Being sick in Klang

One of the most obvious downside of being sick, apart from the pain, is the feeling that you're down in the dumps. And its been more than two days that I have this blocked nose and sore throat. Drinking gallons of orange juice (with VITAMIN C! screamed the box) did not help much. And so, while I was in Klang, my sore throat required me to search for another shop that sells orange juice. And after looking high and low for the 7-11, I came across this lady selling some weird stuff. Since I can't read the chinese words, I decided to try my luck as there were other recognisable characters suhc as Ubat (Malay for Medicine).

And as luck would have it, she can speak Cantonese and so I told her my symptoms. She said, no problema and proceeded to her range powders. She took teaspoonfuls of dark brown powder, light brown, green, sand, earth, clay, etc. And then, she mixes it with some warm dark liquid. Oh, and she added some salt for my sorethroat.

"Drink this and your sorethroat will go away very fast. But do not eat chilli tonight or you will undo everything", and so, I took the glass of eart...er, medicine, and drank it in one go. Boy, I could not explain the taste except that it made my whole face grimace like the Grinch. It tasted like crushed dried watermelon mixed with earth, some smooth tasteless clay, everything that goes bad in your life and the only saving grace was the mint like feeling that left the whole mouth feeling cool.

"And now, drink this", she told me, handing me a glass of sweetened liquid with a golden tint. I nearly finished it in one gulp but had to save some to rinse my mouth which by now, felt like I had just ate and drank a lot of mud.

More than half an hour later, I realised that my sore throat was slowly disappearing and I can shout at my technicians again.

But the weird thing was, on the next morning, my hands felt like it has not moved for centuries and when I formed them into a fist, there was pain everywhere, as if every muscle and tendon were opposing my command. And for the rest of the day, my hand looked reddish and very tender to the touch. Dipping them in cold water did not even help much.

Pulling Cables

We are already halfway into the cabling project and this week has been crazy. Our deadline is this coming Sunday and we must be at a certain stage of completion. So, my plans for this weekend is shot as usual.

Getting a massage before the big job

Lightning strike!

Here we go again! So, you have been enjoying watching those lightnings haven't you? And listening to the soothing sound of the fallng rain which is perfect for a nap. And the water which falls from the sky rejuvenates plants and clears away droughts. Ah, the beauty of rain!

But wait a minute, there is one problem to this wonder of Nature.

For us in the telecommunications industry, lightning are very dangerous to both service personnel and machines. Any telephone system which is not properly earthed or protected would suffer the full brunt of a lightning strike. The damage from such strike could range from a destruction of a lightning arrestor to a complete system FUBAR. If you're lucky, your damaged lightning arrestor can be replaced. Worst to worst is repairing or replacing a destroyed component.

But what if your system is not fully protected?

Well, say bye-bye and get a new PABX installed as there is nothing much we can do. The cost of just repairing it would almost the same as buying a new system. Either that or the damage is so extensive, its not worth the time and effort to repair at all.

When I first took a look at it, the glass tubes and the
broken relay can be fixed.........

Then when I saw thus burn, right next to the
system's CPU card and databus, I have to
expect for the worst. Turned out I was right:
Beyond economical repair

My PC's going to Hospital

OK, luckily, I saved up quite a bit and managed to get a 80GB IDE hard disk from Computer war for RM152. Since I had a bit left (from not eating lunch again) I got myself a 2GB Transcent thumbdrive. So, tomorrow, its going back to the Hospital where my friend will attempt a brain transfer.

I know my Tecra is slow and reformatting and reinstalling the Windows XP is quite tempting but I cannot. There are a lot of reasons:

1) I lost the Win XP CD and one or two digits were scratched away from the XP sticker under the Tecra

2) I have some (yes, SOME) original software which needs to be verified on-line again, which could take days or two weeks since I was so busy, Internet connectivity for me is a bit sporadic.

3) Our office Dell notebook, which is the backup, needs to be reformatted soon since most of its registry went nuts or something like that. And when it is down, my Tecra MUST be working.

