31082011 Bookfair

Bookfairs was the last thing on my mind ever since I stopped going to the Computer Fairs. Well, they did get girls then, to attract more people but I was not interested. I mean, why?

Why go to a place crowded with people, hot, sweating, smelly people who are pushing and touching you all the time? And when I say smelly, they smell as if they have not bathed for days. And those body parts that seem to violate your skin and rape your sense of touch.... ewww.... Just ten minutes in that, even if you're surrounded with beautiful girls who has triple or quadruple botoxed their boobs, I just do not want to be there. And even taking a nice shower before going there does not help as at the end of the day, you just smell and looked more like a homeless bozo who just found some cash and do not know what to spend on.

And speaking of spending, there are nothing worth going to PC Fairs anymore. Whatever offer such as RM1 for a 4GB Thumbdrive (limited to one person, etc) is always 'Sold out', even if you just arrive an hour into the opening. What attracted me was during the final hours of the fair, where there were real discounts because, look at it this way. If you're the staff and you NEED to pack everything back to the van/lorry/car/bike in two hours after the Fair closes at night, what would you do?

A. Declare a SALE of a SALE and hope the Vultures (as in you and I, the cheapskate customer) will take everything. Then you would not have so much stuff to carry back to the Van/Lorry/car/bike/BF or GF's car/taxi, etc. Of course, you might not bring in much profit but hey, no one wants to lug stuff until midnight.

B. Stick to your guns and then beg your Colleagues/Friends/Homeless Hobos to help you carry all the stuff which you have brought in days earlier. You might have some profit from last minute panicking customers who though you have a SALE but did not.

C. I am the Boss and I will flip this coin to choose A or B. That is, as soon as I finish this cup of ultra expensive latte.

Anyway, this time, the Fair that I NEED to go to, is the Bookfest. Just look back at the words NEED. Yes, I NEED to go there. Because everyone else in the family also NEEDs to go there. And why the NEED? Because Ultra-HM (Mom) and HM (Mommy) said so. In respect, I do not NEED to highlight what would happen to me if I did not obey...

Kristine is getting ready for the Fair. Again, as
this is Public Holiday on a Weekday, The condition
I set for Ultra HM & HM as that we need to go there
early to avoid the jams. We could have taken the LRT
there but I don't want my Dad to walk unnecessarily.

This is a place I am starting to like. This is the
KLCC (Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre). Its
long, spacious and cool. Also, it houses the Aquaria.
No, I am not going there because like any other
'Grand' projects, anything more than 6 months
is not worth going and I missed the boat on that
one years ago. One word: Maintenance.

Aw, lookit all the books on display, and after going
the place at least four times, I estimated that I
would need to spend at least RM6,000 on books
which I will read about 12% of them, buy some
Ikea bookshelves for them and also at the same
time, drop by and talk to the Tooth fairy about
how long I have believed in them.

At every corner, you will see a lot of people reading
books. Most of them will be sitting on the floor and
some can even be seen leaning on the walls/shelves
/other upright objects. You'd think these people are
cheapskate right?


The same also happened here, where they start to
read AFTER they have bought the books. Some
even went back to buy more.


If you know them, they are the artists from Gempak.
If you do not read Gempak, you do not know them.
But the poster and banners helped...


The girls with their books and
what-nots. Tust me, this is the
first round...

As long as you have this, you can go in and out of
the exhibition area as often as you wish. But you
must remember to take it off everyday. It is not
a memorabilia of you surviving a crowd.

Since there are no other Resturants nearby, we
had to eat at the KLCC. It felt as if we were ripped
off but no. There are other places to go if you want
to walk. But I guess, everyone else had the same idea
and so, we had to wait for a very long time for a
table. I tried the theory or trying to eat after the
Lunch hour but it was still full of people.

At the same time, because its a Public
Holiday, people from all over the World
also gathered at the KLCC. Countrymen
from places such as Bangladesh, Bangladesh
and even Bangladesh came to congragate
and take photos of anything that fancies
them, to the extend of standing in the middle
of the waterfall.

I like this shot of a tired man, lying on his back.
Its as if the man was so tired, he's lying on his back.

Upon closer examination on some of the books, there
was something alarming at the back of my mind. Sure
these two books costs the same but the covers are
very different.


Not only that, their edges were very
different as well. This was the same
with at least two other titles. Hmmm...


We stayed on because of the guest speakers who
were very effective. Most of them drew laughters
and encouraged participation from the shy crowd

Dad was so impressed that he bough a book

to be autographed by one of the speakers.
Singaporean or not, it does not matter

More than six hours into this madness, the crowd is
still strong and this, I think, is the second day.


On the way out, the girls were distracted by the
some Art Place selling, you guessed it, tools to
make stuff like these.


