Driving Frankenstein, Part Two

After an afternoon road trip to Galleria with my kuya (he paid for gas) and regaining tire traction after driving for 10 kilometers (I put tire black -- you know, the stuff that makes your tires shiny -- on all four tires, including the threads; stupid me, it's oil-based), I headed for the office.

On my way, at Mufflerworld in Tomas Morato, I saw a white '89 Lancer with its muffler being removed. It wasn't just any Lancer, it's Jerric's Frankenstein. So I pulled over, parked, and had a chat.

Just to refresh your memory (in case you've been reading), Jerric's Lancer featured a 4G63 swap (same engine as a Galant), giving the car a sporty, I'm-sucking-into-my-seat acceleration feeling, thanks to generous servings of torque from Mitsubishi's star powerplant. Aside from the torque, it also can produce 160 horsepower from the 2-liter 4-cylinder.

After he connected the muffler, he asked me if I could accompany him to Banawe. He had a catch phrase that came along with it, too.

"Gusto mo, ikaw mag-drive?"

I never say "no" to that.

Like my first drive, Frankenstein's power-to-weight makes acceleration effortless. In fact, with two passengers, I could shift easily before I hit 2000 revs. It was pure pleasure, but not without a price. He said he's been doing 6 km/L on gas (versus "my" car's 9 km/L). The new muffler he installed is also excellent; it uncorks power, but remains quiet even if you rip it beyond 4000 revs. Now that's a muffler!

We saw an open road somewhere in Quezon City, and launched the car like a rocketship. The experience was both thrilling and frightening! Last time, I rev-limited myself to 4000 revs. This time around, I allowed it to run to 6000 revs. F***, man! It tugs you to your seat, and it awakened my senses (I only had two lanes; one for me, and one for opposing traffic).

Reaching 100 km/h was instantaneous. In fact, I was surprised that it was that soon, and I was in third gear, ripping at 5000 revs! Hmm... must be the close-ratio gearing Jerric put in the car.

Afterwards, Jerric thanked me for test-driving his car. He mentioned that he needed to fix the suspension (it did feel wobbly when we reached the top of a hill).

Damn... he's going to spend on his car again?

Why?

I don't understand what's going on right now... what's the fuss? Why are you pissed off again?

FYI, I was testing Soundclick's mp3 facilities last night. It only took fifteen minutes to build the entire site from scratch! I uploaded two songs which could've been test material, but the site mentioned that it won't activate for 24 hours from uploading.

I don't understand... it irritates me whenever there are conflicts like these.

I wish I had no past...

Music Is Now Online

Yep... you can now hear some of my songs on the internet! Feel free to comment the material and have fun!

For now, the site needs work, but the basic content (plus 2 free songs!) is up and running.

Go to this website:

http://www.soundclick.com/bands/5/johnreynoso.htm

Road Trip

Last Sunday, Katrina and I went to Lucena to visit her aunts and grandmother. It's quite a miracle, actually. I've never thought my folks at home would approve.

Road trip!

I left home at around 6:45AM, and arrived at PeopleSupport by 7:15AM. We then went to Petron in South Super Highway to grab breakfast at Pancake House.

There was a mini car show of sorts there (besides, it's a Sunday). Prior to getting to Petron, we saw a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VIII, a '97 Porsche Boxster, a couple of new school and old school Porsche 911's (there's even one that dates back to the sixties!!!). That was so much eye-candy (seven or more) for a shoulder.

When we got to Petron, we saw a Ferrari 550 Maranello, a Porsche Boxster, a Porsche 911 993 Turbo, a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo V, a Maserati, and - pakshet, this is rare - a Ferrari Testarossa. That parking space will make a 5-series BMW shrink to an everyday car.

We then went on for around 140 kilometers to get to Lucena. Roads weren't so bad, but the tricycle drivers will piss you off. You'll be forced to slow from 100 to 40 km/h when you get behind one of those. Even the buses and trucks will piss you off, too! They're mobile road hazards, blazing past 100 km/h on the passing lane, pretending to be sports cars. Hope you see the picture.

Well, by good fortune, we got to Lucena in one piece. We stayed for a while in Kat's lola's house, waited for Tita Awin, then went to the market to meet up with Tita Baby and Tita Idjit (hon... please correct me if I got the spellings wrong...). We bought pasalubong (a BIG can of broas), tagged Tita Idjit along, then drove 20 kilometers going to a restaurant called Palaisdaan in Tayabas.