4) My Wife will definitely kill me over and over again if she finds me spending more time with the Notebooks.

The black box is a USB hub and 19in1 card reader
double-side taped onto my Tecra, OK?

You've been doing what for two years?

The customer called us today to locate a backup data line which was "missing" for quite sometime. The problem is, this is not an ordinary line but a ISDN BRI line which you can test for voltage but in order to get it verified as the correct line, you would need an ISDN equipment which, we do not have. Anyway, the customer has informed us that the Telekom technicians were there earlier and has left some markings indicating that line.

Now, all we have to do is to locate the correct cable and connect it to... to... er, heck we don't even know what to connect it to. But no matter. Because its time to play Detective again.

The problem is a very simple one: Find the missing line and connect it back

So, the first thing is, to ask a lot questions. Never mind if it makes you think you're bothering the customer. Because if you did not ask, you would not be able to complete your job and this would really bother the customer. First thing is, to ask and verify that the number for that missing line is correct. Then, ask what it is being used for and where or what equipment it was last connected to before going AWOL and so on. One you have asked all the correct questions, you would by now, have enough information to start your work.

From all the clues, we discovered that the line was meant for an ISDN NT1 device. This was then made easier by calling on their IT guy who provided all the necessary pointers (I mean, the floor was filled with both useable and non-useable modems) and after detecting the only workable modem with no "Live" line, we got our suspect cable. This was very important because we have been tracing the cable for nearly the whole afternoon, near the Telekom junction box but with no success.

Only when did we discover this cable from the equipment side, the whole story unfolded. The customer did some renovations two year ago and the contractors cut a lot of "uneccessary" cables, like all contractors do. And once the renovations were completed, it was completely forgotten and the customer has been paying for this unused missing line for two years!

[Update: 19042008]
The customer's IT guy called up again and told us that it was not the correct line. So, I told him to arrange an appoinment where all parties concerned would be at that site to locate, comission and test the line. It is better this way so that no party has the chance to do any finger-pointing. This would mean loss of time for everyone and created animosity between parties. We don't want to create any politics but just to solve a problem.

See the cables dangling? This is where some people
saved time and money and hoped everyone would
forget about it. Ha. Ha. Ha. Not funny

Sharp angled cuts on the cable means
this is not the work of a rodent

Was it Luck or Customer Service?

Although we are lucky to get this wiring job, sometimes, I really think that my techs take their job for granted. For you see, if a customer wants our service, there must be a reason why they like us. Out there, the competition is great and by doing such shoddy jobs, we're no different from them. So, we have to show that we're better. We have to show that the customer is right in choosing us.

The customer also have the right to terminate our services and look for another company. It is because of our standards and the ability to quickly solve their problems that impresses them and not because we're good at talking.

See the competitor's work? They used metal trunking
for the computer network cables while my techs just
threw the cables across the roof. I had to get them to
redo the cabling and this time, use PVC pipes

Anger Mangement

Please, please, please! Whatever your issue is, do not take it out on the poor innocent Toshiba phone. This is a thirteen year-old phone and its plastic is a little bit brittle. If it shatters, its going to create a lot of sharp edges.

Not only that, you will feel more pain when we hit you with the repair bill as this phone series is no longer in production. And this is the time where you will regret your angry actions

Judging from the size of the cracks, the fist is a child's

The trip up North ... Sg. Petani & Ipoh

Boss: Yo, you're going Sg. Petani this Thursday, OK?
Me: Sure, no problem

A few hours later,
Boss: OK, slave, since its not a problem, you're going tomorrow
Me: (Act cool) Sure, no problem...... (gulp)

And so, on a cool Wednesday morning, my tech and I were diving up North. After picking him up at his house at eight in the morning, we stopped by for some petrol. Luckily, we did that because my Boss called up and he needed some tracing tool for the other technician. Since I had one, I notified the remaining tech to come look for us. If we did not linger about at the petrol station, we would have to make a U-turn at the highway which means loss of time and money.

