide to narrow and vice versa).

Lead climbed a 5-9

2009-02-22T20:40:00.005-06:00

That's not me, it's Tom Slider

I went rock climbing outside for the first time this Saturday. We did a 5-8, two 5-9's and a 5-10 (which I couldn't do, ugh).

I'm am a total newb. The most I've done before this was go through a belaying course at the gym. AJ and his friend Jason basically taught me everything right there on the rock.

At the end if the day, on our last route, they asked if I wanted to lead it. I said, "Heh, I don't think that's a good idea," but they persisted. So tried it.

Lead climbing is a lot more intense (read scary) because you can actually fall a distance instead of the few inches you "fall" when you're top roping. Clipping in is particularly nerve racking because you only have one hand on the rock and it's also the point when you fall the farthest.

They said I had the Elvis leg going a few times.

I did end up falling (just 5 feet or so) and got nasty bruise on my bicep where I hit the rope and a scrape on my shoulder from hitting the rock.

I'm pretty sure I'm scared of heights.

Lost $100 in a pool shot bet

2009-02-22T20:27:00.003-06:00

I hung out with AJ last night and we went to play pool. Pretty early on in the night, he jokingly asked if I'd give him $100 if he made this ridiculous shot.

The shot was pretty outrageous for casual pool player. It was a bank shot that had to barely kiss the ball to fall into the side pocket. Both our jaws dropped when he did it.

I paid him the money because I was serious when we made the bet. I was so sure he wasn't going to make, there wasn't a doubt in my mind.

He kept trying to give the money back, but I said it's cool if he used it to pay for drinks and food all night, which he did... and spent he all 100 of it by the end of the night.

Killer Spin Class

2009-02-13T22:27:00.002-06:00

According to my Polar heart rate monitor, my average heart rate was 101% over the course of a 45 min spin class. The max was 106%. Thats 193 bpm avg, 204 bpm max. That's really good for me, who's a self proclaimed cardio wimp.

The spin class was great. It was an instructor that was new to me and she challenged me just hard enough to where I was constantly giving full effort. Sometimes if the instructor is too hard, I just give up, ya know?

"This isn't news!"

2008-12-30T11:39:00.001-06:00

Haha, I found this pretty amusing. The guy who plays the "this isn't news" guy does a great job at portraying "internet nerd"... the voice, the hair, the over excitability.

Sunbathing

2008-12-21T23:50:00.001-06:00

This is just too damn cute. Coco likes to sunbathe.

Edge Driving Part VI

2008-12-13T13:52:00.001-06:00

Ehh, the video is a bit boring. You really can't get a feel for the speed and violence when watching from afar. Even in-car cameras can't capture that well. It's something you have to experience for yourself. It's like skydiving. You just really can't describe it to someone who hasn't been. I can tell you though that in many parts of that video, I was going well over 100 mph.

At 1:47, you can see me slide around Horseshoe (the downhill right hander). I was driving really sloppy because in the previous session, my amazing instructor was showing me how he can drift around every corner and still be faster than everyone on the track, so I was trying to (somewhat) emulate him. I think the message was "if you can safely control your car over the edge, then you won't be afraid to skate the edge." Easier said then done.

Despite slip-sliding all over the track, I think I was making ok times. The grey Subaru said he shaved a whole second off his lap time by following me. He said we did 1:27 one time. I think if I really concentrate on driving well, and not roast my tires by trying to slide/drift, I can probably squeeze out a 1:26 or maybe less?

I got one of the two most advanced instructors this time around. He is professional, as in he makes his living by instructing people who are serious about going fast ($700 per day!), and he's also trying to get into professional racing. Crazy what that mofo can do with a car, just ask my friend Troy who got a few rides with him (in my car, hehe).

Anyway, I'm "very" solo approved in yellow now. :) Next event, I'll get the solo discount, get the solo wristband, and not have an instructor at all... scary! I'm definitely going to ask for one to come along for a few laps... I usually need to be cleaned up since I forget in the time between events.

The damage:

new (more or less) Z51 brake pads completely obliterated in 2 days, not just worn away, but burnt to a crisp also
boiled brake fluid in 1 day, requiring a complete flush
front r-compound tires debatably finished

Sunshine

2008-11-27T19:59:00.003-06:00

Hope that guy is wearing sunscreen!

Wow. Netflix recommended this movie to me and though I had never heard of it before, I thought sure what the heck, I like science fiction. I thoroughly enjoyed it. It sucked me in right from the beginning and kept me going until the end. Well, the last third of the movie could have been better, but the first two thirds were top rate.

The movie takes place in the future where the sun is about to burn out. Humanity launched a mission (Icarus I) to detonate a bomb on the sun in order to restart it. That mission failed and they launched a second mission (Icarus II) to do the same thing.

Straight up, space scares me. There is something about the darkness, the silence, the sterility and coldness of a spaceship that creeps me out. This movie, interestingly, makes light creepy. There are a lot of images of the blazing inferno that is the sun. It's the totalness, the completely engulfing feeling these images invoke which I find to be creepy.

The movie is not without its clichés. You have the "crew is expendable at the cost of the mission" choices, the "struggling to maintain sanity in an alien environment" dilemmas, and finally (and unfortunately) the "movie needs a physical antagonist" plot point. They are all done well though, with good pacing and good acting.

Last, but not least, I didn't feel like I had to suspend my disbelief much. I'm pretty demanding when it comes to that.

I highly recommend this movie to any sci-fi fans.

Scivation Xtend

2008-11-23T01:30:00.002-06:00

Bodybuilding.com's glutamine product of the year!

This is a solid amino acid product that has the standard 2-1-1 ratio of l-leucine (3.5 g), l-isoleucine (1.75 g) and l-valine (1.75 g). It also contains a healthy dose of l-glutamine (2.5 g) and citrulline malate (1 g).

Does this stuff work? I dunno. It's hard to say with nutritional supplements, ya know? It's the same as taking whey protein... there's no real night and day difference, but you take it anyway just to be sure. I do feel like the duration of my post workout soreness has decreased (as l-glutamine is advertised to do), but maybe that's also just a side effect of regularly going to the gym 4 days a week for the past 4 months.

Ok, just to make this "review" easy, let's assume that you believe in amino acid supplements and you are trying to decide which one to get. It'll boil down to price, taste and quality.

I think the quality is good. Scivation has a very good reputation on bodybuilding.com and Xtend has a huge following there.

Price is alright, I guess. Dang amino acids are expensive. It's $50 for a 90 serving container. People take between 1 and 3 servings a day. I take 1.5 servings.

Taste is where it gets interesting. It's advertised as tasting like Koolaid... and yes it does, after you get used to it! The first two or three times I tried "refreshing apple," it tasted like bitter chemicals. So much so that I would sometimes cringe after taking a swig. Then I learned to add more water. 2 scoops per 1 liter seems to do the trick. After that, it started to taste kind of good.

The watermelon flavor was the opposite. It tasted watered down and diluted. After upping the amount to 3 scoops per 1 liter, it actually tastes pretty good.

By now, I'm very used to Xtend's flavor and actually find it very pleasurable. I sometimes drink it just cuz I'm thirsty and am craving something sweet. Tastes like how Jolly Ranchers smell. The watermelon is definitely sweeter than the apple, and I like it better overall.

BSN Syntha-6

2008-11-06T21:51:00.003-06:00

Funky red bottle.

Syntha-6's gimmick is that it has 6 different proteins: whey concentrate, whey isolate, egg albumen, milk protein concentrate, calcium caseinate, micellar alpha and beta-casein caseinates. Each type of protein has a different absorption rate, so one shake theoretically gives you a steady protein supply for up to 8 hours.

Here's the macro breakdown for a 44 g serving:

22 g protein
15 g carbs (2 g sugar)
6 g fat (2 g saturated)
200 calories

Compare that to a 70 g serving of Muscle Milk (which also has a blend of different types of protein):

32 g protein
16 g carbs (2 g sugar)
12 g fat (6 g saturated)
300 calories

Ahh, but the serving size is different. Let's put them on equal ground. Here are the macros for a 70 g serving of Syntha-6:

35 g protein
24 g carbs (3 g sugar)
10 g fat (3 g saturated)
325 calories

It boils down to significantly more carbs, and significantly less saturated fat. Note though, that Muscle Milk claims its saturated fat is good for you (medium chain triglycerides, that are more readily metabolized for energy).

So how does it taste? I got Chocolate Peanut Butter and when blended with a banana, ice and water... it tastes damn good. So good that I immediately want to make another one. I think it definitely lives up to it's claim of "ridiculously" delicious. I haven't tried it in plain water yet.

Update: I just tried it in plain water... it has nothing on Muscle Milk. Not bad, definitely good as far as protein goes, but nothing close to retardedly delicious like Muscle Milk.

All in all, I think it's a perfect alternative to Muscle Milk for people who don't like the high amount of (saturated) fat.

Fun factoid... on BodyBuilding.com's best seller list, Syntha-6 is ranked number 4 and Muscle Milk is ranked number 5. BSN has two products on the top 10 list (top 5 actually).

Poopoo's hurt bottom!

2008-11-05T22:00:00.001-06:00

Callie got an impacted anal gland. Apparently it's somewhat typical for dachshunds. I had never heard of it before and freaked out. It looked like a tumor, but all swollen and veiny.

I wanted to go to the emergency room, but Aimee talked me out of it after looking it up on the internet (unlike me, she stayed calm and rational). It's not actually that serious, so we decided to go first thing in the morning. We did a few warm compresses on it and went to bed.

I wake up to all the lights on and Aimee rushing about and Callie whining. I'm so tired and out of it, I have no idea what is going on and it's hard for me to think or concentrate. Her anal gland ruptured in the middle of the night and it was bleeding all over the sheets. :(

Panic sets in and I kept saying, "Well lets go to the vet now, now now!" Aimee replies, "Uhh, it's 4:00am." I was like... wtf, I though it was morning time (that's how out of it I was).

Again, Aimee didn't panic and looked it up on the internet. It's not fatal and it wasn't bleeding that badly, so we put a compress on it and went to bed again.

Next morning we go to the vet and get her all stitched up. Ten days later she's as good as new!

I hate stuff like this. It scares me so much. I can't imagine life without them.

Annette and Jan's Sopapillas

2008-10-30T20:23:00.001-05:00

This isn't a picture of the actual recipe below.

I don't know who Annette and Jan are. They are friends of my coworker who gave me this recipe... :)

Ingredients

2 cans crescent rolls (not jumbo)
1.5 cups sugar
8 oz cream cheese
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp cinnamon
1 stick of butter

Procedure

Put first can of rolls on baking dish. Make sure perforations are closed.
Mix 1 cup of sugar with vanilla and cream cheese. Spread over rolls.
Open second can of rolls and put on top the ones that have cream cheese on them, sealing the perforations.
Melt butter and pour on top.
Mix remaining 1/2 cup of sugar with 1 tsp cinnamon. Sprinkle over the sopapillas.
Bake in oven for 30 minutes at 350 degrees.

Nutritional Info

Oye vé... I'm not even going to bother! Ok, ok... I'm neurotic. 4 g protein, 50 g carbs (almost all sugar), 28 g fat, 457 calories... for a single serving (recipe makes eight).

Notes

I haven't actually tried these yet, but my coworker assures me that they are awesome.

Muscle Milk - Cake Batter

2008-10-22T13:59:00.002-05:00

Wow, this stuff actually smells and tastes like cake batter. I'm very impressed.

Now the million dollar question... is it better than Muscle Milk's mind blowingly good vanilla? Ehh, not quite. It's just not as rich. Maybe I mixed it with too much water though. We'll see when I make it again tomorrow.

I have to say though, it's my second favorite flavor right now.

End communication.

Sludging it up

2008-10-22T08:58:00.001-05:00

Head SciVation dude demonstrating how to make sludge.

I made (SciVation) sludge for breakfast this morning. It's really thick. Every spoonful took a decent amount of time to eat. It's pretty delicious though. I thoroughly enjoyed every single bite. I highly suggest trying this.

Although I didn't use blueberries this morning, I'm including them in the recipe. I made some other modifications to the recipe as well.

Ingredients

1.5 scoop (SciVation) vanilla whey
2 tbsp (32 g) all natural almond butter
1 tbsp sugar free, fat free chocolate pudding mix
1/2 tbsp (Ghirardelli) unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tsp (2 packets) Splenda
1/2 cup frozen blueberries (thawed)
skim milk

Procedure

Mix all the powders in a small bowl.
Mix in the almond butter with little splashes of milk until you have very very thick sludge.
Mix in the blueberries.
Put in freezer for a few mins.

Nutritional Info

	protein	carbs	fat	calories
totals	40.0	27.18	22.15	391
almond butter	4.5	6.4	17.7	190
whey	33.0	1.5	3.0	108
pudding	0.0	6.18	0.0	27
cocoa powder	0.0	1.5	0.75	8
milk	2.2	3.1	0.2	23
blueberries	0.3	8.5	0.5	35

Notes

Next time, I'm going to try to cut the calories by only using 1 tbsp (16 g) of almond butter.

The original recipe calls for 1 scoop of protein, but I always like adding a bit more.

SciVation Whey (vanilla)

2008-10-21T23:37:00.003-05:00

A while ago, I asked the SciVation owner/president for a sample their whey protein via email. He promptly answered and asked for a shipping address. I never received the samples. I'm a little miffed about that, but I bought some SciVation products anyway. I'm pretty sure it was just an honest mistake. SciVation is extremely active on the bodybuilding.com forums and has a fantastic reputation for customer service.

I used Optimum Nutrition 100% Whey before and was very happy with it. There are 2 reasons why I decided to try out SciVation's whey.

Price. It's cheap as hell.
The company seems very promising with a focus on customer service, lab tested products, and being owned and run by bodybuilders (who obviously use the products).

It's good stuff. It has the thickness and consistency of EAS Myoplex (it's much thicker than ON 100% Whey), but without the chalky taste. Now granted, I put my whey in fruit smoothies but still, I can tell it tastes good. I mean, I put all my whey in my smoothies and it's like this: nothing can mask the nasty chalky flavor of Myoplex Lite, ON 100% Whey more or less doesn't affect the smoothie at all, SciVation Whey makes the smoothie thick and has a bit more vanilla flavor.

The macro ratios are good. 22 g of protein, 1 g of carbs (sugar), 1 g of fat. I just wish whey protein isolate was listed first in the ingredients (whey protein concentrate is instead)... just for mental peace of mind.

I would definitely buy this product again.

Healthy Cheesecake / Mousse

2008-10-16T22:45:00.000-05:00

This is another oldie, but goodie. I perfected this recipe in college, but then lost it and forgot how to make it. The recipe posted below is my best guess...

Ingredients

1 cup cottage cheese (low fat or non fat)
1 tbsp sugar free, fat free pudding mix
1 scoop vanilla whey protein powder
vanilla extract (couple drops)
coconut extract (couple drops)
Splenda (optional, to taste)
1/2 cup thawed frozen strawberries

Procedure

Put everything in a mixing bowl.
Go sparingly with the extracts.
Blend until silky smooth using a hand blender.
Put fruit on top and put in refrigerator.

Nutritional Info

	protein	carbs	fat	calories
totals	52.5	26.28	3.9	359
cottage cheese	28.0	6.1	2.3	163
whey	24.0	4.0	1.5	130
pudding	0.0	6.18	0.0	27.0
strawberries	0.5	10.0	0.1	39.0

Notes

For pudding mix flavor, I use cheesecake or white chocolate.

You can add unsweetened cocoa powder to make it chocolate, but then you need to add extra sweetener or it will be bitter.

