Panda Pirate Snoddy

Japan Pt. 1 (non car stuff/iPhone pics pt.2) photo dump

2011-09-22T13:39:00.000-07:00

Sweet potato's

Shrimp and cheese

Don't remember

Don't remember...

Don't remember

Tempura. The melon was actually really good

A different kind of cheese cake. Pretty good.

The busiest intersection in the world

Looks like somebody decided to get it in in the middle of the city.

We stopped at some Italian family style restaurant for lunch. Brian decided to make funny faces.

Shit was so good.

Brian's dish

Some cool Disney building that reminded me of Kingdom Hearts

The infamous Harajuku

View from a department store Brian and Minami decided to go to

Seeing people wear unique stuff like this is pretty normal in Japan, especially in Tokyo.

This temple was no BS in the middle of Tokyo. Walk out of the station and down the street and it's right there.

Another temple

Tried some curry at Coco's. Delicious to say the least.

Went to Zushi beach

Just chillin on the beach is enough for me

Some girl working at a bar that I randomly asked if she was a pirate lol.

Melon soda, so good!!

Yakiniku

Some amazing salad that Brian ordered. Jesus I could eat it all day.

Cow tongue. Yup.... delicious

Best french fries I've ever had in my life.

The playground at Brians school. Apparently a dirt field is the norm in Japan.

View from Brian's school. Gorgeous.

Forgot what this stuff was called but it wasn't bad.

Traditional style cheese cake but it was exceptionally delicious.

Some spiders decided to get comfortable in Brian's apartment.

China town (and my finger)

Dumplings.... holy shit these were good

Forgot what this stuff was called but it's in the same family as ramen (which is actually a chinese dish I found out)

Yup.... Kitty-chan (Hello Kitty) is still crazy popular in Japan.

If the Panda Pirates had a ship, this thing would be the figurehead (the figure on the bow) on the ship

"Milk" flavored ice cream. Pretty damn good.

LOL

Worst ramen I had while in Japan... still wasn't half bad. And this was at a restaurant that would be like Denny's in the states.

Second trip to Zushi

Went to a somwhat upscale Italian restaurant after hanging out at Zushi all day

Went to a BBQ with some American friends

Forgot what this stuff was called but it was way better than it looked.

Chashu Ramen. Fuuuu. Remembering all this great food is making me hungry.

Restaurant right down the street from Brian's apartment

This is what Brian had. This is what they call hamburger.

We thought this was funny

On our way to Odaiba

This is the same place they have D1 Tokyo

THE SUNNY GO!!!

One Piece is HUGE in Japan. Biggest thing since DBZ, and I actually think it's more popular than DBZ was, just because of the fact that it appeals to everyone, old, young, men, women, boys, and girls.

The line to get on the Sunny-go was insane. Literally wrapped around the ship.

Had to get a pic next to Tony-Tony Chopper.

Only in Japan lol.

Yes.... it's a huge turd.... with glasses.... and a mouth..... in a pool of water.

Minami is so sukebe.

Went to NY too.

Anime is much more accepted as mainstream media than in the states. It's taken just as seriously as film and music.

Some cool ass star wars themed addidas apparel

Hello kitty Kimono's

These things kind of creeped me out

A girl band doing live rehearsal

Warm soba and fried pork cutlet (can't remember the Japanese name)

Had some Indian Curry and Na'an bread. Insanely good and extremely filling

Some good ol' MOS burger

Stopped at a mom and pop diner for some ice cream after MOS burger

Plum soda

Deluxe Chashu Ramen at a chinese restaurant in Yokosuka

Food we at while at Yubo's restaurant. This was tuna pizza. Really good. Pretty rich flavor.

Some garlic and pork dish Yubo's mom whipped up for us

Juju and Yubo's gf (I forgot her name)

Another dish Yubo's mom whipped up (strong on the garlic but so good I didn't care)

Japanese Donuts

Kids plate at a restaurant Brian and I went to

Deliciousness

Brian loves him some "hamburger" dishes

A festival parade was going on right around the corner from Brians appartment

My last bowl of ramen in japan. Negi Chashu ramen

Some grape drank

Last plate of curry at Coco's

Waiting in Seattle international for my connecting flight to Dallas

Although I missed a flight, had to stay in Japan for another week (worth it), got chewed out by my bosses, had to walk 6 miles in the rain carrying 80lbs of luggage, and had to pay 700 dollars to fly from Seattle back to Louisiana, the trip was well worth it and I'd do it all again. Japan is an amazing country. It's been almost a month since I've been back and I still can't get my mind off of how much I loved being in Japan.

P.S. Sorry for the delay in this. There's just so many pictures. Stay tuned for the next installments which will pretty much all be car stuff.

Japan Pt. 1 (non car stuff/iPhone pics) photo dump

2011-09-22T11:40:00.000-07:00

None of this is in order because the old blogger layout didn't want to post my pictures in order...

Chashu ramen (best Ramen I had while in Japan)

View from a hill near Troy's house

Yeah.... this is a two way road

I helped myself to Brian's fridge on a regular basis

Yup.... still a two way road

I found this hilarious

The amount of weight Brian has lost since being in Japan is astounding. And he's much skinnier than he is in the top ID which was taken about a year or two ago.

Don't know what this stuff was, but it was way better than it looked

View from starbucks in the mall near the Yokosuka station

Brian and I failing at making takoyaki

Some bad ass Dragon Ball Z game they had at the arcade

Yakitori stand. Cool because you just eat as much as you want, but keep all of your sticks. When you're done eating, they count your sticks and charge you according to how many you ate. Wouldn't work in the states for obvious reasons...

Super clean Crown taxi. Sexiest taxi I've ever seen

Bibinba

Some cat we saw chillin as we were leaving a temple. People were calling out to it making meow noises and saying "neko-chan" it didn't even turn it's head lol.

Grilled squid with mayo dipping sauce

I think Brian closed his eyes in every picture I took of him

Totoro at some Gibli shop

View from one of the temples

Japanese McDonalds... doesn't look much different but everything tastes way more fresh

Macha (green tea) ice cream

I had to buy them

They even sell Hello Kitty stuff at the temples lol

Some ship they had in Yokohama bay

Brian and I went drinking a few times

Super mario chucks... dope

Yokohma shopping area

Pretty famous building. It's in a few anime I've seen.

A selection of food is displayed in the window at almost every restaurant

This place made all different kinds of crepes

I got a strawberry Banana chocolate crepe

This stuff is like... fast food I guess. Really good. Not as bad for you as McDonalds and Burger king

Looking down the street from Chuo station (closest station to Brians place)

Did I mention how big Hello kitty is?

Looking out at Tokyo bay. Being near the ocean really made me realize how much I miss being in the bay area.

This isn't considered weird or perverted in Japan. And if it is, no one really cares.

Some notice in the mens bathroom at the arcade

Shit load of one piece iphone cases. I wanted to buy one but they were way too expensive

Main street near Brians place

Very first thing I ate while in Japan. Tempura udon.

The trains can get crazy crowded. This wasn't that bad seeing as how I could move my arms enough to take this picture.

Brian loves him some cold soba noodles

My meal on the flight to japan

Looking out of the window as we prepare to depart Houston for Tokyo

On the train ride to Yokosuka from the airport

Beast mode with my OG's

My chariot to Japan

Long ass flight....

Had to get something to eat while at my layover in Austin

Waiting for the check in counters to open in Shreveport

Departing from Austin

2011-09-12T16:04:00.000-07:00

So my driver side front wheel studs came loose. Heard the wheel flopping around and immediately knew what it was. My car was also having some issues starting today. Would crank no problem. Just wouldn't fire on the first couple of tries. Thinking it has something to do with me negelcting the filter and maf for two years while the fender liner has been uninstalled on that side, leaving it open to the elements pretty much. Cleaning them both and hopefully that's the issue.

Also found these two lovely items

Knew I should have gotten some 10mm slip ons. Wheels are just too wide/don't have a low enough offset. 9.5j are going to be nice as far as clearance, just sucks they're going to be so lame looking. Need to call SPL and see if these will be ok like this or if I need to have them replaced.

Also found that another one of my RPF-1's is cracked. So badly that i have no idea how it's even still holding pressure. Just crossing my fingers it holds until I get my new wheels. Street drifting has been killing my car lately. Oh well.

