Tuesday, January 30, 2007

Magazines Subscriptions

Wifey has with her, tonnes of National Geographic magazines dated back in 1970's till early 90's. With a few issues missing here and there, this rack of magazines got to be amongst my favourite at home.

Now, problem with living in Malaysia is that some of these so called *overseas* magazines comes with a premium price (fortunately, National Geographic isn't one of them). Muscle & Fitness are priced at a hefty RM29.90 (that's USD 8.54 per issue at the current rate).

I sort of surf right into this site that let you subscribe to magazines and just check out how competetive the pricing of the magazines could be! Muscle & Fitness subscription for USD29.97 a year (that works out to RM8.74 per issue, DAMN!)

This site too offers subscription to over 1,300 magazines at the lowest prices allowed by the publishers for general internet sales, which explain how they could offer such obscenely cheap magazine.

Heck, even the back copies that is sold in our local magazine shop would cost us about RM19 (that's USD5.42) for copies that everyone has already read since like forever!

I am now checking if they do mail to Malaysia FOC. If it does, then, that is great, isn't it? Imagine the Runner's World, Car And Driver, Glamour and even...Guns yo could read for a fraction of the price!

Monday, January 29, 2007

Diapers & Diarrhea

As usual, Diethelm (or DKSH) warehouse sales are usually packed.

Saturday and Sunday was no exception.

I drove myself to DKSH at Section 17 at about 8.30am and thought i must be amongst the first few there.

Imagine my shock when the cars were all parked from the UIA junction until the Sin Chew's roundabout!

Took me a good 2 hours to JUST get through the traffic (UIA-DKSH-SIN Chew-Section 17-UIA).

Cars were everywhere and anywhere and stuffs were bought as it if was FOC.

So, on Sunday, me and wifey take extra effort to wake up earlier and went to the warehouse sales again. Hoping that the crowd won't be as wild/mad/rich as Saturday, we found ourselves within stone throw from DKSH (parked in the middle of the road's divider...i know, law breaker!

First time we did was headed to the diaper section.

We spent a good RM518 on diapers alone.

And this are our bounty.


8 packs of S52 and 6 packs of M72 - all in, 4 boxes.

Buying the Matrix was a good choice as the boot is carvenous enough to carry this much alone, and with space infront for more still.


Can last for 4 or 5 months only...

We left Ryan with his godma.

And later in the afternoon, as if that he knows he got tonnes of diapers to waste, he was down with diarrhea.

First time. From 1pm until this morning at 8.30am, he has shitted 6 times. Not good as the stool was watery. We've done everything as per usual and kinda baffled how this could happen.

His appointment with Dr. Yong is this afternoon at 2.30pm.

Hope he will recover in no time. See how a simple diarrhea could make new parents (like us) worried?

Congrats Shen!

Congrats to Shen for the safe delivery of his Baby Gavin!

Came out to this world on 27th January, afternoon!

Rest well and get hubby to give you plentiful of TLCs!

Saturday, January 27, 2007

Of Self Defense

Now that i've felt threaten over my life, family and even my properties, i really do wish that the government would allow usage of self defense tools, such as Taser???

In US of A, where having a license to carry a firearm is as easy as us going to the shop and getting a prepaid phone line, and like a prepaid phone line in Malaysia, it is easily and cheaply available.

But, since this is not US of A, we all could do with a bit of self defence and security no?

Why didn't the government approve the usage of TASER guns? or Stun guns? I can't rely on my huge 6D cell Maglite all the time, no?


50k Volt Stun Gun...can be used for BBQ as well!

How about family with maids? afraid that you maid might abuse your kids?

Maybe this is what you need.


StealthCam Hidden Camera!

Your maid would just think you put a big ugly looking clock for her to make milk to feed your child, but in actual fact, it is spying on her, ensuring she has no side activities going on. You know...of those 18SX type.

So, with the recent happening in my home area, the stun gun might come in handy, just have to make sure i don't stun myself! :)

How about a baby monitor? This one too hgh tech looking la! But nice! Forget those walkie talkie lookalike baby monitor...


Wireles Night Vision Baby Monitor

Now, why can't our government just approve the use of the Stun Guns, if one has a valid reason that their felt their life being threaten???

Thursday, January 25, 2007

Stupe, The Law Enforcer

Now, how would you like to be called the above?

Unfortunately, i was accused, blamed and labelled as such!

It all started when i help the guards at my condo to clamp a Waja which was parked at the common car wash area about a week ago.

I was told by the guard that this was the second time that this car parked at a spot not designated to him/her.

