Subs Prime Crisis

I'm not talking about the crisis besetting the U.S.A. which is expected to ripple down to our country but the caprice crisis that I'm currently facing - what subwoofer to get for the CIV?

SUBS WHAT?!?!
A subs is not a sandwich with all the healthy stuff. A subs is not a shortcut for a subscriber or a submarine. It's a shortcut for a speaker called subwoofer whose main job is to deliver the bass. In pinoy lingo, bayo.

SO ANO NGA?
I have four choices in mind varying in price, dimension, RMS and brand name. First is an RF PUNCH P2 12in + enclosure. Ths can be purchased in G-Force, Raon, Manila for p4,6k. Second is a Blaupunkt 1002t at C34x4.com that sells for p4,5k. Third on the list is a RF PUNCH P2 loaded enclosure at Mickey's Autosound that sells for p8,7k. Last on the list is a Kicker Comp TC 10 that sells for P6,7k also at Mickey's.

PROs and CONs
1- RF PUNCH P2 12in + enclosure
PRO
cheap
will deliver d punch
CON
looks cheap
a bit big hence will eat trunk space.

2- Blaupunkt 1002t
PRO
old school name brand
relatively cheap
CON
low RMS
not knwn to make good subs

3- RF PUNCH P2 loaded enclosure
PRO
It's an RF PUNCH, nid I say more
Do i hv to justify Jordan's performance in the NBA?
CON
quite expensive (for the price i can get a subs and an amp)
real big

4- Kicker Comp TC 10
PRO
ultra slim (perfect size)
Kicker brand known for quality subs
CON
low RMS
a bit expensive.

Thought I'd have a clearer picture after I write down my options but as it turns out, I am now more confused. I better consult the experts.

Cong Fred

I was in my early teens when I met Cong Fred. His family name escapes my mind right now but that's not important at this point. He was a mechanic by profession and at one point in his life, worked for my father reason why he is part of my life. WAS is the right term becasue he's probably enjoying his retirement. We used to have Deutz farm tractors and Cong Fred took care of them.

Sometime in the late 90s, while in the process of selling our 89 Mitsubishi Lancer, the buyer wanted a mechanic to check the family car. I had the right mechanic in mind - Cong Fred! The buyer who happens to be my high school teacher was convinced by a third party (that's Cong Fred) that the car was in good condition. Car sold, end of story. Gave our trusty mechanic a tip of p100 then.

Last Mar 21 along M.H. Del Pilar St. in Tarlac City, I chanced upon Cong Fred. Now all of 69 years old, silver gray hair and sporting a beer belly, I stopped and spoke to him for while. I asked him if he remembered me and I said I was DyLac, the son of BoyLac. I introduced him to my wife and told him he was the daughter of E.D.M. Tarlac is a small town and everybody knows almost everybody.

Just before we said our goodbyes, I gave him P100. T'was just a little something for somebody who was part of my life no matter small. He'd probably use that to pay for his beer for the night. Enjoy life, Cong Fred.

Sound Check

Phase one of my project CIV SOUND UPGRADE was completed last Feb 21. The process took 1 whole day which started at 1030am and ended just before 600pm. A big bonus was meeting the man behind Quest Audio Mr. Marky Ngo who was a fellow Lasallite. Lunch was on him - thanks Marky!

Phase one includes head unit and separates or component speakers. I had my eyes (and budget) set on Pioneer 5050 but there was no stock so fate brought me to a no regret-u pay what u get-souped up Pioneer 6050. It has 3 RCA input (front speaker + rear speaker + subs), 7 band graphic equalizer, USB capable, Ipod ready, etc. For the seps, it was old school JBL 6507c series for me. The package includes 6 in component speakers, 1 in tweeters and pretty crossovers.

Phase two includes amplifiers and subwoofer upgrade. It will only happen after I sell my existing set up - Pioneer head unit & equalizers, Alpine amps and Ryan Audio subs. The plan is to get a JBL 4 channel amps to power the fronts seps and the subs. Looks like my budget will limit me to JBL amps. Now the decision tree is either to get (a) JBL 10in subs wt JBL CS1004T bazooka type loaded enclosure or slightly expensive (b) Rockford Fosgate Punch P1-1x10 10in subs with loaded enclosure. The former is more stylish and compact but the latter is better known for quality sounds. So it's choice between porma and quality.

The long term plan is to pull out the sound system from the 7G CIV if we decide to sell it in 2012 and transfer the whole set up to the 3G VEE. But that's a long way to go so it will serve as my de-stresser for the next 3 years while I traverse the stressful Edsa 3 days a week.

My Holiday Adventure

E.D. Manalang Car Care has been a family fixture since I learned to drive. Everytime our car needs fixing, my father would send me to their shop in San Nicolas Tarlac City. And during these visits to the car shop, I would observe the dirty mechanics do their job, envy them and would like to be dirty myself.

Last December, I had the opportunity to do that when the shop owner went on a well deserved leave and temporarily assigned me as the caretaker. I actually volunteered for the job as I've always dreamed of having my own car shop being a self proclaimed car junkie. It was a dream come true or at least for two days.

I hope to have more of those real life dreams in the future even for a short while as the owner the car shop is my brother-in-law.