Before I get to Japan

2011-08-28T13:23:00.000-07:00

Greetings!! I know it's been a while but I'm back from Japan and I figure it's about time I update this thing.... or something.

Before I get to Japan I'll update the going ons of the SC.

First off..... a week after getting the car the huge bubble tires rubbed into the harness on the driver side.

Had Pat help me reconnect the lines with solder and then shrink wrap them up.

Voila. All better.

Thought everything would be all peachy. No...... not for me. About three days later I try to start the car. It started. Ran like ass. Threw a code. Code 13. Blah blah all this crap. Trouble shot it. Replaced some sensors. Didn't work. Everything points to the ECU. Got another ECU while in Japan. The battery is dead and bad (not chargeable, won't even hold a charge enough to jump). Now I have to buy a new battery. It never ends for me. Going to sell the car now though. Concentrate on my Z. Japan has reinvigorated my desire to street drift, thanks to Brian of course.

Bandwagon....

2011-07-09T14:08:00.000-07:00

ppsnoddy.tumblr.com/

Coming up,or coming down

2011-06-29T15:16:00.000-07:00

Got a new daily. Not quite as comfortable as my z, YET, but I can get it there.

Leather seats.... a first for me. Driver side needs to be fixed. I'd like to get all of the seat redone with a softer/newer leather.

Fitment isn't too bad since it's coming from a drag guy. Tires are huge though. 255/40/17R on 17x10.5 wheels and 235/45/17F on 17x9.5 wheels. Bubble tires to me. It rubs on all fours. And the guy cut the fender lips instead of just rolling them..... ughhh. Didn't cut it past the seam in the rear though so it didn't weaken the quarter panel, thank god. I'm probably going to order some smaller tires when I get paid. Car also has Tein coilovers but I really don't like them at all. Everyone swears by Tein but I've never ridden on Teins that rode as good as my Stances and I've been driving and drifting on my stances for three years. I'll check them out in more detail this weekend and maybe lower the car. Not 100% since it already rubs so much.

1JZ-gte swap. I missed having a turbo car. Even though relatively stock it feels like it's faster than my Z.

Looks like they tried to do some freaky stuff and got hurt....

I think I can get used to this.

Don't like the Soarer emblems all over the car. Pretty sure I'll get the car debadged at some point along with my Z.

PP Snoddy: New whip from Shawn Snoddy on Vimeo.

Put this nifty Parts Shop Max adjustable thingy in my Z. I think it adds some nice bling to the car.

My take on Autocross

2011-06-26T18:03:00.000-07:00

The SCCA autocross organizers weren't very happy. Don't know what I did wrong.....

Note: If you can't view this video try refreshing the page a couple of times. If that doesn't work you'll probably need to add me as a friend on FB.

2011-06-22T19:13:00.000-07:00

North West Does It Big

2011-06-19T15:18:00.000-07:00

PGP February Drift from Loren Haleston on Vimeo.

Drift in the PARC from Loren Haleston on Vimeo.

PGP March from Loren Haleston on Vimeo.

(only Dubstep song I think I've ever found tolerable)

Evergreen Gets Murked from Loren Haleston on Vimeo.

Hot Laps at Evergreen Drift April from Loren Haleston on Vimeo.

Pacific GP the Latest and the Greatest from Loren Haleston on Vimeo.

Evergreen Round 2 from Loren Haleston on Vimeo.

(non drifting for shits'n'gigs)

The Old School Reunion 2011 from Loren Haleston on Vimeo.

Makes me kind of want to move to the north west. I love it up there. The cool weather is great and there are "snow bunnies" EVERYWHERE.

OK. last one

2011-06-19T15:14:00.000-07:00

I thought this picture set was dope as fuck.

2011-06-19T13:37:00.000-07:00

2011-06-19T07:48:00.000-07:00

2011-06-18T19:32:00.000-07:00

2011-06-18T08:51:00.000-07:00

2011-06-17T17:32:00.000-07:00

Should I be happy about this? lol

2011-06-14T17:56:00.001-07:00

Raised my car up a half an inch and got an alignment. Finally got my rear camber within the -3 range lol. My camber arms were already maxed out for as positive as they could go with my last alignment and only got my negative camber from around -7 to about -4.9. So that means just raising the rear that half an inch made that drastic of a change in camber, a whole degree. Hopefully there's a noticeable change in rear grip now.

They still had issues aligning my car haha. They have a new in ground rack and there was absolutely no issues getting the car onto it. The raised sections on the inner edges of the rack cleared within a few millimeters of the bottom side of my car. The only part there was an issue with was the jacks to actually lift the car off the rack. They have to pivot verticle and horizontal in order to provide the super low clearance. Problem is when they pivot back up from the flat position they actually sit higher than the raised edges on the rack lol. The design team of the rack definitely overlooked this lol. Didn't matter though, they couldn't get the rear jack past my differential so they just lifted it by the subframe and the front didn't need to be lifted since camber isnt adjustable up front with my oem UCA's.

Car actually had less clearance than this, this is with the rear jacked up. You can see the raised inner edges in this pic.

2011-06-13T15:06:00.000-07:00

Honestly didn't even want to post this but I guess it's a good marker for my progress. This event was generally just a shitty day for me overall. Had about two good runs all day, and this wasn't one of them lol. Motivation to do better next time though.

2011-06-12T10:28:00.000-07:00

Budget

2011-06-12T10:21:00.000-07:00

I want a daily...

2011-06-11T09:25:00.000-07:00

Difference in available threads for stock vs. Tein is really nice. Might have an issue with the SPL outters though. Don't think they really expect anyone to be low enough to really need to use all of their spacers lol.

GGP

2011-06-09T17:49:00.000-07:00

Left for Houston after work on Friday. Louisiana summer heat and humidity was relentless. Didn't bother to shower after work since I was just going to get all sweat again by the time we got to the hotel room.

After we got to the hotel we cleaned up and hit the town. Got denied from a few places but we managed to entertain ourselves just by rolling around and..... "talking" to women lol.

Went shopping on Saturday at the Galleria. Really nice mall. Had an indoor ice skating ring, had some really high end stores like Ralph Lauren Polo, not going to the event to buy some $499 dollar shoes actually crossed my mind (not for long).

Went out that night too. Went to this place called Status, girls gone wild just so happened to be there, but contrary to what you might think them being there didn't make it any more fun, actually the girls in there were too concerned with getting on girls gone wild than actually dancing. Still had fun though.

Sunday morning woke up bright and early to hit Gulf Greyhound Park. Got there at the very end of course introduction, but Mr. Losey didn't car, he was laid back as usual. After everyone unloaded their cars, tools, and wheels/tires the action began....

Pretty much stock Mustang. Just has balanced suspension and crazy exhaust, gutted interior, cut knuckles, and a cage, maybe a mild cam but I doubt that.

Sumo's newly remodeled S13

So sweet.

Cut knuckles I was talking about...

This IS from Essensce looks great.... which is why it got so much attention all day lol

No tandem for the non caged drivers in Houston (insurance reasons) but the caged guys went at it

V8 powered corolla (it's a nissan V8 so it's ok Brian =)

Dbo was hitting it hard all day

1jz swapped Cressida

Kim and Misty

Aaron said I cheese grated his cones because my car is so low... this is why (look closely lol)

This dude has a 4.08 ring and pinion , the difference in smoke that him and Kim made in comparison to me makes me envious

Didn't even spin on this run, just kept it moving

And then my day made a turn for the terrible. I got about 8 runs in. At the end of my run at about 1pm, I come out of the 180 degree turn at the very end of the course and my car doesn't transition even though the wheel is turned. I hear Aaron say something about "..... it looks like he...." over the intercom. I immediately got a bad feeling. But not wanting to lose any seat time I just head back to grid. I then get a call on my phone from a friend that headed down with me saying my passenger side front wheel looked weird coming off course. I get out and check it out. I immediately assume something is wrong with my tie rods, I'm right. The boot is still on the rack but it seems like it's sagging. So I get back in the car and head back to the pit. Roll up and my friends say they see something dragging the ground. The boot finally let go when I turned to go back to pit and allowed the threads that go into the rack to drag the ground. I check the threads inside of the rack and they are perfectly fine if not just a little dirty from being exposed to the debris from the ground.

