Pilot Refillable Whiteboard Marker

Just to humour the guy, I went with him to Jalan Ipoh looking at some stationery. This guy, was from one of our friend's company and since he is their new technical guy, he was told to report to our office for a few week's hands-on training. The thing was, although he has been in this field two years earlier than me, he left for another line of work before coming back to the Communication industry. Naturally, he's rusty and its our job to polish him up so that he can (be our rival, ahem) help out our friend.

Anyway, because I told him about my missing Pentel Flexfit 0.5 pencil, he showed me some shops in Jalan Ipoh which sells a lot of good stuff. Unfortunately, after going through about four shops, the Pentel pen proved to be quite elusive. Nevertheless, I now know where to get pens and what-nots at a very reasonable price.

And that's when I saw this unique whiteboard marker. I recent months, I have noticed that some manufacturers have started to produce whiteboard markers that have refillable cartridges. Although ink refills have been around for more than two decades, the cartridge idea is very new (to them?). So, you can just buy one pen, and keep on buying the refills until the pen's tip is worn. But alas, these cartridges are mean only for one particular model and you cannot use them on another pen of different brand unlike the simple refillable inks. And so, I decided to get one, which costs me RM2.55, knowing that it would cost more on normal bookshops.

And so, this is the Pilot's version of the refillable
Whiteboard Marker. In the normal whiteboard
pens, they are all refillable and all you have to
do is to unscrew the tip, carefully pour the ink
into the barrel, tip it upside down for a few
minutes and away you go.

This is the refillable part of the pen, and gosh, it
looks very nice! It has a clear cover over the ink
cartridge which, is also clear! "Do not remove
except when replacing ink". Oh, OK but I can
still unscrew it for a looksee, right? Here I go....

Shazbot! Due to my stupid curiousity, I unlock
the cartridge and all the ink flowed out! Damn!
At first I though the cartridge was just a simple
sponge system but no, its full of runny, watery
ink. I should have paid more attention when
the ink was sloshing about inside the tank.

So, with half the tank empty, I have no choice but
to clean everything up and also then pen. Initially
I wanted to use it in the office but knowing the
guys there, it would be scratched and thrown all
over the place. So, I decided to clean the pen up of
its ink. This is what it looked like, (L-R), the ink
cartridge itself, the cartridge cover to protect the
cartridge from being disconnected and finally, the
pen/holder itself. Compared to the Artline pen, which
uses sponge-like material to store the ink, this one
is more dangerous and is prone to spilling when
curious morons like me use them.

Back home, I soaked the whole pen i mild detergent
overnight so as to get rid of all the ink that was still
in there. Of course, I removed the felt tip too.

In the morning, everything is cleaned and I used a set
of pliers to remove the final pen assembly, which is the
part snapping the cartridge to the pen. (L-R), some
kind of round diaphram which holds the ink in place
until it is snapped into the pen, which then removes
the disc (birth control?), again, the now empty ink
cartridge, the puncher and ink distributor module,
the ink cartridge cover, the pen and lastly, the cover.

This is how, I think, the puncher works. When you push
the ink cartridge (left) into it, the puncher would remove
the round disc which then allows the ink to flow into the
pen. So, do this with the pen tip facing upwards, folks.
After then, you need to push the catridge further in so
that it will snap into place before you screw in the cover.

And now, what am I going to do with an empty pen which only worked for a few seconds?

Ha Ha Ha ha ha ha ha! Ahhhhh Ha HA AHAHHAHAHAHAHAHA!

Molex Lights (Fireflies)

I did something stupid today; I promised myself to get one of those Molex Lights regardless. And what is a Molex connector? If you're familiar with opening and servicing a PC (and also successfully closing it back again) you will, at most times, fiddle with the cables from the power supply unit. And so, you will touch those 1 inch square plastic connectors that is used to connect to the hard disk and what nots. These connectors were made from a company called Molex.

And how did it happen? I could blame it on the Internet, I suppose but in actual fact, its all my fault. This happened when I was looking for a blue CCFL for the Polar Lights NCC-1701-A Warp Nacelle and from one link to another, I ended up searching for this Molex Lights aka Fireflies. Its nothing more than an ingenious design. In a nutshell, its just a very thin circuit board with surface mount resistors on it. And what this thing does is to make the Molex connectors light up. So, for someone who likes to modify their computer, and with lots of lights in there, this is the perfect item.