Photo My Firsts

In February, I joined Smart Photo Club since it was a pre-requisite for me to join the Mount Pinatubo adventure trip. Not that I didn’t want to join the club but I had reservations on the club requirements which I may not be able to fulfill because of my new job responsibility which started only January 2009. Anyway, I really wanted to see Pinatubo so that paved the way for me to be part of the club.

My First Photo Contest
One of the requirements of the photo club was to join a monthly photo contest. A monthly theme was set and for the month of February, the theme was “In the eyes of a worm.” The basic idea was to take pictures from the lowest point on the ground. One of my fave angles is called upskirt and it is somewhat similar to the requirement for the month in fact I had a database of pictures that may fill in the requirement. I submitted my entries before the February week 3 Mount Pinatubo climb.

My First First Place win
And the first place goes to…DyLac! I got a text from the club prexy saying that I won First Place. I didn’t expect it as I submitted an entry because of the requirement and not because I wanted to win. The winning shot was taken in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia during our family trip in April 2008. The subject was, you guessed it – Petronas Twin Towers! Though it was not the typical Petronas shot and looking at the picture, you may not have guessed that the subject was the tallest twin tower in the world. I took the picture around 9:00PM freehand (without a tripod) almost lying down.

Aside from the bragging rights, the win came with a Starbucks Gift Certificate and an inspiration to join the monthly contest and gun for the win.

What's in your Plate?

I recently discovered an interesting service by the government agency Land Transportation Office. They have a slew of text based information from checking driver’s license to license plates. What caught my attention was LTO VEHICLE plate number check. I've always been fascinated by plate numbers and what they represent to the owner. I'd go for personalized plates if we had the budget but for now a representation of a family member's birth date would suffice.

What You See
The text format is LTO VEHICLE Plate Letter and Plate Number then send to 2600 e.g. LTO VEHICLE TJF149. The output will be like this: Plate no: TJF149/ Make: Mitsubishi/ Model: Galant/ Year: 1993/ Color: gray/ Registered last 09/22/2008,has no LTO apprehension, has no LTO alarm. P2.50/text. For LTO Online transactions, log on to: https://go.lto.net.ph. X01

Interesting Finds
Among the interesting finds include ONE234 registered to a 2001 BMW 316i sports sedan, HMR777 registered to a 1996 HUMMER mighty SUV(I think I saw this vehicle already before somewhere in Angeles City, Pampanga) and BMW320 registered to a 1991 BMW 320i which is actually a giveaway.

Now here’s the clincher, I checked the plate which bears my initials and my birthday and it’s already registered to a 1997 Owner Type Jeep color red. So much for class.

1000 Steps to Mount Pinatubo

Things to bring:

(1) Digital Camera - CHECK
(2) Sun Block - CHECK
(3) Running Shoes - CHECK
(4) Mineral Water - CHECK
(5) Pedometer - CHECK

February 21, 2009 marks a special day for the 28 members of the Smart Photo Club and Smart Mountaineering Club. After more than a month of planning, we were finally off to conquer Mount Pinatubo.

ETD Makati
Our day started early with a 230AM call time at Smart Tower. The adventurers rented 3vans to shuttle us from Smart Tower Makati to Capas Tarlac and vice versa. We arrived in Capas, Tarlac at 500AM then we had breakfast at Chowking. We were the Buena Mano of Chinese Fastfood restaurant.

Sta Juliana
The four wheel drive forums say there's scarcity of 1st generation Toyota Land Cruiser in the Philippines. Guess what - most of them are in Sta Juliana, Capas, Tarlac ferrying tourists to the jump off point. The group used 6 old school SUVs to bring us within walking distance from the volcano. The one hour dusty and jumpy ride passed through 2 feet deep rivers, quick sand type lahar and an almost 45 degree hill climb. A standard 4x4 would have a tough time with the terrain reason why they use modified rigs.

Keep Walking
And now the punishing walk starts or the adventure begins, depending on how you view it. At this point, some of us fotogs have taken at least a dozen pitures already and we've barely started. Travelling light under this circumstance is a basic requirement however as photo buffs, we can leave behind everything EXCEPT our cameras and equipment. The usual 40 minute walk at normal pace took more than an hour because pictures were taken every 10 meters. The scene filled walk brought us through boulders the size of a jeep, a 60 feet high lahar and C2 streams (cool and clear).

Lo and Behold
In 1991, this long dormant volcano wreaked havoc, claimed lives and brought significant property damage. Fast forward to 2009, it is now making up by sharing its natural beauty. The sight of the lake will give you goosebumps and every individual who experiences its natural wonder is truly blessed. In an informal survey, only 2 out of 10 Filipinos have seen Mount Pinatubo. The 5 square kilometer blue green lake inside the volcano is picturesque. No matter how you shoot it, it will come out beautiful. The cool lake water was so tempting that some of the group members had to take a dip in the nature made pool. We stayed inside the volcano crater for 3 hours and around 200PM, we started our trek back to the jump off point. My trusty pedometer logged 1000 steps from the jump off point to the lake and that's equivalent to about 1.3 kilometers.

After walking 1000 steps to the crater, 300 kilometers logged by the vehicles and 17 hours of fun filled adventure, the group reached Smart Tower Makati at 700PM. It was an exhausting day but the adventure was worth it. Conquered Mount Pinatubo - CHECK!