My new Mouse

OK, so I had to sacrifice again. My mouse broke, just a day before the 2 months was up. And I usually go through them like I go through those mobile-phone handsfree kits: Months or even weeks. This is because I carry my trusty Toshiba Notebook wherever I go and with its daily plugging in and out and also the twisted cables, it could not take it anymore. I could have repaired the suspected faulty cable like my previous mouse but since it is so thin, the only result would be me uttering a lot of profanities.

And when it comes to choosing the mouse, I do have a few requirements, mainly the two side buttons which allows me to switch pages to and fro (or up and down), especially when surfing or doing documentation. Size comes next as I hate small mouse which tires my hand. Next would be the usual optical sensors and USB connectivity. Features are always last on my mind.

But this time, due to my tight financial problem, I had to make do with a smaller mouse but with the same 2-side button features which, by now, I cannot do without. And because of this, I saved RM10, as the mouse costs me RM39 (which is one and a half day's worth of petrol and toll). So, for the next few days, I "try" not to go anywhere far. But that is not right because it is my job, that is, until my new technician comes in and I have fully trained him.

Usually, the mouse I bought are A4 Tech brands and they really do last me quite a while. But for these new mouse, because of their fragile thin USB cables, I really cannot say. If I don't go mobile everyday, the mouse would survive. But the company would suffer. So how?

This is my old mouse. It has the 2-side buttons, the double-click orange button,
and claims that it can be used on glass surfaces. Yeah, right. My dining table has
a plastic transparent cover and the mouse went nuts on it.

The old mouse (left) and the new mouse (right). Notice the
similarities?

The new mouse is smaller but this macro shot made it otherwise

Don't believe me? See how my fingers had to curve
on the new mouse?

Electroluminescense

Supposing. Supposing, if you're really really hungry and has not eaten properly for a few days. And now, just in front of you, you're given the opportunity to have a nice little chocolate covered cheesecake. But there is a price which you cannot readily pay. You think you really need to eat the cake but in your heart, you know that you can still survive a few more days without it. Still, you want it because that place is so far away and to go back there, costs quite a bit. And moreover, that place is not easily........... there you go again, convincing yourself that the cake is delicious. But the actual truth is, you really do not need this cake right now. And you cannot pay for it too. But, oh, it feels so warm and soft and most in your hands..............

So, in the end, against all that your principles stood for, you went and bought that cake.

Yeah, that is how I felt. But with some projects running concurrently, this is usually where all my money went. Just this month, I have spent about RM98 just for some Luxeon LEDs, relays, etc. And now this. So, I have to clear my Credit Card soon. Or else I die.

And this is my cake: Electroluminescent Wire. In a simple term, it is a piece of paper which lights up when you apply voltage to it. That paper can be cut to shape, it can be bent and also have a very long operation life, provided you did not crumple or feed it with the wrong type of voltage. In the past few years, the flat media has evolved into what everyone terms it as "strings". And the EL glow is usually like a neon sans the fragile glass tubings, etc. So, with this technology, lighting up a model even with a cramped space is now possible. Also, it would save a lot of LEDs/Bulbs especially where a lot of lights are needed, such as small windows of the Titanic or the Enterprise starships. However, there is one big problem. Yes, in order to light up such a huge area, you would need a big inverter. Anyhow, this would/could be solved later once I have enough to make my own inverter using SMT inductors.

For that obscene amount of money, all it got me was a 3metre white

EL cable and an inverter which either lights up with sound or just on

Since I was so excited this morning, I forgot to bring my own
power supply, so I just plugged it into the car' 12volt supply
Admittedly, the inverter hums a lot and you can hear it. I
suspect it is because they use a cheaper transformer.
When unlit, it is pinkish red. The whole night, it was
turned on and lit in sync with the car's radio.
Yeah, my Beng-ness overcame my sanity

And when it is lit, it is while. The whole EL media is wrapped
into the plastic tubing. And it can be twisted (up to a certain
angle) with no problems. So, with this type of "flexible" neon
your lighting problems (usually for models) are solved

And so, you ask, HOW will I eat this cake? Stay tuned.