Most consumers aren’t aware that the age or shelf-life of the tires matter. Tires six years old (from when it was manufactured) and older supposedly have a greater chance of the tread pealing off, which can lead to accidents, as detailed in this 20/20 news segment. Tire manufacturers do not list expiration dates on the tires, but you can tell the age of the tires from reading the cryptic codes on the tires.

Assuming there is some validity to this, how should you shop for tires? First, do your research online by reading consumer reviews, test results, and shop around for prices. If you prefer to buy at a tire shop, before you purchase make sure to check the age of the tires.

Purchasing tires online could save you a lot, but also could be tricky since there’s no way to tell the age of the tires that will be shipped to you. Your best bet is to buy a newer model tire (e.g., google “new tire product launch”) and note the product launch date. If the product launch date was less than two years ago and assuming that I’ll keep the tires for 3-4 years, it’d be a tire that I’d consider purchasing.

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Here’s the audio file. Any feedback would be appreciated. Thx.

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A couple weeks ago, I bought a new George Foreman GRP72CTTS G-Broil Grill Supreme Electric Nonstick Countertop Grill with Digital Timer, Silver. As a grad student who’s also working, I don’t have much time to cook during the weekdays, and plus I figured I needed to start eating healthier–at least that’s my rationalization for spending $75 to get this. The nice thing about this particular Foreman grill is that it has a digital timer and auto-shutoff feature when the timer hits zero. Actually, it’s not auto-shutoff, but it switches to “ON”, which just keeps the grill warm.

I’ve not actually used a Foreman Grill before this. Since I started using it though, I’ve been grilling mostly turkey breast cutlets, turkey patties, salmon, shrimp, and veggies. Yes, that’s right. Grilled VEGGIES! Zucchinis and yellow squash with some pepper, garlic powder, and seasoned light are actually quite tasty. Someday when I’m in better shape, I’ll grill up some paninis, brats, grilled cheese melts, even kalbi and bulgogi. Mmm.

Cleanup is pretty easy, as long as you clean the grilling plates not long after you’re done grilling. Overall, I’m pretty satisfied with my latest purchase (and will be even more satisfied if I can see results).

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Some friends and I went hiking yesterday at Winter Creek - Mount Zion near Los Angeles, CA. This marked only the second time hiking I’ve hiked around L.A. The pic on the right is me posing as a bear running out of the cave.

The hike will be memorable for a number of things: 1) It was a great hike with friends as we saw parts of California that we hadn’t seen before and the majority of our hike was in the shade, and 2) we had a close brush with death afterwards, while driving down the mountain.

The road up the mountain to the hiking trail was two-way, but one lane each way (separated by two solid yellow lines). This was a winding road with guard rails overlooking the cliff on one side and the mountain forming the other side. There were various points where the road was winding up the mountain that you couldn’t see ahead. It was presumed that as long as you were going slow enough (< 25 mph) and staying in your lane, then everything should be fine. Usually, when I have people in the car, I drive slower than usual to offset the attention deficit that can occur while driving and talking/listening at the same time. Well, this genius of a driver in an early 90’s Mustang GT somehow thought it was good idea to take up part of our lane while the road was winding. When we saw him, he was maybe a foot in our lane and we had just missed a head-on collision by perhaps a foot. I’m not sure if I was able to brake as there likely was not enough time to react. The stunned silence in the car afterwards couldn’t do justice to what we had just experienced.

Last night when I reflected back on the hiking trip and the close encounter, I wondered what would’ve happened if certain things had been different. We were driving 20-25 mph and he had to be driving 35-40 mph. If there had a been a head-on collision (55-65 mph impact), the impact would’ve flipped at least one of the cars over and down the cliff (the term “guard rails” is a misnomer). Although I’m no expert, I’d put the odds of no fatalities in that situation at probably less than 20%. You start playing the “what-if” game: What if I had been driving 1 mph faster (or he had been driving faster)? What if he had been more than 1 foot in our lane? It was a stark reminder that so many things are out of our control. And our habit of marking successes and disappointments as landmarks–in hopes of deriving meaning–is folly.