So, today, as i logged into the forum, imagine the shock i had when i saw someone posting something that sounded like this:

posted on this thread:

"Stupe, I thought you say the onwer is a lady without brains? Well, first you say that you know she's a lady then you say HE storm into the guard house with a metal piece. Eh, you please make up your mind la. So absent minded or are you experiencing amnesia? getting old already i guess. I heard from the owner that he/she parked in a wrong place. he apologised for that and he thinks that the the law enforcer ie. security guard has been assigned to enforce law in this lovely living place which soon will turn into war zone. anyways, he/she also mentioned that destroying ppl"s property ie. car is also wrong (patient onwer: please take note about law. u you don't take up law studies via internet, moron!). the waja onwer simply parked on the wrong spot the first time and paid rm50 for it. deserve him/her right. but what is funny is that when he/she ask the security guard why didnt you clamp the other car parking at the washing bay? the guards reply that parking at washing bay is alright. so the poor waja owner thinks its fine for he/she to park there. well, for all you know, there is a so- call perdana view condo "privately/exclusive organise security guards aka heroes" has been setting up "private operations" that stick labels on these cars with their own juice and on top of that, they add dents on ppl's car.
not only that, the waja onwer is piss because these "private securities" created 3 dent on his/her car. who to be blame when these private securities decides to act on their own? IS THAT CORRECT or LEGALLY RIGHT? Haven't you think that acting on your own is not right? I mean, you guys are grown adults and you know very well that never to disturb other ppl's property? Unless you parents never taught u, i felt bad for your parents. Guess they won't feel good or proud of what the daughter has been doing. by the way, you don't work? Think about it stupe, you're not only person monitoring the condo now... Good on ya! At the very least, if any of our car is damage while parking in perdana view condo, we know who to look for irregardless."


and on anohter thread, he/she says this:

"yea yea... woohooo ... lets go kick and dent ppl's car like how stupe and her gang do... how much to join ur association ar? issit called the "stupe, the law enforcer" ?"

I've been staying at this place for almost 2 years and i've helped the ad hoc committee and guards to monitor the condo's safety.

I take breaks during lunch to go back and run the full 16 floor on the emergency stairwells, on both blocks, to check for irregularities in activities. This is especially so that a few units was broken in last year.

I thought i was also doing everyone a favour when i do my rounds in the parking lot since there were 8 cars being vandalised and broken into one fine morning last year.

But to recieve threat as such in the threads above...

and being accused of the doing, i guess, enough is enough.

I am not gonna fight with someone over the RM50 clamping fees, nor do i want to be labeled as a law enforcer when all i'm doing was on a voluntarary basis.

Now i felt threaten. People that knows me would know that i won't stoop so low.

How is that for being neighbourly?

And i do not like it either that he drag my family into this, saying that my parents did not teach me yada..yada..yada...

I've refrain from posting nastily and has held my tongue (in this case, finger).

Now, perhaps i should redirect all queries by the guards to his unit. So far i've been called by the guard to resolve a few matters, latest being a woman, which was drunk at 4pm in the afternoon, slept in her car, woken her up, then later she went up without even switching off her car engine, leaving behind her specs and her handbag, locked herself in her home, and only having her husband come knocking on my door at 12am, apologising and then proceed to have a major domestic arguement until 2am in the morning.

I need my sleep too, and i do not want to be involved in domestic dispute. Ironically, this unit is the same unit that has been splashing water down, wetting all my clean dried laundry. Seeing the husband, i now believe that it was the wife's doing.

So, perhaps, Mr. Destroyer would want to take over the role.

And nevermind the Law Enforcer tag that he will wear on himself!!!

Wednesday, January 24, 2007

Hyundai Matrix - Grounded

I've just got my Matrix grounded.

No, she didn't do anything wrong and i won't send her to her room.

Ok, corny jokes aside. what i did was, well, to be more precise, i've added more grounding points for the car.

The usual RM69.00 for 7 point grounding kit that comes with so called copper block sold in some car accesories shop just doesn't hack it.

The product is good, but to get a good installer to install it properly is hard.

So, when i came across what Drex Chan does, it took little convincing to actually go to him, eventhough the price is a little less than double for what i could get for.

Customised Grounding.

He call it C-Ground.

I call it personal service.

So, for Rm120.00, what did i get?

I get a solid 4 gauge OFC tin coated pure copper 1666 count of cables

Now, i've been taught that resistance is directly proportionate to the length and inversely proportionate with the area of the cable. It is also proportionate to the material's constant. Now, the material aside, what this custom grounding offers was a large area (5.189mm) and the optimum distance(or length). This would minimise the resistance of the cable and hence, provide more path for the electricty and current in the car to return to the battery's negative terminal.

