Looking at the Blizzard Pearl, Sea Glass Pearl or Barcelona Red - all preferably with the bisque interior color. If all goes well, I may be driving off with a new Prius this weekend .

For its value and fuel efficiency, I think the Prius C makes the most sense. Performance is not my preference nor priority at this stage, so the less than stellar performance of hybrid vehicles is perfectly fine by me. The primary criteria I'm looking at are practicality, fuel efficiency and four door. The Prius C offers the best value and cost efficiency in terms of monthly maintenance (i.e. insurance, gas, car payment), which is actually well below that of the 7-year old Acura RSX when all calculations are done! Gas saving alone would be approximately $150 a month (taking the C's 9.5 gallon gas tank into consideration and using 87 octane gasoline). Complete insurance coverage (comprehensive + collision) for the Prius C is significantly less than the Acura RSX; and we're talking about insurance coverage on a brand new 2012 car versus a 7-year old car from 2005!

Considering the C is equipped with upgraded safety features, like 9 air bags, and is technologically up to date by modern standards, such as touch navigation with Toyota's Entune system, Smart Key (that unlocks the door/hatch with 2.3 ft) w/push button start feature (where you don't need to stick the key in and turn it to the II position to work, ala JDM push button start feature for the RSX), etc. All features considered, it's pretty much a sealed deal. I considered the model Three instead of the Four because I live in Southern California and could save the $1,600.00 Toyota is asking for front heated SofTex trimmed seats, heated side mirrors and integrated fog lights (which can always be added later).

I've always been brand loyal to Honda, but with the fuel-efficiency, price point and features combination (speaking of the Honda Insight), it makes financial sense to go with the Prius C; which at comparable price point is better equipped than the top of the line Insight w/Navigation. It's hard to justify choosing the under-equipped, lower fuel efficiency, higher priced Honda Insight over the Toyota Prius C.

The Prius C will be a intermittent commuter car for now, that's if I decide to purchase it. I'll probably be driving it for 3-4 years while budgeting for my next car and until my girlfriend pays off her 350Z. Once she's done, the Prius C will probably be her daily driver while I car shop for something a little larger and family oriented. I have the Acura RLX Sports Hybrid SH-AWD and the Acura TL SH-AWD (or by then, the Acura TLX SH SH-AWD)  in mind, but that's 5 years down the line, and when it's time to car shop, I'll have enough funds in my car budget to purchase a really, really nice car.

The damage was minimal, except for the part where the side skirt screws onto the fender liner. The force was so strong it bent the metal support bracket out of place and unaligned the fender from the door. All the screws and tabs were still in-tact, ironically.

A few push and pull brought the fender and side skirt back to alignment. When I searched for RSX fender liner being blown off at high speed, I was surprised to see that this is not so uncommon - and it is not strictly exclusive to the RSX. Other Acura cars fall victim to this. I'm guessing that this happened because I was missing the lower frontend screw that secures the liner onto the front bumper and the lower flap disengaged from the front bumper from bumps and potholes, and finally dragged by the high air flow causing it to be pushed out.

If you come across this problem and need to replace your inner fender liner, the part numbers:

Right fender liner: 74100-S6M-J00

Left fender liner: 74150-S6M-J00

They sell for about $65.00 internet dealer price, but you can order them for as low as $24.00 with free shipping through aftermarket sources. Don't forget to order clips and screws if they went missing.

I must say, my first experience with Designs by Nature is extremely satisfactory. Matt (owner of Designs by Nature) contacted me and made himself available to address any areas of concern or questions I may have. The background was shipped out promptly as well; I received the package via UPS within 3 business days after placing the initial order (Oregon to California). The background was thoroughly packed and arrived at my door in pristine condition. The shipping box was sized just enough to fit the background and old crumpled-up newspapers were used to minimize movement within the box and cushion the background during its trek to my residence.

36L" x 24"W 3D background shipping box from Designs by Nature, LLC.

The 3D background is well made, sturdy and highly detailed. The color and texture are as realistic as a foam construction background can be:

36" x 24" Congo 3D background by Designs by Nature, unboxed.

Close up of the Congo 3D background.

Congo 3D background BJ241L by Designs by Nature, LLC.

