myCar

A lot of people have asked me why I have not "upgraded" from my 10 year old Proton Wira. Guess that I have to clarify it once and for all:

1. I owned the car from day 1, and I know all the knicks and knacks of it. Plus I always replace with good parts, so the engine is tip top condition. Matter a fact, it's so well maintained, it's still running the same mileage since day 1, i.e. RM450/tank.
2. I missed my chance when I could. Many times.

Heh - you all probably dying to know what I meant. I'll talk you though it by chronological order, from when I got my Wira.

1. Year 1 - already thought of it. Talked to a few friends, and told me it's bad value to sell Proton until at least Year 3, coz it's gonna be the same price. So I waited.
2. Year 5 - got into this cybercafe business, had too much partying and got into another stupid business. So I waited.
3. Year 7 - getting to get married. So I waited.
4. Year 8 - wife pregnant, angel of joy coming. So I waited.
5. Year 9 - sole bread wiener. So I waited.
6. Year 10 - economy downturning. So am waiting.

And that's why they all say, "it's the timing, man". So true, so true.

"So when will you change?", you said?

1. My car seizes to work,
2. Migrate and buy a kick ass car overseas! (screw Malaysia import duties)

Of coz I hope that it'll be case 2.

BSG S4E10

I don't like the ending at all. Period. They better have a super duper fantastic come back from the mid-season hiatus.

And soon.

Ubah Gaya Hidup

In case you haven't already seen this from Patrick Teoh's site @ http://niamah.blogspot.com.

 

Fate and Luck

Was talking to a friend the other day who told me that her husband, who once broke up with her, but finally went back to her and got married.

And she told me that the reason why he came crawling back is all because he was going out with this bitch during the "break" (in reference to HIMYM), which got him to realize that my friend was in angel in comparison.

Well, I think I will have a different take on this. I believe that a person will always be together with this other person, no matter what, is because they are soul mates to start with.

And yes, soul mates are like best friends, sometimes you argue with each other and have different opinion on something, but sooner or later you would kiss and make up.

Don't ask me what soul mates are or their characteristics or symptoms, because I just believe that you will instinctively know who he/she is, once you have met them. It's just like that, no explanation required.

I am so lucky to have married my soul mate.

iPhone 3G

What a yucky name.

There you have it folks - same old factor.

And [C] your wish come true:

Women want Men 2

"Love is no value without power and position." - Anne Boleyn

Women want Men

I have a very in depth conversation with someone the other day.

Basically, it revolves around what does a women look for in a men, for marrying purposes. It boils down to either:

• Already have money, or
• Have the prospect to earn a lot of money.

In this regard, women is divided into two categories:

• Those who acknowledge the above fact, or
• Those who does not.

And those who does not usually hide behind fantasy ideology called, "LOVE". I am sure quite a bunch of you are going into disgust now, but let me assure you that the above facts came from the horses' mouth. And I have a simple explanation for those who feel how they feel - wait for it.... wait for it.... naive-ness.

It's because you are not old enough to know it. Either you are still in your first relationship, or had the luck (or bad luck) to be in one yet, or because the idea of living with someone for the rest of your life has not crossed your mind yet. Really.

Trust me, it's a yardstick that you had been using to size your man up, from the day one you laid your eyes on him. It's nothing to do with his charmingness, his sincerity, his nicely shaped abs or the size of his junk. It's the money making the potential that you are sizing up first. Let me translate that to you in plain English:

• "He is a poor artist but he has passion in his art" <= "He will make lots of money when he can finally sell his paintings"
• "He is a honest guy making a honest living as a clerk" <= "Hopefully his boss will think honesty is a great attribute and make him a manager soon - and make lots of money"
• "He is struggling with his small business, but he is very working hard" <= "His business will turn around if he works hard enough for now, and eventually will make lots of money"

Need I say more? Don't agree? Let me know why are you attracted to your man. I will in turn tell you the truth. Don't believe? Try me.

Of Gas Price Hike and Bitching

Early this morning I got into this very interesting conversation with my friend who is currently working and staying in Singapore. I got a bit ticked and the conversation went like this. My fren's name is changed to Dude :)

Dude
Johnathen
yo.. got story to share?

Johnathen
Dude
?

Dude
Johnathen
petrol price lar

Johnathen
Dude
other than the traffic jam at the petrol station?

Johnathen
Dude
nothing la - still cheapest in the region..

Dude
Johnathen
you sure this is wat you think?

Johnathen
Dude
converted to USD - yes.

Dude
Johnathen
you mean your pay?

Dude
Johnathen
or the petrol price?

