Strong 6.8M quake triggered small tsunamis

Earlier today, a strong 6.8 magnitude quake jolted Japan's northern coast near the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Plant, the same location where the March 2011 disaster occurred, killing ten thousands of people and caused a meltdown at the power plant. Japan's Meteorological Agency states that this quake struck 10km below the seat surface off the Fukushima coast and triggering a 20cm tsunami at the coast of Ishinomaki Ayukawa, 50 minutes after the quake.

So far, after the strong quake, the Fukushima Daiichi and two other nuclear plants along the coast found no abnormalities and their reactors and fuel storage pools are safely cooled.

Report: http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/619039/strong-quake-hits-japan-triggering-small-tsunami

OFFICIAL: LeBron James returns to Cleveland

It's official, NBA fans. Looks like the basketball superstar, LeBron James, is packing his bags from Miami Heat as he decided that he's going back to the Cleveland Cavaliers.

There are things to consider why LeBron James is going back to Cleveland is simple; the Ohio State is where he lives, his business HQ, the Cavaliers can offer James a promising roster, a well-respected coach who developed a strong ties with James, the assets, and facing with the Cavaliers' current ownership.

LeBron spent his first seven seasons in Cleveland until he switched to Miami Heat four years ago where his superstardom rises when he and the Heat went to the NBA finals four times.

Report: http://sports.inquirer.net/158637/lebron-james-says-hes-returning-to-cavaliers

Top Gear USA: Cool Cars for Grownups

Top Gear USA: Cool Cars for Grownups

The boys of Top Gear USA are investigating whether it is possible to have a car that combines the practicality of a family car and the sportiness of a sports car. To find out, they went to Colorado to find the best high-performance family car. Adam drives a Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG Estate with its 5.5L Twin Turbo V8 engine, while Tanner drives a Porsche Cayenne Turbo S, and Rut's gone nuts with...some kind of a Honda minivan tuned by Bisimoto Engineering. They have to undergo some challenges, and in the end, they'll race at the Pikes Peak Hillclimb.

The first challenge involves practicality and acceleration. They have to quickly load some stuff at the back, accelerate to 120mph, and stop. Fastest time wins. At the end of the first challenge, the man in the station wagon is the winner.

The second is the spare tire challenge; whoever's the fastest to replace theirs with a spare tire is the winner, and it's a challenging one until Rut in the van wins the challenge.

Next, it's a race against a Corvette Z06 driven by The Stig at a raceway. Whoever's the closest next to The Stig's lap time by two laps is the winner. Who's closest to The Stig's is Tanner's.

With all boys winning each challenge, they all battle against each other in the race at Pikes Peak, one of the most treacherous hill climbs in the world. The boys will give it all they've got to conquer Pikes Peak and survive until the winner is named.

In the end, Tanner wins, Adam places 2nd, and Rut in the van is last.

Let's Do The News! (July 11, 2014)

Things we learned today...

- The Land Transportation Office just gave the local car scene the finger and there are newer reports told that most car owners should seek permission from the LTO before modifying their cars. This is a warning sparked by the LTO spokesperson Jason Salvador after some reports told that there are some drivers modified their cars without permits or clearance from the LTO.

In case you want to know, the LTO's DO No. 2010-32 states that any individual or manufacturer should first bring the vehicle that will be modified to the LTO-Northern Motor Vehicles Center for inspection. Under DO, the following modifications that are not allowed are axle modification, chassis modification, extended chassis and body, additional sidings of dump trucks, extended overhang, change of rim size, modification of handle bar and exhaust, and reconfiguration of body dimension and design. They even prohibit, and they're not joking, HID headlights.

- We otakus living outside Japan don't really know what is KanColle (Kantai Collection) but it remains a talk-of-the-town in Japan even though it's not anime material, even though someone's working on it now. It's a browser game in collaboration with DMM and Kadokawa Games where players collect a fleet of...young women named after naval machinery.

One of the baddies from the utterly unknown KanColle, called Aircraft Carrier Wo-class, gets the Good Smile Company treatment as a 1/8 scale figure and she's on sale this February 2015 for 12,778 Yen plus tax. The pre-orders are open for booking right now.

KanColle Aircraft Carrier Wo-class 1/8 scale figure

- Announced by the BBC America, the phenomenal hit drama series, Orphan Black, gets renewed for Season 3, due early 2015.

Orphan Black

Oh and here's a little DIY about the success of this series; 

• It was the #1 show trending on Twitter and Tumblr since the first day of premiere
• BBC America was the first cable network to live-tweet a TV show with GIFs.
• The official Orphan Black Tumblr page gained 750,000 notes from almost 140K fans in season two.

You, members of the Clone Club, are the best and so did Sarah Manning from the show.

- Crime drama, Broadchurch, starring former Doctor Who lead actor David Tennant and Olivia Colman, will return for a second season this 2015.

- While basketball superstar LeBron James is still deciding whether if he's returning to the Cleveland Cavaliers or staying with Miami Heat, there's a report about what's going to be his fate if he chooses between the two NBA teams.