Instead of using the extracts and Spenda, you can use a couple squirts of Davinci or Torani sugar free syrups.

Using a hand blender is a chore. It's too thick to do in a blender. Maybe a food processor would work better?

How to get fit... a super brief primer

2008-10-15T01:37:00.004-05:00

So apparently I lost something like %5 body fat in less than 3 months (heh, I still don't really believe it, I'm going to have it measured again). I went from those pictures above to this...

...in just two and a half months. Here are my thoughts on the process.

On nutrition...

Nutrition is everything. It is by far the most important part when it comes to losing body fat and gaining muscle. Everything is secondary to a proper nutrition plan.

If you burn more calories than you consume, you will lose weight. If you consume more calories than you burn, you will gain weight. Period.

The quality of food and types of calories consumed dictate what type of weight is gained or lost.

Eat natural foods. Protein bars are bad. Protein powder is a poor substitute for real food. Anything processed is bad (refined sugar and refined flour are especially bad).

Carbs are not bad. I eat lots of carbs everyday. Eat large amounts of fibrous vegetables with every meal (I go through 4 lbs of asparagus and 3 lbs of broccoli a week). Eat small amounts of starchy vegetables and fruit early on in the day, but no so much at night.

Eat large amounts of protein. This helps reduce the amount of muscle you lose when trimming down.

Get your essential fats from natural foods like nuts and salmon.

On physical aesthetic...

Do not concern yourself with weight, only body fat percent. I weighed about 140 in those "before" pictures... and I looked like shit. I weigh 138 now and look much better.

You can lose weight and still be just as flabby as before. You need to replace fat with muscle (i.e. reduce your body fat percent).

On metabolism...

Muscle burns calories just by existing. Fat does nothing. Replacing fat with muscle will increase your metabolism.

You must eat 5 or 6 small meals a day. This will level out your blood sugar and increase your metabolism. This is very important, probably the second most important thing besides nutrition.

On goals and motivation...

Write down a 3 month goal and read it every day. It should be something a little intimidating. It must be measurable.

Reprogram your brain to be motivated. When you catch a negative thought in your head, say (out loud) "stop", then replace it with a positive thought. This will (re)condition your subconscious.

On suppliments...

Don't bother with anything except whey protein powder and a multivitamin.

On cardio...

You need to do cardio. I do it 4-5 times a week.

"Low intensity cardio burning more fat calories" is smoke and mirrors. Let's do a little math game. Let's say that low intensity cardio burns a ratio of 70:30 fat to carbs calories and that high intensity burns a ratio of 50:50. Now lets say you do low intensity for 1 hour and burn 500 calories, that's 350 fat calories. Now I do high intensity for 1 hour and burn 1000 calories. Guess what, I burned 150 more fat calories than you and 500 more total.

This is a bit harsh, but who do you want to look like? Housewife McFatty walking on the tread mill? Or the triathlete that just ran 5 miles at an 8 minute per mile pace?

My favorite cardio is spinning (stationary bike). Cranking up the resistance on the bike always makes my legs sore... so I feel like I'm actually building some muscle rather than just doing cardio.

On weight training...

You need to do this to replace fat with muscle and/or to make sure that you don't lose too much muscle while trimming down.

Always make improvement every time you go to the gym, even if it's a tiny improvement. Get a notebook for this.

Parting thoughts...

If you want a harder look than my "after" pictures, try cutting down on sodium (salt), fructose (sugar from fruit) and dairy products. Unfortunately my diet is high in all of these.

This post is an extremely brief introduction to fitness. If you want a thorough and detailed guide, read Tom Venuto's e-book (the site looks like spam/scam, but it's not).

Can't wait to show results in another 3 months!

ALLMAX Nutrition Product Samples

2008-10-13T23:53:00.002-05:00

I'm looking for a Syntax Nectar substitute because apparently Syntrax is an evil company. I asked an ALLMAX representative for a sample of IsoKool, which he obliged and then some (check out the picture of all that he sent)!

Here are my thoughts on the products.

IsoFlex Bar - Chocolate Marshmallow Fudge

Yum... this thing tastes great! Kind of reminds of a Charleston Chew, but not as chewy. I give it a 4/5 on flavor, I most definitely enjoyed eating it.

When it comes to bars though, I'm very skeptical that any are good for you. Weighing in at 330 calories, this is definitely a meal replacement (very close in macros to my daily Muscle Milk shake). It has a nice amount of protein at 31 g, the first ingredient being whey isolate, which is good. It has 12 g of fat (6 saturated) just like Muscle Milk. Then it has 26 g of carbs, 21 of which are sugar alcohols. I don't know how I feel about sugar alcohols.

IsoFlex - Peanut Butter Chocolate

They sent me two packets of this stuff. I made a smoothie with the first one out of a whole banana, 2 spoons of vanilla yogurt, ice and water. The second time around, I used only half a banana and more ice.

Wow! This stuff is delicious! You can really taste the peanut butter and it tastes great. I usually put a tablespoon of almond butter in my smoothies, but with this stuff there is absolutely no need (unless it's for the calories). I generally like ON 100% Whey, but this definitely tastes better than any of the ON chocolate flavors.

Now for the downside... it's 1.5 times more expensive than ON 100% Whey... $35 for 2 lbs... ouch. Guess that's the price to pay for 97% whey isolate.

IsoKool - Green Apple

Great taste, but it's hard to mix. It clumps up and gets all gooey on the spoon. Oh well, that's more or less expected with this type of protein powder. The taste is right up my alley though, and I was just about to buy some when I saw the price... $35 for 2 lbs. Ugh!

Hmm, I just checked and Nectar is $29. I don't remember it being that expensive, but granted I was buying that stuff a few years ago. So I guess $6 more for the IsoKool isn't that bad.

I'm going to buy this. I remember not liking Nectar's apple flavor, but this stuff is pretty good. For the record, Nector's Fuzzel Navel flavor is good... tastes like orange juice.

IsoKool - Lemon Ice Tea

I'm not going to review this tonight because I'm pretty set on the Green Apple flavor. If this flavor turns out to be the bomb, I'll edit this post later.

IsoKool - Tropical Fruit

This flavor doesn't interest me at all, but same goes for it (as the Lemon Ice Tea).

Conclusion

I'm pretty impressed with the sample products they gave me. I will definitely buy the IsoKool Green Apple, but I was in the market for that type of protein anyway.

What's really impressive is that I'm a hair away from buying the IsoFlex Peanut Butter Chocolate, even though I think it's quite a bit out of my price range and I had no prior intention of switching brands for this type of protein. I just really liked the taste, which surprised me given its nutritional profile.

I also think it's really cool that ALLMAX sent me all this stuff just for asking. Seems like the company is on the right track when it comes to customer service.

P.S. The tee shirt is too big but I'm definitely going to use that condom tonight!

Gooey Protein Cake (aka Protein Brownie)

2008-10-12T23:22:00.001-05:00

JACKPOT!! Congratulations, you have found the greatest health food recipe of all time.

Full credit goes to this blog post for the original recipe. I have modified it slightly, thus getting different macro nutrient counts.

I can't believe how good this is. I just ate 50g of protein and I'm craving more. It is absolutely delicious.

Oh and get this... it only dirties one bowl and spoon, and takes less than 5 minutes to make. Yeah, greatest health recipe ever.

Ingredients

1 scoop vanilla protein powder (whey)
1/2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tbsp sugar free, fat free chocolate pudding mix
1/2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp Splenda (2 packets)
1/4 cup water

Procedure

Mix all the ingredients (except the water) in a microwave safe bowl.
Mix the water in slowly so the mixture doesn't clump. Add just enough water to have a thick brownie-like batter.
Zap in the microwave on high for 1 to 1.5 mins.
Turn the container over and give it a good knock and the cake/brownie should plop right out.

Nutritional Info

	protein	carbs	fat	calories
totals	22.0	9.2	2.75	142
protein powder	22.0	1.0	2	108
cocoa powder	0.0	1.5	0.75	7
pudding mix	0.0	6.7	0.0	27

If an ingredient isn't listed in the table, it's because it has no calories.

Notes

Notice the gooey center in the picture? That is the best part. Do not overcook it or your won't get that gooey center!

I used Optimum Nutrition 100% Whey French Vanilla Creme. SciVation Chocolate Whey is supposed to be very good for this recipe also.

Update: I use Scivation vanilla whey now and the nutritional information has been changed to reflect that.

If you use chocolate whey, you don't have to use the cocoa powder.

The original recipe calls for 1 tsp on olive oil. I made it with and without and couldn't tell a difference. 1 tsp of olive oil has 4g of (good) fat and 40 calories.

Add a squirt or two of sugar free flavored syrups (Davinci or Torani) for extra awesomeness. I have hazelnut and caramel coming in the mail, I'll let you know how it goes. If you use these syrups, you should probably cut back on the Splenda (unless you want it really sweet).

I can't stress enough not to overcook it. You don't want it dry, you want it moist and delicious.

Taste it... then look at the nutritional info... your mind will boggle.

The Super Vette

2008-10-09T13:21:00.001-05:00

A recent Car and Driver article refers to the new Corvette ZR1 simply as "Superman". That's quite a statement considering the other (super) cars in the same review where were referred to by their normal names.

They strapped some test equipment to it and recorded some numbers. Apparently it has the shortest stopping distance of any production car they have ever tested. The 1/4 mile time is little disappointing though, in my opinion (11.5 seconds @ 128 mph). The skidpad number is really good (1.07 g).

Read the test results here and about its likeness to Superman here.

Reached my goal 2 weeks early...

2008-10-03T21:25:00.002-05:00

Two and a half months ago, I read Tom Venuto's book and gave myself a goal of 10% body fat in 90 days. I estimate that when I started, I was at 15% or higher. One month in, I was measured at 13.5%. Two and half months in, I was measured at 9.3%! The best I have ever done previously is 14.5%, and that was in college while taking some questionable "supplements".

This comes as kind of a shock to me. I don't feel that lean. I definitely don't think I look that lean. In fact, I've been doubling up my exercise on the weekends out of fear of missing my goal. I'm so skeptical, that I'm going to have another test done in a week.

The strange thing is... I hope it's wrong. Why? I don't like my mid section, and I'm hoping that I'm not genetically predisposed to not having abs, despite low bf%. Ryon (my favorite trainer at Pure Austin) says I just need to build some abs using heavy weights. I hope that's the case, because my stomach still seems flabby to me... especially when I'm sitting down.

Well, assuming that it's right and I'm really sub 10%, I look forward to writing my next post about how I did it and the key points that I learned from Tom Venuto and his book.

Btw, Tom is a natrual bodybuilder and is more or less my fitness idol. You really should subscribe to his blog. He's very well spoken (and written), extremely thorough, rational, logical, consistent, but at the same time, very down to earth and relatable. He's great.

Chicken Stir Fry

2008-10-01T23:27:00.001-05:00

So simple to make and so damn good. It totally satisfies my "Chinese takeout" craving, but doesn't completely destroy my body.

Ingredients

half chicken breast (roughly 4.5 oz)
1 cup broccoli
1/4 onion
2 tbsp House of Tsang Szechuan Spicy Stir Fry Sauce

Procedure

Bake or grill the chicken, very light marinade optional.
Cut onion into slices. Cut broccoli into bite sized pieces.
Spray Pam in frying pan, throw in the veggies, cover with a pot lid, stir occasionally.
Cut up the chicken into bite sized pieces.
When the veggies are done cooking, toss in the chicken and the sauce, stir until fully coated.

Nutritional Info

	protein	carbs	fat	calories
totals	33.9	24.2	4.2	266
chicken	29.5	0.0	1.6	141
broccoli	3.8	9.1	0.5	46
onion	0.6	7.1	0.1	29
Tsang sauce	0.0	8.0	2.0	50

Notes

I usually marinate the chicken with Central Market Teriyaki Marinade. It's organic and very low calorie (15 per tbsp) and most of it runs off the chicken anyway.

I like broccoli. I usually use more than a cup. The listed nutritional info is for 1.5 cups.

Obviously, the bad stuff are the sauces which are mostly sugar, but it's only 6g total if you don't marinate the chicken (just use salt, garlic powder, pepper, onion powder).

Hole in the Head

2008-09-17T23:33:00.001-05:00

That's what Aimee calls it anyway.

Ingredients

1 slice 100% whole wheat bread
1 large whole egg

Procedure

Make hole in the head, err, bread.
Toast one side of bread in frying pan with a little Pam.
Flip bread over, put egg in hole.
Let egg cook for a while, then flip the entire thing over.
Let cook until yoke is desired consistency.

Nutritional Info

	protein	carbs	fat	calories
totals	10.0	20.0	6.0	170
bread	4.0	20.0	2.0	100
egg	6.0	0.0	4.0	70

Notes

I use my fingers to pinch a hole in the bread, but I imagine a cookie cutter works better.

I like my yoke a little runny.

I top mine off with hot sauce (Cholula).

Perfect Weather

2008-09-17T00:23:00.001-05:00

The past couple days have had perfect top down weather (high of 80 degrees). These days are rare in Texas, so you gotta jump to take advantage. I love convertibles... and removable hardtops.

End communication.

Muscle Milk - Dulce de Leche

2008-09-16T17:36:00.002-05:00

It's good, but it's not crazy good like Vanilla Cremé or like how Chocolate Milk used to be.

End communication.

Caesar Chicken Wraps

2008-08-30T23:16:00.001-05:00

Salad dressing is usually extremely bad for you (creamy blue cheese, ranch, Caesar), but I found some yogurt based salad dressing that is really good. Thus this recipe resides in my "healthy" stash.

Ingredients

1/2 chicken breast
1 tbsp Caesar dressing
1 whole wheat tortilla (burrito sized)
shredded lettuce

Procedure

Bake the chicken breast with some light seasoning. I use cracked salt, cracked pepper and garlic powder.
Chop the chicken and let cool. I shove it in the freezer for 5 minutes because I'm impatient.
Toss chicken, a handful of lettuce and the Caesar dressing in a mixing bowl.
Heat the tortilla on both sides in a frying pan. Don't use oil or anything.
Dump the chicken/lettuce/dressing mix onto the tortilla and wrap it up!

Nutritional Info

	protein	carbs	fat	calories
totals	35.5	29.5	7.9	299
chicken	29.5	0.0	1.6	141
dressing	0.5	1.5	3.2	40
tortilla	5.0	25.0	3.0	110
lettuce	0.5	1.6	0.1	8

Notes

The dressing I use is yogurt based and made by Bolthouse Farms. It's good stuff; no preservatives or added sugar.

Use 100% whole wheat tortillas. Note that "wheat" nor "whole wheat" is the same as "100% whole wheat". If you're unsure, just use these.

Breaded Chicken

2008-08-30T11:16:00.001-05:00

Ugh, processed flour! It's not as much as you think though. See the nutritional info and notes section.

Ingredients

chicken breasts
flour
1 whole egg
splash of milk
breadcrumbs
tomato sauce (optional)

Procedure

Beat the egg and milk in a mixing bowl like you're going to make scrambled eggs.
Dry the chicken breasts with some paper towels.
Cut the chicken breasts in half (like you're flaying) so you have thin chicken breasts.
One half-breast at a time, roll in the flour, dunk in the egg, and toss in the breadcrumbs
Bake for 15 mins at 350 degrees.
Optionally serve with 1/2 cup tomato sauce poured on top.