I ask Aaron for help and he makes an announcement over the intercom but no one has any spare 350z tie rods and no one has a tap and dye set large enough for it. I call all of the parts stores within a 50 miles radius. All of them would have to order it and it would take at least 3 days. We run to Lowes about 15 miles away to see if they have a tap and dye set that would be big enough, of course they don't. So I get a file kit but there's was no way I could clean the threads up enough for them to go back into the rack with messing the threads in it up. Get back to the car and I was right about the files. Then we spend 2 hours trying to find a way to get the car back on the trailer, after messing around with different ideas this guy who was new to drifting but out there driving a 96 Mustang (think his name was Andrew) offers his help. He had an interesting idea that he said they used with offroading 4x4 trucks that broke axles. He suggested getting a spare wheel/tire and use it with someone holding it to guide the wheel with the broken tie rod straight. Lowe and behold it worked. We had a couple of close calls with the tires coming off of the ramps we made for my car to actually get on the trailer and with the jacks and jack stands sinking into the super heated concrete (they weren't able to move since the jack's wheels were stuck in the concrete) but we finally got it up.

I still enjoyed myself regardless of the damage, loss of seat time, and getting 5 shades blacker. Just makes me want to fix my car the right way and get back out there. I need to concentrate on things more oriented with the well being of my life for now though. Trying to get into another career field and save a bit of money. So I'll slow down for now and just clean my car up bit by bit. It's been taking a beating for me the last few years and I think it's time to show it my gratitude by making it sexy again.

The damages are repaired as of today. SPL inner and outter tie rods (Tein inners). Used all of their bumpesteer spacers and my tie rods are still at an angle lol. Better than what it was though. Can't get an alignment until Tuesday which sucks.

Stay tuned.

P.S. Almost forgot. The hydro ebrake works freaking great. So easy but it definitely still takes skill to use. Took me a while to get used to it's position and how hard to pull to pull off different things. Finding how much to pull to lock vs. to just scrub speed takes some work. Feels good to have an ebrake that's for sure.

Almost time

2011-06-08T14:34:00.000-07:00

Return from Darth Zadeus on Vimeo.

yesssssss

The update for the past drift event will be coming soon as well if anyone was interested in that.

The _ ____ In The World

2011-06-01T18:38:00.000-07:00

Pocahontas?

Heading to Houston in a couple of days. Attempting to conceal my excitement........ unsuccessfully.

The show goes on

2011-05-29T21:50:00.000-07:00

So I finally got my Powered by Max SLC hydraulic ebrake in. The OEM parking brake on the Z33 is just that.... for parking. It won't lock the rear wheels at all while moving, it will only slow them down at best, even when pressing in the clutch and turning the steering wheel. I replaced the stock brake shoes with P.Mu "drift" brake shoes a couple of years ago but they only lasted for one event and then just reverted to something exactly like stock. Years later I want to improve my driving with more techniques but without an ebrake that can lock the rear wheels I felt extremly limited. That's where this thing comes in.

I started out with the hydro. It didn't come with any instructions or anything helpful for installation. But fortunately I had been pestering my friend Kim, who also has a Z with a ksport hydro ebrake (now upgraded to a Wilwood cylinder), about information pertaining to installing this thing. After scouring forums and studying the FSM I had a pretty good idea on how to go about this.

The first step was to have two lines made. One line comes from the secondary port of the master cylinder to the inlet of the hydro cylinder (the port on the end), the other goes from the outlet of the hydro (the port closest to the frame) to the secondary port of the abs block. These two lines replace the factory hard line that goes from the secondary outlet of the master cylinder to the secondary port of the abs block, tying in the hydraulic ebrake to the braking system (hence the hydro being an "in-line" setup).

First you have to get an idea of how long you need the lines. I just used some string and zipties and threaded them from where I wanted to mount the hydro in the car to where the lines need to go in the engine bay. Then you have to get your lines made to length and have the right size fittings fitted to the lines. Luckily there is an amazing shop in town that specializes in things like this, I had both lines made in a few minutes (after a little begging and pleading that I needed the lines done in a day lol). I had them remove the stock fittings from the secondary hardline I removed to use for the lines going back to the master and abs block, they used all new fittings for the ports in the hydro cylinder. The lines were about $80, which isn't bad considering other people pay from $120-$160 for their lines.

After installing the lines into your hydro it would be in your best interest to bench bleed the hydraulic cylinder. It saves a huge amount of time and effort. All I did was pour brake fluid into a crappy pot and actuate the hydro. Pretty simple process, just pump until you don't see any more bubbles. Make sure that the lines and pot are higher than the hydro cylinder so the air can actually escape, you also want to make sure that both lines stay submerged in brake fluid.

The next step was to actually install the lines and remove the factory hardline. Easy enough, just have to make sure you don't mix up the lines, again zipties came to the rescue lol. I just put a ziptie on the line going into the inlet side of the hydro that goes to the master cylinder to identify it after threading it through the car.

I decided not to drill anything and just use whatever factory holes were in the chassis. I also wanted to keep my stock parking brake for parking duties. So I decided to modify the shifter hole and route my lines through there.

Down through the tranny tunnel.

Past the transmission.

Over the front subframe.

Up through a hole in the driver side fender well that goes into the brake sides secondary firewall.

Line that goes from the master to the hydro.

Line that goes from the hydro to the secondary port of the abs block.

(Both lines were secured away from moving parts and high heat areas with hose guides and angle iron and wrapped in chaffe wrap or rubber coolant hose near high vibration/tight clearance areas)

Next step is to swap the lines at the abs block. This step is the most complicated part and easiest to mess up but is actually annoyingly simple. On my base model all of the lines are marked on the abs block (FL, RR, RL, FR). The primary and secondary lines coming from the master cylinder to the abs block control these lines in an X pattern. Meaning the primary controls the FL and RR and the secondary controls the FR and RL brakes. In order to have the hydro ebrake lock the rear brakes you have to change this setup. So now you want to swap the hardlines at the abs block so that the secondary controls the two rear brakes and the primary controls the two front brakes. Of course in doing this you are also disabling your ABS (you need to unplug it or you will have some major problems).

(DO NOT!!! I REPEAT!! DO NOT SWAP THE LINES THAT ARE REMOVED IN THIS PICTURE!!! YOU WANT TO SWAP THE LINES THAT ARE STILL INSTALLED IN THIS PICTURE, THE RR AND FR!! YOU ARE WARNED.)

After this your brakes need to be bled of course, and of course you still need to follow the FSM. Make sure to check for leaks at all of the brake lines you removed and reinstalled including the ones in the hydraulic ebrake.

Before you actually install the hydro into the car it would be in your best interest to double check to make sure you got your lines correct. If you remember my caution from earlier, this is why. I just so happened to get confused about swapping lines on the abs block. I swapped the lines so that the secondary controlled the front brakes instead of the rear. This means that when the hydro is pulled the front brakes lock, AKA catastrophe if done while trying to initiate. We checked this while the car was still in the air on a hunch and happened to catch this issue before it was too late. Spin the front wheels (one at a time, or two at a time if you have enough people to check both at the same time and another to pull the lever), if the lines were swapped improperly one (or both) the front wheels will abruptly stop spinning. Don't be overly cocky about your work and check this regardless of how much you know, it only takes a second.

After bleeding your brakes, checking for leaks, and precautionary checks of the hydro the next step is to actually install the hydro.

There are a lot of options about where you want this installed, all depends on your preference and what you want to compromise. This is the spot I chose to have my hydro installed.

Mock up how you want the hydro positioned, check clearance and all that jazz.

I decided to have mine welded in (they can also be bolted in, there are holes in the bottom of the hydro's frame for bolts, but the reinforcement plate that's provided, or of some kind, should be used for ridgidity and added strength), so I invited a friend with a welder over =).

Patty cakes got to work right away (he loves doing this stuff for some reason). He also put a tear in my seat cushion while stripping the paint on the hydro frame.... on top of my seat =). It's all good though, he was helping me out and I know accidents happen. He offered to buy me a new one so it's cool.

Felt kind of uneasy having my car welded on. This thing has been my baby for the past 3.5 years, but I got it with the intentions of drifting it so, you have to do what you have to do. Felt kind of bad ass after a little while actually.

The clearances in here are pretty crazy, we used a dremel and tin snips for most of it. Had to cut a slit in the shifter boot and snip a portion of the shifter boot frame out in order to clear the brake lines. There's a tad bit more noise from the undercarriage, but it's not even noticeable to anyone but me so I guess that's good. Not sure about how well it seals tire smoke, I'll provide that info after the event this weekend.

