Circuit City at 5am

This is the black friday sale and i'm stupidly in line

The 2008 Subaru Impreza WRX STi

At a preview event

My Nokia N800 Internet Tablet

I had my eye on this Internet Tablet for a while, and was just waiting for it to come down in price. Initinally I was just going to get the N770, but then the processor was slow, now I finally have what I want!!! The N800!!!
Anyways, to start off, an Internet Tablet is a device that is basically a device to surf the internet. Not quite laptop, not quite pda. In fact the N800 runs a Lunix based OS and doesn't have any of the PIM (Personal Information Manager) features on a PDA. It came with a battery, extra stylus, 128MB MiniSD card with adapter, USB cable, charger, protective sleeve and instructions.
It was a little smaller and lighter than I thought it was.
And it's got a very cool flip out stand.

Overall I was very impressed with this little device. I can surf the Internet whenever you have a Wifi connection, or I can connect it to my phone through bluetooth and tether the Internet off it. Having owned it for about a month, I do think it's worth the money. It's probably the most useless piece of equipment that I have given the fact that you can do everything on your laptop, but you definately can't beat the fact that you could be lying in bed surfing the Internet, chatting, and even do video conferencing with the built-in webcam!

No more heavy laptop with a hot burning battery on your lap! And the battery life on the N800 is very good, I was able to get about 4 hours of surfing time with the screen on medium brightness.

2008 Subaru Impreza

Came across the new 2008 Subaru Imprezas which just started trickling into dealers. Here are a couple pics of one which just got dropped off! enjoy!

Marc by Marc Jacobs Sunglasses

My most recent conquest: Marc by Marc Jacobs sunglasses for guys model MMJ 007/P/S. Surprisingly it fits my face coz i've always had a hard time finding plastic sunglasses that actually fit and fit well. This model comes in different color lens. These are the polarized ones.

Nokia 7900 Prism

Nokia revealed yesterday their latest line of fashion phones - the Nokia 7900 and 7500 Prism. Both phone carry a werid diamond shaped texture and keypad. Like the Nokia 7280 that I had, these are both under the "fashion phone" line. The 7900 being the higher end model is one of the first phones to sport a 16 million color OLED (Organic LED) display and has 49 color options for keypad illumination.

However it only has a 2MP camera as opposed to the 5MP camera on the upcoming SonyEricsson K850i. This Nokia looks really cool, but I think the K850i will have more features. MAYBE if this phone beats the K850i to the market..... the cool lights may steal me over and I might get it instead....?? who knows?

Here's a pretty nice site: Nokia Prism Collection

new favourite phone - Sony Ericsson K850i

Announced not too long ago was this Sony Ericsson K850i phone. What's cool about it IMHO is that it's got like all the GSM, HSDPA and UMTS 3G frequencies that exist. The design is cool, and the keypad is a little different. The 5MP camera with auto focus and Xenon flash is definately a selling point and it's even got a built-in image editor. Scheduled to be released Q4 of 2007, I'll be waiting for it to replace my W810i... Hope it comes out soon!

here's more info: SonyEricsson K850i

Transformers - Movie Leader Optimus Prime

Didn't you watch the movie? I liked it quite a bit myself. At first I thought it would be like The Fast and the Furious - Tokyo Drift where the plot was stupid and actors didn't know how to act - all you were there for was the drifting. I was actually pleasantly surprised that there was a decent plot and certain parts were quite funny.

Being a fan boy of Transformers when I was young, I couldn't miss out on the movie, and not to mention the TOY. LOL. I got this Optimus Prime from Target for about $40. It is definately a lot more complicated than the older Transformers and Power Ranger toys that I had. But it looks quite realistic both in truck mode and robot mode. When your in truck mode, you can push a button on the roof of the truck and it makes this "honking" sound and flashes lights. When you transforms it into robot mode, you hit this button and Optimus' head pops out with a sound and flashing lights. Pretty cool. It would have been even better had it been made of metal instead of plastic.

