Ah Leong Koh-Koh........

Is getting married in Ipoh tomorrow!
Woo Hoo!













But too bad, I cannot attend la.
My Mom just to me that an hour ago.

Blood test Result

The result's out and this time, its the start of my worries. For you see, apart from my normal uric acid levels, I now have cholestrol. Just a bit of it, nothing to worry about but the Doc says I have to change my lifestyle, which means (and she really means it):

1) More exercise
I need to exercise more instead of the normal stairs I climb to see my customers.

2) No more red meat
Well, yeah, I've stayed off for years.

3) More fish, exp tuna
Wall, hey, I love tuna but its expensive.

4) No more late nights
She actually said that. So, I have to (try) to hit the pillows by Ten.

And so, that is the outcome, which is already depressing. I mean, by the time the kids are asleep, that's the time I am free to do my "things". Also, I have started eating oats (weeks) before the blood test and walk a bit more eve since I met zybisko14's Dad last year.

And I get a free card reminding my Blood type.
The Doc says I can give but its a bit hard for
me to receive.

On another note, when I reviewed back the recording, which I recorded my conversation with the Doctor using my Nokia 5800, I actually came across as very sarcastic. It took me a few moments to realise this. With the right intonation and replies, I projected myself as a sarcastic person even when I have good intentions. Maybe this is why I seldom have many friends. Ha ha ha ha ha.

New Engineer in the Family

Honest to Goodness. I am not sure what happened. You remember those jokes about, "My kid can program the VCR/phone/nuclear warhead with their eyes shut while I can only program the rice cooker"? Well, it happened to me.

Kaelynn just took my phone, played with it for a few minutes, then switched it off before giving it to me. When I switched it on, the phone sort of changed. Its now running on actual V21 firmware with those fancy screen shrinking and effects. Yeah, it still hangs but not so much and also, it has come back to the original state of hanging during stand-by. It will be a few more days before I can see if it hangs during phone calls.........

Within a week of using my phone, she knows how
to get to the picture viewer, the calculator and
other what-nots. Maybe SHE could be the next
Engineer in the family.

Revoltech Protect Gear #061

Got this a few days ago, from Hong Kong and this guy ships very fast. This is the Protect Gear figure which looks like a Black German Soldier from WWII. The 12" version (from another company) costs quite a lot and so, I decided to settle for this small one instead. However, the toy shop in Amcorp Mall did not notify me when it came to Malaysia last year as promised and so, I did not know about this until I scouted eBay. At that time, I thought it was not produced at all. Heh. And here I am, complaining about the price of a RM39.90 43/4 inch Star Wars action figures..........

No only does he ship in bubble wrap, but the paper was
just enough to wrap the four sides.......

And so, the box was dented quite a bit. Then again, its
made of paper and I am not going to keep this in a glass
case or anything.

From the package, you have the figure
itself, which is painted in a combination
of matt and gloss black on PVC vinyl.
Then you have different guns and at
least three pairs of hands and the stand.
Oh, and the ammo bandolier is crap.

Not having a tripod is one thing
as its not easy to take pictures
without flash. And then, yeah,
I don't have a dedicated flash.
And so, its time to learn from
Loctor's photography lesson.

This was shot using Loctor's A4 paper and the
camera's built-in flash technique. I used this
before but with a 3M Scotch tape taped to the
flash unit year ago. Since there are no Scotch
tapes nearby..........
Anyway, see the difference? Loctor is so Pro!!!

The lighting is somewhat nice and brings out the
details of the model quite nicely. Since I took this
after dinner, all the economy rice polystyrene
containers have been thrown away and so, I can't
simulate a downcast sky.

Maybe I should have set the
White Balance to Fluorescent
instead of Cloudy. Then again,
its past midnight and I'm tired
from using my wrists as tripods

Latest news from Army Weekly:
The Budget for dyeing black uniforms
have been cut drastically along with
black boots and gas masks .........

How to view IR source cheaply

Just in case if you already do not know, you can any
Digital camera to view them. Except for the DSLR as
this one needs to take the photos first since what
you're seeing is the image reflected from the mirror
and prism back to the viewfinder and not directly
from the CCD element itself. So, you can use your
Mobile Phone to do this too. So, it would be silly to
waste Rm19.90 (and maybe a burnt finger) for a DIY
IR detector when you can spend hundreds and
thousands of ringgit for a honest to goodness real
deal Digital cam to do it for you. Hah.

