1186 Daydreaming Cars Again

I've written before that a Honda Jazz is one of my dream cars. Specifically the GE, or second generation, Honda Jazz. Not the manual, as great as those are, but the automatic transmission (CVT?) 1.5 L locally sold Honda Jazz GE. It doesn't even have to have the top of the line trim. Just a working, reliable, automatic transmission and the fuel efficient 1.5 L engine. Because in this daydream I will be modifying the Jazz.

It will be less of a sleeper car and more of a car that's a great fit (pun intended) for a mid-40s dad who rarely drives but appreciates a practical, fuel efficient car, with great audio.

• Update the audio system with a modern head unit that has bluetooth, Android Auto, and Apple Car Play capabilities as well as replacing the speakers with some co-axials. Add an amplifier as well and update the antenna from the old stick antenna to maybe a shark fin antenna.
• Upgrade the suspension and increase the ground clearance by 2 to 4 cm. This will hopefully avoid the car bottoming out on some humps or surprise potholes.
• Add daytime front and rear running lights. Nothing too bright that you'd think your headlights were on at night, just enough to improve how visible the car is when you are driving around.

Then since this is all just a blog post and I have neither a Honda Jazz nor the funds to modify it, I guess upgrade some internal components with Spoon Sports components.

Out.

1185 Would I Feel Safer In a Condominium?

For some context, after I got married my wife and I stayed in a condominium for a year. The only reason we moved out was because my wife got pregnant and after giving birth there would be no one to take care of our daughter once we returned to work.

So anyway, now that I'm older than before I do get anxious every time the weather gets bad. It used to be worry coming from typhoons but as the years moved on even monsoon rains got worse. Lately even light showers can cause really horrible flooding in Metro Manila, as some of you probably know. I won't get into the current events side of things, I will just stay within the title of my blog post. Would I feel safer in a condominium?

This question stems from the strong winds and heavy rains we are experiencing. Each strong gust of wind makes me concerned that a tree branch (or even a tree itself) would break and fall, not just on our house or car, but on people when they get to a wrong place in the wrong time. Or if the winds get strong enough to rip off the roof on our house.

I remember one of the bad storms my wife and I experienced in the condominium. Power went out, we closed all windows, yet the howling of the wind was still very loud. Yet at that time I felt to concern or worry, I don't know if I was just younger then or if staying in the condo made me feel safe. I wasn't thinking about any roof being torn or branches falling down.

Then again, a friend of mine did tell me during one of the super typhoons from decades ago that the generator set on the roof of their condo was blown off. So I guess there's that.

I guess the biggest reason I'd feel safe in a condominium is because I wouldn't have to think about trees or plants or stuff blowing around and hitting the house. I mean, it can still happen in a condo but hopefully the chances are less.

As for cars, well if you get a parking slot away from the edge of the condo then hopefully no flying debris can hit your vehicle as well.

Or maybe I'm just overthinking, as has been the case for my entire life.

Out.

1184 Used Cars

I've been browsing Facebook Marketplace yet again, looking at random cars that pop up. I've also searched for some specific vehicles just to see if they're still around and what the price is for these used cars.

No, I don't have the disposable income to get a used car. Even if I did, I don't think I can afford the maintenance needed for the old cars I want. They might still be practical and fuel efficient for current times, but maintenance might be the biggest reason why it would not be a great idea to get a used car.

What cars am I looking at specifically? The usual favorites I have. Honda Jazz, VW Classic Beetles, the VW Caddy that was sold here for a few years but didn't really sell well, some really old 4WD cars like the Suzuki Samurai and 90s Vitara, Echo Versos, and the occasional Suzuki SX4.

Notice a pattern of what cars I'm looking for? Relatively small, practical, and (hopefully) fuel efficient vehicles. Mostly automatics, some manuals that I have a crazy idea of restomodding and converting to automatic transmissions, but mostly cars I'd love to own because of their size and practicality.

Out.

1183 AI

I posted on Facebook a few days, or weeks, ago how I felt that I'm on a sinking ship when it comes to AI. Eventually I'll get swallowed by AI. What AI specifically?

AI art.

It's getting incorporated to most of the tools I'm using for work. Now, honestly I'm still up in the air when it comes to AI. I dislike how it learns, because of the possibility that it just grabs whatever it can find without any consent to use for generating stuff.

I am also open enough to know that it can be a useful tool. I just don't know a good workflow for this. I do know that some AI generated art, whether 2D or 3D, still needs a human touch after. You need to clean up the art or the model to make sure the assets are usable for game dev.

But I really am wary about using AI. So I guess I'm on a wait and see approach with it.

Out.

1182 The Honda Jazz

It was such a happy coincidence that this youtube video popped up on my recommendations. It was released five days ago from when I am writing this blog post, so either August 31, 2025 or September 1, 2025.

