Nokia Maps ver 3.0

Ever since I got the 5800, I really do feel that the built-in GPS feature is the best thing since JJ Abram's 2009 Star Trek. But there is a problem in the software. In order to have those fancy voice guidance like you see in the Garmin, you have to pay money for the service. Not that I am not complaining but there are some features, which I do not like to pay for as I feel that they should be free to the Public just like those tourist Maps, Yahoo!/Google Mail.

Anyway, in order for me to use this feature, I have to activate the 7-day trial license or something which I do not want to. Despite numerous times it asks me to go online to the shop, I refused. And so, this marvelous OVI Maps will stay as it is. Nice to look at, though. Thanks but no thanks.

The OVI is quite a decent GPS software but
it still needs a lot of effort in order for it to
become user friendly. But one thing which is
very pleasant is that the landscape changes
when you move, and with minimum jerks

Since I did not activate the trial license, I am
limited to being a red dot on the screen. Which
is fine with me because this time, the dot stays
while the screen moves compared to the last
version which was just the opposite.

Oh, BTW, this is how I managed to use the
new leather case on the previous metal
holder. All done with magnets.

This is a screenshot feature from the Maps
although its nighttime, the clouds are still
showing its daytime. This is the screenshot
of the route I took on while using the DUKE
Highway. Yes, it does not exist.

And it just hangs there. I had
to close the program and open
it again where it updated the
screen once we're on familiar
road.

Reaction of electrical cables on contact with water

It is always very disheartening to see the damage caused by water to cables carrying voltage. In my experience, they're usually caused by the following:

1) Overzealous Office Cleaner who has shares in the Water Board
The Office Cleaner, in an effort to be as efficient as possbile, will in all sense, mop the floor. This is due to their believe that for a tiled floor, the most efficient dirt picker upper would be a wet mop. A very very wet mop, that is. It is in their unwritten rule that, where a vacuum cleaner is ineffective, the wet mop would be the best alternative. Its wet strands would attract all the dirt and what-nots in its wake. Maybe, it could all have been started with someone driving a car fitted with a K&N Filter. The same principle applies as you do not clean the filter but oil it. So, water, the best alternative, is cheaper for them.

And slipping on a wet floor and with your butt making a long streak is more fun than tripping over a vacuum cleaner. Don't believe me? Imagine someone stepping gingerly, trying to avoid the mop's path as if they're on a land mine, only to slip and fall at the last step. Besides, anyone can avoid a vacuum cleaner and its moving power cable. Its just that after a few times, your legs will know how to clear them. Your butt will remind you if you fail.

2) The Clumsy Goof
This is what you call those people who cannot avoid the wrath of the Wet Mop. In many cases, there is a high chance that they would topple over the mop's container which would then release all the dirt/hair/crap and most importantly, water all over the floor. You can easily spot the Clumsy Goof by way they walk. Or, the red wet slap marks on their faces or in some cases mops on their head.

3) The air-con above
How this happens, I do not know but this is a very special category. Because in order for this to happen, it would need a lot of people to make it work. In essense, Teamwork. For example, you need the Architect to design the room, the Draughtsman to do up the plan, other contractors to "book" all the walls with their equipment and lastly, the aircon man who thinks its alright to place it exactly on top of everything else. And so, after a few years and if you're lucky, months or weeks, the aircon will leak. And when it leaks, it will leak onto the most critical item in the room. or wires, whichever is more expensive to replace.

Anyway, I got bored in the office and decided to
try a little bit of experimenting to see how such
damage can be so disastrous. Here, I am using a
CCTV camera's power connector which I dipped
into the water and powered it up. The greenish
thing started to appear after five minutes.

After 15 minutes, there are more of those little
dark green stuff. Well, this is a good sign as we
can take this as an indication of roughly how
long it takes to create such damage.

While we're waiting, let me show you the latest
camera equipment I have just obtained. Yes, it
is a camera tripod which you just tighten it via
the screw thread above and then with an allen
hex key. And just to save cost for the base, all
you need to do is to grip it with your free hand
and pray that you do not move much.......

Anyway, I've forgotten about this experiment as
at the last minute, I had to go out to see a customer.
But I did tell my tech to switch the experiment off
by 1730. Later, when my family and I came to
Kepong for dinner, I went into the office for a
quick look. Success! Even the connectors
eaten through.

And as for this one, there is green slime just
like the one above. Weird.

Dinner in Kepong

It was quite surprising that Kristine's concert exhausted everyone. Come dinner time, my Dad suggested Kepong since no one has the energy to cook. As he mentioned some new "Wai Sek Kai", I guessed it must be the one he saw near my office. And so, after getting the girls ready, it was time to stuff everyone into the car. But I was more worried about the rain which started a bit by the time we left home.


We were so hungry that we ate most of what was
delivered to the table. So, when I took my Nokia
5800 out, the meals were almost done.

But here is a latecomer; the eggs were crispy
and underneath them were the oysters with
some very delicious sauce.

