Author: Jay Lagare

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Dencio’s, Metrowalk

The other day, my former colleagues and I had our traditional Christmas get together. We decided to do it at Dencio’s in Metrowalk instead of at Congo Grill at El Pueblo where we usually go. We should have known better.

As usual in big gatherings, people took their time and trickled in gradually. While waiting for them, one of the staff approached me and asked how many we are in the group. I told her the number. She asked what time they are coming. I told her soon. She said they don’t reserve on fridays. I told her we’ve already ordered their food. I don’t know what the problem was. Whether it’s one person or twenty, if I order food for twenty people, I deserve space for twenty people. Good thing she didn’t push the issue and the bulk of the group arrived soon after.

Then while we were eating, some of the waiters were removing plates without asking. And this is when we still had pending orders which are taking too long. Maybe they didn’t know there are still pending orders. But that’s not even an excuse. At the least, they should ask if it is okay to remove the plates. What it seemed to me is that they were running out of plates because when we asked for replacement plates and utensils, they would take their time bringing the plates and sometimes bring only a spoon or a fork with it.

Throughout the ordeal, I didn’t feel welcome nor attended to. Granted it’s dinner time on a friday and it’s the Christmas season to boot. But they should have anticipated that. So it’s no excuse. Besides, this is not the first time I’ve experienced poor service in this specific branch. So maybe they really suck at the service department. I don’t know why I still went back. But I definitely won’t again.

Rating: 1/5

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Playing Mechanic

My car’s oil pressure warning light came up while I was driving along South Superhighway (SSH) last week. That’s a pretty distressing event so I had it checked right away. The diagnosis was leaking spark plug oil seals. I took a look at the oil seals myself and saw one that was obviously cracked and wrongly installed. It looked like something I could do since I’ve already seen mechanics opening the valve cover and doing stuff. In fact, one of them probably mis-installed and cracked the leaking spark plug oil seal in the first place. So I decided to take the Do-It-Yourself (DIY) route.

I did the rounds of the stores and grabbed a bunch of supplies and equipment: spark plug tool, screwdrivers, spark plug oil seals, liquid gasket, carb cleaner, and electronics cleaner. The plan is to remove the spark plugs, spray carb cleaner into the spark plug wells to clean the engine oil that leaked into the spark plug wells, spray electronics cleaner into the spark plug connectors, remove the valve cover, replace spark plug oil seals, reseal the valve cover, and finally put in new spark plugs.

First thing in the morning, I grabbed my supplies and equipment and got to work. I tried removing the spark plugs using my spanking new spark plug tool. They won’t budge!!! I was finally able to extract one after much straining and sweating. But the tool’s handle broke when I tried extracting another one. So it was down to just removing the valve cover, replacing the spark plug oil seals, and resealing the valve cover. These I did with no further incident.

Later, I went to a nearby gas station and asked the friendly neighborhood resident mechanic to extract the spark plugs, clean them with gasoline, clean the spark plug wells and connector with compressed air (instead of carb cleaner and electronics cleaner), and reinstall the spark plugs. All done in a few minutes. Experience definitely helps. A lot.

In the end, although I wasn’t exactly able to accomplish the plan myself, I was able to do half of it. And it was fun! :)

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Oversteer and Understeer

I’ve always wondered what oversteer and understeer was. My car geek friend Eric “Ayrton” tried to explain it to me: Oversteer is when the vehicle turns much more than was desired by the driver. Understeer is the exact opposite. But I couldn’t quite comprehend. I guess it requires experience. Last saturday, I had a front strut tower bar (STB) installed on the car. Doing this is supposed to improve responsiveness especially when taking corners by slightly increasing oversteer . I didn’t feel any difference. That is until yesterday when I took a turn and was a bit surprised when the car turned more than usual. Oversteer! And I guess everything else before that was understeer. Haha. Now I get it :P I quickly compensated and went on my merry way.

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Pi

Pi is about a psychotic mathematician (aren’t they all?) trying to develop a formula for making sense of and predicting the stock market. As he struggles against the problem, he is hindered by painful pyschotic attacks but which seems to lead him closer to the answer. As the solution comes within grasp, he realizes that it’s not just him who wants it.

Through great movie-making, Pi successfully draws you into the pyschotic world of the lead character for a pretty immersive move watching experience, i.e. you will almost feel psychotic too :)) As a bonus, it has a lot of interesting math information (some are inaccurate but still interesting nevertheless). Not for the casual viewer but if you’re a serious buff, it could be for you.

Rating: 3/5

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New Trackpoint Cap

Selene has a new trackpoint cap. And it came from a rather unexpected source. There’s this really old busted Thinkpad lying around. It’s been lying in a corner, wrapped in newspaper to absorb the acid from its leaking batteries, and gathering dust for around five years now. There were times when I considered throwing it away but for some reason I did not.

A few days ago, I took a look at Selene’s trackpoint cap and decided it needed replacement. Then, out of the blue, I remembered the old Thinkpad. I picked it up from its corner, peeled away the newspaper wrapping, and lifted open the lid. Lo and behold! An almost unused trackpoint cap! I swapped trackpoint caps and closed the lid, carefully re-wrapped it, and placed it back in its little corner. After all, who knows when it might be able to provide a usable part? I certainly didn’t.