20251231 That Pinky Fan Pt. 02

 So, in just less than three days, the replacement battery had arrived. And I am not happy.

 In what was a simple replacement job, it almost went to FUBAR but I managed to steer it back to SNAFU. Oh, the former acronym is the worst situation and here are some more colourful ones.

 

The Battery Change

 The job at hand is quite simple. Get a new battery, match the connectors to the PCB and plug it in. 

The new battery (2200mAh) has a 2.54" pitch connector which I would have to somehow convert it to the Fan's 2.0". The quickest solution would be to cut off the wires of the original battery and solder it to the new one.

The original batter has a BMS circuit which I could not remove and solder to the new one as I do not have a spot welder. Using a slow 30W soldering iron is madness. It's like making an omelette with a candle.

The SNAFU

 So, this is the part where everything went wrong. After plugging the new battery in, it does not charge reliably. Suddenly, all the years of using this fan brought back memories. Especially the memories of the USB connector being faulty...

 In other words, the faulty battery might not have been faulty at all until I made it so (by removing its cover and snipping its cables away).

 

 

So after wiggling the USB connector, it was confirmed to be loose. And with some dabs of solder, the circuit is charging.

 

The FUBAR

 OK, so it didn't fully go to that stage yet except for my Wallet which I FUBAR-ed it. Once I am back from work, I would have to perform a Supervised Charging Test and then, we'll see.

 

 

 

20251231 Dentists

 I was just wondering...

 

If an Artist does Art, and then a Dentist...

20251227 That Pinky Fan Pt. 01

The Pinky Fan 

 While I was at the back of the Kitchen, I saw the Pink Fan again. Alas, this time, it was destined to be thrown away as my Wife stated that it could not be used for long after every charge. This fan has been at out girl's study table for quite some time. I never thought I would ever see it again after our move as we did a lot to lighten our trips.

 

(Almost) Everyone had one

 I was toying with the idea of having one of those fans which now comes in a very compact form. If you looked at it, it was designed to be like a small jet or, a high speed fan. I was thinking of, you know, having one handy if we ever did some BBQ outside the house. Alas, there is a very high possibility that it would not be happening so soon. In the meantime, everyone else in the Office was using it to blow onto their faces. This is quite awkward since we're in an Air-conditioned environment.

 

 Can this be repaired?

 I am very sure that this can be repaired. When my Wife told me the reason why it has to be thrown away, I know that it has something to do with the batteries. With today's products (and Vapes), I know I'd be looking at lithium-ions or, lithium polymers. In most cases, it was always the batteries as most products needs them to work and in the most economical way.

 Looking at the Fan, it is either glued on, or, snaps together with hidden clips. This method does away with metal screws and which I surmised, reduces manufacturing costs. In the end, the Consumer would get a year or two of service out of it before it 'breaks' down.

 

 In the meantime

  So I am still browsing at my local B2C Platform to get the best deal and I am very sure that the price could either be half of the Fan's original price or slightly more.

The lonely little pink fan which sat on the pile of debris, awaiting its fate with the Dump.

The simplicity of this design is that everything is either glued on or, it has hidden clips. The design of the fan is quite simple. Connect a DC motor to a USB Li-Ion charger cum motor speed controller and you're all set.

 

 

So, replacing the battery is just a simple matter of unplugging the old one and plugging a new one in. Actually, it is not that simple because, there is no standard in ensuring the connectors are following which side is the positive and which is, the negative. Therefore, when I receive the battery, I'll bet there would be some re-wiring.

 

 

20251219 Who is Frank Miller and why is there a Ronin sequel?

 During my Teens, when I was into Comics, there were a few Artists which I loved. Names such as Cam Kennedy (2000Ad: Judge Dredd, Rogue Trooper), the late Carlos Ezquerra (2000AD: Judge Dredd, Strontium Dog & The Stainless Steel Rat), Arthur Adams (Longshot), Todd McFarlane (SPider-Man & SPawn), Matsumune Shirow (Appleseed, Ghost in the Shell & Intron Depot), Don Martin (MAD), Al Jafee (MAD), Sergio Aragones (MAD & Groo the Wanderer), Peter Kuper (MAD's Spy vs SPY), Barry Windsor-Smith (Alpha FLight #38 Uncanny X-Men - Wounded Wolf) and Marc Hempel (Gregory)

Frank Miller? At that time, I had no ideo who he was. It was not until I came across a simple bookshop that was selling some very old comics. Ronin was one of the better ones because of its exciting and sometimes in your face black border designs. This got me going and searching for more of the Ronin series but to no avail. I mean, for a kid living in the 80's, the concept of specialised Comics Shop or information on a particular Artist was unthinkable. So, reading and getting the incopmlete Ronin series meant that I have no understanding of the story. Plus, the art was... unique. At that point in time, I felt like as if I was holding the Mona Lisa in my hands but I have no idea about its significance.

Decades later, the Ronin chapters turned into a Collection. I was saving up for it but due to work and other stuff in Life (like The Dark Knight, Hard Boiled), that goal was quickly forgotten. The 90's Internet allowed me to access more of his work, namely The Dark Knight, The Dark Knight Returns, Hard-Boiled, Robocop vs Terminator and Sin City. Although I did not digest the latter, the Movie was still... weird. The only time I got interested with a Comic was due to its art but for Frank Miller, it was different. His art style was... unique. It was just enough to convey the Story and it was his very Stories that got me hooked. Confused yet hungry for more, but hooked. So for Ronin, I had to refer to the Wikipedia to understand what it was all about, and then I realised, Sci-Fi with D&D or Fantasy just does not work for me.