Johnathen
Dude
petrol la

Dude
Johnathen
i really feel sorry for those in malaysia..

Dude
Johnathen
worry for my family business also

Johnathen
Dude
nothing to feel sorry about la - it's sooner or later. i am surprised that ppl are taken back by "sudden" price increase

Johnathen
Dude
either thosse ppl never read newspaper or dun care

Johnathen
Dude
because crude oil price already doubled over 5 years

Johnathen
Dude
so of coz u have to be prepared for the same thing for gasoline price

Johnathen
Dude
plus government still subsidy what - in a differnt way la

Johnathen
Dude
i am happy because i am driving my old 1.3 wira

Johnathen
Dude
save petrol and get extra rebate :)

Dude
Johnathen
how many tanks of petrol pump a month?

Johnathen
Dude
the most 4

Dude
Johnathen
the rebate only give you free 2 tanks a month

Dude
Johnathen
assuming 40 liter once

Dude
Johnathen
free as in the extra money you need to pay

Johnathen
Dude
wah...very good liao lo

Johnathen
Dude
safe 50% petrol - and petrol price barely went up 30%

Johnathen
Dude
good wat

Dude
Johnathen
free as in that extra rm0.78 you are paying per liter

Dude
Johnathen
not the total price

Johnathen
Dude
ok la - no need to kiam siap. like i said, still cheapest in region

Johnathen
Dude
i am sure singaporean will still drive to JB to pump - if the government still allowed it

Johnathen
Dude
haahahahaha

Dude
Johnathen
you kenot compare..

Dude
Johnathen
singaporean earn SGD

Dude
Johnathen
1SGD = RM 2.35 now

Dude
Johnathen
singapore got fantastic public transport to fall back

Johnathen
Dude
i tell u - i was in Indonesia - and that is worst

Johnathen
Dude
their fuel price is even higher and their pay is a lot lower

Johnathen
Dude
even in china is bad

Johnathen
Dude
the petrol price vs. earning ratio

Dude
Johnathen
like i say, its different..

Dude
Johnathen
malaysia net export all the crude oil

Dude
Johnathen
and those money are malaysian's money

Dude
Johnathen
it should be used to pay back

Johnathen
Dude
those are politics who i dun give a rat's ass la - coz it does not affect me

Johnathen
Dude
what affects me is the ground items

Johnathen
Dude
if the government is so corrupted, there is notihnng i can do

Johnathen
Dude
so i no need to worry about something that i cannot change

Johnathen
Dude
there is already enough worry in real life :

Johnathen
Dude
:)

Dude
Johnathen
we can change things around.. like wat happend in mar

Dude
Johnathen
higher diesel price will mean higher consumer item

Dude
Johnathen
unless you are earning too much now that you dun bother lar...

Dude
Johnathen
hehe

Dude
Johnathen
more things will hit, if this imcompetent government keep going on

Johnathen
Dude
so - u propose i go to the street to protect ar?

Dude
Johnathen
nope

Johnathen
Dude
then?

Dude
Johnathen
since BN is rotten to the root

Dude
Johnathen
why not PKR take over

Dude
Johnathen
since it can't be worse

Dude
Johnathen
there must a someone to start with this, and ppl must aware and follow

Dude
Johnathen
so our part, is to aware and kenot ignore lar

Johnathen
Dude
hahahaha

Johnathen
Dude
u come back be politician la

Johnathen
Dude
i dun fuck care about politics one

Johnathen
Dude
it change- then lucky me. if not - dun bother

Johnathen
Dude
dun like then fuck off

Johnathen
Dude
i mean fuck off from the country

Johnathen
Dude
hahahaa

Johnathen
Dude
it's not really my country anyway

Dude
Johnathen
u must be leading a good life down there

Johnathen
Dude
it's ok la - because i have seen worst from my recent travels..

汽油

昨天刚从布吉岛度假回来上班，本来兴致仆仆的，哪里知道去油站打油的时候， 我用的那个泵他妈的竟然在油缸满了时不会自动跳掉，搞到整个地上都是汽油。Ni nah beh - 好彩老的闪得快， 不然一定会被喷到全身都是。搞不好还会变成自焚。

我很毒兰的跑到柜台去找人吊，然后那个死肥佬猪supervisor竟然还敢讲我是不是用手按着那个泵所以才会搞到酱。Nia mah cao ci bai - 老的驾车多过十年都没有发生过酱，竟然那条他妈的死猪想赖我!! 我火上脑就开始很毒兰很毒兰一直在吊他，要他赔钱。吊吊吊吊吊吊吊到他没办法他就讲要POC到底是不是那泵的问题。

长话短说 - 那条鸡白肥猪siaosiaolan给会我十块钱。

看图吧。还有录影tim.

