Electronic Grim Reaper

 This, is my Freecom external hard drive.

And this, is my dear Nokia 6300, although with a lot more scratches since this photo was taken.

I believe that over the period of this last 2-3 weeks, the Electronic Grim Reaper has been checking out these two gadgets of mine:

Firstly, my phone encountered what I would call the 'White Screen of Death'. Twice within one same week, it would automatically restart itself showing a blank white screen while I was using it. And on top of that the backlights wont turn off until I press a button after it has rebooted. 

The next week, again the same thing happened, but what made it unusual was that the screen turned white first, then quickly the sides closed in on the center in a circle pattern, and then restarting.

AND THEN, just this morning I found that the vibrating mechanism stopped working when my phone didnt vibrate when my alarm went off. Instead of the normal bzzz-bzzz-bzzz, bzz-bzzz-bzzz, I got a very weak klk-klk-klk-klk-klk. Upon checking this evening however, it magically started working again.

***

Next up is my external hard disk. Yesterday I plugged it in for routine file back-upping from my laptop. Normally after plugging in Autoplay would run and I will cancel it. However, after I clicked 'Cancel' this time, there was this error about a G:$ftm file or something like that, data was lost something something. 

Then it started connecting and disconnecting non stop on its own until I unplugged it. 

Then I tried a second time, this time it didnt even connect to the laptop. 

The third time, it connected and disconnected repeatedly, accompanied by some clicking sounds. And for a hard disk, regardless of internal or external, clicking sounds are the #1 signs of impending device failure.

Strangely however, it worked perfectly fine today.

Perhaps these are just innocent glitches. Perhaps these are signs of something serious. Well, I dunno. But deep down inside I have been eyeing a replacement for my 6300 for quite some time. Teehee~

Injured: Episode 2

How many of you have had your eye injured before? Never? I guessed as much. Here's my experience:

Yesterday morning, I was carrying some boxes at work. Innocent, harmless, cardboard boxes. You could draw a face on them and make new friends. You can insult them all you want and they wont be hurt or angered. So as I was carrying these boxes, one of the box's pointy edges of the cover went strrrrrrrraight into my left eye. And I mean the eyeball. The white, spherical organ which grants us our sense of vision.

There was that instant sharp pain, followed by what they call the "foreign body sensation", the feeling that something, SOMETHING is in your eye but there actually isnt. I quickly checked in the mirror with the help of a torchlight and found a sort of torn/smudged-like patch, slightly larger than, and right over my pupil. This then explained my blurred vision. Soon after, the "foreign body sensation" turned into slight pains when I blink. Lunch time came and upon talking to my supervisor and manager, they both ordered me to see a doctor.

The nearby clinic couldnt help however. Well INITIALLY they said they could check it for RM10, but when I told them my symptoms they recommended an eye doctor in SS15. WHAT! So freaking far wey!

So I went to Taipan, and *poof* two opticians to choose from. Upon further checking, the optician said I was lucky it was just a minor abrasion of the cornea. This video perfectly shows it. It was about here that my eye began to redden and shed tears, which he said is normal as a reaction to the impact. He then added it should self-heal in about two days. Otherwise, there is an eye-doctor just across the road in another part of Taipan. SS15 my ass.

Later on in the day, my eye began giving off-and-on immense, extreme sharp pains which hurt so much I stopped whatever I did and just cringe for some 10-20 seconds. Mind you, this is the eyeball. Lots of nerve endings, ESPECIALLY in the cornea. It hurt so bad and my eye was so red my supervisor advised me to go home immediately. Strangely however the pain subsided right after that, so I carried on until closing time.

After a good night's rest, I woke up this morning with my eye not wanting to open, like it was saying "Oi, we're repairing your cornea here! Dont disturb us!" Eventually I got it to open, my vision was better, there was no pain, but still red. Surprisingly, the pain came back with a vengeance during my first two hours at work. I even felt like asking for a day off because of it. But somehow I didnt, and from about 11am onwards there was no more pain, even until now. It's still red though. And some tears are dripping as I type. Hopefully with a full day's rest tomorrow it will be back to normal by Monday. 

So kids, the moral of the story here is:

PLEASE BE CAREFUL WHEN CARRYING CARDBOARD BOXES!!!!

Spotted: Stuff at Work

Even though these beauties didnt come to OUR workshop, they were still quite the sights to behold.

