Old School Beatle Job

Sifting thru my files, I saw this one I made back in 1999. This was done on a scrap/scratch paper. I believe the other side even has some printed text on it. I scanned this after drawing. (Doesn’t make sense then. I printed a copy. I draw the thing. Then I scanned it back). But now that I can no longer find the hard copy at least I got this scanned.

Getting Back To Charcoal

It’s been almost a year since I have drawn something. Last March and April, I gave two portraits to my 2 nieces. One, for cracking the top five or top ten in her class and the other, for graduating elementary. To say the least, I was not happy with my work but I wrapped it anyways and gave both.

Fast forward today, this time it’s my nephew’s (BOY I AM GETTING OLD) turning one year old tomorrow. I no longer can’t think of gift to give so I decided to pick up the charcoal one again and do one portrait. Besides, it’ll save me P1000 or so by just making a heart-felt, sentimentally made portrait.

Thus, after lunch earlier, around 2 PM, I started to work on this. At 7:30 pm, I got this thing done. Tomorrow, I got to run to ATC just to get a off-the-rack frame for this. The size would be around that of a legal bond paper.



(You know what? I’m sure this is just not me. While drawing or painting in the real-world, every time I make erroneous stroke, my mind tends to look for an UNDO button.)

I have decided to re-kindle my so-called craft. And so, aside from posting basketball stuff like KOBE’s Company, Sam Smith Gone Wild and Dead Online PBA Ending Game Plan, I have decided to do some real-time visual arts as well.

An Online Mafia Plan

Continuing the series of Long Sleepy Posts (sample here)…

This entry is planned to be trilogy. This is the second part of three. If I am pumped enough, I’ll finish and post the first part, titled “I was an Ending Kobrador in Highschool.”

And Part 3, “The PBA Betting Game”, to be published as soon as further infos are divulged. (Right now, Manila Bulletin has some details available.) My early views…Like, does it need to be thru SMS-ing? Me thinks, over the counter transaction is an option. And plus, interwebs is an optional place to wage a bet. More on this later…

Part 2: A Philippine Basketball Association Online Betting Game Plan Went Kaput Read more…

2 Way to Advertise A Product This Summer

Coasting along SLEX ---> SSHW, i came upon two ways to advertise and market a product during summah-time. (or anytime for that matter)

ONE: Nestea Campaign

Since last Thursday up until today, Nestea people/promodizers have given me a total of 8 FREE Nesteas. They are stationed right at the SLEX Tollway, Manila/Makati bound traffic. So after paying P100 or so for the toll fee, a consolation we got. Three different times, we were given 2, 2 and 4 bottles of (not chilled thoough) Lemon Green Tea. It says, it has extra cooling action. Just in time for the summer eh? The last set was four because, one filthy rich Expedition cruising guy felt it would make him a fucking cheapo if he'll go ahead and take a free 480 mL Nestea bottle. Well thank you for passing up. Now I got Nestea-ful refrigerator.

TWO: Alaxan FR Campaign

On the other hand, Alaxan does a campaign using the Media Truck. The rolling billboard that consumes liter and liter of diesel petro. It continuously rolls around town and producing even more CO. It circles around Metro, congesting traffic even more (this particular truck I saw was swerving left to right, right to left, non-stop. It might be part of the plan, to get noticed). Only in the Philippines: Legislators intelligently passed a law banning huge Billboards along highway. Billboards need to be few meters far from hi-way stretches. What to do with the ban on billboards? They brought the billboards in the middle of the street. Billboards on board a truck! This might be western thing, but in Metro Manila (and other Philippine Metropolitan Districts), it doesn't suit us. It doesn't suit me.

Who's doing the right advertising/marketing campain? Most definitely, NESTEA!

Then American Leather Seat It Is

And while I am at it pimping my ride, I also scored a Leather Seat Set. American leather, the saleslady told me. American it is then. Apparently, there is German leather. Much like “tuli”, leather has variety. German, American, French, etc.

It matched the color and gradient of the dashboard. Not all leather patterns are the same so a 100% match isn't guaranteed. Just like our skin y'know. The set is 3000 per. Could go as low as 2500 if you are a 'suki'. Well, I am. I get my accessories from one supplier alone. Headlights, filters, gutters, wiring, etc.

The set is not top of the line leather of course. The?! It's barely 3K. But it's good. Aside from the leather itself, the upholstery is super-foamed for the extra comfort and lift. My Fiancée being 5 footer, I definitely got pogi points right there. I made her see the hood even more.

The positives: Affordable. Free installation and delivery (within Makati). One day delivery.

The negatives: Leather seats are hot once you park outdoors, middle of the day. It can really burn your arse. The installer was perspiring all over my car during the installation. Shit, that was a little, yux. I cleaned and cleansed the interior right after.

