Something of interest

I like Forums. You can learn a lot from them and unfortunately, through past experiences, Flaming is just a big problem which can kill a good thread. And like a gasoline-fuelled room, a single spark can start it off.

Flame Warriors

Flaming

Monkeys in the Shop

You know, sometimes it is very frustrating when you need certain electronic components when you're in Malaysia. Its like looking for a specific needle in a can-ful of needles. (OK, its a bad analogy)

So, in order to get that component within a very short time, you can:
1) Go to Pasar Road (Pray before going, of course)
2) Go to Farnell in One (Sent within 7 working days)
3) Go to RS Catalogue (Sent after 4 working days)
4) Go to Singapore, or
5) Try Overseas (Internet)

Pasar Road
This is a place in Pudu, famous for its wet market. The actual name is Jalan Pasar. For decades, Pasar Road has built a reputation where it is THE place to look for electronic components. Whether you're a student, a technician, Engineer, a hobbyist or someone sent on a fool's errand, chances are, most of the time you will find what you're looking for. Occasionally I do have problems decribing what I need because the people manning the counter are not familiar with Electronics. So, I would have to resort to pointing and drawing the parts. And sometimes, I do have to help out students looking for components for their projects.

And if electronics are not your thing, you can still look at the wares sold outside the 5-foot way, fanging from mobile phone casings, to fake batteries, to laser pointers to radio controlled cars. The latest addition to Pasar Road are the Food Court and the Big building (I forgot the name) behind where it was supposed to house all the electronic shops along the street but I heard there was a problem with CF approval since 5 years ago (Building's Certificate of Fitness)

Farnell in One
and RS Components
These are the best guys in business and whatever you cannot find in Pasar Road, you can get them from here. And every year, they have thick catalogues and CD-ROMs which you can take away. (However, every year I have problems with Farnell's as I have to go to their counter and beg and beg and beg....) But all in all, you can be assured of excellent service. Plus, if they do not have the item in stock, they will get it sent from UK to you (after you part with the moolah, of course). Although the price is a bit ackward to some, bear in mind, what you get is the Real McCoy as Pasar Road sell components which are of dubious history. (See, you must know what you're looking for)

Singapore
Yes, there is another place next to Malaysia. The most popular place would be the Sim Lim Tower and the Sim Lim Square. My friends reminded me something about Sim Lim but I have forgotten about it. It is a paradise to me because of the different LEDs and other (not in Malaysia) components being sold there. I could wander around the place for days without being bored.

The Internet
Do I really want to? I have Farnell and RS. nuf' said.

So, after scouring these places for that part, I came across one shop which deals with that thing. Which that thing was a 80 Lumens LED (Ok, in layman terms, its a blindingly bringht LED). So, for the past three weeks, I depended on them to get the LED which I so desperately needed. Bad mistake.

For you see, after recovering from the daze of seeing all those wonderful bright lights (I am a sucker for LEDs) I began to realise that things were not what they seemed to be.

Week 1
-Introduction of the shop and to the proprietor and staff
-Lots of LEDs and more wonderful LEDs
-Lots of promises too

Week 2
-Promised to get me certain acrylic rod from Singapore
-But rod was of different design and diameter which I refused
-I informed them almost everyday about the rod before his Singapore trip

Week 3
-Promised the LED would be in next week
-Promised the sample LED would have RED, Green and White

Week 4
-No LED, claimed I did not specify the colours only White
-Also, no pricing (Next week)
-Pomised to get them and show me the sample by next week, even though they have heat problem
-She would call on her colleague and get him to call me for the correct acrylic rod, which he never did

Week 5 (this week la)
-No LED because they have problem with their heatsink, which I said never mind because I can solve that problem last week
-Cannot sell the LED because no heatsink, which I repeatedly said, NO PROBLEM!!!!!!! I STILL WANT THAT GODDAM PIECE OF SILICON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
-Promised to get back to me in 10 minutes for pricing, which she never did

