Lang Loi, gei doh?

This hot, urban camo, Limited production strap only available for shipping to HK residents.
The item name is "EOS DSLR Camera Pattern Strap"

QQ

=..(

From what I understand, it was featured in the 500D video is only limited edition.

This stylish Canon EOS 500D strap first seen in the Canon commercials was so popular that the first run of them sold out in Hong Kong, so Canon has made a new production run and are offering them up on their website . . .

HK Commercial "My Story" featuring the T1i/500D
http://www.neonpunch.com/canon-eos-patternstrap-sale-hong-kong/

I'm QQing Inside Now That You're Gone 8,,(

On the drive home with the new car, we caught it.

It was shiny, red, and speeding in the opposite direction.

It was only in our sight for 3 seconds, but that was more than enough time to catch it.

It was another Audi Type89 90 Quattro in Red. The exact model, trim and color of the car I had just signed away to death. If I recall correctly, there were only 8000 or so imported to the United States from 1989 - 1991. This one sported a red finish so glossy and rich it looked like a rendering. The trim pieces were so black you could almost see the rays of light being sucked into them. The body panels were so straight the car looked like it had just rolled off the factory line in Ingolstadt.

I yelled when it passed by.

Dear Audi Red Rocket,

You had everything I wanted:

a Typ 89 B3 designation

2692lbs of weight

2303 cc of displacement

a 2352mm wheelbase

Windows switches that lit up

1410mm of front track

a 1425mm rear track

18.5gallons fuel of capacity

82.50mm x 86.40mm bore x stroke

an LED trip and mileage computer

461.8cc per cylinder

a Longitudinal inline 5 cylinder

Audi Ventilated Disc Servo Assisted ABS

4.11 Final drive

a 5 Gear Manual Transmission

Audi Quattro Four Wheel Drive

Torsen Center Differential

Locking Rear Differential

a Fully Galvanized Body!

14" BBS Mesh Wheels

Zebrano wood trim

VDO Oil Temp, Oil Pressure and Voltage Gauges

Rear headphone jacks

the Audi Procon-Ten safety system

a wacky 108mm by 4 hole bolt pattern,

and non-functional A/C

I will miss you.

Lawl

I dugg this.

G1 1st Impessions

I'm liking this new G1 phone (thanks Patty)

The barcode scanning ability is nice, and I'm totally loving 3G wireless data. The phone has awesome macro photography ability, but it does take some time to focus.

I just picked up Google Sync Beta for S60 phones and am finishing up contact migration.
http://www.google.com/mobile/nokia_smart/sync.html

So far so good!

Barrel Monster Bust

From TheSmokingGun.com:

JUNE 12--A North Carolina man is facing criminal charges for creating an amusing piece of public art from construction barrels. Joseph Carnevale, 21, was nabbed Wednesday after a Raleigh Police Department investigation determined that he was responsible for the work (seen below) constructed May 31 on a roadway adjacent to North Carolina State University. Carnevale, pictured in the mug shot at right, was charged with misdemeanor larceny for allegedly building his orange monster from materials pilfered from a construction site. According to an arrest warrant, Carnevale "destroyed three road blocking barrels by cutting and screwing them together to form a statue." Police estimated that Carnevale's artwork caused $360 in damages to Hamlett Associates, the North Carolina construction company that owned the barrels. Carnevale is scheduled for a July 21 court appearance in Wake County. (2 pages)

http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/years/2009/0612092monster1.html

Macgyver Moment

The morning of E3 day 3 I woke up to a dead phone battery.
The UPS my charger was connected to failed.

I wasn't going to have a dead phone on that day of all days!

$47, 1 roll of tape and 5 weird stares later, I had fixed myself a portable emergency charger powered by 2x AA batteries.

Just Scratch the Chrome off

I chuckled when I saw this:
It's a new Nintendo DSi with a set of SONY headphones at E3

Juree Dutee

Mike Shin link: http://failblog.files.wordpress.com/2009/04/fail-owned-jury-duty-fail4.jpg?w=500&h=330

STO - LADOT

I drove the LA Marathon*... backwards. I hit what seemed to be every single road block and road closure trying to get myself to work this morning.

I have now officially seen every single Prius in the LADOT - STO (LA Deptartment of Transportation - Special Traffic Ops) division fleet.

*My work is within 2 blocks of 7th & Fig.

The Marathon start (and the center of all the madness is at 6th&Fig)

I hit my first roadblock there and started my long, counterclockwise lap at 5AM

I eventually made it to my parking structure, but not without passing through the Fashion District of LA.  Place is dirty ass hell.