I finally tracked this thing to a local shop via
lelong.com.my. No sense getting this from
eBay. And their nearest shop was in SS2.
At the moment, they only have red and
greed LEDs. I was looking forward to
Blue or White.

So, for RM20.00, I got six of these in the package.
Note how small they are. And if I really wanted, I
could desolder and swap the LEDs with white or
some self-flashing LEDs. Provided I can find them
in Malaysia as these LEDs are the smallest SMT I
have ever seen. (OK, they are those, I think, meant
for Mobile Phones)

Anyway, the darn things were so small, I had to take
them using a macro lens. And since I do not actually
have a macro lens, I decided to improvise. (Note to self-
Do not aim this at the Sun when taking photos......).
Using the Art of Kiamsiap, got the shot. But you know
the saying, "You get what you pay for", its alright as I
did not pay anything, wahahahaahaah!

OK, this is the first shot. Not bad, eh?

And the subsequent shot. You can see the distortion
now. What I want to show you is that each of the 4
holes are actually using through-hole technology.
You can also see the small current limiting resistor
in the middle with the LEDs on both sides.

OK, here is a better picture. This time, I used a much
higher resolution and then crop it.

Anyway, this is how you install the Fireflies. Just slot
in to the "MALE" side of the Molex connector.

And this is how it looks when you switch on your PC.
Mind you, since the darn thing fits so well, I had to
sacrifice a small safety pin and turn it into a hook just
to get it out (because this is a normal PC with a normal
casing which means, you cannot see anything inside)

The Pirated Shotgun

I've forgotten how much this one cost as I got this about more than two weeks ago somewhere in Klang. Initially, I did not bother much as it looked like one of those early BB shotgun designs that flooded Malaysia last year. But when I took a closer look (because I was a busy body), I noticed that they have changed the grip to that of sawn-off shotgun. It was nice except for the butt end which was a bit too flowery.

Nevertheless, I got one on the spot. Heh.

So, Ladies and Gentlemen, allow me to present you the Pirated Shotgun. Ah, yes, there is a double meaning to the word "pirated" here. One, this is an actual shotgun based on the xxx but scaled down and I'll bet the manufacturer did not obtain license from the company. Second, I am very confident that everyone has copied everyone and so, you can see the same toy but with differing variations. Lastly, although its of no importance, if this gun exist during those days, I think none of us would have survived and lived like we are now. (Maybe its more exciting.)

OK, this is the package itself. Do not be fooled by the
red plastic bullets. I'll tell you why in a bit.

Overall, the design looks quite nice except for the butt
end of the grip. But in real life, this gun does not make
any sense because although it looked like a pump shot
gun, there is another bullet cartridge at the bottom, as
if it can fire two types of bullets simultaneously.

Coming back to the red plastic bullets, they are the ones
with sucker pads at the other end. Which means, if you
go and launch it, it will stick to a nice flat glossy surface
for a few seconds before falling prey to Gravity. But in
this case, the gun was unable to fire these and so, into
the bin they go. No point keeping them and also they
might give ideas to the girls to stuff other sharp things
(apart from the darts) into the barrel.

So, why did I say that? Its because of this part which
looked very familiar. Although on the outside it looks
like a sighting add-on, its actually a cover......

...for you to but in some BB bullets. Once loaded, you just
pump the gun and fire. However, I am not interested in
it working as I will be (when I have the time) turning it
into something else. Right now, I'll just have to collect
more parts before I can do anything more.

The grip looks and feel OK but I might have to cut away
those "flowery" decorations. I mean, have you ever seen
a pansy Pirate?

Pentel Ergonomic Winggrip 0.5mm Pencil

In less than 10 days, this arrived on my desk. There is a long story behind it but let's just say, both of us blamed the postal office of either country and he is Gentleman enough to include another pencil for me since I am kind enough to trust him and make another purchase on eBay.

But nowadays, I have to take into consideration that out of 10 purchases, only one might not make it here due to it being missing en route. I could make it a point to have it registered and so on but most of my purchases are less than the postage itself.

Anyway, I have seen this pencil years ago before and I did not take much heed until recently when I lost my RM9.50 Pentel FlexFit II 0.5mm mechanical pencil. I took it badly because this was the first time I ever bought a mechanical pencil that was more than RM4.00 and two, because it quickly became my favourite as it was very comfortable to hold.

I chose white because it looked very nice compared to
black. But other websites now have it in orange, blue
and so on as they are limited editions.