So, it is very frustrating because I have stupidly trusted them for something which I could have gotten it from another source in the first place. But it does make me wonder because I have never seen such inept monkeys manning a company (Sdn. Bhd. some more) which still manage to be in business. Everycall I make, there were excuses and not only that, they never did update me on anything until I call them. The conversation would (roughly) go like this:

Me: Hello, is my LED here?
She: No ler, we dun have it wor
Me: When would it arrive?
She: We're not getting them in since our Engineer cannot solve the heatsink problem
Me: Why didn't you tell me? Anyway, I told you last week that I have the solution to that so its not a problem. I just want the LED
She: Oh, er, but we don't have the pricing from our supplier
Me: "Your supplier"? I thought you said "Your factory"?
She: Er, I'll get the pricing (she panicking) and call you back in 10 minutes *slam phone*
Me: .........................

So, in the end, I am afraid that my project has been severely delayed and I am not sure if I can expediate the process before May 19th. This also means that I only have time for the prototype and not the finished product. Sheesh.

As for the rod, since they refused to tell me the supplier in Singapore (I have friends who can pick it up for me, you see) another friend got me an alternative;

A transparent tube from Pasar Road, of all the places!


So, I've decided to go to RS and Farnell who would get the LED for me after a few days. Only problem is, I have not seen the Blue colour so I am contemplating that for the moment.......

Initial-D

[This was a draft]
In a nutshell, its a story about a young kid who delivers tofu using an outdated 1986 Toyota AE86 Trueno beating the heck out of everyone else in mountain races. Sounds boring, right?


That was almost 10 years ago and with the live action movie on the way, its every Initial-D fan's dream. Taking a corner in the "normal" way is now so boring once you have seen a car drift. And i can tell you, everyone was so caught up with this that even a Toyota AE86 that was sold for pittance before the manga/comics is now very rare and exhorbitant.

Yeah, I want one too. Ha ha ha ha!

Is this one of them?

Rainy Days are here again.

I was at my customer's place in Phileo Damansara 1 this afternoon and thank goodness I did not stop by the Uncle Ho's DVD shop (Ok, the one hour is nearly up and I do not want to pay extra) because I felt a few drops of rain. By the time I got my car out from the Parking Basement (about 4 minutes) it was raining quite heavily.The rain was so bad that every road I used were literally flooded with water reaching as high was 4 inches and I was splashing everywhere unintentionally. (There goes my nicely cleaned engine bay).

And I wonder how the poor folks would face the evening if the rain persisted. I mean, those who depended on the Night Market (Pasar Malam) so sell their wares.


These poor people are suffering from the diesel limit imposed by the Govenment, as they have been queuing for ages to get their fuel


Ok, so I tried another Lipton, this time with Lemon flavour and yes, they hit the mark on this one as its quite nice, really. So, go out and get one.


I got caught by the fancy package. The can is transparent so you can be sure there are no fingers or other foreign object in your drinkie. This reminds me of TAB that I used to have when I was in UK, and by golly! I loved it, even though my friends said it tasted like something from the dentist

After the Storm

One thing I can say about lightning storm when it strikes: Money (I am so wicked) You see, when it hits, any device connected to the telephone line gets hit. So, if you're not careful, your modem, your fax machine and yes, your telephone system gets fried. And never ever use them during the storm too. And if you have the Astro Satellite dish, well, don't get your hopes too high and it makes a bad wok anyway. I shall never forget the wonders of an insulated screwdriver ever agian. In a house or building, there are two types of earthing that must be done. The most important would be the electrical earthing with the telephone coming in second, which is usually ignored most of the time. The former is usually done for (Building regulations, methinks) while the latter costs more because no one ever puts them unless they got hit ;-P Anyway, sad to say, we had a few customer who lives near open spaces and Golf Courses which require our services on Monday morning. It was so sad to see black burnt marks all over the circuit boards.



This is what I had for lunch; Smashed tofu with egg (vomit), sausages fried with onions (fingers) and potato patties (fried monkey brain). I know, because my favourite staple of the (fish crakers that breaks your teeth) was sold out.


