Ara Ara, Robzilla!

Hey, y’all. I received some dreadful news yesterday morning about my sister that’s in a convalescent home, and the update I received on her condition after dinner was not promising. That’s why I’m posting the briefest of updates a day early. — Robzilla. WHAT I ATE Mexican blueberries. The ones I ate were just like any other blueberries, except the package they came in had, um…. the last time I saw so many stems and seeds was at the bottom of someone’s bong bowl. WHAT SACRED TEXTS I READ I won’t list them this week for brevity’s sake, but I should announce I canceled my GTA+ membership and used those funds to buy an annual J-Novel Club subscription. This gives me access to light novel chapters translated into English well before they’re published into full length novels. I’m currently reading three titles on a near daily basis in addition to the weekly manga. WHAT YOU CAN READ After posting this update, I found this Jalopnik article about Katherine Legge's latest race at the Indy 5

  This is my Gran Turismo 7 character's new fire suit and helmet. He's dressed as if he's ready to race in Japan's Super GT series, hence the Japanese lettering alongside the Nissin logo. MSI is his primary "sponsor", and I've loved their products ever since I used one of their motherboards to assemble my gaming PC nearly a decade ago. As much as I love the "Kurumi" helmet design, seeing that Zojirushi logo makes me a little sad. My rice cooker had been dormant since last September for obvious reasons, but now I know I can include half a cup of cooked basmati rice in my chicken and steamed vegetable dinners without an issue.  I shall buy some at the market today!

I spent about an hour and a half working on an idea for a racing helmet in Gran Turismo 7 and came up with this livery. Most of the anime liveries look more like a cluttered mess, so I went with something that looks traditional yet features Kurumi on both sides. I really like it! Then this happened in an online race with the Alfa yesterday. Can you read that racer's rear bumper? Now see that same racer's rear bumper pointing in the wrong direction one sweeping turn later when he accelerated too quickly upon corner exit and slapped against the guardrails on the right. Bye!

WHAT’S ON MY MIND My brother is in a rehab center for now, and I visit him thrice a week. He still needs physical therapy for a medical issue in addition to the other stuff that’s going on, and yet he may be released soon. As you can imagine, this has been a near constant source of stress. When I helped my sister dispose of the plethora of ultra processed food from his kitchen at the beginning of the week, I acquired a tube of Pringles. More on that later... WHAT I LISTENED TO Nothing. I kinda sorta forgot to stream podcasts when I sat down at my writing desk this week.  WHAT I ATE Have you ever heard Spo use the term “crack cheese”? This taco seasoned Monterrey Jack cheese is as addictive as Doritos. When it was combined with Marie Sharp’s habanero hot sauce, it gave my veggie omelets a finishing kick like Secretariat at the Belmont Stakes. WHAT SACRED TEXTS I READ Robyn Hood: Blood In The Water Fairy Tale Team-Up: Robyn Hood & Belle: The Beast Hunter What’s Wrong With Secretary K

  Hello. My name is Robzilla, and I'm an Alfaholic.

  One of the things I've always found fascinating was Patrick Dempsey the race car driver. Yes, you read that right. Patrick Dempsey. Race car driver. Now that you're over the shock of seeing those terms in one sentence, let's keep moving... Patrick is better known as "McDreamy" on some doctor show that I never watched, but every so often I'd watch Porsche factory driver Patrick Long and McDreamy race together in a Porsche 911 all over the globe from 2009 until both of them stepped back from driving duties to become Porsche brand ambassadors.  Like legendary Corvette Racing driver Ron Fellows, I thought I'd never see either of them behind the wheel again so imagine my surprise when I learned Long and McDreamy will participate in the newly formed Porsche Endurance Challenge North America series . They will partner in a GT4 spec Porsche 911 with sponsorship from Mobil 1, and with GT3 cars sharing the track the series promises a crowded pit lane. If you'r

  ... Was Grateful To Finish In 6th Place. This afternoon, I faced my fears and participated in a 10-lap Group 4 (aka GT4) online race with "Rin" in Gran Turismo 7. Unlike offline races where you can make mistakes without punishment, the online world has a penalty system in case you do stupid things behind the wheel such as exceeding the track limits (aka cheating) or causing accidents.  Before I could join my first race, I was required to watch a six minute video that left two impressions on me: One, online racing is serious business even if there's no money involved and two, I don't want to be the asshole that ruins someone else's race. More on that later. Rin and I qualified 8th in the 16-car grid, which is a less than ideal place to start your first race. When you're running mid pack, you don't have to look for trouble because it will find you. I was nervous as hell on that opening lap. Rin is a three decades old touring car, so I had zero expectations

  ... all I get are crows! Thankfully, I'm already awake by the time they're serenading the neighborhood with their cries.