Think of it as you are working in KL and you are constantly stuck in Jalan Sultan Ismail. If only you could build one dedicated road to return home, wouldn't that be great? Now imagine if you could do the same for 4 different places that you frequent. Now, that was what Drex gave me, a 5 point grounding.

Some accesories shop offer up to 7 points grounding, but shody work would make even 14 points useless. OK, it might make your car engine bay looked as if it was pimped, but that is besides the point.

Furthermore, the cables from these shop are mostly 8 gauge cable in thick rubber housing, thus, giving you an impression of, well, thick cable!

I reached Drex's place at about 2.30pm. A brief introduction (eventhough we've seen each other online via the Autoworld forum) and he proceed to check the engine bay for all the possible place he could ground the cables.

1. Engine block to Chasis (side nearer to battery)
2. Chasis to battery's negative
3. Alternator to Engine block
4. Engine block (far end) to engine block (near battery)
5. Engine block (far end) to chasis(near filter)

"Alternator will be tricky", he says.

Eventhough item 1, 4 and 5 seems to look redundant in writing, but when you view it in the engine bay, it does make sense. As there is two points where the engine block is meeting the chasis, there is also an existing point where the manufacturer grounded from the chasis to the engine. So, what we are doing is to create more path.

He then proceed to cut the cables and crimped it with the lug. Then he used the heatshrink wrap to wrap the connection.


Stock as it can be

The whole process took almost 2 hours. Definately you won't get this kind of installation if you go to the usual accesories shop. I've seen bad grounding routing done, usually bolted straight to the first nut these buggers can find. Shoddy work!

Now look at the picture below. This is what Drex has done after 2 hours. Compare it with the before picture above. Nicely hidden with no extra intrusive looking cables lying around, no?


Stock as it can be, still!

The after picture, you can clearly see item 1,2,3 and 4. But it appear as only 2 cables running parallel with the engine block and a hint of the cable sneaking/peeping out from the battery's negative terminal.

Here, more pictures


item 1 and 2. Notice how thick the cable is?


item 3 and 4. The cable is the same size as the engine breather hose!

Drex went on to make extra bracket to hold the cable running to the alternator. Nice touch. Look almost stock, isn't it?


Item 5 to complete the grounding

As he unplugged the battery terminal, the car's ECU has been reseted to factory setting. That also has the safety feature found in Matrix activated.

I tried starting my car after the work was done and couldn't start it despite the starter cranking.

A quick check by the both of us found a switch near item 2. There is a switch to reset the fuel pump. As a built in feature, this switch was switched off when the battery was removed or during collision to cut the fuel off from the car.

As this was Drex's first work on a Hyundai Matrix, this was indeed a learning experience for the both of us.

I didn't notice any improvement on torque or in horsepower after installation, it should have actually as the grounding does nothing more than allow the electronics in the car to function better.

But a test at night yesterday as i went to see a friend to pick something up, i did notice that my radio reception was much clearer, especially over a few spot i drive past everyday where the reception quality would be bad. The headlight too, surprisingly shone brighter. But these might just be my imagination.


pics taken in a total dark road in Mutiara Damansara

And of course, which modification will be complete until a sticker is stuck to tell the world you've just modded you ride?


"Damn ah beng man..." This was Drex's own words...

Monday, January 22, 2007

The Platters - (You've Got) The Magic Touch



He got the magic touch. Definately.



He refused to sleep after his 10am feed on Saturday and insist that he wants to play and talk to me.

I switched on the MP3 on my K750i and let it blast all the oldies (and Metalica, GnR, BPR) and as i sing to him, he, in his own playful ways, sang back to me.

If the collage here don't make you smile, maybe the one at the end of this blgo entry, would.

(You've Got) The Magic Touch

Artists: The Platters (peak Billboard position # 4 in 1956)
Words and Music by Buck Ram

You-oo-ve got the magic touch
You make me glow so much
It casts a spell, it rings a bell
The magic touch

Oh-uh-oh when I feel your charm
Its like a fourth alarm
You make me thrill so much
Youve got the magic touch

If I go reeling, uh-oh, Im feeling the glow (uh-oh)
But where can I go from you

I didnt know too much
And then I felt your touch
And now Ive learned I can return
The magic touch

If I go reeling, uh-oh, Im feeling the glow (uh-oh)
But where can I go from you

I didnt know too much
And then I felt your touch
And now Ive learned I can return
The magic touch



Love You!