Nutritional Info

	protein	carbs	fat	calories
totals	37.0	33.9	4.9	341
chicken	29.5	0.0	1.6	141
flour	0.5	3.8	0.0	18
egg	1.0	0.1	0.8	12
breadcrumbs	4.0	20.0	1.5	110
tomato sauce	2.0	10.0	1.0	60

Notes

See? It's not a carb overload. In fact, the protein to carb ratio is over 1

When I make this recipe, I use 3 whole chicken breasts, which makes 6 servings total. I estimate 1/4 cup of breadcrumbs for each serving. 1 egg easily covers all 6 servings (I even have to throw away left over egg). I estimate that 1/4 cup of flour covers all 6 servings.

Use organic tomato sauce. I know, I know... it's literally twice the price... but it has a third of the sugar! HEB tomato sauce has 6g sugar vs only 2g sugar for Central Market organic.

Oatmeal "Bodybuilder" Pancakes

2008-08-30T10:00:00.000-05:00

Here's my take on the ole bodybuilder pancake recipe. This recipe has been around for years, and I actually used to make it back in college (5 years ago), but I just recently rediscovered it when reading Tom Venuto's book.

Ingredients

1/2 banana
1/4 cup oatmeal
1 whole egg
2 egg whites
2 oz applesauce
1 tbsp almond butter (optional)
cinnamon (optional)

Procedure

Mix all ingredients in mixing bowl until you have a pancake batter like consistency.
Pan fry it like pancakes. Best makes 3 smallish pancakes.

Nutritional Info

With the almond butter...

	protein	carbs	fat	calories
totals	44.5	47.8	16.4	508
banana	0.9	19.5	0.3	76
oatmeal	2.5	14	1.5	75
whole egg	6.3	0.4	5.0	74
egg whites	7.2	0.5	0.1	34
applesauce	0.1	6.4	0.0	24
protein powder	24.0	4.0	1.5	130
almond butter	3.5	3.0	8.0	95

Without the almond butter...

	protein	carbs	fat	calories
totals	41.0	44.8	8.4	413

Notes

I like to use frozen bananas that I then thaw in the microwave. That way they are very mushy and mix easily.

The oatmeal shouldn't be "instant" oatmeal. In fact, you should never eat that stuff. Regular or "quick" is ok.

The applesauce should of course be all natural without any sugar added. The reason for the applesauce in this recipe is to make the pancakes more moist.

Protein Smoothie

2008-08-27T21:57:00.002-05:00

This is what I'm drinking these days. It's a refinement of my all natural smoothie with more protein. It's delicious. It tastes more indulgent than healthy.

Ingredients

1 frozen banana
4 oz lite vanilla yogurt
1 tbsp all natural almond butter
1 scoop vanilla protein powder
3-4 ice cubes
4-6 oz water

Procedure

Blend until smooth.

Nutritional Info

	protein	carbs	fat	calories
totals	34.0	46.0	9.5	385
banana	1.5	31.0	0.5	120
yogurt	5.0	10.0	0.0	60
almond butter	3.5	3.0	8.0	95
protein powder	24.0	2.0	1.0	110

Notes

I use Dannon Lite & Fit for the yogurt. It doesn't have high fructose corn syrup and has little sugar in general. Also, they come in nice 4 oz containers.

I mostly use ON (Optimum Nutrition) 100% Whey French Vanilla Creme for the protein powder, but other flavors work well also.

Sometimes instead of using a full frozen banana, I use half and mix in some other kind of fruit. Half a frozen peach works well.

I drink this first thing in the morning and after workouts because of the high amount of simple carbohydrates.

Potato, Potatoe

2008-08-23T01:20:00.001-05:00

Baked Red Potatoes

I used to think potatoes were bad for you (i.e. a high GI food) but my new idol Tom Venuto eats them, so now I eat them again. Here's my recipe.

2 or 3 medium red potatoes
Pam
fresh cracked pepper
fresh ground sea salt
garlic powder
onion powder

Leaving the skin on, cut the potatoes into bit sized chunks. Put a thin coating of Pam on them and toss in a mixing bowl with the spices. Cook in (toaster) over at 350 degrees for 30 to 40 minutes.

The outside should be a little tough or chewy, but the inside should be like mashed potatoes.

Baked Sweet Potatoes (Yams)

Ok, I know sweet potatoes are a great carb source (i.e. a low GI food). Here's my recipe for them

1 large sweet potato or yam
Pam
1 tbsp brown sugar
cinnamon

Cut the sweet potatoes into bit sized chunks (leaving the skin on). Put a thin coating of Pam on them and toss in a mixing bowl with the sugar and cinnamon. Cook in (toaster) oven at 350 degrees for 20 minutes, then finish them off on the grill (or toast) setting for 10 minutes.

These should come out with the skin a little chewy, but the potato part very very soft (like melt in your mouth).

The Dark Knight

2008-08-17T13:46:00.001-05:00

I'm a Christian Bale fan. I like Batman. Take that for what it's worth while I bash this movie...

The movie basically treats the audience like idiots... and for good reason, the majority of the population is uneducated and just plain dumb (with respect to IQ). They need the underlying themes and messages repeatedly bashed into their skull before they "get it" and when they do, they feel like they've discovered something so deep and meaningful that they rave about what a spectacular, breakthrough and though provoking movie this is.

I'll admit, the characters were good and the acting was wonderful, but it was (in my opinion) completely undermined by being force fed the obvious themes and terrible action sequences.

Yes, that's right. I think the action is god awful... even worse than the movie holding our hands to get the super deep and complex themes (sarcasm). Again, treating the audience like idiots, we are inundated with feats of magic and stupidity as Batman defies physics by appearing behind enemies (unbeknownst to them) in fully lit rooms with dozens of people present, or as groups of bad guys armed with guns watch Batman beat up their friend while they wait their turn.

Ironically maybe, I found the "cellphone sonar" to be the most plausible piece of fictional technology that I've seen in a while.

All in all, I think it's a good movie, I would definitely recommend it. I just don't think it deserves the ridiculous amounts of praise it's getting, nor the number one spot on IMDB.

Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard 100% Whey (variety pack)

2008-08-14T20:11:00.002-05:00

I got the 16 flavor variety pack, here's the run down of what I thought of the flavors. This is how I make my protein smoothie...so take my taste analysis with a grain of salt (read: the yogurt and banana pretty much overpower the protein flavors).

Extreme Milk Chocolate

It tastes like watered down hot chocolate. Reminds me of the holidays. Might even have a hint of horchata. Chalkiness is ~~minimal~~ non existent. Overall, I don't really like it, but it is definitely non offensive.

Double Rich Chocolate

Very light flavor. I could barely taste it. It's a little chemically tasting too. This one isn't chalky at all either.

Caramel Toffee Fudge

I put in less water this time because I'm noticing a trend of very light flavors. Even with less water, I couldn't taste this one much. It still has the same chemically taste as the pervious ones and still no chalkiness. I think I like this one the best so far.

Vanilla Ice Cream

Another very light flavor. I could barely taste it. It did have that sort of chemically taste that all these flavors seem to have. It's not bad though; I think it's just a part of getting used to a new brand.

Delicious Strawberry

The strongest flavor so far; I can definitely taste it through the banana and yogurt... and it's good! Tastes like some kind of strawberry candy.

French Vanilla Creme

This is the best vanilla so far. It didn't seem to to have that chemically taste that Vanilla Ice Cream had.

Rocky Road

Tastes like all the other chocolates. I think I tasted a little marshmallow, but it might have been suggestive, rather than actual.

Orange Cream

Tastes like a melted creamsicle! I was impressed, but it seems like more of a "once in a while" type flavor.

Banana Cream

It wasn't as strong as Delicious Strawberry or Orange Cream. I could barely taste it. It just seemed like vanilla.

Strawberry Banana

Tasted like a lighter version of Delicious Strawberry

Chocolate Malt

Another chemically tasting chocolate.

Tropical Punch

Tastes like Hawaiian Punch. Pretty strong too. Kinda good, kinda weird.

Cookies and Cream

I just don't like ON's cookies and cream.

Mocha Cappuccino

This one is good, I would buy this.

Chocolate Mint

I like this one also. I think the mint masks the chemically taste that the chocolates tend to have.

Root Beer Float

I didn't try this one; sounds gross mixed with fruit.

Top 5 (in no particular order)

French Vanilla Creme
Delicious Strawberry
Mocha Cappuccino
Chocolate Mint
Caramel Toffee Fudge

I'm surprised by the fruit flavors. Most of them are good enough to purchase. Compare that with Muscle Milk's Strawberry Banana which makes me want to throw up.

Optimum Nutrition 100% Casein (cookies and cream)

2008-08-13T00:30:00.002-05:00

This protein is a blend of micellar casein and calcium caseinate. In theory it's suppose to digest much more slowly than whey protein, thus it is supposed to be used before bed to keep you anti-catabolic while sleeping.

Regardless of the theory, I don't feel bad taking right before bed because it's only 110 calories of nearly pure protein (0.5 g fat, 3 g carb, 1 of which is fiber).

The taste is kind of nasty. Casein protein is much thicker than whey, and unfortunately, isn't nearly flavorless like pure whey isolate. This cookies and cream flavor tastes strongly of licorice to me. I don't really like it, but it's not unbearable.

Take my opinion on its taste with a grain of salt, because it seems like this flavor is a hit on the interwebnetstubes.

Seared Scallops

2008-07-27T21:09:00.003-05:00

Photo from Google Images

These are healthy, delicious and super easy to make. For best results, use "dry" scallops. I actually use the frozen sea scallops in a bag from Costco. They turn out pretty good.

Procedure

Dry the scallops with a paper towel. The drier, the better.
Spray some Pam into a pan and turn on high heat.
Season the scallops. I spray them with a little Pam and sprinkle garlic powder, sea salt and (a little) cracked pepper on them.
Place them in the pan one by one, not touching. Do not move them at all.
Let cook for 2 minutes, flip them over, and cook for two more minutes.
I eat them straight out of the pan. :D

Notes

There are a couple of tricks to searing scallops...

You have to dry them as much as possible and cook on high heat; you don't want your sear to turn into a soup.
Do not move them once they are placed in the pan; this will ruin the burnt crustiness.
Do not overcook them; they are supposed to be rare in the middle.

Driving on the Edge, Part V

2008-07-13T22:55:00.002-05:00

Yes, that is me in the black Vette

Highlights

Past an ACR Viper and Ford GT.
Past a few people on my "nemesis" list (red Solstice GXP, that mofo is really good).
My friend Mike sold his C6 Coupe and showed up to the track in a new C6 Z06!!
Past Mike a few times... :D
R compound tires do not work miracles.
I burned through my track pads on the first day and had to put my stock ones back on. :(
My rotors are cracking. :(
My friend Jason now has racing slicks on his Z06 and completely dominated the blue group (why is he in blue anyway?!?).
The yellow group isn't as fast as I thought it would be.
Mike on being an older guy in a Z06 being revved at by kids, "I used to have a loud car when I was young, now I have a fast car."
Me on riding in my instructor's full tilt race car, "It's like falling, but I know he's in complete control."
I did a textbook example of what to do when going off track.
I did a textbook example of what not to do when going off track (see video). :(

So I had a really bad "off" in the last session of the weekend. I came out of ricochet too fast and put two wheels off and yanked on the steering wheel, then shot back across the track, all while someone was behind me. That is really really bad. Cutting across the track is very dangerous.

I know better than to shoot across the track like that. The day before, I went off track in a very controlled and safe manner, exactly like how it's suppose to be done. So what went wrong this time? Here are my best guesses...

I was trying to impress my instructor (I had an extremely good session previously driving solo).
I was not committed to going off track. I thought I could save it.
We were driving the track backwards so corner worker stations were at corner exits instead of entrances.
I freaked out because I thought I was going to hit the corner worker station. I lost my head and yanked the steering wheel to get back on track.

You've heard a million times not to do that (pull the steering wheels to get back on track). You've seen other people do it and told yourself, "I won't be that guy." But it all happens so fast. There is no time to think, just react. Unfortunately, I reacted to the panic of hitting something on the left, so I swerved out of control to the right.

Coco's Birthday Collage!

2008-06-23T23:58:00.001-05:00

Coco's video collage of her first birthday. She's just too damn cute!

She's really come a long way since we got her from her foster parents (she's a rescue dog). She definitely seems happy now, and though she's still a bit skiddish and timid, she's nothing like when we first got her (we couldn't even touch her then, much less hold her or pick her up).

Myoplex Lite

2008-06-08T22:39:00.003-05:00

I usually have a protein shake around 10pm as my last meal/snack of the day. It usually consist of a packet of Myoplex (chocolate lover's variety pack), a frozen banana, a few ice cubes and a cup of water. It's pretty tasty, but I don't like eating so many carbs that late. So I decided to get some vanilla creme Myoplex Lite instead and mix it with water, ice and a less carby fruit.

That crap is disgusting. Don't buy it unless you like the taste of chalk. The first time, I made it with water, ice and fresh raspberries. I could barely finish it. Second time, I made it with Yoplait french vanilla yogurt, water, ice and fresh strawberries. The Yoplait helped, but that defeats the purpose of low carb and it still wasn't even good. Ugh.

Video game music is beautiful

2008-06-08T22:04:00.003-05:00

I'm sometimes known as the guy who doesn't like music. I usually tell people that when they inquire about my musical tastes. But it's not actually true. It's just that it's very hard for me to find music that I like. I tend to like very melodic music, which is hard to find on the radio or in modern popular music.

I do like classical music, but the really melodic pieces seem to be the famous ones that we've all heard a million times. I've tried listening to some not-so-famous classical music but still have a hard time finding those catchy melodies that I like so much.

You know what is really melodic and catchy? Classic 8 and 16 bit video game music! So I end up listening to Kohiha Radio most of the time which is more or less awesome!

It's been a secret fantasy of mine to be able to play an instrument really well... so I can play all my favorite video game music. Silly, I know... but if you're a gamer, how cool would that be??

I recently found on YouTube tons of videos of people performing live versions of video game music. I'm massively jealous. Here are a few choice picks. The first one is especially incredible. Bonus if you can name the game and song.

Ninja Gaiden II

2008-06-07T16:19:00.010-05:00

I just beat it on Path of the Warrior. My save game time was 15 hours and total playing time 24 hours over a span of 3 days. Just for comparison sake, it took me 24 hours over two days to beat Ninja Gaiden Black.

First, let's address the difficulty. You know how Tomonobu Itagaki was saying that Ninja Gaiden II will be more accessible (read "easier") than its predecessors? It's a joke. It must be an inside joke for Team Ninja. I don't remember being beat down this badly in Ninja Gaiden Black and I didn't even know how to play properly back then (instant charge ultimate technique, what's that??), I'm supposed to be a seasoned veteran now!

So, what do I think of the game? It's the most frustrating and most satisfying game I have ever played.

Well, "frustrating" might be the wrong word. There are a lot of mechanisms in place to make it less frustrating than it's predecessors. Here's a nifty list.

You regen health after you kill all the enemies in your immediate vicinity.
There are many more save points.
Save points fully regen your health.
If you die on a boss, you start right on that boss instead of the last save point.
If you die at the beginning of a new level, you start on the new level instead of the last save point.

So maybe I just mean "brutally difficult" instead of "frustrating", although the game does take quite a few cheap shots at you so there is some level of frustration baked in still. I suspect they use all the health regening as an excuse to make the fights more difficult.

The game is massively satisfying on multiple levels. First off, because it's so difficult, it's satisfying just to move forward and make progress. You really feel like you've accomplished something.

Second, the combat is truly amazing. The depth and the precision of the fighting system is unrivaled in this genre. There is no room for button mashing in this game. All the aspects of a dedicated fighting game are present:

light and heavy attacks
combos (including air combos)
throws
blocking
dodging
counters (like in Dead or Alive)
super moves (called ultimate techniques)

They even added a little something extra that they call "obliteration techniques" which are stylish (cool camera zooming and angles) finishing moves on wounded enemies.