Anyway, by the time we left, we were an hour late which is not a good sign. The reason is, we're going to Sg. Petani (just slightly after Penang) to install a PABX system and we need as much time as possible since this is going to be a day trip. Its a last minute thing since the PABX was ordered from the Main Contractor and not the customer and they are handing the site over to them on the 17th of April. By the time we reached the place, it was just slightly after two in the afternoon.

Did I mention that the Sun up here in the North is hot?

Yes, its hot! Its the kind of hot where the Sun just shines and shines and there is no wind. And not only that, the place is overrun with a lot of labourers trying to complete their job. And the same scene was repeated inside the office.

And this is the worst part:

There is no electricity in the office!

Yeah, there is no electricity in the office. This means, no fans, no air-cons, no nothing. Luckily, since the whole place is literally filled with glass, lighting was not a problem. And thank goodness, the wall which was meant to be used to mount the PABX was fibreboard and not concrete so we do not have to worry about using a power drill. After one and a half hours in the sauna, we managed to mount the PABX, re-wire all the wrong cabling and mount other equipment (as a favour) left by other vendors.

Now, this is not the worst part. The worst part, I realised, was, in the heat.

As we were all inside the building, everyone practically sweated buckets. It was fine until the occasional wind then blew into the place. Yep, you guessed it, I caught a cold since my whole body was sweating. Now I realised why my Geography teacher said that in the Desert, the hotter it went, the more layers of clothes the Nomads wore because they could catch a cold. It did not make sense at thattime, but it did now.

After we said our farewell, it was time to go South to Ipoh. By my calculations, we would be there by about six in the evening, were everyone has left. But it was not a problem for us since we called ahead and made sure someone was there to open the door for us.

And this place does have electricity! The reason we were there was because of the fact that our customer who wished to occupy this place found out that there is no proper Telekoms junction box and so, they would not be able to get their telephone lines in time. The Telekoms people told them that in order for them to get the junction box properly set up, it would take at least three months. Not a good idea since this is a one month project.

This is where we came in, to rescue the situation. Our job is to mount a temporary junction box for all parties concerned. Just a ten minute job and everyone is happy.

By the time we left for KL, my nose was already running, and blocking the nostrils. Not only that, I felt as if my throat was constricting. So, I have the cold or flu or whatever it is. Still, I managed to get us back in one piece but I felt like as if I had been driving for weeks. And not only that, when I got home, Kaelynn had a fever. Haih.

When we arrived, the concrete was being poured from a crane
And with the low roofing, you can bet that its very hot inside

I have never seen this before but its used to "smoothen" the concrete
But its no different from those floor polishers I used to work with

Here we go. Installing the PABX system
While we sweated and worked hard....

So did the rest who were outside

After one and a half hours, its done!

While on our way to Ipoh, I had to take this photo.
It looked like an Atomic Bomb has gone off. I could
not stop the van as we're short of time

Here in Ipoh, my tech was fixing the temporary junction box

We had also told the contractor not to terminate the cables as
we will go it ourselves. They usually connect using the wrong
cable pairs and this waste our time reconnecting them again

Did you see the cows walking past? By the time I
set the tripod up, they were gone. Dammit

OK, so I missed the cows and I
wanted to take more photos

I don't know why I took these shots but I think it has something
to do with the fact that I did not go to the toilet earlier on since
we were rushing all the way to Ipoh

Maxim Max7221 Part II

Woo hoo! The DIL version came in this morming! Thanks to Maxim!

These little beasts can display up to 8 7-segment LEDs!!
Keng or not?

Cow on the road

Its time like this which makes you think if its
right to take revenge by eating at MacDonalds

Maxim Max7221 Part I

I was looking for the MAX7221 ICs all over (in Malaysia) and most shops did not carry them. Farnell did have some but it would be in SMT format. I wanted them in DIL format so I can pllug them into normal prototype boards. I wanted to ask some of my friends to search in Singapore but its not nice to do so, asking such favours like that.

