Christmas City 2011 - Updated Plarail Layout and City Lights (Part 1)

Before this post, we thought our Plarail layouts were already final. I was wrong. I came home from Hong Kong bringing some Plarail stuff not available here in the Philippines! In other news, you might want to check out the photos below! Half of the city has lights already!

The red loop as seen in the photo above costs $32 hkd. Model number of that one is the R-10. It will save you money if buy the R10 loop for making U-turns, rather than buying the normal curves. It will also require less space.

Christmas City 2011 - Railroad (Plarail) final layout [Plarail patterns]

Finally, we have finished doing the layout for the railroad. The railroad we used is Plarail, made by Tomy. From the tables below, the train climbs up to our electronic fire place. Below, you can see photos of the entire city, portion by portion.

We now have 3 train sets. 2 passenger type trains and one cargo train. The cargo train has a snow plow in front of it (to fit the Christmas theme) and we bought additional cargo cars for the train to pull. As seen in the photo above, there's a bridge. This part is the government part. This is where the town hall fire station, hospital (bank turned hospital) and police station is based. When the train goes up, it connects to the photo below...

Christmas City 2011 - Layout Testing w/ Tracks

It's already late in the evening and I just want to post an update on our Christmas City 2011 project. This week, we've spent around 6,000 pesos on the new Tomy tracks. This is the first year we encircled the whole city with Tomy tracks and bought 2 additional Tomy passenger trains.

Our Christmas City 2011 - 40% Done

Why 40% if it looks finished already?
-We haven't connected the train tracks above the fireplace yet(20%) - Very challenging since I didn't want to buy a lot of those yellow supports.
-The building have no lights yet (30%)
-Final touches and accessories (10%)

The train you can see on the tracks above (Bottom center) is from the Tomy train set I bought last year. It has a snow plow in front which can remove snow balls (seen below) as the train goes around. To make it longer, I attached 2 sets of the train body with containers. Check out the containers below.

Christmas City 2011 - Platform and Space Estimate

Little by little, we are building our Christmas city. Unlike other years where we finish everything in one entire day, this time, we decided to take it lightly. Tonight, we placed the white cloth as the platform over the (6) tables and on top of the electronic fire place (will take a photo of it soon). Also, as planned this year, there will be tunnels and mountains made of papier-mâché. I'm not sure if it will push through but I hope it does.

The structures below is not all yet. We have around 15 more structures to include and that isn't the final layout. We just wanted to see the available area left for the road and railroad track. Apparently, only a small space is left. On the far end of the photo (upper right), you can see a bunch of trees that looks like a forest. Those trees will be individually placed besides each house.

Up next? Train tracks? Road? Building lightings? Watch out :)

Christmas City 2011 - New Buildings (Part 2)

Just yesterday, I posted the first 10 new houses for this year's city. Below, allow me to share with you guys the next 10 houses that we will add to the Christmas village this year.

The fine harvest winery and the J Keaton clock emporium is a double I think. Anyway, the city is so huge now that people won't notice the double structures so I guess it's okay. If you want us to create a Christmas city for you, just let me know :) I'd be more than happy to provide you with a set of house and other stuff you'll need to make your Christmas village dream come true :) (My email is at the end of this post)

Christmas City 2011 - New Buildings (Part 1)

Our stairs from the the top to the ground floor has garland now! Lights are actually switched on and you can feel the Christmas spirit inside the house already. Well, at least when going up and down the stairs.

As I've said in my "Christmas City Preparation blog", mom has been buying dozen of houses yearly! This year, she bought 20 new structures for our Christmas village! Since it's very hard to take note which structures we already have, we have a lot of "doubles". What we do is we sell them so we can buy other unique structures. (Interested in the doubles? email me at chef_tonio (yahoo) dot com)

Best Drag Race Ever - Video and Car Specifications

What will happen if you put together 11 of the best driver's car together in an epic drag racing? That's what Motor Trend did. Watch and download the World's Greatest Drag Race ever video here:



If you want to know a bit of more details on the cars, here are the 11 cars that performed in that drag race:

Christmas City Project 2011 - Preparation

It's the -ber months again and here in the Philippines, we see traces of the arrival of Christmas as early as September. You can see local Christmas decors like parols being sold by the road, toy stores playing Christmas songs and homes being decorated with Christmas ornaments. Yes, as early as September.