And, ComplexAd7272 summed it best.

Anyway, Frank Miller is now 'sober' and since October 2024 has produced the sequel to Ronin, called Ronin Rising and another title called, Pandora.

20251213 The RM50 Irony

 Usually, when we go out together, most of us would look for some shady parking spots which even the Authorities would not bother. In fact, most of us Malaysians have this bad parking habit and now, decades later, it has gotten even worse. All that changed for me when in the late 80's, an Engineer shared a mind-blowing concept with me. "Don't think of the Parking fee as a burden but more as a shield" or something like that. What he meant was, the RM1.00 is an Insurance or guarantee that you would not be fined. And so, once you accepted that paradigm shift, paying for parking is not that bad. Since we're on a 1 hour lunch break, finding parking fast is very important and so, paying for a proper parking spot is standard. Well, OK, unless the fee is RM6.00 and above which is not my kind of tea.

 And so, I've been drilling this to my colleagues and anyone who would listen to an old Uncle like me.

 Coming back to the irony of the day, since I offered to drive my colleagues to Lunch (we kinda voluntarily rotate our cars), I made sure to share the parking concept with them. I mean, there is nothing else to do while sitting inside a car where it is blowing hot A/C gasses at you, and on a busy street too. Before I could start, I noticed a vacant parking slot across us which, surprisingly, no one has taken it for the past 6 seconds. And so, after swooping in and parking my car, we went on our merry way while I mentally and humbly congratulated on my great luck. Lunch was just an ordinary affair where I got to have my favourite Jawa Mee and we bumped into an ex-colleague who had finally escaped the grind.

The Irony?

 Well, that was me, getting fined, for not paying for the parking while telling others to pay for their parking. I guess the excitement of getting that parking made me forget. These are the spots where people just parked and did not bother about paying. I guess the change of guards has brought on new changes.
 

 

 

 

Yeah, the fine would cost me about a minimum of 4 days of Lunch which means, I better start making my own Lunch. Maybe its a sign for me to do that as most of the Lunches really made me gain weight...

 

20251130 Art Side of the Force @Jaya One

The Sunday Drive

Out on a whim, my eldest Daughter and I decided to have a slow drive to Jaya One, just to let her have a small glimpse of my World. There was a Star Wars event happening and I wanted to let her see what kind of mischief I used to enjoy when I was so much younger. And also, I wanted to get some 3D printed 1/35 scale motorbikes (which I saw on Facebook a day earlier).

I highlighted the numerous 'Historical' places that had taken place on our route and stuff like that. I felt that although the information was overwhelming, she kinda took it well, maybe out of politeness. She might know the route yet but I tried to link them with the places she had entered just to make sure she does not get 'lost'. This happened to me a few times when I was a kid since my Parents drove us around. It was only when I started to drive that my mind more or less linked the places and routes together, giving me a rudimentary sense of location.

But first thing first...

We needed to have something to eat, never mind if it was already four in the afternoon. Call it a late Lunch, a pre-Dinner meal or even Lunner if you want but we're damn hungry. We bumped into a friend of mine, Mr. Chan and after a brief chit-chat, he politely left us alone to enjoy our meal.

To be honest, really entering back to Jaya One after so many years, there was a lot of changes and as expected, a lot of emptiness. To me, it was as if the place had picked up and moved on, while discarding the dead baggage while at the same time, tried to be as normal as possible. But we can see that the foot traffic is not that healthy, even if I compared it years ago.

A fulfilling meal at GoduBab Cafe. Since its a Sunday and all, the bill of RM59.35 sounds reasonable. We did enjoy the meal and she did ask a lot of questions about Family ties, Sci-Fi, and... stuff.  From the conversation, I had a brief glimpse or window of where her interests lies in Sci-Fi. Still, it is not my nature to force her into my World.

 

 The Wonderful disappointment that is... Star Wars.

 Imagine visiting one of your on and off favourite Uncles. He is sitting in one of the dimly lit corners. Sometimes he has gifts for you which can be very exciting and sometime, it is just inconsequential. Most of the time, it is the same stuff repackaged over and over again. You still want to see him, hoping that one of his gifts is a hit and over time, as you moved on, it became meh and you're actually embarrassed to introduce him to your kids. The outcome can be either embarrassing, irrelevant or just plain boring. 

I dreaded the choice of bringing my eldest to the point of really questioning my move. Like any excited parent, I would really want to share my Interest with my children and hoped that they too, would be interested. In the last decade, I have seen many FB friends who did that and it does not last. More like fatique setting in and they did it out of politeness while being forced. I do not want that. She did ask what was the last or rather, latest Star Wars movie to which I replied was, "The Rise of Skywalker", a film I wanted to bring them to watch before the Pandemic struck and before all that indigestable woke shit came out.

Seeing that the whole Event was nothing more than booths being set up by some people I knew and Cosplayers walking around with bathrobes and lighted stick, I knew she was bored. Even other areas of the building had more foot traffic. After a last detour to catch up on a friend who has a model kit shop there, it was time to leave as she needs to get a memory card; one of the somethings that Jaya One does not have.

 

It felt as if we were walking into a barren display area or some kind of a second-hand bazaar. If there ware some decorations such as fabric cave walls, this might work. Seeing some of my friends manning the booths there, I did not want to stop by and chat since I know my kid is not really interested.

 

The only consolation is that I was able to get a RM5.00 3D printed figure since the 1/35 scale bikes were all sold out.

 

Sabertrio is a home-grown Company which does a lot of beautiful lightsabers. Seeing them on display really made me wished I had one and hoping that the numbers on the price tag was in Japanese yen...