JustinMar.com: The official website of Justin Mar

I'm sure this is old news to the serious console gamers out there, but Guitar Hero II (sequel to Guitar Hero) is a really fun game to play! Our friends T&T brought their PS2 to our place and they showed us this fun phenomenon. T&T connected their PS2 to our TV and the fun was about to begin. For those who don't know, your controller is a mini version of a guitar that looks similar to this: This game turns your into an instant rock star and you don't have to have any music talent to sound like a pro. Here's how it works. You choose a song, you set your skill level, and then you select the tempo (speed). As the song starts, there will be a long "fret" line with five colors (green, red, yellow, blue, and orange). As the colors scroll down the screen towards you on the fret, you have to press down the color on the control guitar and strum the guitar with the tempo as the color passes down the screen. As you hit the colors and strum the guitar c...

Yes, we dwell upon this day of love. I'm sure there is a historical and mysterious religious background behind the purpose of this day. But it all boils down to a huge profit generator for florists and candy stores. I hate to say it, but it's us MEN who fall into this sucker scam on this day. People get caught up with the cards, the chocolate , the long stem roses, and sometimes lavish jewelry or other nice gifts. This day should be the sharing of gifts between loved ones, but it seems like it's always a one way street. The male is the one who is in the dog house if this day is forgotten. Love can be interpreted and shown in many different ways. It doesn't have to be shown with candy, roses, and all those common gifts that women expect. I think men fall victim to this and women take advantage of it. Call me cheap, but I would rather do something nice for my woman (that doesn't cost money) rather than wait in the crowded lines for flowers and candy....just so I...

Hello everyone, my name is Justin and I'm a car tweaker. The orange American Rice Rocket (aka Clare the Cobalt) gets a few new upgrades for the new year. TAG Racecraft , a car performance tuning company in Ontario Canada developed this nice little kit to compliment the GM Stage 2 upgrade which I already have installed. Here's the list of items in the kit: 2.79" supercharger pulley made of 6061 Billet Aluminum (previous size 3.00") 60 lbs./hr Flow Matched Injectors to spray more fuel (previous size 42lbs.) Custom Power Control Module Tune to optimize upgrades Colder Spark Plugs This upgrade gives the car increased POWER throughout the entire RPM range. Click image for larger view This is a dyno sheet of the horsepower and torque that was done. Keep in mind the dyno reflects WHEEL horsepower....which means: 248.25 horsepower and 238.55 ft-lbs of torque. This is definately an aggressive amount of horsepower for such a little 4 cylinder engine. I got a little help from my...

Her birthday was yesterday, and I know this posting is a day late. My excuse for posting the following day? I was busy making sure she was having an enjoyable day. I wanted to dedicate this post to Sherry's Birthday! Here is a list of what we did for the day...including pictures! Breakfast made by me. Yes, rice with breakfast. Dinner at Bacar Sherry has Striped Bass The horns....I was eating deer. Christmas colors? I drink too much coffee. Birthday Clapping...Sherry is 3 Again, HAPPY BIRTHDAY SHERRY!

It's safe to assume that for the whole month of January you can eat at some of San Francisco's finest restaurants for reasonable price under the Dine About Town Program . The participating restaurants offer a prix-fixe meal that usually consists of a appetizer, main course, and dessert for only $31.95 a person for dinner and $21.95 for lunch. So far, I've tried the Tablespoon Bistro on Polk Street. Good ol' American style food. Read my review that I posted on YELP . There are a few more places that we're going to visit before the month ends. I recommend that you try this great offer before the month ends. Make your reservations online too with OpenTable.com . Happy eating!!!

I hate to say it...."I'm a fat ass!" Eleven days into the new year and I already broke the diet resolution. For those who know me; I'm a meat and potato type of guy. People usually think I'm big into Chinese food or other type of Asian cuisines because I'm Chinese. WRONG! Standing six feet two inches tall doesn't come from eating Chinese food all my life....maybe for the exception of living off Texas Long Grain Rice. If I had a choice between asian food or american food....I'd most likely choose American food. The restaurant that broke my diet plan was Harry's Hofbrau . When people think of "hofbrau" they think of German food. When I think of hofbrau; I think open faced sandwiches with meat piled high, smothered with gravy! From what I'm told, hofbraus were places where you can grab a beer and a hearty meal to eat all under one roof. This place is definately the fix for any hungry man. Just from visiting the website, I made the assump...

This is my official first post for the new year and I'm already three days late. So much for making a resolution to keep up to date with this blog. Despite my reputation for not being blogger punctual, I want to take this opportunity to give everyone a sample of my top ten resolutions. Lose weight and eat healthier. No more AYCE (ALL YOU CAN EAT) Blog at least everyday or every other day. Exercise everyday. FIND A NEW JOB!!! Spend more time with slee. Reduce spending on car modifications. Monitor blood pressure more often. Decorate and paint the interior of the house. Take the written exam for a motorcycle license. Take more vacation time off. T hat sums everything up for now. The list continues, although I usually try to make resolutions that you can live up to. I find it amazing that the gyms are so crowded during the beginning of the year and then the crowds go back to normal after three weeks. So much for keeping the resolutions! I hope that 2007 will return some good fortune ...