Last year, we started early November. We create a Christmas city diorama yearly. My mom loves collecting those houses and we started with just 2-3 houses. A few years back, we agreed that we would only buy 2-3 houses yearly. Well, for the past 3 years, we've been buying 10-20 houses a year! Can't blame mom. She loves Christmas stuff.

This year, I think we are starting early. This year, we started on the first week of September. We already fixed the new table layout where the Christmas village/ city will be placed and I'm excited that we will be utilizing the fire place this year. Also, we bought some new items including around 10 new houses and a line up of police cars. As I was searching for police cars, my brother noticed this highly detailed British police.

Impulsively, we bought all the Mitsubishi Evo X british police made my Tomica in that toy shop that day. Tomica is one of our favorite toy car makers. This Evo X police has the number 39 in the box. This will serve as our police car for the police station from now on as we have random, no alike police cars for the past few years. Price per toy car was Php 169.00 each.

That is our city plan this year. Those gray shades are tables in different elevations. The yellow line is where the train tracks will be. Our train and tracks are from Tomy. I invested in one last year. Of course, this is not a business investment but more of a happiness investment. I loved trains since I was a kid and this is the only time that I bought one. We would be needing a huge amount of tracks this year as the set I bought last year is only good for the circular table as seen in the layout above. If only I could get a toy store here in the Philippines do an ex-deal with me hahahaha!

Snow plow train | Php 1,700.00

If you are interested to know the development of our Christmas city, check out this blog of mine. I will keep you updated. 

Car In-Dash Camera Records Japan Tsunami

This is one of the many reasons why I want to have an in-dash camera installed in my car.



Aside from recording everything while in operation, this also acts as a blackbox. I might be importing some units soon and I will let you know once it's available here in the Philippines.

Send me an email at cheftonio (@) gmail (.) com if you want to be updated when the stocks arrive.

Anti-Finger Print Screen Protector from Armorz

After buying a new mobile phone, of course, you will look for the  best possible screen protector in order to ensure the maximum overall defense against possible scratches to your expensive and  beloved gadget. My biggest problem with screen protectors is the fact that they are not created equal. More often than not some
existing screen protectors do provide sufficient scratch protection,  but most of them have side effect of “clouding” your screen as the level of transparency they offer can vary widely to as low as 75 percent visibility.

Thankfully in my continued search for a screen protector that offers a lot of promises, I finally stumbled upon the newly released Armorz Anti- Fingerprint Anti-Abrade Screen Protector for iPhone 4.  Now you can protect your favorite gadgets with a full body protector! It guards against scratches, marks, dust and dirt, and
keeps your iPhone 4 in perfect condition. This Protector Covers the whole front screen including the camera hole to provides a full coverage from dust and scratches. Screen protectors provide crystal-clear visibility and do not interfere with touch-screen operation. It fits the Apple iPhone 4 4th Generation perfectly. The
film is easy to apply and can be removed and washed for reuse, without leaving residue behind!







Additional info that I learned by applying the screen protector:
• Ensure that your screen is virtually 100% free of any dust
particles whatsoever to ensure that these do not become
permanently bonded to the Clear Armor film
• Applying the film to the back of your mobile phone is always
a bit more tricky and requires some patience particularly for
the edges.

Overall there’s no doubt I am impressed with the Armorz Anti-Fingerprint Anti-Abrade Screen Protector. The way it protects against scratches and smudges is great. Without a doubt this is the best value body & screen protectors available for your mobile phone today.

Armorz Screen Protector is distributed by Tenkie Box Concept Inc here in the Philippines.

Check out their facebook fan page at http://www.facebook.com/#!/Tenkiebox 
Email:  tenkiebox@gmail.com 

Armorz Screen Protector HD

Thinking of getting a clear Screen protector for you iPhone 4? You might want to consider getting Armorz HD Screen Protector for iPhone 4. There are several brands of Screen protectors out on the market today. The problem is, you've got dozens to choose from, most of which aren't worth your money.