If you're going to Quezon, the Palaisdaan is a must-go-to restaurant. A note, though... there are two Palaisdaans in the area; be sure to go to the old one. The dining tables are on floating bamboo on top of a pond. Asteeg! While you eat, you get the floating feeling, much like eating on a raft. Hmm... no wonder it's called Palaisdaan.

And the food? Ang sarap! They cook their tilapia fresh; by "fresh", I mean they catch it in their fish farm and cook it right away. Match it with kesong puti, and you're on a flavor trip. They've got great grilled pork chops as well, and it is there where I've tasted the best sisig ever! The sisig is a bit heavy on margarine, but the flavor just melts in your mouth - the red onions were done so that the spice blends with the rest of the dish, and all you get is sweetness from the onions - sarap! You don't need to add an egg (they didn't, and it still packs lots of flavor and texture). There were left-overs from the trip, so we had the same stuff for dinner.

We then went back to Lucena, to Kat's lola's house to take a nap in the afternoon. By 7:30PM, we had dinner. By 9:15PM, we left Lucena for Manila.

The trip back was a bit scary, but exciting. You see, most of the roads are pitch black from the lack of lighting posts; roads that demand you to have Xenon lights or high-powered fog lamps. Even stock high-beams can't light up those roads.

We got home by 11:15PM (do the math, 2 hours, 150 kilometers, average of 75 km/h). I'll tell the 2-hour return trip some other time. There's lots of exciting stuff on the return trip, and all this happened while Kat was sleeping...

Chase Scene

I'm sure Kat will burn me for this. In fact, I just had a dream where Kat told me, "If you go 140 again, I'll kick your nuts."

After driving Kat to work, I passed by EDSA to go home. Traffic was light that time, so I cruised at an average of 90 km/h.

By the time I got to the EDSA-Ortigas flyover, I gave my car a go. I was able to take the flyover turn at 100 km/h at the apex (with lots of look-ahead), then allowed gravity to further increase my speed. I wasn't flooring the throttle, but I was able to hit around 140 km/h by the time I was beside La Salle Greenhills.

I managed to pass two cars in the process. It was quite amazing too because it seemed like they weren't moving, assuming they were travelling at around 90 km/h or less.

For safety's sake, I started to slow to 100 km/h to give ample room for stopping at the lights.

Then, after a peek at the rearview mirror, I saw a car catching up. Hmm... must've been one of the cars I passed earlier. It was a 2000 Opel Astra Sedan, and I can tell by the rate its headlamps were growing that it was travelling at least 120 km/h. Then, when it got near my tail, it was just there, tracking my speed less than 5 meters away, at 80 km/h.

Chase scene!

I gave it another go to 100 km/h, just to see if the Astra was really trying to chase me. It followed me, so there really was a chase. When I saw him swerve to the right to pass at the third lane (there was a slowpoke at the second lane), I zoomed past, and saw his headlamps shrink from the rear mirror.

A red light forced me to slow down to a halt at Ortigas-Santolan. Seconds later, he was at my tail again. For some reason, I sensed that he would pass me to the right on the two-laner.

At 20 km/h, he passed me, as expected, but not after 3 seconds tailgating me. I didn't want to switch lanes because I knew he'd make that move. Yes, it was for safety reasons, but he still passed me.

Chase scene!

After his pass, I chased him this time. Yep... it sure was an Opel Astra. I matched his every move, until he passed an Altis.

When I went to switch lanes at 80 km/h, and almost passing the Altis, I saw a 5-series BMW parked at the second lane. I was in third gear, and can make the pass by inches, assuming the Altis won't change speeds.

But I decided to back down, or chicken out, if you might say. I'd be endangering the Altis if I pulled that trick, plus I may have miscalculated. I don't want to slam, even scratch, a pricey BMW.

With human ABS, I slowed the car down without screeching, got behind the Altis, then upon passing the parked BMW, switched lanes, passed the Altis, then went to chase the Optra again.

By now, I'd say the Astra really wants the chase. Upon creeping to 15 meters behind him, he began to speed up at some corners. By the time we got to Hemady, I was only a meter behind, and by the time we reached Magnolia, we were even. He took a turn at Aurora, while I went straight.

That was fun! More fun than picking on a Civic I saw weaving in Quezon Avenue... but that's another story...

Mental Shutdown

I can't work. This is just one of the days when my head doesn't get focused on doing something. It's just scattered all over the place!

I wish I could run home right now and sleep. No, I don't want to sleep to energize (I had 8 hours of sleep), but I want to sleep because I'm not productive. But, alas, my car is number-coded today (WHE148 on a Thursday... sucks).

