Oh!pEnions: September 2009

New Magnifying Glass

While I was dropping one of my Tech off at Dataran 32 PJ, I saw a Hardware shop in one of the blocks. It was weird because hardware shops are usually located on the Ground Floor. And they are not air-conditioned. So, this SKL shop was just doing the opposite. While I was in there, the Lady pointed me to a bargain bin where all the items were going at RM9.90

This is a very unique magnifying glass. To the untrained
eye, its just a plastic magnifier with a bent-to-shape
aluminium handle. But to the expert, its a Japanese
Made in China 75mm and 20mm plastic magnifier
with a custom made aluminium stand/handle.

You can adjust the magnifier to any position you like

This looks perfect but its hard to make ants stop still.
Anyway, its too small for me and chances are, I am
going to give it to my Mom. Yeah, my eyesights are
starting to go already. Sigh. The real magnifiers I so
wanted comes with lights but costs RM400 upwards

Anger in the Office

A small dispute over borrowed tools which was not returned on time and also needed us to pick it up ourselves. Yes, we do need the tools for our own service calls. Yes, we do really need it since after the Hari Raya Holidays, our appointment calendar is filled to the max. Yes, we are starting to feel the tension and the need to complete each work. Yes, we want to work. We need the work.

But what we do not need is the show of temper in the Office. Emotions in the Office is not welcomed. It also does not mean everyone can do whatever they want. In the end, we are affected. Its like working in an explosive environment.

It is not going to be better.
There is always the next time.
And the next.
And the next....

This mark shows and proves there is no
respect and also, the mark of a clown.

I am not going to take this anymore.

Crazy evening

Words can't describe the actics thse girls were up to. Its just their actions were random and I was lucky enough to take some pictures.

erm.......

Head-banging in the dark followed
by percussions.

Portable video

This is a potable TV. Portable means you can take
it anywhere, to the nearest power point. And its
so very black&white and a great vocabulary tool.
Don't believe me? Walk up there and trip on the
power cords. I am sure you'll learn new words.

The Accident

OK, lets be frank now. How many of you use your mobile phone when driving? Or rather, hands up, those who did not use their mobile phone when driving. Yeah, I guessed as much. Compared to everyone I know, I am always on the Field. In other words, most of the time, I would be driving, climbing ladders or talking to customers when my phone rings. With the CallerID on the phone, I know who is calling and I can also choose to ignore the calls. As much as I am tempted to, I really want to ignore all the calls until its convenient for me. But its not easy to ignore friends and/or families when they call.

Oh, don't even remind me about Bluetooth headsets and handsfree kits. I go through them about four or five units a year.

So, let me tell you about today when a friend called this afternoon. A very simple call, I picked it up, looked at the screen and then my tech said, "Look out!". The phone fell from my hands and bumped about in the car. You can start to guess what had happened. Let me tell you what would happen:

A fender bender would have happened. And with the car going at 80Km/h, the car would generate enough energy to ram into the first car which then distributes the remaining energy on to the second car. Then we would all have to come out and take down all particulars before the vultures would swoop. This means we would have minutes, at most. And I would have to call my Insurance Agent because I do not have AAM anymore. And I would need to sort out all the crap and still keep calm at the site. It would be very hard to SMS that friend because my hands would be shaking with anger due to my stupidity. And also at the busy bodies who would be stopping their cars to have a look see on both sides of the road. Because this would have happened in PJ, we would have to make the Police Report at Jalan Barat's Police Station. This would make me lose the precious hours there. And customers would call about missed appointments.

Obviously, I would not be that stupid to write on the report that, "I caused the accident because I was using a mobile phone."

No, I would have to start like this, "At about 12:47 on 29th of September, 2009, I was driving a Silver 2001 Hyundai Elantra on the Federal Highway license plate register XXX XXXX when suddenly, a White car license plate register YYY YYYY suddenly made an emergency stop. As I could not stop in time, I had no choice but to hit into the car in front. The impact was so great, it made the front car hit the second car in the front. . . . . Bla Bla Bla"

And then, I would have to waste more time to get the car's photograph taken and even more time to get the Investigating Officer (if he is available) . Not only that, I would have to tell my Boss the whole thing and because its a Company car, the Company would be affected as well. Knowing my Boss's temper this morning, I would have to suffer his temper again, something which I am not looking forward to because I know the relationship is already strained because of this stupid act of answering the mobile phone. And there is a very high chance I would be dismissed.