Best Car of the World Adverts

Like 5 years old telling their 5 years old friend whose daddy is stronger, bigger and better looking, i can't help but smile at how these few reknowned car manufacturer poke fun at each other with their (over) achievements.

It all started with BMW putting up a congratulatory message to one of their rival, Audi.


I meant to say: Bugger, in South Africa only what, in Malaysia you are nothing!

Then of course, expect friendly fire from Audi.


I meant to say: I know la Proton tried to be BMW of Asia, but they failed...aren't you gonna suffer the same fate?

Heck, it's mocking at its best.

But as per how other 5 years old would fight, there will be one of them which will stand up and say that his/her daddy is the best of the best of the best!


I meant to say: YOU TWO dumb Blondes!

And just like the classic fight, there will be someone that would have the last say.


I meant to say: take it like a man, you pussies!

Now, if we were to interpolate this advert scenario into Malaysian Automotive scene, who do you think would be BMW, Audi, Subaru and Bentley?

My take is BMW would be Proton (naturally, since Waja is the BMW of Asia), Audi to be Perodua, Subaru to be Naza and Bentley to be Alado!

End of the day, the China's Alado with their cheap copycat-cut-paste cars will have the last laugh as the first 3 manufacturer tries to outdo each other.

Then again, i seriously think that Proton can fit into Audi's shoe, instead of being a 6 times champ in Le Mans, Proton is, afterall, the master of Facelifting Technology which has remaked the 7 years old Waja, at least 3 times?

Even the 20 years old Saga is now rebadged as Iswara and the Wira is still running around (with 15 inch rims, no less) and lets not even go into Waja or the much hyped Neo (Which, by the way, was late by 1 year). And lets not forget that Savvy is winner of the best supermini car in Malaysia (well, according to AmFinance and NST la...how that happen, beats me).

Overall, i think Proton should be Bentley, sticking their finger(s) up to the rest of the world! Who else can produce 1100hp car?

Ryan - Baptised


like chicken to the slaughter...complete with number somemore

I have no issues with Ryan being baptised as a Catholic.

Being borned a Taoist but having my religion stated as Buddhist in the Identification Card, then marrying a Catholic which never did ask me to convert and mixing with Muslims and Hindus all my life, this is something not really hard to say yes to anyway.

On Friday, mum in law and wifey went to Kamdar in SS2 to buy some material, white material to be exact, to signify purity. So, within 36 hours, mum in law with her sewing skills came out with a baptism overall for Ryan (and our future kids, of course).


I couldn't look any prettier

It was a beautiful day. Sun shining brightly and both Ryan's parents are wearing their Oakley sunnies, while waiting for the 8.30am Mass to be over at Assumption Church.

Wifey was borned in the hospital next door, baptised, confirmed and married in the same church. (she is also hardcore Assunta girl, from Kindergarden till secondary school) So, getting Ryan to be baptised here is only natural.

The husband of this particular couple which was helping the church for this ceremony was actually wifey's classmate back from school. It was like friendship rekindled kinda scenario, she with 2 kids, eldest aged 3 and youngest is 1. Now that i'm a parent myself, it is only natural to see why kids do light up every parent's life (well, until they turn into their teribble teen)

Ryan's godparents is non other than our wedding witness themselves. Wifey's eldest sister and a family friend which share part of Ryan's name as well (It's mere coincidence).


You light up my life...

The ceremony was a short 45minutes and yesterday was the largest turnout in a single baptism with 13 babies (and one absentee).

Father Phillip Muthu was the celebrant.

As the rites goes on, one by one the baby was brought up near the altar to the fountain where they would be bathed, symbolically to signify the purification from sins.

I managed to catch a few words with Father Phillip as he pours warm water over Ryan's head.

"Don't worry, now we have warm water, if cold, all the baby will be screaming", Father says.

"Ryan is child number?", he added before we went down.

"One", i answered.

"Good, go and produce more", he said, tapping my shoulder.

I swore i saw wifey's face turn a bit white from that statement.

LOL.


Father Phillip putting olive oil on Ryan's head, lets hope his hair starts growing

It's a simple yet beautiful and also meaningful ceremony for us all. More so for wifey, which sees that it's her responsibility and mine to raise Ryan and his siblings the Catholic way. I know, some of you might say how is that possible since i'm not one.

Well, you certainly don't need to profess your religion as long as God is close to your heart, no?


the ceremony over liao, can take the overall away ah papa?

Friday, January 19, 2007

The All New Waja Campro!!!

Well, instead of coming out with new model, all proton been doing for the past years was facelift their existing model.

This time around, Savvy and Waja got brand new face.