How should I rate my productivity today? 1 percent. Yep. One lame percent. That's far from the 90 percent I usually do. There's no drive, no focus. Result: No work.

I did a little work. I modified some ABAP reports and studied how connectors work, but I should build an entire WBI Library from scratch! I can do that... but today, I can't.

Focus, focus, focus...

Blog Reformat

Finally, I've reformatted my blog. Revisions are minor, such as:

• Added comments
• Added title field (prior to this, it's just bold text)

Hmm... I wonder how many people are actually reading this blog...

Thoughts on Valentine's Day

I got this from an officemate earlier this morning via an IP Broadcast. Hope you folks get something out of it:

"My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you." (John 15:12)

Valentine's Day certainly isn't what it used to be. I doubt [that] you spent the night before filling out cards like you did when you [were] in grade school. But that shouldn't keep you from giving a gift of love.

You can give flowers to your child's teacher. Bake cookies and share them with friends. Send a card to a relative you haven't seen for a long time. Cook a favorite meal for your husband. And be sure to tell God how much you love Him, too.

Yes, there are lots of ways you can demonstrate love. You don't have to spend a lot of money. And, frankly, you don't have to wait until Valentine's Day to do it.

I love the saying, "You can give without loving, but you can't love without giving." Give a gift of love today.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Tagumpay!!!

SUCCESS!!! Hahahahahahahaha.......

Finally! Everything worked! See the blog below. Ciao!

The Putang-Inang Shyet of Programming/Developing Software

I'm currently involved in deploying IBM WebSphere Business Integration in our company, and so far, it hasn't been a breeze. In fact, it's screwed up.

I know the basics of how the stuff works: you put in data into a message queue, the data becomes an application-specific business object (ASBO), it travels through an adapter to the collaborations, the collaborations convert it into a generic business object (GBO), the collaborations convert it to an ASBO that is suitable for its destination, it travels through another adapter towards its destination, and wa-lah! - it goes into the destination and gets processed there.

I've done this before in an already configured environment by the Indians. I know how to play with things in there.

Now, I'm configuring WBI to run on my Virtual PC. Why there? Because WBI won't run normally on Windows XP, since the package was designed to run in Windows 2000 Server.

So how am I doing with the config work so far? You've seen the title? Well... I'm swimming in it. I'm swimming in Grade A Putang-inang Shyet right now because I haven't grabbed hold of the manuals. Also, I'm a bit hesitant to ask Ahmed right now because he's very, very busy.

Anyway, if you look through the basic stuff I've listed down, I'm stuck right now at step one. I've run the adapters, configured MQ Explorer to run on my machine, put a sample .xml file in the Explorer, but no travelling data. The only thing I could think of right now is I have something missing in my config.

Okay... time to think again. I've vented out my frustration. Hehe... I'm so pathetic...

Test Drive - 2004 Toyota Corolla Altis 1.8G

No wonder it's a bestseller. It simply is, hands-down, an excellent family compact sedan for less than a million pesos.

Yesterday, Dustin handed to me the keys of his Altis. Finally, I would know why a lot of buyers chose this car over the competition (Honda Civic, Nissan Sentra, Mitsubishi Lancer, etc.).

First of all, the body composition. Toyota is the first to sell a big compact. Contradictory, eh? Nonetheless, I think it can seat 6-foot tall people easily, thanks to good legroom. Methinks this automobile has been designed to grab the Caucasian market.

The seats are smooth, refined, and relaxing. Those are leather seats reserved for the more elite cars a bracket up. The interior is flowing and welcoming. There is definitely a touch of class here, except for the center console that lacks a little flavor (maybe one of those Pioneer radios that eat up 2 slots will look good).

Turning the ignition, and the car and dashboard come to life. I think Toyota could've just turned off the lights on the dash, but on second thought, this is a driver-friendly feature. Too bad it'll eat up a little more electricity and will require you to change dash lights more often than not, theoretically. But I like the fact that they've considered giving more convenience to the driver; a lit-up dash makes it a tad easier to see your car's data.

Cruising is creamy smooth. That's what you get from a 1ZZ-FE (1794cc, 4-cylinder engine with VVT-i, DOHC) mated to a 4-speed automatic transmission. Gear shifting is smooth, and acceleration is effortless on the low-range (1500-2000 revs), even with 4 passengers onboard. It performs close to many 2-liter sedans I've driven.

Driving this for fun is a bit scary, though. Ripping through 3000-4000 revs, I experienced some wobble on the steering wheel. Dustin also mentioned this issue with me as well. Tire slippage? I'm not so sure. I still think that the Lancer is more safe to play with, that is if everything is to remain stock.

