Thank you Achew for letting me know about the issue with the CAPTCHA anti-spam plugin on my site. I was totally unaware that the plugin was preventing legit visitors from commenting. After some noob tweaks on the settings, I think the problem is currently solved. I have absolutely no idea how long this problem have happened… but I can’t leave the my blog without CAPTCHA anymore. The amount of spam comin in is insane without it.

DAMN YOU FOOKING SPAMBOTS WHO FORCE US BLOGGERS TO USE ADDITIONAL PROTECTION…

This came as a huge suprise ;)

After the really disappointing Perfect Grade Gundam Double O… this is like a bright stream of sunshine streaming through the dark clouds of bleh-ness. The fact that it will be using the aging but still awesome PG Strike inner frame (logically speaking) and Katoki-san will have his fingerprints all over this release… this is really nais stuff indeed. It’s even making me reconsider my stance in not ever buying any PG grade gunplas. This would be soooooooooooo cool. I always thought the mecha designs from the SEED era are some of the best designed compared to other releases and a PG version of the Strike Freedom would totally blow my mind.

Pic stolen from NgeeKhiong.

December release, price TBA.

Ooooooooookay… I admit… after using the gunmetal cover for a week, I hated it. The paint never did dry properly, so it felt tacky in the hands and the paint started rubbing off. Looks like paint is a no-no for iPhone covers.

But the surface of the black iPhone is still a fingerprint magnet. And I hated it.

 

So I start off with the plain vanilla cover again.

 

I will be using some white vinyl decal sheets.

 

I’ll need to use the heat from a hair dryer to mould the white decal around the edges of the iPhone cover. Then use a very sharp blade to remove off the excess.

 

The back of the phone will now be as blank as my bank account. We need to add some details to break the monotony. I decided to use some left over Gunpla stickers.

 

 

Done.

Black is now white.

Viva la Figa… er… I mean Zeon…

Just a quick one on this.

The Descent : Part 2 isn’t as heart stopping as the original which I caught back in 2006.

Even the crawlers look a bit cheaper than the freakishly creepy lookin ones in the first installment.

But there’re still quite a few scenes which will leave you squirming; especially the part where how the sheriff met his demise (ops… minor spoiler).

Anyways… if you have one hour or so to spare (yup… it’s really short), go watch this to get your adrenaline pumping.

I sure did feel alive after this flick.

Oh yeah… to the two bastards who were sitting beside me; I’m freakin glad to have screwed you for ruining the first half of my movie experience. If you want to talk loudly, go to a damn mamak stall where you belong. Imbeciles.

Was checkin my NuffNang stats… when I was kinda boggled why there was a sudden spike in traffic this week. Some quick prodding and I was pleasantly surprised to see that my waramashite Nuvi 1350 GPS review got linked to this site.

Feels very nais… but also feel kinda embarrassed I didn’t put more effort into writing a more proper review. But this type of links are the most satisfying… so I’m not complaining… nyeehehehehe… yes… I am an attention seeking whore…

I needed a cover for the fingerprint prone 3GS… and I hated the silicon rubber casing which was a lint magnet. Which left me with only an option of using hard covers. Selection was huge, but mostly it came in either garishingly loud designs, or the usual boring as hell transparent color covers.

And so I picked the most boring color I could find.

Smoked black.

It’s supposed to be new, but already it was riddled with scratches out of the box due to the flimsy plastic material used.

So I busted out my trusted Tamiya TS-42 spraycan.

A light thin matte coat which was left quickly to dry just enough to have a tacky texture.

Followed by a heavy wet coat, which needs at least a day to dry for durability and shine.

 

I’m pretty sure this is the only custom light-gunmetal 3GS cover in this part of the country.

And I’m pretty happy with the result of the 8 minute worktime required.

I’m planning to add on some tribal tattoo designs in dark gunmetal to break the monotony… but that depends on if I have the time to do it.

This will have to do for now.

This year is a rather confusing year for me. Instead of driving ppl to the edge with my perpectual pessimistic aura of doom… which is what I’ve been doing all this while… I’m required this year to… yes… motivate ppl instead. That’s like asking Osama Bin Laden to make sweet love… not war. Unfortunately it’s no longer an option (sic)… and I will have to bow down to the powers that be.

So here goes my first attempt to motivate.

Ensure that you mask your weaknesses by capitalizing on your strengths. There’re a million and one human traits; and you’re bound to have at least a few good ones, no matter how small or seemingly insignificant they may be. Use them to your advantage, making these your leverage in your working life. However, if even after much soul searching and you’re still unable to find even one pathetic strength… don’t kid yourself… and just go die la.

kthxbai.

I like using solvents. I use all types of solvents. Kerosene, ligther fluid, petrol, thinners, aerosol based cleaners, etc. U name it, I’ve used it. They come in real handy to clean stains of all types; be it for household purposes or automotive ones. And so far I have no problems with any of these solvents. Until today.

Several moons back, I bought a bottle of unmarked/’no-brand’ thinner from a warehouse closedown sale. I’ve used thinners before to thin paint and to clean minor marks, so I thought all thinners are the same. During the evening, I removed several adhesive hooks from my kitchen wall tiles and it left ugly adhesive marks which were a bitch to remove. These are the spongy type which grows in strength over time. So I thought I could use a shortcut and use thinner to ‘melt’ the adhesive and I can easily remove it by scrapping it off with my fingernails.

So I poured a capful of thinner and generously drenched the adhesive marks with it. And while doing so, I drenched my left hand as well with the solvent. I have worked with thinners before and had no problems handling it without any protection. Firstly there was the usual tell tale ‘cooling’ feeling as the thinner starts evaporating off your skin. Usually that’s about it, it’s kinda ‘syiok’ if you think about it.