I was browsing through their Proton.com website and horror of horror, there were at least 2 mistakes in the advert posting, which i don't think anyone actually cared to notice, or even Proton themselves cared to rectify!


New material called leatehr seats....

My Engrand isn't as good, but theirs can't be worse, no?

Also, if you are considering to buy a Waja Campro, wait no longer.

Why? Because this New Waja facelift with Campro engine is capable of churning out 1100hp! wow!!!


Ah Beng's dream come true...

Then, when i saw the headlight of this new Waja...it couldn't look more plastic than the already made from plastic headlight. Sorta reminds me of the Bengwara i reviewed in one of the Autoworld forum (can't find the link, back then haven't blog! January 2004! :P)


What's with the ridges inside the headlamp?

I did an FR (Field Report) on Savvy when it was first launched. This newly face lifted Savvy doesn't look any more different from the first generation, no?

On the plus side, this new Waja comes with dual airbag (a first for proton, locally) and ABS (which am really not sure if it's the real ABS or Proton's Advance Braking System!). Even the flagship Perdana V6 doesn't have Airbags!

It is also interesting to note that the Wajas and Gen.2s and even the new Neos are now fitted with Campro engine.

Not sure if what i am gonna say next is accurate. The Campro engine in Proton, which stands for Cam Profiling (or CPS as per what Proton says) works like what Honda called their VTEC (Variable Timing Electronic Control). But ironically Campro engine is still being tested for this function (ie not available la!) Meaning the Campro engine is just, well, name sake and does nothing more than your regular engine.

Also, because it is called Campro, the working rpm for the torque and majority of the powerband to kick in is at 4500 rpm.

This was obvious in both Neo and Gen.2 as once wifey took a friend for a neo test drive and the Sales Assitant in one of the Platinum show room says that "you need to press the accelator to feel the power", that's her exact word relayed to me by wifey and friend. Her friend ended up buying a Kelisa instead.

Gen.2 is notorious as a fuel drinker. Yet, another feature that Proton claims (but doesn't happen) is that Campro IS FUEL EFFICIENT.

Dr. Iqbal recently bought a Gen.2 and hearing horror stories of the fuel consumption (something like full tank can get 250km at worse and 320 at best).

Heck, at that FC, my 1.2 Tonne Hyundai Matrix seems to be a more fuel efficient car! (Gen2 full tank is between RM70 to RM80 and Matrix is between RM80 to RM90 and does 480km easily, both 1.6liter car)

Now, how can that equate to good FC for Waja Campro if they are using the same engine (and Waja is much heavier compared to Gen.2)???

I know, some of you Proton lovers will hate me for this, i'm no Proton Basher, just merely pointing out my observation. My family was a loyal Proton user, but we stop after getting the last Proton Saga Magma in the early 90's. National car manufacturer wise, i would put my money in Perodua.

And we are still giving Proton all the priviledge, and yet, still can't compete globally?

Edited: Proton.com has since updated the website with the proper info(as of 1518hours on 19th Jan 07 but only on the 1100hp item, still come with "leatehr" seats!). Small timer like me also can cause them to kelam kabut ah?

Also Check out Paul Tan's write up on this new Waja


Blogvertise?

Eversince i was banned by adsense for supposedly manipulating the clicks at my site, i am trying to get a few pay per blog kinda thingy on advise from Lin Peh and Shen.

One of them is Blogvertise.

Text-Link-Ad doesn't work and Bidvertiser sounds more rosy than it actually was.

Lets see if Blogvertise does the trick.
:)

Of Heartburn, Acid Reflux & Indigestion


How many of us has had this problem before?

Heartburn is the generic term for GastroEsophageal Reflux Disease, GERD.

A lot of studies has been done on this GERD and before you actually say that you merely has indigestion and not heartburn, read on this link which offers good insight onto the possible cause of indigestion and this one here, for what is the Cause Of Heartburn

Do i have indigestion or heartburn? Well, sometimes in my gluttony state (of mind) like what i blogged here. I do have bouts of indigestion and/or heartburn. It's no fun, as we all know. Eno does the work sometimes and at times, chewing on the whole pack of Gelusil might not even work.

Being a malaysian with chinese blood doesn't make anything easier. Apparently having chinese gene has higher rate of throat cancer (because we slurp down any soup while it's piping hot), we will have IBS (Or Irritable Bowel Syndrome), higher rate of H. Pyroli infection (which causes stomach ulcer) and with all this heartburn, indigestion and concotion of all other possible gastrointestinal problem, it's a wonder why half the population in China is still alive.

Apparently i need to change my diet.

Easier said than done.

