Shawn Smith’s web ninja life

Woohoo! Ed turns 26-years-old! And we celebrate by enjoying a tasty Mexican meal at Juan’s Hacienda in Madison Heights, Michigan.

The food was alright, but the real show was the waitress setting Ed’s birthday fajitas on fire! I definitely stuff myself. It’s not too pricey and the food isn’t bad. If you’re looking for Mexican dishes before a night on the town in Royal Oak, this might be the place.

We spent the rest of the evening on the roof of Woody’s in Royal Oak. It was a pleasant evening, and a number of friends showed up to celebrate Ed’s birthday.

After the bar closed, we headed to the Coney Island off Woodward and 12, which was a nice spot to end the evening. Ed ended up walking around the restaurant while eating his food. I guess that’s how things go down at 3 a.m. at the Coney.

While the food wasn’t terrible, Blue Leprechaun’s fare wasn’t much to write home about. If you’re in the mood for Irish Food, head to Main St. for Conner O’Neil’s.

The drinks looks average, but they did have a number of blended draft beers, which was impressive.

The restaurant is very new, opening only two days before I ate there. They have a lot of nice flat-screen TVs, but they aren’t all in the best viewing positions. Patrons should probably sit in the bar area if they want to catch a game.

I will say that the decor is a huge step up from the former bar occupant, Touchdowns. That place was all … and no class - for goodness sakes it didn’t even have a door on the male restroom and stalls.

Last word: If you visit the Leprechaun and want to sample the shepherd’s pie - don’t.

Kyle and I had been without a car for about three weeks. I first noticed a brake problem when rolling out of my driveway and the car wouldn’t stop very quickly when slamming on the brakes. So we parked it.

After the clutch recently gave way on Kyle’s truck, we decided to fix the brakes on the Neon. Kyle tried replacing the brake pads and even the rear-wheel calibers, which were both cracked. Sadly, that didn’t matter. Kyle noticed that the brace fluid was leaking too!

He tried fixing the brake lines, but with them being so rusted, they crumbled in his hands. So we took the car to Ann Arbor Muffler, on Jackson Rd. and Stadium Rd. They seem like pretty nice guys.

But the price tag wasn’t too great: $500. They said they are one of the few shops that do brakes because no one likes to do them. Ah well. Here’s the trip to the shop for your enjoyment.