 Porsche 911 GT3 Mk1

Max power: 415bhp

Top speed: 311km/h

0-100kph time: 4.1 seconds

Price: N/A

 Ferrari 360

Max power: 400bhp

Top speed: 299kph

0-100kph time: 4.3 seconds

Price: Apprx RM500,000 to RM700,000

 Chevrolet Corvette Z06

Max power: 505bhp

Top speed: Just over 300km/h

0-100kph time: 3.6 seconds

Price: About US$ 70,000 or over RM600,000 to import one

Spotted: Bandar Sunway Specials

 While I was having my break after I passed my college trade test 3 weeks ago, one day I decided to take a short drive to Sunway for an afternoon walk; not in Sunway Pyramid, not in Sunway University, nor in Sunway Lagoon, but somewhere where many people do not realise of it's existence and what lurks within....

Re-establishing my social life

You may be wondering, "what does he mean by that? Was he in exile or meditating at the top of Gunung Kinabalu or in some jungle cave?". Well I'm not sure if I have mentioned this previously (but in private yes), but honestly my college is a drab and dull place in social terms. There isnt any games days or extra activities out of class. Its just class in, class out. Yeah sure I have friends here but, to put it nicely, they're not really my kind of people, not the kind I'd like to mix and mingle around with. Of course we are fine and on talking terms but that's pretty much it. Except maybe 3-4 of them (and our lecturers) that I get along with better and chat with, yeah those few blokes are cool. But in general, nuh uh.

So then I started joining Subang Jaya's Buddhist Association late last year and while there was a brief pause in their activities, this year has kicked off well and I've been making more friends ever since, in part because I get to be my normal social self again around people who suits me (this sounds selfish doesnt it) and my style of socialising. It kind of feels like finding back an old part of me that dropped off somewhere along the transition from small-town-school to big-city-college life and also discovering a place, a community where I feel I can fit in, be comfortable and be happy.

On the subject, today was SJBA's fun fair day! So yeah, a day full of fun and games for the families that came. But this fair isnt like most; in that the proceeds from this fair will all go to underprivileged families. They're even having a donation drive that started today, and even I contributed some instant noodles to them. So YOU,

 to make a difference to these families now! Follow the link above for more!

So anyway, I had my enjoyment today, and upon my realisations and reflections as I type this, I look forward to continuously be closer to the SJBA family with the great people that I keep meeting here each time.

First two days of job training

Yesterday was the start of my job training with Kia (not telling which service center), and nearly did I get off to a bad first day when my car had trouble starting! I tried starting it for maybe 1-2 minutes (when you shouldn't need more than 10 seconds) until it finally coughed into life and I rushed to work. Thankfully I was right on the dot of reporting in. So this workshop here, I'll be working with the senior technician (who will be assessing me throughout my 4 months) and 2 other guys (and all of them together, I will refer to as, "the guys" in the future of this blog). Mind you all of my work here will be guided so there is no I-did-it-all-by-myself work, or unless one day they think I can go on my own.

Yesterday I had the task of checking an overheating Kancil. We then (Warning: car language) found that the radiator fan had broken off from the motor. So now we wait for the new fan assembly to come in before we send the Kancil back. Later in the day we did an interval service on a Kia Sportage, changing gear oil and differential oil. Free time was spent helping with some small stuff and watching the guys take out the engine from a Naza Suria.

Today was slightly more interesting. I started with dismantling the Suria's engine; not overhauling, just removing all the attached parts from the engine i.e alternator, manifold, etc. Another techny did all the overhauling work with the engine's internal parts. Then I experienced checking for a bad wheel bearing on a Kia Spectra (one is hearing noise, the other is feeling the suspension for vibration when the wheel is rotated), and watched them dismantle the front wheel assembly. I also helped cleaning the rear brakes of a Naza Ria, and finally helped with the servicing of a Kia Forte (change engine oil + filter, change spark plug, check lights for operation). 

One interesting side story is a Honda Civic with repeated overheating problems. The guys have overhauled (which btw, is taking apart the whole engine, cleaning and repairing) it once but the problem wasnt solved. When I started work yesterday they had overhauled it a second time. Today they tested the engine but something still isnt right. I have asked my dad for his opinions, lets see what the guys think about them.

Good, Bad, Annoying

GOOD NEWS

I passed my college trade test!! *YaAAyyYYAaaaYyY*

"What's a trade test?"

