Mayon Volcano: What It's Like to Live Near the Famous Perfect Coned Mountain

The Tourism Office of Region V says that a noticeably huge increase in tourist traffic in the province. It seems that everyone is eager to see the Mount Mayon up close and personal. But how does one live with this beauty, as well as the danger it poses when it erupts? Well, I should know because I live kilometers away from the danger zone. I tell you, it’s not that fun. People losing their belongings and worst lives, students making up for disrupted school schedules, failing economy as agricultural lands are washed out—I’ve seen them all and fortunately, or rather unfortunately, I’ve captured some of the dramas that simultaneously occur with every eruption of the picturesque Mount Mayon.   

The picture above is probably one of my very first captured photos during my teens. The others have been damaged by other storms that hit our historic town, Daraga. Though locals usually think of the danger when they see these photos, tourists spend on them as souvenir. They do come by too just to witness the raging lava spill out of the volcano’s crater. I must admit though that watching this occurrence is really spectacular, especially at night when one could see the fiery liquid rolling down the mountain.  

To adventurous travelers then, stay safe if you choose to travel, visit, shoot, or tour around the province. Make sure to check with the authorities on the status of the destinations here ie Mayon Volcano before going on a trek or climbing activities. J

Why I Juander

As a kid, I have always wonder how it feels to be in someone else’s shoe—being in another place with a different culture, belief, life. Eventually, I realized that it’s an impossible dream. I can never teleport or live a double life, but I sure can go and wander around any place I want given time and resources. And so, I started planning for simple travels like around the city or next town or even the neighborhood. There might be something new or interesting I could find just around the bend, you know. God might have heard my quest to go places that He let me be with the right crowd and school and became one of those that travel to compete for just about anything the school wants to compete on. Modesty aside, I might be one of the very few lucky students of my age who have roamed around the region at that time—at the expense of my school and teachers. If there’s one thing I spend money on, its camera. My very first camera was a KB 10 by Kodak. This camera lasted my 4 years in high school and then 5 years in college. I still even had it when I started working.

Traveling and photography are my only passions in life. Even after school, I choose to pursue a career that involves traveling and of course, photography. From a lomo, point and shoot camera, I switched to a smallish digital camera. It’s one of the very first from Sony, the DSC Cybershot. This one lasted my exploring hands and eyes for about 8 years before I made up my mind that a more professional and creative tool to document my memories would be a wise investment. So I went for a digital single mirror lens reflex camera. Among many brands, I chose Nikon. My first DSLR was a D3100, an entry level of the brand to enthusiast photographers. Fortunately, I chose a very well rounded camera but taking it to the beach and low temperature areas proved to be a bad idea when its steel parts started to buildup rust. Also, I’m not the most careful photographer. I dropped it along with some rocks I took as souvenir from the famous Misibis Island in Albay. That incident rendered my camera useless but armed with the warranty, the service center was forced to restore it without cashing in a single penny from me.

My travels and passion to capture every single memory of my wandering around required a better camera and lens over time. I felt it was time to move on so I sold the camera and bought another one, the Nikon D3200. It has almost the same features as my old cam but higher pixel counts allowed it to capture more alluring images. Today, I have already and finally bought a better lens. I am also making little money out of my passion, both traveling and photography. So if you have the same passion as I have, just go ahead and live your dreams. There’s nothing sweeter than earning even how little from doing what you love doing the most. J

NOW: Reconstructing

Please bear with me as I build my dream site, i Juander. This is gonna be a travel guide site. The url is supposedly "i Wander" but because I'm a Filipino, I thought I had to use 'Juan', a very prominent local name, which has the same sound as 'Wan' in wander. 

So chill while I prepare the destination, attraction, where to stay, and food tips I have compiled over my years of traveling. I hope you are as excited as I am! See you, guys!

Doing a makeover or making a monster?

Car modification is cool. However, you may find yourself exaggerating things, making your work of art a total disaster! Better yet, you can keep everything simple yet appealing.

There are lots of auto parts that you should consider when modifying your ride. You can start with the most obvious ones… Those which you can see even from a distance – like your wheels and tires.

With the wheels and tires, the desire to fit alternative ones is the most common modification. This is because of their significant visual contribution on aesthetics. Oftentimes, these auto parts stand as foundations in making or unmaking a car.

Changes to the wheels and tires can alter your ride’s behaviour on the road, so it is advisable to fit wheels and tires that are listed on the tire placard or in your owner’s handbook. Of course, you also need to ensure the good condition of your tires and wheels.

Some experts say that modifying wheels and tires can really improve a road holding, but an incorrect tire and wheel combination can affect the track of your vehicle.