Third, the animation is spectacular. The moves are so crazy over the top (without being cheesy) that you never get bored with them. It also helps that there are so many of them. Each weapon has tons of moves, combos, ultimate techniques and obliteration techniques. What's even cooler is that the obliteration techniques differ according to what limb the enemy is missing, your orientation to them, and even the environment sometimes.

Lastly, it's disgustingly violent. Remember playing games back in the day and wondering, "I'm hitting this guy with a massive sword, why aren't his limbs coming off?" Problem solved. Any combination of the following can happen:

left arm sliced off
right arm sliced off
left leg chopped off
right leg chopped off
head decapitated
head smashed into goo
body cleaved in half
upper torso smashed into guts

Sometimes after a good combo, your enemy will just be arms, legs, half a body, and a rolling head on the ground. It's awesome.

So what's bad about the game?

Really bad framerate issues sometimes.
Camera can be frustrating at times.
Story feels like an unnecessary vehicle to get to the action.
Prerendered CG cutscenes feel dated.
Graphics are not ahead of their time (like its predecessors' were)

But who really cares about that? It's all about the fighting and stylish violence!

Final thoughts... the rational side of me wants to give it 3 out of 4 stars because of the technical issues and absurd difficulty, but it's just too damn fun and entertaining. 4 out of 4 stars!

These pictures really don't do it justice. You need to see it on a high def tv at full 60 frames per second. It actually looks nothing like these pictures (where are the weapon tracers??)

Equifax fraudulently altered my credit report.

2008-05-26T00:54:00.004-05:00

I subscribe to a credit score monitoring service (MyFico) that sends me email alerts whenever my score changes. It also allows me view full credit reports with analysis.

I check my email today and notice that my credit score has dropped 56 points! So naturally I log into MyFico to see what's up and it tells me that my score may have decreased for a few new reasons, one of which is a new collection.

New collection? Wtf, I've paid my bills on time for the past 7 or 8 years. So I tell MyFico run the full report. And I bring up the info on the collection. Hmm, something doesn't seem right. I pull up an old archived report that I ran May 2007 and compare the collection reported then to the collection reported now. See the title picture of this post.

Notice anything? It's the same collection from 7 years ago, but all of a sudden the "date active" and "date reported" have changed!

Is this country's economy in so much trouble that creditors are changing historical records in order to fuck us on interest rates? What's next, completely fabricated marks on people's credit scores?

I'm just so flabbergasted that records of a collection that was closed 7 years ago, water under the bridge, can come back and magically be altered with fraudulent information to drastically effect my credit score. I am so enraged about this that all I can think of is the ending to Fight Club.

So what do I do about this? Who do I call? I feel like a tiny ant being crushed by the gears of corporate America. I mean, what if I wasn't monitoring my credit score like so many other Americans don't? This little blip would probably slip under the radar and cost me tens of thousands of dollars in the long run (say, if I got a mortgage under the lower score). I want to hire a lawyer and sue Equifax.

For those wondering, my score now is 710 which does cause me to get worse interest rates compared to when it was 766.

Driving on the Edge, Episode 4

2008-05-08T16:06:00.003-05:00

It was Corvette country out there this time.

I did my 4th HPDE this past weekend. It was awesome as usual. We did the 3.1 mile, 16 turn course at Motorsport Ranch.

No yellow for you!

I wasn't put in the yellow group this time, despite my last report card recommending so. It's ok though, I don't really want to be in yellow group until I have more capable tires.

No tires for you!

Ouch. I spent so much time and money getting r-compound tires and I didn't even get to use them! I bought track wheels literally months before the event, and I bought the tires about two weeks before the event, but what I didn't do was see if they fit on my car.

I spent all day Thursday and Friday before the event trying to get them to fit, but to no avail. They wouldn't clear the front calipers, so I ground the calipers down till they fit (long, painful and ugly). Once they cleared the calipers, I found they hit the A-arm at full wheel lock. Ugh! Luckily, Discount Tire took the tires back. I'm going to have to sell the wheels on the internet.

First day frustration.

I didn't really have an instructor the first day, which at first I thought would be cool, but something didn't feel right. Instead of blowing by everyone like last time, I felt like I was struggling to keep up. Nothing felt smooth, I was sliding all over the place, and I was just using my cars capabilities, instead of driving skill, to keep afloat.

For the last session of the day, they put an instructor in with me. He was admittedly not an advanced instructor and said I was doing fine.

Second day epiphany.

The next day I got paired up with an incredible instructor (Tony, I think his name is?). Within a few laps, he cleared up most of my mistakes, which were related to over aggression, going into corners too hot and thusly understeering the whole way through them, which reduces how quickly I could get back on the throttle for corner exit. I was also late and early apexing on a handful of corners.

Once Tony cleared up those issues and we were flying again, he then showed me some bad ass racing lines, and that's when the beat down ensued... ;) I had to start braking mid-corner to avoid t-boning and rearing ending the cars in front of me. My exit speed on one corner increased so much (15+ mph) that I went off the track at the next corner because I wasn't used to having to brake so much earlier and harder.

Feeling the fade.

For this event, I had some Hawk HP+ brake pad that I bought used off the internet. They are Hawk's most aggressive street pad. They weren't enough. I've gotten to the point to where I am aware of brake fade... and these faded noticeably. Tony suggested getting some Hawk HT 10 pads, which are considered racing pads, and just change them out right there at the track. Changing brake pads on a C6 is really easy, so I think I'm going to do that for next time.

Competitive?

Pre Tony in the car with me, there were some fast people/cars out on the track! I really have to be on top of my game to keep up with Jason and his modded Z06. A lady in a Porsche Cayman put the smack down on both of us though (she had r-compound tires and got bumped to the yellow group on the second day). There was a kid in a modded S2K that I caught up to, but couldn't claim an outright pass on. Then there was a spec Miata that passed both me and Jason!

The second day, I did much better. I passed both the S2k and Miata, but still had problems with Jason (duh). Didn't have a chance to try the lady in the Porsche again cuz she got moved to yellow.

Everyone else was a cakewalk. Here are some notable passes: two NSX's (these cars are massively overrated, imo), Cadillac CTS-V, Lingenfelter C6 (ooohh that felt good), normal C6, C6Z06 (ooohh, felt good too), lots of Lotus Elises, and a couple of Porsches.

I know it's not a competition, but it's fun to see how many people I can pass, and see if I can catch the people that pass me.

Pictures

Trailing Jason.

Now me in front!

He spends more time in front though... :P

Choo choo! Stuck in a train.

Train conductor? Na, that was a warmup or cooldown lap... ;)

That kid in the S2K was fast!

Catching up to a Z06 is a great feeling.

Passing a Porsche feels even better!

Call of Duty 4

2008-03-23T22:45:00.001-05:00

Get it?

I finally broke down and got COD4 (through GameFly, whoot). I had been resisting it for a long time because I'm very contrarian and was tired of hearing people go on and on about how perfect it is. It's just a first person shooter, people, how deep can it get? It's basically a glorified mouse accuracy program!

This is going to be a short review (cuz I want to go play it now). Here are my thoughts...

It has the highest production value of any game I have seen to date. Spectacular graphics, great voice acting, good level design, interesting missions, the list goes on... there is just so much polish.

The single player campaign is short, but maybe that's a good thing -- it ends right before getting boring and repetitive. Unlike most mediocre FPS games, COD4's missions are interesting and fun: there is a sniping mission, protect a tank mission, survive a sinking ship mission, air support mission (this one's pretty fun), then the normal "kill everyone" missions.

The "Death from Above" (air support) mission

My one complaint about COD4 is the same as all the other COD games. They all do a great job of giving the sense of chaotic battle - bullets whizzing by, people dying left and right, explosions, enemies here, there, everywhere! - but they implement this by having an infinite number of enemies (and allies) respawn until you push up to a certain point on the map. My complaint is that this mechanic doesn't occur all the time and I get confused when I'm suppose to "push up" or hang back and eliminate all enemies.

3 out of 4 if you're not into FPS games. You should definitely try this game -- it might be the one that does get you into FPS games.

4 out of 4 if you are into FPS games.

Oh, P.S... The multiplayer is pretty good... :P

HTML checkbox that submits 'false' when unchecked!

2008-03-23T21:56:00.001-05:00

Count it!

Dodge Challenger SRT8

2008-03-04T12:25:00.003-06:00

"It's just an all around POS. I'd almost call it an egregious mistake by Dodge, except for the fact that nostalgic baby boomers will actually shell out the cash to relive their youth. I just hope they are prepared for disappointed and massive buyer's remorse when it sinks in that for $5k more, they could have bought a car with more hp, 1000 lbs less weight, and handling that will put a 911 to shame."

Is this a joke? No really, is it?

So, let's see what $40,000 (yes, that's forty thousand dollars) buys you from Dodge...

The Good

Hey, it's American, I like American (V8) cars. It's got some guts in the form of a 425 hp Hemi (that means absolutely nothing, btw) engine. It's got some nice big Brembo brakes, and also IRS.

The Bad

I personally think it looks ugly as hell. I describe it as looking like it's been carved out of a bar of soap. It's so soft and Tonka toy looking.

This thing weighs more than Kirstie Alley after she threw in the towel. Actually, that's not accurate. She isn't nearly as morbidly obese as this gussied up Dodge Charger.

It only comes with 20" wheels, which further degrades performance, but what really hurts is the absolutely pathetic tire size that comes on them: 245s all the way around.

Ok, so it's got IRS, but seriously... is anyone going to take this f-ing obese pig (4200 lbs) to a road course? I thought not, so why not go with a solid rear axle to save some money and actually help out at the drag strip (what this car was theoretically designed for)?

It only comes with a 5 speed automatic... cue hysterical laughter now.

The Ugly

How embarrassing is it going to be when you can't shrug off a bone stock Mustang GT which costs nearly half as much and has 125 less horsepower?

Sleep Paralysis

2008-03-03T00:18:00.001-06:00

(from Henry Fuseli's The Nightmare)

This is one of the worst things I have experienced. It's when you wake up from sleeping, but you can't move... you're completely paralyzed. So you just lay there, completely awake and conscience, but also in this weird half dream state, unable to move or "wake up".

When you are in REM sleep, your body releases a chemical that paralyzes you, that way you don't flail around in your sleep while dreaming of running or something. Sleep paralysis happens when you wake up before that chemical has left your body.

The first few times it happened to me, it was terrifying. Panic sets in as you desperately try to wake up or move or do something (like yell for help) but nothing. Then all of a sudden you snap out of it (usually with a large gasp for me). It happens to me often enough that I can recognize it and not freak out too much and just let it pass (usually less than a minute). Also, I've learned to move slightly and make noises while in sleep paralysis.

Some people have vivid "dreams" while in sleep paralysis. I don't really. I just know that I'm awake, but unable to "wake up"... which is scary enough.

Has anyone else experienced this? Is it as terrifying for you as it is for me (and most other people)?

Dead or Alive (the movie)

2008-03-01T00:39:00.004-06:00

(image from Perspective Radio)

The Good The fighting was surprisingly good. Well, maybe not so surprising since it's directed by Cory Yuen, but still... for a video game movie starring an almost all (non-Asian) female cast, the fight scenes were pretty slick. One thing Cory understands is how to make a punch or kick look devastating. Nothing is worse than watching a fight sequence where the blows look like love taps. The punches and kicks need to "snap" and for the most part, they do.

The Better Jaime Pressley... wow. Honestly, I had no idea it was her until I looked it up on IMDB. She was in fantastic shape for this movie. I mean damn, does she always look like this? She looks like a professional fitness competitor. She also pulls off some amazing aerial kicks and flips. They are actually so good (I'm talking Jet Li good) in some cases, I have serious doubts that it's really her.

The Bad It's a video game movie. The plot and acting isn't so hot, though I have to admit that I liked Tina's (Jaime Pressley) scenes, especially with her dad. He was good too, albeit both characters are stereotypes (shit kickin hicks) that are pretty easy to play.

There was a bit too much "fan service" imo. I know, I know... the whole DOA video game franchise started on the concept of fan service, so expect to see tons of gratuitous shots of the girls in underwear and bikinis, etc. I dunno, it cheapens the whole experience for me... and also reminds me that the target audience is half my age, ugh.

The Rant What the fuck. How could they do this to Ryu Hayabusa? I mean jesus, Tomonobu Itagaki should have stepped in and said "no". Ryu plays Katsumi's protector in the movie. He's also a combatant in the DOA tournament, and while he does make it to the finals, he's by no means portrayed as the complete ultimate badass that he is. His skills take a backseat, not only to all the females, but also to freaking Hayate. Oh, it's painful to watch.

For god sakes, he has his own massively successful video game, in which he's the creme de la creme of the ninjas. The best of the best. The ultimate badass. And he pulls it off with a cold as ice, hard as steel attitude... not some lacky who blushes at the sight of a girl in a bathrobe.

Even in the DOA games, they refer to him as "the superninja", and he still has that ice cold, harder than hard persona. How did that get lost in translation to the movie?

MacBook review

2008-02-24T23:17:00.003-06:00

Whoot, so I got a MacBook. Here's what I think about...

OS X complaints aside, it's an awesome laptop. It is exactly what I want. It's small, lightweight, looks great and is a hell of a lot faster than my old big clunky Pentium M 15.4" Dell laptop.

What I really like about it is its usability. It's the first laptop that I have owned where I don't feel the need to plug into an external keyboard/mouse/monitor. The keyboard feels great -- 90% as good as typing on a full keyboard. The track pad is fantastic. I love two finger scrolling (horizontally and vertically) and two finger tapping (right clicking). Between those two genius UI features, I barely miss mouse (highlighting text still isn't as easy).

It's not hot at all. I use it for hours on my bare legs and it's just warm.

The screen is pretty small (13.3") with low resolution (1280 x 800), but I wanted a small (1.08" x 12.78" x 8.92"), light (5.0 lbs) laptop, so that was just a compromise I had to make.

The only real complaint about the MacBook is the weak graphics processor (Intel GMA X3100). Expose and Spaces isn't nearly as smooth a Compiz Fusion in my 5 year old desktop with a budget Nvidia 7200 series graphics card. Who knows though, that might actually be an OS X problem.

Btw, VMware Fusion is the coolest, most mind blowingly awesome piece of software ever made. Ha, I've been saying that about VMware Workstation for years, but the Unity feature in Fusion takes the cake. ... but that is really for another blog post.

My MacBook fiasco, Amazon redeemed, UPS sucks!

2008-02-20T22:35:00.005-06:00

Damn you, Joooobbsss! So I finally broke down and decided to get myself a MacBook. I had gotten a Mini (and iPod) for Aimee and she's complaining that I'm on it too much, heh.

I had my eye on the lowest MacBook, but at the last minute decided that the faster processor, larger hard drive and Superdrive (aka DVD burner) is worth the extra $200.

Buying from the Apple Store sucks because you have to pay tax, which is $107 for the $1300 MacBook. Also, Amazon gives a $75 rebate and $30 instant savings if you sign up for their Visa card, which I've been meaning to do for a while.

Aimee and I have a trial Amazon Prime account, so I got the $4 overnight shipping. I placed the order on Thursday with a supposed delivery day of Friday.

Up(s) yours, Brown! Naturally, I tracked the package. At 6am, I saw it scanned in Austin and by 8am, it was "out for delivery." At around Noon, a coworker said they saw the UPS truck out front, but it just stopped for a while, no one came inside, then it left. I checked the tracking page and it said my package was rescheduled for Monday!! Ugh!

