I won't be....

There are alot of things going on lately, but I WON'T be doing these:

- Sipping a nice cold beverage on the sandy beaches of Hawaii
- Buying a mini-van
- Playing Diablo 3
- Making a full-sized Lego car. (but, another day.. maybe)
- Using Tobasco sauce as a contact solution cleaner
- Getting poo on my fingers after a Charmin blow-out
- Getting my new rims (ones I've been waiting for 6 months now)
- Climbing up the Himalayan mountains backwards.
- Training a music box playing monkey to work a corner.
- Getting the Skyline finished for the race
- Putting an incandescent light bulb in the microwave to see what happens
- Breeding Lina's poo-eating goldfish to make me millions
- Saving money
- Shaking a persons hand when they enter the elevator
- Working

Lina's first blog.

I love earings. I started wearing them a few weeks ago. My ears were pierced since I was a child. I'm amazed that the hole didn't close up on me.

My birthday is coming up.
~Lina

Golden Gardens Nissan Meet

This weekend Lina, Lili, and I went drove down to Seattle for a car show. It's the 2006 Golden Gardens Nissan Meet. We went down in a convoy of Skylines, 240's, and Z's. Held up traffic on a good stretch of the I-5. Funny seeing people get boxed in with us. We definitely got alot of attention. Our Skylines were a definite hit down in the states.

It was a chance to debut my Skyline in her new color. Great opportunity to finally put some faces to names I regularly chat online. Met alot of them (some I would simply just prefer the online experience. hehe.)

Still it was alot of fun. Great weather. Sunny by the beach.

Soon I realized the motives for Lina and Lili joining me on this little 3 hour trek.... SHOPPING!! (sheesh.. and I thought it was my company!)

You can find more pictures here.

Past Projects: car Grill "R" Logo

I needed a little something something to fill a big gaping hole that is my grill on the Skyline. Couldn't really use "GTR" cause the car really isn't one. (I'm not a poser) So, I just made a simple "R" that's short for R32 which is what I have. Ironically, after this project is complete, it'll be more of a GTR than anything else... even more than a stock GTR!

This was a simple and short project. (I'm posting this one up for Mabel!!)

1) Sketched out and carved the "R" onto a small piece of wood. (I used plywood here. Doesn't really matter what kind. Less porous the better. I could've easily used Sculpey to do the job) In your case, Mabel, just use the Pinky part! Whatever you want to cast.

2) Put the "R" into a small box. If the object you want to make a mold for is irregular, you may need to do 'halves'. Use plasticine for that. Just follow the factory seam line. If it's good for them, it's good for you. Don't forget the keys!!

3) Coat "R" with a releasing agent. I used a special wax specifically for resins.

4) What I used to make the molds is a 2 part Pour-a-Mold rubber compound. (Industrial Plastics and Paint). Good stuff! And they have different 'rubbery-strengths' for different apps. Softer for more deep undercuts, harder for more detail. You simply mix 50% of A into 50% of B in a small cup. Stir thoroughly! But, don't mix it so fast that the stir stick creates tiny bubbles!

5) Pour mixed solution into box. Wait.

6) When dry(I waited for 24hrs), carefully peel the mold off.

7) Coat some wax into the walls of the mold.

8) the fiberglass resin mix. The ratios are different between products! Some are like 50parts resin to 1 DROP of mekp(hardener)! Just read the instructions. And don't do it indoors!! yucky.

9) When dry, again carefully peel the cast out! Now, you should have an exact copy of the "R"!

10) Sand and paint

You can find the step-by-step pictures here.

Project: Mini-Z drift tires

We've been playing with these little R/C cars for a few weeks now. Even setup a nice track here at work! About 6 of us race regularly. But, I've started to favor a different kind of racing. Drifting! It's alot of fun on such a small scale. ALOT cheaper too when things go bad. Replacing parts are alot easier than their real counterparts. Heck, sometimes we'd just scratch build a new custom part. Couldn't do that with a real car.(well... you could. It just wouldn't be safe!)

Drifting is technically not a 'race'. Focusing and judging not on speed rather the performance. It's how you drive "sideways" into a corner. When performed right, it's simply the coolest thing on four wheels.

Now, I'm doing it on a 1/28 scale.

You can find the step-by-step here.

Past Projects: Chicken Lord

This little guy was spawned out of frustration really. I was surrounded, at work, by a bunch of guys that were into a game called Warhammer. Pretty nerdy game. The game pieces are small miniature scupltures of little army creatures. The guys would talk Warhammer ALL DAY LONG. Then I'd poke fun and say I was gonna raise an army of chickens and beat them all! That would've put them in their place! So, I went home that night and started sculpting. With a (really) small chunk of Sculpey and some wire, whipped up the little chicken.

Well, I never did get to make that army. But, then again.. I was moved out of the room. Just as well.

This little sculpture was then given to a friend as a gift. Thought it was quite appropriate. It was the year of the chicken and he was going to 'cross' the (big watery) 'street' to get to the other side (for work).

Who's the nerd now!?!

You can find the step-by-step here.

Past Projects: Valentine Diffusor

I'm not really into these sort of things. In fact, I don't like any kind of oder other than neutral. But, Lina does. Didn't have any idea for a Valentine's gift one year. So, I decided to make something rather than buy. A Valentine Diffusor. Or one of those aromatherapy thing-a-ma-bobs that spew out smelly smoke when you put a fire under it. hehe, I like fire.

It was the day before Valentine, I was pretty desperate. One quick trip to the hardware store and the local craft store for bits. While Lina was away, I quickly assembled and painted the entire unit. The outcome was well recieved.

You can find the step-by-step here.

Past Projects: Wooden Lock

Thought this was a funny idea. A lock made of wood. (6 different kinds of hardwoods to be exact. Mahogany, Oak, Teak, PurpleHeart, Hickory, and Pine) It was made as a Christmas gift for the family. It's got the family seal on the front. And yes, it does work. The key does turn inside, making the internal mechanisms open the locking shaft. AND IT'S ALL WOOD. I was so tempted to 'cheat' at one point and use metal or plastic for the spring... but was determined to find the proper wood for the spring. Hickory was the one!!! Soft enough to flex but not brittle enough to break. It was so much fun making this, I made 5 more. The last one, that is STILL unfinished, is the most ambitious... the combination lock! I maybe able to finish it for this Christmas... maybe.

You can see the step-by-step here:

Lina!

I gave Lina a tattoo today. Well.. sort of. I gave her a bruise with my finger last week... so she claims. Then I drew a face on the bruise. hehe

Project: "Cindy" (Skyline R32)

Here's the car that rules my life right now. It's a lifelong dream of mine of owning, modifying, then RACING my very own supercar. This may very well be the year this Skyline hits the track. It may or may not make it before the engine swap. An RB26DETT (aka Godzilla) will be replacing my RB20DET. (read: bigger!!) Two new turbos will be accompanying the rebuild along a host of miscellaneous engine goodies.

Baby, I'm Livin' it up!!!! YAY!!!!!

I KNOW my life is as interesting as a fencepost.


So, I'll ask you for feedback/comments/suggestions. What do I need to put on here? What do you want to see? What do you want to know?

bring it.

My first post

Is that the most generic title for a post.... eva?!?
Just testing this anyways.

So now our lives will be immortalized.....