Modifying a switch Part II

Tonight, since I had a bit of time, I really went ahead about my theory of changing the normal white LED inside the switch to the bi-colour (Red/Green) LED. This is so that my project does not need to have so much buttons and switches (because I do not have any power tools, so, making those holes will definitely kill/sprain my hands). Yeah, I decided to make maximum use of space and all switches will do double duty as visual indicators too.

In my hurry, I have destroyed the small white LED.
I should have waited for the soldering iron to warm up
so I can desolder the metal contacts from the tiny little
resistor and diode before I can remove the LED. Now,
I realised why the White LED is so dim. They used a
1.2K Ohm resistor for a 12volt input. Should have used
half the value and the LED would be brighter. Also, they
inserted a diode there in case some bright spark used
the wrong polarity. But I tell you, the resistor is so
tiny (~ 4mm), its a wonder they can fit in there.

Here is how its done.
A: There is a reason why the White LED was so small. It was designed as a 3mm LED but with the lens taken out. So, this makes it shines forward. I could not find a 3mm Red/Green LED replacement and so, with a 5mm LED, it was too big to fit in without being hit by the switch button cover.
B: So, I have to unplug the LED module, desolder the metal connectors, cut off about 5mm or so of the while plastic column, at the same time making sure the orientation of the new LED is correct. If the voltage passes is positive, I want it to be green and if its the wrong polarity, I want it to be Red.
C: Put in the new 5mm LED, resolder the metal connectors and plug in back to the switch. So, now, you have the new 5mm modified LED module.
D: Now, when I press the button, the big 5mm LED will not obstruct it.

This is how it looks when the voltage is correct

And this is how it looks when the voltage is wrong

As a precaution, I soldered the resistors on the legs of
the LED's solder lug. Sometimes, it's too easy to forget
what you have done when you revisit the project at a
later date. By then, you would have assumed it is OK
because the wrong label outside says the LED is rated
12 volts when it's not, and blow it to Kingdom come.

Kristine's new glasses

A few days ago, she went with my parents to an Optometrist as my Dad needed some new glasses. After managing to impress the Lady with her counting skills there, she got a new Mickey Mouse glasses. Not sure if her story fits but its too good to be true. I might have to pay my Mom for this. Have not talked to my Mom as all these were her version.

Kristine showing her glasses. She was so excited that
she did not even wait for me to finish drying their hair.

As I was on the way to Melaka.......

I only had seconds to take some shots
I did not realise this nice scene as I was
tired and was moving out of the petrol
station. So, I quickly pulled over near
the exit. After that, the clouds covered
everything.

Seven Days

Tomorrow would be exactly one week where the both
of us fell sick. She has the flu while I have whatever
leftover. She was on MC for a few days while I was still
able to work but with a sore throat, running nose and
also, an in and out fever. Still, sharing whatever
medication she got, I felt a bit better, though. The rest
of the week, I downed litres of orange juice. But the girls
really enjoyed the week as they were both sent to sleep
with Grandma and Grandpa..................

Honey Sunflower Kernels

This were the girl's first time to have the Sunflower seeds together. But I think I will not get it anymore since it was so hard to get them to drink water after that. The seeds are crunchy and sweet but takes a toll on the throat since the weather is still hot.

All it took as just seconds to get half the packet
of Sunflower seeds to disappear........

Haircut

And so, with a sweeping statement, we were told its going to be Hot until September. However, this is not something I am looking forward to. When its hot, you sweat and when you sweat, you're a sitting duck for any wind blowing at you. And when it happens, you are going to fall sick. And it has happened to me twice last year. But this is not relevant here and now.

I have cut my hair. Its becoming too sticky and hot, making me lose my temper and cranky. Anyway, its very close to the third month and so, after running Wifey's errant, I decided to have my usual RM15 hair cut (works out to be RM5 per month, la)

There! After 25 minutes, I save a lot on
shampoo, hair gel and also my sanity.

Unfortunatel, I also
look like Bert.