Side view of the Congo 3D background.

The back of the 3D background is also lined with evenly spaced measuring grids for easy downsizing and trimming, which I will definitely need to do once I get the tank from Show Case Cages:

The back of the Congo 3D background.

All in all, the quality of the 3D background by Designs by Nature, LLC. is superb. The shipping time is satisfactory and the customer service/follow-up is outstanding. I will be placing additional 3D background orders with Designs by Nature, LLC. for my bearded dragon and cherry headed red-foot tortoise projects in the subsequent months to come.

TOOLS AND SUPPLIES INCLUDED/ REQUIRED

• 12 mm Combination wrench
• 10 mm Socket · Torque wrench
• Drill
• 3mm and 8mm drill bits
• Center punch
• Rubber mallet
• Round file
• Water soluble felt-tip pen
• Touch-up paint
• Isopropyl alcohol
• Shop towel

PARTS LIST

Replacement deck lid spoiler

Rear wing spoiler

Right and left support struts

Stud bolts x 4

Large cap nuts x 4

Small cap nuts x 4

Seals x 6

INSTALLATION

This project requires a minimum of two hours and up to three hours for inexperienced do-ityourselfers. Be sure to acquire drill bits that are capable of cutting through sheet metals. Drill bits designed for wood work is HIGHLY not recommended. If you have a partner to work with, you can shave off an additional half hour to complete this project. Be sure to use generous amount of shop towels. When you lay your painted parts on top of these towels, you can avoid having them inadvertently scratched on the ground in which you are working on. Remember, the prepainted parts scratches and become damaged VERY easily!

Step 1

Open the tailgate and remove the shelf (right and left hooks):

Step 2

Remove the right shelf hook and right tailgate trip (one self-tapping screw and four clips):

Step 3

Remove the tailgate trim by pulling it out of its position and then gently lift it down:

Repeat the procedure to remove the left shelf hook and left tailgate trim. Once the parts are removed, store them in a safe place. You can put them in the back seat of your Acura for the mean time.

Step 4

Remove the tailgate lining (one self tapping screw and ten clips):

This will probably be the hardest part of the entire installation. There is no easy way to remove the lining and you may end up breaking a few clips. The most efficient way to remove this piece is to start off by removing the single self-tapping screw near the 3rd brake light:

Gently, but with force, pry the two outer clips outward. These two clips are closest to the 3rd brake light. Having them popped out of their place, pull the tailgate lining AWAY from the 3rd brake light. If any of the clips are dislocated from the lining and remains on the vehicle’s body, use a needle nose pliers to pull them out from their socket.

Step 5

Remove the default lip spoiler (two nuts and six clips):

Step 6

Clean up the hatch with a clean towel and a helping of isopropyl alcohol:

then attach seal to each hole where the clips were removed:

Be sure you seal off the holes where the clips from the stock lip spoiler were attached to. These holes are square/rectangular in shape. The oval shaped hole is there to mount the new deck lid spoiler.

Step 7

Peel back 2-8cm of the adhesive backings from the inner side of the deck lid spoiler and attach them to the front surface of the deck lid spoiler with tape:

Step 8

Using isopropyl alcohol on a shop towel, thoroughly clean up the surface where the deck lid spoiler will be installed. Position the deck lid spoiler on the surface you just cleaned, and install the two large cap nuts. Do not tighten the cap nuts just yet:

Step 9

Position the deck lid spoiler onto the hatch so that the free space on the left and the right is equal distance and that the curved parts of the hatch and spoiler are matched. You may need to use a measuring tape to be sure:

Step 10

Remove the adhesive backings by pulling them out from the deck lid spoiler, and press the deck lid spoiler firmly with the palm of your hand to adhere.

Step 11

Tighten the two large cap nuts installed in the previous step.

Step 12

Locate the two identification marks on the hatch. Using a felt-tip pen, mark the center of each hole. Repeat on the other side.

Step 13

Be absolutely  sure that you’ve marked the absolute center of each identification marks before you center punch each mark! The marks are precise from the factory and if you mispunch the marks, they will not be able to properly accept the high wing spoiler. You only have one shot at doing this correctly!

