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How long will I hang in here?

2014, I still don't use Facebook. I must be from Mars.

Monoprice 8320 (MEP-933)

If you are a broke dude like me, but want a IEM for the bucks, look nowhere else!

I got a pair for my sister. And of course I also tested tested them.

I got the MEElectronic M9 in Thanksgiving. Those ain’t bad, but I’m already getting used to the certain level that my old MDR-CD470 brought me to. Headphone is kind of addicting. You may not notice much of the difference when you test a better headphone. But if you are used to a better headphone, there is no way you can go back to the worse ones. The M9, not bad for a casual IEM, and definitely better than the pair of shit that comes with my Samsung phone(terrible noise when they hit the smallest amount of wind), but really lacking of the high frequency. And, tbh, the first ~24hrs sucks! The sound were so packed in, closed, like in a vacuumed room, without any layers. Once burned in, however, it’s alright.

The 8320, is MIC like the M9, huge size, but even cheaper than the cheap M9 and cost only $7.11 before anything. S&H is $2.xx so count that as $10.

The moment my sister try them on the first time, I warned her that it may sound bad. After she had a try, I picked them up and plugged-in.

It’s VERY NICE for the first few minutes. Actually much better than the M9 even after 10hrs of burn in! I expect them to get even better with time goes.

The only bad thing is the huge size. It’s so enormous that I may feel tired after sometimes plugged in. It’s not a looker either. And the pair we got only comes in a plastic bag. According to the forum and what I saw in a youtube video, it used to come with a box, although without any accessories. But after those people cleared out their stock, they changed to plastic bags. Yea, I listed more than one pros but really, all we care is the sound quality, no?

I’m thinking of getting another pair for myself.

Grab one when they are still available!

Product page:

http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=108&cp_id=10823&cs_id=1082303&p_id=8320&seq=1&format=2

Discussion thread on Head-Fi:

http://www.head-fi.org/t/580769/the-monoprice-8320-mep-933-the-7-11-club

Cat6 cable arrived

cat6 * 75ft !!!!

未有時間裝/試，希望能work。看上去，在白色的「皮」下面，真的比Cat5 的扭得密~good!

這什麼西芹?

這麼軟的第一次見~

不能吃啦~

小試 Latte

變左 cappucino.....

杯子不是很好看...要買隻咖啡杯

是日午餐

開動了!

Acura NSX Concept

近年的Honda/ Acura....老實說，有點撲朔迷離。

先是Acura，上代TL 其實很好看，性能在當時也算高，特別是Type S，可與大堆性能車較一下長短。要說缺點就是FWD。

其後Acura 致力開發SH-AWD，這個AWD應該是現時數一數二的系統。無奈Acura 不知從哪請了個無間度designer，全系列產品都換了個盾牌頭，令消費者卻步。

另外變速箱，引擎開始落後對手。對手全都轉到7速甚至8速雙離合，Acura 還一直用5,6速的。引擎方面，不少型號的馬力都輸對手。無奈的Acura 一直不肯開發V8, 不肯用turbo (其實有一台，但就只一台)，不肯用direct injection，結果就是不是輸馬力就是輸油耗，不知該說是堅持還是固執。

Honda 那邊也好不到哪裡，Accord 還好。之後說要力推hybrid (現在也是)，弄了架CR-Z 出來，說是首架sport hybrid，讓人興奮非常。最後出來的CR-Z，聽說比CR-X 還要慢，還要吃油。(雖然樣子我覺得是不錯)

還未到最慘，最慘是老招牌Civic。比之前4還是5年一次改款花多了一年。出來的，樣子沒怎麼改變，沒有變好，只有變老實。要知很多買Civic 的，都是20出頭的年青人，那個樣，corolla 可能也比它young。Civic 內裝也沒有變豪華，反而是變膠，用料明顯變cheap，多了很多膠。Si 的引擎也沒有上代的8000rpm，扭力是加了不少，但就少了樂趣。CEO 出來謝罪時竟說因為金融海嘯，本田選了用減料來增加利潤，卻沒想到對手反而加料，令產品更抵買。這種想法，真不要得。

其實我還有不少想吐槽，不過已不想再說了。總之，本田在一月Detroit Auto Show 公布了好幾輛concept，其中之一更是搶盡風頭，無他的，就是新一代的NSX。

本田其實有一輛超跑在Super-GT 比賽，叫HSV-010GT。當年應該是打算拿來做NSX 二代的，但又因為經濟不景，計劃中途豁置。直到現在!