The way they were demonstrated, the tools
looked so easy to use. But through experience,
you'd feel like having two left hands.

All the demonstrators were fast and very very
imaginative.


It took less than a few minutes to create this card.
Needless to say, we bought some and the bill was
@#$*!!!! I never had these as a kid, though.


Some people were so hungry....

Yes! Bak Kut Teh and Steamed fish at OKR!


30082011 Trip to Lake Gardens

Its time for another family trip. No, we don't do this as an annual thing but it more of a HM saying, "I want a Family Picnic. Now.". It was the "Now" part which got to me. I mean, hey, if you ignore the NOW part, you're asking for 1000 lashes to the back or sleeping on the couch for "7 days and 7 nights with no sleepy tights"

And so, we packed all the necessary stuff for the
picnic. Whatever things you can think of, is not
there. But everything that I can think of, is there.
Go figure.


And so, the destination of choice is none
other than the Lake Gardens. Which is
fine by me because there is no point
going to Cameron Highlands or Fraser's
Hill. Everyone would be there.


Ah, this scene reminds me of Kristine
and I years ago when I tried to get
her to overcome her fear of heights.

After searching for a suitable spot, we found one.
Unfortunately, some members of the family were
too tired to pose for the camera, so I did the next
best thing. They were 10 metres away from us.
Notice they did not smile because I did not pay
them...

Eventually, I got the shot anyway because well,
ours had a rood and I like the design, OK?


And so, we had breakfast. All wholesome delicious
breakfast, prepared by Mum & Mommy. I'm still
alive because I agreed that it was wholesome and
delicious. Definitely wholesome and delicious...


Mommy brought some bread, which everyone
who has been to the Lake Gardens know what
they are meant for by now. No, its not 'Bring
you own Bread' to the local Kopitiam but its to
feed the fish in the lake.

Erm... like all people who brought bread to the
Lake, its never enough. Don't believe me?


Watch as the two mons....er girls delight in feeding
the fishes and the turtles. Watch as they get more
and more excited.


Now watch as they ran after Mommy for more bread..

Watch from my point of view of Mommy being
chased while imagining the 'Benny Hill' song

After that, it was time for
walkies and lo and behold!
The Brazilian Nut Tree...


I am not really in the understanding
of wut dese nuts for but they drop
dem lots every few seconds.

Link
No one got hit though and if you're there, you'd
think it was raining seeds. Then again, I don't
think they're seeds but more like flowers.

Here is one close up, courtesy
of Ms. Kaelynn


Not to be outdone, Ms. Kristine
wants to show you two instead.


After about and hour and a half of walking, even
they get tired. But I am not done with them...


So I fooled Kristine into challenging
her to run a lap with me.
And off she goes....

By now, she would have realised
that I was not run and I was not
behind her trying to catch up...


OK, so on the second lap, I ran with her
and I still won because she looked very
exhausted. Ha ha. But minutes later,
Mommy ran with her and she still has
the energy. Whoa... this is amazing.


I took Kaelynn to a small pond-like where we looked
at fishes and tried to catch a pair of mating Dragonflies
with my Nokia n8 but the macro can only do so much.


Finally, at the leg end of the trip, one final muck
about and we're ready to go home. And as exepected,
everyone feel into deep slumber the moment their
heads touched the pillows...



1/35 Landwasserschlepper

You know what? This is an ugly piece of machinery. If I had the chance to buy it, I would not. And if I had the chance to use it to run over cars in traffic jams, scare the cows and then escape through the nearest pond/river, I would not. If this was an Opposite Day, I won't even recognise it.

The Landwasserschlepper was actually a German Amphibious Tractor to be used by the Engineers. It was only produced in small numbers due to some manufacturing problems but was proved to be very effective for towing barges and ferrying supplies during low tides.

Alas, for me, initially, it was a horrible vehicle. It really looked like a school bus for army kids. But during the Sale, the price was so attractive, I got one. I could have bought two but then, I would get killed when I reached home. The reason why I got this was the idea in my mind to covert it into a rusting hunk of iron where some industrious fella used it for commercial purposes.

Again, this is from Hobby Boss. And the nearest
competitor is Bronco. But after seeing a few kits
from Hobby Boss, they are quite decent.

There are a lot of parts for this model and when
you open the box, you are will not be disappointed.


It even comes with individual track links, plus
a jig that lets you glue them realistically.

And for the attractive price its asking, the model is... big.
Its like going into a Toy store in 2012 and finding a rare
2007 toy at 50% while Mommy is not looking...


And so, you can guess the next stage where this is going, right?

No? OK,its going into the 'to-do' bin until I am free to tackle this. Hey, job comes first, right? Right?