The Fab & The Furious

Furious writes…

A friend of mine took me for a spin in his brand-new Land Rover Freelander today and I thought I’d write a review since I’m so impressed with its performance both on and off-road.

Outside, the Freelander 2 is light-years ahead of its dumpy predecessor. Inside, the dual-zone climate control also quelled the typical “I’m cold/I’m hot” arguments. The steering wheel’s vertical aluminium horn strips are a brilliant idea, easily reached by your thumbs. There is plenty of room for a young family of weekend warriors, and the interior is hardy enough to soak up the occasional McDonalds thick shake. Up front, there are two massive cup holders atop the dash, which I’m sure is a very stable place for them, but I think they’re too far away to be convenient. All in all, the interior is a comfy, stylish and contemporary place to be, and compared the competition, I think it’s streets ahead.

Setting off, the ride around town is certainly firm, and can be a little hard-edged, but once the speeds rise, so does the comfort level. Using the 4WD knob, the Freelander accurately selects traction-control, gear and rev levels to suit the terrain. The superb 2.2-litre diesel is a perfect match to the six-speed automatic which intuitively selects the perfect gear for the conditions. Even when braking, it downshifts like it mind-reads, ready for your command.

On a particularly treacherous wet grassy slope, we dialled in the “Grass, Gravel or Snow” setting. Without it, the car was slipping, sliding, and scrabbling for grip. With it, the Land Rover simply walked up. This contrasts nicely with the “Sand” setting, which supplies plenty of revs, and backs off the traction control to keep the vehicle’s speed up, and the tyres spinning. In short, it works.

Bravo, Land Rover, bravo. The Brits’ tilt at compact four-wheel drives is a winner, and really shows up the competition in the ruggedness stakes. The Freelander is the most capable for the money. In an era where function gives way to fashion, Land Rover has gone against the grain and produced a capable little off-roader.

Furious writes…

Dear Santa,

I know I’ve been a very good boy this year and I was just wondering if you could give me a Fanatec Porsche 911 GT3 RS Racing Wheel.

It features hand stitched leather wheel with genuine Alcantara leather and metal Porsche emblem just like the real car. Unlike most driving wheels, its feedback system has three level of sensitivity, dual-vibration motors and a Mabuchi 550 Series paired with a smooth belt drive to simulate a much realistic and sensational racing experiences.

To complete the gaming experience, could you also please add a RennSport Cockpit. Providing an original Race Car seat design (as used in the GTR series), the fiberglass bucket race seat is extra wide for added comfort. The Fanatec RennSport Cockpit itself is constructed in an aluminum roll cage design that provides comforting stability needed during intense races. The adjustable seat, pedal placement, and wheel angle allows each racer to customize their set-up according to their preferences. The right-hand side integrated shifter attachment can be customized for left-handed drivers.

Cheers,

Furious

Fab writes…

Lately, I have noticed that a handful of my girl friends are already planning their weddings. There are three weddings lined up in my calendar and the closest one will be on the 20th of December. Of course if there’s an upcoming wedding, then there’s also a hen night or what is more popularly known as the bride’s bachelorette party in the works. And since I’m attending one I decided to give my friend some sexy lingerie that she can use on her honeymoon. Oooh lala!

However, I need your help on what kind of lingerie to give her. I actually came across Flirty Lingerie, a site that sells a wide selection of lingerie for women of all shapes and sizes! Yes ladies, they also offer a terrific assortment of plus size lingerie for your perusal. Going back to my question, what type of lingerie do you think I should give my friend?

Should I go for the more traditional, all-white ensemble?

Or should I go for the unconventional, dress-up type?

What do you think? I’m having a hard time making up my mind since there are so many styles of lingerie available on that site! Flirty Lingerie is the place for both women AND men who are planning on adding more spice and variety to their wardrobe. So if you wish to enhance your armoire, you should definitely visit them some time.

Fab and Furious writes…

It’s that time of the year again guys n’ gals – the season for giving and sharing in celebration of Jesus’ birth. So just in time for Christmas, we are sharing with you some cool facts that we bet you didn’t know about this holiday. Enjoy!

• On Christmas morning since medieval times, church bells have been rung to announce to the world the coming of the savior. It was customary from the 18th century to wear clothes and carry a small bell to signify the birth of Christ. The ringing of the bells was to signify the importance of His Birth.

• An artificial spider and web are often included in the decorations on Ukrainian Christmas trees. A spider web found on Christmas morning is believed to bring good luck. (We wonder why…)

• The tradition of gifts seems to have started with the gifts that the wise men brought to Jesus. The exchanging of gifts between people started in about the 1800’s.