Make the engine sing "Hallelujah!" and you'll sing along, too. 145 horsepower mated to a 1125-kilogram body is good math (that translates to a power-to-weight ratio of 12.89... good numbers...). Acceleration is quick and fun, two good reasons to throw the scare out the window and floor it until it reaches peak power at 6000 revs (it redlines at 6400 revs). I also like the way the engine sounds as it peaks up -- smooth. I'd like to imagine driving the same thing with a 5-speed manual transmission.

Braking is also good on the Altis. 14-inch discs on both front and back sure gives much stopping force. Plus it's got ABS and BA (I sure felt the ABS, but I don't know about the Brake Assist...). Pedal feel is also excellent. Left-foot braking on this machine is very easy, very controllable. No sudden oops-I-braked-a-little-too-much occurences happened during the test drive. I still get the oops on the Lancer, but then again, I may have been in the groove that day.

Extras on this car are also good. Safety is backed-up by dual airbags (driver and passenger), as well as seatbelts all around. Luxuries include a Nippondenso air-con that keeps things cool even beneath the noon sun, a 6-speaker audio system will keep you entertained in heavy traffic, 4 cup holders (2 in both front and back) to hold everyone's drink, and map lamps up front for both driver and navigator. Backing sensors and foglamps are also standard (as most top-of-the-line compact sedans are).

Verdict: For 899,000 pesos, this is the perfect car for a family of five. If you're hesitant to buy a luxury car, pick this one instead. It's an excellent substitute with all the things you're looking for: luxury, power, safety, and driving ease.

Tweaks: Perhaps I'd swap the rims for lighter ones, then wrap it in Michelins or Pirellis. If I could swap the tranny with Mitsu's 6-speed CVT or a good-old 5-speed manual, then I'd have more fun toying with it.

Note: Perhaps it's time for me to test drive either a 2000 Honda Civic SiR or a 2000 Toyota Corolla 1.6GLi. Somebody ranted about this car's performance online...

Resto Review - Tony Roma's

From car reviews, to game reviews, then to restaurant reviews... what's next? TV show commentaries? I hope not.

Anyway, Katrina and I went out for our early Valentine's date (yes, I wanted to avoid the rush; besides, we're still going to spend Valentine's together...) at Tony Roma's located in Glorietta 4, Makati.

My first impression was that the place was cozy. Dim yellow lights, comfy sofas, and wood all over give that relaxing feeling. It's a great place to hang out. You can just lay back, talk to all your buddies in a comfy posture.

Check out the menu, and everything's pricey. Don't worry about it, though. They've got huge servings that come along that tag - way bigger than Friday's. Most dishes run above P300, and for a dinner for two, dishing out a thousand pesos is enough to fill your tummies.

The food is good, as long as it's either a barbeque or a side dish. The baby back ribs and the BBQ wings are good, way good! Mate it with coleslaw (which is the best I've tasted so far), and those tender baby backs are just bursting with flavor. No wonder they claim to be the home of baby back ribs.

I wasn't too happy with the grilled chicken breasts, though. They were dry and quite bland. Maybe a tip here would be to go for beef or barbeque, and not for anything else.

The root beer float is good, and for P105 pesos, you get a monster mug full of root beer with Selecta vanilla ice cream on top. Want to know how tall the mug is? Measure the length of your elbow up to your wrist, and you get a good estimate.

Verdict: Overall, I'd have to give 8/10. If only for the barbequed stuff, I'd give it a solid ten.

"Be Proactive, Not Reactive"

I got this from one of the IBM imports -- my mentor as of the moment. His name is Mohammed "Mujtaba" Ahmed, an Indian. He's one of the folks helping us with the business integration project (front-end to WBI to SAP).

I like his attitude. He doesn't wait for deadlines; instead, he attacks the task head on. In fact, of the three Indian imports, he's the only one making the deadlines (or so I've been told).

There was a time when I asked him, "When's the deadline for this one?" I was pertaining to a task at hand.

Mujtaba said, "Deadline's soon, but it doesn't matter. What matters is we get the job done on time. And if there's a task afterwards, we'll try and finish in advance. Be proactive, not reactive. It's better to be prepared than be surprised and pressured when it comes to tasks like these."

Asteeg!

I'm glad he's my teammate. I'm learning a lot, plus we get to finish tasks ahead of the deadline.

Moral lesson: See title.

On the lighter side: Ever heard Indians say four-letter words out of frustration?