Although the silver parts convinces you that its made
of metal, its not. But it does look futuristic, though.

And here is the Wing part from the namesake Winggrip.
You just flip it out like so. And see the white square at
the top near the wing's pivot point? Its the mechanism
for you to adjust the height of the wing so that it fits
comfortably in your hand and the revolving barrel
also makes it easier to obtain a more comfy grip.

Normally, when you hold a pen, you will mostly
grip it like this. After writing for quite awhile,
your hands will start to feel tired.

But thanks to Professor Noro of Ergoseating
this design, allows you to write effortlessly.
But when it comes to sketching, it takes some
getting used to as I need to make the pencil
move up and down, which is hampered by the
wing. On writing, its OK. Just that I have never
written so many words in one sitting since my
schooling days. So, it feels ackward.

The JJ Tricorder Project Pt 4

With the template in place, its now ready to have the hole cut out. AS I have mentioned before, I would not cut out the whole piece although it COULD make the installation easier but there is a problem where the screws from the other side needs to lock to this piece. And one of the pillar is already destroyed. So, in the final phase, once everything is ready, I would need to glue the two halves together. This means servicing the toy in the future very difficult.

With the help of a CD Single case, I got the holes
drilled to almost the size of the template.

There you go, and this project has the support of
Jimeoin's Double Crack album too.
(Its a very good Irish stand-up comedy. Trust me)

The JJ Tricorder Project Pt 3

After transferring the sticker to an acetate, I had it photocopied as I will need one as a template to cut the holes for the LEDs. Initially, I wanted to cut the whole fascia but after seeing how weak the plastic was, I changed my mind. Not only that, there were some problems such as screw holes which was moulded into the plastic area concerned.

Cut the template out carefully, and then stick
some double-sided tape underneath. Now go
and position the template onto the plastic and
make sure you know which side is up. He he.

This is the problem I am going to face. First is, when
I cut the hole for the five horizontal LEDs, I would be
affecting the area where the green switch is sitting. So
I would need to use some strong glue to replace the
broken plastic that was used to secure it. Second, see
the red wires all rolled up there? I would be removing
this plastic pillar too. And this will be bad news because
its the pillar used by one of the screws to secure the
toy Tricorder. In fact, the second pillar in the middle
would be cut as well. This is going to be very difficult.

Once again, this is another picture to see how cramped
the circuit must be. If I want to do this properly, I will
have to use Surface mount components which is very
expensive since I would be making only one prototype

Naked girl dancing

Yeah, first, we had trouble getting her to take bath.
Now, we have trouble getting her to wear clothes.

Girls in Bed

"OK, Daddy's going to take pictures again. This time,
I frown and you smile, got it?"

"Keep Smiling. Let me get into the frowning mood......"

"Here we go. See me frown."
"Hee hee hee hee"

"Oh, stop laughing! I can't keep my serious frowning anymore!"
"Ka ka ka ka ka ka ka!"

"OK, let me do the tongue thing, then."

"Darn it! I look so silly doing this!"

"Its so embarrassing"

The Tough Toshiba Phone (revisited)

This phone has been lying under my desk for years and now, the moment has arrived. I first got it years ago and never had the chance to check it thoroughly. Why did I want this phone? Because it survived a fire. And best of all, it still works!

As my technical room is now ready, what better excuse than to get it out and use it? Of course, I am not going to use the phone in the normal way but to let it sit upright as its design allows you to wall mount the phone by just twisting the base.

After four years, the phone still looks good. Much
better than the current 2008 design which has a
silver shade on the LCD area.

But the plastic cover (on the right) has to be taken
out since it was so warped, its making some of the
buttons there stuck. But thank goodness the LCD
screen still works. Oh, note the top four buttons

The buttons here are OK, I was tempted to turn some
of them in different angles but then, it would make the
phone look stupid this way. I mean, it has survived a
fire but at least it still look dignified and not mental.

The fire was quite big, I presume because most of the
ash did go into the circuit board but I am not going to
clean it, as this would be proof of its toughness.

Obviously, I suspect that the speaker grill is the
main entry point for the ash as the other side is
looked quite clogged up.

I had to sand the top four buttons in such a way
that the warped top is not taken off. These are
the main reason why the phone was not working
as they were so warped, they got stuck and so,
this stopped the phone from recognising other
button presses.

Going to be 6 soon.