I poured more thinner and slowly used my fingernails to remove the adhesive gunk. Well, it worked great. The adhesive literally melted. Fast. But it seem to be doing more than just that. My skin began feeling some warmth at the areas which contacted with the thinner. I ignored it and proceeded to clean the adhesive mark. Then, it started stinging. Ok, this may be cause for concern now. Then all of a sudden, the skin around my little finger felt like it was being licked by fire. Seriously, the sensation was akin to being burnt, and you immediately knew that you’re in trouble.

I know what burnt means, coz once upon a time, when I was young and stupid, I used a hacksaw on a piece of thick PCB board, which superheated the blade from all that friction, and I accidentally placed the blade on my naked left thigh… instanto branding, taking a 3cm by 1cm layer of charred skin with it which was grafted onto the blade when I removed it.

Anyways, logic kicked in and I rushed to the water faucet and ran water over the affected skin. It took a good few minutes before I actually felt relief. Thankfully, no major harm done, other than a rather inflammed left pinkie which left me feeling a little sore. Mabbe the skin there was slightly more sensitive… I dunno.

Moral of the story? Solvents are caustic. Some mild, some more than others. And don’t buy solvents which do not have labels or brands. You never know what shit they put in it. And don’t be like me. Use protection.

Those who are close to me KNOWS  very well that I’m hopeless with directions. Tell me a location and there is a high possibility that I may miss it even if it’s right in front of me. After being reprimanded for the billionth time, I decided to throw my male ego into the trashcan and admit I needed help. And when the Folsom fish asked me if I wanted to get a GPS unit from Amazon coz he’s able to mule it back for me… I jumped at the opportunity.

I decided to go for the Garmin Nuvi 1350; main thing which attracted me was the reasonable price and the very nais lookin 4.3-inch wide-touchscreen WQVGA TFT display with white backlight. Useful for ppl with pathetic vision like myself. I also decided to get a Garmin friction mount for the GPS unit as I’m not a fan of the stick-on-the-windscreen type accessories. After getting the unit from the Fish, I handed it over to Sunshine to load it up with the MFM map downloads for M’sia which he recommended highly.

Once I got it back, I gave it several tries on turtle island, and was impressed by the user friendliness of the unit. But it didn’t mean much since turtle island is my hometown, so evaluating how useful the GPS is nullified. I decided to dunk it in an acid test and head down south on a 2 day trip,  which included both Perak and KL, to various locations which I absolutely have no idea how to get to. I spent like 15 mins during Friday night to load all my destinations into the Nuvi, and that’s about all the planning I made. It was fire up and go early the next day.

At the end of the trip, I have one thing to say about the Garmin Nuvi 1350. This GPS REALLY WORKS. I had absolutely no trouble getting around anytime during the two day trip. It brought me to all my destinations, correctly, quickly and back safely. Credit should go mostly to the accuracy of the MFM maps, but the Nuvi had quite a few features which made navigation a breeze as well. All in all, here’re my opinions on the Garmin Nuvi 1350 (bear in mind that this is the first GPS device I’m using, so my opinions may be slightly over optimistic).

Pros :

  1. Very nice widescreen. Angled correctly, I had no problems with screen visibility even in the blinding afternoon sun.
  2. Very loud; directions are clear and concise, giving ample upfront warning before a turn.
  3. Good satellite reception. Amazingly quick in latching onto satellites. Even when signal is lost when entering a long tunnel, signal is regained almost immediately once exiting.
  4. Smart directions. When set on quickest route setting, the GPS was smart enough to even give ‘lorong belakang’ type directions; even my KL host was suprised and said… “Wah-lau… this small road oso the GPS know ah?”
  5. Optional Garmin friction mount works fantastic. Very weighty, and stable enough even with spirited driving.

Cons :

  1. Battery life could be better. Rated at 4 hours, real life usage yields less than that. The wired charger is a must on long trips.
  2. Directions given are only as good as the loaded maps. When approaching multiple lanes, directions are a little fuzzy. Luckily these are few and rare.
  3. Found 1 stuck pixel a few days into usage (bear in mind this is a new unit). Irritating as hell. But went away by the time the 2 day trip was over.
  4. Certain locations takes forever to search… don’t know if this is a search engine or database problem. It eventually finds the entry several minutes after hitting enter.
  5. Included female English voice isn’t sexy/lusty enough; but that’s just me nitpicking.

Call me melodramatic if you like, I’ve been finding my life is nothing but one mistake after another of late. And that depresses me to a point whereby you feel more worthless than trash. It’s a little puzzling why I’m still standing when I should have disintegrated into a pool of unidentifiable emo-mess, was I faced with the same situation some 5 years back. Mabbe it’s true that if you’re exposed to a certain pain long enough, it becomes bearable eventually. My ego is running at minus 50, and still freefalling. Marmosets have bigger balls than me.

Maintaining this blog is one of the last few ways I space out. But even that has to be done with a certain amount of caution these days as I can no longer rant freely. So it’s a nice surprise when a stranger drops you a note once in a blue moon, to tell you that your posts (which you’re beginning to think are an absolutely pathetic useless waste of time, that even web crawlers would laugh and spit at) came in rather useful and informative. Which gives you a small, but eventually insignificant ‘syiok sendiri’ moment. But that’s still enough to make you realize that you’re not exactly a useless piece of shit with revoked rights to exist on this fucking planet. For that, I give thanks. I can postpone my plans to obliterate myself to later date.