So, i guess this actually justified why me and wifey actually gave Ryan the Rotavirus immunisation. With his daddy and granpa's bowel condition, our only wish is that he won't be a victim of indigestion and heartburn later in his life.

Thursday, January 18, 2007

Of Boys II Men and Prefects

This post is semi inspired by Wegra's posting and also because this song brought back memories for me.

Also, as we all know, Boys II Men will be dropping by soon for a concert. As Mix FM aptly put it "songs you fell in love to and with" is here.

Wegra says that people my OUR age (that meant you too; Desparil, Songx and LadysOul, heck make that Lanatir and Babe_KL as well) would know the song.


The real McCoy


The wannabes

Here you go, In The Still Of The Night, Originally sang by Five Satins, resung by Boys II Men and now, by Stupendous Man.

And don't laugh.



In the still of the night
I held you
Held you tight
'Cause I love
Love you so
Promise I'll never
Let you go
In the still of the night

I remember
That night in May
The stars were bright above
I'll hope and I'll pray
To keep your precious love
Well before the light
Hold me again
With all of your might
In the still of the night
(In the still of the night)

So before the light
Hold me again
With all of your might
In the still of the night
(In the still of the night)
In the still of the night

Now what memory you all are wondering.

Back when i was doing my Form 6 in Victoria Institution, i was asked upgraded/degraded (depending on how you look at it) to be a prefect. Now, Prefect in VI goes back a long way and rich in history. So, being a PP (Probation Prefect) i had to memorise and know the school history since it started in 1893.

And one of the final *ritual* of being a prefect in VI is the one night where we (the PP) will be brought outside of SJI's dorm and sing a "revamped" SJI school song until someone in the dorm comes out to check what is happening.

Then,one of the many other ritual that night was to be dressed in rags(closest i could think of is KY's 2006 Party) and serves the senior prefects at Benteng (behind Dataran Merdeka). That would include, taking orders, waiting at the stall, bringing the food to the seniors and wishing them well.

Then we had to put up a performance and we sang the above mentioned song.

Back then, in Lower Six, there were ONLY 5 of us that were *upgraded/degraded* (again, depends on how you look at it), which was Winston(the face in kit kat advert), Vijay (the bandmaster), Kwan( the scoutmaster), Chee Yen (he was something, can't recall) and me(well, they need someone full of shit anyway), with exception of Mun Joon, which was a prefect since he was in Form 5, he already went through this ritual, so he will be one of the senior involved.

Till today, i could safely say that we still keep in touch. Friends that stick with you through thick and thin are worth every single thing in life, especially so when they sing Boys II Men with you. :)


Love this pic!

Wednesday, January 17, 2007

Ryan and Vaccinations

Today is Ryan's 61st day on Earth.

Looking back, he was a good 3.3kg baby and 50cm tall with a head circumference of 30cm.

Today, he had his measurement taken again.

He is now a good 5.56kg baby at 60cm tall with a head circumefrence of 39cm.

Dr. Yong says he will be a good tall baby, but his growth will be limited by his gene (shucks).

He also advises us against giving him more than 6 flow oz of milk and stick to the current 5 flow oz to prevent him from gaining too much weight. It's a big NO to Michelin baby.


You ain't gonna get this fat Ryan!

Now, before any of you say anything about us starving our first child, keep in mind that studies has shown that if the baby is fat at infancy, chances are, they will be obese when they grow up. Fat cells won't shrink in size, which explain why people like me, which were fat when i was a kid, could put on the pounds faster than you finish that last bite of Big Mac.

And i do not want Ryan to struggle with his weight when he grows up like my cousin, which at 19 years old, weight a good 102kg.

As usual, Dr Yong's impeccable bedside manner and his attentiveness bowls us over. Maybe that explain why he has more baby waiting outside his door compared to the other Peds in Pantai.

He took time to explain everything to us after asking us questons and listening to our feedback.

"it's ok if he pass motion once every 2 days since he is also digesting formula now", he assured us.

"I'll give you some nose saline to drop into Ryan's nose to remove the dirt, some baby are more sensitive to dust and their enviroment", he explains again.

Yes, we are talking about shit. Just like his dad, Ryan's full of shit.

My mum just told me this morning when we went back to get him that he "exploded" in his diaper. Soiling up his flannel, safe sleeper and in the process, having half his back covered with, well... shit.

"and he was smiling", my mum add.

Yeap, who won't be when you know someone is cleaning up your shit? :)

Ryan also has his first triple antigen today, Diphtheria, Tetanus, Pertussis, Polio and Hib all rolled into one injection (or usually known as Pediacel.