Me and Iz Day

So 2 Saturdays ago, Jo decided that she needed a proper haircut, so we stopped by Snips at The Curve. So I was left with Iz for around an hour.

So we went carting around for a while, and ended up in Borders - which has an excellent children's book corner.

"Ma, look - one hand niah."

 

Ice Cream

Babies are not suppose to have ice cream. I think.

So the other day during Cheng Beng, there was this old dude who was selling ice cream on bicycle. Iz was intrigued by the ring ring sound that the ice cream man was making and motioned Jo to bring him closer to see.

The nice old man gave Iz a free cone. He loves it! See how much he as already chewed through.

(Sorry for the small pic size, accidentally set the wrong resolution)

Safety

I always insist that Iz is properly strapped down during road trips, regardless of distance.

Yet, this is what I saw yesterday.

Don't see what I mean? Look closer. A mother sits in front, together with 2 children crawling all over her.

Really beh doh.

Ultramouse

Do you guys remember that when Ultraman is low on power and in distress, the beacon on his chest would blink in red?

Well, so does my mouse =>

"Low batt liao la!"

Class A Idiot

I feel like an class A idiot (quoting Liz Lemon).

I would never thought that I fall within the category, especially when dealing with computer hardware. This is because:

1. I have single handedly built many machines from the past, and
2. I have worked part time as a technician to repair boxes in cybercafe.

I thought I have seen my fair share of weirdness (esp. when dealing with dirt and smog choked equipment) but this case caught me with my pants down.

I have sent in the media PC for a motherboard replacement (another story) and the techie booted it up before passing it back to me. When I reached home, I happily plugged it in, and punched the power switch.

Nothing.

No lights, no sound. I opened up the case, and the LED on the board was lit. I said to myself... wtf.

Tried by passing the power switch by jumping the power jumpers using screwdriver, no love there.

Pissed, I brought the box back to the service center, and told them that it would not boot up at all. The guy who serviced me the day before looked at me with wild, open eyes, and said nothing. He took over the box, plugged in, and while staring at me with that matter-a-fact look, punched the power button.

It came alive. IT'S ALIVE!!! (so much for Frankenstein.)

...

WTF.

...

To cut the story short, I brought it back, plugged into 3 different power outlet - 2 from different rooms and another one via my study's UPS.

It refuses to turn on..... This is probably a good time to freak out.

Either karma is telling me to frak myself, or there is a variable that I have missed.

Hmm.... what that be? What's that missing element? Compassion? Love? Faith? Wait a minute.... it's.... "heat"!

Went to get my Jo's hair dryer...  While blow drying the power supply, I kept repeatedly pressing the power button... and out of the blue, the power supply started to turn on! OMG. I am a fraking genius. But wait! Still no display!

More blow drying of the rest of the components. Then it really came alive.

The box is now sitting on top of the cabinet now and chugging along happily. I wonder what's wrong at the first place.

What-if series (Intro)

Just want to run my imagination wild once a while. So I'll start a What-if series, where a small tiny what-if could have impact in the world.

I missed writing fiction, which I used to do a lot during my schooling days... Hopefully I will be able to drum up something good soon.

Tethered HSDPA

Test done at Plaza Sentral using tethered Q9h.

First Train Experience

I would never thought that my first train experience would be at Shanghai. I was required to travel to Nanjing, which is about 300km away, and the customer insisted that train travel was far more convenient than by flight.

"Yeah, right.", I thought.

Before I got more into that, let me explain why I never been on a train before. Simply because, KTM is the worst mode of transport in Malaysia. It is consistently, but randomly late. The Senandung line to Singapore could be as late as 4 hours! I just don't get it, how can the train system be late, as there are no jams... As everyone knows, the journey to Singapore takes an excruciating 12 hours, excluding customs. A premier bus takes about 5 hours tops.

Back to Shanghai, me and my buddy decided to take the cab (instead of the MetroLine) because it was suppose to be a low traffic hour (3pm), and we didn't want to drag our luggage for 15 mins to the nearest MetroLine station. Boy, the cabbie that we hired was on fire, man. We got caught in some crazy bad traffic, and he was fuming. While cursing and swearing, he took some really funky shortcuts, and was weaving in and out of traffic without any regards to other vehicles, even busses!

I was quite terrified, so to speak.