In the midst of all of the hard grueling sweaty humid Louisiana 95 degree heated work, John decided to.... be John, inside of my tires lol.

Now for the finished product.........

All in all it was definitely worth all of the work and it came out looking pretty clean imo. Took us a total of about 9hrs of work, it actually took about two days but that included running around getting supplies and such.

The rear end locks up so easily with this setup, nothing like the stock parking brake (going from using the brake shoes to using the pads), hardly takes any effort, and it will actually lock the wheels hard enough to make smoke (I know that's a trivial thing to people who have ebrakes that will lock the rear lol). I've been drifting my Z since I got it and have pretty much been without an ebrake for the entire time, now that I have one that works as well as this does it's taking me a little bit to get used to it. I recommend this to anyone who wants to drift and has a 350Z or any similar car that has an ebrake that can't really lock the rear by design (I hear Z32's have the same issue).

References:

http://my350z.com/forum/brakes-and-suspension/504660-hydraulic-handbrake-install.html

http://www.gtfactory.jp/cms/page.php?4

I also decided to snap a few pics of the pounding my car has taken from being low. It's gotten a little worse since the last time I checked it out. There's also some mud and grass stuck in between parts from street shenanigans lol.

Still don't have any exhaust leaks surprisingly. Stock exhaust has done right by me lol.

EDIT: CAUTION: There was a little bit of confusion about the routing of the lines (I guess people just looked at the pictures instead of thoroughly reading what I posted). The pictures I took of the path the lines took are just to show where they are going, they are not the final resting place of the lines. Leaving the lines in these places provides a chance for them to be pinched, cut, chaffed, or nicked. It also leaves them in close proximity to high heat areas. I used hose guides mated to angle iron to keep the lines high up in the tranny tunnel and away from the ground (my car is low enough as it is), I also used chaffe wrap in places where the lines are in close proximity to eachother and/or touching the chassis.

Where the lines go through the shifter hole is where there is the least amount of clearance. The lines are wedged between the upper part of the transmission and the shifter hole, if there is nothing protecting the lines they will have a very short life, even if not driving the car hard. To alleviate this problem use heater hose or coolant hose, anything that is tough and can be wrapped around the lines to keep them from getting cut by the chassis.

I also recommend getting your lines made out of steel braided or steel hardlines (like stock). The shop I went to did not have steel braided line in stock and I was short on time so couldn't take the measurements or bend the hardlines myself.

This is optional but recommended, but I will be buying heat shield padding to wrap my lines in for where they come closest to my exhaust. There are OEM lines that come closer to it than the lines I ran for my hydro, but you can never be too cautious.

Teaser

2011-05-26T20:21:00.000-07:00

Coming soon.

Black girl swagg

2011-05-24T17:15:00.000-07:00

Starting to become desirable.

Belief

2011-05-23T17:52:00.000-07:00

Went to a rave a couple of weeks ago. First one ever. Wasn't bad. What I'd expect from a college party in Rouston honestly. (the blur is Will)

There's also this new frozen yogurt place at the boardwalk that John, Chenelle and I have been killing lately. Shit is retarded good, and the one I get isn't half bad for you, the ones John and Chenelle get are.... well just look lol. (mine has strawberries, granola, and honey)

And I'm sure the most interesting thing about this post. I went to an autoX and Ahmad shows up with his.... !!!SHOCK!!! girlfriend! I know it's hard to believe, but I have proof.

Not bad at all imo. Especially for Ahmad. They've actually been dating for a while. I'm proud of the guy =')

Heartbreakers saving Japan

2011-05-22T15:17:00.000-07:00

Ok this is after for real

2011-05-22T14:32:00.001-07:00

Loving my room so far. Hard to really portray the shade of green the walls are but it's super cozy, especially at night with a candle lit or something.

Hayabusa was replaced with my TV lol

Always have the candle lit

The Widiker recliner, don't think the room would be complete without it.

(all of these pictures were shot in RAW on my D300 so blogger suppressed them I guess. Sorry about that. Won't shoot in RAW anymore.)

I'd like to get curtains that match the color of the room but I'm really not interested in spending any more money on a house that's not mine. I have big things planned for my car in the coming months anyway so I need the money.

Jared Anding has inspired me to do better things with my blog so hopefully I can follow suit and bring this blog from the clutches of obscurity.

After

2011-05-22T14:11:00.000-07:00

After about a week of hard work we finally started making big progress on the room. Chenelle managed to pull off some amazing work on the paint lines for the trim all the while juggling teaching me the basics, dealing with my strict time limit, and fixing my mistakes lol. Big shout out to her for all her help.

Waiting for the paint to dry sucked

But we remedied the problem with food.

Next installment coming shortly.

The move

2011-05-14T17:21:00.000-07:00

Since I'm stuck in Louisiana I had to move. I had a few options but it came down to me moving back in with John. It was the easiest and most financially wise choice to make.

...... the only problem, the worst part was..... the room. It was terrible. Hayabusa on the wall, hole in the wall, extremely dirty around the base boards and light switch, and the carpet smelled like a dog had pissed on it.... a couple of times.

John's rage... the impact came from the other side of the wall.

So Chenelle and I got to work. (Blogger picture uploading sucks so these aren't really in order)

LOL

I'll update with the end result later ;)

ATL part #2

2011-05-14T12:42:00.000-07:00

THE FOOD!!

I ate my ass off in Atlanta. And it was so worth it.

First stop was Pho'. I was actually really surprised that my mom ate Pho. She didn't even know what it was when she left California.

This place was really cool because it had two floors. The upper floor was where they made the food and you could have window seats as you at your food.

The lower level had this cool kind of trendy vibe. Had much more seating down there as well.

My mom and nephew didn't order Pho' unfortunately but their food was pretty good. The Pho definitely had a very fresh and quality taste and aroma and the noodles were pretty much cooked perfectly. The flavors weren't the strongest I've ever had but it was definitely worth the money. I rate it an 8/10.

And my mom made me two cakes. I murdered about half of the German chocolate cake haha.

My sister made me crab in a garlic and moscato brew with garlic bread and potato's.

We went to a Cajun restaurant. Pretty funny because the food was better than the majority of the food I've had here. Gumbo. I had like three bowls of this stuff.

These are the cakes my mom made me. I'm getting cravings just thinking about them.

And of course a trip home to see your mom wouldn't be the same without waking up to the smell of breakfast. My mom made me banana nut waffles, bacon, and scrambled eggs with a side of orange juice. Didn't snap a picture of anything but the bacon because it was taking a while to get the settings down and I wasn't about to let my breakfast get cold.

This update makes me want to go back like right now.

ATL part #1

2011-05-14T11:11:00.000-07:00

Not going to Korea anymore. It sucks. But I'll get over it. I can save more money here and continue driving and doing stuff to my car.

I was really busy getting ready to leave for Korea but got screwed and was then busy having to do the paperwork to stay here lol. But I'll still update with the happenings from the past few months.

These are just pics of what went down in Atlanta (it's in reverse order).

Facial expressions on this ride were priceless.

These were taken in a place called little 5 points or something like that. Pretty cool place. Reminded me a lot of Berkeley, CA.

These chicks asked me to take their picture... so I obliged them.

Downtown Atlanta

And it's begun

2011-03-27T08:12:00.000-07:00

Lone Star Drift Series Round 1 & NST 6th Anniversary Car Show from Cinema Toast on Vimeo.

Really going to miss drift events in the south. The cool dudes in southern Louisiana, and the crazy relaxed, super high speed events in Texas. Didn't get anywhere near as much seat time as I should have, but it gives me a goal to shoot for once I can drive my car again.

I'm going to need the help of my friends to remind me to save my money while in Korea. Otherwise it will be the same story once I get to Cali.

Out of the way!

2011-03-26T08:32:00.000-07:00

Finally ALS is over and done with. It was a stressful 5 weeks but if I could go back I wouldn't avoid the situation at all. It was a good life experience, learned a lot about my self and about "normal" AF people.

I have to be honest. I didn't study a whole lot. Just did what I was told to do, did my homework, and I did try my best on everything. Walked away with 3 awards; the two in the middle are self explanatory, the one on top is a scholarship award from Embry Riddle Aeronautical University called an excellence award. Makes me feel pretty good.