It looks exactly like this

Engrish Much?

"Rough, full of the aggressive design, unique to the king of a perfect gas"

"Sensitive buttons help you to come"

Lies. All lies.

Sticks!

Joysticks!
Hori Real Arcade Pro 3 $99
http://www.arcadeshock.com/items/pro-arcade-sticks~mas~hori~/hori-s-real-arcade-pro-3-hrap-3-for-sony-ps3-pre-order-hrap3-accessories-detail.htm

Hori Real Arcade Pro 2 w/ Arcana Heart $149
http://store.videogamecentral.com/hori-real-arcade-pro-arcade-stick-sa-arcana-hearts-2-edition.html
Note: It's a PS2 stick, so see http://forums.shoryuken.com/showthread.php?t=181187 for converter compatibility.

Hori Blazeblue Fighting stick $118
http://www.renchi.com/renchi/PS3_Accessories_PS3_Blazeblue_Fighting_Stick_Hori_HP3_56.htm

Late en See

No wonder gaming is great at the office... check out my ping =)

Woo!

WOOO!! ( Ji Woo Choi - Korean Movie Star )

Woo, because of this e-mail conversation with E3 (Electronic Entertainment Expo) registration:

I wrote to E3 customer service:
>E3 Industry Registration requires 2 forms of ID on this
>list:
>
>     * Resale Tax Certificate
>     * Company Credit Card (with Applicant's name)
>     * Insurance Card
>     * Business License
>     * Paycheck Stub
>     * W-2 Form
> I was recently hired by XXXX 1 and can provide a paycheck
> stub, but I do
> not have a W-2 nor any of the other forms of ID on that
> list.
>
> Is there any other form of identification or letter than
> can substitute
> for registration in this case?
>
> I am a relatively new employee.
>
>
> --=-=-=--
> Michael Palero
> Los Angeles Data Center Operations
> XXXX 1 World Class XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

They wrote back:

No, I believe you. I see other* in the database from XXXX
1. I have qualified you so no need to send anything.

Pat N
Customer Service

*In my online registration, I entered "Other - Online Game Hosting"

I'm going to E3 baby! and I didn't have to send or fax in a single thing!
WOO!

What Happened to Spring?!?

It's HOT. Like, mother fucking Samuel L. Jackson hot. It feels hotter here too because the air is dry as hell. I can say that because I know what East coast hot is like-- Nasty.

My ambient temp sensor on the GLI read 104 degrees the whole drive home. WTF BBQ, literally, with my car equaling the BBQ.

I'm so spoiled by the humidity & temperature controlled data center I spend most of my day in, so now I try to run to any air-conditioned room I can find.

Today's the first day of my night time Linux 3 class. It's especially hot here in Walnut/Pomona, so naturally, I ran to the 1st ice cold room I could think of: my professor's office. I spent about an hour there before he kicked me out, so I ran to the English Writing Lab for refuge.

I liked last week better. 71 degree drives home all week.

Now, It's so hot, even with the dial to full cold & fresh air, it only takes the HVAC 6 seconds to warm up after A/C is toggled off.

FML, at school.

In Philosophy class I was so relieved when my kind of hot teacher interrupted the heated "discussion" between the two dummies in my class.

For the past three weeks, I've had to sit through and listen to these 2 folks spit garbage from their mouths.

She interrupted the dummie debate by talking about how she also teaches Philosophy class ONLINE.
I thought to myself, wow, that would be great if I didn't have to listen to all these dummies!

So without thinking about my words, I quickly blurted out "So does that mean you have videos of yourself online that we can watch at home?"

Needless to say, I was super embarrassed as the class ripped me to pieces...

Team Lugod/Palero lands new title Sponsor for 2009!

It's official! Team Palero/Lugod has landed a deal with Power Honda Performance (PHP) of Costa Mesa, California, for the 2009 Championship year!

New Graphics for 2009!


Look for the new PHP Civic at SCCA National Tour San Diego and El Toro ProSolo.

Power Auto Group car dealers throughout the Los Angeles area specialize in new and preowned cars, trucks, and SUVs. In addition to providing top notch automotive service, OEM parts, and manufacturer accessories, Power Auto Group car dealerships always have a large inventory of both new cars and used cars for buyers in the greater Los Angeles area.

The aftermarket arm of Power Honda Costa Mesa, Power Honda Performance, opened in December of 2008.

