Earth Hour Activities

Today is Saturday 27th or March, 2011 otherwise known as the last Saturday of March. It is a very important day for some people. That is because today, at 2030, they will switch off NON-ESSENTIAL lights for one hour to show support for awareness to climate change. Read it again, NON-ESSENTIAL means, not all the lights, stupid.

For the rest of the people, its life and business as usual. And so, during that hour, we were at Kepong's Tesco, having dinner at Madam Lim's. If they turned off the lights, I will give them hell. For I do not believe in Earth Hour. At our house, we have changed to fluorescents. we even recycled plastic bags (and also, dinner) and so on. But what we do not do is to show-off. If everyone switched off the lights for one hour, the turbines somewhere will most likely experience a lesser load and so, slows down. Now, its Saturday evening and there is no light. So, what would everyone do?

Yep, you got it. Candles. Candles are a non renewable source of energy and also, pollutes the air. Not only that, it takes a lot of energy to make them too.

Now, what happens when the hour is up? Everyone would flick on the switch and this means there is a sudden demand for energy. The turbines would most probably have to get up to speed again in the shortest time. The would mean more fuel consume and also, increasing the machine's wear and tear. Not only that, the cables would experience a huge load too. And in some extreme cases, the turbines would need to shut down or the exchange is blown, resulting in a real power outtake.

So, is this what you want to happen? Think about those in the smaller Hospitals, those on dialysis, the elderly and so on. What would happen to them? Does their place have backup generators? Can they really walk in the dark without falling?

If everyone is conscious about climate change, they would have implemented a lot of things throughout the year and not just for this 60 minutes of stupidity. Its a scam to trivialise the seriousness of climate change and making the fools feel good for that matter. And with so much crime on the streets, robbers and people with criminal intention are going to really celebrate the Earth Hour.

So, do not ask me why I did not turn off the lights.

While having dinner, Kaelynn had a stomach ache
because we were not 'fast' enough to order food as
we were stuck at the cashiers. So, after some food,
I took her for a walk and finally, when she saw this
stall, and that funny potatoes, I ordered it for her.
Actually, I saw this when we were at Cameron
Highlands but did not buy them But tonight, even
for RM3.50 a pop, its worth it just to get her to eat
something.

After taking the sliced potatoes out, the Lady
then separates each slice a few mm apart and
also coated them with some batter mixture

Then its off to the deep fryer. The oil is dark brown
and I am sure it has been kept for days

I only noticed this after I took the photos and its too
late to say no....

When it is ready, she sprinkled it with some kind of
salt mixture. This was because the mixture was
finished halfway and when she took out a bag, the
powder was brownish in colour.

Anyway, she asked me what kind of sauce I wanted,
(tomato & cheese, mayo, thousand island and chili)
as she was ready to pour over the potatoes. So, I
told her, I wanted the tomato sauce but in a separate
bag. We have never eaten this before and so putting
the sauce separately was a good idea.

One thing I can tell you is that it contains
a lot of MSG because later on in the car,
Kaelynn was drinking water like there's
no tomorrow...

N8 Photography test.

I want to test the n8's so-called 12MP camera. Most of the time, I shoot things that have minimal lighting, needs macro and/or does not move..much. You may click on the pictures for the actual size but for now, I am using 9MP setting. And so, what better place than this one:

Yep. The Museum. What better place than this?
I wonder. Then again, I have not been to this
place since the last Millenium. Oh, they charge
RM2.00 for parking now.

For most of my Life, I always passed by the Museum and
it never did occur to me to revisit it again. Then again,
as a student, trying to pass exams with my half crazy
brain was more important since I am devoid of any
talent or creativity, and more importantly, initiatives

This was very nice because if I used the 5800 instead,
there would be a lot of 'noise'. I should have used a
tripod to take this shot and the rest too. But it would
mean I have to modify my current tripod and also pay
another RM2.00 for parking.

I like this too, not because of the shot but the glass
design. By the way, this glass encases four coffins in
there. Their methods of burial are very unique.

This section is very interesting as it depicts the types
of coins or items used for trading. Back in the days,
they do not have any currency exchange and so, I
wonder how they got by. Anyway, as you all know,
the lights for each exhibits are lit by LEDs and not
those bright lights anymore. Oh, you can move the
magnifying lens to see a larger image of the coins.

I really like this moneytree. You can pluck the coins
to use and the tree itself can be reused again. Its a
very good system, that is until the wallets and cards
took over. I used the n8 on the lens and was not very
happy with the results.

So I used the n8's own macro setting and well, this
was as far as it could go...

I always wanted to see this up
close as it reminds me of Han
Solo in Carbonate. Looked for
some side panels and buttons
but well, was disappointed.

For those who are curious about Han in Carbonate,
this is what I am referring to.
(image from: http://www.theforce.net/swtc/Pix/books/scrapbook/carbonite.jpg)

I also had problems with lighting in this shot
apart from trying to steady myself. If I used
the flash, things would improve but then, you
will see the flash reflected back.

Under normal lighting, the details for most subjects
are very nicely highlighted.

This shot was taken in a very dark room with
almost no lights apart from the ones in the
nearby exhibits.

This one took me a few tries too.

Even indoors, with mixed lighting, this shot
is quite OK to me. Then again, I threw out
the photography books years ago and just
shot and shot and shot...

Used flash on this one.

Did you get the joke? They're selling anti-rust.

Shooting Pasar road

Now, lets see how it fares with dark colour and still have the details. Again you may want to click on the images for the actual size. Shooting at Pasar road here, especially if you have a DSLR and not in a crowd of photographers, is a bit dicey. It has a higher chance of confrontation with the vendors who are always edgy nowadays. But with the n8, and with some skills, you can blend right in so long as you do not use the flash. Oh, and try not to shoot in really dark places as the n8 will give out a red light which gives the game away...

The colour is almost spot on. Yes, the yellow is that bland

As for the black, well, you can see the details for yourself

How I wished I have a wide-angle lens right now....
This is a scene where suddenly the street vendors
have disappeared and all has gone quiet. Yep.
Its that time of the DAY where the DBKL (City Hall)
enforcers are patrolling the area.