Funny things in the night

This was a new one for me. 0139 and the cat's
hiding here instead of the usual bag (mine),
the landing, stairs, floors, etc.

Modifying a switch

As one of my own project is about to start, I was beset with problems of the noisy kind. Its not easy to concentrate when the girls are around. And so, trying to take my mind off things, I decided to play with some components. And so, I came across this switch which I have bought months ago. At that time, I was looking for a non-latching push-button switch and this was the ideal model. Unfortunately, I forgot to ask about the illumination part. Yes, this switch does light up. But I am not sure if its a 12 volt bulb inside there or just a normal LED.

And so, after a few naughty pulls, I got the cover off. So, its just a normal WHITE LED in there. And its soldered to a plastic holder which, I think, could be unsoldered. So, now, I can happily go to Pasar Road and look for a nice bright 3mm Red/Green LED to replace the white LED. I wanted this LED so that I can tell, at a glance, the polarity of the voltage that I need to use.......

This switch costs me about RM9.50 but the feeling you
get when pressing it, is bliss. Makes you think its really
a very robust and reliable switch. Only time will tell.

As I was driving in Kajang.......

What do YOU think?

LCD Mirror

OK, the mirror has arrived. This is one of those LCD Monitor stuck behind a reflective plastic that doubles as a mirror. But when you reverse, it will turn the screen on and displays the signal fed from the CCTV camera located at the rear of the vehicle. Hopefully, no more kiss-kiss-bang-bang for the missus.

Only problem, I have to find the time to install it. Dang.

In less than two weeks, it arrived!

Its a big mirror and unfortunatel,y it not wide angle.
I had to sacrifice lunch for this one too. Ha ha ha ha!

Working smart and hard too

OK, this is the place where Education is a punch. We were asked for a system audit as the last person who maintained it did a very excellent job. Very excellent indeed. Settling politics aside, our main job is to just get capacity and programming up to date. Although we were given three days, I was only given one by my Boss with the other remaining two days to compile the report. And so, just to save some time, on my next trip here, I decided to get all the programming from the CPU.

Unlike the newer models, I cannot just stick in the memory card and have everything downloaded. No, this is the older Generation system where everything has to be copied down by hand and you have to manually do this. But the problem is, there are over 320 extensions and just going through each program is going to take hours. Hours which can be better spent to trace the hundreds of slots in the frame. And so, using a Serial card and a program, I used a makeshift solution to get all the necessary data in just a fraction of the time require. The problem lies in the fact that 80% of the extensions are Single-Line phones which are difficult to trace if they're active or not. And so, one must physically check them on every floor.

Anyway, I am just preparing because this job has not started yet. Ha ha ha.

There are more than 300 points that
needs to be traced, on all three blocks
and fifteen floors. It could take days!

And so, I "borrowed" the serial card from the Company,
run a program, and diverted the data into my Notebook
instead of a serial printer. 40 minutes and its done, in
the meantime, I could go on doing my work........

Chicken Soup for the Mushroom

When you go shopping, the one thing which really makes you go for a particular brand (when you're comparing brands, la) are the free gifts. Straight away, you'd think that the (ugly) tupperware would be very useful for storing food/sandwiches/rice/crap, etc. and by reflex, your hand would not just take one. Oh no, one is not enough. What if he or she or them wants some as well? Better take as much as you can.

And so, the aftermath is, me being one of the (un)fortunate victims, have to drink soup all the soup until its gone. The flavour is Mushroom chicken (hah?). Yeah, the "traditional" flavour was either Chicken or Mushroom. Now, its chicky fungi with crunchy bits.

But, all is not lost. What I'd do is, to mix half of the
soup with the daily oats. But now, I have to finish
all the oats and go for the rolled oats kind as the
current "3 in 1" is not sufficient, said the Doctor

Left is the chicy soupee and the rightee is da oatee

When I was small, I saw one of my relatives making

powdered Milo/Milk/Poison for me. What they did
was to put in a bit of hot water and mix, while at the
same time, crushes the chunky milk lumps. Here, I
am doing the same because drinking powered lumps
are not fun. No, Sir.