• December 25th was not celebrated as the birthday of Christ until the year AD 440 because according to some experts, Jesus’ birthday must have been on April 5 BC. To know more about the “real date” of His birth you can visit this site.

• In 1647, the English parliament passed a law that made Christmas illegal. Christmas festivities were banned by Puritan leader Oliver Cromwell, who considered feasting and revelry on what was supposed to be a holy day to be immoral. Anybody caught celebrating Christmas was arrested. The ban was lifted only when the Puritans lost power in 1660. (Now that’s what you call a party pooper!)

• St. Francis of Assisi introduced Christmas Carols to formal church services.

• The popular Christmas song “Jingle Bells” was composed in 1857 by James Pierpont, and was originally called “One-Horse Open Sleigh.” It was actually written for Thanksgiving, not Xmas.

• An old wives’ tale says that bread baked on Christmas Eve will never go mouldy. (If this was true, then bakeries would just have to make all their bread on Christmas Eve and they will never have to put best before dates ever again! :P)

• Christmas pudding was first made as a kind of soup with raisins and wine in it. Christmas Pudding originates from an old, Celtic dish known as ‘frumenty’.

• Each year between 34-36 million Christmas trees are produced to cope with the holiday demand.

• The abbreviation of Xmas for Christmas is not irreligious. The first letter of the word Christ in Greek is chi, which is identical to our X. Xmas was originally an ecclesiastical abbreviation that was used in tables and charts. In the early days of printing, when font sizes were limited and type was set by hand, abbreviations and ditto marks were used liberally. Xmas came into general use from the church.

• Not all nations recognize Santa Claus as the one who brings presents on Christmas, here’s a list of what other countries believe in:

England: Father Christmas
France: Pere Noel (Father Christmas)
Germany: Christkind (a beautiful fair-haired girl with a shining crown of candles)
Russia: In some parts - Babouschka (a grandmotherly figure), other parts it is Grandfather Frost.
Scandinavia: A variety of Christmas gnomes. One is called Julenisse.
Spain and South America: The Three Kings
Italy: La Befana (a kindly old witch)

• Early Christmas trees were decorated with fruits, flowers and candles, which were heavy on the tree branches. In the 1800’s German glass blowers began producing glass balls to replace the heavy decorations and called them bulbs.

• In India, they decorate banana trees at Christmas time.

• Kissing under the mistletoe possibly began in old England. One theory is that the Druids started it all. They believed the mistletoe was sacred and therefore a charm against evil. They used golden sickles to harvest it and, to keep it from touching the ground, caught it in the folds of their priestly garments. Another theory is that the custom was started by the Scandinavians, who considered mistletoe to be a symbol of peace. When enemies chanced to meet under it, so the story goes, they would be required to declare a truce for the day and seal it with a kiss of peace.

• The origin of hanging Christmas stockings comes to us from southern Europe. One legend says that an old man was in despair because he had no money for his daughter’s dowries. St. Nicholas dropped a bag of gold down the chimney, which happened to fall into a stocking hung up to dry. (Gee, we wish Santa would bring us a bag of gold too! Ho Ho Ho!)
  

• The biggest selling Christmas single of all time is Bing Crosby’s White Christmas. Watch the movie clip where Bing Crosby sang this song here. They don’t make movies like that anymore.

• French peasants believed that babies who come into the world on Christmas are born with the gift of prophecy. (Tell us those of you who were born on Christmas Day, is this true?)

• During the Christmas buying season, Visa cards alone are used an average of 5,340 times every minute in the United States. (OMG!)

• In America, the weeks leading up to Christmas are the biggest shopping weeks of the year. Many retailers make up to 70% of their annual revenue in the month preceding Christmas. (So maybe it’s a smart move to start a business during this season ;))

• More diamonds are purchased at Christmas-time (31 percent) than during any other holiday or occasion during the year. (Does this mean that most marriage proposals happen around this time of the year?)

• Some priests in Australia advise you to say “Happy Christmas”, not “Merry Christmas”, because Merry has a connotation of getting drunk - which brings its own problems. One should say “Happy” instead.

That’s some of what we have gathered so far. Feel free to share your own Christmas trivia F&F friends! We wish all of you a very, very Happy Christmas!

Fab writes…

Do you guys remember the article that I wrote way back about my wish list? Well I forgot to add one gadget that I always wanted to have for myself –- the Nintendo DS. I know there are a lot of gaming consoles out in the market today, but aside from the fact that Nintendo DS is one of the world’s most popular, what I really like about it is its size since it’s not too big and bulky. Of course another plus point is that there’s a pink Nintendo DS available in the market.