So I call UPS to inquire. Funny thing about calling: you can only get the 800 number. They don't list, nor will customer service give you the numbers for the local hubs. Anyways, customer service couldn't tell me anything more than I knew already from looking at the tracking page on the web. I called a few times more and finally someone from the local hub called me back (a one way phone number, btw. I couldn't call it back). They said I could declare to pick it up from the local hub and it would be there at around 730 pm, but they would give me a call first to make sure it came back off the truck.

730 comes and no phone call, so I drive to the damn hub (because I have no way of calling them). Long story short, they lost the package. It's not on the truck, nor can they find it at the hub. Also, they didn't seem to care. "Take it up with Amazon to refund you."

Amazon, fix this! So I get on the phone with Amazon customer service at around 8am on Sat. The girl is super nice and almost before I finish explaining what happened, she says a replacement order has been made and will be shipped "overnight" for a Monday delivery. Wow, now that's customer service!

So Sunday rolls around and I'm wondering why I wasn't emailed a new order number or tracking number.

By Monday, I'm really wondering and get on the phone with Amazon (11am). Apparently the replacement order wasn't made. Annoying... being told one thing, then another thing actually (not) happening. So this time they assure me that the replacement order is made and it will be there on Tuesday.

Curious thing... 6pm comes and yet again no replacement order number or tracking number. So I call back (and speak to a "lead" this time) and just get told "a replacement order was made with overnight shipping." Yeah? Well if it's going to make the overnight plane, shouldn't it have been shipped already? "Hrm, yeah... you're right." So why the hell wasn't it?

I'm livid now. Having competitive prices and fulfilling orders in a timely fashion are the bare minimum requirements for a company to survive. How is Amazon different? What makes them stand out over, say, Newegg? (yes, I'm saying all this to the "lead") Any company can fulfill orders (if not, they are criminals), it's how a company handles "incidents" that gives it an opportunity to stand out above the others.

"So what are you going to do about it besides apologize?" Apparently nothing... at first. ..but then out of the blue the lead calls back and admits that Amazon screwed up (more than once) and they are willing to give me a $50 rebate on my next purchase. Not bad... but how about applying the rebate to this current purchase. "Yeah, we can do that." Sweet.

So finally the replacement order is really made (I got an order number and tracking number this time, yay!) The lead said his boss had to get it approved by her boss which is why it took so long. Jeez, once the corporate gears are moving, it's hard to stop them, eh? That's for another blog post though.

So the (really) cool part is that there is a note attached to my order number, again apologizing, but also saying that I'm getting a $265 discount on the purchase! Apparently the lead's boss didn't think $50 was enough and decided to give me 20% off, plus refund the all shipping costs!

Yes that made up for everything, Amazon, and you're again in my cool book (I've always loved you though)!

The bottom line So let's tally up the damage!

From Amazon with discounts and rebates...
($1299 + $4) - ($75 + $30 + $260 + $4) = $935

How much it would have cost from the Apple Store...
($1299 + 107) = $1406

Total savings... $471

I'm so glad, not only because of the money, but because I actually like Amazon (despite generally hating huge corporations). They've always had good price, great return policy and good customer service... and I'm glad it turned out that way again for me in the end of this debacle.

P.S. I blame Steve Jobs for UPS losing the original package and for the replacement order mix ups. Damn you, Joooooobbbbssss!!

Disabling Spotlight in Leopard (10.5.x)

2008-02-12T23:02:00.003-06:00

There are a ton of guides out there for this already, but this is just for me personally so I don't have to search Google. Also, most of the guides are specific to Tiger. The ones that are specific for Leopard are incomplete.

Disable Spotlight...
Edit /etc/hostconfig and replace

SPOTLIGHT=-YES-

with

SPOTLIGHT=-NO-

Delete the Spotlight indexes...
Execute

sudo mdutil -i off /
sudo mdutil -E /

Remove Spotlight from the menubar...

sudo chmod 0000 /System/Library/CoreServices/Spotlight.app

To reverse the process.

Enable Spotlight...
Edit /etc/hostconfig and replace

SPOTLIGHT=-NO-

with

SPOTLIGHT=-YES-

Turn on the indexes...

sudo mdutil -i on /

Restore Spotlight in the menubar...

sudo chmod 755 /System/Library/CoreServices/Spotlight.app

My third HPDE

2008-02-05T22:24:00.000-06:00

All the Corvette guys took a group photo. That's me in the exact middle (third row, second column, green shirt).

Whoot! Just finished my 3rd HPDE this past weekend. It was a blast as usual! Every time I get back from one, it just rekindles my fire and passion for the sport (which tends to die down between events).

Chasing down an NSX.

I did really well, I think. I passed (I would guess) about 40 cars and only got passed twice. The two that got me were my pit buddy Jason (~570 hp C6 Z06) and someone in a modified Porsche Cayman S (racing slicks and engine mods). To be perfectly honest, Jason got me twice and the second time an instructor driving a Porsche 911 took the pass with him even though I only signaled to Jason. I stayed with him though and eventually returned the favor... :)

Jason in front and me about take my position back from the 911.

Mike (C6) and Justin (Mustang GT) were there again. Always nice to see those two familiar faces keeping me company in the pits. This time Mike's son Brady was there, sharing Mike's car. It was funny to hear the three of them talking shit to each other the entire weekend. Out of the three, Justin was the fastest, then Brady, then Mike... each about 2 seconds faster than the next (per lap). Justin cracks me up. He's a super nice and jovial guy, but he's pretty competitive (in a friendly way). He always jokes about how it is a competition, despite how many times the organizers emphasize that it's not... ;)

Justin likes to change his passing signal into "the bird" right as I go by... I usually return it... ;)

Two interesting things my instructor taught me. First, I'm driving too hard a lot of the time. I'm driving at 110% and roasting my tires which leads to overall slower times in the end. He said to back off a bit to keep the tires from getting greasy towards to the end of the session. Second, he said that I'm taking some corners artificially fast... the car's computer (competition driving mode) is saving my ass. So the latter half of the event was driven without the computer at all (zero traction control and zero stability control).

I enjoy driving solo (see shit eatin' grin), I find it strangely relaxing.

As much as I want to pretend I'm a good driver, I'm not... none of us really are at this level. We're just extensions of our instructors. They show us the racing line and give us their opinions on how to take each corner, we memorize it, then it's just a matter of how much balls we have and how capable our cars are. Lucky for me, my car is on the top of the food chain and I have ~~shockingly?~~ surprisingly little fear of wrecking it. :)

Hunting down a G35 Coupe.

It's also a little depressing going to these things. A lot of the people into racing are usually wealthy (it's an expensive sport), and I'm reminded of how little money I make and how I simply can't afford to take it to the next level, despite how badly I want to. Wheels, racing tires, racing brakes, trailer and a place to store the trailer will cost several grand... of which I don't really have. Sigh.

iPod Nano Brick

2008-02-05T21:36:00.000-06:00

Picture says it all... you will brick your iPod Nano (3rd generation) if you use the stopwatch feature while listening to music.

I happened to Aimee and it could happen to you too! Jeez, we haven't been having a very good Apple experience thus far. Oh well, still beats the hell out of Windows.

Easy Ethanol

2008-01-31T11:15:00.000-06:00

(Jay Leno's 600 hp E85 Corvette)

What does GM think the future fuel source of autos will be? Hybrid? No, although they make a few models to "keep up with the competition." Plug in electric? No, although they are trying their damnedest to bring the first one (Chevy Volt) to market, again to "beat the competition." Diesel? Heh, no.. I don't think they have any interest in that.

No, none of that stuff... they're betting on E85. Why? One reason, according to Maximum Bob, is that it requires the least amount of change to our current lifestyle and fuel infrastructure. If we all switch to E85, what would be different? Nothing really... we still fill up our cars at gas stations like we have for the past century. Furthermore, any car can be converted to use E85 for like $100. Path of least change is good.

Great, so why aren't we already on E85? Well, the current method to produce it (with corn) is somewhat difficult and inefficient, but the main reason, IMO, is that we simply don't have enough corn to make a dent in our nation's fuel consumption. Hell, even if we converted 100% of our farm lands to corn, we still wouldn't have enough.

Enter Coskata and their "breakthrough" method for producing cellulosic ethanol...(click for full article). Another article here.

To summarize...

patented process to produce ethanol from almost any carbon based matter (garbage, plant waste, old tires)
consumes 3 times less water than other processes
generates 7.7 times the energy it takes to produce it (vs 1.3 times for corn based ethanol)
reduces CO2 emissions by 84% compared to gasoline
GM expects to have the facilities to produce 50 to 100 million gallons per year by 2011
less than $1 per gallon

Sounds pretty promising, no?? I dream of a day when I can have a 600 hp, guilt free sports car!!

Tunnel of Death

2008-01-31T00:15:00.000-06:00

(thanks to Adam for the link)

Ok, I usually hate blog posts that just recap another cool post elsewhere, but I had to do it... this video is highly entertaining!!

It's traffic camera footage of a tunnel in Russia. It's the longest tunnel in Europe or something, but that's not what makes it interesting. What makes it interesting is that a river runs over part of it and leaks water onto the road... and winters are very cold in Russia.

Btw, this collage was supposedly made from a single day's worth of traffic footage.

Red Tortilla Soup

2008-01-30T21:29:00.000-06:00

This is a modified version of Spicy Tortilla Soup by Becky Bradshaw of Bedford, Texas.

Ingredients

1 HEB rotisserie chicken (I like honey mesquite flavor)
1 large yellow (sweet) onion
1-2 tablespoons vegetable oil
8-12 corn tortillas, coarsely chopped
6 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon fresh cilantro, chopped
2 cans (10 3/4 oz) tomato puree (or sauce)
2 quarts low sodium chicken broth
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1-2 tablespoons chili powder
1 teaspoon cayenne powder
2 bay leaves

Procedure

De-bone chicken, shred it up kinda with your hands, set aside.
Coarsely chop the corn tortillas. I usually just cut them into strips like 2 inches long and 3/4 inches wide. Set them aside.
Make a puree out of the onion by chopping it up and blending it with some of the chicken broth. Put it aside.
In a very large pot, sautee the garlic and cilantro in the vegetable oil. Try to go easy on the oil cuz it has a lot of fat.
Dump in all the chicken broth.
Dump in the onion puree.
Dump in the shredded chicken.
Dump in the chopped tortilla.
Dump in the tomato puree.
Dump in all the herbs and spices.
Bring to boil, reduce heat and let simmer until the tortilla pieces kind of break apart and thicken the soup.

This is an awesome recipe if you can get it to come out well... :) It tastes so damn good! The trick is getting the right amount of herbs/spices/tortilla for your tastes. It's easy to do that since it's a soup. Just start small and keep adding and tasting.

The really great thing about this recipe is that it's not bad for you at all. Check out the ingredients. It might be a little carby, but at least the fat is really low.

All Natural Smoothie Recipe

2008-01-30T18:53:00.001-06:00

Ingredients

small (6 oz) Yoplait Light
6 oz skim (fat free) milk
teaspoon natural peanut butter
one frozen banana (ripe)

Procedure

Put frozen banana in blender.
Dump in yogurt.
Measure skim milk in empty yogurt container, dump in blender.
Put in peanut butter.
Blend till smooth.

The flavor of yogurt largely determines what this is going to taste like. I like strawberry cheesecake, white chocolate raspberry, mixed berries, or vanilla.

This is so easy to make, tastes great, and isn't bad for you. It's very (simple) carb heavy, so I tend to eat it after working out.

If you're looking for protein, substitute pasteurized egg whites for the skim milk.

OS X Leopard Woes

2008-01-27T22:53:00.002-06:00

(Image plucked from Google Images)

I've been talking about getting Mac for a long time. I'm kind of tired of tweaking, configuring and sometimes battling Linux. I just want a simple home computer (mostly for Aimee and her new iPod) that "just works."

And that's Mac's big schtick (sp?) right? They just work. Ask anyone who uses ones and they'll tell you... they'll never go back to the broken PC/Windows world. It seems like Mac/OS X is so awesome, that converts don't just become fans... they become fanbois (that's super extreme fanboys).

Well, I finally picked up a Mac Mini with OS X Leopard... here's my take on it.

Home/end/pgup/pgdown keys don't work as expected.
Home and end take the cursor to the beginning and end of a line respectively in EVERY F-ING OS IN EXISTANCE... except for OS X. And that's fine... I'll just learn the Mac way to move the cursor to the end of the line. Well guess fucking what... it's different for different applications!! Here's a sample of what the keystrokes are for beginning /end of a line for different OS X apps. Most OS X programs: command+left / command+right Terminal: ctrl-a / ctrl-e Firefox: who fucking knows / command+right

Massive security issue.
The first day I had the machine, I had to reinstall the entire f-ing OS because for some god knows reason, it was starting every program as root (administrator for you Windows people). There is a long thread about it that ended with the guy throwing in the towel and reinstalling OS X, just like I had to.

Sluggish and hiccups.
Sometimes when I'm typing, the cursor will just freeze for a sec and then when it unfreezes, all the characters come out all at once. Also, minor hiccups (slight delays) when choosing menu items, sending instant messages, or closing apps. There is a thread on Apple's support site about it.

The mouse acceleration is crappy and non adjustable.
Wtf is Apple such a pretentious piece of shit that they force their users to buy a $20 shareware app to adjust something that should have been adjustable in the first place?

Answer: because Apple isn't about choice or freedom... iTunes + iPod.
iTunes -> iPod is a one way street. There is no way to get songs on your iPod back into iTunes (say, in the case of reinstalling the OS like I had to do the first night I had the machine). Also, imagine this... You happily use iTunes and your iPod with your home computer, but then you take your iPod to work and decide you want to download a song and put it on your iPod to listen to at the gym on your way home from work. Think again, asshole. Can't do it without erasing all the songs already on your iPod.

No focus follows mouse policy.
This is just a personal gripe. If you're a seasoned Unix user, you might understand.

Doesn't reconnect to wireless network after waking up.
Aimee loves this one. Almost everytime she wakes up the computer, she has to connect and enter in our WEP password manually to reestablish the internet connection. I think I've tracked this down to a Keychain Access issue, but it's still not resolved 100%... and it pisses me off because....

I thought Macs "just worked."

John Rambo

2008-01-26T23:32:00.001-06:00

(Yes, he tears that guy's throat right out of his neck.)

Oh em eff gee... this is the movie that us children of the 80's action movie genre have been waiting for!! You see, my memories of action movies consists of close up shots of larger than life stars (aka Arnold Schwarzenegger) shooting a machine gun one handed, then cutting to a shot of dozens of men falling down. And that was cool back then... you know, when I was a kid.

Now I'm older... and I don't want to see campy nods to the old style 80's actions movies. I want all my old action stars like Rambo and Commando redone as modern, somewhat more believable films.

And that's exactly what Rambo delivers!! It ain't your 80's action flick that you take your 10 year old boy to see. It is violent. I mean really fucking violent. It has what I call "war atrocities" violence. Tons of innocent villagers are slaughtered in really gruesome ways. The war action is "realistic" like Saving Private Ryan... except there is TONS more of it. JR himself is really damn brutal... and he doesn't hold back even in front of the queasy ladies who are obviously very disturbed by the brutality of war (heh, I loved that scene).

So how does it stand up as a "movie"? Ehh.. the plot is extremely simple and is developed very quickly. Character development? I think JR is as developed as he's going to get. So it's standard action movie fair in that respect, but it's the action that makes the movie so great. Everyone want to see their favorite action hero kick some ass, but not in some cheesy, campy or too over the top way. Don't get me wrong... the action is crazy and over the top... and there are a few kinda cheesy parts... but all in all, it's not.

