What a long, strange month it's been.

Hey again everyone.

Wow, so much to tell you but so little time and space. What the hell, I'll you everything.

My last post was April 14, 2011, but so much has happened since then. Take for example, April 29, 2011. That marks one year since we came back from Louisville, KY for the DECA ICDC 2010. Wow, time flies. More on that later.

At about 2:40 PM, I walked into the Apple Store with the intent to buy a replacement iPhone 3G for my old and battered iPhone 3G. The Genius behind the Genius Bar got all my paperwork in order, and here came the first surprise: rather than billing me $199 for a replacement, I was only billed $85. 

The Genius walked over to the drawer and pulled out a replacement iPhone 3G. He then inserted his SIM tray ejector tool and tried to open the sim tray of the new iPhone, but to no avail. He spent at least 15 minutes trying to un-jam the SIM tray but it was useless. He then put the iPhone 3G back in the box and came over to me, and I was sure I was walking out of there without a phone at all until they could order a replacement.

Well, he walked over to me, and he said, "So we've been having some trouble with the SIM tray on the replacement iPhone 3G, so we're gonna go ahead and upgrade you to a 16-gigabyte iPhone 3GS.

I nearly lost it right there. Months of eBay-ing, months of making new contacts and asking around, all at an end. I jumped all around the Apple Store bragging that I had a new 3GS (and it's not even as good as a 4!). It's been such a great phone so far. It does everything I want, and then some. The battery lasted over 6 hours of usage on each charge, perfect for my trip to Orlando, which brings me to...

...the DECA International Career Development Conference 2011. Me, along with 8 of my classmates, traveled to Orlando, FL to compete and attend leadership conferences. It was the time of my life. Not only were there 3 plane rides involved (I filmed all the takeoffs and landings on my new iPhone 3GS, got yelled at by a flight attendant, but sneakily whipped out my phone and started filming again), but the weather was hot and humid (85 degrees and clear skies) as opposed to 40 degrees and snowy. Our hotel, the Hilton Orlando, had the best pool I have ever seen in a hotel. We went to SeaWorld, went mini-golfing, and whatnot. In terms of actual competition, me and my partner were the only ones in our group that made it to the Finals. We didn't get top 3 or even top 10, which is somewhat disappointing but I feel that being in the top 22 is still pretty good, especially on an international level.

I am now in the midst of my last full week of junior year, with finals next week. My grades are good, but barely. More work is needed. I have begun my Facebook hiatus for an indefinite amount of time and in the meantime will keep Tweeting and "Bloggering." Until then, I'm off!

And so begins a new era.

Hey guys.

Can you believe that it has been 1.3 years since I posted on this blog?

Well, I'm back. And I have changed.

More on this later. Please keep checking back. This blog WILL be kept up to date more and more over the next few months.

Thanks.

Lexus RX350 vs. Mercedes-Benz ML350

All right, I am so sick and tired of hearing people saying that the Lexus RX kicks the Benz ML's rear, so I'm posting a review/comparison right now.

Note: the 0-60 times are as tested in Colorado, not according to the manufacturer's website.

LEXUS RX350

Engine: DOHC 24-valve 3.5 L V-6, aluminum block and heads, Toyota engine-control system with port fuel injection
HP: 270 hp
Torque: 252 lb-ft
0-60mph/0-100 kmh: 7.4 seconds
Drivetrain: AWD and FWD, on a 5-speed transmission
Top speed: Electronically limited to 112 mph.

Dimensions:
Turning radius: 37.4 ft
Length: 186.2 in
Height: 66.1 in
Width: 72.6 in
Wheelbase: 106.9 in
Steering wheel turning circles (lock-to-lock): 3
Curb weight: 4090 lb
Cargo Volume: 38.3 cubic feet

EPA Fuel Ratings: 18 City, 24 Highway AWD; 20 City, 26 Highway FWD
Fuel Tank Capacity: 19.2 gal

Safety features:
AWD (optional), 4-wheel-sensor ABS, limited slip center differential, Vehicle Stability Control, Electronic Brake Distribution

Off-roading capabilty: None--has been plunged into deep mud, but is not recommended, some customers report their car got stuck in a pothole.

User Comments: Not a bad car, but seems to be underpowered. Not as "reliable", in terms of smoothness and off-roading, as Lexus cars are meant to be. Car And Driver Magazine gave it a 2/10 Expert Rating.
There is a small fault with the AWD system. It displeases many customers. It has been revealed that the AWD system is just an RWD system, and if the front wheels start to slip, then the car reroutes power to the front wheels as well. Still, even that small time interval between the wheels slipping and AWD engaging is enough to cause an accident.

Optional Features: Xenon HID Headlights, Laser Guided Cruise Control, LexusLink Satellite Safety System

Price: $37,500 starting

MERCEDES-BENZ ML350

Engine: 3.5 L V6 DOHC 24-valve, Electronically Sequential Fuel Injected
Power: 268 HP
Torque: 258 lb-ft
0-60mph/0-100 kmh: 7.05 seconds
Drivetrain: 4MATIC AWD, on 7-speed 7G-TRONIC Automatic only transmission
Top speed: Electronically limited to 132 mph.