I just wanted to squeeze in a short post before the year of 2006 comes to an end. There were many events that happened within this year. Some good and some bad. Overall, it always feels like every year passes faster and faster. 2006 sure did fly by fast. The biggest personal milestone that I can say that happened in 2006 is the fact that I turned 30 years old. I feel the same, I look the same, but only a year older. I had a spectacualar birthday celebration with family and friends. It was good to see people I seldom see often; so seeing everyonewas a huge gift in itself. We played games, ate until we were stuffed and had a merry time. I hate to say this, but 2006 was not a good year for some friends and family that I know. A lot serious health issues derived and some almost close to life threatening. Not a good year, but at least we survived through it. I'm keeping my fingers crossed with wishes that 2007 turns out better. Hopefully 2007 will be starting year of a new career ...

Mickey the innocent little dog with dominance aggression has a little problem with his intestines. He has Tapeworms !!! We're unsure how he contracted this problem, but it's obviously not from eating McDonald's Hamburgers. Mickey possibly contracted the tapeworm problem from eating a flea that hosted the tapeworm larvae. I also noticed that he also licks plants and grass, which can be another way he contracted it. Tapeworms can be contagious to humans, but only contracted if we too eat the larvae from fleas or his stools. I noticed that Mickey had this issue when I was taking him out for his routine walk around the neighborhood. As I picked up his poop, I noticed a white object about the size of grain of rice on his poop. Holding my breath and observing it a little more, I noticed that this grain of rice started moving!! This discovery now gives me a solution as to why he has an increased appetite. Mickey is usually in the ballpark of seven pounds. He feels much heavier no...

Today embarked the sad announcement of the death of James Kim , a CNET senior editor that died in the Oregon forests from a family roadtrip that went bad. It's been all over the news since his family and himself were announced missing. The fortunate news was that his wife and two children survived and found in good health. It's just very sad that he wasn't able to survive the cold weather, with limited food, and with very limited resources. My deepest sympathy goes out to his lovely family that he left behind. He is a man that gave his life basically to assure the lives of his family. I don't know Kim personally, but I did read his reviews on MP3 media players on CNET. May he rest in peace. To turn this subject into a happier moment, I wanted to announce Mickey's 7th birthday! Mickey is my dog that has a loveable innocent demeanor, yet can quickly change into an attack dog that bites. His personality is unpredictable, but lately he has been a good dog. So it's ...

I can't believe that people still camp outside in the wee hours of the morning for all the deals offered on Black Friday. Yes, there are good deals, but is it worth the headache? You basically have to camp out in the cold, sometimes rain, fight with other consumers, whord as many items, and then stand in line for hours to pay for the money saving deals. Again I ask....is it worth it? I honestly think black Friday is just the retailer's form of creating chaos to get the consumers in the spirit of spending money. What spirit does this create when you basically view the store as a battleground! Have you ever thought of this from another perspective? All the savings you are gaining actually turns into wasted money later? Getting a great deal is just a state of mind. A good deal from someone's perspective can honestly be different from another person's perspective. Saavy buyers know a good deal when they see one, but in reality they end up buying some useless obje...

Don't worry! No one died. A wonderful friend/neighbor to S and myself moved away. This person will be named, "T" for the sake of confidentiality. T now lives about a 15 minutes away from us. We'll miss her companionship, the late night food runs, eating ice cream while watching movies, more eating, tapioca/milk tea drives to San Mateo, watching channel 728 in HD, picking on S, and above all......FARTING. Having a great friend to hang out everyday made coming home more entertaining and enjoyable. It was convenient that T lived next door to us and it was one of the main reasons why we decided to purchase the condo (to live next door to her). Now that she's gone, things will be a bit different. I'm sure that S will be taking it hard because T was her friend since Jr. High. We will still see T, but not as often. Our condo will be a little quieter, a little less active, and I hate to say.....more boring. I guess the change will also help S and I concentrate on thin...

The Cobalt (aka Clare) has been out of commission for awhile. It's been awhile since I've blogged and I wanted to update everyone on what's going on. In my previous blog, I raved about the POM tea and now we have plenty of empty bottles. It was good as it lasted. Ok, back to the subject. On Sunday, October I was driving to work and just so happened to run over a bouncing SUV tire on the westbound section of highway 580 in Oakland. Avoiding debis on the road always causes havoc and it can also potentially cause an accident. The car in front of me ran over the tire and kicked the tire into my drive path. As I see the tire bouncing in front of me, I had four choices to make in a matter of seconds. 1) Hit the center divide to my left, 2) Hit the person to my right pacing at the same speed, 3) Slam on my brakes and have the tailgater butt ram me, or 4) Hit the tire head on. I chose option 4. I cringed as the tire goes under the car and listening to the loud "thump". I ...