Now it's time to get ready to leave for Korea. In 37 days I'll be leaving the place I've called home for the last 3 years and 7 months. Have a lot of fond memories here. A lot of friends I'll be leaving behind.... and a couple of friendships I'll be leaving behind. Get ready for some pretty emotional posts lol.

Too busy

2011-03-20T12:22:00.000-07:00

Been busting my ass in ALS for the last four weeks and I only have 4 days left! Because of this I haven't been able to update how I've been wanting to, but since this upcoming week will be my last week the assignments have died down a great deal. Still have nothing substantial to post about but I have been getting stiffies over rat rods and bobber again.

When I get situated in Cali I'm thinking about picking up a cheap Yamaha XS650 or something and bobbing it out. My Z isn't a project at all, nor do I want it to be. Projects can't be driven because they are always getting tinkered with. I want my Z to run, and I want to drift it. That's all, everything else I do to it is just so I can have more fun driving it. A bobber will be a project. Something to ride to work, break in the process, get pissed and kick it over, then tinker some more.

I'm sure these types of automotive transportation's don't seem like they suit me but good lord do I love them.

This bad boy is so clean!

I want one exactly like these. Not all showy. Just raw but still clean.

Destructo disk

2011-03-12T17:59:00.000-08:00

On another note. My thoughts and condolences go out to the people of Japan. Stay safe everyone.

For Jared

2011-03-10T14:56:00.001-08:00

Hogwarts bitch!!!

Took me forever to find a white girl in my collection lol.

One for Brian

2011-03-10T14:44:00.000-08:00

Don't complain.

Yeah.... that's right

2011-03-10T14:40:00.000-08:00

That's how Emma and I feel about your opinion.

New fling

2011-03-09T14:14:00.000-08:00

YES!

MARDI GRAS WOOOO!!

2011-03-05T20:53:00.000-08:00

So I just got home from walking in the Shreveport/Bossier Krew of Gemini Mardi Gras parade. Tired as hell, still cold, and my joints hurt from walking in the cold for 5 hours at like 1mph. Good experience but I'll never do that shit again. The beginning wasn't too bad because it was the child section. But then you get into the adult section..... needless to say everyone is drunk. Even the teenagers... maybe even some of the little kids. If I guesstimate I'm sure there was a few thousand people there, maybe even close to hundreds of thousands. Never seen that many people in one place. And they all were going crazy, so loud.

There were so many people who wanted to dive under the floats to grab beads and cups and whatever other BS stuff that was being thrown out it was pretty baffling to see. It was my job to keep these people from being ran over. Didn't have to do much. I think most people were scared of me because I was black lol. I just gave them this ultra black "back the fuck up" look and they immediately backed away from the float. Didn't have to say a word to anyone. Well except for the teenage girls that wanted to rape me.

Yeah.... teenage girls. I was actually scared. A large group of them walked up to me, told me they liked my glasses, told me I was hot... not cute... hot, and then said they wanted me to wear their beads. Of course I obliged. That happened about two more times but then I get to this girl that's just staring at me. So of course I stared back. Then she was like "HIIIIII" I'm just like uhh wtf, but I LOL and say hello. Pretty much as soon as I walk past this girl she grabs my ass. Yes, I was sexually assaulted by a 14 year old girl..... guess I have a story to tell for the rest of my life lol. Also I was given a beer, that was pretty cool. Good ass beer too.

Oh yeah there was this cool hot rod (pretty sure it was a 30 something Ford) and a really clean Chevelle in the parade.

Sorry the pictures aren't in order. Still using the stupid version of the blogger picture uploader.

Tasting China

2011-03-04T16:34:00.000-08:00

So I decided to go out on a limb and try a new restaurant today. I just so happened to decide to splurge at the same time.

This restaurant was recently opened right outside of my neighborhood. I'm not a big fan of most asian inspired restaurants around here (besides Eggroll of course), so this was a pretty big thing for me.

The restaurant is called Taste China (I think that name is kind of funny for some reason). I had a picture of the front of the restaurant but for some reason Blogger doesn't like my browser. The decor of the interior is pleasant and inviting, kind of a romantic atmosphere.

The very first thing they brought out to me was this soup called ak-chop (it was pronounced that way anyway). It was pretty good, kind of like hot and sour soup except not hot or sour lol. My only issue with it was that it came out ridiculously hot. Not their fault though. Better than it being brought out cold.

I ordered an appetizer of baked mussels and I swear these were some of the best appetizers I've had in my life. It was insane. They topped the mussels with two kinds of sauce as well as caviar. I was almost tempted to order another plate of them immediately after finishing them, that's how good they were.

Yeah..... that serious.

The main dish I order was a chef special called Taste China Beef. It was good. My only issue was there was too much of it. Of course you're probably asking why that's a bad thing. But when I eat at a restaurant that's what I want to do; eat at a restaurant. There are times that left overs taste better than when it was first served, but that's rarely the case for me. And of course the food is no where near as interesting when you're eating it at home. Also I'm not that big of a fan of bell peppers and this dish consisted mostly of them. Of course I still ate it all, they didn't start bothering me until I got about halfway through the dish but it was pretty tough after that.

I did something a little different today. I ordered a dessert. Fried ice cream. I'm not big on sweets but damn this was amazing. The texture of the sweet fried outer layer complimented the cool green tea ice cream exquisitely.

You have to admit this looks pretty damned good.

I have no idea how I pulled it off but I got all of this food down. I wasn't even hurting that badly afterwards. Kind of scared myself lol. Total for all of this came up to be a lot but then again I did order 3 courses. It was $25 excluding tip but I think it was worth it. I have to spend about that much to compete with Brian in Shreve/Bossier.

This adventure got me pretty excited about Korea. I get the feeling all I'll be doing is going out and eating. But that's part of the whole experience. Travel and experience things in another country. Expect to see big things from this blog in the upcoming months.

Failure

2011-03-02T18:29:00.000-08:00

This has nothing to do with my interest in cars. But I thought it was somewhat motivational from a general life/goal/dream perspective.

The older I get it seems the more drive I develop towards being succesful in my career choices, my goals, and the invisible road map for my life that I write on every day. At times it feels that I am no different than the boy I was 10 years ago, but as I dwell on all that I have been through and all that I have learned from, I have truly come far in life. I'll never let that stop me from going even further, I look to always find ways to better myself and to have an even wiser outlook on the world and on life.

Food update

2011-02-22T03:55:00.000-08:00

So I went to the old Panda Pirate kick it spot, Eggroll Express, this past weekend to get some grub. It's not owned by the same people (and it's not even called Eggroll Express anymore lol) as when Brian was here but it's nice to be in the same spot and reminisce.

Because of the new owners they also have new dishes and I decided to try them out. I had hot and spicy beef noodle soup, some eggrolls, and of course the Thai tea. Unfortunately they were out of ice cream and I couldn't order fried banana with ice cream.

The hot and spicy dish was a bit different. Not that it tasted bad or anything. But it was a bit odd as I'm so used to Pho. It didn't seem as "fresh" I guess you could say. I'm not really a big soup person unless you're talking about ramen or pho. The noodles in this soup are around the same size and texture as ramen, the broth isn't necessarily hot but it is enough to get your nose running and potentially get your forehead glistening.

The Thai tea (or "special tea" as some circles like to call it) was decent. Not the best I've ever had, but decent. The eggrolls weren't bad, better than the ones under the previous management but no where near as good as the OG owners of Eggroll Express (Brian and Jordan know what I'm talking about).

All of that isn't what's really important (excluding the Thai tea of course). The thing that we as Panda Pirates care about most....... the Pho. The Pho has sadly changed multiple times since the original owners left. It was a trying time for us but I believe we have saviors.

The new Pho is great!! I've never had Pho that was terrible but this Pho.... the texture of the noodles, the hearty savory flavor of the broth, all exquisite! The meat balls in the PH01 are whole instead of sliced which some would say is more traditional but unless you have a huge mouth (like me..... no homo) they can be difficult to eat at times. All of the items included in the Pho are proportioned perfectly, not too much of anything and not too little. Honestly after putting all of the extras that are usually found on tables in restaurants that serve Pho I felt that they honestly weren't needed. And that's saying a lot.

If you know a thing or two about Pho or the other items I mentioned please comment. I love conversing over subjects pertaining to noodle soups.