Dimensions:
Turning radius: 37.9 ft
Length: 188.2 in
Height: 71.5 in
Width: 83.7 in
Wheelbase: 114.7 in
Steering wheel turning circles (lock-to-lock): 3.6
Curb weight: 4705 lb
Cargo Volume: 72.4 cubic ft

EPA Fuel Ratings: 15 City, 20 Highway
Fuel Tank Capacity: 25.1 gallons

Standard/Safety features: 4MATIC All Wheel Drive, Electronic Brake Assist, TeleAid Satellite Assisted Roadside Assistance, Vehicle Info, Concierge Services, SOS, Downhill Speed Regulator, Off-road Driving Program, Hill-start assist, constant 50/50 front/rear power split, Electronic Stability Program. According to MBUSA Website:

ESP compares the driver's intended course, via steering and braking inputs, to the vehicle's response, via lateral acceleration, rotation (yaw), and individual wheel speeds. ESP then brakes individual front or rear wheels and/or reduces excess engine power as needed to help correct understeer (plowing) or oversteer (fishtailing). ESP also integrates all-speed traction control, which senses drive-wheel slip under acceleration and individually brakes the slipping wheel or wheels, and/or reduces excess engine power, until control is regained. No other Stability Program has this capability, except for BMW's xDrive, which still isn't as good, but can stop sliding to a certain extent. (Added by me.)

Standard 4MATIC/4-ETS monitors the speed of all four wheels to detect wheel slip, then applies individual brakes as needed (to provide the effect of locking the front, rear, and/or center differentials without the noise/uncomfortable vibrations) and/or reduces excess engine power. 4-ETS continually balances the torque split to help ensure power is permitted to flow to the wheel or wheels with traction.

Optional Features: Parktronic, Distronic Laser Cruise Control, Xenon HID Headlights, Power folding mirrors, Power Steering Column, Heated Rear Seats/Steering Column, Air suspension

Car And Driver Magazine rating: 7/10 Expert Rating
Off-roading capability: Is very capable, can plunge into mud/water/snow/ice deep as wheel hub (with Off road program engaged).
Customer comments: VERY smooth, potholes and rough roads unnoticable, V6 engine makes a car-enthusiast-pleasing noise at high RPMS.

Price: $47,975 starting, fully equipped ~$59,000

Flamewars ALLOWED! Did I miss anything? Sound off in the comments!

My Youtube Channel!

Check out my videos and comment on 'em, if you have an account, right here!

http://www.youtube.com/user/CaptainPrad

Blog Cleanup

Hello everyone,
This blog is getting some tidying up. I'm changing the titles of some of my other blog posts to make them more formal. I'm deleting the UAL902 and other pointless posts (Your Age? post--too personal?) because that is an incomplete flight, my hard drive got wiped out, and and no one seems to be interested. Some comments I don't appreciate will be wiped out too. I'm also deleting and re-adding some gadgets to clean them up too, for example, I'm scratching the live activity feed altogether, since it's annoying. I'm also looking for some new blog templates...any ideas?

Xenon HID Headlights

Know what HID headlights are? They're those awesome mostly-white-purplish-bluish headlights on high-end luxury cars. Simply put, xenon high-intensity discharge (HID) headlights deliver superior lighting over long distances than halogen/yellow headlights because their color spectrum index is closer to natural sunlight than halogen. They don't use a filament; they use an arc of electricity flowing through xenon gas between two electrodes. That's why they "flicker" on like a flourescent light, briefly turn red, then get whiter as they warm up. Therefore they last about 4-5 times longer than those halogens. And their light goes farther. If you have xenon headlights, you'll notice that a sign half a mile away or farther lights up brilliantly. This is because there's a small amount of flourescent light in xenon lights, which road signs are designed to reflect. The coolest part about these lights is that usually, cars with these HID lights have a feature that rotates the headlights to follow the curve of the road, or to level the lights. Aim a set of xenon headlights at a wall and you'll see that there's a uniform line of light where the bulb no longer projects any light, where as in halogen, light is all over the place.

Xenon headlights were first introduced in automobiles as an option on the 1991 BMW 7-Series. The American car market's first try at xenon headlights was on the Lincoln Mark VIII. It was the first car to use DC Current in it's HID lights, although the standard is AC.

Here are some pictures:

Xenon Headlight 1

Xenon Headlight 2

Xenon Headlight 3

Xenon Headlight 4-This was our temporary rental car

Xenon Headlight 5

Can anyone guess these cars? Looking at the URLs is cheating!

Fun Fact: All newer airplanes have xenon landing/taxi lights!

Real Estate

Looking to sell or buy a home?

Come here:

http://www.meenakikkeri.com

to get in contact with one of the best Realtors in the area.

RE/MAX Alliance DTC

Hello

Hey everyone, this is my new blog! You can expect airplane info, Flight Simulator pics, my life, and many more things. Check back often!