Then I would have to sort it out with the Insurance agent and this would take a lot of time as well. And then, with no other mode of transportation, I would have to borrow money to repair my Satria so that it can be driven. Which is a bit difficult because the late salary's already gone in less than a week.

And now, I know I would be in deeper and deeper trouble as this would be only the beginning. I would still need to go back to the Police Station, get the report and pay the fine and so on since no one would be injured during the accident.

So, that would be what would have happened. Instead, I picked up the phone, my tech said, "Lookout!" and I just threw the phone on his lap and braked in time.

Big Gulping Slurpee!

That's it la. The car's puncture is not yet repaired and so it the aircon. Everyday, its like a steambath in the car. And I mean it. Because of its design, when you swith on the fan, its actually giving you hot air. Everyday, my clothes are soaked with sweat. Damn it. I am going to force the aircon guy to give me more gas every month without repairing the aircon leak. I will pay for it myself.

As soon as I get my paycheck in sometime next month, that is.

In the meantime, the new 7-11 ran
out of Slurpee covers and the girls
told us to use the Big Gulp cups but
we're only charge for the largest cup

Man, it took forever to finish but its good. Still
to make it better, I poured in all my water into
it and wow. I love the feeling, man!

Where's the key?

"Daddy, can you help me open the box?"
"Why? Where's the key?"
"Uh, inside the box....."
".........."

The Nokia N97i

Believe it or not, my customer has bought the latest Nokia phone. Its the Nokia N97. Not just a N97 nor a mini. But a N97i! Wow!

The Nokia N97i with an Apple iPhone unlock slider

Compared to my 5800, its very small
and compact. Best of all, it does not
have a sliding keyboard

And not only that, its the first Nokia with
dual SIM! Wow! Exciting! Must Buy!
Weeeee! Don't buy, your loss!

Honestly, its made from China and since its so cheap, the Boss bought quite a lot for their staff to use. But as far as functionality, the touchscreen sucks (OK, so maybe I do not know how to unlock the screen) but the voice clarity on the phone is excellent. As long as you are in a quiet room.

The First Monday

Today is the 28th of September 2009. It is the first Monday after the Hari Raya Break. It is also the first Monday for all schoolchildren. It is also the time where everyone is trying to get back into "Work" mode.

And so, jams on the opposite side

And over here as well.
Yep. Everything's returning to normal

To someone.....

To whom it may concern,

Yes you. The one surfing the Internet in your shorts. You Longshot is ready to be sent. I will post it tonight.

Can't find any bubblewrap.
So newspapers will do.

Packed by #317

Art Asylum NCC-1701A Revisited

One of the items which I managed to get hold of when Wife was cleaning the room was the Art Asylum toy which I bought years ago. I would carefully take it out about once a year, check it, put in the batteries and "play" with it for a while, before taking more pictures and putting it back. The toy was made with so much detail that I am surprised. Because normally, for such price, they do not.

And now, because of a stuck button, I am now "licensed" to take it apart. Bwhahahahahah!

Want a detailed NCC 1701-A but without the hefty price tag?
Want a robust NCC-1701-A that is quite big? Want a model
that has light and sound? Then this is for you.
Forget about Bandai although its very detailed but too small
and expensive. Forget about AMT/ERTL as its big but too
inaccurate. Forget about Polar Lights as although its big, its
very intimidating and yes, its still a model kit.

Just look at the surface detail! (Ignore the dome as
its stuck.) If you want, you can scrape off the words,
then paint the aztec plates and use a new decal and
it would be still perfect.

Oh, the ring of lights. The Ring of Lights
How beautiful you are. But in this case,
you really need a photo-etched part.

Just look at the details on the secondary hull.
Makes me want to drill hole and light it up
with fibre optics.

Even the recreation room windows are there.

I know its stuck with super glue and so, whenever
I can, I will try to force the plastics apart.