Once you have them mixed into a mushy pulp,
you then add the remaining hot water to dilute
the mixture. Oh, the croutons in this soup lasts
quite long. Even after 45 minutes, its still very
crunchy inside but soggy on the outside.
So, drink up to half the cup and then add more
water, and you have more soup.

Cosplay is just so weird

Cosplay, in a nutshell is where someone dresses up as one of the characters in an anime or SciFi show/movie, reenacts a particular scene or behaves as what the characters do. Unfortunately, although I like cosplay, I do not participate in them. When the word cosplay comes up, I have the imaged of people dressed up in blue punk-hairstyles, wear black and have weird eyeshadows, and standing against the wall. Already I look weird when I got on my Star Trek First Contact Uniform years ago........

And I had a dream about it this morning:

I was out of town, doing my job, which I think is something like a service guy going around buildings hunting for rogue robots while traveling up and down on open door elevators located on every floor. (Sounds like some video game, right?)

Anyway, I happened to be in the same building where some of my ex-colleagues were working, with one of them being quite "the man's man". And here I was, at the front counter, trying to pick up two cute receptionists while wearing the Robocop costume, showing her how I did the holster in the hip trick like the ones you saw in the Movie. (Its not an easy trick to do as your legs must be very very thin in order to hide all the mechanism)

Image taken from Toyhaven

What is not surprising at all was, cosplay in that town, was as normal as drinking water in the sea. And this evening, we're all going to a venue where a cosplay theme is happening. And with my friends there, I was like some main act, complaining about having to walk there in costume, under the hot Sun and carrying stuff which might scratch the armour, etc.

As much as I like the Robocop costume, I do not have the height for it as the cyborg is quite tall. If I ever do get the chance to own one, I would probably mount it on a mannequin and not wear it all due to my height issues. I do not want to be the crap shorty Robocop as seen in the other cheap movies such as Meltdown. (Yeah, it was that bad)

WTF!

Modus Magus Telematch 2009

We had to wake up early this morning as Kristine's school's instruction specifically stated that she must be registered by 0830 in the morning. And so, after waking them up and getting them ready, it was already a quarter past eight....

As the venue was in Shah Alam, we were very lucky that there were no jam. Or maybe its because most of the companies there have already stopped working on Saturdays. Or maybe because its the middle of the month where everyone's salary is almost gone. Whatever it was, our route was quite clear. They are using the Panasonic Stadium, which, I found out later, was being used for three events, with Kristine's being one of them. This also explains why the stadium's car park was full. Although the RM34 Million Stadium has now been "donated" to the Sports Ministry, the place looked as if its about to go into a slum. Toilet facilities looked as if no one bothered to clean them, and the small little arrow pool at the entrance looked stagnant too.

Anyway, her event was called the Modus Magus Telematch (The Way of Magic), which in a nutshell, is Sports Day with a Harry Potter Theme thrown in. The events were arranged in such a way that it suits the children of different ages. From pushing a ball with a broomstick to some object matching (I was out to the toilet for this) to an obstacle course to a three-legged run, it was fun all the way, apart from a few anxious parents going to the off-limit area and blocking everyone's shot.

The girls listening to Lady Ga-Ga's "Poker Face"
on my Nokia 5800 which I used to wake them

Registering counter. A lot of anxious parents there.
OK, so everyone was late.........

Once we brought Kristine to her group, she settled
in at once. Being lost, that is. I always see her in this
state whenever she was in school. This might be a
bit different for her as there was large crowds in
the Stadium stands.

The children gathered there before the event starts.

Just as soon as she has settled down, she started to
look for us, with a worried face. But later on, after
waving like mad, she found me and she was more
relaxed, knowing we were there for her.

There was no ceremony to signify the arrival of guests and
so on as they were there very early. No late VIP crap and
everything went according to schedule. Which is a nice
change for any public event or educational establisment.

The Sports began with a March to salute the VIPs like any
other sports. Which is nice because each team has their
own "thing", which I found out later, contributes to the
overall points per team. Here, the blue team are the
water fairies.

Kristine's team, the yellow Sun Fairies were the last.
But they made a small show in front of the VIP.

With the masks on, I cen't even tell where she is,
although she is one of the smallest in the team.

Yeah, there's one in every crowd.

No gunfire or fireworks. Just
a simple release of ballons.
Nice.

