Stuff from the 100yen store

While I was on the way to the customer, I could not help but stop by the Damansara Uptown's 100 yen store. This was also the store where I got those nifty boxes to store my memory cards and other mini whatnots. And so, I spotted these two really must-have items; a torchlight and another box. The only downside is that these items are supposedly selling at 100 yen each (RM3.70) but I have to pay RM4.90 for it......

OK, so, for less then RM5.00, I got this nifty looking
torchlight. And although it has a very loose switch
(a plastic slider which moves up and down to touch
the two metals) it was the design which attracted me

It has a nice stand, where you can fold it about and
then use it to point the light to where you want it.
Just standing there, I am already having ideas.....

The construction of the torch is very simple. Think of it
as a tube with covers on both ends. In the middle would
be the battery case, the bulb (yes, bulb!) and switch.

Here is the other item I bought, which is another case

Back home, after getting some batteries, the torch looked
very bright thanks to the reflector and has a nice weight
to it. So, what are my plans for this? I am not sure yet but
I plan to put some running lights into it and perhaps, some
RF remote receiver so I can change the running light order
from far. Unfortunatetly, its going to be one of those space
versus power issues again as the remote receiver uses a
standard 12volt voltage and there is not much space inside
the torch unless I gut the whole battery casing and really
customise it from scratch. Hey, thats a very good idea!
Very good indeed!

And so, this time, the box will be used to store my precious
microprocessor chips which always disappear when I really
needed them. (And when I do find them, I would curse as
they would appear in two's or three's) And these fragile chips
and not cheap either. No cheap chips to chip cheap cheap.

The new bathing routine

Once again, the girls have come up with something new. This time, it was to brush their teeth halfway into their shower. They would get their hair washed, then brush their teeth before continuing with the shower. I do not mind this but if they did this before dinner, I would have stopped them because it would be a waste.

And so, by tackling the teething problem, the girls
managed to find the root cause of hygiene

Kristine demonstrating how NOT
to wear pyjamas. First, you drape
everything onto her, like how you
would a gunny sack over a victim
before throwing them into the sea

Then you would stand up,
and this wold automatically
stretched the gunn...er, dress
and the head would just pop up

And behold! There it is! Now, we just have to find
the hands....... Not easy with her running about.

New lighter

Its a new lighter. Yes, a new lighter! And when I first look at it, I was filled with a burning desire to get it. Just looking at the design sparked my very interest in turning it into something else. Maybe it was my flaming passion for taking things apart but after shelling out RM9.90 for it, I got the hot little thing in my hands.

Sssssmoking! (and I don't even smoke)

What if I make a prop out of this? Oh, the small arrow
shows that, if you slide it to one side, it will keep the
flame burning until the gas runs out or some plastic
part melts, ignites the gas and give you an forgettable
burning sensation in your hands or pants.

While I was in South City Plaza.......

I was supposed to meet an ex-colleague of mine for some reconditioned phones. And so, he suggested South City Plaza. Its one of those places that I always pass by without going in there as there was no reason to do so. All I knew was that when it first opened, there were a lot of people. And so, today was my chance to enter this curious place.

And not suprisingly, its running down. The main tenant, Parkson Grand has closed. And even the Toy City shop has moved/closed as well. And such signs meant slow demise for this place, similar to that of UE3. How can I tell? The moment they set up those temporary shops or area selling antique Chinese stuff, that's how. But luckily, my friend told me that they do have some colleges using the place and also, Giant was there as well. Compared it with The Summit and UE3, South City Plaza is still surviving. But if you ask me to go there again.............

Saw this outside a tattoo shop. A very
different kind of Batman.

Breaking down . . . . .

I am not sure what is happening to me. But things keep breaking down this week or, is about to break down. If its not the car, its something else. Last week, it was the car's remote. Then a few days later, it was the automated gate remote which has been acting weird. I have the urge to take them things apart and start to repair it myself. But with so much work at the office, its a miracle that I still manage to find the time to reflect on all this. Then again, at three in the morning, its too risky to run out to the car in the streets and take it apart in the dark.

I mean, what if I could not finish it in time and every parent sending their kids to school would just stand there watching me trying to undo what has been done? Or maybe they would find me sleeping on the roadside halfway repairing something which I am not familiar with.......

And so, for today, after re-soldering the connection
for the Nokia 5800's car charger, the fuse melted. Sigh.

The Solar Toy

I can't even remember what to call this anymore and so, to me, until I find a better name, is just a Solar Toy. In a nutshell, you feed it photons and it will rock left and right. And it only works best during the day due to some Labour Dispute about not being allowed to Moonlight.........

Ha ha ha.

Anyway, I've been wanting one of these toys since it came out in the last Century. But Bandai and Jusco still maintained the prices at RM39.90 every year without fail. Oh, they'll keep coming out new models but the price is still the same or even higher. And why would I want one so badly? I can't even answer that simple question but here is a close enough analogy:

You never wanted a small soft toy until you find the same one in one of those arcades machines where you empty all your Life's savings into it just to manipulate the grappling hook to free the dumb thing out.

OK, so its not a nice analogy. I think Mount Everest is be better one; "Because its there!"

And so, for RM12.90 I got one. Actually, I got two because
I forgot that the first one was nto working, I could have it
exchanged for another one within three days since I still
have the recceipt. And on the second day, I got another
one until the next day, I realised I had the first receipt.....

Anyway, its going into my Wife's car. You can take the base out, and put in the air freshener that comes with the toy but I just threw it away (The air freshener! The air freshener!). What it does is that the small little circuit in there would collect the free energy from the Sun, store it in the two capacitors and release them into a copper coil at a fixed interval and push the magnet held in place which connects to the two heads. In short, the two heads would violently jerk to the right with a soft high-pitched "shwerhk" sound every two seconds or so to start the momentum.