Having missed this the first time around, I was glad to get the chance to get one, but at the same time I was a little disappointed how quickly it came around in the special bi-weekly flavor rotation. The woman working was unfamiliar, but she made my taiyaki in short order, and even left on the mold flash how I like it. I’m sure that is more an issue of laziness rather than adherence to rustic appearance traditons! After taking a bite I felt a bit let down – perhaps because I was denied last time and the anticipation of this maboroshi flavor made me expect more out of it than it had to offer. The filling was essentially coarsely crushed and moistened Oreo cookies. It is good, but it isn’t the end-all of the myriad alternative taiyaki fillings: I’d take the conventional anko filling over the Oreo without a second thought. There is a slight residual crunch from some of the larger cookie pieces. This one might appeal to those who don’t like really sweet things. Continue reading ‘Akimune-an Oreo Taiyaki’
In cutting out the big ol hole for the battery box, I over shot on this edge. 
I was left with plenty pieces of sheet metal to make a patch with. It’s always nice to patch with pieces of same metal, when the pieces are different thicknesses it can get tricky getting a good heat and speed in welding without blowing holes in the thinner piece. Continue reading ‘Patchy’
The rare Corpse Flower native to Sumatra.
It wasnt really super stink, I think a lot of the stink already vanished, though I get the feeling that it can get pretty stink when its ripe.
The Brown Tree Snake. Hated by many for good reason.
I found this guy on my last trip to Guam, it really creeped the crap outta me! We definitely do not want these things in Hawaii!
The Ckuckster brought over his little speed demon over to do some welding on the shock towers. He’s converting from torsion bar to coil over, which means the shock mount will be supporting the weight of the car, which it wasn’t originally designed for. For a little peace of mind he decided to complete the welding on the seams of the mount. 
A little clean up and he went to town with the welder. Scat slid by just as we were starting and laid down some metal also. No fabrication needed, so it wasn’t anything too difficult. Continue reading ‘Of Shocks and Batteries’
Once again, Nagoya’s Jiraiya is back at Shirokiya selling their ebi-tenmusu – mini musubi rice balls built around a small breaded shrimp ebi tenpura. For $7.95 USD plus tax you get six slightly-too-big-to-be-a-mouthful tenmusu and a scant pinch of kyarabuki (a tsukudani made from fuki, Petasites japonicus) – they’ve gotten pretty Chang with that. That’s about the going rate, since a pack of five at the Meibutsu Tenmusu Senjyuu at Nagoya Centrair is around 735-yen. The rice in the Jiraiya ones is a bit on the gummy side compared to Senjyuu, but that could be related to adapting to the loaner equipment in the temporary space. I do actually prefer the taste of the Senjyuu ones, but I’m not flying all the way to Nagoya on a whim for them! Continue reading ‘Jiraiya Tenmusu’
Jackie and Eric from Chinatown Boardroom dropped me a line last Friday that there was going to be an opening reception for Yumi at Mu’u Mu’u Heaven in Kailua. A First Friday art show that wasn’t downtown and was on my way home was very attractive, especially if I could check out some nice artwork and meet some old friends and hopefully make some new ones. Traffic was light on the Pali, and there was ample parking. The video crew that did the live feed for Fuyuki’s show were there doing an interview, and the same organizer dude that made the arrangements with the Boardroom last time was there on hand too. I wandered around the rest of the shop and gallery space until the shoot wound up. Continue reading ‘Yumi at Mu’u Mu’u Heaven’
Saturday night’s full moon Mariner’s Ridge hike was under cloudy skies with blustery Easterlies. My GPS says the distance was 4.03km, and the moving average speed was 3.0 km/h. Elevation gain was about 270m.
Vince will probably get a kick out of this. Dave at Mojo Tactical has them in stock. A cursory internet search indicates that they are from Orca Tactical, but I’m guessing they are not licensed. Quality is good. They are available only in the desert tan colorway.
Weekend started with finishing off the front end grill area of the Scat Sled. We knew what we were going to do so the work went faster. Chuckster showed up in the morning so getting the turn signal patch cutout, flattened and tacked in was done by lunchtime! The patch was soon fully welded in and by the end of the day all the center seams were also welded, and there was still daylight left! Movie here.