The trip down South

In just less than a week, I was to go outstation again. This time, South. I had two places to go, namely Seremban and Kulai. Knowing that Kulai is the furthest, it will be my first stop since Seremban's is to return a repaired phone. I am confident that I will be able to complete the two calls.

But this was not to be so. Boss was in a very bad mood the whole week. And he is looking for scapegoats to vent his frustrations. And because of new directive, I had a lot of paperwork which bogged me down until eleven in the morning. By then, I really had to rush for the trip. I was travelling a little over 90 trying to cover the long distance but in the end, it was for naught. By the time I was in Kulai, it was too late to get to Seremban and the customer is not interested in waiting until seven thirty in the evening.

So, the next morning, I was the scapegoat. I know my Boss's tactic of venting on me that morning. He took my trip's problem as a case study and tried to pin something on me. First, he asked others in the meeting that if they were me, which customer should I go first and the answer was Kulai. Both my technicians kept quiet. Not satisfied, he then calculated the time needed to take to each destination on the board, with me adding the actual figures for him. And still, he was not satisfied. He wanted the answer to be Seremban but the facts stated otherwise. One last try, I was to be chided for not informing the customer earlier. Lastly, I added the fact that the call in Kulai was more important as it dealt with system programming. But I left it at that because I know it will be an exercise in futility since he is the type of Chinaman who needs "Face" and authority and I have painted him into a corner unwittingly.

I know his bad mood was not because of anything but cash problems in the company. Still, his effect has shaken my team of technicians which I have built for some time. Just last week, one just walked off and refused to have lunch with him after his outburst. If this keeps going on, its a matter of time before the whole team cracks and my technicians all walk out on me. Sometimes, I am also thinking, why the fuck should I sacrifice so much for so little and still have to keep my temper while he does not?

I know he is taking inspiration and mirroring it from another customer where the Boss is quite personal and friendly (but with temper too). And my counterpart in that customer's company? A worried, scared and loyal Manager who is always on his toes. I don't want to end up being that kind of fucked up spineless cunt like that.

So, today is going to be a nice day

Solved the problem in Kulai and now, onwards to Seremban!

By the way, popped by Toyota and they're giving this
for even purchase of the new Toyota Altis. Mind you,
this is extremely limited edition. From the looks of it,
I think this could be from the same company who made
Mini-Z R/C cars; Kyosho. The tell tale signs were the fine
and detailed mouldings of the body

Oh-oh. rain is coming. Better leave fast!


These are I think, less than a week old. A plant
on a big bowl supported by three balls which
are not even cemented or bolted on. Imagine if
a vehicle accidentally brushed on it or a strong
wind blowing........

See? One of them fell already. I was here earlier but
did not take the photos since I was in a rush.

Ah, the evening sky! I could have stopped and took a
better photo but I was "rushing" to get to Seremban
which was too late. I should have stopped and to Hell
with everything.

Just fix it, OK?

Customer gave me this PC. He said to check on the software
(Call Billing) if it works or not. When I opened the PC, I saw
a lot of crap on the screen. I am not going to clean the icons
away. Besides, they changed the password on the software
and both serial COM ports are not working. Haih.

New Ding Dong Bell

It was just a matter of time before it happened. The wireless doorbell that survived the harsh weather has just broke. I should have thought about weather-proofing it but I just kept forgetting about it. So, this is my problem. I had no choice but to get a new one since the old doorbell is now beyond function. I mean, I could really look into it and replace the faulty parts but knowing me, it won't happen anytime soon.

This is the old doorbell. Note the water damage to both
the circuit board and the battery terminals. See the top
part of the circuit board, the wavy lines are actually its
antenna. I'll epxlain later why this is so important.


Here is a closer look. Based on what I see, I just hope that
the capacitor is the only component damaged by water


This is the new doorbell, which costs me slightly more
It does not have volume selection and the melodies,
although are nice, is a one-button push affair. There is
a switch at the back which turns on an extra recording
saying "Assallamualaikum"


This is the new doorbell. Note the lines at the bottom
of the circuit board. Its the antenna. Notice the minimal
count of electronic components. Its using the same RF
chip, though. Hmmm... maybe I should R&D on this IC


Thanks to KFC, the new doorbell is now splash-proof!

Do you want fries with that?

Remember the problem with the antenna? Once I mount
it up to the gate, the doorbell refused to work. There must
be something interfering behind the concrete as when I
moved the doorbell a few inches away, it worked. But then,
it is impossible to make another hole for that. So, I opened
both doorbell units and soldered some (red) wires in the
hopes of improving the RF communication. But then, I am
not a Communications expert. Still, in the end, it did work,
but slighty better