I'm gonna give it a 9 / 10.

my thoughts on the iPhone

As a phone geek, my close friends would know, whenever there's a cool phone, I'd be the first to have it. I've had many phones before, and based on my memory, here are the ones that I remember in chronological order:

1. Nokia 6150
2. Motorola L2000
3. Nokia 8290
4. SonyEricsson T68i
5. SonyEricsson Z600
6. Nokia 7280
7. SonyEricsson W600i
8. SonyEricsson W810i
9. LG CU500
10. Samsung A-707 (Cingular SYNC)
11. Nokia N75 - What I'm using now

The iPhone is a very cool concept, and I do like the fact that it's a touch screen, and it's got built-in WiFi. But for me, the advantages pretty much end there. I'm sure you've heard many of it's disadvantages. Internal battery, no A2DP bluetooth, no 3G (my last 3 phones were 3G) and it doesn't even support MMS?? You've gotta be kidding me! I can't even post new blog entries with it!

I heard activating it was a nightmare and I don't really want to have to deal with any problems with my current plan either.

Not that I hate Apple or have something against them, and I did used to have iPod Nano until it got stolen. But I just don't think it's a compelling "phone" that I must have at this moment. It's their first phone nonetheless. Remember the 1st gen iPod? I will seriously consider the 2nd generation though.

HP Color LaserJet 2600n

Got this HP Color LaserJet 2600n a coupe months ago and am really happy with it. It's not super fast, but the quality is excellent for a cheap color laser printer. Great thing is that it includes 4 full cartridges (not the trial ones that comes with many cheap printers) and I only paid about $300 for it including all shipping and tax.

The printer isn't super fast and takes about 30 seconds before it spits out the first page, but it's definitely acceptable for home or small office use and it's got built-in networking capabilities. I have it hooked up to my wireless router so all computers on the network can use it easily. It would be nice if the paper tray was larger, and the "Tray 2" option is pretty expensive... over $100.

I just needed to replace the cartridges recently because I printed many many many color letters. And the cartridges are about $65 each, so the printer was a great deal. Overall very satisfied.

2007 Honda Civic LX Coupe

LAUNCH ARTICLE: 2007 Honda Civic LX Coupe

My friend just bought a 2007 Honda Civic LX Coupe with Automatic in Atomic Blue about 3 weeks ago. I got to drive it for a while because he was nice enough (since I helped him with the purchase process), and decided that this would be the debut article for my Blog.



Outside:
The current body style of the Civic is in it's 2nd model year and it still might be the most stylish coupe in its class. When we tried to come up with a custom plate that will fit the car, our ideas didn't deviate much from "UFO" or "Spaceship" and such. It does look quite different from other cars on the road, although you now see a bunch of them around now. After all, it's a Civic. The LX has body-colored side mirrors and door handles which adds to the sportiness. The 16" steel wheels with covers are larger than most cars in its class and fills the wheel wells nicely, but alloys on the EX are definitely nicer looking. The Bridgestone tires seem to be ok. The very sloped windshield creates a very aerodynamic and sporty look.

The headlights and the shape of the front fenders makes it look like it has a round smiley face. The overall shape does remind me of the outgoing 2007 Honda Accord Coupe which will be replaced by a redesigned 2008 model soon. The small lip spoiler on the rear is a nice touch. Even the "Civic" logo in the back is modernized with an italic font and absent is the model designation. The atomic blue is a nice color that's matched with the gray interior.

Inside:
The first thing that catches you eyes is the centrally placed digital speedometer that is deeply recessed all the way towards the glass on the very long/deep dash. To the left and right of it is a digital fuel gauge and the engine temperature gauge. The dash is to long it's almost like there's a table in front of you. Due to the angle of the glass, the dash is very deep, but except for the speedo, there's nothing there and Honda could have made use of that space and added a little storage bin on top. The gauges are bright and easy to read day or night while the tachometer is placed in a spot where you'd normally find it.

The audio system is a little further away than I'd like because it's not all that easy to reach, but the sound quality of the 6-speaker system is not bad for a stock unit. The seats are sport bucket seats that provides pretty lateral support with the thick bolsters. The passenger side has an easy entry/exit position memory feature that comes in handy. Leg room in font is good, but is a little cramped in the back. Sitting in the back for a longer period of time might become catastrophic because of the lack of visibility (windows are quite small). The 2 doors do open wide enough for a smaller person to easily enter the 2nd row. The EX model has a center armrest in the back that the LX doesn't. The front cupholders are large enough for huge 32 oz drinks.