It's just damn brutal. I can't convey how graphically violent it is!! I think there was a good portion of the audience who went there to "have a laugh" or whatever. The movie isn't funny at all. No one was laughing. In fact, it's kind of hard to watch at times.

Kudos to Stallone (writer, director, star) for bringing back Rambo... even better than I remember.

Here are some fun Rambo stats that my friend Aaron sent to me...

Jake Gyllenhaal Dressed Me

2008-01-20T23:12:00.000-06:00

No, not in some Brokeback Mountain way...

I got a new wardrobe! Well, not really... I got the beginnings of a new wardrobe! Damn clothes are expensive!! It cost me 3/4 of a MacBook and all I got were 2 pairs of jeans, 4 tee shirts, 3 collared shirts, and one pair of shoes. It's all "designer" stuff, that's why it's so damn expensive.

Why the change? Aimee (and even some of my guy friends) were starting to be a bit embarrassed for me by the way I dress. Hell, even I was embarrassed! It's not that I wanted to look bad... I just knew it would be expensive and to be honest, I find it difficult to clothes shop for myself because I don't have a good sense of style.

Aimee provided the motivation to just accept that I would have to drop a decent chunk of change. The fashion sense was provided by Brandon of Nordstroms... who looks exactly like Jake Gyllenhaal (maybe crossed with a little Toby Meguire). He was super helpful and was very honest about what worked and didn't work on me.

I'm really glad I have some decent clothes to go out in now... but honestly, I can't stop thinking about the money thing... it's plaguing me.

Apple Innovation: Stacks and Spaces

2008-01-20T23:00:00.000-06:00

This is just a rant that started as an IM conversation with a friend. Understand that this is just a lighthearted rant and I'm an Apple fan with a recently acquired Mac Mini with a possibility of buying a MacBook in the near future.

Apple is starting to pull Microsoft's bs marketing crap now... "Look how innovative we are. We created this incredible UI paradigm called Stacks." Are they kidding? That's called dragging a folder to the task bar in KDE and it's been around since the 90's (or earlier?). In fact, it's such a basic concept in any Linux desktop GUI, that it took me a while to even grasp what Stacks was because I thought it was something "new".

Same deal with Spaces. It's called multiple desktops, again a basic concept in Unix as far back as I can remember. "Oh, but Apple was the first to make a cool UI for managing them." Wrong. Compiz/Beryl/CompizFusion was around well before Leopard.

Alien vs. Predator: Requiem

2008-01-14T00:02:00.000-06:00

After seeing the red banner (rated R) trailer for this movie, I was so excited! I remember watching the first AVP and thinking, that wasn't too bad... would've been a lot better if it was rated R though. Well, the red banner trailer looked very R rated.

What a disappointment. Heh, disappointment is an understatement. I think it is worse than the first one. Here are my complaints...

The action, violence and gore is actually pretty weak. They showed every single cool scene for the entire movie in the red banner trailer. Do your self a favor, save $8 and just watch the red banner trailer instead.

The Predator is too weak. He's suppose to be a bad ass "cleaner"... in fact, his name is Wolf like The Wolf from Pulp Fiction, but he seems to struggle with every single kill. Also, his kill count is retardedly low.

The ending is stupid. As you can imagine, neither the Aliens nor the Predator wins. That's such a f-ing cop out to appease both Alien fans and Predator fans, but the ridiculousness of it is, wtf is an Alien fan? Everyone wants to see the Predator kick some ass with authority.

The Predator has some cool new weapons, but he only gets like one kill out of each of them. For god sakes, the city gets infested and there's hundreds of Aliens to choose from, he should have taken out at least 10 with each of his weapons. Like I said before, the Predator is too weak and his kill count is too low.

They completely ripoff then utterly overuse that one scene from Alien 3 where the Alien gets really close to Ripley's face and sniffs/hisses at her while she's freaking out (see above picture). It seems like the Aliens did that to every fucking human victim in this movie. It's just retarded. The Alien had a reason to do that Alien 3, but in AVP:R, it's just the director's lame ass attempt at "dramatic effect" because he can't come up with any ideas on his own.

Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sigourney Weaver should have made cameos.

2/5 stars.

Callie's little sister!

2008-01-13T23:44:00.000-06:00

We got another baby!

I can't believe how lucky we got with her. She's an 8 month old rescue dachshund that fit all of our requirements:

longhair
small
submissive
plays with Callie
very affectionate

Her name is Coco (already named by the time we got her). She came from a breeder who didn't want her because she is too small and timid (not good breeding characteristics), but that's exactly what we wanted.

The first day with us, she wouldn't let anyone touch her or get near her. If we cornered her and picked her up, she was start bucking wildly. It took her only a day to warm up and let me and Aimee hold her. Now she's super affectionate towards us, licks us all the time, crawls on us, follows us around, etc... but she still doesn't like other people to touch her or get near her.

I'm really surprised at how well she gets along with Callie, because Callie usually doesn't like other dogs (she hides or tries to jump in someone's lap if another dog comes close). She still won't cuddle up to her, but they eat together and play together all the time... which is exactly what we wanted because Callie is alone 10 hours a day while we're at work.

We've had her two weeks now, but it feels like she's been a part of the family already.

P.S. Yes, her nickname is Peepee (those who know Callie's nickname will get it).

2008 LS3 Corvette Oil Change

2008-01-06T15:55:00.000-06:00

I always forget what I need to change my oil, so this is just a shopping list to remind me in the future.

Mobile 1 5W-30 Synthetic Oil 6 Qt
Mobile 1 M1-113 Oil Filter

Prices of aforementioned items at Walmart...

5 Qt jug - $21.97
1 Qt bottle - $6.57
Filter - $9.18

Total cost is $40.83.

I hate shopping at Walmart, but they have a killer price on the 5 qt jug of Mobile 1.

New website idea

2008-01-05T15:07:00.000-06:00

Those of you who know me know that I'm always coming up with web ideas and half-implementing them before giving up. I hate that. I hate that I haven't come up with an idea that's worth following through with.

So I've been trying to figure out what kind of website idea can feasibly be done single handedly and why all my other ideas fail... and I keep coming back to Lindsey's Dishola. I think that it's a great idea for a single person to implement for two main reasons (well, besides that the creator is extremely talented and motivated):

The creator has a passion for the subject. Lindsey is a foodie, so he's following his passion.
The site is based on limited content.

It's hard working on a project that you're not "into". I don't want to work 9 hours a day and come home and continue working on a Craigslist rip off. I'm just not that into selling stuff or posting job listings. That's why you need the passion.

The main problem with most of my website ideas is that they require a huge amount of content for people to even consider leaving the already established websites. Sharedive? No way it would ever come close to even taking on a portion of YouTube's content. Craigslist clone? Same problem... requires tons of new content on a daily basis to be useful.

Dishola, though, is different for two reasons. First, the content doesn't become old or stale- Craigslist and YouTube require tons of new content everyday to keep people interested. If I look up a dish or restaurant review, I don't really care that it's 6 months old. The second reason is that the content is limited. Lindsey and a few friends can probably cover most of Austin's restaurants in a few months, and that's enough to get the ball rolling for the site.

So what's my new idea? It's simply an Ultimate Car Page clone. Here's how I see it...

Yes it's already been done, but so has dish/restaurant reviews and Dishola is still a success.
It fits my passion. I will enjoy filling in the content for it, just like Lindsey enjoys doing dish reviews for Dishola.
The content is limited. Think of every make and model of car ever made. It's only in the thousands. Between me and a couple friends, I bet we could knock out 300 cars or so in a few months... and that's enough to get the ball rolling.

Obviously if I follow through on this, it would be an improvement on Ultimate Car Page and not just a clone. Think of it as Ultimate Car Page redone in Web 2.0... ;)

Mythbusting: Corvettes are big and heavy

2007-12-31T00:14:00.000-06:00

It's not a "muscle car" and it's not heavy just because it is American.

Lotus Exige S                      2,077 lbs
Honda Civic Si                     2,886 lbs
Porsche Boxster S                  2,987 lbs
Lamborghini Gallardo Superleggera  2,998 lbs**
Porsche 911 (997) GT2              3,175 lbs
Ferrari F430                       3,196 lbs
Corvette                           3,217 lbs
Nissan Z Nismo                     3,350 lbs
Subaru Impreza WRX STI             3,395 lbs
Dodge Viper SRT10                  3,445 lbs
Ford Mustang GT                    3,450 lbs*
Porsche 911 (997) Turbo            3,494 lbs
BMW M3 (E92)                       3,500 lbs*
Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X      3,585 lbs*
Lamborghini Murcielago LP640       3,670 lbs**
Dodge Charger SE                   3,727 lbs
Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano            3,722 lbs
Nissan GT-R                        3,836 lbs*
BMW M5                             4,012 lbs**
Dodge Charger SRT8                 4,160 lbs

Note, all cars listed are model year 2007-2008 (the latter if possible).

* Curb weight not listed by manufacturer.
** Dry weight.

Dishola

2007-12-30T22:34:00.000-06:00

How many times have you and your friends had a cool idea and only half implemented it until it fizzled out? How many times have you said to yourself, "Man, I should have stuck with that idea, it would have been really cool if it was done." Well my friend and ex-coworker, Lindsey Simon, did stick it out... and make a really cool website called Dishola.

It really is a cool website. The premise is simple: instead of reviewing entire restaurants, you review only dishes. So if you're in the mood for Pad Thai, you simply search for that and you'll find the highest reviewed Pad Thai dishes in your area.

Reviews by the dish? Bleh, you say... what makes this site special, if at all? It's all in the details. It's 100% integrated with Google Maps. When you search, you'll get a nifty Google Maps interface showing you where the hot dishes are... but even cooler than that is when you are reviewing a dish, it uses a Google API to ensure that you're not making a duplicate of a certain dish (in other words, we want two reviews of a single dish Pad Thai at Madam Mam's, not two reviews of two separate dishes both called Pad Thai at Madam Mam's).

The entire website is like that... very "Web 2.0" as some would say, but without all the super-flashy interface stuff that just gets in the way. It is very community oriented in nature. You have an identity and can find people with similar tastes and share opinions and what not (that's the real Web 2.0, ya know).

The whole operation is top notch. He didn't just make a website and shove it out on the internet to fester. Dishola is constantly keeping things fresh with celebrity dish reviews, video interviews from the nation's top chefs, charity and donation programs.

In short, he's taken an existing, somewhat stale idea and successfully breathed new life into it. Go check it out, I promise it's not like all those other tired food review sites.

Ok.. enough about how awesome the website is... this is my blog and should be about me! So here's my take on the whole thing. I'm massively jealous. He's living every programmer's dream!!! To crank out a cool product that people love using and spawning an active community around it! I want that! I mean seriously, the next best thing would be to create the world's most popular MMORPG single handedly or something.

Also, I have to get something off my chest... I'm a bad friend... I don't use Dishola as often as I should. I've put some thought into why this is and I've determined that it's the same reason why Adam and I needed a bet so our blogs would actually have some content. I hate putting up half assed reviews. See, Adam and I hardly ever posted blog articles because we would constantly revise them and never be happy. We needed a bet just to force ourselves to publish the articles, even if they aren't perfectly witty or deliciously insightful.

I was at Catfish Parlor the other day and I said to Aimee, "Remind me to get a picture of our lightly battered, deliciously fried catfish dinner with jalapeno tartar sauce so I can put it on Dishola." Low and behold, the check came and Aimee "reminded" me... :P

Also, I'm just not that good with words. "Get the Tom Kha soup at Madam Mams, it's really f-ing good." Sigh.

Kudos to a Car Dealership?!

2007-12-18T23:04:00.000-06:00

I admit... I'm usually the first to lambaste car dealerships. They seem all too quick to screw you over with voided warranties, ridiculous repair bills, damaging your ride in the repair process and last but not least, joyriding in you precious auto. But I actually had a good experience at Henna Chevrolet of Austin recently.

I had fried my brakes at a recent track event, and was planning on eating the costs and buying $700 worth of brake upgrades, but Aimee, a buddy of mine, and some members of Corvette Forum suggested that I try to get them replaced under warranty by playing dumb to the whole "track event" thing. So I decided to heed that advice... here's how it went...

Day 1

"No no no, not at all... I just take it on some mildly spirited joyrides in hill country, sir. What is this 'track' that you speak of?"
"Well it is a wearable part, a tech is going to have to check it out and see if it's bad enough for warranty repair."

Day 2

"Is it done yet?"
"We need to have another tech look at it."

"Is it done yet?"
"We need to have the head tech look at it and make a decision."

"Is it done yet?"
"We need to have the service manager look at it and make a decision."

Day 3

"Mr. Bottaro... after examining the tire wear and brake wear, it is apparent that this car has been run very hard at a track. (long pause, me sweating bullets) ...but that's ok, it's ok to take this car to the track. The service manager, who is an avid track enthusiast, personally suggests that you upgrade to aftermarket brakes if you continue to track your car like this. That being said, we will repair your brakes under warranty twice before you're on your own."

Ok, first off, I feel like a complete douchebag for lying to the service writer's face about not tracking the car. Second, wow... very cool!

Ninja Gaiden Black

2007-12-17T22:57:00.000-06:00

Easily 4 out of 4 stars.

Best action game ever made (until Ninja Gaiden 2 comes out)!!

Pros...

Incredible fighting engine.
Spectacular graphics (even today).
Tons of polish.
Hard as hell.

Cons...

Hard as hell.
It is "last gen" now.
3rd person camera control is backwards from most other games and you can't change it.

I first played Ninja Gaiden Black last xmas and beat it in two 12 hour sittings, and it has been my favorite game ever since.

The story is good albeit relatively straight forward: You're a ninja tasked with protecting an ancient sword, some bastard steals it and kills your entire village in the process, you seek vengeance. There are a few plot twists and the game does a decent job at keeping you anxious to find out what happens next.

The graphics are amazing for an Xbox game. Hell, I'd say they are even better than most Xbox 360 games out there. Still, the fact that it isn't "next gen" is a turn off for some people.

What makes this game such a gem is the gameplay. It is phenomenal. Everything is so crisp and precise and the fighting engine is surprisingly deep for an action/adventure game, which actually isn't all that surprising considering this game is brought to you by the makers of the fighting game series Dead or Alive.

The gameplay and fighting are actually a lot like playing a bonafide fighting game. A lot of the moves' and combos' key sequences are taken straight from DOA. Now combine that type of fighting depth with jumping off enemies heads, flipping around like a crazy ass ninja, running on/up walls, and ridiculous super moves. That's what playing the game is like... :)

So you're gunna buy the game and have a blast, kicking ass crazy ninja style like I described above, right? Wrong!! The game is hard as hell. Most of you who attempt to play it will probably have trouble making it to level 2, much less finishing all 16 levels or playing it as gracefully as The Master Ninjas.

Sooo, here's a gameplay video of what it would be like if you actually had the skills to it play it well...

Holy crap, after watching that tribute I was reminded how this game is the greatest game ever made.

Mass Effect

2007-12-16T22:40:00.000-06:00

3.5* out of 4 stars. (rating system explained)

Despite it's many flaws, I was actually upset that it was over.

Pros...

Story is engrossing and intriguing.
Graphics are outstanding, especially when it comes to character faces.
Action is as good or better than any other 3rd person shooter out there.
Combines RPG elements (stats, equipment, level ups, special abilities) with a 3rd person shooter.
A real sense that the choices you make actually matter.

Cons...

Low framerate and invasive loading give an overall choppy feel to the game.
Maybe too much "talking" for some people's tastes.
Inventory system is horrible.
Weapon upgrading interface is horrible.
Side quests are short, repetitive and reuse maps/textures/models.
Too short.

