NERF Vortex

OK. Finally, my second NERF for the year. Its a NERF Proton, which shoots discs instead of the usual darts. The Vortex is a single-shot weapon in the Vortex series. And well, the reason I got this was because it was being sold at a very attractive price when compared to the ones being sold in the shops.

Anyway, this is the box for the Proton and surprisingly, its quite small.

Once you open it, you're presented with the Proton which, makes you think, "If this NERF or some Sci-Fi gun?"

Once you open it that is... blast these stupid paper strings

To be honest, the grip feels so good but I still prefer it to be slightly thicker at the palm area, near the thumb.

Wha...? I thought the paper strings were bad enough but this warning too?
OK, OK. Its for people like me who never RTFM.

Anyway, pull out the tray, slot in the disk.
Bear in mind that the Proton has a lot of safety locks.
If the drawer is not it, it won't fire.
If there is no disk in the drawer, it won't fire.

To close the drawer, you need to gently rock the lever located on both sides with your thumb. Its not a safety lock.
The drawer will then close. This is a clever feature I supposed because you need the thumb to be there when the drawer closes instead of being a target for the drawer's pull ring.

I do not like the front view of the Proton but then, because its shooting disks, it has to be wide.

The Proton is very short but still bulky.

This is the close up of the disk.
The edge is mode of some soft foam

Yes as you guessed it, the middle part is where it carries all the weight

So, why do I get one? The answer lies in the design.
Side-wise, its beautiful but if seen from the front or top, its too wide.

Kalkitos @Tziplee

Hands up for those of you who have heard of Kalkitos!

Yep, we're really that old. Back in the days, when it first came out, I did not know what to do with it. So, when I saw it again, being sold at Tziplee for RM20.00, I still do not know what to do with it.

Kalkitos is actually a decal transfer system. What you get is a nice three page fold-out background and a sheet of coloured decal or transfers. What you need to do is plan where each of the decals do, then place the sheet on that spot and use a pencil or the blunt tip of a pen to rub on the desired image. Once you have done that, lift the decal sheet up and voila! the image is transferred onto the background paper.

Permanently.

Yes, permanently and you cannot take the decal off the background paper without destroying it. I know, eyebrows are raised over this concept but let me tell you this: other kids were going ga-ga over them and collected as many Kalkitos series as they go along. All except me.

I still do not know what to do with it.

Just so you know, Tziplee has moved from the street below to this new swanky location.

1/32 Moebius Cylon Raider part 007

After more than a week of designing, my board is finally ready. However, because of the size requirement, the board will have to be very compact. And not only that some of my 'counterparts' in the other parts of the World are almost completed with their designs. So, I have to force myself to move at a quicker pace. For obvious reasons, I cannot tell you what it is yet since I, too am not really sure if I can pull this off within such a short time.

This board needs to be very small and also, my design is to achieve as close as possible to a 'plug and play' solution for the user. I will share with you some of the dillema I am facing:

1. As the board is compact, a microprocesor will be the best solution to keep the component count down. And so, I opted for the smallest packaging size, which is the SSOP.
2. Because I chose the SSOP, the 'legs' are very fine and soldering them the normal way will create shorts if the heat from the soldering iron did not kill them first.
3. Because the space is limited, the LEDs I chose will be 0603, which, as you all know, is darn difficult to solder without killing it. I am going to enjoy torturing myself.
4. Not because I am trying to keep the cost down but not many people I know can mount SMD components on my boards for me (at reasonable price, of course)
5. Finally, because of the shape of the board, making it or rather, cutting it to shape is going to be expensive, provided there is a vendor willing to do that. Then I have to worry about committing a generous MOQ from them.

Anyway, this is how the board looks like with

a 10sen coin for scale comparison. Right now
its on paper (not literally) but I am going to
get them made into prototypes soon.

Meat Ants

When I menrtioned about the Ants, they are not your ordinary Ants. For decades, we were used to those 1.5~2mm light brown Ants which always go for the sweet-stuff. But since 2008 or so onwards, the larger 4~5mm black Ants are seen instead.

Want to know what's so weird? Its not because of the theory that the smaller Ant's lease is up and the larger Ants took over but, is this a new species or just muscling into the territory?

Anyway, these new Ants prefer meat more than your normal sugar stuff. This is because anything that has certain meat or something, they're there. Cooked meat are their choice but I am still a little unclear of their preferences as you can see from the photos below. They even went for live maggots too and sometimes, lost the fight. And if you plonk some sugar, it would be their last choice.

Oh, and one weird thing. Some of them love to hang around the water jugs. They were either running by the side walls or in the water. Its as if they're undergoing some sort of trial to become a full fledged Ant or something. Most of the time I have to fish them out with my pinkie and flick them to the wall. Most of them, when the water disappears, walked away....

The friend chicken the left alone but the gristle, they went nuts over it

Not sure what this was, but it was a real group effort.
One day, I am going to see where their nest lies...

Facial Hair

Not working for the time has taken its toll. On the outside, you still feel you're useful and do you best to restore your activities to what you think resembles your previous activity. But once you sit down and question yourself, the hard reality comes barging in and because of the fear, you will try to deny them and conveniently paint yourself a new image. Its a depressing cycle. You have a lot to do yet, there is nothing you can start because you think you have thought too much. Moreover, there is the issue of money to sustain the family and pay the bills.

It won't be long when the truth comes knocking again.

Man, this sucks

A little bit of Yes and some Aahhh

While the PCB design is being sent to be Prototyped, my orders for some of the components are starting to come in. I have to order them because I cannot get them here. Even if i did, I could be paying a lot more for it, accept their ridiculous MOQ or even, wait for them to order for me.

This is the most anticipated package to arrive.

Yes, its the SOPP to DIL adaptor (background).
At the same time, the SMD resistor arrived too.

Aw, hell! The adaptor is wrong! Guess I'll have to order again.
In the meantime, this is a SOIC to DIL adaptor which is quite useful too.

A clearer picture.
The PCB is very small, and both the SMD resistor and the chip fits.

[Update]

I was so overjoyed with this that if you look carefully at the last photo, there is a very obvious mistake which I did not realise until weeks later.

What did she say?

Can I buy a fish for me and one for jie-jie so that the old fish can eat them?

When a fish is dying, is very yummy to eat.

Kaelynn's day

With my Mom still in the Hospital and everyone is paying attention to her, I wonder how the girls are taking it. So, today, I am observing Kaelynn.

Kaelynn woke up at the same time as Kristine, who by now, is putting her uniform on.
But for Kaelynn, its either extra minutes/hours of sleep or follow me to drop her sister off at school.

Then its a cup of warm Milo which I make for her. Sometimes, I will cook some pasta too.
But usually, its just Milo

I try to get her to eat something as well since I do not want her to follow my habit of not eating breakfast since teenage.

Oh yeah. Just look at her. She is so excited about the food, she can't wait to finish it all up

After that, it was time to help me with the Laundry.
Today, she has a new interest.

Once everything is done, she is left to her own devices until Happy Hour arrives

Happy Hour?
Its the time where she gets to go to school, of course!