  WHAT’S ON MY MIND I'm a little melancholy today, believe it or not. Yesterday I received a calendar notification that today is Terri and Torrie’s birthdays. I still fondly miss my little girls, mostly because they gave me more love than any human ever did. WHAT SACRED TEXTS I READ Fly Me To The Moon , Volume 23 Virgin Love , Volume 3 We’re New At This , Volume 16 The San Diego Reader Read what? The Reader is a convenience store staple that keeps you informed of all things happening in the big city that The San Diego Union-Tribune doesn’t report.  That also includes one of three bonkers legal notices posted by someone that’s two cans shy of a six pack. Per a Google search, this person may or may not be acquainted with the Department of Justice. Ara ara! WHAT I LISTENED TO The latest New Heights podcast. It’s refreshing to listen to the Kelce brothers speak with Deadpool’s language filter, as I sometimes do.  WHERE I WENT A watch repair shop to replace the Victorinox's batte

Yesterday, you saw a screenshot of the rechristened "Rin". Today, I present the original Alfa Romeo 155 V6 TI race car as raced by Nicola Larini in Germany's DTM series. This legendary car won 12 of its 20 DTM races in 1993, and in Gran Turismo 7 is quite formidable in Group 4 races despite its age. It's no mistake there's a silhouette of the Alfa Romeo logo on Rin's doors and hood beneath the Highspeed Etoile anime characters. It's just one way I've chosen to honor this car's heritage.

... Made A Startling Self-Discovery  As you can tell from the above screenshot, I've had a lot of fun playing Gran Turismo 7 since I donned the VR headset on Friday afternoon. After some of the Akiba Maid War decals went AWOL from the game, I created a new MOMO/Highspeed Etoile livery for my legendary 1993 Alfa Romeo 155 touring car. That Alfa Red paint color is striking in sunlight, and I've renamed the car "Rin" after the pink fire suited girl on the hood.  When I looked inside my closet this morning, I noticed that even after I had disposed of my old Thrustmaster T300RS wheel and pedal set I somehow hung onto the TH8A shifter, a wonderful accessory that makes driving even more realistic. It can be configured into a sequential shifter that moves forward and back to shift gears, or you can install an "H" pattern plate to mimic old school race cars. The latter is fun to use until you mistake third gear for fifth! This discovery led me toward the Playseat web

  WHAT’S ON MY MIND Money matters . I learned that Wawanesa sold their American division to AAA, which means at some point in the future Akeno's renewal will resemble a swift uppercut to the crotch rather than an offer to insure her. I now wonder if a gently used convertible Nissan 370Z would make more financial sense.  Several entities are also asking me for more money for everyday things, and my frustration has morphed into enough rage to refuel the Red Lantern ring Sassybear gifted me before the pandemic. It's not that I can't afford these higher prices. I'm fed up with the ever present feeling that I'm not getting my money's worth.  If I recite the Red Lantern Corps oath one of these days, y’all better keep your distance! WHAT I ATE A cauliflower crust roasted vegetable pizza, upon which I added diced tomatoes, parsley and Parmesan cheese. I really wanted chicken and kale, but sadly it wasn’t available at the Vons I now shop at. WHAT I BOUGHT To celebrate my

  You know shit is about to go down when I break out Mikuzilla, my 2018 Nissan GT-R GT3 race car, out of storage in Gran Turismo 7. More on that this Saturday.

... Almost Bought A Second Car Out Of Fear If you've been here long enough then you already know I love Akeno almost as much as life itself. She's a Super Black 2022 Nissan Altima SR VC-Turbo that has been a pleasure to own for the past two plus years, but there were a few moments during the past two weeks when I thought about parting with her. It all started when I got wind of this Forbes article  published last December that detailed the troubles Nissan and Infiniti owners have had with the innovative VC-Turbo engine. Although the NHTSA review does not cover Akeno's model year, it's a little scary to think that one day she might have a catastrophic failure that would require an engine replacement. It also didn't help matters that Nissan has been pretty aggressive lately in advertising an extended warranty for Akeno. The original warranty is good until late March 2025, but between the Forbes article and Nissan's pestering it's understandable why I felt a li

  WHAT’S ON MY MIND Besides “May The Fourth Be With You!”? Rage. It’s the only emotion I have left regarding the traumatic event I’m enduring. I have no more fucks or sympathy to give, so I’m going to just come out and air this dirty laundry.  My brother attempted suicide two weeks ago. I was the one who discovered him and called 911. From the moment the police and paramedics arrived, I also learned a few things that left me nearly as traumatized as the 911 call itself. It’s troubling that he will freely tell my sister his future intentions but he doesn’t open up to his therapist about those feelings. She alerted them via email, and hopefully whoever makes decisions on his care will reconsider the current one that says he’s no longer a threat.  I likely don’t have all the facts since I’m just a bystander, but everything screams malpractice. He’s scheduled to return home in the near future, which means I should steel myself for the inevitable, future 911 call to haul him away, dead or a