The switch

For quite a few years now, I have been attracted to thistype of switch. You just press it and depending on howyou make your circuit, the appropriate LEDs will lightup. But the problem at that time was the cost of theseswitches and its availability.

Until today, I happened to come across another shop in Pasar Road. I was looking for more of those small switches I can put on my prototype board. Because she did not understand what type of switches I wanted, she took out a "sample" board for me to choose and there and then, I saw that switch!

After buying it, I was elated but it did not last long because this switch is PCB mounted and therefore, cannot be mounted on a panel (unless you went and glue it). Worst of all, its just a push button switch, which is a bigger size of its smaller cousins shown in the picture below. Heck.

Anyway, at least I got the switch after so many years
but the "legs" to the device is corroded which means
I need to scrape it off or else the solder would not "bite"

Watercolour

We're moving to dangerous ground: Watercolour
But luckily, nothing serious happened except for
clumsy toes and wasted paper

The many faces of Kaelynn

Just barely more than one and a half years old, Kaelynn is changing fast too. She has many faces and sometimes, when I look at her, its as if she has already grown up to be a young lady. And then, sometimes, she looks a bit like someone else. I still cannot find the part where she looked like me. Its there somewhere........

The fragile yet beautiful actress look

The friendly boss look
(or Excuse me, more milk, please!)

The beautiful girl look

This is the latest look, which I think,
makes her look like 8 years old

My RM1.90 Calculator @ Mydin

I tell you, ah. These Chinese people are real copycats. When I was at Mydin, I saw an interesting calculator selling for RM3.90, which was the cheapest dual energy (battery and solar) calculator in the bin that I have ever seen. So, I took one. And then, I went to the other side where the electrical section were so that I can lose Kaelynn's shoes (OK, it was an accident but we never found the shoe)

And then I saw another calculator. It was the same calculator, albeit with a different name, more colourful buttons and it even came with a pen. And the price? RM1.90 only. Yeah, I couldn't fathom the logic in this. I nearly went nut about tried to buy about ten of them before I came back to reality. I mean, what can I do with ten thin calculators? Apart from breaking them open for prop prototypes, that is.

This is the Stevenson calculator that comes with a pen

See the solar panel? I am going to have fun with it!

Until I realise that its just a film designed to fool
people into thinking it was a solar panel. It was
already transparent and I didn't even spot it. Damn

Oh, and guess what? They're using some
transparent flexible circuit board for the
keypads, same like the calculator I found

The new Biological glue

There are all sorts of glue for almost every situation nowadays. But when it comes to environmentally friendly and biologically safe glues, they are quite limited and expensive. So, now Kaelynn has invented a new glue. And its quite strong as well. It has outperformed all our expectations in the lab and we're ready to market it. However, there is one small problem, apart from marketing and manufacturing. The glue has a very short lifespan and dries up very fast, which then shrinks into a yellowish gunk or smear, depending on how you applied it.

Here is a shot taken from our very test laboratory.
The booger glue can hold two cotton buds together
when freshly dispensed from the nose but if you pick
it, you'd have to use your finger to roll it into a ball
before you can use it.

Sunday Meals

We had meals outside the house today and although it was nice, it sort of turned out to be quite expensive. Still, as long as the two girls are enjoying themselves, we're OK with that. Still eating out dispenses with a lot of problems such as meal preparation and the washing up. But it also has its own problems such as looking for baby seats, "compatible" menu, suitable atmosphere and most importantly, price.

Kristine and Kaelynn, both with their KFC toys
When you buy one, you have to buy the other

Kristine trying to feed some porridge to Kaelynn

Attention: This was not Kristine's fault.

Buying Stuff @ Mydin

Today, we were at Mydin, Subang Jaya. This is because my Wife has been delegated to buy presents for her committee or something and the stupid treasurer has left for Hong Kong without passing her the allocated sum. So, in the end, we had to go to Mydin and buy all sorts of crap there. For the same amount of items, we could have gone to JayaJusco or MetroJaya but then, it would have screwed the budget three times or more. Although Mydin is next to Giant, we did not want to go there because of the RM10 parking fee. Parking is Mydin and shopping in both Giant and Mydin is free. But when you park at Giant and shop at Mydin, they will penalise you with RM10. This is something about Giant which I do not like.

Our first trolley was full, so while Kristine held her
sister, I pushed the second trolley into position

After transferring the stuff (without breaking them)
my job is done

But minutes later, wife came back with more stuff. So I
had to push the trolley together like this....

Luckily I took the van with us as the car would have
problems in the boot area. A break at KFC was our
reward for a tiring day......

