time for an upgrade...

Ahh finally after months of looking for a buyer I've sold my digicam. It served me well for 1 and half years but with all the new beauties out there I can't help but upgrade. My Nikon Coolpix 4600 was a good camera but the small display was a pain when deciding if the pictures were taken properly. Most of the time I would head home and find out they were blurry or misaligned. Very depressing especially coming back from overseas trips. Can't help it I guess when the screen is only 1.8". Then again when I bought it that was considered pretty good already.

The digicam technology just bloomed soon after. Now there are myriads of designs out there to suit all sorts of usage. Even a Digital SLR isn't all that pricy compared to before. Have been poisoned by many to step into the Digital SLR world but don't feel like putting down that much dough is worth it. Especially when I know my real purpose of owning a digicam. I do love photography but not to the extent of lugging my camera daily and taking shots of everything. I only bring it when I really need it like trips and parties. Even then I tend to rely on my mates to bring theirs and share the pics taken. LOL.

Now its time to research for a new camera. Got a few in mind. Just got to figure out how much am I willing to fork out. Hmmm now lets see whats on dcresource. =)

a new start...

Just 2 weeks since my tank was infected with Ich, I am left with only 1 Cherry Barb and 1 Oto. Thankfully all my shrimps survived. Looks like I have to start fresh. Think my next batch of inhabitants are gonna be mostly shrimps with a school (of 5 to 8) of the same fish. No more small fishies for me cos they are rather sensitive and die off easily with the slightest infection or environmental change. Although they do look so good schooling together. =(

At this moment am thinking of getting some Gold Tetras and maybe a mini pipefish/armoured stickleback (just for the kicks of it). Have recently got myself new lighting with more wattage (2x more than before). Suppose to help with the growth of the ferns and mosses. On top of that I also got myself a mini fan to cool down the water's temp. Which in turn will hopefully make my shrimps breed. No pictures for now but will put em' up when I do take some.

damn flu...

Arrgghh. Hate it when I catch a cold. Damn bug has been going round and round and finally hit me. Now from a flu its turning into a fever. Think the daily drizzle plus all the durian didn't help either. Sigh. Gonna lay low for a bit till it goes away. =(

sour grapes...

Am sure most of you are aware of the Harry Potter 7 saga between the hypermarkets (Carrefour and Tesco) and 4 local bookstore chains (MPH, Popular, Times and Harris). The bookstores were upset that the hypermarkets are selling the book way below retail price (RM69.90 compared to RM109.90) and they retaliated by boycotting the sale of the book from the opening day itself. Tonnes of people were pissed when they started lining up since wee hours of the morning only to go back empty handed. The 'silent protest' ended today with the 4 bookstores deciding to finally sell the book. Best part at a discounted rate.

What is your take on this whole fiasco? In my opinion the bookstores are a bunch of sour grapes. Boo hoo, did the big bad wolf take away ya cookies?? At least they are willing to sell for a loss (eventhough they benefit from it) and give the oppurtunity to those less fortunate to get hold of the book. Aren't we suppose to PROMOTE reading in Malaysia?! Its already a damn shame that books and magazines cost a bomb. Haven't you heard of fair game? If someone can provide something cheaper, isn't it their choice as well as the consumers benefit. Plus so what someone else sells it cheaper, their stock will definately run out and then people will come to you. Borders didn't bitch and whine and within a day or so were sold out!

At the end of the day the bookstores should know that buying books in Malaysia is down to a selective market. Due to the high cost only those with high income or genuine interest would actually put down their money for a decent read. Others who can't afford or have other financial priorities will most probably rent or borrow it. With this in mind, book aficionados will definately head to the nearest bookstore and get their supply instead of a freaking hypermarket. This is due to the ambiance, the choice of books plus the loyalty they have towards a particular bookstore. Your so called niche market is always going to be there. The boycott will only make your loyal customers to steer clear of your bookstore and patronise someone else like Borders or Kinokuniya. Furthermore what the hypermarkets are doing will create more book lovers who in turn will have to go to your bookstore to get more books!