- Senator Juan Ponce Enrile has returned at the Philippine National Police General Hospital in Camp Crame after his arraignment at the Sandiganbayan. He left the anti-graft court earlier at around 1040 hours Philippine Time and arrived at the police hospital after 1100 hours.

- Bayan secretary-general Renato Reyes Jr. denounces President Benigno Aquino III's refusal to resign Budget Secretary Florencio “Butch” Abad, stating that the president's reject was to protect Abad and himself. This report has this story...

- Check out the sights from the recent 2014 Seoul Auto Salon.

- Shooting for the seventh Fast and Furious movie has finally completed and all set for its April 2015 showing.

TTFN!!!

2015MY Lancer Evo sparks end of the TC-SST

2015 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution

Here it is, folks. The end of Lancer Evolution draws near as Mitsubishi finally announced their 2015 update to one of Mitsubishi's 4WD rally super star which drawn a lot of attention to numerous speedo boys when it first launched in 2007 and been there for seven years, standing.

2015 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution Twin Clutch SST FINAL

Mitsubishi announced that the TC-SST (Twin Clutch Sport Shift Transmission)-equipped Evo will reach its end of its lifespan and they'll be offering special amenities on the TC-SST-equipped models such as scuff plates that says "LANCER EVOLUTION X Twin Clutch SST FINAL" and a special serial number located at the top the gearbox that says "FINAL ###". Mitsubishi will continue to sell the GSR model with the 5-speed manual gearbox.

2015 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution Twin Clutch SST FINAL

For the 2015 model, the Lancer Evolution gained turn signals on the door mirrors, accented front door trims, and a Lightning Blue Mica color that will replace the outgoing Cosmic Blue Mica exterior color.

The suggested retail price has been changed so for now, the GSR model with the 5-speed gearbox costs 3,899,880 Yen ($39,000 estimate) while the GSR model equipped with the 6-speed Twin Clutch SST along with the GSR-Premium, the last Evo models to be using that double-clutch gearbox, costs from 4,159,080 Yen ($42,000 estimate) to 5,405,300 Yen ($55,000 estimate).

Press Release: http://www.mitsubishi-motors.com/publish/pressrelease_jp/products/2014/news/detail4794.html

Once again...another recall problems for Honda hybrids...

2014 Honda Vezel

2014 Honda Fit Hybrid

Another day...another problematic recall for Honda regarding their hybrid models equipped with the 7-speed double clutch gearbox. Typical... This whole 7DCT problems keeps getting on and on and now, the latest chapter of the "I-got-problems-with-my-Honda-hybrid-with-the -7-speed-double-clutch-gearbox" issue involves...

Hmmm...Interesting...unintended acceleration. Yes. Unintended acceleration, just like what Toyota faced a few years ago. Over 175k units of Honda hybrids such as the Fit and the Vezel were recalled for such potential problems due to a software glitch at the ECU, which could lead to unintended acceleration. Honda received 11 reports of accidents from December through April due to the problem but no deaths occurred.

Source: Autoc-one.jp, Jalopnik

Let's Do The News! (July 10, 2014)

The big scoop today...

- Renowned musician Ryuichi Sakamoto was reportedly diagnosed with cancer. He's suspending his performances so he can focus on the treatment of his mesopharyngeal carcinoma in New York City.

- If you're a car enthusiast living in Japan and you're a big fan of the classic TV series, Knight Rider, here's your chance to take home a replica of KITT for just 8.80 million yen (about $88,000). It's based on a Pontiac Firebird Trans Am mated with a 5.0L V8 and a 4-speed automatic.

Knight Rider

- Actress Eva Mendes is pregnant and she's expecting a baby with her boyfriend Ryan Gosling.

- OOPS! A demo track of Britney Spears' song "Alien" without Auto-Tune got spilled over the world wide web, revealing what Britney Spears sounds like without Auto-Tune. Her vocals are unpredictably off-key!

- Israel is going to intensify the attacks on the Gaza Strip. So far, the civilian death toll in Gaza is increasing.

- Honda's Acura ILX models got recalled over headlamp problems that would ignite flames.

Acura ILX

- Chief engineer Tetsuya Tada announced that they're working on the regeneration of the Toyobaru coupes, the Toyota 86 and the Subaru BRZ.

- Meanwhile in Metro Manila, there's a P500 fine for jaywalkers and for those who never pay the fine for such violation may face 3-hour estero cleaning. Ouch...

- Harry Potter actress Emma Watson is named as United Nations Women Goodwill ambassador. She was appointed to that position with the UN Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women, providing better opportunities for the female population.

- Guess what's also coming at this year's San Diego Comic Con? That's right! Phineas and Ferb, Gravity Falls, and Wander Over Yonder, three of our Disney XD hits coming to the biggest comic convention in America!

- There's going to be an update on the PS3-exclusive THE iDOLM@STER ONE FOR ALL video game. Due on the 29th of July, the same date as the soon-to-be-announced DLC Catalog 3 will come out. The update includes some improvements on the greetings, producer rank, difficulty settings, quintet live, and shop items.

TTFN!!!