Step 14

Using a 3mm drill bit, drill the identification marks. Be careful not to damage the hatch and surrounding body by holding the drill firmly with two hands:

If you do not have a center punch, you may simply use a Philips head screw driver instead (which is what I used). Also, to prevent metal shavings from falling onto the trunk floor, place a cover over the trunk floor. Vacuum as necessary.

Step 15

Remove the 3mm drill bit from your drill and attach the 8mm drill bit, then drill through the holes you’ve just created. The 8mm drill bit will widen up the holes:

Surprisingly, the drilling part of this project is the quickest and EASIEST.

Step 16

Apply touch-up paint to both sides of the holes. Apply touch-up paint on surface of the hatch:

Step 21

Remove and discard the right support strut by removing the upper and lower stud bolts using a 12 mm combination wrench:

Step 23

Step 24

Install the new right support strut on the stud bolts by lightly tapping on the ball ends with a rubber mallet. BE SURE YOU DO NOT INSTALL THE STRUTS UPSIDE DOWN BY MISTAKE!!!

Step 25

Repeat steps 22 through 24 to install the left support strut:

You may discard the old support struts:

THE FINISHED PRODUCT

Enclosure by Show Case Cages

Rather than building an enclosure from scratch or using a glass terrarium, I'll be ordering a 48"x24"x18" display cage by Show Case Cages (http://www.showcasecages.com). At the same time, I'll be ordering a 48"x24"x12" stand to complete the set up. I figured this would be the best configuration since the display cages by Show Case Cages will be stackable and various cage dimensions can be used. This is ideal since I'll be adding some bearded dragons and other herptile to the family subsequently down the line:

3d background

After switching to Show Case Cages, I had to select a new 3d background, same company, Designs by Nature (http://www.designsbynature.net). I've settled on a 48"x18" Kiama background:

The size will be an exact match for the Show Case Cages I'll be ordering. A slight modification needs to be conducted to accommodate the area that will house the heating lamps. But other than that, this background is a winner.

Accessories

A habitat is not complete without added accessories. In furnishing the habitat, I've made a list of items I'll be ordering at the same time. They include:

• 48" fluorescent lighting strip
• 48" UVB 5.0 fluorescent tube by ZooMed
• Large corner critter cavern(s)
• 2 ZooMed mini heating bulb hood / clamp
• ExoTerra 50w SunGlo basking bulb
• ExoTerra 50w NightGlo heating bulb
• ZooMed Timer

I estimate the entire project will be completed by mid to late May 2012 with the background and accessories ordered as soon as next week. Once the Russian Tortoise enclosure project is complete, I can move onto building either the Nature Tank or Red Eared Slider tank projects. The only drawback is we're deciding to relocate by year's end and a project of this magnitude involving massive tanks and a thriving ecosystem (for the Nature Tank) is not something that can be relocated easily. I may even put these projects aside until the relocation is complete and start on other projects, like a bearded dragon enclosure.

First, you'll need a cleaner. There are several products you can use to clean your IACV and throttle body. I heard un-chlorinated brake cleaners to other solvents. To save the trouble, I just picked up a can of Throttle Body and Air Intake Cleaner by CRC, available at your local AutoZone for around $4.00 a can.

Step 1

Pop open your hood and remove your stock air box. Release the clamp on the air tube connecting from the air box to the throttle body and then remove the air tube. Use a plier to release the clamp that's connecting a small rubber tube from the engine block to the air. Let the tube hang from the engine block but make sure it's disconnected from the air box. Remove the air box by unbolting five 10mm bolts. Four of these bolts are easily accessible, the 5th one you will need to remove a rubber grommet to access:

With all five bolts removed, carefully lift the air box up and maneuver it out of its bay; dislodging it from the stock air inlet tube. Next, remove the stock air inlet tube by unbolting a 10mm bolt located on the radiator frame.

The stock box removed:

You don't need to remove the entire air box assembly out of the engine bay, just the cover. I used photos from my Injen CAI installation guide to illustrate this step.

Step 2

Next, you should be able to see your throttle body in full view:

Remove the engine cover by unbolting two flange bolts (6x38), then lift the cover up carefully and set it aside.