Walk it out

Last weekend was CSCC's first event back at El Toro, our local decommissioned Marine Base.

Check out the rest of the photos here:
Check Engine Life

Mark Yeung [Burger] Melts

My good friend Mark introduced me to a new hangout ritual of his: Patty Melts.

To be honest, I wasn't expecting much.

Actually, I was anticipating a trip to the bathroom to make out with the toilet because, after all, Mark Yeung was cooking.











Mark started by grilling onions in Kirkland bacon bacongrease.












Enny [what kind of a name is that?!?] ennyway, she took care of the burger grilling outside. Her eyes are a bit small, so I can understand why the meat she was preparing kept coming out a bit raw...












As you can see, the Patty melts came out looking mighty tasty.
Enny cooked the meat with Kirkland Cheese and let the bacon grease dripping onions and bacon sit on top of the burgers while they grilled.

The Kirkland bread slices were also smothered with grease and lightly grilled.

The smell was incredible.
I was never planning to blog Mark's little PattyMelt night, but the smell so intoxicating, I had to run back into the house to take all these blog shots.

I couldn't wait to sit down and enjoy these little buggers...

I pulled myself a beer.

Wow. These things are awesome.

Instead of running back in the house for my makeout session with the toilet, I stood up my porcelain date and grabbed another Patty Melt.

Yes, they're that good.

2008 California Sports Car Club

Stock Car, 

Street Tire

Indexed Class.

It reads 

"2008 

CSCC Solo 2 

Championship Series

Class: SK2

2nd Place

Michael Palero"

It should make a great doorstop.

J&Y Engagement Photoshoot: Hold the Tripod Please

Had a chance to hop on the photoshoot for the happy couple's pre wedding photos at LACMA (Los Angeles County Museum of Art) early Tuesday morning at 2AM.

I rushed over from class and made the last 2 locations. My job was to hold everyone jackets and carry the tripod while making sure we didn't get robbed. It's so annoying to shoot while holding jackets and a tripod BTW.

I sent a few shots over that I thought were interesting and Jason and Yolanda loved them!

The couple promptly shot back with a thank you note that made my day:
"Mike - Our amazing moving, light-holding stick! :D So glad that you
joined us.. always good company and (usually) great jokes! And after
seeing some of your haphazardly taken, yet fantastic, photos from the
night, I'd say you can now answer "Heck yea!" when someone asks if
you're a photographer too. :) Go Mike."

I like how Jason misspelled the label, "behing the scenes"

Check out the other samples from Larry's website:
http://worlddriftseries.com/jandy/

And yes, I know I shouldn't share unprocessed photos...

From L to R:
Misha wants it...
It makes Yolanda smile...
Larry can't stand to look at it...
and it causes Jason to bow his head in shame.

I really need to stop taking pictures naked.

1st Day

Came home to an empty bed.

The room felt empty...

The TV was gone, her clothes were gone, the dogs were gone.

She was gone.

...the room was empty.

I rolled into bed and tried to put my arm around a nonexistent body.

There was no body to hold.

I was able to sleep by thinking of happy things (bacon-wrapped filet mignon, lobster and bouncing off a rev limiter at 9000rpm) but I wasn't able to sleep long.

I woke up at 6 AM.

Red Carpet

Last weekend was the CSCC (California Sports Car Club) 2008 Race Banquet.  I was pretty excited--  I raced all year in a heated class against many skilled drivers and was going to be recognized for my efforts.

I was pretty happy that I placed 2nd in my first year of competition with the CSCC.

Something I wasn't happy about was the fact that my wonderful dad cancelled on me the night before.  He cited money as the reason he could not fill the seat that I had already paid for him to fill.  

FYI, it costs $4 in gas to travel from where he is and back from the banquet facility.

I spoke with him 1hr before the banquet to see if he could attend.

"I have a headache, I'm sorry."

Fuck you dad.

and Fuck this divorce.

Victory Day Post 2

This morning at 2AM, I did a dry run of the breakfast in bed: tomatoes on vine with carmelized garlic and portabello mushroom tops. Hopefully I can repeat tonight's tasty dry during game time tomorrow at 7AM.

EDIT:

Breakfast went better than expected. Fluffy scrambled eggs cooked with 2% milk were thrown on a plate with the portabello mushroom tops, garlic and the mini sweet totatoes cooked on vine. I threw in some homestyle waffles and topped them off with raspberries and Maple Syrup from the same factory that does Cracker Barrel syrup. The meal was plated on a baking cookie sheet, carried upstairs and served as breakfast in bed with pulp free Minute Maid orange juice in a Belgian beer glass and organic wheat bread.