POM TEA (they have a cool website) is the greatest tea that you can buy at your local grocery store. Not only do you get the antioxidants that you need for good health, you also get a nice glass for a keepsake! I'm sounding like an advertisement for them! In any case, I love this tea! Especially their Pomegranate Peach Passion White Tea. It's sweet to the taste and smooth as goes down your throat. It also happens to be on sale at SAFEWAY . Their promotion is 10 for $10 (yes, a dollar each). The normal price is close to $2.50 to $3.00 a glass. Since they are on sale, we've decided to stock up on this great drink. Yes, call it overkill, but it's too good of a beverage to pass up and again, you get the nice glass to keep afterwards. The lids are resealable too! Now that we have a fridge full of these teas, who needs beer? At least it won't make you fat. We purchased 25 bottles, although two did not make it home. Ahhhh! Join the POM revolution! Try one today! Especial...

From the title of this blog post, please be informed that you should not read this after eating a full meal. I somewhat wish I can transmit smells over the internet for this story. It's probably the worst I've ever had to deal with in a long time. I also hope that the customers that I dealt with don't have access to the internet. They don't seem like the tech type. In any case, here's the story. The customer calls the dealership early in the morning. They explain to the sales manager that they are without a vehicle and they are really interested in buying two vehicles. So my sales manager sends a salesperson out to their residence to pick them up from their residence. The customers arrive to the dealership and the salesperson walks back to the sales desk with a big smirk. It's a husband a wife and their look like they are in the mid-forties. The wife was disabled and she walked with a cane. So they look like a normal couple ready to buy two cars. So the salesper...

It's been over a month since my last post and I feel really bad that I haven't been able to consistantly blog something everyday. There shouldn't be an excuse (i'm so harsh on myself)! I know this is a bit premature since we're not close to end of the year, but I've noticed that 2006 has not been a good year for some of us; especially for a lot of people I know. First of all for myself, 2006 embarks the year that I turn 30 years old! My health has not been the greatest this year. After my Peru trip in September 2005, I had to see the doctor to get checked out because I fractured my tailbone. So my doctor suggested that I have complete physical. Then from that point on, my health has gone downhill because I have high blood pressure, very high cholesterol, and a fatty liver. I find that it's good that I'm aware of these conditions at a young age, but it involves a lot of discipline to adapt your body to the changes for a healthier lifestyle. Now that I...

I have my first weekend off approaching within a few days. Looking forward to a little R&R whenever these days approach. Especially when we are shorted handed staff wise. It's been nice that I have rotating days where I can sleep in and not show up to work until noon. So I feel at least a little bit more rested with the late start rotation. Yesterday, (Tuesday, August 15) I made a really good dinner with the ingredients we had in the fridge. We had some red potatoes. So I boiled them, mashed them up, added fresh chopped garlic, butter, and some milk...to make some good MASHERS. For vegetables, we had some zucchini provided from one of Sherry's co-worker's uncle. The zucchini was compliemented with red onion strips stir fried with butter and a zest of fresh lemon juice. For the main dish, I prepared BBQ Breaded Chicken breast strips. There was plenty of leftovers available. My sister made some fresh sourdough rolls....and we made chicken sandwiches out of them...

First post in the month of August. I have a very busy work schedule ahead due to the fact that we are short handed. We used to have a management staff of four which is not currently down to two managers. We used to have a sales staff of seven and now down to four. It's nice to have a full staff, although if just makes work more tiresome since we have to work longer hours to compensate the slimmer staff. Change does happen fast without notice. Being able to adapt to these changes is what makes you a better employee. Wait a minute, a foolish employee. The result of the reduction of staff has to do with people moving on in their career or in a different career direction. One is working in the oil business, one just couldn't come to terms with upper management, one had to relocate to another store to fill in, and one will just follow the other. It's basically a ripple effect. There is some change in my work schedule. Now I have to work six out of the seven days in a week. ...

OK folks. I know I've been slacking again big time! Been busy with a lot of events. Spent a weekend in Yosemite, had a long work week, and dealing with the hot weather. I'll post pictures of the Yosemite trip in my next posting. Just haven't had time to publish the photos on my official website. Here's just a few things that have happened when I should have been blogging. 1. My 50" Plasma TV broke. It's under warranty, but it hasn't been in operation for two weeks because the replacement part is on order. 2. Visited Yosemite on the weekend of July 14-16th. Hiked up to Half Dome, but didn't climb up to the ropes. I dehydrated and ended up with some painful leg cramps. Was able to make it at least to the base of the dome and back down to curry village. 3. Installed a STRUT TOWER BAR on the Colbalt. The strut tower bar eliminates a small amount of body flex when making hard turns. Other than that, my days/weeks have been like any other day in...

Today embarks a day where I was able to help someone from committing suicide. I will not go into detail about the end result just for the sake of confidentiality. We had a customer come in who suffers from post traumatic war syndrome. He was a Vietnam Vet who earned purple hearts and told me about the casualties he experienced. He even shared the detail of himself killing young children, helpless people, and families of all sorts. He wanted to buy a truck from us. His credit did not permit him to purchase the truck we had in the showroom that he fell in love with. He went into begging on his knees that he would not leave without this truck. So explained to him all the reason why he doesn't qualify. The bank simply will not finance the truck that he wants due to his poor credit. This obviously was not the answer that he wanted to hear. So he says, "If I can't have this truck, I minus well grab a gun and shoot myself in the head." I was shocked and thought he was jokin...