The power window and lock buttons could be conveniently reached on the door armrest. The steering wheel is both tilt and telescopic for both tall and short drivers, but the steering wheel design on the coupe is different from that of the sedan. It has the cruise control switches located conveniently on it. But for some reason I find myself easily putting the vehicle in 3rd gear when I try to shift the shifter out of Park into Drive.

Features:
The Honda Civic LX Coupe comes with a pretty wide array of standard features which I think makes it quite a good value. It has all the power windows (driver's auto up & down), mirrors and locks with keyless entry. Cruise control and A/C were also standard. The 160-watt audio system has pretty good bass performance and had a MP3 compatible CD player with an auxiliary jack on the dash. Other features that are nice touches are the extendable armrest with storage underneath, and you can switch the dash display and gauges (that I will go in further detail later) between metric and English units. The rear seats fold down flat quite easily also, and the small pockets for storage are all lined with a rubber-like material.

However the split folding rear seat is only standard on the EX, and since the rear pillar is pretty thick on the coupe, rearward visibility is compromised when changing lanes or parallel parking. A divider in the large center console would be nice, and a lockable glove box would definitely be a nice touch. The small pockets here and there would be nice if they were deeper so there would be more volume. The sun visors could also be a little longer and wider, because it is pretty useless right now.

Standard safety features on all Civics include font, side and curtain airbags. ABS brakes are standard also, but rear disc brakes are only standard on the EX and up. Coded keys with a built-in remote is standard, but the LX doesn't have a trunk release on the remote which makes it sometimes inconvenient.

Driving:
The seats are comfortable overall. Lumbar support adjustment of some sort would make it even better. The driver's seat has a height adjuster and the passenger seat has a memory feature which will return the seat to the original position after the seat has been moved for rear passenger entry. The coupe gets the bucket sport seats which give sufficient lateral support. The cloth upholstery is nice but they should offer leather as an option on the EX in my opinion.

The steering wheel is tilt and telescopic so I was able to find a good position. The ride is smooth but a bit choppy over bumps. Engine noise is muted during cruising speed but road noise is pronounced. Handling is nice as suspension configuration is not too soft and the independent multi-link rear suspension does help. Steering is responsive and has better handling than many other cars in its class.

Rearward visibility is inhibited by the thick C-pillar. It does look cool from the outside, but it definitely doesn't help with visibility. The side window is long and narrow. The side mirrors are large enough but could be a little larger. If you are concerned with visibility, get the sedan.

The engine is smooth and is powerful enough for regular city driving, and if you want more power, either get a manual or the SI version. It has that little "humm" when you step on the gas pedal and you can quite easily hit freeway speeds in no time. The 5-speed automatic shifts smoothly and the 5th gear gives it a respectable EPA rating of 40MPG on the highway. Braking power is good and ABS brakes are standard.

Competition:
The reason why I recommended him a Honda Civic was because these cars are well known for 1. reliability and 2. resale. There are probably other more entertaining choices, and we looked closely at the competition in terms of features, cost effectiveness and price and ended up with the following conclusions:

Toyota Corolla:
I had a Matrix and did not have the best experience with the seat ergonomics and most importantly, reliability. Yes, I will be commenting on the un-reliability of Toyota throughout my blog so if you're a fan, please prepare to be disappointed (LOL). The design of the 2007 Corolla was basically carried over from 2003, so the design and features are pretty dated.

Toyota Yaris:
The 3-door liftback was my friend's favourite body style, and the price was definitely well within his price range. But the Yaris is too light to drive on the freeway and in case its hit by a large truck/SUV, then it might not be a good car to be in. And a lot of the safety features were not widely available to the vehicle like ABS brakes, etc.

Ford Focus:
Great car, great handling. Quality has been reported as excellent and has gotten many great reviews. However resale value is a concern here so we decided to pass.

