Trip to Pasar Road

[06.03.2010 22:00]

Well, here we go again. Pasar Road. This time, and like the time before, I have a mission. This time, I am going to look for some battery casing and also suitable LEDs for someone's halo project. And this time, I got sidetracked.....

First and foremost, meet the RM200 plus
spotlight LED. Its bright.

And yet, its cool to the touch. I was so tempted to
get one but since its running on 240v mains, its
not such a good idea after all. But this is suitable
as garden lights or something to that effect.

Do you remember those video lights that the
cameramen used when they come up to your
table during a wedding dinner? Its that bright.

Not sure how many Watts is in there but if there
is any indication within this 1cm by 1cm square,
I would say its 9Watts unless each LED element
is more than that.

Once I got my main shopping done, it was onwards to
next door where I need to have a look at those battery
casings. They have variations from 4AA's to 3AA's to
2AA's, but no AAA battery versions. So, I took one of
each.....

Including this 9volt battery holder, which might
be the same used in Joker's remote detonator
in Batman Begins, if he uses it, of course.

So tempted to get these but I am out of budget already

Lunch
As far as I am concerned, having lunch in Pasar Road is difficult. There are so many shops and roadside stalls to choose from. Because this is predominantly a Chinese area, you have a lot of Chinese food. But for old time's sake, I still go to the Malay stall in Pudu Plaza. This was the place we (my techs and I) use to eat when we're in Pasar Road.

My Lunch costs me Rm8.00 including the Ice Coffee.
One thing I like this type of Malay food is that its
full of chilies and other hot stuff.

But that is not all, they also have potatoes and
tempei as well, which are my favourite.

Another tempei dish which I am not sure what this
round thing was called. Its not petai, though

Lastly, the fish. Yes, I love this type of dish. But
for the fish, I would prefer those 'catfish' types.
Still, with this type of sauce, any fish would do.

The Haul
OK, wiht the kids safely in bed, its time to open my treasures.......

(L-R) Components all in a bag, Battery cases and
some 'new' red LEDs

The LED bargraph is for me to test on the Boba Fett
display but with four LEDs per segment, its going to
drain the battery fast. Then the small SMD white LEDs
for a halo (but later on, after some discussion, they're
not suitable. Damn. Money wasted) and the square
red LEDs. There are four LEds in there, which accounts
for the 8 pins.

Using the flash, you can see the 'wasted' white
LEDs. In the foreground, I bought more white
LEDs and also, they're not going to be used for
the Halo too. That's RM30.00 gone to waste.
If only my Y!M and E-Mail was working well.
Maybe I should not be buying these until its
confirmed for testing......

Someone's feeling happy...

[06.03.2010 1526]

...because I downloaded more games
for my Nokia 5800. So, Winnie the
Pooh is safe for the moment.

The crossing of legs

[05.03.2010 2232]

Well, I am stumped. There she was, doing her homework all by herself while Mommy was helping Kaelynn, when I decided to check on her.....

See anything funny?

Yeah, she is crossing her legs!
How and where she learnt this
I do not know. Or is it a natural
thing for girls?

Meanwhile, for the tomboyish
Kaelynn, she has her own style....

Rainy Friday

[05.03.2010 16:36]

Today is Friday. And also, today is the last day I will be at this particular department. Its a nice but dangerous place where I get to learn a lot of new things. However, there is a downside, in the sense that this place is hot. With temperatures fluctuating between 34º to 36ºC, I sweat so much that I did not have anything left to contribute to the common urinal. But if you're looking for salt, its on my shirt.

Still, this place is a lot of fun as its entirely a new experience for me. Then came the rain, which cooled down the place. And also my mood. Don't ask me why but for that particular afternoon, I just felt so nostalgic and lethargic too. Yeah, its a tiring place.

And with the rain, the temperature dropped to 31ºC
which not only cools the place but my feelings as well.

Why I am so busy

[05.03.2010 10:45]

Being in a new place is sometimes scary. And sometimes, its fun. But most of all, its interesting. In my old job, the main agenda of the day is usually get the service calls sorted out and then go out and see the customer. And of course, the perks are that you get to go almost anywhere. And when you reach the customer, you can observe the nature of their business and if you're lucky, they might happen to be dealing with things that you are interested in, such as unlicensed nuclear accelerators, perfumes, male enhancement products and so on. Its like being a working tourist in Malaysia.

Now, circumstances has changed and so are my priorities. This new place is fun. And the things they do, well, its really an eye opener for me as I though I have seen everything. I learn new things there, almost everyday and when I come back, my brain is still on overdrive. So, by the time I wind down and all, its time to sleep.

Anyway, its time to move on, and hopefully, torwards to a better future.

Unfortunately, I am not authorised to show
you the things in there. And so, after passing
the Company's Intelligent Censor Filters,
I really have to apologise for the photos.

Here, you can see someone walking towards the
secret entrance to the secret department where
they do secret things behind those secret doors.

My parents went to an AGM...

...and all I got was this fried rice cupcake......

Busy... busy... busy...

Sorry there's no update for this week as I as literally up to my eyeballs on the Navigation&Strobe circuit board. Its one of those last minute snafus. The story is that I used some numbers from the Internet for this and finally, after fighting with myself, I decided to do my own timing instead. So, after hours and hours of watching Star Trek:The Motion Picture, I more or less got the timing. Its no that accurate but its close enough.

This first movie's timing is particularly difficult and trying to simulate it with a microprocessor took up more memory compared to the other timing options. Just a difference of one to four milliseconds really screwed up the whole timing. And not only that, different movie have different timing as well. And sometimes, inside the movie, I was told, the timing also changes. So, this is not a nice thing to hear.

And for the rest of the day, I was going nuts trying to calculate and convert the timing into proper flow for the program. I think, for a Form Four student, this is easy-peasy but it took me hours. It did not help either with the two girls running all over the house naked.

Anyway, its 130 in the morning and the code is finished. In a few day's time, I will program it into a microprocessor chip and we'll know if it works or not.

Anyway, this is a nice one, from one of the Forums:



Your Duck is Dead--


A woman brought a very limp duck into a veterinary surgeon. As she laid her pet on the table, the vet pulled out his stethoscope and listened to the bird's chest.

After a moment or two, the vet shook his head and sadly said, "I'm sorry, your duck, Cuddles, has passed away."

The distressed woman wailed, "Are you sure?"
"Yes, I am sure. Your duck is dead," replied the vet..

"How can you be so sure?" she protested. "I mean you haven't done any testing on him or anything. He might just be in a coma or something."

The vet rolled his eyes, turned around and left the room. He returned a few minutes later with a black Labrador Retriever. As the
duck's owner looked on in amazement, the dog stood on his hind legs, put his front paws on the examination table and sniffed the duck from top to bottom. He then looked up at the vet with sad eyes and shook his head.

The vet patted the dog on the head and took it out of the room. A few minutes later he returned with a cat. The cat jumped on the table and also delicately sniffed the bird from head to foot. The cat sat back on
its haunches, shook its head, meowed softly and strolled out of the room.

The vet looked at the woman and said, "I'm sorry, but as I said, this is most definitely, 100% certifiably, a dead duck."

The vet turned to his computer terminal, hit a few keys and produced a bill, which he handed to the woman..
The duck's owner, still in shock, took the bill. "$1000!" she cried, "$1000 just to tell me my duck is dead!"
The vet shrugged, "I'm sorry.... If you had just taken my word for it, the bill would have been $50, but with the Lab Report and the Cat Scan, it's now $1000."