If you want one, shoot me a liner, I'll help you get yours.

I said, No To PBA Imports

I just made my longest basketball entry ever. It's at hoops.blink.ph. Check 'em out.

Health Advisory: This is by far the longest entry I made. Caution to readers, pee before proceeding. You’ll be sitting there for good few minutes if you decide to put up with this entry.

And on another note...

This entry was made in a span of 3 days, after I am done with my work and a little sleepy, thoughts here and there. So forgive my incoherence. Lay off me if there are grammar errors and lay-off if I can’t give concrete details. This is just hypothetical proposition. What is the seriousness level from scale of 1 to 10? 6.

My thoughts in here...

The Chicane Concept One Mags (Or Shikayne)

I posted 2 days a ago about my oh-so-late bonus buying binge. Here's the actual Concept One Chicane Mags. Black and silver toned. The price is P22,000 a set. We all know mags-set price can go as high as 40K, 60K, 80K etc. But @ 22K, it is a little at the high side for me considering the stock mags are fine, just scratches here and there. (BTW, as per O.R., the mags are coded also as SHIKAYNE.)


For a non-super-car enthusiast like me, it's a bit steep price to pay. A little high for someone who just wanted to have an all-black car. But the hell with saving for the future. Besides, I love looking at the set in the morning while I'm having coffee and some sun. The tire saleman convinced me to use sparco nuts. Because I am "uto-uto", I gave in. Sparco Nuts are black too. The nut-set uses its own adaptor to un-bolt it. So it's fairly safe to leave the auto parked for long duration in some nasty places. Crossing my fingers here.


Unless of course tire-nappers carry these unlocker-adaptors as well, then my mags are still in trouble. The nut set alone costs P1000.00. Who wouldn't fall for that when your mags are all new. Can't use old rusty ones for the shiny new mags.

I am profiling the Honda SIR in this blog. If you are interested in getting a toy/second car, I am willing to let go of this for the right price. Casa maintained! Both the driver and the car... Casa maintained!

I am Road Testing The Nitrogen Tire Inflating

After three months, I finally got myself the long-delayed x-mas bonus. I scored a set of mags over at Bangkal "Motorway" aka Evangelista. Via Big-A Auto Tech, I traded my stock Honda SIR mags in exchange for 4 Concept One Mags. I added cash, of course. The Chicane Model is posted at Concept One website but I'll post the actual pic tomorrow so you can save and get urself one, err, four. Yes, save some, just like I did. But if you have sugar mama to take care of the bread then by all means head to your nearest tire/mag dealer.

With enough haggling, I was able to convince the OIC to give me the Nitrogen Tire Inflating at only P100.00. Regular price is, I believe, over P500.00. Reading their leaflet with the benefits of using nitrogen rather than oxygen, I say P100 or P25 per tire is worth it. The downside is, I should be forever be tied up with Nitrogen gas. If pressure goes down, I may have to go back at shop and have it filled. The OIC told me that, in case I need to pressurize the tire in emergency, there is no problem filling it with "gas station standard air".

As I read over here, here's the rundown of Nitrogen Gas Inflation:

* Better tire pressure retention – nitrogen migrates through a tire 3 to 4 times slower than oxygen. It may take 6 months to lose 2 psi with nitrogen compared to less than a month with oxygen.
* Improved fuel economy – a result of having the proper air pressure which lessens the rolling resistance. Under-inflated tires have a greater rolling resistance.
* Cooler running tires – tires inflated with nitrogen run cooler than tires inflated with regular air.
* Removal of oxidation – oxygen is a highly reactive element at high temperatures and pressures. Replacing the oxygen with nitrogen helps eliminate the oxidation that damages inner liners and belt packages.
* Improved retreadability – eliminating oxidation also improves the retreadability due to more flexibility in the tire casing. Less tire aging and tire cord rust could very well increase the number of retreadable casings and also increase the number of times a casing can be retreaded.
* Elimination of rim rust – since nitrogen is completely dry, condensation is eliminated which in turn eliminates rim rust.
* On-the-road reliability – tire failures can be significantly reduced which reduces down time and costly service calls.

As I went back home, I didn't notice that much of a difference in the handling. Maybe during long drives, it has. The fact that my tires have constant pressure, it should give me less vibration during the drive. But more than the handling, the benefit is that, it prolongs the life of tires and it saves gas because of improved efficiency. During the course of the year, with Nitrogen loaded, in accumulation, I should be saving more than P500 per year cost of Nitro. "Bawi Na!" I'll observe everything in 6 months and I'll keep you posted. Be patient. 179 days to go.

One Of Top Kobe Bryant Videos

Stu Jackson of NBA suspended Kobe Bryant once again. No Kobe against the Bucks today? Screw the game, here's one of the best Kobe Bryant Videos in YouTube. The King of Destruction!