When I bought my 2004 Honda Accord over two years ago, the one rule I gave myself was that I was going to "baby" it. I wanted it to last as long as it possibly can, so I decided that money wasn't going to be an object, as long as my car is taken cared of. One of the results of that decision was that I was actually going to do all my car service needs with the dealership I bought it from. I know, they are expensive, but once again I told myself that money will not be an issue when it comes to my car.

As time went by, laziness and convenience started creeping in. I got a flat tire last year, and instead of going with the dealership, I just opted for Wal-mart. It's just tires right, no big deal? Then most recently my air conditioning system wasn't working anymore. I did not know why, and I figured that it can't be a cheap fix. The dealership all of a sudden wasn't an option and I started browsing through the local mechanics. I ended up taking it to a local AC/radiator specialist, where I found out that it's my AC condenser that is damaged, which caused all my freon to leak. I think I damaged it by something on the freeway that I must have hit. They were going to fix it at a reasonable price, and that's even after comparing it to the other local mechanics.

The morning I was going to pick my car up, I get a call saying that they can only accept cash. If that isn't a red flag, I don't know what is. So now I have my doubts as to whether I made the right decision. I wasn't willing to withdraw that amount of money from my bank, so I was really hoping to use my credit card. Luckily I still have one of those checks that I can use for my credit card, so I opted for that. I paid them, my car seems to be working fine, and they say that every part fixed are genuine Honda parts. All fine and dandy I guess, but this experience reminded me that I should never break my rule again. From now on, it's going to be nothing but the dealership when it comes to my car services. Unlike local mechanics who don't owe me anything if they screw up, the dealership has more of a guarantee with their work.

Random Freak Me Out

car peel (video)

A Ring Tone Adults aren't suppose to hear (link)

the fruit world cup (video)

Road Rage Considered Brain Disorder (link)

Jiffy Lube busted (link)

Tom Petty + Red Hot Chili Peppers (audio)

suckapunch (video)

the beer belly (link)

cheap soccer goal (video)

big spanish castle (link)

sunday bloody sunday (video)

be John Terry (game)

movies I've seen recently...

Nacho Libre  (2006)  C+

If you've seen Jared Hess' "Napoleon Dynamite," expect some similarities in terms of "style" when it comes to "Nacho Libre." You've got humor that's kinda stupid for being stupid but at the same time actually kinda funny, if you know what I mean. A lot of the jokes did fall flat though, so it isn't a laugh a minute (or five). Jack Black does his best in over acting his role, which I thought worked well for the character. The sub-characters though; just like in Napoleon Dynamite, has this simple bored / depressed / zombie like expressions when they are on camera, which kinda bugged me. That's where I guess Hess' style is though. The story for the movie in itself is rather amusing, and while the subject of "la lucha libre" isn't exactly a common theme, the story progression itself is very standard. The romantic sub plot felt rather unecessary as well, and felt a bit out of place. The wrestling scenes however I thought were very enjoyable, which definitely justified the price of admission.

Superman : Brainiac Attacks  (2006)  D

Hailing from the wonderful Superman and Justice League Animated Series, I was hoping for some great fun with this movie. Unfortunately "Superman : Brainiac Attacks" was very disappointing. The animation itself is rather uninspired and definitely low budget looking, which is odd since I think an episode from the TV show actually looks better. The story is your standard Superman story, and while there are a couple of risks that this movie makes, their impacts are quickly diluted in the poorly written screenplay.

Hostel  (2006)  B-

"Hostel" surprised me for two things. I actually enjoyed it and it was not as gory as I imagined it would be (although the gore IS there). Eli Roth got himself a nice concept that harkens back to the terror of thinking whether the events in the film could actually be found in reality. Disturbing and unsettling pretty much describes the point of this movie. He also wasn't afraid to show a lot of female actresses topless here as well, which I don't often see in movies like this anymore. I also appreciated Hostel definitely doing things based on the story progression as opposed to just try and scare you at every turn. The subject matter and some scenes are definitely not for the faint of heart, so needless to say that this isn't a movie for everybody. Although I'd gladly recommend it to people who like these kinds of movies.

Well here's something I don't really get to say often...

Somebody died a horrific death at work.

Actually that's a half truth, it didn't happen exactly at my work place but right next to it. To be more specific, there's an overpass that goes through an area of my workplace. What happened was that an employee was walking at our walkway that's underneath that overpass, and came across a dismembered leg. The details that happened were kinda sketchy but what supposedly happened was that a biker was driving at a really fast speed on that overpass (100mph was mentioned) and collided with either a fence, the pole of a streetlamp, or another vehicle (hit and run?). The impact amputated his leg right off, and I believe he died from the shock. One of the security officers said that he was actually cut in half, but I don't know if he was just exaggerating. This happened roughly before 2AM, and by the time I was off at 6AM, the body was still there underneath a tarp, the Japanese looking speed bike was still where they found it, and the police still have that area yellow taped for investigation.