Drinking this Lipton Mango flavoured Tea is like drinking Mango cordial with a tea bag hastily pulled out after one dunk. And I hate drinking Mango Juice here because its "Fresh" straight out of the cordial as well, and not from the fruit. Personally, I'd give this a miss

Income Tax Weekend

By the end of this Month, there will be two events every Malaysians will never forget:

1) DIY Income Tax Form submission
2) Another 3-Day weekend (since Labour Day falls on Sunday)

This year would be the first time where all of us would have the privilege to mess up our own tax forms by ourselves. Which, in other words, if you screw it up, its your fault and not the Government anymore. Luckily, with the (forceful) urging of my Wife, we submitted the forms last Friday itself. This is another Malaysian trait where we love to do things in the last minute. There were quite a crowd there and the process is very simple. You just hand in the original and the photocopy of the forms where the counter clerk would scowl at your neat handwriting and stamp them before giving you back the photocopy version.

And we immediately felt as if a heavy burden has been lifted from our shoulders, so we can enjoy our another 3-Day weekend. Hee hee hee hee.


The free helpful guide books on how to mess up your tax forms, all in the glorious language of Bahasa Malaysia. They were handing out these guide books at Ikano on Sunday, which was too late for us

The RM29 haircut

Ok, let me get this straight. Apart from my Mom, Kristine, relatives, etc. I only have eyes for my Wife. She is the only one for me and for the rest of you, no matter how beautiful/sexy/perverted/nice/cute/kind/mental/friendly you are, I don't give a toss.

Anyway, I was planning to have my hair cut at the end of April (or May) because I sort of realised that if I only go there every month, they would only trim my hair which I can say, if I collected all of them, there would still be enough to re-hair a small rat which suffered cuttus-accidentalus. So, why not visit the hairdressers every 2 months, I say. Judging from their annual renovations, I'll bet you that most of the renovation funds came out from my wallet.

Anyway, since today was a Public Horriday, my Wife decided to trim her hair and being a good husband ( or driver, ha ha) I decided to follow along sans my iPaq. Everything got off to a fine start; my Wife was ushered to a seat while I fend off cute girls with sharp scissors wanting to cut my hair. After bettling my way to the bench, I was safe. Or so I thought.

In less than the time it takes for a person to spit out a chunk of KFC's Curry Chicken, this weird lady came over and sat next to me. Ok, I can tell you that she is beautiful and very friendly (Which set my Alarm Bells ringing). So, before I can get away from her, she started a conversation.

She was quite forthcoming with her stories (I found out afterwards she was drunk) about:

A) She is very loyal to her husband and would not eat until he come homes (even late at night)
B) She won't eat until he has eaten (even at midnight)
C) Husbands likes to play around
D) As a Wife, she has to depend on him
E) So, she is separated and don't give a fuck about men
F) She kept giving me her phone number
G) -CENSORED-

So, my Wife quickly stepped and ASKED me to go for a haircut instead, citing its only RM29, one Ringgit cheaper than at my usual hairdresser. And with her "You better do it or die" look in her eyes, I guessed its a better option than listening to that lady, (she was getting a bit too friendly at this stage) I quickly accepted the offer even though my hair has grown less than 18.9 mm (on average)

And lastly, here is my observation:
1. If your wife wants to get a haircut, drop her off there and go somewhere else. She will call you when she is done unless you love the smell of burn hair, sweat, shampoo, ammonia, dyes, etc.
2. Never ever join her in there unless you like living dangerously (flirting in front of her would get you killed or instant castration, whichever hurts the most)
3. Read books or magazines, it does not matter if you don't understand the words
4. If you got caught in a conversation, either go along with the flow or create your own soap opera like you were once a convicted serial rapist but you have now gone straight and is now with your fitfh wife (where the first four died mysteriously), etc.
5. You can feign sleep but make sure you don't sleep near the toilet or the front door
6. When you pick up your wife, remark how nice that new hair-do is, and make sure you pay the bill

Stupid proverb of the day:
Going to a cinema with a blind man is like going to a rock concert with a deaf girl.

