Flickr finds: Mazinger Z

I grew up watching Mazinger Z and boy what a cool anime that was. Watching this super robot ascend from the bottom of the 'secret' pool to fight crime and uses its rocket powered arms as well as object-melting rays shooting out from its eyes. I found some amazing photos off of Flickr to one of my favorite robot of all times (I've linked it back to each respectful Flickr owners for your convenience):

Get your own Doraemon, time traveling robotic cat!

Chances are, if you've ever lived in Asia or follow classic Japanese Manga, you must know this famous robotic cat Doraemon. If you don't know what this comic series is about, head to this wiki page. For those of us reading this popular manga growing up, here is your chance to snag up your very own time traveling robot to motivate you into success. I remember first reading about this from Engadget but then came across the actual website here. Apparently this feline can talk, shake head and has all sorts of bells and whistles and LEDs and has sensors (infrared-photo-acoustic) to detect and react to: motion, light, temperature, voice, touch and time...

Looks like this item is part of BANDAI's communication robot series celebrating a 30 year animation anniversary (although the comic first appeared in a magazine in Dec 1969). Available on 9/3/2009.

[Source: Mono Online]
Official BANDAI Product Page
Clips of Doraemon in action: 1, 2, 3
More:
Akihabara News Doraemon Robot Hands-on Review

2009 Honda Civic Type R

For more information about Type R cars from Honda visit the following Wikipedia links, they offer a far more descriptive knowledge than I can provide:
Honda Type R, Honda Civic Type R

My first car in high school was a brand new Honda Civic DX coupe. I worked three years to save up for it and with the help of my grandfather, we walked into a Honda dealership and picked it up in 1995. I remember the car had a black finish, 5-speed manual and had a puny 13" wheel on 175mm wide tires (manual everything: no power-steering, no power windows/door locks). Over time, I saved more money and tried to trick out the vehicle with 15" low profile tires, lowering springs, intake, DC headers, Nulogy spark plug wires, etc... Why did I go through the trouble of all this? Because of Honda's legendary Civic Type R. As a teen, I really wanted to have a car as nice as the Type R vehicles.

Civic Type R (FD2) by Honda is an engineering marvel. Honda engineers would polish and refine its design and take it as far as they can. In the case of the 2009 Civic Type R, they managed to crank out 222 HP out of a 2.0L engine (compared to the 197HP Civic Si motor which is available in the States). Chasis is reinforced throughout and a set of Brembo brakes can be found where its bright red finish compliments the red Type R badges throughout the car nicely. It seemed like Honda Engineers used the classic Integra Type R (DC5) as a design bench mark and made the new Civic Type R marginally better (lighter, faster, stronger and better handling).

I've pulled some images and photos off of Honda Japan website to wet your appetite. Just writing this article made me remind how much I missed my old civic coupe!

SEIKO 5 Watches

A manager from my previous job introduced me to the Seiko 5 series watches. As far as I know, these watches are not readily available here in the North America region (mainly found throughout Asia). Thanks to the internet and eBay, Americans can now purchase some models online.

Because these models are not meant to be purchased in the U.S., it has been difficult for me to find more information on them. For the most part, I've always known that they cost less than $100 and is usually powered by a Japanese automatic movement (no battery!) with an exhibit back casing so you can see the mechanical movements like many high end watches. This particular Amazon Seiko 5 watch listing has an interesting snippet on the Seiko5 watches:

"SEIKO 5 - the meaning of the "5" A great marketer had the idea in the 70ies: to be a SEIKO 5, the watch has to have the following 5 (five) attributes (thus the name SEIKO 5): 1. Automatic, 2. Water resistant, 3. Shock resistant, 4. Date, 5. Day. Please note that some SEIKO 5's are in fact SEIKO 4's, if the "Day" function is omitted, then the Caliber 7S25 is used. The only difference to the normally found 7S26 is the omission of the day wheel. Also re-issues of SEIKO 5 Sports often use the 7S36 caliber. Again the 7S36 is similar to the most popular 7S26, yet it features 23 Jewels as opposed to the 21 Jewels in the 7S26. Please note that all these movements beat at a rate of 21'600 bph (beats per hour) or 6 bps (beats per second). As a comparison, an ETA 2824-2 beats at 28'800 bph or 8 bps. A Miyota 82xx beats at 21'600 bph. Why do I mention these three movements? Because they are found in probably 80% of all inexpensive automatic wrist watches. A market share that is huge, yet challenged these days (2006) by an increasing share of inexpensive China Made automatic movements An automatic watch (also called a self-winding watch) is a mechanical watch, typically with a balance wheel escapement, whose mainspring is wound by the motion of the wearer's arm, instead of having to be wound manually every day. Whereas a quartz watch is powered by electricity, a mechanical watch is powered by a mainspring which must be rewound for the watch to keep time."

Seiko has long been known for making quality watches and pushing the craftmanship in watch-engineering to the limit (ie. Kinetic, SpringDrive, Grand Seiko). Below is a short list of pretty cool looking SEIKO 5 Automatics I found online, would love to check them out some day in person:

SEIKO 5 Automatic SNK795K1 ($79): This simple, yet elegant black face Seiko has it all. Day, Date, Blackdial, Automatic and has a steel bracelet which makes it durable. Perfect watch for business and business-casual. I think this makes the best starter watch to your collection.


Seiko 5 SNK805K2 Military ($86): This durable watch is perfect to wear with your jeans on a causal Friday. Featuring a durable Military style nylon strap and the same popular automatic movement, it gives you that rugged style you've been waiting for, 36mm face. Its the perfect watch for the active outdoor type.





Seiko 5 Diver's Watch ($135): With a larger, 40mm face, this Diver's watch can go down to 100 meters (or approx. 3280 ft.). With the Seiko 5 movement, its automatic and features time, day and date. Another watch that blends in both business attire and casual.

Yahoo Japan Site for Sharp AQUOS

I know Sharp always keep better LCD TV models in Japan because I saw them when I visited Tokyo last time I was there. But now they get a special channel/website from Yahoo dedicated for them... this is too much. Some of the functions includes: News, Maps, Photos, Search, etc... Check out the site here.

Limited Edition Silver Ironman (Japan)

I want this... its sooooo awesome. It would look so rad if I have this in my office, next to the Super Mario Cube Speaker. Take a look at the picture, 'nuff said. Link.

Yamaha PAS City-S Electric Bike

Hybrid electric bikes are cool. I like them as they offer a perfect balance of exercise, transportation and being green. Yamaha's PAS City-S looks like something I'd buy if 1). I didn't live in NYC which would require me to drive from point A to point B for work and 2). This bike is available for North America.

The bike offers a small electric motor that helps propel you up to 63KM/Hr on a flat road. Depending on the road condition and your riding style, this bike can keep up around 20-30KM/Hr for three times the riding distance. The worst part of running out of juice is you'll just have to paddle your way home, which is a much better option than having a electric car running out of juice on you.

The PAS City-S has come a long way. Its charging time has been reduced to 2 hours (compared to 10) and weighing in only at 22.4kg (compared to 31kg). Featuring high intensity LED headlights and a nice basket for your belongings.

Nissin Cup Noodle: Milk Curry Flavor

I don't care what "Milk Curry" flavor tastes like. I am going to find one and try it. Why do we always get stuck with the basic flavors here... its just not fair!

KIRIN Beer 麒麟 ZERO

Kirin, our favorite Japanese beer, introduced a new, low-calorie version called "Zero". It features 19kcal/100ml; its advertising and marketing pitch is similar to the Michehlob Ultra targeting active and athletic folks. I am going to see if I can find one somewhere.

Apple iMac, meet your evil twin Fujitsu F/A50

Fujitsu F/A 50 vs. Apple iMac










They say imitation is the most sincere form of flattery. Take Fujitsu F/A50 for example. It looks awfully similiar to the Apple iMac from last generation.