I had written a big, long review about this game when I discovered this review and realized that I'd just be repeating everything that reviewer said. The short of it is this: the game is riddled with flaws, but we love it anyways. Hell, I'm going to play through it twice even.

My biggest complaint are the side quests. There are two kinds of side quests:

The ones that take place in a city or major area of the game.
The ones that require you to land on a remote planet to investigate or kill something.

The first type are great, it's the latter that are super repetitive and boring. You'll be able to differentiate between the two pretty quickly. I suggest avoiding the second type and sticking to the first type which will arise naturally if you just follow the main plot of the game.

* I hate straying from my simple 4 discrete star system where a game can get one of only four ratings, but I honestly feel this game warrants an exception for being such a great game that unfortunately has so many flaws.

Merry Christmas to me!

2007-12-12T19:26:00.001-06:00

Apparently my car's six track days has taken its toll, as seen by the picture (click for larger image). In case you don't know what you're looking at, there are two nicely cut grooves in my driver side front rotor. The same two grooves are starting on the passenger side, but aren't as deep yet.

What could have caused the brake pads to wear down so quickly (the car only has 5000 miles)? Well for starters, track time is very hard on brakes. Some people claim they can destroy pads in just a single track day! I'm too wet behind the ears for that. I suspect it had to do with my car participating in back to back to back sessions without any cooldown in between (me driving, instructor driving with me, Aimee driving, instructor driving with Aimee).

So now I have to get new pads and rotors, and as long as I'm replacing parts, I might as well "upgrade", right? :D

Here's the shopping list...

DBA 4000 Series slotted rotors (front) - $349.90
Hawk HPS brake pads (front) - $102.95
Hawk HPS brake pads (rear) - $74.95
StopTech braided stainless steel brake lines (front) - $72.00
StopTech braided stainless steel brake lines (rear) - $68.00
ATL Type 200 brake fluid (2L) - $21.98

Grand total... $689.78. Merry xmas to me... sigh... :(

Driving on the Edge

2007-12-09T21:19:00.000-06:00

Aimee and I just got back from my second (her first) Driver's Edge event. I'll link to her experience as soon as she writes it.

If you didn't catch my first experience, you can read it here. Most of that post is spent on trying to relate how intense high performance driving on a road course can be. This time was different. I wasn't white knuckled or cringing while barreling into a corner at high speed. Instead I was calm, relaxed, even joking with my instructor while driving... but, the difference is that this time the driving was faster and more "out of control" than before.

I wasn't really out of control of course, I never went off the track or anything. I guess I mean it looks (or would feel) out of control to someone looking at it from the outside. I was comfortable pushing the car past it's limits on practically every corner, which generally means a light, correctable skid. I had gotten past the exhilaration of going fast on a track and was relaxed enough to start feeling the car. I could feel when it was at its limits and I could choose to push it into a slide or back off. Which leads me to my next topic...

I think I figured out my driving style. I don't want to say "reckless" because that implies irresponsibility. Safety is always number one, especially when other cars are nearby. But when I feel it is "safe", I will almost always choose to kick the rear end out and correct for it. I think it's fun. :)

I had 6 major corrections this weekend. By major I mean I was sliding sideways, tires smoking, and I was going off track if I didn't do some pretty big counter steering. The trick to counter steering (IMO) is knowing when to stop it and turn the wheel back to normal. If you hold the counter steer too long, the car will swing around the other way fast and hard. The window of opportunity to stop the counter steer seems to be very very small.

Minor corrections (small skids, aka power induced oversteer) are a normality now... :) The trick is not using the entire track when exiting a corner. Give yourself some margin for error. If you do it right, you'll end up using the entire track anyway.

I have to say I had to best instructor. His name is Mason and he is awesome. I seriously don't think I could have improved this much without him. I really felt like I could understand and execute his instructions... but more importantly, he gave me confidence, which is what I really needed to take it to the next level. He made me feel completely at ease and good about myself, which in turn allowed me to relax, which in turn allowed me to concentrate on "feeling" the car and experimenting. Also, he was really fun. He'd say "awesome!" when I'd almost lose control or "let's do it!" when I'd get my sights on someone.

** NOTE: Please excuse my inaccurate terminology, potentially bad/incorrect advice or complete misunderstanding of a concept. I'm still very much a beginner and am still trying to make sense of all this racing stuff. :)

P.S. I'm solo approved (drive without an instructor) for the blue group! And my instructor said I can be in the yellow group if on a familiar track!! Wow, exciting! I just never really expected to make it to solo driving or the yellow group for that matter!

4 Star Rating System

2007-12-03T23:42:00.000-06:00

If you haven't noticed already, I'm quite an avid gamer. Not a fanboy or anything, but I do enjoy a good game on more than a casual level. I also ~~read~~ watch a lot of video game reviews on Gamespot, IGN and XPlay and often think about my personal spin on gaming.

Like I said before, I'm not a fanboy or hardcore game nerd. I have a girlfriend to tend to, a pup that's like a daughter to me, my Corvette to futz around with, a 9-to-8 (as opposed to 9-to-5) job, my personal blog and my software release blog (as in, I write software in my spare time). I'm somewhere between a casual gamer and an MMORPG addict. I'm looking to speak to gamers who fall into this demographic. I also believe this demographic will expand as gaming becomes more mainstream.

I guess this blog post is to announce that I'm going to officially start reviewing video games. I have done a couple of "reviews" already, but I'm going to try to standardize a format and rating system. I'll probably retroactively apply this system to the previous reviews.

I'm going to use a simple 4 star rating system...

Bad
Mediocre
Good
Awesome, outstanding, exceptional, go buy it right now.

The format will be a short list of pros and cons followed by in depth discussion of what stood out to me.

Software Released

2007-12-01T22:49:00.000-06:00

I "released" my Kate/Pate plugin today via this blog post.

MySpace Sucks, Good Riddance!

2007-11-28T01:13:00.000-06:00

God, I hate MySpace. Everything about it sucks...

Filled with advertisements to the point where the UI breaks down.
Filled with porn spam.
UI design is horrific.
It's ungodly slow.

Mainly it's the UI and the slowness that piss me off about it. It's like I'm looking at a webpage designed by a 12 year old. Combined with constant porn spam, it's just too much... I cancelled my account. No, not "deactivated" or made "hidden", I actually deleted it. As in unrecoverable delete. Fuck you, MySpace.

My wave ratio is up!

2007-11-18T23:37:00.000-06:00

I learned about the wave before I even got my Vette, and it's built up so much on Corvette Forum that I was a little disappointed to observe a real world wave return ratio of only about 50%.

I think when one cruises Corvette forums on the internet all the time, he/she tends to forget that the enthusiast community makes up a small portion of the total, real world population. So while nearly 100% of Corvette Forum members "save the wave", they make up a small percentage of actual Corvette owners out on the road.

Anyways, the point of the post is, my wave return ratio is up! Seems I've gotten near 100% return in the past month or so. Heh, feels good to finally be getting some returns instead of looking like a tool and listening to my gf say, "See, nobody cares."

Btw, if anyone read that save-the-wave page that I linked above, I'm definitely a "Topper-Tipper" or a "Two Finger-Flipper." If I were to take a guess, I'd say Mr. Scatterbrain is a "Wiping Swiper." :)

I stole that image of that lovely lady waving from a C5 from Google Images. I hope that's ok with her.

Installing Pate for Kate

2007-11-14T19:42:00.000-06:00

Read about it here on my more technical blog.

Moonshine, Austin Tx

2007-11-11T18:04:00.000-06:00

I've been meaning to try this place ever since my boss mentioned that it's one of his favorites. It has been well over a year since he mentioned that, and I haven't thought about it since then until Aimee recently brought home some porkchops from there.

I'm not a fan of pork chops unless they are thin grilled Vietnamese style, but these thick ones from Moonshine were pretty good. They are described as "molasses and chili cured (for 24 hours) with an bourbon apple sauce."

Anyways, for whatever reason, me and Aimee [sic] decided to go there on Sat. Let me fill you in on a little background about myself. I hate crowds. I hate loud noises. I hate waiting. I hate "no parking." Aimee knew the only way she'd get me to go to a place downtown on the weekend is if we went early. So we went at 3:45 pm (we were both starving for some reason, so it worked out well).

I liked it. We sat outside on the patio and it wasn't crowded or loud at all. There was music playing, but it was very soft... you had to stop talking to hear it (i.e. perfect in my ears). Our server was very friendly and I had no reservations about giving her my standard 20%.

So here's the rundown...

Baked (really? I could have sworn it was fried) Bree with Ancho Pear Chutney and Toast Points

It was good, but not outstanding, IMO. Aimee was craving this standard faire appetizer, so I think it really hit the spot for her.

Broiled Rainbow Trout with Corn Bread Stuffing & Chile Sage Butter

This was recommended by the server (and my boss). It is awesome. It may not sound like it, but it is very rich. We speculate it's from a lot of butter and sugar in the cornbread stuffing. Definitely a dish to recommend and get again.

Crunchy Coated Snapper with Mango Relish, Crab Meat & Basil Pesto

Very good also. We both thoroughly enjoyed it, but it wasn't a show stopper like the trout. I did like that I could taste the red onions on it and the mango was in large slices and fresh and flavorful as well.

Baked Mac and Cheese (side)

Very good. Obviously not like what you would buy in a grocery store, but very rich and creamy instead. The top is browned from the baking.

Seasonal Vegetable Medley

Good. I ate all of mine (and Aimee's too later at home), which is saying a lot for veggies. It included corn, red cabbage and carrots.

Grilled Polenta with Parmesan and Fresh Herbs

Meh, I liked the normal cornbread better.

Harvest Moon Tea (alcoholic drink)

Good. It's pint sized for $6.75, which isn't too bad these days. Be warned, it's pink.

Hard Lemonade

The twist is mint. Aimee loved this and got two of them.

White Chocolate Bread Pudding

I think it was the ice cream that was white chocolate because I couldn't taste any white chocolate in the bread pudding. This was good, but I think at this point in the meal, we just got it to taste because we were so full. We didn't finish it even though it was very good.

The meal cost $79. 100% worth it for a "night out" or "date" type of meal.

P.S. The picture shown shows the stuffed trout (rear) that I got and the hard lemonade that Aimee got.

Sony Fanboys... The Devil May Cry You a River

2007-11-07T19:02:00.000-06:00

12,000 Sony fanboys have signed an online petition saying they will boycott (as in not purchase) the upcoming Devil May Cry 4 game if Capcom releases it on multiple platforms instead of making it a Sony PS3 exclusive title.

Ok, I can understand if PS3 owners would be upset if Capcom released DMC4 on 360 and not the PS3, but that's not the case. It's being released on all systems so that everyone can play it and be happy.

So fanboys, what's with the "if we can't have it to ourselves, we don't want it at all" mentality? Come on guys, you're not in kindergarten any more... mommy should have taught you how to share by now.

Here's the hilarious part. While everyone is not caring about your stupid plight and enjoying your beloved game, you will either be renegging on your petition pledge or sitting in the corner not playing it because of your own selfishness.

My History of Cars (Part 3)

2007-11-06T23:42:00.001-06:00

Finally... the Vette post.

I don't know why it took me so long to finally make this post. I think it's because there is so much, really too much, to say.

Let me start off by saying... I love this thing as much as a human can love an inanimate object. While almost everyone will tell you that buying a new, expensive car is one of the worst financial decisions you can make, I will tell you that it is the best purchase I have ever made, straight up. It's one of those things that brings me enjoyment everyday. I look forward to waking up in the morning just to drive it to work. Before taking the plunge, I thought I would be riddled with guilt and buyer's remorse, but infact, the opposite happened: I love it more and more with each passing day. Even Aimee, who swore she would break up with me if I bought it, loves it. She drives it to her gym, to the grocery store, to the mall, etc. Hehe, I think that's pretty ~~cute~~ hot.

This car is the best bang-for-your-buck sports car, period. I'll probably never own a Ferrari, hell, I'll probably never even own a Porsche 911, but owning this Corvette gives me 80% of the performance of the Ferrari (and 110% of the Porsche) for a tiny fraction of the cost. It is truly an everday, everyman's ~~sports~~ supercar.

I got a 2008 Z51 Coupe. It is rated at 436 hp, but realistically makes about 40 more hp at the rear wheels than a 2005-2007 model. It also uses a different (and better) transmission than the previous model years. Also for the 2008 model year, GM addressed a long standing gripe against the Corvette (numb and poor steering feel) by tweaking and modifying the steering column, which is nice, but I don't necessarily think it's BMW or Porsche caliber yet.

I opted for the HUD, Z51 and dual mode exhaust options. The HUD is pretty cool... it projects driving information (speed, RPM, lateral g-force, etc) onto the windshield, much the same way a jet fighter does. The Z51 package is the track and road racing package which includes a race tuned suspension, oil cooler, power steering fluid cooler and close ratio transmission. The dual mode exhaust is expensive, but worth it... the mufflers have a computer controlled valve in them that opens at 3500 RPM and unleashes that deep American V8 growl... :) Perfect for people like me who typically like to keep a low profile, but still like to cause a raucous on occasion.

The car performs phenomenally on the track, capable of beating high end supercars 3x it's price. I'm not going to lie, the car is way beyond my ability as a driver, but I still love that it can beat the pants off most any other car out there in the hands of someone more competent.

I also love all the extra little things about owning a modern car. I love the keyless, wireless entry and ignition. I never have to take the key fob out of my pocket. The doors "unlock" when in range and "lock" when out of range (actually they don't lock or unlock persay, they simple won't open if the key fob is out of range). HID highlights are awesome; even better, they are automatic (they turn on/off according to how much daylight is present). Memory seats/mirrors are sweet, especially when there are two primary drivers. Telescoping steering wheel, auto exit seat positioning, auto dimming mirrors, completely electric doors and trunk release, XM radio, etc... blah blah, the wireless key fob is awesome. Yeah, I know I already said that, but it's so awesome, that I honestly think every car should be that way.

There is so much more to say about this car (and how I feel about it), but this post is already running long, so I'll just leave you with the standard performance statistics.

0 to 60 in 4 seconds flat (2008 model year)
1/4th mile in low 12 second range (2008 model year)
0.98 lateral g's in the skidpad*

* Holy Jesus, that number is so good, I must provide a source for integrity.

P.S. The roof comes off (completely off, not like a t-top), so I more or less have a convertible whenever I want... how cool is that?? I actually use this feature a ton more than I thought I would. It's very nice.

Biggest Apple Rip Off Yet

2007-11-06T13:59:00.000-06:00

I was reading (and agreeing with) someone's gripe over Apple putting a combo drive in their "low end" MacBook when I realized that offence is nothing in comparison to their memory prices.

Recently, Apple quietly upgraded their MacBook lineup, which included officially extending the maximum supported memory to 4 gb. Great! The more the better, especially since I would be using VMware Fusion to run Windows and Linux along side OS X.

Here's the kicker, configuring a MacBook through Apple's online store will cost you $850 for 3 gb of memory. Yes, that's eight hundred and f-ing fifty dollars for a mere 3 gb of memory (remember, the 1st gb is including in the base price).

Let me put this in perspective. You can buy 4 gb of Patriot memory, specifically made for Mac notebooks, from Newegg for only $189. Yes, that's one full gb more for approximately $650 less than what Apple is charging.

Am I the only one outraged?

Godzirra!! (broken Engrish accent)

2007-11-04T01:46:00.001-05:00

3.8L twin turbo v6
473 hp / 433 tq
super high tech AWD system
0-60 in 3.5 secs
1/4th mile in 11.7 secs
7:38 Nurburgring time
$70,000 estimated price

For all you out-the-know non-car people, those performance statistics are utterly amazing for that price tag, especially that ring time...