Grayson - The Trailer

Ok, I admit I was busy for a while because of the project. And also, (this is not an excuse for a Blogger's Block) I have been trying to download a very exceptional trailer from TheForce.Net site.

The trailer of called Grayson, from Untamed Cinema which tells the story of the former Boy Wonder, Dick Grayson (Robin) who is trying to find out who killed his mentor Bruce Wayne (Batman). There are other apperances of a few famous characters too. But bear in mind, do not go critical on it because this is a fanfilm where enthusiastic fans make their own movies. And since Studios do not "mind" everyone is happy.

Now, once you have downloaded the trailer and watched it, please be aware of one small itty bitty fact: The movie does not exist even though everyone wants to believe otherwise.



That Post-Operation Feeling

After 2 weeks, my car is back from the workshop. And I am soooooooooooo happy!

Actually, the repairs only took 3 days but with so many system installations, it was difficult for me to drive both cars back to my house (you can do it). The list of repairs, minor to major , were:

1) Change Engine Oil
2) Change Gear Oil
3) Change Timing Belt and other belts
4) Change Water Pump
5) Change Oil, Fuel and Air filter
6) Replace Gasket (Top Overhaul)
7) Replace Radiator Top
8) Replace Spark Plugs
9) Plug in exhaust holes

And for the second time in 7 years, my car even got an Engine wash, which I (dread to do) should have done yonks ago. It was so full of dust and grime which made the car looked horrible.

Stupid proverb of the day:
Sometimes a thick Dictionary is the best way to get your words into an idiot's brain

19th May Deadline-Part 001

Well, its about one month away and I just realised the kind of trouble I have gotten myself into. Still, I am trying to enlist the help of my friend since he is from the mechical field. And in the next few days, its critical for me as well since I am doing the electronics part.

So, there are a few parts to this:
1) The Design itself and its feasibility
2) The Electronics to produce the effect
3) The Material which is not available locally
4) The cost

So far, there are a lot of good ideas but since I am four weeks away, I would have to make the Electronics simple and risk using direct-drive methods. It would suck a lot of power but then, it'll have to do for the moment.

Die Die also dun want

Customer: Here is the problem with the phone
Me: [Looking and trying not to act emotional] Hmmm.....
Me: Your phone is in pieces.
Customer: Yeah, it had an "accident". See what you can do lor
Me: Ok, I'll try to repair it but no promises
Customer: With glue? Ha! Also please hurry as I need the phone

After 2 weeks or so, my colleague phoned the customer and told her the bad news. It was better to get a new phone, even if it was a used phone.

Then today, I got the go-ahead to deliver a new second-hand used cheep cheep replacement phone to her.

Customer: What's this? I did not order a new phone.
Me: Your old one is die already. Repair also no use le
Customer: I told [my colleague] that I don't want it and I'll call if I change my mind
Customer: @$#%#$& -censored-
Me: OK, then I'll go away lor
[Looking at invoice, the price was ridiculously cheap and my colleague did it as a favour to the customer which I doubt they realise it and appreciate the effort]

Customer: And bring back my old phone! Your colleague say can still use
Me: OK, but not today (and hope you like jigsaw puzzles)


Not even glue can fix this

A phone system for them is very important to them due to the nature of their business but because of their mentality of being a Chinese Businessman which loves using the "minimal capital with maximum profit" business model, they assumed a normal single-line phone can replace the more expensive Digital Handset or get another second-hand keyphone system. So, this is the kind of customer which I hate to deal with because everything is cost to them and they will haggle absurdly.

Ha ha. Wait till they try to plug in another phone........

The Ambitious Girl

After realising she is OK, we are not so worried anymore but knowing her new-found skill of being semi-mobile, we have to be very carefuol from now on. Just today, after realising that she can roll to her stomach, she is now trying to crawl. Which is a very exciting event for her. But after a few minutes of trying (clawing), and realising she is not going anywhere, she cries.

And now, she is only happy when I let her stand on her feet (with assistance, of course). Sigh, this means that she wants to skip the crawling part and prefer to walk instead. Look out, World!