Next, unbolt two 6x12 bolts that's holding the throttle body wire casing to the throttle body and carefully set it aside. This will reveal the metal cable that operates the throttle body valve:

With the throttle cable exposed, it's time to remove it from the throttle body itself. To do this, you'll need to wind/unwind the throttle body valve rotary mechanism until you and free the throttle cable from the valve rotary. If you look at the end of the cable, you'll see a metal cylindrical notch attached perpendicular to the cable and inserted into a corresponding hole on the valve rotary. Maneuvering the cable out of the rotary can be tricky so you may want another set of helping hands:

Step 3

Next disconnect the three wires from the throttle body. You may need to use a needle nose plier to pinch and pull out the plugs, especially if the plugs has never been removed since the car was manufactured.

Unbolt two 8mm flange nuts and two 8x40 flange bolt from the throttle body. They are arranged in a "criss cross" pattern, i.e.

flange nut - flange bolt
flange bolt - flange nut

You may need an angled socket/ratchet set to reach the lower 8mm flange nut and flange bolt. Set the nuts and bolts aside and carefully detach the throttle body from the engine block.

Step 4

Carefully remove two hoses located near the bottom of the throttle body. Be sure to have an empty bottle ready to catch the reserve coolant, otherwise it will leak to the ground. Alternatively, you can use clamps to keep the coolant from leaking. Once the tubes are separated, you can remove the throttle body from the engine block.

Step 5

Now we are ready to remove the actual idle air control valve and clean it. The idle air control valve is the piece located at the bottom of the throttle body:

To remove the idle air control valve from the throttle body, unscrew two 5x25 screw+washer set. Again, this may be difficult, depending on the last time this maintenance was executed. With the IACV unit remove, you may take the time to clean the throttle body valve. Spray the cleaner onto the valve liberally and scrub it with used (but clean) toothbrush. Any small brush will do, but I find toothbrush pretty effective. Repeat the process until the valve and the opening, front and back are clean. Be sure to open the valve and clean the crevices in between as well. Since the cleaner evaporates quickly, clean small areas at a time but repeatedly until all the dark gunk is removed.

Next, do the same for the idle air control valve:

Uncleaned IACV. Picture by soccerman002 at Club RSX

Cleaned IACV. Picture by soccerman002 at Club RSX

Again, spray the valve liberally and scrub the crevices with a brush until all the dark gunk is removed. If you need to replace your idle air control valve for any reasons, you can order it using part number 16022-PRB-A02. It's about $190.00 from online Acura parts dealers.

Be sure all parts are dried before reinstalling. Reinstallation is reversal of removal. What you'll notice once you performed this maintenance is instant difference in throttle response (i.e. accelerating). You'll also notice that your gas mileage has also improved - significantly if you haven't cleaned either your throttle body or idle air control valve in a while (i.e. over 60,000 miles).

If you have any questions, please feel free to comment.

DIY: How to clean your Acura RSX's IACV (idle air control valve) and throttle body by Steve Khou is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.
Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at http://blog.machanon.net.

Of course, this milestone accomplishment occurred at a very high opportunity cost. Plans, projects and travel arrangements were pawns in opportunity cost tradeoff for high GPA maintenance, something I would never compromise and viewed as a necessity to graduate within my two-year goal. I guess it all boils down to how driven and focused you are in setting and attaining a goal. When in doubt, I apply the S.M.A.R.T. method of goal setting:

1. Specific - Goals need to be specific, i.e. "I want to lose 50 lbs in three months," or "I want to pay off the interest portion of my student loan by September."
2. Measurable - Goals cannot be attainable if progress cannot be measured. If a goal of losing 50 lbs in 3 months is set, then divide 50 lbs into 3 months to get a target reduction 16.7 lbs per month. At the end of each month, compare the actual results versus the target goals. Adjust the plan accordingly.
3. Attainable - Goals need to be attainable. For this to be true, it also has to be realistic. Losing 50 lbs in 3 months is attainable. Losing 200 lbs in 3 months, on the other hand, is not.
4. Realistic - Goals should be realistic, e.g. "I want to graduate within 2 years" is realistic. "I want to be a millionaire in the next 18 months," on the other hand, is highly unrealistic and unattainable.
5. Timely - Goals are easily set but many are not achieved. Just look at New Year resolutions. For goals to be goals, they need to be on a set time frame. Anyone can conjure up any statement and say it's a goal without any intention of achieving it. Assigning a time frame to a goal sets it in motion and motivates the goal setter in achieving it before time runs out.