Want to see how big the Polar Lights model is?
Yep. When its done (eventually), its 1 metre long

The IKEA Mammut

The girls got an Ikea Mammut stool each from my parents today. Kristine's was pink while Kaelynn's was Pink. They were excited because it is something new to them But I had to make sure they finished their dinner, and taken their bath before opening the plastic bags.

This is a good one. They actually tried to read the
instructions! So, while Kaelynn was trying to figure
out how to assemble the stools, Krsitine was already
trying to open hers first.

OK, without my help, they got the right idea.
Kaelynn is still trying to figure out the instructions.

One leg here..........

Two more here.....

"Hey! The chair fall down!"
Meanwhile, Kaelynn's putting the "Not my fault" face.

Now, Kristine tries to figure out the instruction while
Kaelynn tries to put the stool together.

"Still cannot, Daddy!"
What they did not realise is that
you need to force the leg in until
it snaps into place.

OK, so now, its Kaelynn's turn and she actually
forbids Kristine from helping her after what
just happened. She held up her palm to stop her.

And so, its back to the instruction
sheet again.

Big sister, being big sister, could not stop from
helping. Here, she is trying to force the legs
into place with her own weight.

OK, I had to stop her in case she injures herself.

Finally, the two stools are complete. But Kaelynn's
not in the mood for celebrating.

Wherever she pulls the stool Kristine
followed too. Very thick face la.

Ah, a book to keep them together.

Buy one only

While waiting for Mommy and Kristine to come back from buying some groceries, I took Kaelynn for a walk near the bookshops. She wanted a Tinkerbell book which I then bought for her. As we walked across the road, and into 7-11, she saw a Barbie doll. OK, so they do not sell original toys except for small Transformers, Hotwheels and Matchbox. But I just agreed with her its a Barbie doll.

But what she surprised me was, that
she told me she cannot have it because
she already has the Tinkerbell book. In
other words, she knows she can only buy
one item unlike her sister who will want
everything.

Today is Sunday

Ah. Sunday. The end of the Week (or for some, the Start of the week). The time where I can sleep late. So late, by the time I wake up, its dinner time (how I wish). Anyway, Sundays are funny days. For the whole week, I would be planning what to do on Sundays. I would be thinking to myself, I would be doing this and that in the mornings and then that and this in the afternoon and so on.

You're waiting for the bad news, right?

Damn right, you are. Let me tell you this. The moment you are married. The moment you have kids. The moment you want to continue your hobbies. These are "moments" are not wishful thinking that you can pull them and throw them as you wish. You're now a permanent part of it. And now, you will realise that your time is their time and their time is their time. There is no more "Me" time.

And so, on this wonderful Sunday morning, Mommy gets to clean the room of all rubbish and debris left conveniently placed for the last six months. And me? I get to stay in my room and surf the Internet.

Ha. Ha. Not really.

I get to go from room to room, looking for the girls every few minutes to make sure they're not doing any more mischief. Think of it as Doom and Tamagochi in one.

So, this was the reason why I woke up a few times
in the night, smelling something that resembles
chlorine. When I asked my Wife, she did not know
anything about it. The nightlight's bulb has burnt
and it was the components which generated the
smell. This was a lucky escape. The next time, I'll
have to take these signs more seriously.

While cleaning up, Kristine was running amok in
the room. She also found some of her clothes
which and started to wear them, getting on
everyone's nerves.

So, I had to take her out of the room

Although Kaelynn was more intelligent, I had
to get her out of the room as well. If one goes,
the other has to go too. Here, she is pretending
to read a book while I chased Kristine about.

During lunch, Mom had saved a piece of
duck drumstick but we were not in the
mood for it. Also, it reminds me of Duck
Dodgers of the 24 and a half Century.

In the afternoon, I got them
to play in the other room to
minimise property damage.

And they played until evening. Which is good
because they did not watch much TV today.

How much?

Somehow, when I go to buy things, I really need to look at a person before making a decision. But sometimes, I cannot escape especially when the goods have already been prepared and the person appears too late. Anyway, here are some of the meals I had for a three week period when I was bored/going out with technician/hungry. Forgot what this blog was all about anyway.