Now let’s talk about one of the most popular location of car modification – the exhaust system. The rumble of a hotted-up V8 makes a pretty loud statement. Enthusiasts extravagantly shell out to fit a larger exhaust system with the idea of improving gas flow while deriving more power from the engine.

Ideally, it will be better to reduce the restriction in the exhaust to maximize the performance but in reality, it doesn’t deliver huge gains because it goes more about the noise than anything else.

Upgraded exhaust systems are popular in the 17–25 age group This is partly personality and show-off factor. The statutory limit for exhaust noise is 90 decibels for cars made after 1983. Nonetheless, fines range from $150 to $500 depending on how far the exhaust noise exceeds the limit. What do you want, fame or fine?

Getting in the interior… Car enthusiasts transform seats for support, safety, comfort, and aesthetics. If you don’t have any reason while doing such modification, better stop it, or make a monster out of your interior. However if you are sure about your plan, you can find optional extras for your vehicle, just don’t forget to get an engineering certificate.

Once a seat is incorrectly fitted, it will dislodge in the event of a crash. Moreover, if you fit a new seat and it ends up too high or low, it could compromise the driving position of your ride. If you have side airbags, have your seats modified or use seat covers since they could interfere with the deployment of airbags..

Getting under the hood.. Engine modifications tend to be more complex as these include either modifying the existing engine or fitting a new engine. Among the common activities are adding superchargers turbochargers, or after-market fuel injection systems.

Powerchips are great. These go into the vehicle’s engine management computer and changes the mapping of fuel and ignition timing, maximizing the power. Nonetheless, this is expensive if you base on the “not so great” net gain.

Never modify your ride if it is likely to affect engine management, oxygen sensor, catalytic converter, or the mufflers in the exhaust system. You can boost the power under the hood using other techniques. You don’t have to modify your ride into a monster.

More techniques are yet to be counted. If you want to learn more about having a makeover for your vehicle, keep on researching. A lot of enthusiasts are willing to share great tips for your benefits. Next time, I’ll be posting more entries related to this…

Improve your Shocks

Have you been suffering from extensive bouncing? Never ignore this as you will never get the off-road performance that you need. Check if the shocks are still in good shape otherwise, you will continuously get annoyed by the road disturbances.

Shocks generally stand as piston inside a liquid, having an extra gas chamber that absorbs the unfavorable effects of road disturbances. This happens when gas compresses while the liquid does not compress under pressure. Because of such difficult task, your shocks are apparently made to have fairly complicated structure. Additionally, since these auto parts are exposed to extensive movements, early damage are always imminent. If this happens, your car would bounce all along. To make sure that problems with your shocks will not annoy you, make sure that you will always consider the condition of each suspension parts. These are some of the main components that you have to regularly inspect.

Bound and Rebound settings
This refers to the dampening force of the shock absorber. Bound is the rate at which shock allows compression. Rebound, on the other hand, is the rate at which the shock releases the compression. Once your suspension has a dampening control, then you can determine the optimum setting.

Camber
This is the angle of your wheel against the road. Putting all your weight on the outside of your feet will cause negative camber. On the other hand, rolling your feet inwards, so all your weight gets inside, positive camber is resulted. As the car rolls into the corner, the camber will bring changes to handling and tire life. The best camber settings for handling will lead to premature tire wear. The front wheels are set up for positive camber while the wheels deflect up. Camber setting refers to the angle of the wheel to the road and the angle of the wheel to the chassis. Maintaining the best angle of contact between the tire and the road should therefore be done properly.

Caster
The angle of the wheel hub in relation to the suspension arm is referred to as the angle of castor. Positive castor keeps the wheel straight. Stability is maintained, whereas a neutral camber leads to wheel wobbling around the axis.

Toe
Toes in or toes out? Your car has “toes out” when they seem to look like your feet, having the heels together and the toes apart. On the other hand, it has “toes in” when the heels are apart and the toes are together. Any of these conditions can affect the stability of your car. Toe can provide stability on the straight and resistance whenever turning. With toes out, there is quicker steering response.

You can provide your car with the toe that you want, just make sure that this is equally distributed to all your wheels.


Roll
Removing roll in corners will help attain cornering stability. Once you push hard, your car will lift a rear wheel and when cornering, you will surely need as much rubber in contact with the black stuff.

Roll bars are also called sway bars. These help keep the level in a car corner by taking a lift from one side and trying to move it to the other. This is impossible so the lift effectively pulls down and everything is kept in contact with the road.

Spring stiffness
If the springs become so stiff, the car will bounce over humps and potholes on the road. When this become too soft, the car will wallow along. Perfect shocks are made adjustable on the car to let you get the set up that will match your driving style.

Bushes
These suspension parts provide connection to the suspension components and chassis. The rubber ones deteriorate over time. New poluurethane bushes last longer and maintain handling much tighter. However, since these are harder, your ride has the possibility to become a little bumpy.