Then just two weeks ago, I tried to see if Maxim does have samples or direct purchase. The problem with chip manufacturers is that they will gladly sell you in the thousands but does not have the time for people like me who only wanted a few. Most of the time, I would be pointed to their authorised distributors or regional sales office only to be told that I need to buy in hundreds instead. Haih. But when I came to Maxim website, they now to sell you in any amount!

Which is great and then, an idea hit me. Usually, these manufacturers do give out samples and sometimes, you need to be someone to get it but here, the form was in front of me. Without hesitation, I decided to try my luck and ordered 8 of these Max7221 in SOIC (Surface mount) and DIL versions.

And in just 10 days, it got through customs and landed on my desk! Whoo hoo! I am so happy, I am going to get more Maxim products soon.

First, there are eight of the SOIC chips but
where are the other eight DIL chips?

Hole in the Wall!

We have a new cabling job here where the customer is renovating to expand its offices. They have two offices in blocks 8 and 12 but an empty room in block 10. In order to connect three offices together, block 10 must be renovated to become a two story lot and the walls between each office must be torn down and made into doorways.

No, the White Rabbit did not come through here

I wonder if this is how it feels like when breaking out of jail
just like those in the movies

Stop pulling that cable!

And the customer asked me why her PBX did not
work when there was a power failure.....

My Tecra is dying.....

OK, today, just today, my Notebook sort of died. I have been having this problem of switching it on and then, when either it comes out of hibernation or from a normal bootup, it sort of freezes once I start an application or when it is loading something. This is very bad because I had to clean up and reinstall my anti-virus and Zone Alarm Firewall software as it was totally corrupted while loading. Luckily, no other major software was affected. (If it was, I wouldn't even know)

But a few days ago, it went from bad to worse. When I pressed the "ON" button, the hard disk light would not even light up at all. Normally, I would switch it off and after waiting for about half an hour, everything would be OK. But not today.

Luckily, my Wife's "Hak Kerajaan" Notebook was still there and since she does not need to return it until tomorrow (Monday), I decided to borrow it for the afternoon. The main thing now, is to try salvage any data on my Tecra's Hard disk and onto my portable hard disk. Luckily, most of my data is quite up to date and so, there were minimal data transfers. Then again, I am lucky as my 80GB portable hard disk has only 1.6GB left.

How did I do it? I panicked for a while because I realised I do not have any IDE cables at hand, especially the 2.5 inch versions. Meanwhile somewhere deep inside my head, a dim lightbuld lit up. Slowly, I examined my portable hard disks outer casing and realised that I could take it apart. Once it was opened, I took out the USD2IDE interface and put it into my Tecra's hard disk. And surprise! It worked! So, I quickly transferred all the data using this method onto my Wife's Notebook and then, later, when I put my portable hard disk back again, I transferred the data to it. Phew, all done!

But I am not out of the woods yet. I need to take my beloved Tecra for diagnosis. And I know, come tomorrow, it would be in my friends' safe hands.....

On the left is my 80GB PHD and the right is the Tecra's 20GB HDD

All it took was just two screws to hold everything together
And the HDD just sits in there without any shock protection
At least, I got the IDE2USB interface (right)

This is the Tecra's HDD housing. Only four screws and
it sits on an aluminum tray.

The girl with the hair clip

Its a wonder how tiny hair clips can make
a child happy for hours

A-Law! A-Law!

In Telecommunications, there are some "rules"a PABX system must obey as each country has their own set of communications protocols. If you do not set each system to its appropriate protocols, then you would have a lot of weird results. It might not set the system on fire, but your customer would wish they can set you on fire.

We were installing a doorphone and relay for customer
My tech did not test it but assumed that the doorphone
is working. I tested and told him that I can barely hear
him as the voice was distorted. Not only that, the sound
from the speakers were very bad.

So, I had to tell him to switch from u-Law to A-Law. After that,
everything was fine. But I had to literally smack him on the
head for wasting everyone's time

With RM125 in my hand............

So, OK, I got my pay a few days ago, paid every damn bill I can find and today, I managed to go to a ATM for some pocket money. Since I was near Pasar Road, I decided to drop by one of the shops before rushing off to another customer, who is based in Klang.