Stop being a cry baby and accept that the market will definately change as time passes. In business there will always be competition. Someone is always around to try and provide something cheaper (although doesn't necessarily mean better) in the hopes of grabbing the market. You can't expect the government to put a leash on everything. They have to think about consumers who are the majority. Instead of wasting time bitchin' should have at least come up with a marketing strategy. Like offering free caps, pens, poster or movie ticket. One can even tie in with some other product that is trying to jump on the Harry Potter bandwagon. Like say pick up Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows today and get a Kit Kat free! Wouldn't that make you wanna get the book? ;)

cleaned out...

Sigh. After a handful of days since the Ich outbreak, my tank has been cleaned out. Only 2 Cherry Barbs and the lone Oto left. Thankfully my shrimps are alive and kicking. Am not planning to get any fishies for now. Let the tank stabilise and see if the rest survive. Gotta make sure the damn Ich is gone for good. =(

overhaul...

A complete overhaul! That is what our national football team needs. More so after another thrashing last night. We have the facilities and the gear, but without heart and talent, all of that won't matter. Scrap the team and the management and start from scratch. Who cares if we can't compete internationally for a few years. Not like we are doing well anyways. We are dropping further and further down the FIFA World rankings (157th as of today!!). Sigh.

Miss the 70s and 80s when Malaysia was a team to be afraid off in East Asia. Used to be interested in local football then. Even had a flag and jersey. Now Vietnam, Hong Kong, Singapore and Thailand have all gone past us. Even Sri Lanka!! Arrgghhh. I am sure there is talent in Malaysia just that there is too much political bullshit. Please please do a complete overhaul. Get Shebby in as coach and give him full control. Am sure he will be able to get a team together or whip this current team in shape.

What have you got to lose FAM? We are already down on the dumps! =(

sick fishies...

Arrgghh. My poor fishies have been infected with Ich or more commonly known as White Spot disease. Not really sure how they got it as it can happen due to many reasons plus its rather common. Sigh. My poor babies. Just rushed to the LFS this morning to get some medication. Gonna start treatment which will last about 12 plus days. Really hope they survive this and not slip away one by one. =(

Poor tank is all blue now from the meds. Guess I gotta put on hold my plan to add more fishies. No wonder they were rather down last couple of days. Avoiding food and staying above the tank. All symptoms of Ich. Oh well its something all aquaria hobbyist gotta go through. At least now I have the medication on standby. Hehe.

Wish me luck folks. Got about 13 fishies in there although only spotted 4 of em' infected.

Update (12/7/07 @ 1.08am)

Found 2 Mosquito Rasboras dead. Rest seem to be getting better. Lets hope. =(

Update (13/7/07 @ 1.30am)

Found 1 Cherry Barb dead. Sigh. Hope more don't go towards the light. =(

kate...

Who is Kate? Well this is loooong overdue. My baby is already 2 years old and I have yet to name her. Time seem to have just flown by. Anyways she finally has a name and its Kate. Now all of the names I picked for my cars have relation to something, be it comics (Betty) or after my dog (Max). This time around its after a character from the TV series Lost.

Just like in the series my baby is sexy, strong, agile and independent. Hehe. This time around its going to be a long term investment. Don't think with the current changes in our automotive policy that I can afford to sell or trade her in the future. So far I've gotten her nice shoes, leathered her up, put in a sweet sound system and gave her a nice growl.

Next up would be some new brake discs, fully adjustable suspension and a nice wax job. Am gonna take real good care of Kate. Then again I always did take care of my cars even if I only had it for a few months. Still my one and only prized asset. =)

congratulations...

Would like to take this oppurtunity to congratulate Mr. Devanandan Palmer Batumalai and Miss Tharsani Krishnasamy on their recent engagement on 07/07/07. It was a nice homely ceremony and am glad to be included. Will blog more about the trip and post pics later in the week.