Experience the Honda roadster drive!

2008 Honda S2000 CR

Want a sporty yet feminine convertible coupe? Why not consider the Honda roadster – S200. This sports car was launched in April 1999 and was created to celebrate Honda’s 50th anniversary. This had the chassis designation of AP1then

Honda S2000 features a front-mid engine, rear wheel drive layout with power delivered by 1, 997 cc F20C inline 4 cylinder DOHC-VTEC engine producing 240 hp (179 kW) at 8,300 rpm and 153ft.lbf (207 Nm) at 7,500 rpm. The six speed manual transmission is matched with Torsen limited slip differential.

This roadster is constructed using a rigid x-bone monocoque frame so as to improve passenger safety and handling. You can also locate other features like double wishbone suspension, integrated roll hoops, and electrically-assisted steering. An electrical vinyl top with internal cloth lining was standard.

The AP1 was manufactured up to 2003 at Tochigi plant, alongside Honda Insight hybrid and Honda NSX. The succeeding year, the production was continued at the Suzuka plant.

In 2004, a lot of revision to the S2000 was carried out. These have later on given the chassis designation of AP2. The 2004 model got the newly designed 17 in wheels and Bridgestone RE-050 tires along with a returned suspension, which reduces the tendency to oversteer.

The 2008 model year recorded the first time the S2000 was offered in more than one trim level. Additionally, Honda offered a new race-inspired version of this coupe. This is distinguished by reduced weight, fewer amenities, and a claimed increase in performance.

S2000 CR, the latest model, was introduced at the 2007 New York International Auto Show. Some modifications, called the Type-S in Japan, have included the stiffer suspension, quicker steering rack, and new Bridgestone Potenza RE 070 tires.

More and more enthusiasts desire to experience the smooth performance of this 2-door roadster, especially the ladies. If you are among these people who long for this car model, then better stop dreaming now, see it yourself..

Getting Lower... but trendier

Do you want to give your vehicle a new appeal? Why not try making it look closer to the ground? Lowering has been one of the popular trends today so it will surely be a success if you will pursue such style in your own ride.

But how are you gonna start the lowering of your vehicle then? Lots of enthusiasts have their vehicles lowered through their own skills and money. Apparently, you need to invest the same factors to make sure that your ride will stand out down the road.

Usually, lowering is started by removing the huge tractor like gap between the top of the wheel and the arches. Such lower feature is better for handling since the track becomes fairly flat and smooth.

Manufacturers need to take speed bumps, passenger comfort, uneven road surface, and road noise into consideration when setting up a car suspension. Lots of cars contain soft comfortable suspension that does a little to maximize handling and driving experience. Track cars are designed for driver preference and style for perfect setting is not just different for each model, as it is also a subjective thing.

If your car has a lowered front with a body kit, you will may not go quite as low on the suspension or you will quickly grind the front skirt of pavements, ramps, and speed bumps.

Vehicle models like Ferrari raises the nose cone electronically to avoid such issue. You could add gringing plate of rubber or metal to the bottom edge to preserve the plastic- you get to replace the grinding plate instead of the whole front apron.

Talking about the common mistakes – you should not go through the chavsandtarts car part catalogue and buy a suspension kit, which can lower your ride 50 mm, and expect the perfect set up.

Several kits are so general, as these can be fitted to all models. Different engine weights, wheel sizes, and car weights need different suspension characteristics. If you go too low, you risk grinding the tires in the wheel arch requiring a rolling of the arches, making them bigger by folding the metal underneath. You will also risk the condition of the drive shaft and gearbox if the angle from the final drive to wheel hub is wrong.

Your car can look good when slammed to the ground. You can reduce the ground clearance, causing troubles with tires rubbing in the wheelarches. Take note that roads have speed bumps and instead of slowing a lowered car down they will grab the sump and rip off the bottom of the engine, where most is of the front skirt. Several road cars can be better off going lower than 35mm for hot hatches which tend to have uprated suspension (which can even be better with just 30mm).

In case you have changed the wheel size, then these tolerances can be much lower a car fitted with standard suspension and 17” rims can be fine. Nonetheless, if you lower it as well, you may get more problems. Lowering must improve handling and appearance. Also, this must result to less air going under the car, which can enhance stability. You can notice that lower springs should be fitted top match shocks, so cutting the springs will not be that advisable.

Lowering is indeed a great idea for customizing your car. Nevertheless, this always requires complicated procedures. Of course you can do it yourself but the result will be better if a skilled auto mechanic will assist you. Also, make sure that you will get the best lowering kit in the market. Always guarantee yourself with the right choice of kit, according to the requirements of your car manufacturer.