I've had experience with numerous different brands, quite expensive but offered extremely disappointing results. Some needs to be cut to fit your device. Consistently, each offered bubbly application results,
poor clarity, and a short life span due to the fact that the protectors themselves were easily marred and scratched. But Armorz HD Screen Protector is the most elegant, cost-effective, and convenient way to protect the screen of your device. We all want that our screen protector will not interfere with color or induce extra glare on the LCD, and easy to install.


Armorz HD Screen Protector is compatible for iPhone4. The film guarantees zero-to-minimal bubbles during application. It is reusable and easily applied. Static-cling Application: Self-adhering film attaches itself to the screen. No adhesive is used this mean no sticky feeling after the application. The instructions were pretty easy to follow and have decent pictorial to show you how to install it. I recommend that you do everything the instructions ask. It makes a quick and easy application without the mess.

Armorz HD Screen Protector for iPhone 4 is designed to fit your iPhone’s screen perfectly. This will allow full access to the controls and touch screen. It also includes cutouts for the home button, speaker, and front camera which will protect your screen from daily scratches, dust, scrapes, and normal signs of wear. You don’t have to worry the film will protect your screen and take all the abuse from scratches, dust, normal
signs of wear. I am delighted with the result this product has offered. After dealing with a couple of bargain basement screen protection products, Armorz HD Screen Protector for iPhone 4 did satisfy my needs.

Armorz Screen Protector is distributed by Tenkie Box Concept Inc here in the Philippines.

Check out their facebook fan page at http://www.facebook.com/#!/Tenkiebox 
Email:  tenkiebox@gmail.com

This Guy Has My MacBook Tumblr Page

Ok, it's been a few hours since I first read of that Tumblr page. At first, I was really convinced that it really worked. The more I read and see the images, the less I believe. Now, I'm actually unsure if this is REAL or if this is just a marketing stunt. For entertainment purposes, here are some of the notable (read: funny) comments in that site. (All comments and photos /screencaps in this blog is property of http://thisguyhasmymacbook.tumblr.com)

The star of thisguyhasmymacbook.tumblr.com

Lexus RX300's Backup Camera Feature Not as Effective

I saw this funny video about a guy trying to be very patient with a female driver trying to backup a Lexus RX300. I think it's the second generation Lexus RX300 and if I'm not mistaken, this should have a backup camera feature. I guess car manufacturers have to think of another way to help "aunties" backup their car more efficiently.

Enjoy the video! :)

The Lexus RX300 XU30 (Second Generation) has the ff features:

The second generation RX 330/350 interior featured genuine Golden Bird's Eye Maple or Walnut wood trim, a sliding multi-level center storage console, dual-zone climate control, and power tilt/telescopic steering column. Available options included a 210-watt, 11-speaker Mark Levinson premium sound system, DVD-based navigation system with backup camera, rear seat DVD player with wireless headphones, and panoramic three panel moonroof.

I suggest that Auntie buy a Mercedes Benz B class instead because it has an auto parking feature:


or probably a 2011 BMW 5-series:


Cheftonio.blogspot.com

Laser Canon Destroys Boat - US Navy Test

US Navy and Office of Naval Research (ONR) conducted a test for a laser weapon. A high-energy laser fired from the USS Paul Foster hit a motorboat with a 15-kilowatt (kW) pulse from a solid-state high-energy laser (HEL).

Despite waves and high humidity which degrades laser output, the laser equipped warship successfully crippled a smaller boat by burning through its engine and igniting it. According to ONR, this is an important step toward mounting high-energy lasers on ships as weapons.

High-Energy Laser Canon (HEL)

14 inch Portable LCD Monitor from Toshiba - USB Powered!

It's been awhile since I used dual monitors. I was thinking of getting a bigger one for my office but decided not to because it would become a habit again and I'll be needing to buy another one for home use.