ReDriven made a great video about what to look out for and what to expect when purchasing a used Honda Jazz GD (aka 1st generation). The video gives great tips on what to look out for, like where to check for rust, excess moisture, and even what to expect from these twenty-ish year old vehicles.

Now I'm pretty sure the Jazz sold in Australia, where the video was shot, has some differences with the ones sold here, but I'm guessing the information they are giving can be applied to cars here. The biggest question now here is where to find a Jazz GD that's actually "relatively worth buying."

I've done some quick google searching and it looks like the GD is indeed a CVT transmission for the non-manual version. I guess this was the troublesome transmission I've read about online. I have no idea how easy or costly it is to fix, but this is something to look out for.

Don't get me wrong, at the moment I don't have the funds to get a used Jazz GD, specially since the prices for Honda Jazz in the Philippines are relatively more expensive than other used cars of the same age.

There's something about the Honda Jazz, at least the first two generations, that I really like. They're very practical and fuel efficient. They have magic seats that can let the car carry so much cargo. They're supposedly fun to drive, and their look is, at least for me, iconic.

Who knows, maybe in the future I'll be able to afford owning, restoring, modifying, and maintaining a Honda Jazz. We shall see.

Out.

1181 Crazy Wigo Upgrades

I know I've blogged about this before but since I really don't have anything to write about I'd like to blog about upgrades and modifications I'd love to do to our humble Wigo. These are more extreme upgrades that I doubt I could afford or want to do unless I suddenly became a multi-billionaire.

• Suspension upgrades. Not just any suspension upgrades, I'd like to raise the ride height by around 20 mm or so and hopefully lessen the play on the suspension when bouncing around. So basically make it stiffer and a bit higher. Not so stiff as to be uncomfortable, but not to soft that accidentally going too fast on humps or bumps causes the rear end to bottom out.
• Higher end speakers and an amplifier. Nothing too extreme, I still want co-axial speakers and a small amplifier so the practicality of the Wigo isn't affected. What I'm thinking is using a higher end brand than the realistic audio upgrade I'm planning to do. As for what brand, I have no idea since I'm not a car audio enthusiast.
• Recaro Classic LX front seats. These will hopefully provide better comfort and support when driving carefully around town and in road trips.
• A fiberglass hood. Weight savings should hopefully offset whatever weight gains I add from my other crazy ideas. I don't want to get a carbon fiber hood because I want the hood to have the same color as the car.
• V-Kool automotive window film (aka window tint) and paint protection film. For the tint I really want the one that offers the best visibility because the current tint on the Wigo is supposedly the lightest tint but I still have a hard time with visibility when I check the side mirrors in dark areas and in heavy rains. For the paint protection film, I'd love to do this after repainting the Wigo. Again, crazy things to spend on for such a humble car.
• RS Watanabe gold eight spoke 14 x 5 rims. Yet another luxury modification for a humble car, but I do love the look of these RS Watanabes. Plus this would move one of the current Wigo rims to the spare tire wheel well instead of the generic steelie.
• Yellow front fog lamps and a rear red fog lamp. I would love to have these installed, to be used for those really rainy nights that you just need a bit more visibility not only for yourself but so other cars can see you.

And those are some upgrades I would do to the Wigo if money was not an object. If you're wondering where the roof rack/bike rack upgrade is, that's something I don't think is pretty extreme or crazy.

Out.

1180 Rain

When I was studying, from grade school to high school and maybe college, classes would normally be suspended when storm signal number 2 was raised. We didn't have to wait for an official announcement from our schools, once it was broadcast over the radio and television that was it.

Nowadays a few monsoon rains is enough to cause class suspensions, not because of the rains but because of the flooding that has been happening even over some normal strong down pours. Isn't that cause for concern? It could rain really hard at 3am causing classes to be suspended but it could be sunny during lunch.

This is because of what has happened to this country. The infrastructure built over the course of my lifetime has not been up to par with what is needed for a dense metropolis. I'm not saying it's not enough, I'm saying it could have been improperly built.

Recently it has become a hot topic how the corruption of DPWH contractors have caused all these floods to get worse because they steal most of the budget and sometimes don't even bother completing the projects they were paid to do. All in the name of greed.

If you don't believe me, here are some links to reports about the rains and contractors.

• https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2025/09/01/2469591/bonoan-out-dizon-named-dpwh-chief
• https://www.philstar.com/nation/2025/08/31/2469436/five-days-worth-rain-swamped-qc-hour-causing-flooding-expert-says
• https://www.philstar.com/nation/2025/08/31/2469304/different-contractors-same-costs-quezon-city-uncovers-more-suspicious-flood-projects

Imagine that, just a sudden downpour of rain can cause suspensions of classes, just because it could flood in a lot of areas? That's crazy. And unsafe for a lot of people.

Out.