We've also opted for Prevenar and Rotavirus protection.

These 2 vaccination is actually optional. But after doing my own research and weighing the pros and cons, we both decided that we should give Ryan this immunity.

Basically, Prevenar is actually a cocktail of 7 of the most common types of Streptococcus pneumoniae bacteria which will cause diseases such as pneumonia, blood poisoning and meningitis, to name a few. It is also responsible for middle ear infection.

Rotavirus on the other hand, is the most common cause of severe diarrhea among children. It is also responsible for the death of 600,000 children annually, world wide. Not a fun thing to be in the statistic, no?

Ironically, as i was discusssing this with Dr. Yong, he told me that there was an outbreak of rotavirus just last week and he was on emergency call the whole week. At the same time, my lil cousin, which is younger than Ryan by a 2 weeks, was hospitalised for severe diarrhea just last week.

And going by the gene pool from his paternal side (ie me), with record of lactose intolerance and others gastro problem, giving Ryan Rotavirus immunisation seems to be the most logical thing to do.

Only set back was the cost for the optional vaccination (which, by the way, one of them is a must in UK).

Click here for the full listing of vaccination list as per reccomended in UK. (which also explain why Dr Yong reccomended it, he is an UK grad!)

Today's immunisation cost for Ryan came up to a big RM650 for Pediacel, Prevenar and Rotavirus.

Pediacel will be repeated for the next 2 months, Prevenar for the next 2 months and once more when he is a year old (meaning 4 shots) and Rotavirus, which was given orally, will be given when he is 6 months old.

Me and wifey could only be grateful that we can afford these immunisation cost. We know that the basic vaccine would be given free in government hospital, but with horror stories abound (even in government hospital in UK, where Poon lost his beloved daughter, and a friend telling us about doctors not stiching up a C section properly, also in UK), we didn't want to take the risk.

We can earn back the money, but a life loss to something we can prevent, or lessen the chances of contracting, is just worth every single sen spent.

So, Dr Yong proceed and gave him the Rotavirus vaccine orally. Ryan seems to like it. Maybe it's sweet, that is why.

Then, Dr. Yong proceeded to inject Pediacel onto Ryan's left thigh. He did not cry! Damn, my son love pain? or he has not pain receptor?

Then he injected the Prevenar onto his right thigh. It must has sting so bad that he cried this time, with tears flowing down like it never did before. (This boy is the master of Crocdile Tears).

He stopped crying within a minute as wifey soothe him and calm him down. With tears still flowing, he looked just simply too adorable.


My cousin, which my mum babysit since she was 20 days old, only going back during weekend to my aunt and uncle


and Ryan-no-eye-see

Desparil says that Ryan is still botak after 2 months. Can't help it la dude. He got my gene. I got thin and scarce hair.

Today we saw a premmie baby (34weeks) which looked so small in the arms of his/her mother. But the amount of hair on his/her head is enough to make Ryan shy like 10 times. Then, there is the one mamak baby girl, with hair so thick and lush, that she made me shy.

Ryan will be Baptised this Sunday. He will follow his Mum's faith. I'll continue to show and teach him about the culture that he must not forget. I'll even learn to pray (the Catholic way) and show him as much as i possibly could; and all me and wifey hope is that he and his siblings will grow up to be good useful person when he and them grow up. It's important to show him first as he will lead the rest of his brothers and sisters (If wifey read this statement, she will freak out over the plural form of the statement).

Tuesday, January 16, 2007

Ryan @ 60 Days

Today marks Ryan's 60th day.

He has grown, no?



Yeap, we've succumbed to the soother/pacifier. We got him the one from NUK. (Orthodontic Classic Latex Pacifier, Sizes 1)



To convince ourselves why we settled for this:

1. Nuk was reccomended by Purple.

2. Nuk is orthodontically correct.

3. We need our sleep at night.

4. Ryan only uses this when he is cranky.

He will get his triple dose of injection tomorrow. :)

Went to my usual bike shop. The uncle refuse to fix my Easton Flatboys. Asking me to buy new pedal.

Bummer.


Tossing & Turning

Monday, January 15, 2007

Ride Like The Wind...Not.

Yesterday. I found myself waking up at 5am not because i need to heat up the milk for Ryan, but because i was so excited about being able to go cycling after a long long hiatus...

The excitement from the night before had me fiddling with my car boot space to fit the bike in. Car new mah, so had to take extra care not to soil it la.

The roof rack i bought from a friend's friend (which was OEM for Hyundai Matrix and Trajet) were not used because it was simply too noisy at speed above 80km/h (but i keep blaming the Matrix for having a good NVH factor that the wind noise up above were irritating).