Filler update

2011-01-07T22:57:00.000-08:00

Honestly I just haven't felt like updating lately with Personal pictures because it takes a lot longer depending on how many pictures I include. So I'm just throwing this random update in here.

Brian (from the pandapirates blog on blogspot) told me he was thinking about taking a ski trip when he gets back to Japan. And it made me start thinking about how incredibly fun snowboarding actually is again.

I went about two weeks before coming into the military and I haven't been since. I started looking to see if there were any good ski resorts in south korea and there are actually 3 all about an hour away from Seoul. This is amazing news. Since I won't be spending money on my car I'm thinking about buying a board and gear so I can go for the winter season.

One of the resorts in Korea

Random awesome snowboarding vid.

F' It Teaser from Forum Snowboards on Vimeo.

List of things to do while in Korea:

-Buy a massive amount of clothes

-Visit Japan

-Travel around Korea

-Pick up Muay Thai and maybe one other martial art

-Snow board until I hurt myself multiple times and the AF tells me I can't do it any more

-Not get married or have any illegitimate children

Any suggestions for what else to do?

Almost daily ordeal

2010-12-19T16:31:00.000-08:00

This is the event that must take place every time I get out of my driveway. At my old place I could get out without any assistance, just had to take angle and know what I was doing. This driveway is absurd though, even a stock ride height car could bottom out on it if it went fast enough. And Joe scrapes his front bumper against it every time he pulls in or out.

With this technique I very rarely scrape coming in and pretty much never scrape going out even though it looks like I do. I guess the teeter tottering effect keeps the car from having too much weight on the passenger side lol.

But the look makes it so worth it.

Post for Joe

2010-12-19T16:12:00.001-08:00

I doubt he'll even see this. But this is from our trip to Houstin to get his RX8.

I actually didn't take any pics of the RX8 while we were down there. I really just wanted to post these pics of Jack in the Box. It was a bad idea though because now I'm crazy hungry.

The plague!!!!

2010-12-19T15:55:00.000-08:00

Not really. It's just my small pox vaccination site.

But wait!!! I have more updates coming ;)

A little late but update #2 is lifting off

2010-11-29T14:13:00.000-08:00

I'll keep this one a bit shorter than the last one.

I did a little experiment with my hair, I had to cut it all off though. I might grow it all back out and just have a small afro and curl it every now and then.

It was alright. Hard to keep neat though.

Now I just need to get some new clothes. Sold my truck so I might buy some outfits before I leave for Korea.

Update #1

2010-11-19T13:50:00.000-08:00

I have a series of updates that I need to get up before the weekend is over. I'm going to try to make it a must before Monday rolls around which won't be very difficult at all. It all just comes down to laziness.

I know no one visits this blog any more, other than my closest friends, but even so I think this update will be quite heart wrenching for those select few.

One of my best friends and most instrumental people that has ever graced my life left to pursue a dream a couple of months ago. I'm actually dissappointed in myself that I didn't give him the gratitude to post this update sooner.

This amazing young man named Jordan Q Widiker has inspired me to follow any dream I have with unwavering dedication. What most people would consider a childhood fantasy Jordan has pursued with grace and courage. For the majority of my life I have sought to have the motivation to dedicate myself to anything as much as Jordan dedicates himself to his art. Although he is just a novice, his love and pursuit of his dreams makes his work so beautiful it regularly almost brings me to tears.

Jordan had to move away in order to pursue his dream. I must admit the selfish side of me wishes he were still here. He was and remains to be a great friend and a great roommate. We had our arguments but the best of friends always do, and when their friendship perserveres they are the stronger for it. No matter what happens on our journey's I will always consider Jordan family. Miss you man.

His departure was an emotional one. We were so proud but also sad.

(Jordan coming back inside to say farewell to us, he said he had to gather himself before he looked at us or he would start crying lol)

(Jordan clearing, his eyes, his heart, and his mind and preparing for the drive back to Wisconsin)

Jordan this update is dedicated to you. We're all proud of you and we love you man.

The slackinest slacker is me

2010-11-03T13:27:00.000-07:00

Been a while..... again. I would say quality over quantity but there's none of that here. I should have a decent sized update, about video games, this weekend.

In the mean time I've just watched a couple of episodes of Poke'mon Best Wishes, which is the latest season of Poke'mon. It's so well directed in comparison to the Poke'mon of my day. The battle scenes are actually pretty cool and they tie everything into the latest game (Poke'mon black and white). I'll always be a huge fan of the OG Poke'mon and not so much of the newest generation but I have to say the show isn't half bad even after all this time.

P.S. it's weird hearing the Japanese names for the charactors. Satoshi-Ash, Kasumi-Misty, Takeshi- Brock, Musashi and Kojiro- Jesse and James.

NERD

2010-08-16T16:26:00.000-07:00

You know this might just be the first MMO that I ever play.

Star Wars: The Old Republic from Linus Juhlin on Vimeo.

I tend to hate MMORPG's or massive online based gameplay in general. I don't like the idea of others having an effect on the way I play a game, but I love the world BioWare and Drew Karpyshyn have created in their Old Republic games and books. I don't think I've disliked a Bioware Star Wars game to date so I might have to invest in building a better comp. and actually get this game.

Nothing good to post

2010-08-15T09:02:00.000-07:00

Went to battle for the south for in New Orleans for the Smash bros. tournament, all of my pictures came out like crap.

Went to Smash Burger again, and forgot my camera, again. In all reality the place isn't as good as In N' Out so whatever.

I did install SPL traction rods on my Z though. I bent the stock one doing something dumb.

Here are the boring pictures:

I think I need new tires.

This design pissed me off. I had to get vice grips and bend that flap that the rod is behind just to get it out.

Installed.

It was pretty easy to do. Only difficult part was bashing my knuckles against the ground trying to loosen the bolts, and the fact that it was about 90 something degrees and humid. I was drenched in sweat by the time I was done. The car seems like it handles a lot better. Easier to tell what the rear end is doing without those rubber bushings, and I don't get any more bump steer from the rear end. Driving with the seat in is pretty crazy too. I'm so used to moving around when going around corners that I still try to brace myself somehow and halfway through the corner I realize I can just relax and worry about steering the car. Now I just want SPL Toe arms and to replace my Megan camber arms with SPL ones, also I need tires. BAD.

I messed up

2010-08-01T18:02:00.001-07:00

I was supposed to have an update about this past weekend and our marvelous dinner at Smash burger, which is this new fancy burger joint in town, but I forgot my camera like a noob. Soooo next time I go I'll snap some pics. This upcoming weekend is a Smash Bros. tournament in NOLA and we'll be making a trip down there to see what we can do and perhaps have a bit of fun in the city. Tune in next time.

This guy....

2010-07-31T15:00:00.001-07:00

IS BACK!!!

Call me a hipster as long as you're a listener

2010-07-24T08:20:00.000-07:00

Finally put my seat in. Had this think for like four or five months, I've just had much too much going on, bills you know. But anyway here are the pics.

Yeah buddy club rails suck. The sliders for adjustment don't like moving. We had the same problem with Joe's rails. I magically got them in and in a comfortable position but it took two days and buckets of sweat lol. Wish I would have gone with some Bride rails or Nagisa rails.

Oh and I finally fixed the broken stud on my spacer from 2009 LSB lol. That was October of last year! In the process I bent my right rear radius rod, but I'll just use this as an excuse to finally get a pair of SPL rear traction links. Until then my toe for that wheel is probably going to be way off. Or who knows it might have fixed it.....

I come in peace

2010-07-18T14:44:00.000-07:00

Went and hung out with Ramzy, Ahmad, and Ramzy's gf Lauren. Ate some sushi, smoked some hooka. Didn't get pics of that...... just now realized I should have. Anyway, I also checked out his S14. It's pretty clean. Needs a bit of work but I'm sure it'll get done.

Oh I also went by Pat's house with Ahmad, it was good seeing friends I haven't hung out with in a while.

Yup..

And oh yeah. A central cooling air inlet filter is not supposed to ever look like this.

Another weekend

2010-07-11T17:46:00.000-07:00

It was just another weekend of hanging out with the guys and battling with well trained Pokemon. Not very eventful. When I actually reflect on it, it doesn't sound like a very exciting weekend, but I had time to relax and that's all that matters.

I'm always taking pictures of other people. When will people take pics of me??

