My friend Tony sent me this YouTube clip. Pretty funny.

I have never subscribed to the thinking that changing your oil every 3,000 miles is a good thing. Maybe it’s because I remember when the recommended interval was 7,500 miles. I figure it’s just the oil companies and the service stations that want you to come in and give them your money.

This isn’t so far-fetched in itself, but now I am thinking that car manufacturers themselves are in cahoots with the oil industry when they design their engines. No, I’m not talking about engine efficiency as you might think. The thing is, my car has an oil leak, and it leaks so fast that my car’s dipstick oil gauge is almost always at the lowest part of the hash mark. But damn, I have been getting about 50 miles more out of a tankful of gas. I thought it had to do with a new highway being opened up nearby, but I haven’t been using it often at all. So I am wondering if it is better to keep your engine lubed with a minimal amount of oil, or keep it topped off.

I have been reluctant to post this because once that it’s out in the open, my Sentra’s engine will probably die next week. That’s just how things seem to work around here.

Just for the record, our Honda Odyssey has a scheduled oil change every 7,500 miles. 🙂

I was just in my office breakroom looking for some tea when I found a couple boxes of Ito-en Green Tea tea bags. What a wonderful surprise! I was expecting some plain-jane Liptons or something. This is a great hot-drink alternative to coffee. I think I’ll have my morning coffee, then afternoon tea. 🙂

I just watched ZARD’s What A Beautiful Moment DVD, which is from ZARD’s one and only concert tour. She did have a couple special concerts, but this was the biggest ZARD event. It took place in 2004 and ended with a final show at Nippon Budokan. Izumi Sakai is famous for being sort of reclusive and shy, and has said in interviews that she is always nervous performing live. You can actually see on the DVD how she isn’t totally comfortable on stage, but she still sings great. Her nervousness really adds to the natural charm she has. She even messes up a couple times, and sticks out her tongue making fun at herself. It’s pretty funny.

The DVD is mostly of her performance at the Tokyo International Forum, but towards the end of the DVD, they switch around several of the other concert venues, all during the same song. It’s pretty neat to see the different buildings and stages. They also show a little footage of the crowds gathering at the different concert halls, and also some behind the scenes footage of rehearsal. I wish they would have shown more of that because it looked really interesting.

One of the cool parts of the show is when they do the band introductions. They play one of the many famous ZARD tunes, but without Sakai singing or even on stage, and they each have a small solo and their names are flashed on the big screen. It’s a pretty big band too, with maybe four guitarists, a bassist, drummer, percussionist, keyboardist, saxaphonist, violinist, and four backup singers. Most of the musicians are from other bands, including two from Garnet Crow.

While I was watching the DVD, I was wishing I had gone to see one of the concerts. It would have been difficult to swing a trip to Japan, but well worth it. Not long before her death, Sakai said she was planning another CD and concert tour. It’s one regret of mine that I won’t have the chance to see her perform in concert, but at least we have this DVD as well as her Cruising and Live special concert to enjoy.

5.0 miles at the Y.

It’s been a few weeks since I ran. Just busy, and not feeling so good. But I felt pretty good running today. The Y is way too crowded at 5:30pm though!

After Hours is a great movie. Filled with an incredible cast, it’s the story of one man’s crazy night in Manhattan.

We have a guest coming in tomorrow afternoon from out of state, which means I am cleaning the house today and tomorrow morning. But after we pick her up from the airport, we are going to The Salt Lick in Driftwood. I can’t wait! It’s my favorite BBQ place in Austin (actually just outside of) and I haven’t been there in a few years. I am totally gonna pig out! It’s great to eat bbq outside and have a cold Shiner on a warm evening.

I was thinking that I should be in the demographic that is into Spiderman 3 and the Transformers movie. But comic-book heroes don’t seem to interest me. It seems like I was the only one who couldn’t care less about Spiderman 3 coming out. And some of my friends are way into anime, and it seems like I would be as well, but nothing really grabs me about anime that much. Kind of bothers me a little that I am so indifferent about these things. Should I be worried or even care? I am really wanting to see Pirates of the Caribbean 3, though. But that’s more of a mainstream movie, and not so geeky I guess. I did like the ninja movie Shinobi however.

Appetizer

What do you consider to be the ultimate snack food?

Lay’s Potato Chips (plain)

Soup

On a scale of 1 to 10 (with 10 as highest), about how popular is your last name?

It’s a pretty popular Japanese last name, probably a 7 within the J-community.

Salad

Who is your all-time favorite sitcom character, and why?