Honda Fit:
Like the Yaris, too small to drive around Hummers. Surprisingly, the salesperson at Honda told us he hated the vehicle. He said the seats were uncomfortable. He had one for 2 months and had to sell it at a loss.

Nissan Versa:
Nice size, lots of room inside, and my friend also really liked the styling. It was quite a bit heavier than the Versa and Fit even though all 3 cars are B-segment cars. It was almost as heavy as the Sentra for crying out loud. But since it's pretty hot now and there weren't as many incentives on it as other vehicles, the relative price of the car is much higher, so for a similar price, might as well get the Sentra.

Nissan Sentra:
Great price, many incentives and quite a few features standard. New styling was pretty nice, but the lack of independent suspension and the fear of a weak resale value made us decide to go with the Civic instead. It did come in 2nd place though.

CIVIC:
Over great value for the money, good reliability record and historically great resale value made it the vehicle of our choice. Not that the other cars we considered were not good though. The vehicle was purchased at Marin Honda from Brent Miletich who gave us a price that was significantly lower than the other 11 dealers that I emailed. We were surprised at the low price and they also gave us an excellent deal in financing.

Vehicle was purchased at Marin Honda in Corte Madera, San Francisco. Brent Miletich was great to work with and can be contacted at (415) 927-5523. (No, I don't get paid for this)

Meiji Macadamia Chocolate

The Meiji Macadamia Chocolate is definitely one of my favourite chocolates. I'm not a fan of milk chocolates, but this one is not as sweet as regular chocolates. I'm not a fan of nuts either, and prefer chocolate with no nuts, however this is one of the few exceptions. It could be bought at most Japanese stores.

Linksys WRE54G Wireless-G Range Expander

2 weeks ago I got this Linksys WRE54G Wireless-G Range Expander because my router was in one corner of the house and the other end of the house didn't get signal. We tried a couple different brands and even tried different external PCMCIA wireless cards, but none of those really worked nor were they easy to set up.



The Linksys Ranger Expander had an antenna on it and came with a LAN cable for you to set up the expander by cable. It also came with 2 power adapters, one so that you can just plug the expander into the wall and have it just sit over the outlet, or you can use the other one which has a longer cable to you can place the expander where ever you want. It also came with some wall mounting screws so you can have it mounted high up on the wall to maximize the signal if you like.

I choose to set it up wirelessly instead of using the wired connection. Overall it wasn't difficult to set up, but I did put in the wrong settings the first time around and it didn't work. I thought I tried to reset it, but it didn't work, so I just let it sit on the table for 2 weeks before I came back to it. I guess the last time I did it, it actually did reset itself. I went through the online owner's manual and tried to set it up again, and then it worked fine.

The package included a quick set up guide as well as the set up CD, but the detailed manual was missing (which I needed) and I had to go online to download it. Although the Linksys website was fairly easy to use and navigate, and I find what I was looking for, not having the detail manual included was indeed a hassle.

I hooked it up to a power outlet in the middle of the house and I was able to get signal in the kitchen, where I wasn't able to before, but the signal was relatively weak. I was probably expecting a little more range from it, but the shorter range may be due to the awkward placement of my expander.

If you are looking for something that will easily expand the range of your router in your house, I don't think the Linsys WRE54G Wireless-G Range Expander is a bad choice at all.

Marc Jacobs Leather Latin Bracelet

I've wanted this Marc Jacobs leather bracelet forever and it's finally out!!!

It comes with 6 different inscriptions and in sizes small and large.

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DATUMAMORE. AD DEFENDENDUM (Given in Love. For Protection)
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SERVA ME. SERVABOTE (Save Me and I Will Save You)

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NEMO NISI MORS (No One But Death Shall Us Apart)

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TIBI. IN OMNE TEMPUS (For You. Forever)

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INTER NOS (Between Us)
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VERITAS INLUSTRAT (Truth Enlightens)

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For more information on the Leather Bracelet ($7), please call Daniel or Katy @ Marc by Marc Jacobs Store on Fillmore, San Francisco (415) 447-9322.

