I was checking on a part with Jarrel one day, and he was looking through a special flyer from one of the wholesalers he brings in some of the more eclectic bike stuff from and they had some nice Japanese bike bells. He had brought in some large Crane (crane as in “tsuruâ€) brand brass bells previously, but they had a new small bell not unlike the small BBC bell resold on the USDM as the “Incredibellâ€. He said he would most likely be bringing some in, so I sat back to wait for them to arrive. About a week later, they were in! Continue reading ‘Crane Bicycle Bell’
Archive for the 'Review' Category
Page 50 of 60
With the demise of the snowboard division at Island Snow, I had to resort to online ordering this season. My old blue Sessions Jamie Lynn pants are still somewhat functional, but my OD green Burton Ronin pants are torn at the vent and blown-up at the ass seams. My “Captain America†Sessions jacket is falling apart at the seams and the membrane has delaminated and is gone in most areas. Although still decent looking, my newest grey Sessions jacket is losing its Entrant membrane like dandruff from the stretch panels. All my outerwear was going bad two seasons ago, but I patched and stitched them back together and made it through last season. Not wanting to be “homeless boarder†again, I ordered a set of this year’s Volcom Omega Gore-Tex outerwear. The price was high, but having experienced the durability of Gore 3L ECWCS clothing, I figured this stuff would last the longest, and anything cheaper would be an investment in “false economyâ€. I managed to get sale pricing at Backcountry.com, so it didn’t hurt as much as I expected it to. Continue reading ‘New Volcom Omega Gore-Tex’
This was another Chainlove.com find. For sun, brush, and crash protection, I like to use long-sleeve jerseys for trail riding. I’ve seen this jersey on riders in photos in Decline and elsewhere, so when I saw it pop up for cheap on Chainlove, I got one. There was no sizing info, so I had to dig around online to find some. My chest is 100cm (40â€), so I got a “Largeâ€. This ended up a bit big. Even with full armor it’s big. The girth and length are not too much of an issue, but the sleeves have a bit of “Kogami Akira†action going on. I could have easily gone a size down. The sizing is about the same as motocross jerseys. If you are between sizes, go down. Continue reading ‘Royal Racing 24/7 Jersey’
Dave had gotten the sudden mysterious urge for okonomiyaki, I guess that happens to all of us. We know Okonomiyaki Chibo in Waikiki, and excellent as it is, we decided to look into alternatives. But where? One place Derek knew of is closed. I learned of a small place in Waikiki next to a shop I did some work for, but there’s no parking. Then Derek mentioned a new place, Shouchan, in Puck’s Alley. Isn’t that near Kohnotori that we reviewed a few weeks back? Yes, and it’s not really an accident that a lot of places we go to are in this general area, it’s where we are at this time of the day. Anyway, we decide to check it out. It’s located on University, across from what used to be Varsity Theaters, up a few shops from Cocoichiban. I find Derek waiting outside. I look at the cloth banner and the first thing that comes out of my mouth is “Hiroshi”! It takes a while to realize it’s not Hiroshi Mayaki. Hiroshimayaki is the style of okonomiyaki served here. Continue reading ‘Hiroshi Mayaki, Shochan’
After last week’s St. Louis downhill, Ckucke and I met Root for post ride food. We went down the hill to Tenkaippin. This time around, I tried the Miso-aji ramen. The broth was lighter and thinner than the broth used with the Kotteri and Assari ramen. Instead of distinct, seperate toppings, there is a cooked mix of moyashi (mung bean sprouts), green onion, cooked ground pork, and diced charsiu. There wasn’t really a strong miso flavor in the broth. Of the three varieties I’ve tried, this was the only one I didn’t really like. This was unexpected, since the other things I’ve had here have been great. Maybe it’s just my personal taste and preferences (the crew knows how much I hate moyashi).
Not recommended unless you are a total miso ramen fan (try the other varieties instead)
One-and-a-half grinning monkeys out of four
Past thursday culinary caper was Hale Vietnam at the top of Kaimuki. Been there a couple times in the past and the experience was good. Pretty good stuff at decent price was my memories. Continue reading ‘Hale Vietnam’
OK, my old Moto Razr though the original battery was still going strong, I finally decided to retire it after subjecting all my friends with its horrible electrical noise issues. I’d been looking at the iPhone for a while and popped into the bastion of oshare computing, the Apple store. Long lost Roy “Krauser” was there so I bugged him about the phone, among other things. Ended up going for it and picking up the 8G model. Continue reading ‘I Phone?’
Wow! A DVD/CD set with live concert footage from the “Cannibal” album tour, a pile of original music videos, and a CD with the audio from the live performance on the DVD. You like Static X? Then you better go out and get this right away!
Concert audio on the CD and DVD is reasonably good. There is some ringing resonance and muddyness here and there. There are apparently multiple camera angles, but I haven’t messed with that yet. On the performance of “Black and White”, Wayne’s voice breaks up, and he can’t really hit all the high notes. The speed-vocal sections seem to elude him also. Considering that this specific performance was the best one taped from all the instances that the concert tour was recorded, this song must have been at the end of the set on a regular basis. Â
It’s good to see Koichi Fukuda back, but it was a little disturbing to see Tripp Eisen in videos of songs that IÂ was under the impression were recorded during the first Fukuda era.
The DVD is all-region, and for some reason is in 4:3 aspect ratio.
MSRP around $24 USD/street price around $17 USD
Recommended
Four out of four skulls
How can you go wrong with meat, mushrooms, and Swiss cheese? If this is in fact possible, then Burger King definitely doesn’t know how to do it. The new seasonal variety of the Steakhouse Burger is tops! Starting with the cornmeal “artisan†bun and oddly-shaped Angus beef patty that is common to the other Steakhouse varietals, they add a sheet of Swiss cheese, and sautéed mushrooms. This is then topped with fried, onions and thick steak sauce. In the sales information images, the layers are beautifully presented: In the actual example, everything sort-of melts and settles into a single layer, such that only the bread and the protruding meat are visible. This may be just a workmanship issue at the particular BK I visited (Beretania, which also had multiple empty soft drink cartridges on both machines – only Coke and root beer worked). The flavor is good, with all the constituent parts detectable, but all complementing each other for a good taste combination. Personally, I’d swap the steak sauce for some mayonnaise, and add some bacon to it and it would become The Best Burger Known to Mankind™. I couldn’t find any published nutritional information on this version, but it is probably between the 950 kcal Steakhouse burger and the 970kcal Loaded Steakhouse burger. The mushrooms themselves have few calories if any (or for that matter any nutritional value whatsoever), but whatever they sauté them in probably does.
About $8.05 USD as a large-sized value meal with onion rings
Recommended
Three-and-a-half grinning monkeys out of four
India pale ales are heavily hopped ales originally formulated to survive the long sea voyage from England to India during the colonial days before the advent of refrigeration. The higher level of hopping along with a higher alcohol level helped prevent spoilage. This IPA from Onuma Brewery in Southwest Hokkaido has the typical sweet, fruity flavor common to the variety. The color is similar to other ales. The initial flavor is sweet and flowery with a fruity finish. There is no significant bitter, and the malt flavor is buried by the hops. The carbonation is low. I personally dislike IPA’s, but from memory, this one is not much different than others of this variety that I’ve tried. This one packs a good buzz, having about 150% the alcohol content of most other beers! Continue reading ‘Beer Is Good – Onuma Brewery India Pale Ale Jibiiru’