Fragile focus

Yep, its broken again and by Krsitine. But it was not immediate as I took a lot of countermeasures to prevent it from breaking off completely. Until metal fatigue came. This happened when we were playing and Krsitine accidentally used her head to bash into my face a few months ago. Because the frame was flexing a lot, it eventually gave way.

Anyway, the glasses had to be replaced because the rubber grip was not so effective anymore and the lens are starting to turn yellowish. I was hoping to get them changed next year, maybe after Chinese New Year but no suck luck. Maybe I should have gone to a welder months ago but because of their machine, I think it would have destroyed the framed instead.

So now, everytime I have to look down, it sort of slipped from my head and onto the floor. Luckily the lens are plastic.

Right now, I can't see myleft too much so you all
don't try sneaking up on me from that direction, ha

Wearing the pants in the House

They say, whoever, wears the pants in the house is the Master. So, I think Kaelynn just wants to do that. But kids nowadays, likes to try to do things by themselves. I tell you, I still believe its the formula milk, man.

So, this time, she tries to wear it by herself

Almost made it since Daddy has done it for her
many times already

Close, but no cigar

The Case II

Just a few days ago, I bought the Toyogo case over this model and now, I had to buy it too. Why? Well, it was more to do with my job in Kuantan yesterday. We were supposed to have the system up by three in the afternoon and everything was right on schedule until some stupid IT nerd go and play with the power sockets which tripped the whole building. And the electrician took ages to come as it happened during lunchtime.

So, we walked next door to Giant for lunch instead. . . . and then it happened.

I saw the Felton case being sold for RM8.99, which was a bit expensive compared to Carrefour. But in the end, I got it anyway since I needed it for something else as well. Then at the counter, I was charged for RM4.99 instead. I asked the guy at the counter about the price discrepancy and he replied, "Maybe they labeled it wrongly..." Which was great news for me. I saw the Giant brochure and it stated the case as being sold for RM4.99 despite the overhead poster saying it was for RM8.99. So, I went in again and bought another case. Ha ha ha ha.

This Felton case was my first choice because of its hinges. But
what the other case won was because of its moulded handle

Although the Felton case is bigger than the Toyogo
case, I still went ahead with the Toyogo case. But
here, if my criteria was for the hinges, then the
Toyogo case would have lost out as their type
if hinge can come loose easily of the contents
are bulging too much

As you can see, the reason why I liked the Toyogo
case, which is the handle as I believe, some things
can be stored at the cavities near the handles

Unfortunately, when I closed the case, there were some
large gaps which means I cannot store any small things
there. cheh

My cacat camera

A few days ago, I noticed that there is another problem which is getting more severe with my FujiFilm FinePix. The CCD sensor. Sometimes, it will give me the occasional flicker and if I took a photo at that point in time, the flicker would be captured. But now, it goes dark and sometimes, the colour changes too. Haih. If I send this to be repaired, the cost if going to be a new camera now.

In bright morning daylight, I shot this in the van.
And I was not happy with that realisation

Under the flourescent light, it came out like this

And after some "gentle" knocks, it went back to normal.....

Opening the Auto Dialers

During our trips, we do see a lot of these little nonsense. They were either thrown on the floor or junked since they tend to get destroyed easily when connected to the telephone line. I hated these little devices but the customer loves them because it offered cheaper phone calls. Still, I would be the first person they would call when the phone lines are down, which is usually due to these devices

Now I know why. There does not seem to have any proper
protection from line surges. For this model, there are a lot
of transistors and a blobbed custom chip

On this model however, the same still apllies but there is
something of interest here....

Its a Microchip PIC! But then again, its most probably
fuse protected so I cannot use it for my own projects.
Moreover, since its SMT, taking it out from the PCB
the normal way would most probably destroy it
anyway. I could salvage the LED holders and also
the jacks but my Boss has other plans

The Trip to Kuantan

We were at Kuantan today and it has something to do with intalling a system. But because the customer has gone before 5pm, I think we have to go there again, next week. Haih. Waste of petrol and time only.

I wished I could stop and take this wonderful photo
But we're in a rush to go reach KL before 10pm

On the way back, there is a circus near the
Shah Alam stadium. The green lights moving
about really caught everyone's attention. But
if I was there the night before, during the rain
that has a heavy mist, the scene would be even
more beautiful but I left my camera at home...

Effective Milk drinking by Kristine

Hello, everybody,

I am Krsitine. Everynight, before Mommy and Daddy force us to go to sleep, we have to drink a bottle of milk and a bottle of water. But I am too excited to drink them one by one. This is the time where Mommy and Daddy cannot chase after me because they are so tired that they fall on the bed like zombies. So, I can play and run and shout with my sister as much as I like until both of us are sleepy.