Now am just waiting for the big day. Hehe. May I suggest 08/08/08. ;)

7/7/07...

Many are regarding this as a special day and are planning all sorta things to do. I don't really have anything planned except for attending Devan's engagement down in Malacca. So I thought why not just post something to mark the day. Hehe.

Have a great weekend all. Toodles!

road trip...

Been awhile but another road trip to Malacca this weekend. As you all are aware tommorrow is 7/7/07. A unique date that many are calling auspicious and have planned various things around it. From dinner dates to parties to getting hitched.

A whole bunch of us is heading down to Malacca for Devan's engagement to Tasha. Usually engagements aren't that big a deal (at least that is what I think) but Devan has planned a big do. Hmmm or maybe Tasha and their parents are the ones who is making it a big event. Hehe. Think the guest list is about 100 plus and still growing! Devan said about 20 odd are family and the rest are friends (from near and far) from both sides.

Will blog about it more once am back. Hopefully with pictures as well. Cheers folks...

tank updates...

Sad news. Got back from work around 1am and found 2 fishies dead (1 Cherry Barb and 1 Mosquito Rasbora). Think my water temp is pretty high especially with the current heat wave and its affecting the fishies. Hope more won't suffer. Gotta go out and get a fan to at least lower the temp a bit. Notice it gets hotter when my tank light is on.

My plants seem to have stabilised. At least they aren't turning brown. Hope they keep it up. Think I'll improve the lighting and cooling first before I get more fishies. My new filter has run in now so I can dump my older filter. Tried flogging it off the Malaysian Aquascaping Club forum but no one seems interested.

Alrighty think I'll hit the sack now. Been rather tired last few days. Gd' nite folks!

review: transformers...

Finally after almost 2 years of waiting its out. Its been released for just barely a week now and everyone is talking about it. From the Ramli Burger guy down the street to my managers in 3rd floor to lil' kids in primary school who hasn't even seen the original cartoon in the 80s. I know some who have seen it multiple times and are still planning to go see it summore. Tickets have been booked for weeks in advance. Think most shows except for the early ones are packed.

Most people my generation will definately feel at home with this movie. We practically grew up with it. When I heard Speilberg and Michael Bay are teaming up to make a live action version of Transformers, I was ecstatic. I remember checking their website every now and then for updates and keep seeing the release date being pushed back. Thought it would never come true. Boy am I glad I was wrong!

Ok enuff of rambling, lets get to the movie. This movie is simply the BOMB! It definately lives up to all the hype it has raised. Amazing effects, great acting, stellar sound and well put storyline. Yes people were bitching that the human side of things were too long but I guess a 100% robot movie wouldn't really work. I would love to see it but when it comes to selling to the masses it would fizzle out plus cost a pretty penny. Am amazed at how they managed to replicate the robots transforming, the sound effects, the fight scenes and the mingling with humankind. Just the transforming and sound itself is worth going for another watch. The only thing that disappointed me was their decision to make Bumblebee into a stupid Camaro. Guess they did that to appeal to the damn yanks. From the looks of it theres a hint of a sequel at the end of the movie. Am sure most would agree that a sequel is a big welcome.

All and all I would definately recommend this movie to everyone. It is by far the best movie I've seen all year. Am not saying its Oscar worthy (except maybe for the sound and visual side of things), but as an all rounder its TOPS! If you haven't seen it you better hit the cinemas before its too late. This is definately one movie you wouldn't want to stinge on a pirated DVD. Cinemas were made for these, especially THX certified ones! Hmmm think I'll head down myself for another viewing.

Autobots, transform and roll out!

robots in disguise...

AUTOBOTS

DECEPTICONS

another year older...

"GO SHORTY...IT'S YOUR BIRTHDAY...WE GONNA PARTY LIKE IT'S YOUR BIRTHDAY...WE GONNA SIP BACARDI CHIVAS LIKE IT'S YOUR BIRTHDAY!"