Dinner was sticky honey lemon chicken cooked in rosemary and thyme.

I forgot the honey.

It was served with my awesome parmesan romaine lettuce and Real Sangria on a bed of piping hot buttered mash potatoes. I topped the chicken off with the reduced honey/chicken/garlic/ponzu sauce/thyme/rosemary/soy sauce juices.

The flash broiled parmesan with olive oil tasted perfect.

Valentine's Day

I'm taking myself out to a bar early in the morning to beat the crowds and enjoy some time with myself!

10AM beers baby!

I'm a Pro...

It's currently 11:14AM.

I guess I should start studying for that Speech Final, as my class starts at 1:20PM and it takes 19min to drive to campus, 2min to find parking and 4min to walk to the Speech Lab.

Or I could continue fleshing out this blog with most posts...

Did you Miss the Asian Expo?

I was amazed watching 'Noodle Guy' work the crowd.
All this gibberish was coming out of his mouth and the crowd stuck around for their free full size samples.
This video sums up my 2009 Asian Expo expOrience--
I couldn't read anything, understand anything, or digest anything, but I was having fun being there and taking in all the sights.

Quake Live

Who wants an invite to Quake Live? I have 10 codes to give out!

I couldn't resist...

While navigating through Ranch 99, I heard it shout at me"TAIWAN BEER!!! YOU BUY ME NOW!!"

I couldn't resist.
I mean, who could resist a drink named "TAIWAN BEER?"

I bought a 6 pack.

I just couldn't resist this beer's small feet, exotic looks, and pale complexion.
Patty tells me the characters translate to "Taiwan Beer."

Her people are so creative!

He's Switched off his targeting computer!

Recieved grades back from my most memorable moment speech.  98% awarded with points deducted for uneccessary hand gesturing.  I later found out that this first speech was a baseline for the rest of the Winter Session.

$#&*!

That means every speech from now on has to be better.  

The idiot next to me umm'd and paused his way to a 93%.  *&#$!  If I had known, I would have bombed the first speech in order to be in better striking position for an A in the class.

Oh well.  Since Speech was never a strong subject for me, today I decided to celebrate my first ever A in any speech class by washing my car.

Yes.  By  washing my car.

Yeah.  I put on shorts, donned a set of slippers and turned my cell phone off.

I use time cleaning the car as time for me to meditate and relax.  I switch my brain to autopilot and watch the water dance off my car.  

For the 2 hours that I'm washing, soaping, drying, waxing and buffing the machine,  I get to think of 5 cylinders, 4 wheel drive, 2 point 3 liters of displacement, 6 gears and 4 wheels instead of transfer applications, worrying if I can make rent next month, the idea that I will not be able to attend school, moms that can't figure out digital TV tuners, assholes named Giovanni, the idea of being forced to attend another school and the reality of divorce.

It's nice.

Burger (de)Tour: Steak 'n Egg

Naljun from Shattered Hand Server (World of Warcraft) [he's Chris in real life (IRL)] originally told me about this place near my brother's building.

A long night of questing in Northrend left me hungry, so I went to eat at the famous Steak 'n Egg Kitchen!

This place is open 24hrs/day-- from what I've seen, that's pretty rare in the District.



It read, "A mountain for your mouth ...2 burgers , a half pound of meat, with cheese, bacon & grilled onions, piled high with barbecue sauce to top off ol' Smoky."

I'll show them a mountain for their mouths!!

Obviously, this burger is mislabeled.








Plenty of big things have been in my mouth before. I had to order this burger. Is it really a mountain? Is it really a mountain for my mouth?

And does it taste good?

You know, like my Longanisa?






The fries came out of some dedicated fry making machine that I've never seen before.
They were surprisingly satisfying, but then again, I was very hungry.


This is what it looked like.












It looked good... and that was about it.

Keep in mind I was hungry, so everything was supposed to be extra tasty.

I didn't enjoy it.

On second thought, they don't need to rename the Smoky Mountain Burger.

Longanisa is flavorful remember?

Let it be known that Smoky Mountain Burger is exempt from the "Is Extra Tasty Because You Are Hungry" buff.



No juice? No taste? No problem!!!
When you visit, remember there's a reason this place is called Steak 'n Egg.
Don't come here for the burgers (even if you are dying for a burger at 3 in the morning) and listen to your friends when they tell you to order the steak 'n eggs.