老實說，我是比較喜歡HSV 的外型，比較有殺氣。

新NSX 的spec 未落實，但應該會搭載一個NA 3.x L V6引擎推後輪，兩個馬達推前輪，是新一代的SH-AWD。

我覺得，這輛NSX 要成功，其實是有難度的。首先，另一日本三大廠之一Nissan 出了一架廉價超跑R35，性能跟得上貴一倍的波子，拉利。

NSX 要超越GTR 實在不易，特別是本田「自豪」的Hybrid 技術，到底如何? 我只知道豐田的Hybrid 很成功，街上Prius 也比Insight 多不知多少倍。馬力很重要，GTR 一副V6 + turbo 做出4xx hp，NSX 用NA V6；一般V6我猜只能到300hp，本田應該是不會用Turbo 的，那就要靠馬達補力，100+hp 馬力不是不可能，但是應該很吃電，跑幾個圈便乾，那只會變相加磅。要NA 再加馬力，要麼加容積，要麼加轉數。容積應該只會3.x L，所以就剩加轉一途，那倒是好事，畢竟這是本田，高轉才是王道。其外，要加提高加速度，減磅也是好方法，但未有聽到這方面的消息。

有時候，馬力/加速度不是一切，基本上上一代的NSX 在這方面也不是很強。車子的操縱性也很重要，今次的NSX 應該是Acura 推廣SH-AWD 的大好機會，只要在這方面有突出表現，整個產品系列也能帶動起來(雖然用的SH-AWD 不是一樣, 而且新RDX 只是用一般AWD....OTL)。但如果SH-AWD 輸給GTR 的AWD......那就糟了.....當然R35 的AWD 不是說笑的，但Nissan/Infiniti 好像沒有太強調其下其他車款用的AWD 系統，如果輸了，感覺Acura 整個SH-AWD 系統會被比下去.....

NSX 價格方面也是有點尷尬，之前聽的消息指NSX 是比較affordable，但從外型看來絕對不像....外型的「定價」比較像是要跟R8比。而且不像LFA，NSX 的性價比一定會被拿來跟GTR 比。只能說，比上比下都麻煩。

還有一點就是開發要三年，三年後對手們會有什麼改進還未知道，如以今日對手的標準設計，有機會三年後已經落後....

我個人對今次新NSX 期望蠻高的，但只怕到時候失望越大，因為就我看來，各方法都有點難。但一旦成功，他將為Acura 定立新的型像。可謂只許成功，不許失敗之作。

image source: http://jalopnik.com, http://blogs.yahoo.co.jp/lobinsou87886/

McLaren MP4-27

McLaren 今日公布了2012年F1用的MP4-27。Caterham 說過「As we’re the first car out it is obviously stirring up a lot of debate, but because of the 2012 regulations I think you’ll probably be seeing this type of nose on most of the cars this year.」 看來McLaren 不認同那說法，那鼻子正常得很，我也慶幸他們的設計還有點人性，沒有謀殺觀眾的眼睛。

Button 也說「As you can see this is a beautiful car. any of them that you see will not be. That’s something we definitely have and to me that’s important.」哈哈，的確。只希望這個設計不會對速度有太大影響。

另外因為規例的關係，死氣喉跑到了兩邊，向尾翼那噴。看來Blown Diffuser 已成為歷史。

還有一改變則是MP4-26 兩邊的獨特U型設計不見了，取而代之是較一般的設計。聽說是因為死氣喉的規例關係。老實說，我覺得U型設計很有特色，MP4-27 沒有，真是可惜。

Top Gear S18E01

Top Gear is back!