Do you want to be the very best?!

2010-07-03T08:51:00.001-07:00

Like no one ever was?!?!

Step up to the challenge if you think you can beat the Bossier City Gym leaders.......

I've been L.A.Z.Y

2010-07-03T08:38:00.000-07:00

Yeah this stuff is old but I'm posting it anyway. I've just been crazy lazy as far as this blog thing is concerned.

Crawfish season has come and gone and I had to get a little taste before the time was up.

This is how you do it!!

P.S. Eggroll express (aka Hannah Asia) has some of the biggest crawfish ever, and they actually didn't taste half bad.

OMGEEEE!!!

2010-07-03T00:43:00.000-07:00

That's all for now. Tune in again!!!

My mind

2010-05-23T07:15:00.001-07:00

Don't you hate when you think up amazing blog posts and when you finally get time to post them you totally forget what they were?

Yeah. That's what this guy did.

Affection

2010-04-12T16:32:00.000-07:00

From now on I will probably update this blog with pondering that I have on a daily basis. It's extremely difficult to have civil conversations with people without someone taking offense and it turning into an argument so I guess my only outlet is this blog.

Recently I had a conversation with friends about public display of affection, or public cupcaking as I like to call it. Keep in mind this is not only referring to being around complete strangers but even around close friends.

It was argued that affection isn't needed in order to let your significant other know that you care for them, and certainly not public affection. Of course I agree to a point. I agree that it isn't needed at all times and is not the only means of showing care for someone.

My issue is this. Public display of affection is looked down upon as if it's wrong, as if it shouldn't be accepted in society. Everyone has their own ways of how they go about their own relationship but I see absolutely nothing wrong with showing affection towards someone you genuinely care about whether others are around or not. Of course there are certain actions that are appropriate and some that are not but if you use common sense you will know what those actions are.

I see absolutely no reason to be embarrassed about loving someone just because someone else is around. The only person you have to impress is the person you are with.

Keep it simple and keep it clean.

Music

2010-04-12T15:54:00.001-07:00

So it's been a good four or more months since I've touched this thing. Oh well. We'll see where the future takes this oh so unpopular blog of mine.

Found some acoustic versions of some of my favorite the Fray songs. I thought I would share.

Enjoy

First fashion log

2009-11-22T18:03:00.000-08:00

Ok my camera sucks.... or I just suck at using it, but anyway the pictures didn't turn out great but you get the idea. Went shopping with Joe and Jordan last weekend and got some pretty classy things. Of course I'm not satisfied so I want to go shopping more. Stupid cars....

'Round these parts

2009-10-22T12:24:00.000-07:00

Lonestarbash @ Mineral Wells, TX 2009. By Fabricated Motorsports. from aaron losey on Vimeo.

Been there. Done that. Didn't do as well as I wanted but it should just give me more motivation to set my cars up properly and get out there more often. I'm tired of this only going to events every 6 months crap. I want to be a regular. I want to be a regular tandem partaker (yes that's a word). That is my goal. To attend events monthly and if not monthly every other month at least.

Too bad the holiday season is coming up. Now I have to save money for people instead of cars lol.

Fashion...... wait, what?

2009-09-21T23:13:00.000-07:00

I know some of you might be like wtf, Snoddy has style? Popular to contrary belief..... wait.... whatever. Yes I really do have a side that enjoys nice clothes, I also can appreciate the art that is involved in the Fashion industry.

I've been craving new clothes recently, and with my recent move I might actually be able to afford it.... if my cars don't get in the way before I have a chance. I've been wanting new jeans, new sneakers, button downs etc, but I've also had this idea in the back of my head. The idea is, I need to step my game up in the classyness department. I'm talking black and white, stuff I can wear to a funeral and have the girlies look at me like "damn! that guy has style." I'm talking classyness like step out of your car down town and people think you're going to a ball (except for me I won't have a fly honey on my arm [sad face]).

Seriously though. Nice black slacks, a few blazers, a clean ironed button down, maybe a few sweaters (argyle is dope), have to have the dress shoes on lock. I know I'm getting in way over my head as far as money is concerned, but I work for money, and I want money to buy the things I want, it's useless otherwise.

So here's this blog. This girl is a prodigy, 13yr old fashion legend. When I have kids I hope my kids can be as cool as her. I mean come on, she thinks "Where the wild things live" is cool, how can you ask for more from a kid? I wonder if she thinks "Cloudy with a chance of meatballs" or "Stone soup" is cool?

http://tavi-thenewgirlintown.blogspot.com/

P.S. I got some parts for my cars that I'll throw on tommorow. Hopefully I'll get pics, if I'm not lazy.

Hide and Seek

2009-09-16T08:53:00.000-07:00

Been a while..... again. Not like anyone pays attention to this thing anyway.

I moved into a house..... with John. So I'll be getting BAH and BAS soon. Having spending money will be so nice!

Also.

I'll be attending this.

Taking the Z out. Already have spares.

And of course the typical "I miss home" complaint video.

Calvin @ Thunder Drift from iPhilms on Vimeo.

Cookies

2009-08-15T17:36:00.001-07:00

Gabbies Bday. Feasted at Goldenland and stopped by the theatres to check out Ponyo. Movie was amazing. Attention to detail in the sound effects, choice of music, and character design were all unique and refreshing. The six dollars I dropped on that was worth more than the six bucks I dropped on Transformers 2.

The longest differential install ever

2009-07-26T13:28:00.000-07:00

So I figured I'd take care of the pesky open diff problem in my FC. I can't say it was a mistake because it does it's job, but it was by far the hardest and most frustrating thing I have ever done that involved a car.

There was plenty of sweat, blood, cursing, throwing (John), forcing, and wasted time. All in all it took from around 1130AM to 4AM to get the diff out, welded, and installed with fresh fluid. It does what I intended though so I cant complain too much.

I hate working on cars, and the only reason I do it is for the end result of a better setup. I lose motivation a lot of times. Last night while driving home I felt fruitless and blank, can't even say I was happy that I finished. I just wanted to get home and get clean and go to bed. But when I think about what I'm doing all of this for I get reinvigorated. Inspiration is key I guess.

I'm getting more and more anxious to do stuff like this.

Give It Up For Drift from MeZ Productions on Vimeo.

Saturday

2009-07-11T22:34:00.000-07:00

I helped Ahmad drop in his SR. I dont feel like working on another car for at least a couple of months. That is all.

Let me ride

2009-07-09T20:05:00.000-07:00

My life is pretty boring. But I just got promoted so yay. I'm hating summer time. It's hot and sticky and a heat index of over one hundred every day. I dont see why everyone gets so excited about it. If I were back home or some where where you could actually utilize the benefits of summer, or if I could get the summer off of work like the good ole days, things would be gravy. I have adult responsibilities now though...... yeah being an adult sucks lol.

Here are some pics I took of the FC yesterday. Shows how low it actually is. The other pictures didnt do it justice.

So any way I found this guys vimeo site. Pretty cool vids.

RX7 Drifting at Nikko - RunningLife - HashiriyaExports.com from Luke Huxham on Vimeo.

Touge Life - RunningLife - HashiriyaExports.com from Luke Huxham on Vimeo.

Ebisu Circuit: Spring Matsuri Part I - The Drift from Luke Huxham on Vimeo.

I'm adding his blog to my links over on the right. Check it out when you get the chance. Pretty cool stuff.

Kellogs

2009-07-04T18:01:00.000-07:00

So Ahmad is finally doing work on swapping everything to a fresh(er) chassis, so I took a visit to his house. Not much helping went on but I lowered the FC more. Ahmad got his rear suspension pretty much done but his subframe risers did their job and corrected suspension geometry, now he has to lower it more. Pat had to swap diffs because his 2way was falling apart apparently lol. Well anyway here's pics.

Late night rendevous

2009-06-28T16:19:00.000-07:00

So Jordan and I started this weekend out in the hot and humid Louisiana sun, flipping our tires. The design of Jordans wheels are lame and gave us a bit of trouble, but after some assistance we developed the proper technique to get them on. Luckily we didnt need any extreme methods to inflate the tires even though I have a 235/40 on a 10.5j and Jordan has a 225/45 on a 10j. It worked out for the best because I didnt want to have to hastle with the flame technique lol.