It doesn’t hurt too that there is a wide range of Nintendo DS games to choose from, and these days, Mario Kart DS is all the rage with the Nintendo DS gamers all around the world. That’s probably because it’s a game that everyone will enjoy. Mario Kart DS combines the elements of racing, adventure, suspense, and who would not love those cute Mario characters we all grew up with? But if racing is not your thing, I’m sure that out of all the Nintendo DS games offered, you will surely find one that you will be addicted to!

Furious writes…

The Nintendo Wii is a home video game console released by Nintendo. It is a unique interactive games system from Nintendo that lets everyone play - all you have to do is move to play. As a seventh-generation console, the wii primarily competes with Microsoft’s Xbox 360 and Sony’s PlayStation 3.

There’s a wide range of Wii games to choose from, and one of them is wii fit - fun for all the family. It is a unique and innovative way to help you and your family stay fit in the comfort of your home, through simple daily exercises. Whether you’re doing a yoga pose or snowboarding down a slalom course, there’s an activity for everyone.

One game that is popular on both nintendo DS and Nintendo Wii is Mario Kart, Mario Kart DS and Mario Kart Wii. Mario Kart Wii brings the iconic Mario Kart franchise onto Wii for the very first time. With a host of features including the Wii Wheel, classic and new race tracks, never-before seen Mario Kart characters, new vehicles, Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection, and even a new Wii channel – the Mario Kart Channel - Mario Kart Wii is a must have for every Wii owner.

If you’re planning to get your own Nintendo Wii or ds console, it would be best to canvass prices first. Savebuckets is one good site where you can do that so better visit them first to make sure that you get the best value for your money.

Furious writes…

Google announced that it will be pushing out an update for the Google application on the iPhone that lets users search with their voice rather than trying to use the on-screen keyboard. This voice search was likely made possible using the mounds of voice information they have been gathering with their 1-800-GOOG-411 service.

You can find the free Google application in the iPhone App Store. Once you’ve either installed this application for the first time, or had it updated, you are ready to start searching with your voice. Launch the application, put it to your ear, then speak your search query to give this feature a try. It’s unclear how accurately it will translate voices into the correct words, but it’s no secret that they have been working on this technology for a long time.

Furious writes…

This is an awesome ad promoting the World Tour of Guitar Hero. It features four sports superstars, namely Kobe Bryant, Tony Hawk, Alex Rodriguez, and Michael Phelps.

The promo features the rich-as-shit foursome playing music in pink button-ups and their underwear (except for vocalist Kobe, who was too shy and rocked some b-ball shorts instead).

Fab writes…

Beautiful, huh? That’s one of the many pics that Furious and I took when we visited the Tulip Festival over at Monbulk Road. It was a 45 minute drive from Furious’ house and it was freakin’ cold there but it was all worth it. Seeing all those colorful tulips took our breath away!

We were with Furious’ sister and her boyfriend and we had loads of fun and hundreds of photos! The theme when we went there was “Irish Weekend” so there were men in kilts walking around with their bagpipes. Harharhar!

We were hungry after posing for all the pics so I really wanted to eat A LOT for lunch! Unfortunately, I forgot to take pics of the hotdog and pizza we had. Good thing Furious reminded me to take a shot of our dessert - *drool*

After eating, we bought and picked our own tulips — 10 for AU$1 each, so that’s around Php 400. Very cheap considering the prices of tulips back in the Philippines. It was a great experience, it felt like picking tulips from your own garden.

If you want to know more about this great place just visit their site. Take note though that the festival will only last until the 12th of October so if your planning to go there, better make plans soon!

I still can’t believe I’m with Furious now…It was our 2nd anniversary last October 1 and we are so happy to be together again. Keep on coming back here, I promise to post more pics of all our expeditions around Melbourne. Cheers!

Furious writes…

fring is a VoIP application that lets you use Skype, MSN, Google Talk, ICQ, Twitter, Yahoo!, and AIM clients to chat and instant message. Well, the good news is that fring is available now for free in the Apple App Store and can be loaded on your iPhone without any jailbreaking required.

fring will run on your iPhone or iPod Touch and works over the WiFi network. You can even make SkypeOut calls with fring so if you are traveling fring may be the application you want to make low cost and free calls on the road.

Fab writes…

For those of you who do not go all sentimental when it rains, I have found the perfect way to keep you dry and make a statement at the same time. Lo and behold the Fuck The Rain Umbrella.

Designed by Russian artist, Artemy Lebedev, this umbrella may not stop the rain from falling but at least it makes the user’s opinion known. I will even give you a glimpse of what the umbrella looks like from the rain’s point of view:

Ain’t that cheeky? Keep safe and have a wonderful weekend F & F friends!