So why do I hate it?? Ok, I don't really "hate" it, but something about it pisses me off. No, it's not the fact that it knocks my beloved American car off it's pedestal. It's not because I want it but can't afford it either. It's because of all the damn hype and PS2-armchair-racers.

God, I've never heard so much hype and smack talk over a car before. From Nissan claiming that they are targeting the half million dollar Porsche Carrera GT, to MotorTrend's latest "Corvette Killer" cover story, to the endless JDM fanboy comments on Autoblog... it has simply ruined the car for me. It's no longer just a new, badass world beater made by Nissan. Now it's some monstrosity used to fuel internet flame wars, power the hype machine, and bring out the insecurities of every lesser sports car owner (like me!*).

There is just too much stigma attached to the car for me to ever consider buying it. It's what every pimply, Gran Turismo playing, Fast and Furious watching teenager has wet dreams about.

Still I have to give credit where credit is due. Those performance stats are incredible, and kudos for Nissan for not reincarnating this "legend" into some flaccid underperformer.

* That ring time is suspicious. For starters, it was made with a preproduction car. Plus Nissan spent like a year with it at the ring. You give me 365 laps around the ring and I'm bound to get one really good one... :P Then there is ubiquitous cut slicks debate, hehe.

Oh, and it looks like a catfish.

I'm dating Uma Thurman.

2007-11-03T22:56:00.000-05:00

I don't think a week goes by that my girlfriend Aimee doesn't get told by someone that she looks like Uma Thurman... and that's in normal clothes. You should see her in her Uma Halloween costume! Oh wait, you are. Pretty neat, huh?

I love Uma Thurman as an actress. She's actually one of my favorites. It's her characters... they're all badass. She always plays a take-charge-get-what-she-wants-while-still-being-sexy woman. Kinda like Aimee in real life... :)

A pro photographer happened to be a guest at the same party. He got some really good pics of her as Uma, so stay tuned while we wait for Aimee's flaky friend to get them to us.

Things I Want 1.0

2007-10-28T21:38:00.000-05:00

Westinghouse 42" LCD I like to play video games late at night. Aimee has to wake up very early for work. My gaming TV backs up to our bedroom wall. Not good. I need a second high def TV to take upstairs for late night gaming. LG Motorsport Pro Long Tube Headers w/ Cats

They'll add 30-35 rwhp and hopefully add a mean sound too. I don't really need this, I just kind of want them. Maybe I'll wait till my warranty expires. Besides, they are very expensive. Apple MacBook I'm getting a little tired of tinkering with Linux. Really I just want a decent text editor for Ruby/Rail. Is TextMate really worth $1500 though? It doesn't even have an outline view. Apple Mac Mini Might as well get a Mac for home too. :) Apple iPod Nano (classic) Funny thing, I've never actually owned a portable mp3 player (for very long anyways). My car radio has an aux input that I'd like to use. Might as well stay with the Apple theme, right? Am I the only one who doesn't like those new fatty iPod Nanos? External DVD Burner It just makes sense. Burning DVDs isn't a common task for me, especially on multiple computers. What I mean is, most of my DVD burning happens on one computer, so why bother getting a DVD burner for all of my other computers? I do, on occasion, need to burn a DVD on one of those other computers. Also, if I'm going all Mac, I don't want to spring for the Superdrive on all of them... :)

Newsflash: Ricers scared by V8 exhaust note!

2007-10-23T00:26:00.001-05:00

Apparently, ricers don't know what a V8 sounds like. According to many V8 owners, revving ricers are quickly shutup when the V8 owner revs back at them.

The story goes like this. Ricer comes up on an unsuspecting V8 and revs at them to entice them into a street race. The V8 owner is way above street racing so tries to ignore the ricer. The ricer persists and finally the V8 owner revs back with his massive V8 engine. Never having heard a V8 before, or possibly not knowing that a Mustang/Camaro/(insert American car here) has a V8, the ricer is so taken aback by the brutal, intimidating sound that he (or she) shuts up and minds his place.

"Well we were at a light and he starts revving his fart muffler(or lack of muffler). well i started to intimidate him with one fast 5000 rpm rev. this was funny (big smile). THAT SHUT HIM UP. (thumbs up)"
http://forums.bradbarnett.net/showthread.php?t=31650

"He revs his engine at me so I rev mine back (B&B Bullets on a C6 A6) and man it was funny. His face looked as if a Frenchman slapped him with a white glove."
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/showthread.php?t=1840663

"So i came down in the stang and did a nice rev which shut him up."
http://www.allfordmustangs.com/forums/kill-stories/46776-does-get-any-better-ricer.html

I have failed to compile a complete collection of quotes, but rest assured, I have heard this same story too many times to count.

So there you have it. Ricers are scared of loud, deep notes and only rev at cars that they expect aren't going to rev back with said loud, deep notes. Also ricers are ignorant of which cars are equipped with V8s producing these notes and often rev at them by mistake.

If you can't detect it, this post is dripping with sarcasm. I think it's ridiculous that these people actually think other people are "scared" of their loud exhaust.

Better Rails Migrations

2007-10-21T17:59:00.000-05:00

This blog post has been moved here.

Better AppConfig Plugin for Rails

2007-10-19T23:49:00.000-05:00

This blog post has been moved here.

Nvidia Woes in Linux - (K)ubuntu Feisty

2007-10-15T11:18:00.000-05:00

I've been tooling around with Compiz-Fusion in Linux. It's pretty neat, but my old graphics card wasn't up to the task so I bought a cheapo $28 fanless Nvidia GeForce 6200 128 MB AGP. There are some interesting caveats to getting an Nvidia card working in Linux, particularly (K)ubuntu.

If you install the drivers from Nvidia's website (which I suggest because those are always the latest and most up-to-date), you have to disable the module that is packaged in linux-restricted-modules-common:

sudo vim /etc/default/linux-restricted-modules-common DISABLED_MODULES="nv"

Then be sure to remember to delete any files in /lib/linux-restricted-modules/:

sudo rm /lib/linux-restricted-modules/.nvidia_new_installed sudo rm /lib/linux-restricted-modules/.nvidia_legacy_installed

Those hidden files are created if you've ever installed Nvidia drivers from the (K)ubuntu repositories, but for some reason, they are not deleted if you uninstall (as in the case when before you install from Nvidia's website).

Then just run the Nvidia installer, reboot and you should be all set.

Many thanks to adamk in this thread.

The Orange Box Rocks!!

2007-10-14T00:17:00.000-05:00

With the disappointment of Halo 3 still in the forefront of my mind (damn thing cost $60), The Orange Box came at a great time to get that bad taste out of my mouth. For those who don't know, The Orange Box is a collection of five Value games (Half Life 2, HL2: Episode One, HL2: Episode Two, Portal and Team Fortress), recently released on Xbox 360. The five games have previously been released for PC some years ago.

I played Half Life 2 on the PC in 2004 and it was awesome then and it's awesome now on the 360! In fact, it puts to shame most 360 games in the graphics department and definitely in the gameplay and fun factor departments.

Unlike Halo 3, Half Life 2 is a very submersive game. The environments are very interactive. The people not only talk, but react to you (try throwing some trash at them). The game won awards for it's ground breaking physics engine. Almost every object in the game can be picked up and thrown around (that gets really fun once you get the gravity gun). The "puzzles" are short, creative and rewarding; they usually show off part of the in-game physics capabilities. The pace of the game is also excellent; the levels never get repetitive or boring.

Speaking of physics, Portal is a trip. I'm not even going to bother explaining, so just watch this embedded video:

I beat Portal in one sitting (2h 50m). It was really fun.

I don't have much interest in Team Fortress. Online, competitive gameplay is too stressful for me.

Half Life 2 easily makes it into my top 5 video game list.

Dyno Tuned the Vette

2007-10-13T22:21:00.001-05:00

I got my car dyno tuned at 21st Century Muscle Cars. John Page (the shop owner) is very friendly, accommodating and knowledgable. Kenny K., who did the actual tuning, is extremely friendly and owns his own C6 which he modified (headers, cams, etc) and tuned himself.

I was expecting to dyno at 390 rwhp stock and gain about 5 rwhp from the tune. Instead I dyno'ed very low for an LS3 (364 rwhp) and gained 30 rwhp from the tune. Apparently my LS3 C6 is an anomaly and came from the factory pig rich (AFR for the first dyno run was below 10.0), which accounted for the low horsepower.

Most LS3's are 390 stock and gain 5 from a tune. I was about 365 and gained 30 from the tune. Either way, end result is 395 rwhp... so I shouldn't be too concerned, right? Right??

Btw, for you non car people out there, 395 rwhp means my car makes about 445 horsepower. Hell, let's just call it an even 450... :)

2008 Sub $100,000 Test Drive List

2007-10-13T21:29:00.000-05:00

Corvette C6 Z06

Test drive? Hell, I might even own one of these someday.

Porsche 911 Carrera S

I'm not really a Porsche fan. I think they are kind of ugly, somewhat pricey for what you get, and a bit overrated by the magazines. Still, I want to see what all the hoopla is about. Btw, I would have put the 911 GT3 on this list instead, but it is $7,500 over budget.

Lotus Exige S

I will probably never own one of these because they make terrible daily drivers, and I'm not wealthy enough to have a $60k car that is strictly a toy. Still I'd want to test drive one just to see what a true, dedicated track car feels like.

Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X

What, I can't have a ricer on the list? This car has garnered so much respect from rags, as well as the enthusiast community, over the years that I'm curious to try out it's latest incarnation. Also, I have little experience with AWD cars, so I want to see what that is like.

Honda S2000

Owners seem to love them. I've never heard a bad thing about an S2000 from an owner, instead they rave about them. The car is very high strung with very little torque, so I'm curious to see what makes them so good.

Honda Civic Mugen Type R / RR / Si

This is the car I love to hate. :) How can people call it a sports car? It's FWD for crying out loud! It's chassis' primary design function is that of economy! You can't just take an economy car, slap a bunch of performance parts on it and call it a sports car! Still, it has somewhat of a cult following... that has to count for something, right? I just want to test drive one so that my bashings have more credibility, ha!

Saturn Sky Red Line

I have a weird obsession with this car. I know it's not that great of a performer, but I love it's edgy design. They always catch my eye and it takes me a second or two before I realize what they are. Some would argue that it is a sporty little roadster because it's based off the same platform as the Pontiac Solstice.

Ford Mustang GT500 KR

Though I've kind of lost interest in drag racing, I'm still a Mustang fan. I wanna see what this car has on my previous beast. Also, I have read some articles that say it can keep pace on a road course, though I speculate it's via sheer horsepower.

Is a Mac really worth it?

2007-10-08T03:12:00.000-05:00

I've been toying with the idea of getting a Mac for a while now. I'd like both a MacBook as well as a Mac Mini. I'm not a normal computer user, so these would be the upgrades I'd get for each of them:

2 gb memory
7200 rpm hard drive
Superdrive (aka a dvd burner)

Both the MacBook and the Mac Mini come with 1 gb of memory via two 512 mb sticks. Guess how many memory slots each one has? You guessed it! If you want to upgrade to 2 gb, you can't reuse any of the memory that originally came with the machines.

You cannot add a Superdrive a la carte. You must order the higher end model of each machine to get it.

The 7200 rpm hard drive is about a $100 aftermarket upgrade.

So all said and done, that $500 Mac Mini is looking more like $800 and that $1100 MacBook is looking like $1500.

Now I can upgrade my current computer to have a much faster Core 2 Duo processor than either of those Macs, along with a video card that easily beats them, for a grand total of $400.

"Yeah, but OS X has the best, most badass, eye candy interface ever!" Ehh. Check out this video of what is going to be included in the default installation of (K)ubuntu Linux (released in 10 days).

So now I gotta ask myself... is TextMate really worth $400 to $1100?

Halo 3... meh.

2007-10-06T13:39:00.000-05:00

I got Halo 3 a few days after it was released. I bought it from Gamestop and the clerk there asked me what version I wanted. I kinda just stared at him until he started to explain. There is the normal version which is just the game. Then there is a special "limited edition" which comes in a tin case and cost $10 more. And then there is the "legendary edition" which comes with the pictured helmet and costs $130. I was offended for two reasons:

The clerk had the audacity to assume I am a big enough nerd to even consider either special edition, especially the "legendary nerd" edition with the helmet on a stand.
That MS is such a money grubbing piece of shit that they are charging over $70 for a plastic helmet which adds nothing to the gaming experience.

I guess that's what really pisses me off about Halo 3. It is so over-hyped and over-marketed that it's a massive success, despite the game actually being mediocre.

How is it mediocre, you ask? Let me rattle off a short list...

The graphics aren't that great. I feel like I'm looking at a PC video game 5 years ago.
The character animations are even worse. Their movements are so unnatural and "jagged". Walking up and down stairs, their feet don't properly fit the steps. When people hold their hands up to their faces, you can tell they aren't really touching.
I can't tell when I'm hitting an enemy. Gears of War had blood spurting and Resident Evil 4 had enemies recoiling in pain. Halo 3 has almost nothing. Same with death animation in Halo 3, very weak. Sometimes I waste ammo on an already dead enemy.
The gravity hammer is nothing near as cool as the chainsaw bayonet.
Overall, the weapons aren't very satisfying (especially the shotgun, where is the feeling of brute force??).
I don't know, it just doesn't have the polish that Gears of War has or Resident Evil 4 had (at the time).

I honestly think MS paid off a lot of reviewers in it's ultimate hype campaign. Check this out though, my friend Adam sent me this review, which I think is pretty good. :)

Space Age Polymer Bits

Forget footwork, get your grip stronger!

Acne Meds

Diet of the Month

Muscle Milk and Oats

Cowboy Soup

Muscle Milk

Grilled Chicken Salad

Baked or Grilled Salmon

Muscle Milk Shake

Scared of Cedar

Me, as a rope gun.

The Hit List

On Motivation and Pride

On-Sighting

My Project

Rope Gun

My Current Diet

Breakfast - 900 AM

Lunch - 1200 PM

Post Workout - 300 PM

Dinner 1 - 600 PM

Dinner 2 - 900 PM

Bedtime - 1130 PM

My current cardio routine

All by my lonesome

My current resistance training routine

Monday - Back / Heavy Abs

Wednesday - Chest / Shoulders

Friday - Legs / Light Abs

Notes

Top Ten Video Games

Ninja Gaiden Black (Xbox)

Soulcalibur (Dreamcast)

Quake 2 (PC)

Super Metroid (SNES)

Resident Evil 4 (Gamecube)

Final Fantasy IV / II (SNES)

Final Fantasy VI / III (SNES)

Final Fantasy VII (Playstation)

Street Fighter 2 (arcade/SNES)

Final Fantasy XI (PC)

Lead climbed a 5-9

Lost $100 in a pool shot bet

Killer Spin Class

"This isn't news!"

Sunbathing

Edge Driving Part VI

Sunshine

Scivation Xtend

BSN Syntha-6

Poopoo's hurt bottom!

Annette and Jan's Sopapillas

Ingredients

Procedure

Nutritional Info

Notes

Muscle Milk - Cake Batter

Sludging it up

Ingredients

Procedure

Nutritional Info

Notes

SciVation Whey (vanilla)

Healthy Cheesecake / Mousse

Ingredients

Procedure

Nutritional Info

Notes

How to get fit... a super brief primer

On nutrition...

On physical aesthetic...

On metabolism...

On goals and motivation...

On suppliments...

On cardio...

On weight training...

Parting thoughts...

ALLMAX Nutrition Product Samples

IsoFlex Bar - Chocolate Marshmallow Fudge