When I took my passenger side rear wheel off I was surprised to find this:

Yes. A birds nest in/on the stock spring perch. I kind of feel bad because I know it's probably been there for a while and if I went gripping around with the little baby birds in there...... oh man lol. I was contemplating leaving it in there for the next bird who wants to inhabit it but decided against it in the end, against Jordans wished of course haha.

So later that night we went on a little photoshoot. It's a refreshing change of our normal weekend schedule which is nice, but the mosquitos were out in force and it was like 93 degrees and REALLY humid at 12 at night. My photos are getting better and I'm starting to get a better understanding of the settings and lighting, but I have a long long long way to go.

Well without further ado.

old pics, needed update

2009-06-27T11:19:00.000-07:00

So life has been...... life, lately. Being moved to the main side AGE shop has'nt been all that great so far, but we'll be moving down to the reserves and be apart of another squadron starting July 7th. I'm guessing things will be much better there, there will be no weekend duty, no deployments or TDY's, and we will rarely participate in our old squadrons "activities". This means more time off for me, which of course is a wonderful thing.

On that note I'll post some pictures of the squadron picnic from last month. Good times.

TEEHEE

2009-06-25T20:07:00.001-07:00

Secret Drift Private Day from MeZ Productions on Vimeo.

Looks like those Aussies know how to throw one hell of a drift event.

gimme dat

2009-06-24T06:55:00.000-07:00

Tried to take some night shots last night. But obviously I fail. I need way more practice. Despite this, due to popular request I'll post pics of the new (old) car.

DTSS eliminators. Now I just need a welded, a roll bar, and my new shifter bushings and I'm done for this year lol

Snap crackle pop

2009-06-10T16:13:00.000-07:00

Hopefully this wonderous sound, and the amazing feeling of heat warming my bottom, and my ear drums being destroyed will be mine (again) this weekend.

CJ and Brandon from Joseph Lamoureux on Vimeo.

Decisions

2009-06-09T15:31:00.000-07:00

So a dilema has appeared and I need opinions on how I should go about this.

There is a new guy in my shop, new guy has a truck, new guy would rather have a 350Z.

I'm in my shop, I have a 350Z, I want a truck..... and an FC.

New guy is paying 130 a month for an 05 chevy 1500 with 160k miles that he bought from his parents for 5500 dollars (they paid the truck off before they sold it to him).

I'm paying alot more than that for the loan on my Z that I've gotten down to about 16k which happens to have just broken 60k miles not too long ago. I've spent about 3k on my Z.

So here are my options:

option 1: Trade new guy for his truck, he takes over payments of my Z, I take over payments of his truck.

The positives: I pay 130 dollars a month plus insurance, pay off card much faster, get Fc much faster, have a tow vehicle for FC, have a daily I dont have the urge to buy parts for, have a daily I dont have the urge to slide around in, trailer the FC to events and not hate myself if it breaks or I hit something, and save money/go to Japan much faster, guy gets the car he wants.

Negatives:....... the truck has 160k miles and "ballin" rims (he says he has the stock rims with brand new tires I can have though).

Option 2: Keep my Z and get a truck later.

Positives: Keep my Z and get a truck later.

Negatives: Wait about a year or two to buy a brand new truck, be emo about not having an FC, try to get an FC over and over again and realize I dont make enough money to have both every single time, trailer z to events but never be satisfied because I dont have an FC. Z breaks and I'm emo because it's expensive to fix and I'm still making payments on it.

Option 3: Keep Z and get an FC in a few months

Positives: I have two bad ass cars that I'll have a blast driving, I could drive the FC to events and not have to worry about getting to work the next day because I have the Z and vice versa, have two bad ass cars that I'll love driving.

Negatives: Have to spend money on two bad ass expensive cars because I want too much and wouldnt be satisfied with either being left alone for very long, the chance of both cars being broken at the same time because I have the urge to slide both of them and love rev limiter, still not being able to go over big curbs and hesitating to attempt to get into drive ways.

Give me your thoughts and I give you my ears.

10x Janky

2009-06-08T19:19:00.000-07:00

What happens when Americans go drifting in China (edit).

World Drift Series China 2008 from Larry Chen on Vimeo.

P.S. My blog is full of things stolen from other blogs. Such is the way of the internet.

Black face...

2009-06-04T18:40:00.000-07:00

I've always been curious about the Harajuku street scene and the Ganguro style. Joe implied that I think these chicks are hott...... maybe some of them are alright but the fake tan is horrible lol. The Himegyaru (or Ginza-girl) style is much more attractive besides the poofy ass hair lol. Their tans arent as dark, the make up isnt as extreme, and their hair is more of a brown. But not like I could afford to buy anybody the stuff they wear anyway haha.

Here's a link to a good source. http://teamsugar.com/group/1053666/blog/1071530

Maybe I'll take a walk down Harajuku when I go and visit Brian.

The best fighting game ever made

2009-06-02T15:57:00.000-07:00

Super Smash Brothers Brawl

And the biggest bad asses in said game. Cant wait until the tournament this weekend.

Oh boy! do I love me some R32

2009-06-01T19:49:00.000-07:00

Oh man!

2009-05-31T19:06:00.000-07:00

Seen this like a year ago and it's still pretty cool.

Stupid decisions

2009-05-30T22:42:00.000-07:00

Ran great and was freaking quick!! I was so dumb for getting rid of it. All it needed was a little love and I dropped it like a diseased baby.

FC's have such a nostalgic interior too.(sad face)

I blame it all on Louisiana....

Seat time at the track

2009-05-28T18:17:00.000-07:00

I need it. BAD.

Fiending for another FC if you cant tell. I have plenty of time to decide what I really want though. I dont plan on getting anything until I get back from Japan. By that time I'll be getting paid twice the amount I am now so it wont be all that difficult, just cant go willy-nilly with money.

Bed time post

2009-05-27T20:06:00.000-07:00

It's been a while because I've been lazy.

Why do I love the sound of rotary so much?

The best friend a man could have

2009-05-09T01:00:00.000-07:00

Alright so I just watched Marley and Me. What an amazing/classic tale of man and the best friend he could ever have.

I cryed, I admit it. We all did.... except Gabby. She doesnt have a soul.

p.s. Also apparently I cant have a passenger that weighs over 140lbs or else I scrape on EVERYTHING and the back of my car slams the ground if I shift hard.... who knew? (shrug)

Cloudy with a chance of meatballs?!?!?!

2009-05-03T18:51:00.000-07:00

My Ollie skills are still lacking. But at least Joe is getting better and landing tricks.

p.s They are making a movie of one of my favorite books of all time, CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF MEATBALLS! The world is such a beautiful place.

No place like home, no place like any where else

2009-05-03T01:18:00.000-07:00

I got back from Minot last wednesday at around 11 p.m.. It's sad but I actually expected more. Absolutely nothing there, barren wasteland. Everyone was saying it would be warm up there when I went, and they lied. It snowed three of the days I was up there lol.

Anyway, I decided to get back into skate boarding. Got free trucks from Jeremy (little Jared) since he snapped his board in half. Then went to Epik skate shop and got a Alien moonpop board, new blank wheels, bearings, and hardware. The dudes (and chick) at the shop were really cool and understanding about me getting back into it after three years. Went out tonight with Jordan(bike), Justin(bike), Joe(got a brand new board setup when we went), Pat(got a wal-mart tony hawk board), Gabby(watched), and Miyuki(watched) to the skate park. It was so fun, even though I couldnt fully utilize the park since it was a street layout and I'm used to bowls and vert and never really learned to ollie lol. I'm learning though.

Sorry for the lack of pics, I'll post some when we go back out tommorow. Here's some 10.DEEP videos instead though.

10DEEP Introduces Jamal Smith from 10.DEEP Skateboarding on Vimeo.

caNUCK IF YOU BUCK from 10.DEEP Skateboarding on Vimeo.

10.DEEP WINTER PROMO from 10.DEEP Skateboarding on Vimeo.

Prepare for take off

2009-04-21T19:47:00.000-07:00

So I depart on my journey to Minot North Dakota in the morning. Have to be there at 0330....... yes that sounds disgusting. I'll try to be safe and have fun. "See" you all when I get back! And with that I'll leave you with a little something something.

Midwest PAAAAAMPS from Tim Tulov on Vimeo.

Sleepy head

2009-04-19T14:19:00.000-07:00

All Star Bash V from Will Roegge on Vimeo.