Yes you guessed it! I turned 28 about 2 hours ago. Time surely flies. It seemed like only yesterday I was in Bar Savannah getting drunk during the World Cup quarterfinals game between England and Portugal. This time around its gonna be a sober celebration. Just gonna hang out with Sunshine, have a good dinner and hopefully catch the late night showing of Transformers.

As usual when it comes near my birthday I usually just wish it would pass by as quickly as possible. Not sure why but never really fancied celebrating my birthday although almost always I have done something or rather. Hehe. Guess even though I don't look forward to it, I also don't wanna sit around doing nothing. Theres always the option of treating myself to something. =)

Okay time for the wishes, hopes and dreams. Generally its always the same. Career advancement, adding more assets to my name, bla bla bla. Lemme try to wish for something more attainable. Hopefully this year I'll get my hands on a new digital camera. Plus I hope to get a whole load of stuff for my baby. New rims, bodykit, fully adjustable suspension and if all goes well, might even turbocharge it. Hope to also travel overseas with Sunshine although don't really have anywhere in mind for now. Maybe somewhere nearby like Bali, Indonesia or Siem Reap, Cambodia.

Guess thats all folks. Cheers...

Happy 28th Birthday to ME!!! =)

kfc's black pepper chicken chop...

I'm sure most of you have seen or heard of KFC's new Black Pepper Chicken Chop Combo. Ads are on newspapers, telly as well as radio. Previously they released the O.R Chicken Chop combo which was a hit. It came with mushroom gravy, side of large fries, coleslaw (with raisins in it) and a soda. I didn't try it then but this time around I thought why not since they were a success before. How unfortunately wrong! =(

Hiew and I headed down to KFC (along Jalan University) for dinner as we were fed up of thinking of what to eat. Both of us got there and ordered the KFC Black Pepper Chicken Chop combo and added on the 7UP Revive drink (for only 90 cents). The combo consist of the chicken chop (with a cup of the black pepper sauce) , a cup of creamy musroom soup, some crinkle cut fries, a scoop of coleslaw and a butter bun. All for only RM9.90. Sounds tempting doesn't it. We were excited as well till we started digging in.

The so called mushroom soup tasted like creamy flour. The fries were ok but cold/stale. Coleslaw and bun were the usual stuff from KFC so no complaints there. Now for the main course. The chicken chop itself was so so but the worse part is the black pepper sauce. I'm pretty sure my niece (who is 4 this year) can make a much better sauce. It was a powdery and runny mess. It did taste like pepper but for what we paid we might as well enjoy chicken chop at the roadside western stalls. Much better sauce and their meat are just as good. It was really disappointing. Should have just enjoyed their Original Snack Plate which is so much cheaper and rarely disappoints.

Oh well. Guess we wouldn't have known if we never tried it right. Would recommend you guys to give it a pass. Another flop after the Alaskan Fish Burger and the Fish N Chips. Alrighty enuff of ranting. Hehe. Time to enjoy my Milo Nuggets which I got at 7 Eleven. Toodles.

shes turning 2...

Wow time surely flies. My baby is TWO years old today! Hehe. I know I know its a tad bit over dramatic but what the heck. This time around shes done quite a bit (already hitting 31000 kms) of travelling compared to Betty (who was like 18000 kms when she turned 2). Have been a lot of places with her and surpringly have not given her a name. I need to come up with something real soon cos its unfair considering I named all my previous cars very soon after owning them. Time just flew by I guess.

Am thinking of getting her some new rims. Need to offload my current ones first to generate the necessary moolah. Am also thinking of a bodykit but not sure how much am willing to plonk down. If I go cheap it wouldn't be rather fragile but to be strong its pretty pricy. Almost 2x the price. Might also consider adjustable suspensions. Sigh. I see a lot of money flying out the window soon. Then again I've managed to control my spending on this car. Haven't really done much.