I always wanted to get a new bag for my aging Toshiba Notebook since it "broke" years ago. And not only that, I have a lot of things to carry in that bag too. The power supply, Wifi stick, mouse, cables and more cables and especially, tons of paper (which are my work backlogs). For five years, I have been using the bag, day in, day out. And for five years, I have opened the bag daily for an average three times a day. And I have never changed bags.

And now, the tough little bag can't carry anymore. So, the next replacement must be as tough as the bag. And maybe, carry even more. But the main criteria is, it must not look like a Laptop bag. Knapsacks and its variations are out because almost everyone knows that there is a very high chance that there is a Laptop inside.

Luggage bags are almost out too as it would be weird. And so, at Pasar Road, this case was almost ideal. Now, all I need is a yellow hardhat (In the Command and Conquer PC game, Enginners in yellow hardhats carrying a tool-bag can enter an enemy building and take over it). So, after much deep haggling, I decided to get the case (which allows you to strap it across your shoulders too but I have to get a sturdier strap).

Me: How much for this case?
Her: RM125
Me: Cheaper can or not?
Her: OK, RM100
Me: Tell you what, I give you Rm100 for the case
Her: . . . . .

Oh, just for Nex, this is a Heat Gun selling for
RM120. At 240 volts AC, is gives 1600W of
power which is about 500ºC of heat

This is my five year old Notebook Bag. The zips were gone
last year and this year, the document compartment gave
way after I go pissed off when the paper all fell out

This is what I am going to do with the new case. But I
have to fill it up with more foam first. Don't want the
Notebook to get loose inside. Yes, the case is very
deep and with the Notebook in there, I think there
is about two inches (height) left. . Maybe I need to
make foam to cover the Notebook. Originally, this
was going to be for my technicians and so, now I am
the guinea pig. I was sad because if I wanted to stand
on this bag, I would have to pay another RM300

This is the 15mm by 4mm white switch for Nex. After
getting the case, I only have enough left for this switch
and a new multimeter.

Dinner at (I forgot the place)

My sister in Law invited us for dinner at one of the Japanese restaurant located in Old Klang Road. I do like eating Japanese food in a Japanese restaurant. Not because of its prices but sometimes, I want to experience the atmosphere with family.

Usually, I find it odd to order sushi in a Japanese restaurant as its like ordering a burger in a real restaurant. Anway, tonight, it was not about the food but rather, trying different dishes which you would not eat in a Sushi bar or at Teppanyaki.

But because of my penchant for raw salmon and their sushi type or rice, I usually settled for the Katsu Don (chicken with rice, and you wondered what has it got to do with salmon? I don't know either)

Both girls were playing with the wooden chopsticks

Again, Kaelynn insists on doing everything by herself

Which was a mess. So, Mommy had to give her a plate instead

When Mommy's away.........

The girls like to use the new matress as a slide because it was very stiff. Usually, when Mommy is around, they would just slide down like little girls. But tonight, because Mommy was not around................. haiyo!

You know, maybe I should get a wooden board underneath the new mattress or something. But then again, with them around, the wooden board might not be so safe from them either.

First, it was Kristine

Then Kaelynn followed

In the excitement, I had to make sure that
they do not jump when the other is on the
mattress or there would be some serious
injury. After ten minutes of fun, its all over
as I had to stop them or they will all have
to take bath again as they were sweating

Going to Melaka

Took a half-day leave to day, so that I can take my wife to Melaka for her 5-day course. I enjoyed the drive there because it was the only time both of us could really talk without being interrupted by Kristine or Kaelynn. But not only that, I get to think about things for a while too (on the journey back), like how difficult the future would be for us.

But I dread the next four nights when she is not about and when the two little monsters wreak havoc in the house........

In order for the Hotel room to have electricity, you
would need to use your Maybank card for payment

Nightshot at the pool, without any tripod, just
a plain old concrete pillar and some weird gum
or sweet stuck at the balcony for the lens to
rest on