Wide Rear View Mirror

My friend just picked one of there in Japan town in SF for his new 2007 Honda Civic. He really likes is but only hopes that he bought the larger one. He has the 270mm version. He thinks he could see very clearly out of the mirror despite the blind spots on his Honda Civic.

Marc Jacobs Keychain / Keyloop

Marc Jacobs has recently become my favourite designer. Here is a key-chain/keyloop that I think is pretty cool. I have a black one from last season and have been using it since I got it. I just got another one in Black from this season's collection. It's stylish and it has a snap button so you can loop it around your belt (as I sometimes do) so your keys won't fall out of your pocket.

This season's keyloop in Black.

Last season's keyloop had a very shiny/glossy finish and this season's has more of a matte finish. You could also use it as an over-sized key-chain for the zipper on your bag. They've got some new colors in for this season. Love it and it's a MUST HAVE! Comes in Gold, Black, Silver, Purple, Copper & White.

The different colors.

For more information on the Keyloop ($5), please call Daniel or Katy @ Marc by Marc Jacobs Store on Fillmore, San Francisco (415) 447-9322.

Osaka Japanese Restaurant

Yesterday I went with my friend to the Osaka Japanese Restaurant to have dinner. It was located at 1923 Fillmore St. in San Francisco. We got there about 8pm and the place was fairly crowded, so we figured that it shouldn't be too bad, so we decided to give it a try.



We sat down and looked at the menu. We were quite hungry and were expecting some fairly large portions for the price they were charging. We ordered a Sushi Combo and a Mix Sashimi.


Sushi Combo



Mixed Sashimi

Although fresh, the portions were surprisingly small (maybe because we were hungry) and with a $40 bill for just these 2 items including tips, we were not happy campers. We were immediately planning to eat somewhere else after it. The service there was not bad at all, and I do have to say that the wasabi was quite strong, which is good.

Saleen Parnelli Jones Limited Edition

Thanks to Stephen @ Albany Ford for showing me this car! It's got 400 HP and this particular one is #480 out of only 500 Limited Editions made!

You can call Stephen at (510) 528-1244 for more information on the vehicle! (No I don't get paid for this)

Zaino Power - Z-PC

Okay, screw that launch date, but I can't wait to post my first entry here.

So I've been checking out many different brands of waxes and car care products in stores until I came across this brand called Zaino. You can't buy these at regular stores, but could only buy them online directly from the manufacturer. They aren't super cheap, but it's very very well worth the money.

So once I started using Zaino products, I couldn't go back to using other brands. Their products are superior to regular waxes and they last through many washes. I'm not going to go through all the different great products they have this time, but I'll focus on:

Z-PC Fusion Dual Action Paint Cleaner Swirl Remover

You can go to their site and they'll have a lengthy description on how great it is and stuff, but look at these pictures of my 1991 Nissan 240SX in black. At first I was a little skeptical and even worried that it might take off the paint, or would be a waste of effort, but after I worked on a little area, I cannot believe my eyes:

^ Before on the left, After on the right. See the difference??

OK, here's another example:

Before:

After:

Before:

After:


YES! It's the same freakin car. It basically took off the oxidation formed on the paint surface. All I had to use was a cotton applicator pad and started subbing the paint surface. Then wipe off the residue and "Ta-Da"!

I will post my review of their other amazing products as I go, so stay tuned!

If you're interested, more information on different products and to purchase them, please visit http://www.zainostore.com/ (No they don't pay me for this)

hey ya'll

hey I'm quite new to this whole blogging thing, though I've definitely heard of it before (no I don't live in that small of a bubble). My cousin came across this idea of me posting my findings and thoughts on things that I like.

Well I do love cars (my #1 passion!), so I'm quite into the new car things, but not too knowledgeable about older or muscle cars. I also love electronics, like computers, digital cameras, etc, and especially cell phones. I do have about 5 of them sitting in my drawer as of now, and I like getting new ones every couple months. On top of that I also like shopping. I do like clothes and all. I also like going out to eat. As I start posting things, you will probably get a better idea of what I like and stuff.

Feel free to post comments and suggestions as to what I can improve on and what I should talk about!

T