Just found out that a schoolmate and batchmate, Gemma Bagayaua-Mendoza, was arrested and jailed for libel. I didn’t know libel is an arrestable charge here. And it doesn’t even have to be proven that you’re guilty in court. Someone can just file libel charges at you and the police will come knocking on– or worse, kicking down– your door and arrest you. This in a country supposedly where free speech is allowed. To add insult to injury, she wasn’t able to post bail and leave the jail right away because the office in charge of the precinct was not around. More here.
Month: March 2007
Caught the live broadcast of the Melbourne race on cable TV. It was the first race of the 2007 F1 season. As expected, Raikkonen made a good showing and got first place. Alonso was a close second place. But the big surprise is newcomer Hamilton who got a place on the podium on his F1 debut. The chase between Massa and Fisichella was also quite exciting especially as the laps went down. Just a glimpse of what’s to come in the next few months.
Today, I finally installed the Tanabe Super Medalion Racing (SMR) that I had bought second-hand six months back.
The SMR is a canister-type free-flowing perforated-core muffler developed specifically for racing. It features Tanabe’s Advantex muffler packing material. Advantex is a chemically treated composite material that resists acid, heat, rust, and many other forms of deterioration. So it supposedly lasts far longer than fiberglass wool which is the most common muffler packing material. In addition, the SMR is riveted so that if need be, you can open it up, refill the packing material, then rivet it close. Nifty.
The SMR looks great but it was bigger than I had anticipated and I had reservations about installing it. But after a long time, I eventually realized it’s just gathering dust and I finally relented.
Early in the morning, I went off to MufflerLand where they ripped off the stock muffler and welded the SMR in place. It was reasonably quick and I was driving off in no time at all.
The first thing I noticed about the SMR is the sound: a full-bodied bass across the RPM range. The sound does not break up at some RPMs like lesser mufflers. As for power, many people claim mufflers lessens restriction and thus increase power. I’m not sure about that but one thing is: It sounds powerful :P
BTW This is a huge muffler and if you are on lowering or– heaven forbid– cut springs, you might scrape the tip on the pavement once in while especially on steep ramps.
Rating: 4/5
300 is the story of the Battle of Thermopylae where the Spartan King Leonidas and 300 Spartans warriors fought a last stand against the invading hordes of the Persian Empire. It is based on Frank Miller’s graphic novel 300 which in turn was inspired by the movie The 300 Spartans.
The movie is a frenetic, chest-thumping, testosterone-laden, adrenaline-pumping action fest of a legendary, even mythical scale. The computer enhanced contrast and minimalist CG background makes sure you focus on one thing: the action (and the muscle-tone of the unbelievably buff Spartan warriors). This is further enforced by a rousing, high-energy sound track that make you want to stand up and have a go at the Persians yourself.
The almost non-stop action is punctuated only by short breaks of relative peace as if to ensure you don’t get a heart attack. Or perhaps it’s for moving the story onwards. Whatever it is, you sit back, listen, perhaps understand, and wait eagerly for the next action sequence because that is the reason you watch this movie.
Rating: 5/5
My brother, brother-in-law, and I were supposed to go paintball this afternoon at Global Gutz Boom Camp at Boom na Boom. Unfortunately, nobody else showed up. The only alternative would be playing with a bunch of paintball pros, regulars to the site. But we didn’t want to end up coming out looking like colorful Christmas trees so we decided not to push through with it.
I was able to convince them to go karting at the nearby kart track. We walked over and I was pleasantly surprised at the reasonable price and quality of the track and karts. Although Speedzone is still tops in my book, it’s not so bad at all. The track is wide and the segments long. Good combination of high-speeds and tight maneuvers. It somehow reminded me of an F1 track. The karts, if the ones we used were any indication, are capable enough of letting you do both. And, of course, there’s no beating the price.
Our race, started out well enough, I took the first lap at moderate speed, then on the second lap started becoming aggressive with the accelerator, took a hairpin turn too fast, and understeered straight into the crash barriers.
I was dazed for a full second or two. As soon as I recovered, I tried to extricate my kart but couldn’t until one of the track staff drove over in another kart and helped me out. As soon as I was free from the wall, I resumed racing and, fortunately, nothing more untoward happened.
After the race, I checked my injuries: a few bruises and banged knee. Biggest bruise was probably my ego. But definitely I learned two [painful] lessons: (1) Observe and make notes of the track for the first lap or two. (2) Motorsports, even the entry-level karting, is dangerous and you can not have too much safety. Drive safe!