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It boggles my mind why some people are willing to shell out $40 plus shipping to get a horizontal stand for the iPhone. When you can make a stand yourself with materials you already have. Some have made a stand out of pencils, others have used paper clips. While those are nice considerations, those have pointed edges that would make a $40 purchase seem like a brilliant move, if you were to puncture yourself somehow with it (e.g., it’s not hard to imagine stepping on the paperclip stand…) and land yourself in the ER. The stand that I made is pretty safe and is probably easier to make. You just need about 10 index cards and a couple strips of tape. Here’s how to make it:

1. Get 5 index cards and make two small creases on one horizontal edge. Then tape that edge and also tape the top horizontal edge, using separate strips of tape.

2. Take another 5 index cards and fold it in three equal parts, vertically. You an then make a triangle/pyramid pattern and tape the ends together. Next, tape one side of the pyramid to the back of the 5 index cards so that it props the original 5 cards to make a stand. Here’s a side view of the stand in case i’m not making any sense.

You can also thread your iPhone USB cable through the hole that we’ve created with the pyramid prop. Another plus of this stand is that it’s very portable. In fact, it’s foldable! Save yourself some cash and unnecessary injuries. This has replaced my hacked 1st gen iPhone dock (to fit the 3G S iPhone).

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A new Yogurtland just opened up next door to my gym. Talk about great timing. Just when I’m about to start exercising regularly again. So now the purpose of my exercising is so that I don’t feel too guilty about eating at Yogurtland and other places afterwards, instead of trying to get more fit and eating right.

What makes Yogurtland different from the other FroYo places out here is that everything is self-serve. You start out getting whichever flavors of yogurt you want and you decide the quantities. Today, I got Pomegranate Raspberry tart, Pineapple Tart, Pistachio, Taro, Toasted Coconut. Too bad they didn’t have Lychee tart, which is my favorite. Once you fill up your paper bowl with yogurt, you then get to add fruit toppings. They have chopped kiwi, watermelon, mango, strawberries, blackberries, canned lychees, etc. You can also get coconut flakes, walnuts, almonds, chopped peanuts, chocolate chips, granola, etc. Then they weigh what you’ve collected on a scale and you pay by the ounce (or pounds, if that applies to you).

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The opor spices have a really nice aroma. I believe it’s got some coriandor, cumin, galangal in it, and maybe lemongrass. It’s a quick dish to prepare and tastes pretty good (did i mention that it’s healthy too!).

I think opor white curry is one of those spices that I’ll always have in the kitchen somewhere, since you can probably add it to a lot of different things and it’ll taste so much better. I may try adding it to mapo tofu to see how that tastes.

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Wouldn’t it be nice if the DMV had an express checkout line for people who don’t have much paperwork to fill out or to pick up their tags? Perhaps that’s wishful thinking, given that it’s not a for-profit business that would see the benefit of providing better customer service. Hopefully, it’ll be awhile before I need to make another trip to the DMV…by then, everything can be completed online?

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I eat out way too often. So far this year, I might cook once a week, if I’m lucky. So I’m trying out recipes that are healthier, easy to cook, and that of course, taste good hopefully. Tom yum soup fits the bill.

Here’s the recipe:

4 14oz cans of chicken broth
2 stalks fresh lemongrass (cut in 2 inch pieces)
5 kaffir lime leaves
1-inch piece of ginger, sliced
2 red chiles, sliced or 1-2 tsp crushed red pepper
2 tablespoons fish sauce
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
1 can straw mushrooms, rinsed and halved
1/2 pound large shrimp, peeled with tails on
2 limes, juiced
2 green onions, sliced
1 cup fresh cilantro, chopped

This makes four servings. First, you heat the chicken broth (medium heat) and add the lemongrass and ginger and lime leaves. Cover and let it simmer for 10 minutes. Then add the straw mushrooms, sugar, and chiles or crushed red pepper, and fish sauce. After a few more minutes, add the shrimp and cook for another 10 minutes. Then add the lime juice, cilantro, and green peppers. There should be a good balance of saltiness, spiciness, and sourness. If it doesn’t taste sour enough, then add some rice vinegar. Total time for preparation and cooking: 30 minutes. Enjoy!

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