Coming near to the Age of 6, its time she learnt how to do some of the things by herself. For example, I now let her wash her own hair but she must remember to put the shampoo into the hair and not lather it up in her hands only to be washed away by the shower. Then, I have to show her how to use the soap to wash her own body, and not to wash the floors instead. She likes to do this because it would create bubbles which she can step on. Haih

But the best is, when I need to dress them up. All I have to do is, just make sure their clothes are the right way round and then, I just plonk on their head and they will automatically do the rest. Except for dresses with buttons and bows, that is.

Its not a grainy photo, just the droplets of water
showing up when I used the flash. Yeah, she likes
to play with water a lot. Soon, I think I will take
them swimming. As soon as my spare tire vanish,
that is. No need to scare all the children in the pool

The JJ Tricorder Project Pt 2

I am going to rename this as the JJ Tricorder (after JJ Abrams, 2009 Star Trek reboot) Project and so, its part 2 after opening it. So, don't you go and looking for part one as the title did not change then. Heh.

And so, after that experiment with the cigarette lighter label, I am now ready to start on the JJ Abrams Tricorder. Well, OK, so the kids are a bit busy having dinner tonight and won't be bothering me for another 30 minutes. OK, the segment for today is to remove the label from the Tricorder INTACT. This is because I do not have software to re-create the label nor the time to do so, anyway.

The label will then be kept in a transparency where it will be processed at a later date. But for now, or for tonight, it has to be transferred first. Because its made of paper, I will be using the Lighter Fluid trick. Any other labels such as vinyl or soft plastic, I would still use Lighter Fluid. I have learnt my lesson with WD40. Ah ha ha ha ha.

Once again, drip some lighter fluid onto the label.
Let it work itself into the whole thing and just wait

In theory, I could just keep in dripping the fluid until
the whole sticker is soaked and I will just pull it off.
But because its made of paper, I am not taking any
chances.

There. The sticker is safely transferred onto the acetate
and I'll leave it somewhere safe for the lighter fluid to
dry off. At this point in time, its very fragile.

Because the lighter fluid is very runny, make sure
you know how to control its flow. Funny thing here
is that there is virtually no sticker gum residue on
the toy itself. Which means less cleanup for me.

Unfortunately, my peeling skills are not that good and
I cannot understand why these marks are here. Its
like as if they are bent and bubbling out of the sticker

This is the effect of the fluid running into unauthorised
area. So, as a rule of thumb, I am going to leave it alone
and let it dry by itself.

Laser etched Transparency

While I was at the local bookstore looking for a sheet of transparency to transfer the Tricorder sticker to, I found this special sheet. It costs me RM0.80 and there were several patterns to choose from. Since I was in a hurry, I just chose this piece. But one day, I would definitel need to go back there to see if they have anymore designs.

Now the Big Question is, what am I going to do with it?

To the normal eye, when you hold it like this, its just
a normal piece of acetate/transparency. But already,
you would have noticed something different about it

Yes, there are rainbow colours and they're all arranged in
small little squares. So, I need to tilt it against the light and
now, you can see the interference which created the colours

OK, a flash to show you more. Nice or not?

Tale of the wonky right turn

Once upon a time, there was a lowly peasant (but kind hearted) Consultant who was doing paid as an Engineer doing a Technician's work. He helped the company grew and grew. He worked Day and Night and sometimes, Night and Day, making sure the company is well fed even during the troubled times. Yes, Boys and Girls, this lowly (but generous) peasant made sure the debtors were kept at bay and do not have enough huff & puff to blow the House down.

And as a sign of appreciation, the Great Boss let him choose his reward; "Drive this car or else."

And so, the poor and humble (but humble) Manager drove this car everyday. He drove it under the hot Sun. He drove it in the rain. And he even drove it while drinking cheap day-old coffee. He liked the car and was thankful for such gifts. And the car, which was always serviced at 5,000km intervals and running happily at 9.99 KM/litre, served him well. So, the thankful (yet happy) Manager and the car went almost everywhere, everyday.

But one fateful day in April, after his lunch of bread and water (as the cost of petrol is high), the car was not feeling well. "What is wrong?" the Manager asked the car.

"Brrrtt........woka woka woka", replied the car.

But after a few minutes, the car was alright again and everyone was happy.