This is the bad way of drinking, one bottle
after another. Takes up a lot of my playtime

This is the effective way of drinking.
You save a lot of time too!

So now, you have more time for fun!
(Does my sister look like Sigourney Weaver?)

Hotwheels Spector

When I was at the Amcorp Mall yesterday afternoon to dismantle a system, I passed by one of the toy shops and came across one of Hotwheel's latest. This is called the Spector and its a completely new design. I think they did a series before, where the cars sort of transformed into small robot figures but i don't think it caught on. Anyway, they gave me a good price and I just couldn't refuse. But one thik I hate about Hotwheels is, apart from their increased prices (and now, recycled models for Batman) is that their websites does not update much about their latest model. Until I happen to "remember" when I go to a toy shop or at some Hypermarket checkout counter.

Looking closely at the toy, I think its more like a quad-bike instead of a car. Or maybe its just an exercise in design. It looked more like a cybernetic jaguar with its hind legs chopped off and replaced with some engine and big wheels. Or it was driving the cart when it suddenly split in half....

This is the package. Even at first glance, it already
stood out from other cars. And looking at the bottom,
I assumed the car can bend itself from wheel to wheel

But alas, it could not as the front arm
was fixed. All it could do was to stretch
out like a lazy little cat

And since the back is plastic, the silver paint did
not hold up well. It flaked off when I scratched it
with my little pinkie fingernail

The little girl and her backpack

We really had to stop her from playing with her backpack
too much as she keeps a lot of her favourite things in there
We are worried that she might break the pack

APR9600

I was at Pasar Road today, and decided to try the new chip which was reccomended to me months ago. This chip is, I think, is very similar to the ISD25XX series. In fact, if not for a few pins, they could be pin to pin compatible. Unfortunately, the ISD chip is no longer in production and not only that, remaining stocks are expensive. So, I decided to try this chip. And if this chips works as claimed in the datasheet, then it is much better than the ISD25XX (but I have yet to test the ISD2560 that I have bought earlier in the year). Anyway, a rough comparison of the main points are as follows, with the APR9600 against the ISD2560. But bear in mind, I could be wrong since I am going through these two datasheets at a glance.

1. Speaker output is 1Watt at 16 Ohms versus 50 miliWatt at 16 Ohms but both 12.2mWatt from memory. (I hope it is 1 Watt since we both checked some of the resistor values are wrongly labeled)

2. Supports three message management modes
- Random access with 2,4 or 8 fixed duration messages
- Normal tape mode
- Tape mode with auto rewind

3. Has LEDs for Busy, Recording/Playback, and End of Message
4. Optional "Beep" audio notification for recording and end of memory
5. Adjustable three sampling rates
6. Speaker can be paralleled when using multiple devices

I hope to get this set up as soon as possible. If it works, there are a lot of projects I can integrate into.

Hey, there, Big fella! I am your smaller cousin!

The Case

While the kids got their items, I decided to buy something for myself too. After some browsing, I bought a pair of cargo pants and another sans the pockets. I loke wearing these type of pants but because of so many jeans in the house, my desire was put on hold. Then just then, before we were about to go off, I came across one of Toyogo's product, this time, its the A4 filing case.

After just a quick looksee, I decided to get it straightaway for RM7.50, and not the first choice (which had a proper hinge but flimsy handle). My plan to use this is not for storing of my drawing, plans and what-nots but for another matter. I will post this up soon if the idea works. If not, its just another case for me to store my stuff.

This is the case that I chose over the other one (no Pics)
I liked it because of the strong handle look

But if you open it, you notice that you have to close
the case very carefully or else the sides would not
close properly at all. For an A4 size, it is ideal for
my project.

This type of hinge is not good if you open the case
too many times. I think it is meant to store all
the secret nude pictures and put it away for a
long time

I have no idea why I chose this case in the
first place, apart from its cute handle design
If you have heavy objects, the sides can bloat
out and if you pull the plastic lock the wrong
way, it would come out

Right-Wing Waja

With a broken air-foil, sometimes, it makes me think
if the car has problem doing high speed turns to the right

Half-Day Leave

Under the very strict orders of the Home Minister, I had to take a half day leave today. There is nothing else I can do but to follow orders and also console my crying technicians who were kneeling before me not to take leave. (Ha ha ha ha)

Anyhow, there were something we need to do and it is something we cannot get away with anymore. And so, once the deed is done, all we have to do now, is to wait and see how we can commit ourselves.

As usual, Kristine and Kaelynn were happy to be at that place
because there were a lot of balloons. And because Christmas is
coming, they get to choose their presents

We also got Kristine her very own school bag

While Kaelynn got her very own doll. I am not sure
if she likes it or not, but in a few day's time I'll know
However, her blanket means the World to her