2-Feet Freefall

It just sort of happened when Kristine got too ambitious. When she rolled too many times near the edge, Gravity took over. With a noticable lump and after a heart-wrenching cry, she was at it again. However, both of us are quite worried and will be sending her to the Doctor tomorrow.

Stupid proverb of the day:
The best things in life are free but it'll cost you to get it

And they called it miscommunication

I was quite chuffed today due to an incident at one of my customer's site. Well, actually, it was one of out reseller's customer's site.

It was a very simple talk of going there, install an extension card and then activate four keyphones. Unfortunately, as I have mentioned many times, the word simple is not what it seemed. Anyway, I was there the week before and the reseller gave me a short cable, which I was unable to complete my work. So today, I had to go there again, this time with the correct length cable. Unfortunately, the reseller forgot to mention to his customer that I was supposed to be there.

While I was about to install the card, I was told to stop work with terse politeness and remove myself from the place. So, I called the reseller (who conveniently let me speak to his voicemail instead) a few times but to no avail. Then they called their PIC
(person in charge) at HQ. Apparently, the reseller forgot to mention to HQ's PIC to instruct the Management at that site to allow me to work. Knowing it was not really my fault, I did as I was told.

Then the HQ's PIC asked me to stay on to continue the work but I was already quite pissed off and still keeping my composure, told her tersely in a polite way that since I am taking instructions from the reseller, and since I cannot get in touch with him, I will not do anything else. The poor girl who was made to call HQ told me its just a small miscommunication, which I couldn't agree more. But deep inside, I know this would not have happened if everyone was informed by the reseller earlier on.

In the background, the Manager was having a shocked face, realising what he has done ...............

Stupid proverb of the day:
Experience is what makes you realise you have done the same stupid mistake again

Rock & Roll Kristine

Today is a great moment for us. Kristine was actually trying to roll on her side by herself!

On her back, she would start by lifting her legs slightly, and then swing it to her left. Using the momentum from the legs, she swung her lower body followed by the chest until they're lying on the mattress. Then, using her hands, she propped herself up. Or tried to.

Heh. This is where the recovery team (us) had to step in because her left hand is always entangled under her chest. We had to help her move her hand or else she would start crying as its is quite painful with the stress of her whole bodyweight.


Kristine trying to roll on her side

Farewell to my ....... handsfree kit

So, this is the main reason why I do not like corded handsfree-kits for Mobile Phones. I get in and out of the car about many times a day. So, each time I had to take out the mobile phone and connect/disconnect the darn thing. Which, yes, as you can imagine, increases the tear and wear on both equipment. And not only that, because I had to take out the phone all the time, it never fails to drop out of the car whenever I open the door.

And my most recent victim happened in just one and a half days after buying it. Yeah, the headpiece got snagged to the seat's lever and all it took was just one unforgetful tug.....

And if I am not mistaken, this is handsfree-kit #19. sad, to say, my Bluetooth is really dead.

Stupid proverb of the day:
Shift the stick and rouse the dick

Hello? Hello?

As it has transpired to my other colleagues, I seldom use my phone to call customers or each other for updates for two main reason: Cost and they hate SMS.

So, now, they have given me another mobile phone (and another number) to encourage me to use it. So, I have to chalk up about RM120 worth of calls per month. Which is fine but there is another dillema:

I have to manually "divert" all callers to my other colleague's number since this was originally his. And the phone rang every few minutes. And I have to buy a handsfree kit for it as well since I am pretty sure it will ring at the most unlikeliest time. You can imagine I would have two sets handsfree earphones plugged in to my ears while I am driving.

Speaking of handsfree, I now have to get two. For you see, the Bluetooth for my Sony Ericsson T630 is literally dead. I will have to check it this week. What a waste for RM180.