Just this morning, I found this:

• Sleek, lightweight and portable design at only 2.8 lbs
• Travel-friendly at about the size of a slim 14” laptop
• 14” LCD screen with 1366 x 768 HD Resolution
• Powered via USB for easy setup and use (optional AC adapter sold separately)
• Video through USB, no VGA/DVI/HDMI video cable required
• Energy Star 5.0 compliant and DisplayLink certified
• Hybrid carry case/stand included
• Easy adjust brightness control buttons
• Microsoft® Windows® 7, Vista®, and XP® compatible

 Click here for detailed specifications (PDF File)

Apple iPad 2

Are you selling your old iPad and getting the new iPad 2?

Watch this video to help you decide if it's worth the change.

New Zealand Christchurch Earthquake Economic Implication from HSBC

New Zealand Economic Comment
Earthquake is another set back





Today another earthquake struck Christchurch. The quake was 6.3 on the Richter scale and follows last September’s 7.1 quake which did significant damage to the Canterbury region. Reconstruction following last year’s quake was expected to be a key driver of economic recovery this year, though subsequent aftershocks had delayed it. Today’s event will disrupt economic growth and also delay reconstruction efforts further, posing a downside risk to the interest rate outlook (though we do not expect a cut). Rebuilding will still boost the economy, though the risk is this will occur later than previously forecast.

Click here for PDF

Facts
- Another large earthquake struck New Zealand at 1251 on 22 February. It measured 6.3 on the Richter scale (compared with 7.1 for last September’s quake).

A peek into the future - Who needs humans?

When I saw the first few seconds of the video, I was like, "WOW!". I'm nowhere living near that but have you noticed how people nowadays are so busy with their gadgets? Imagine a family having dinner.. kids play games in their iPhones. Dad checks email in his blackberry.. mom reads magazines in her iPad. It's nowhere near the video I will show you but you can see it taking shape.



Looks cool, right? Who needs humans?

Here are some of the comments in that Youtube video:

> something trouble me a bit here, everyone living in virtual world and no one seeing each other in real live... do you not want to touch & hug your grand kids anymore??

> Cold cold world

> If the future is this 24/7 endless addiction to technology, shoot me now!

> This is how the life will become almost totally virtual...

> just hoping that humans can really communicate better for the good . . .

MiLi SALE at SM Megamall

There's an upcoming promo from our favorite on-the-go gadget juice, MiLi!

Enjoy a 10% discount with every purchase of a MiLi power solution product from January 28 (Friday) to January 30 (Sunday), 2011!Only at Power Mac Center, SM Megamall.

AND, if you plan to buy an Apple iPod Touch 4G (8GB, 32GB, or 64GB) or an Apple iPod Classic 160GB (Black or Silver) in Power Mac Center (SM Megamall), you get a FREE MiLi Power Angel

Promo runs from January 28 (Friday) to January 30 (Sunday), 2011. Only at Power Mac Center, SM Megamall.

For more details, kindly see the official poster below.

MMDA should follow Melbourne Australia

I'm pretty excited to visit Australia again after a decade. What's different now is, I'm going to drive there compared to my last visit where we just rode a tourist bus going around Australia.

Like always, I do research on my country of destination. This is where you can find the internet highly helpful. I would like to share some of my research here:

- They drive on the left side of the road
- No need to apply for international driver's license, as long as your driver's license is written in english. This will be valid for 3 months.
- In Melbourne Victoria, you will be sharing the streets with Trams and Buses and they have strict rules for private motorists to follow.
- 50kph max speed on suburbs and 100kph on highways (unless specified)
- Blocking emergency vehicles can cost you big time - same in the US (Only in the Philippines can you see vehicles chasing an emergency vehicles or worst, over taking them)
- Giveway to everyone attitude
- The complicated right turn called "Hook Turn"

Angry Birds game in real life!

If you have an iPhone or any Android OS mobile device, you have probably played Angry Birds. It's a game that became a phenomenon late 2010. Yes, sounds like a year ago but since it's just a few days away from December now, it's still cool. Dig?



Yeah.. I want one set of Angry Birds toy for myself too.