I'm happy to say that I've achieved my goal 6 months ahead of schedule. Achieving my academic goals not only prove the old adage that "if there's a will, there's a way" (i.e. no excuses), it also paves the way and open other opportunities that I've placed on hiatus for the past year and a half in lieu of education. For one, I can pursue my photography hobby, continue my iOS and OS X programming pursuit, resume my derelict business ventures and projects, travel and even pick up new hobbies, such as oil painting.

Graduating from Cal Poly Pomona is a great achievement in itself. But there were several other events that made the gratification even sweeter. Right before I've completed my last set of final examination for graduation, I was presented with two excellent career opportunities that would make full use of my business and marketing exposure at Cal Poly Pomona. These two career opportunities literally fell onto my lap; that is, the two companies made first contact with me instead of me researching for jobs and sending out resumes (I planned on doing that after I've graduated from Cal Poly Pomona). I had to make a decision and choose to work with either another Internet media company or a well established Japanese-based multinational corporation. Without hesitation, I accepted a rewarding career as a web and marketing coordinator at the Japanese multinational corporation, established 1885 in Japan. The company specializes in manufacturing high-end automation equipment and its motorized products are used in almost every conceivable products and industries, e.g. Red Box, conveyor belts (groceries, airports), ATM machines, soda dispensers, vending machines, etc. The hiring process was not simple. In fact, it was the most arduous and drawn out interview process I've ever had to go through in my entire professional career. I had to go through a total of five interviews and take an exhaustive Caliper Profile personality assessment prior to getting a career offer. The entire process spanned 6 weeks (I was initially contacted by the recruiter representing the MNC on January 30th, 2012 and accepted the offer on March 7th, 2012). I also had to invest in a suit to appear presentable to the Executive Vice President on the 4th interview. Suffice to say, the investment and patience paid off tremendously. The other career offer was from an Internet media company based in Santa Monica. I was recruited by their internal hiring team and the interview process was less drawn out: Two initial short phone interviews (between the recruiter and the product manager), then a 30 min phone interview with the Senior Vice President on a Wednesday, followed by an in-person interview with four interviewers that lasted 2 hours (or 1/2 hour per interviewer) on a Thursday. And then finally an offer was made on the following day. The decision to go with the MNC is a no brainer. All of the folks I've interviewed with at the Santa Monica-based Internet media company were with the company for no more than 12 months at most. The company is relatively new, a little over 3 years old, and in the Internet business, technology and trends evolve all the time. This could mean instant profit or major loss (think of content based providers that solely relied on Google, then Google changed its search algorithm overnight in 2011). The upside is the office is really chill and similar to my previous company's office and corporate culture. This mean seamless assimilation. The folks I've had the opportunity to meet with at the MNC have worked there for 8, 15, 25 years and the parent company has been around for 130 years while the USA headquarters have been around for 30 years. The company is more conservative in terms of corporate culture, a stark contrast to my previous company and the Santa Monica-based Internet media company. Regardless, with both options on the table, it's a win-win situation for me.

Not only did I accept a career offer with the company I wanted to work for and in the concentration I've pursued while at Cal Poly Pomona, the company is also aware of my academic and work schedule and ethics for the past year and a half and was courteous and understanding enough to extend the option to begin work after enjoying spring break - and I mean really enjoy spring break. As of March 15th, I exited from my previous job and took a 4 day detour to Carmel-by-the-Sea and Cambria with my girlfriend. The resignation was in itself a catharsis. When we were up in Carmel, our room got upgraded at no cost. We went wine tasting at Galante Vineyards and due to a rowdy drunken group that later got thrown out for their rude behavior, our wine tasting was on the house.

When we returned home, everything was tidy and my silver molly gave live birth to 10 large fries. They range from pure silver, to pure black to somewhere along the middle - a little mixture of silver and black.

Silver lyre-tail molly fries

I'm ready to begin a new career and resume the hobbies I've placed on hiatus. And that means resuming my Acura RSX DIY articles, which I will start putting up over this coming weekend.