After using it for a week, the ear-hook began to soften due to my sweat and body heat.
After 3 weeks, the silicon ear-piece fell off, and I had to glue a black sponge with UHU glue
After 4 weeks, the ear-hook split apart and I had to use a heat-shrink sleeve to hold them since all glue has failed.
After 6 weeks, it was either the mains adaptor or the connection to the device or its internal battery because this device has losts its Blues

Ultimate Toys Star Wars Midnight Fiesta

First and foremost, I like Star Wars but not to the extend of wearing bathrobes and flashing expensive lightsabres which to me, looks nothing more than a fancy torchlight with lighted stick. (But, those lightsabres are very very cool to play with once it lights up).

So, on April 1st, at 10PM, I was there at 1-Utama's New Wing where Ultimate Toys are located. The event is to announce the launch of the latest Star Wars action figures and vehicles. Also, its a small gathering for fans to gear up for the Worldwide launch of the movie on May 19.

There were a lot of events, mainly the best dressed costume. Personally, I have no reason to be there but a few days ago, my friend asked for my help to assist him in lighting up his home-made lightsabre. And also, I have another friend who will be there to pass me back my Appleseed 2004 DVD and the Star Trek Enterprise VCDs.

The event was quite fun because we did met up with a few other friends which we have lost touch years ago. Looking at the lightsabres, they were beautifully crafted, mostly from Master replicas and Parks. So, after some thinking, maybe I should do one of my own before May 19th, 2005 as well. I'll be on half-day leave tomorrow to send my car in for repairs (It'll take 3 days to replace the gasket) while I go to Low Yatt Plaza for some ideas on how to light up the sabre. Heh.

My friend has other ideas, which is to approach Kavin for his project. I cannot say what it is, but if it works, you'll be the first to know on this blog. And its going to be a wonderful thing.


The reporters were busy interviewing all the Jedis and even my friend's brother was not spared


My suit's at the cleaners, OK?


Kavin of Ultimate Toys using the Force for crowd control


Staff were busy preparing to diplay the new Star Wars Episode III toys behind the screen


Some fans with costumes.


This team really thought out of the box. An At-At!
(He is walking backwards with no holes to see with)



No comment!


Gosh! They do start them young!


Longest Lightsabre contest

Crow Shooting

When I came out of the customer's office, it was already 7pm. And I hate coming out after this hour because of what I am going to see: Crows practising their dive-bombing on my car.

However, today was different because there are no noise. You see, at this time, the sky would be dark and noisy, with all the Crows flying about in the trees. But today, it was quiet. Dead quiet except for a few loud bangs.

No, its not the terrorists (but close enough) but DBKL (Dewan Bandaraya Kuala Lumpur) culling the Crows. What they did was to sit around the Laman Tun Abdul Rahman (a fancy word for a small open space enough for one to run around while peeing all over the pace). While aiming their shotguns above them. There were four personel; two to collect the dead birdie and two to shoot the not so dead birdies. It seemed like they are only allowed to shoot at the space above them and not anywhere else.

After some loud bangs, the crows knew enough not to fly over the area. Some "spy" crows who decided to check if the coast is clear, gets shot. And it is sad to see them get it because of the way they fall to the ground. Those who die instantly in the air, falls with a big thud, like the sound of a heavy silk purse. But the ones wounded in mid-flight sort of glided like a jet with engines lost on one wing.

Anyway, after half an hour, as the body count rises, I am getting a bit deaf as these shotguns are really loud. I think to myself, why can't they have a shotgun with a silencer? This way, they get more dead crows. Unless its a "sport" for them, to shoot at moving targets.


So, there they are, loading the shotgun and shooting in the sky, oblivious to the busybodies who are slowly turning deaf


This guy don't even bother aiming as he's quite good shooting from the hips
Hippie shooter?



A shotgun shell. Too bad I could not reach it fast enough before the guy collects it back. Maybe its to prove to the accountant that they actually used it or maybe, its just to calculated the bullet:dead crow ratio


This reminds me of the farmer and his dog. Once the poor rabbit has been shot, the dog would run over to fetch it back to his Master


There were quite a few dead crows


Here, he is carrying a dead bird and about to swing it over to the middle of the circle. And when it lands with a sickening thud


One unlucky crow who flew over the square gets it