There were three types of popiah, so I ordered
one of each and the girls went for the seaweed
instead of the popiah. Well, at least they're eating

Kristine ate the seaweed just like
that. But I had to tell her to eat
like a Lady and not some hungry
Pirate.

We were lucky we chose indoor seating as halfway through the dinner, it rained heavily and everyone (who did not have tables under the shades) scrambled indoors making the whole place crowded. Personally, the cost of the dinner could be about RM50.00 or so but then again, there were 6 of us.

That night, the best dish was definitely the RM10.00 "Kam Heong" La la, followed by the O jien (RM7.00) and the freshly squeezed Watermelon drink (RM5.50). Only problem was that I could not order any rice without the dishes.

Building my Notebook PSU part II

A bit of a rush here. Since I was very busy as jobs comes in wave now, I had to buy first and think later (or on the spot). This is a very bad idea as it would incur more cost and unecessary waste of surplus parts. I roughly have an idea of how the PSU is going to be:-

1) Twin cooling fans for the PSU's actual heatsink
As these fans are Rm14.00 each, its not good to just connect them directly to 15volts. So, I would have to get a 12volt DC voltage regulator. And then, I would have to get a suitable heatsink for it too. I did not get those 80cm fans although they could do the job effectively but I chose the smaller ones so that it looks right with the PSU. Moreover, someone could be putting a finger there for no reason.........


2) Meters
OK, I want the PSU to look "busy" too. And so, I could put some meters there. The choices are:
a) AC 500v Analog meter.
Its a nice idea but then again, TNB's power levels usually do not fluctuate. . .much. So, the needle would just hang on at 230volts all the time instead of moving.

b) AC Digital Meter
The same concept applies so, its boring

c) DC Digital Meter
Well, it could be a nice idea, to see the DC output of the PSU. But again, it does not move much.

d) Digital Current Meter
This is a big question mark here as I am not sure if the current fluctuates with the PSU but if it does, I am going to go for it. However, there is another problem in that I would need to place a shunt across which, as far as I can recall, is a very big thing.

And so, at the moment, I am not putting any meters on the PSU because of one detail. All of them are too big.

I have just opened this meter and after removing its
plastic cover, I can modify it with some yellow LEDs
to light it up. Then, I can also create a special meter
scale too, from "Just nice" to "Oh no!"

But the real reason why I am not putting any meter is
because of the fact that there is very little space inside
the PSU. The only space I could use was the blank area
next to the capacitors and blue varistors. However, if I
cut a hole at the cover, there is still not enough space.
The only solution is to find a bigger enclosure and then
I can do these meter (or meters)

And so, I think the only add-on I am going to do would be the twin fans. Now all I have to do is to get the 12volt voltage regulator, a heatsink and some stripboards.

Actually, I do not need a heatsink for the voltage
regulator and moreover, the Earth and the DC
0volts are not connected and I have to isolate
them. The reason I need a heatsink is so that I
can use it as a platform for another big voltage
voltage regulator and a LED sequencing circuit.
But thats in the future. Now, I'll do the foundation

Kristine and her ponytail

The problem with Kristine is that her hair is very thin. If we let her grow it longer, it would not be a problem but once you tie it tightly, you can see the problem. But this is nothing of concern at the moment, which I hope she will have more hair when she is older.

However, this is the first time I see her with
a Ponytail.

I like her to leave her hair long as I visioned her
as very beautiful with shoulder length or longer
hair. Most of the times, I have to fight with my
Mom or Wife because they both have different
views. And most of the times, they cut it without
me knowing in advance. What about Kristine?
She wants long hair, if she can help it.

The show that went flop

To be honest, I was not very happy with the Concert at all. There were two main things which made me very angry for the rest of the day

1) Seating
The seating at the Hall was quite alright. It reminds me of the old cinemas as they have the lower and upper seats. As my parents were seated at the lower level, I decided to try the upper levels since there were not many people there. However, when the concert was about 10 miutes away, it was announced that "we" could seat at the upper levels. Well, how about that. It was because 1/3 of the seats at the lower levels were reserved for graduating kids and their parents. And so, the usual "I want to be at the front" crap started with almost everyone crowding around me since I chose the balcony seat. And not only that, because of the 2 feet gap between my seat and the balcony, a lot of people just NEED to pass behind me. Some were apologetic and most just kicked me in the butt.

But there was one which took the cake. Some Indian guy argued with me saying I was blocking him and refused to move. I countered that it was not my fault as there was a Malay girl sitting on my seat which blocked him. I was ready to stand up and argue with the bastard and maybe throw him off the ledge since we're that close. Then there was one fat ass bastard who took my Wife's seat after she took Kaelynn to the toilet. Despite me saying someone took her seat very loudly to him, he did not budge. And my Wife had to shush me. So, after repeating this three times, I was seriously very pissed. And so, I used my legs every now and then to "accidentally" kick him when he was taking photos. Finally, he got the message and left in a very black face. Had this happened while Kristine's slot was on, I would not be so subtle. There and then, I should have taken a photo of him but it was hard to focus in the dark.