But it was not to be. Everyday, the car fell ill longer and more frequent. Sometimes it was so bad, the Manager had to say a few choice words. And sometimes, it was just bad. The car would shudder or jerk one second after it stops. Then when it hits a reverse hump, the car would shake all over. And also, during a fast or momentous right turn, the car would lose power, and this scared the Manager. As the days come and go, the problem got so bad, even a simple U-turn would make it lose power. And so, the Manager, bowed very low to the ground and said to Great Boss, "Dei, the car's fucked la." And the Great Boss replied, "So? Go and get it checked, la. Idiot."

[06-07-2009 1551]
Car was sent to workshop.
Foreman and mechanics laughed when symptoms was described.
Mechanic proceeded with diagnosis of car, suspects empty Auto Gear Oil.

[06-07-2009 1604]
Mechanic discovered severely empty auto gear oil and pumps in four litres.
Mechanic also inspected drive shaft as leak came from there.

[06-07-2009 1605]
Manager feels funny after realising the handjob device

[06-07-2009 1626]
Discovered drive shaft is not fitted properly, sent for replacement drive shaft.
Manager almost fainted until Foreman said its a warranty claim.
Foreman and Mechanic not laughing anymore.

[06-07-2009 1630]
Mechanic proceeded to dismantle drive-shaft.
Traced for further leakages

[06-07-2009 1859]
After driving a few KM, car still leaking oil.
Replacement drive shaft was too long.

[06-07-2009 1921]
Reassembled drive original shaft and test drove.
Oil leaking furiously and car needs to be kept in the garage for further testing

[06-07-2009 2136]
Rescued by Dad and Wife, prepared the Bengmobile

[06-07-2009 2149]
Bengmobile is now On-line!

While I was waiting for the car to be repaired/destroyed, I decided to explore the surrounding shops. Usually when I was there, I would always pop by the DVD store behind or the occasional semi-expensive hardware shop nearby. The reason for this was because I needed some lighter fluid.



Yeah?



I know you want to ask too, right?




I mean, why would a non-smoking guy buy lighters and also lighter fluids? No, I do not have a burning desire to be an arsonist nor could I temper the heat of being a Fire Fighter. The reason is this. Lighter fluilds makes the blue under the stiker/labels go nuts. So, as they weaken, it is easier to lift the sticker/label up without (much) damage. And it won't even attack plastic. So, this is what those toy collectors normally use to get rid of the pricetags on their plastic packaging without so much as scarring the surface. This would make their collection more valueable. (Personally, I just use a blade or cutting knife to tear into the package to get the toys out. Yes, they must be liberated from that suffocating plastic. Wahahahahahahah!)

Oh, and I just found out on the Net that some people even collect wine labels..........

First thing is, put a few drops onto the lable. Mind
you, the fluid is quite running. Don't worry if you
are actually a smoker. The fluid takes some time
to ignite (unlike a normal RON97 petrol) so you
can still have a cup of tea before having third
degree burns on your body.

Leave it for a few minute for the label to soak. Careful
not to touch it much as damp paper is weak and can
warp as well. Carefully use a sharp knife to kil.....er,
pry off or lift up one of the corners of the lable. This
will b your starting point when you want to lift it.

Slowly peel off the label bit by bit, and adding a few
more drops of the lighter fluid every now and then
before you continue. We want to be a-peeling,
people. Not tearing. Oh, I think you have peel
it as flat as you can not not bend it like you would
a sticker/tape as this would definitely mar the
label's printed side.

Finally, the label is out but see the blur area
on the blue lighter? That's the label's gum.
And how to get rid of it? Well, use another
cellophane tape, la. Once the label is dry,
you can do whatever you want but please
do remember, the other half of the label's
gum is still on the label so you might like
to think first where you want to stick it.

The Self Adhesive EPDM Sealing Strip

After looking all over the place for it, I have finally found my RM96.00 black foam, or more commonly known as, The Self Adhesive EPDM Sealing Strip. This Self Adhesive EPDM Sealing Strip is actually made from self-extinguishing Neoprene and is good for damping vibrations or even as a draft excluder. The Self Adhesive EPDM Sealing Strip comes in many sizes, ranging from 3mm to 6mm or more and in a roll of 10metres. The Self Adhesive EPDM Sealing Strip is what I use for my projects.

And so, I used the Self Adhesive EPDM Sealing Strip
for my Nokia 5800 car holder, so that it will hold the
phone more securely. The Self Adhesive EPDM
Sealing Strip was thick enough for the phone to fit
comfortably.

And this is how it looks with the Self Adhesive EPDM
Sealing Strip in place.