Apparently they have some issues with the newspaper??

And although I already knew thru spy photos on some forums, Top Gear is going China in this season!
I expect a lot of joke on the 山寨 cars lol.

Back to the episode. I don’t put spoiler warning. You know you shouldn’t read a “review” before you watch the show.

So, the 3 boys gathered 3 old or tested super cars and see which is better or the closest to the F458.

From the left, the Noble M600, McLaren MP4-12C, Lambo Aventador. These 3 cars usually don’t come together when comparing to a F458(Well the Mclaren do). The only common thing is the engine placement, but that’s it. Well this is Top Gear, not a laboratory, who cares.

Actually, when I first saw the trailer, I didn’t pay much attention to the Noble and thought it’s an R35. imho, performance-wise, I think the R35 would be closer to the Ferrari. But it’s front-mounted. The Noble however, does suit Richard I must admit. As the youngest of the three, of course he’ll go for a stick shift machine.

The McLaren, suits Captain slow too lol. The look is just….kind of boring. If I didn’t know this brand b4, I’ll probably think it’s more of a Lotus. Yes, the Noble is even shorter on this aspect but Mclaren had put much much more of resources on the design department.

Jeremy’s Lambo, V12, enough say.

Nonetheless, the challenges begin. First the Nardo Ring. When I first see the photo, I thought it’s some LHC brother.But it turns out to be more of a big giant, 12KM, Daytona Speedway.

So they want to achieve the highest speed on that oval track. The result is no surprise. The Noble is a car built for speed. No luxury, no drama, pure speed. The power to weight ratio is the highest. For Lambo, high speed is always it’s category. McLaren is short on the power-side, and the result is clearly showing that.

After that:

 

We usually see this kind of situation in some $3000 super car challenge. With a brand new car, it’s something rarely seen. lol, poor Hamster. Somehow, his car got a new paint job.

The second challenge is the traditional race to a restaurant. Well, super cars always have hard time in small cities, especially big Lambo. Hammond couldn’t even join the challenge.

The third challenge is a hard core race around Imola. Jeremy mentioned some heroes’ name including Senna of course. Having a mix of a few long straights and some tight turns, the result is close.

The Aventador certainly benefit from the straights, as well as the M600. The MP4-12C should shine at those turns, but the hands behind that wheel is of Captain slow’s haha. Without any electronic help, Richard Hammond’s M600 probably struggled, and he indeed went off-road. I was thinking the Aventador would have a hard time at the turns, but reviews say that its handling is much better than her ancestors. Judging by the result, big displacement+4WD+computerized auto gearbox+carbon frame seems to be the way to go.

There isn’t any conclusion from the show. Nor should it. These 3 are really very different cars at different price tags. But one thing is clear.

The Lambo is gorgeous! The look, the sound, the drama. It’s just perfect.

Flame!

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Star In A Reasonably Priced Car: will.i.am

Is he nervous? Why was he seems stuttering? Ron is younger and speaks much better than him. And the so many jobs he has? That only makes me think he is just overrated. I don’t believe anyone that can excel in so many areas. Black Eyed Peas’s songs isn’t bad, but only in CD. Their live performances are never good, from the few times I see on the TV, on Victoria’s Secret Fashion show, etc. I respect his producer or “CD singer” job. But can’t people these days just focus on one thing? That concept car….looks like some concept 15 or 20 years ago….

And why did he drive an auto? Can he not shift? I knew there were stars who tried their first time of a manual on Top Gear. No balls.

New Self Record

Speed isn’t always the only thing in driving. Somehow, gas saving could be fun too.

With my “usual” driving style, my 1.8L 4 banger could only max out 27mpg. When filled up, it can go 27X most of the time.

Today, after filling up some fresh juice, I got 272mile to empty. I decided to….slow down a bit…..lighten my lead foot a bit. Kept doing that for 30+ miles, and……miracle happened:

hehe, created 47miles + more than 30miles I’ve driven = ~77miles out of nowhere.

I call it “Miracle of the 77 miles”