A trade can be defined as a profession or field of work requiring a certain skill(s) such as electrics, manufacturing, and like me, automotive. So a trade test is basically an exam to test how good are your trade skills, which means we do more than sitting in a nice air cond hall with fluffy cushion chairs and cloth-covered tables. Oh no, we have (the more vital) practical exams to gauge our hands-on capabilities which is the core to having a job in these types of work areas.

So with mine done with I can now carry on with my on job training, which then brings me to....

ANNOYING NEWS #1

I bet you were expecting bad news.

Initially I was given a training placement with Nasim Auto (aka Peugeot) in Shah Alam. Pretty good, I thought, since Nasim Auto is THE authorised dealer for Peugeots in Malaysia. When I went for the briefing I found out my training venue had changed because they aren't currently accepting students. A quick check showed I was being placed at Honda, also in Shah Alam. Again; I was satisfied since this is also an authorised service center. The annoyance came this afternoon when the college called to inform me they were ALSO not taking in students for training. WHAT?!? So now I still await for a confirmed workshop to go to.

ANNOYING NEWS #2

Since I came to Subang in May last year I've fallen sick (when I say sick I only refer to a cold+cough) 4-5 times. I have never gotten sick this often in my whole life! After looking on the internet my main suspicion that my body's immune system is weak has been proven false. Possible suggestions include being exposed to different viruses which my body has not recognised (there are around 200 viruses that cause a cold), so the body has to fight of these new ones which are making me sick (literally, not figuratively). Damn, Subang is full of cold viruses!

BAD NEWS

It's not THAT bad yet but I can sense it will get worse over time. The 'Q' and 'W' keys on my keyboard are starting to spoil because they dont respond every time I press them. It is sort of annoying but if it gets bad enough I'll need a new keyboard. Maybe I'll just get those USB plug-in types.

Ferrari Owners Club Malaysia gathering

Last week I got an inside scoop that the FOCM were having a drive from KL, to Frasers Hill and ending at Pavlillion Kuala Lumpur on Sunday. I almost went to Pavilion until I received an update about their starting point at Naza Italia which is much much nearer and easier to go to. So I went, so I snapped, so I recorded. Photos are after the jump break. Enjoy!

Spotted: Nissan GTR

One of the most common supercars in Malaysia due to it's relatively cheap price (you can get some for less than Mercs and BMWs nowadays), amazing performance and lots and lots of tuning and modifying options.

Okay I know I said I'll be focusing on exams but I need a break too!

*Stats vary depending on model year

Maximum power: 480-540bhp

Top speed: 310km/h

0-100km/h time: 2.9-3.5 seconds

Price: Approximately RM450,000 to RM800,000

Top 5: Favourite Love Songs

Its February, February, gotta get down on February.....

No wait that's just wrong.

Anyway, its February now and that means Valentines Day for many of you (me not included huhuhuhuuu), so here's my list of favourite love songs for any of you love birds happening to drop by here~ (which I'm making quite early because I'll be focusing on my exams over the next two weeks) :)

#5: Truly Madly Deeply - Savage Garden

#4: Can You Feel The Love Tonight - Elton John

#3: Have I Told You Lately - Rod Stewart

#2 I Knew I Loved You - Savage Garden

#1 You Took My Heart Away - Michael Learns To Rock

Chinese New Year 2012

It started great; Papa Chan, Mama Chan, Tai Lou (big brother) Chan and "Little" Chan (me :P) all back in Sitiawan for reunion dinner. For the first time I helped prepare dinner (yay!) so I felt proud (cewah cewah) when later at night we all sat around since last year's CNY and had wonderful dinner together.

The bestest best meal I've had since mum stopped cooking after my SPM.

Then we sat down together-gether and watched Ip Man 2, still awesome even though I've already watched it before.

And then we had the usual fireworks, but not as nice nor as many as last year's...

 

But I'm very satisfied with the new Nikon's video recording abilities.

We just chilled on the first day, then went down to KL on the second. It's a lot quieter this time around... Most of my relatives are now overseas working or studying, my ah yee and yi jeong stayed in Tapah while I was in KL, so not much catching up could be done. Then at night me and my brother were supposed to treat our uncle to a Korean BBQ dinner at DaoRae, USJ because he had let us stay in his apartment rent-free. We made it VERY clear it was to be from us, to him. 

 *le BBQ*

Imagine his kelicikan when he persuaded the waiter over to pay the bill with his credit card. WHAT!