Happy 2nd Birthday dear! Looking forward to many more adventures together. Lots of road trips lined up in the future am sure. =)

tank updates...

Just got back from the LFS (local fish shop) with some new fishies for my tank. Also got myself some quality fish food and a new Eheim HOB (hang on back) filter. Got myself 12 Mosquito Rasboras and 1 Otocinclus Catfish (algae clean up crew). Sadly 2 of the rasboras died due to jumping out of the bowl when trying to acclimatize them. Didn't notice almost 2 hours later when I spotted a tiny fish on the bathroom floor. =(

The rasboras are so freaking small. Think I'll definately be needing more to fill up the tank. They are a sight to see especially when they are schooling. Very nice color on them. Am sure if they were bigger they would be pretty popular. Think next weekend I'll get 12 more. Their maximum growth is only 1 inch so nothing to worry about. Hmm maybe I'll get another variety which is much more expensive (up to 3x). Their known as Galaxy Rasbora and when first founded (in Myanmar) almost 10 months ago, cost almost RM20 a piece! Now with self breeding its dropped to about RM6.50. Their interest has also dropped among aquarium enthusiast as they were so over caught that their population dwindled drastically.

Alrighty time to hit the showers. Got my hair cut earlier today and need to wash up. Gd' night folks!

crime alert...

Crime seem to be getting too rampant in our parts of the world. Johor is in one big mess till they had to reinforce the police presence (wonder how long that will last!). It was so bad there that gang rapes occurred every few hours. Its sad to hear this considering how our country has supposedly 'grown'. Fifty years of independance is coming up soon but when it comes to safety I think we were much safer those days. Now we can't even wash our cars on the front porch with the gates open. Can't even take a stroll through the park without worrying. And these are all during broad daylight so you can forget about nights. Sigh.

Yesterday my bro's car got broken into. Smash and grab. He was having his haircut (around 10am nearby Wisma FAM) and parked not too far from the barber. Someone smashed his rear window and grabbed a bag he had on his seat. It wasn't even a laptop bag, just a bag that looks similar. Yes it was his fault for leaving it in the open but still. Thankfully nothing valuable in the bag and they didn't take the other stuff in the car. Only loss was the the window repair which cost him RM180.

Previous Sunday one of my colleagues was almost a victim of a car jacking. Worst part was this happened not too far from a freakin' police station! He stopped for a red light just above the Brickfields police station (and Nagas Restaurant). One car came from behind and slammed into him. He drove slightly in front as he was in a Mitsubishi Storm and the car could have gone under his pickup bed. He then noticed a Kancil with 4 fellas by his side. They didn't move even though the light turned green. The people in the car that slammed into him didn't move as well. Suddenly out of nowhere 2 fellas came up to his truck and accused him of driving poorly and to come out and talk. One of the dudes put his hand in to turn the ignition off. My colleague punched him under the chin and drove off slowly in front. None of them gave chase. He then made a round and went to the police station. The officer in duty said he was lucky as it happens quite often. Colleague told him to go chase after em' since the car that knocked into his pickup had a blown radiator (fluid all over my friend's ride). Guess what our great cop said? 'Take down this number, if anyone is chasing you give us a call.' and he left it at that. Can you believe that?! No wonder crime goes on wildly nowadays. Damn cops couldn't give two shits.

Its a sad thought actually. No wonder people are migrating or finding ways to work overseas. If only the police will buck up and not give all sorts of false promises. Wearing a badge isn't enuff. Do the freaking work dammit! You already have gotten your pay raises right?! Arrrgghh. Guess the only thing we can do is be extra cautious of our surroundings. Take care folks and look out for each other cos the police ain't gonna do it. =(

i hate thursdays!!

Sigh. Seems to be a pattern this year. Almost every Thursday something crappy happens. A lil' too creepy to be coincidental I must add. Sigh.