Speaking of the police, that wasn't the only accident that early morning. Around 4AM, there was another incident that happened just about two hours after that gastly accident. A  police officer on a motorcyle was making a U-turn at an intersection one block south from the dead biker, when he got ran over by a red SUV. The details for that incident wasn't told to me much, but it sounds like the driver of the red SUV was most likely distracted from looking at the dead body on the other side of the road, that he (or she) did not see the police officer on the bike. The officer did not die and last I heard he was in critical condition at the hospital. The thing that's interesting about that is that on the morning news, the police officer's accident was indeed mentioned, but the dead biker who lost his leg did not get on the air at all. I was thinking that both accidents happening at that stretch of road would make a bigger story, so go figure.

Interesting couple of hours ey?

The Other Random Way

the ultimate thing costume (link)

players wave kit (video)

websites as graphs (link)

kitten vs macbook pro (video)

Eight Myths About Video Games Debunked (link)

lego hardware store (video)

The Hungarian Suicide Song (link)

IKEA kitchen (flash)

the best buildings of the year (link)

CNN- Nancy Grace blooper (video)

countdown to Transformers the movie (link)

Seth MacFarlane’s Speech at Harvard Class Day 2006 (video)

Movies I've seen recently...

Once Bitten  (1985)  B-

I remember watching "Once Bitten" almost two decades ago, until recently when I caught it again on TV. While I actually still remember several scenes from this romantic-comedy, it didn't occur to me that it's Jim Carrey in the starring role. Even from this film you can tell Jim Carrey is a comedic talent already. The story for Once Bitten is cheesy, full of plot holes, special effects that are definitely dated, and actors that look older than their characters are suppose to be, but what it does have going for it is FUN. Yeah, even after all these years, I was still very much entertained by the movie, the humorous plot, and the two beautiful leading ladies played by Lauren Hutton and Karen Kopins. I don't even consider this a guilty pleasure, but an actual favorite movie of mine. If you are looking for a stupid fun movie, that has vampires and teens looking for sex as the plot, then Once Bitten is the film for you.

Chasing Liberty  (2004)  C-

First let me get this out of the way. The only reason I even bothered to watch this movie is because of Mandy Moore. Was that enough for me to enjoy the movie? Kinda. "Chasing Liberty" is exactly what you would expect from a movie like this. Daughter of the President of the United States (played by Mark Harmon no less) decides to run off traveling through Europe because she wants to be free. The handsome boy who accompanies her in her adventure is actually a secret service agent who is covertly protecting her per her father's decision. They love / hate each other, and then you know the rest. Yeah, it's that kind of movie. They even threw in a subplot involving another set of secret service agents who fall in love with each other as well. Cute and cheesy right? In it's defense, it is mildly entertaining, but the characters are just so one dimensional that it really is barely recommendable to rent or buy. Chasing Liberty is only for those who are bored, who are fans of Mandy Moore, and happen to channel surf into this movie with nothing else on to watch.

Recently, me and my friends had our first experience playing "laser tag" at this amusement center. We had a vest with the target points on it, as well as a "laser gun" to shoot people with. The vest vibrates whenever you get hit, and it also tells you if you got a good shot on somebody. The room that we were playing in had low lighting and make shift walls all over the place. The game was 12 minutes long, but it was enough for us to get a nice session. There were also other parties in the room there, so me and my friends teamed up against them.

We had a really good time with laser tag. For the price of $3, I thought it was well worth the money. We're hoping in the future we can get more people to play with us. I know it's rather a "kid's game," but I'd rather play laser tag than try paint ball guns to tell you the truth.

My Random Best Friend

tiny art (link)

Fuzzy Zoeller Amazing Hole In One (video)

on the set of spider-man 3 (video)

extreme balloon sculptures (pics)

revenge on cheater's car (video)

funny DUI (video)

animator vs animation (flash)

granny gamer (video)

woah! planet killer (video)

2006 GMAC Insurance National Drivers Test (link)

problems at the public library (video)

the amazing dare dozen (game)

Man, I've been having some really bizarre and strange dreams these past two nights. Not only that, but they were quite vivid to the point that they were lucid dreams. It's hard for me to explain, since for the most part they weren't very "logical." Let's put it this way, in one dream, I think I was bi-polar and had blackouts of my strange actions. I think it was something along the lines of a "Dr.Jekyll and Mr.Hyde" scenario. The other dream, I'm friends with Avril Lavigne and her fiance, except it wasn't the guy from Sum-41 but a totally random generic guy. That one is odd since she's been out of my radar for almost a year now. I wonder if I'll have another bizarre dream when I go to sleep in a couple of hours...