Jokingly he and my aunt said "KL is not our territory, so we have no 'right' to belanja them makan" and "I'm still not working so I do not qualify to treat them yet". I bet you've never seen a good deed being 'stolen' like this.

And then the next night, they said THEY wanted to treat US to dinner, because "my mum only goes to visit them once a year now". Farny lah my uncle, can make up any kind of excuse... Anyway this one was a Chinese dinner somewhere in Cheras. So after om-ing and nom-ing I thought maybe my brother could avenge our stolen treat....but no. Didnt even flinch. Maybe he was scared to 'fight' for the bill or something.

After our trip to KL we went back home, relaxed some more, and then came Saturday when Ah Jib Kor came to town for his national open house.

My dad and I went, but our visit was cut short when, after Najib's arrival, my dad noticed his wallet was missing. Not dropped, but stolen. My allowance, his documents, gone. After making the police report the inspector said 11 similar cases happened at the event. Since it's still CNY celebration time I shall not curse. I'll just hope karma does its required job to these people.

A sour way to end my CNY celebrations in Sitiawan...

My 19th birthday.....

Sucked. Here's why:

1) The day before was my practical exam which I felt I did poorly and was worried about jeopardizing my scholarship and making my parents burn RM1000 to repeat the subject. 

2) Early in the afternoon I received news from a certain someone (not telling for privacy), that somebody is having a problem happening to her brain. Apparently he couldnt wait for me to finish enjoying my special day before telling me this. Now I can only pray everyday that she will be okay and recover from whatever it is she's having.

3) My friends Imran and Felix thought of meeting up with me at Lamborghini's showroom in Glenmarie. I had checked with forumers (not a 100% reliable source as I've learned) earlier and a member said it is open to public visitors. While waiting for them to arrive I asked the guard if I could enter. After hearing my reason of "just wanting to see the cars" he gave me a straight Tak Boleh. Why? Apparently only people with prior arrangements with the staff or members of the media are allowed to enter. He gave me the office number; I called them, same answer. So if you dont have any official business with them, you can gEt LoST. Full of confusion, disbelief, and the urge to chop off that forumer's hands and feet I posted my experience to the forum. His reply came that that was the case with their old showroom in Sunway, and was 'shocked' that they apparently have changed attitude.

So then I spent my day doing nothing but being frustrated, bored and worried.

.

Some things did cheer me up a little however:

My two week break at home and looking back on 2011

Which also meant I forgot my new Google Account password, so I couldnt log in to blog until I came back to Subang and made a newer new password.

Well, it's been 3 1/2 months away from home and certainly a lot has changed in Sitiawan:

KFC has a brand new look and grew and extra floor

 One of mum's oldest cacti mati-pucuked

 The roads in our housing area have been tarred!!

 And we got street names now!!!!!

 there was also an office complex under construction, and I've been hearing stories that Sitiawan may be getting its own mall/Jusco/both(?!). Glad to see and hear the place is growing well *sniff sniff*

So yeah, two weeks in relaxing, homely paradise and soaking up all the small-townsy goodness of good food, easy traveling and fresh air, not to mention catching up with my two fellow stooges (you know who you are :3). I've never appreciated the goodings of Sitiawan so much in my 18 years staying here. Shifting to the big city finally made me realise all these.

Reflecting this past year, I really cant summarise it because of just so many things that went on. I got to watch the Tour de Langkawi stop by, had my first job, learnt about the passing on of my badminton coach just to name a few, and perhaps my favourite moment of 2011, this. Maybe 'eventful' is the best way to put it.

 So goodbye indescribable 2011, and hello 2012~

And I shall start off the year on the right foot(wear).

Something happened...

In collaboration with zerotohundred.com, Shell motor oil and the Lotus Car Club, the Blue Jackets Society of supercar owners organised a trip from KL to Penang, starting from Proto's Center of Excellence.

Zeus, the God of Thunder; cloned himself more than thirty times and went down to earth at Proton's Center of Excellence in Shah Alam in the form of expensive, fast supercars. And then they started roaring and shouting and made lots of noise when they decided to leave.

My brother and I were there to capture the moments on video
(Believe me when I say it's REALLY loud).

My personal car-theft prevention tip

To start off the last month of the year, I give you this neat trick to prevent your car from being stolen. It wont apply to most of today's cars though because of more high tech engines, but if so happens you can do it on your car then good for you!. I came up with this idea after reading about so many stolen car cases around KL and thankfully its very easy and slightly dirty (but free!) to do. I wont bore you with the how-it-works stuff (you can ask me if you're interested), so I'll get straight to it.