After the procession, when they took off their masks,
I can see Kristine again.

OK, so she's not worried anymore

In the crowds, Kaelynn was a bit impatient and wanted
to go down to where her sister was. Maybe its the heat
inside the Stadium but everyone was sweating buckets.
Also, the fans were placed quite some distance and the
ones who came first hogged all the good spots.

The first event, the Broomstick Run which Kristine's
team won. Its fun to see how each child interpreted
the rules. One was so clever, she put the ball on to
the broom and ran. Of course, she had to be taken
back to the like and start all over again.

The second event, the Spoon Eyeball, is much more on
the motoring skills. Everything went peacefully except
for a few times the eyeballs got "lost". Here, Krsitine's
team won as well but the Blue team is fast catching up.

On the third event, the Spell Search, the Blue team was
the winner with Krsitine's team coming in second. Maybe
I shold have been there to support them. But my bladder
wants to go somewhere else. And so, these are the other
two events which was sharing the same Stadium. One
is a small Tele Match

And the other is some track meet of a scholl which I
don't even know the name. Nevertheless, there was
a carnival thrown in as well where Wife bought some
drinks and "food on a stick" via coupons.

In the intermission, there was some Tae Kwon Do demo
where at the end, each student get to break the thin
wooden planks of their own style, which is either by
a straight punch or a kick. No flying kicks here, though.

By this time, my parents have
arrived and my Wife gave Dad
a 100 plus, which Kaelynn was
eyeing it all the time. Gave her
some water but she refused.

Here, the fourth event, the Fairy Jump is where Kristine
get to participate. Which is fine for her as she did it quite
naturally without any mistakes execept for her members.
But her team and the Blue team lost to the Green.

Its a very simple obstacle course. You just hop over
to the rings and then do some left-right-left-rights,
then hop to the other side and smack your pal's palm

Here's the video:

And for the next event.....
Hang on, why is she out there again?

Oho. She's in for the next event too, which is the
So, both their legs were tied. And from the yawns,
I think they're both tired as they have just done
their run minutes ago. Yeah, the yawns are
contagious. He yawned first and she followed.

Its so funny to see them do this

And kids being kids, you can see the innocence there

And here's teh video too:

We were so proud of her! Out there, she looked
and acted older than she really was.

The final score, the Yellow team come in strong but
faltered during the end. While the Blue team rose
to give a close fight but still, faltered at the end. But
the Green team was really strong in the end. Still,
Yellows lost to Blue by one point but here is the good
news. Remember the parade? Yellow team won by 15
points which puts them out of reach to become the
overall winner! In the end, the points were Yellow-31,
Blue-22, Green-23 and Red-17. Unfortunately, in her
event, Kristine's team did not win and so, she did not
get her medal. And also, I was told, the overall winners
did not get extra medal since it all ran out. Sheesh.

And finally, there is a last event there
was a Mommy versus the teachers in
a Tug of war. The Bangsar Mommy
voluntereed until the spaces filled up.
I think the teachers would win as they
were a bigger sized lot.

But the surprise was, the Mommies
actually won as they kept pulling and
pulling. I guess there would be no
increase in school fees next year!

The girls sharing a drink after the TeleMatch

Later on, we had lunch at the Club House, and its
been a long time since we were there. I did not
order anything except for ABC seeing that all
the food ordered could not be finished.

And, to my knowledge, this was her first try with
a water cooler. And its working too!

Yeah, I had to convince her to let Kaelynn have a
go too. But there is a real reason why we came to
the Clubhouse. My Dad felt they are ready for it
although I felt they were ready for it since last year.

What were they ready for? This.

Each of us took them walking around the pool. First it
was my, then my Wife and finally, my Mom. They're
so happy with it, they did not want to go home. Alas,
the swimming instructor was not available until two
hours later. "Let's walk around the pool and if
your legs are too hot, just dip them into the water, OK?",
"OK, Daddy."

The Clubhouse has changed a lot and now, it looked
more inviting that ever. Too bad its too expensive
for me to be a member. And I heard the waiting
list is very long. Very long, indeed.

I just love this garden/pond a lot. Although it was
hot and humid, the feeling was wonderful when
the wind blew and the trees swayed........