Reached the Shanghai Train Station, got down, and immediately there was a porter offering to handle our luggage for like 10 Kuai. The funky part is that he has this piece of rotten wood on wheels, and tied to a rope. No way I am going to let him handle my luggage. OK, walked up the stairs (yes, the taxi stop is underground) and was greeted by this humongous building.

So, to make a very long story short, in point form (again):

1. Had to queue to go into the station. A mean looking guy in Gong An uniform will check your ticket. If your train ride is not due within 2 hours, he will chase you away rudely,
2. Had my luggage X-rayed! For god sake, I didn't know that someone wants to blow up the train!
3. The hall looks like an airport. Big, tall with a huge signboard to announce the arrival and departure. All in Mandarin. Good luck guai-lohs.
4. Navigated to one of the 12 waiting halls. It's huge but it's packed to the brim! I estimated the capacity to be around 500 seats. Uh oh. This is going to be rough. Think overloaded India trains with people sleeping on top?
5. 5 mins before departure time, boarding announcement in Mandarin.

Wow! Was I in a shock or what.  A nice shock! Our train was a very very long one, and looks very futuristic! Better looking than TGV!

Boarded, put my luggage on top of my seat. I tell you, I was dumb founded. Make me feel like a hillbilly. The difference compared to our KTM is like being on a Fokker Friendship that is being slapped around by turbulence as I am trying to hold my lunch in (KTM) versus a 737 on super cruise mode where I can still can slowly sip my drink in peace (China Railways)!

At one point of time, it was cruising at 240km/h and it felt like Disney on Ice. Sitting arrangement was 3-3 (versus KTM 2-2), and there was ample of space. Heating was available, so were coat hangers, tray and "in-flight" magazine. It was totally like an airplane experience, man.

I am truly sold. It was a really quality ride, on par with Japanese or European bullet trains.

I have to eat my own words, again.

Cisco vs Microsoft

I've been touring several cities in China, and had a chance to interview various IT personnel from many offices, including the IT manager, the helpdesk guys, the server dude, and network man.

I have made an very interesting observation.

Cisco men makes more money, but Microsoft dudes are just happier (and knows English a bit better, I observed).

Really.

The 2 of the network men that I talked to are rather quiet, spectacled, geeky type. Spews network terms in all Mandarin.

As with the MS dudes, one of them look like Jay. Nuff said...

[FL] and [WH] - don't bash me.  But look deep down into yourselves, you see it as well, right? :)

Wonderful....

Today I had the most wonderful (and a first for me too) experience.

Jiujiang had a steep temperature drop today, and it was drizzling for the whole day.

I was wearing two layers of jackets (on top of my working clothes), and still I was shivering. Fortunately (and unfortunately, read on) the meeting room was heated to a nice 25 degree. I was invited to visit the server room, which was next door. Then the IT guy told me that there is another raised floor room near by to hold all the fibre switches, I said, "why not.".

Mind you, I was wearing only 1 jacket. I took off the big one due to the heated room. The guy failed to tell me that it was quite far. Outside. Walking. 10 mins. Wind. Rain.

I was very fairly frosted when I reached. And the worst thing was...

..

I had to walk back.

But, I guess it was worth it, coz when I had to pee, I could feel the hot pee warming my dick as it came out. AAAAaaaaHHhhh.

Nice.

Did I say that I was wearing the wrong polyester pants for the weather?

Project NGVCefiro

I guess most people who are like me, at this age and situation, would  eventually look for an upgrade.

"So what are you talking about?", you say? Early 30s, with a young child, still driving a Proton, that is.

So my requirement was:

1. 2nd hand Japanese car,
2. < 8 years old,
3. Around 40K,
4. NGV-able.

Anyway, the list came down to either Toyota Camry 2.0 or Nissan Cefiro V6 2.0. I found several Cefiro @ 2000 for about RM45,000. A bit over budget, but nvm, should worth the money, and a same year Sentra would more or less fetch that price anyway. The reason I dare to look at such a big CC car is because with NGV, I get 1) road tax break of 25%, 2)over 70% saving on petrol.

So, Cefiro + NGV is my dream combination. So the research went on. Saw some ads, got a couple of good candidate to test drive. Then came the NGV research, which I stumbled upon http://www.ngvcommunity.com/ which I got fantastic help from the true owners there. And it would have been doable, if not for the following:

1. A proper NGV conversion kit would cost me RM8K,
2. The car maintenance (tires, shocks, normal wear and tear stuffs) are at least 4 times higher than a Proton.

All in all, I would end up spending with RM60K-ish.... :(

So project shelved. Probably going to spend some cash to straighten out Jo's Wira first. And buy something else to cheer myself up in the meanwhile...