 Open up your car bonnet and look for a round thingy (called a distributor) with lots of fat cables attached on top (or it may be lying sideways) of it. Check if yours has a cable attached in the middle (like mine here, nicely shown in bright yellow :P). If it doesnt, well, too bad, you cant do anything else....

 

Trace the wire from the middle of the distributor to a cylinder-shaped device (called the ignition coil). As nicely shown here, again thanks to the fat bright yellow wire, you can see it going to the ignition coil laying on its side.

All you have to do is remove this fat wire and (if you dont mind) keep it in your pocket/bag, preferably bring it along with you. You can keep it hidden in your car, just hope that they dont find it. For piece of mind I'd carry it with me. Now your car will not start and it wont get stolen! Unless they somehow get another fat wire or tow it away or something... Well at least it should help deter many car thieves since they mostly hot-wire the car and drive off.

Beautiful, one of a kind evening KL sky

Subang USJ freakstorm update

Here are some photos I took at the MPSJ stadium this evening...

Hailstorm in Malaysia?

I mean, seriously???

http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=%2F2011%2F11%2F13%2Fnation%2F20111113153521&sec=nation

http://unitedsubangjaya.blogspot.com/ <Lots of pictures

http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2011/11/14/nation/9898537&sec=nation

According to the reports a freak storm hit Subang, made trees fall over and branches break apart, and sprinkle the place with little chunks of ice.

Well, it must've been some experience, but too bad (lolsaywhatt?) I wasnt around Subang to witness it...

Just last month I started joining the Subang Jaya Buddhist Association Youth Section (I like to call it SJ-BAYS) and their fortnightly Friday gatherings. It's a very casual chit-chat/acivity-based kind of gathering, but instilled with Buddhist teachings or occasionally we have Buddhist talks. 

So today I volunteered to help my SJBAYS seniors at the Buddhist Gem Fellowship Food & Fun Fair at SJKC Yuk Chai in PJ. We were in charge of the PA system, music playing and the stage lights. So throughout the whole fair we played the music, controlled the PA sound system (ok la, just main-main the volume and jaga microphone), and when we had the cue we turned on the lights for the stage activities (although at first we didnt know how to on the lights so the lion dance had no lighting).

There was a dog show, a magic show, colouring contest for kids, and my favourite was the mask performance by an Indian dude. Really cool. *thumbs up to him*

When we left around 3.30 it was raining crazy-heavy all the way back to Subang (just missed the storm then).

So overall it was a nice way to spend a free Sunday; cant wait for more activities like this... :)

Oh, and I understand tomorrow is the start of SPM, so to any of you candidates reading.... GOOD LUCK AND ALL THE BEST!!! :D

Supercar Sunday: The videos

Supercar Sunday at Mid Valley

Due to the bad weather this whole week I could not update my blog until today.

It started last Saturday when some little birds talked about a supercar gathering at Solaris Dutamas (not the Mont Kiara one) and The Gardens, Mid Valley the next day. After digging around I found this:

http://bluejackets.com.my/blog/archives/2601

A supercar owners club received a request from Make A Wish Foundation (a charity group for special-needs and diseased children) that a 15-year old boy with cancer wants to have a ride in a Lamborghini Murcielago. So the arrangements were made and they had their day under the sun  which you can read here.

Well that's their part of the story. Mine?

They were scheduled to arrive at Gardens for lunch at 12.15pm, but dad and I reached at 10am sharp to avoid the Sunday shopping parking adventures. After lepaking around we went outside to wait for their arrival, but there was a problem: 

Where would they park?

With The Gardens at one end, Megamall on the other, and lanes going in between, we had to guess which part of the whole area will they arrive. We decided to wait in the middle lanes. 1/3 chance we would guess right. 12.15 passed... then 12.30... then 1pm when we had lunch... finally at 1.20 we felt something tarak betui, so we asked one of the guards if they knew of any convoy arriving when he told us, "They sudah parking kat depan sana" *points towards Gardens' main entrance*

I thought "Nooooooooooouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu" because I missed the chance to see so many supercars roaring in at once. Once we were outside we met the owner of a green Lamborghini Gallardo who was rushing a bit to leave. He then told us the group would leave in an hour. So while we waited, we took photos... and when the time came for them to leave, I took videos. Photos right this way~>