2) Shooting under dim light This is my weakness. And I blame myself for it. One, I should have learn more about photography and two, maybe sold my Satria for a 2.8 VR Zoom lens. The reason was that the hall was quite dim and we were not allowed to go up close to the stage. And so, I could say, more than 75% of my shots for that day was wasted. I was so used to sitting still and taking shots with longer exposure but here, in the concert, this is different. Even panning was difficult.

There were a lot of candid shots from where I was
sitting but this one was the best of the lot.

Somehow, I envy him as not only does he get paid,
he gets to go everywhere. But what does he do? He
goes around taking photos of the balloons, stage, the
VIPs and so on. But nothing about the kids who were
running here and there, peeping from the curtains
and so on. But I do like his lens belt; left for Zoom
and right for wide.

Kids walk fast and because of that, it was hard
to take pictures. Even panning did not help as
the lens was quite heavy (heh). Yeah, I should
have bought another tripod.

In the end, either you have a clear shot of one
or two random people or none at all. One thing
I learnt is that with kids, there are never any
"right" moment. You just shoot and then shoot
somemore.

3) Short time slots.
The Concert consist of all schools from Bangsar, Gasing, Subang and Klang area. But Klang had the longest time-slot. In fact, their part lasted up to half an hour. I know this because my Nokia 5800's batteries were almost exhausted. And the rest were only six minutes long on average. I am not sure why it was done that way but there are some theories.

a) The VIPs are all there
OK, so she wants to impress the VIPs showcasing how good the school is. I have been down this road before and usually, the end result is that you really end up looking like a shoe-licking clown. I am sure she took charge of all things in the concert and made sure everything runs well. I am very sure because by the time she came on, she was tired and her voice shows. It was the worst half an hour of crap I have ever listened to. Comparing her with those blind singers on the road shoulders was like comparing a dying seal with Stevie Wonder. Then again, she must be someone important because non of the teachers intervened. Either that or they got fed-up of her.

b) Showing off
OK, so she wants to show how well the Klang school fared. "The Sound of Music" is a musical and not a farcical. There were a lot of songs in there and they are beyond the kid's abilities. The proof was that she ended up singing all the songs by herself while the kinds sang a bit and most of the time, looked clueless. Almost at the end, where they bid Goodnight, the kids were by now, very bored and started their own mischief. In the middle was one accelerated growth Maria singing herself hoarse, while on one end, the kids were playing on the floor. I am now seriously reconsidering about enrolling Kaelynn to this school. I really need to talk to my Wife about this. I mean, what is so special about this part? The slot took half an hour which I suspect, affected other school's slot. If I knew about this and if the second rehearsal had this on, I would have protested very very strongly.

I began to suspect because while Kristine was practising her song at home, there was one part which she did not sing, even during the rehearsal. I asked her why and she replied that the teacher told them not to. If my two theories are correct, then I am very angry. This is not fair. Not to the kids, not to the parents and in the end, not fair to everyone just because of one stupid moron.

And so, we have this Maria dancing on the stage for
minutes. The dance was so well choreographed
that to the untrained eye, she looked as if she was
running and swaying about on the stage, stalling
for time. Maybe she was SOMEONE special,
or chosen for some reasons unknown.
Some VIP kid?

"Stop flapping around! You're not a butterfly,
you twat!", "Nun of your business, OK?"

So the story is, she is Maria and has been
causing a lot of problems with the Nuns. She
is sent to Baron Von Trapp's as a teacher.

Bla bla bla bla and the story goes that Maria,
who is now mysteriously all grown up, met
the children during one stormy night. Look at
how productive Baron Von Trapp is. One also
wonders the kind of growth hormone Maria is
taking as well. It sure beats those formula milk.
But having those kids surround you like that is
not cute. It won't even protect you from Julie
Andrew's shotgun.

And now, after more than 25 minutes of boring songs,
it was time to say Goodnight. Note that the Baron is
still very productive as the number of children has
grown almost threefold. Unfortunately, the growth
hormone did nothing to Maria's tired and boring
voice. And unfortunately for us too, none of us
were advise to bring ear plugs.

Maria's voice was so boring that even the kids
fell asleep. How I wished Julie Andrews was
here, so that she can end the misery with
a shotgun.

And the production was so bad, even this kid refused
to go back to his family for fear of being made fun of
from the friendly garbage man right up to some fat
smelly blogger.

"Hey! Hey! The mic's dead!"
No, this is not a spot quiz for teachers.
You don't even need to bang to drums
to get attention; Just wave your hand.
But truthfully, this one is very nice
compared to "Growth Hormone Maria
and the Productive Baron" show. Ok, Ok.
I was cruel. Let's call it, "The Sound of
the Clones"

"Dear Parents, please stop coming up to the
front of the frigging stage as you're blocking
the frigging camera man. Don't blame us
when you buy the expensive DVDs that has
shots of your butts or balding hair or your
hairy armpits."