"wah, more excited than when you were dating me ah?", wifey poked at me late Saturday night.

I honestly am telling you that since wifey was at her advance stage of pregnancy and when Ryan came along, the first 2 months of non activities were still bearable, treating the hiatus as a much needed rest for the race battered body (as if i'm some pro athelete! hahahaah!).

But came the 3rd month, everytime the Light&Easy gang mentioned these few phrases, it was enough to make water welling up at my eyes...

"Jom climb this saturday at 730H. Bfast at Bintang7" Doc's smsed a few times over the months.

"lets go for a long distance open water swim at PD this weekend", Steve emailed.

"Bagan Lalang Century ride to end 2006", Bandit asked me along.

"Batu Dam Lover. Unite. Jom Pedal this saturday at one of our favourite route" Bandit emailed a couple of times.

Reading Judge's blog posting didn't help. Neither if i read Bacin's or Faie's. Even reading Azman's blog, i couldn't help it but envy.

How about KLIM 2007? I've not been training for it, really. At this stage i'm going, all i hope for is to finish the 42km run like i did last year. Physical activities wise, i just didn't feel i was on my top form (then again, since when i was?)

I long for the long runs. I long for the long rides. I long for the endless swims.

I do not want to visit BBS (short for Bicycle Buy Sell, a local internet buy sell portal) because friends there will tell stories about their rides and all i got was my daily 5 hourly duty walking to the kitchen to prepare milk.

The only reprieve i get is the gym visits with Wifey where we work out togehter (aiyo, not in any 18sx way la!).

So, it is only understandable that i am excited about the ride in Putrajaya.

Nah, i'm delirious.

Almost orgasmic.

Nevermind the toll increase of 60% to be paid at Sunway and Puchong toll. Nevermind that the sleep i'll get from 5am till 8.30am on a Sunday will be lost. Nevermind if i fall asleep during the afternoon Baptism course for Ryan at the church. The lure to get out and pedal was just too much, too intense, too alluring and too exciting to be ignored.

I reached Putrajaya mosque at 7.30am sharp. Already there were many riders getting ready. I unloaded my bike. Fixed the QR on the front and rear wheels. Adjusted the seatpost.

I climbed onto the seatpost and pedalled. Damn. I miss this so much.

Maybe my expectation was too high yesterday. The ride wasn't as good as i wanted it to be. Infact, it was so boring. Boring. Boring. Boring.

Having 2 groups, detached from each other, the initial plan of riding in a big group in honour of the Late OP Tahir was materialised only by the front group. The back group, had a hard time finding which route the first group took.

Having only cycled for 16 short KM, the most exciting thing that happened yesteray was my Easton Flatboys left pedal coming out from it's spindle. The ball bearings on the outer side must had seen better days, but i suspect it might be from the bad fall i had in Genting a couple of months ago which has caused the already old bearing to jump/break/dislodged from the cup.


I'm really trying very hard to be interested
Edited: just realised i looked damn SH in this pic...


Really lame pic of one of the bridges. Pic taken as i pedal along Istana Darul Ehsan

To add salt to injury, as i was cycling on the wooden walkway from Precint 10 to Precint 8, i slipped and fall as the wooden surface has too much moss growing on them. No cuts or bruises, just swollen knee and ego.

This is so not happening.


The Easton's spindle...luckily not bended


Laser etched brand name which Easton won't pay me for advertising them


But this flatboys are really surefooted and light! Just don't let those sharp screws bites your shin...

And i'm not wrong to say that the pedal malfunction was the most exciting thing that happened for me in the ride yesterday.

Sigh.

Congrats to Tuck Yiew & Ser Lyn!

Congrats to you both for the safe delivery of your first baby on the 12th January 2007!

Welcome to the club bro! Don't worry, our paternal instinct will take over from now on and sleep deprivation could now be told in the same breath when you describe how your baby is!

As for Ser Lyn, this is time to rest and rest and rest, let Tuck Yiew do all the work since you've done it for the past 9 months!

Congrats again!

Friday, January 12, 2007

PRIDE Foundation Fund Raising for Breast Cancer Survivors

Tomorrow marks a big for PRIDE, to be more specific, 2 of my friends, which will accompany 4 other individual, of which, one of them a breast cancer survivor (Rene'e Aziz Ahmad) to Argentina.

The reason is to scale Mount Aconcagua, which is the 4th highest peak in the world.



I wish all the team members, specifically to Zabil and Stephanie, very best of luck.

Do email them to give them words of encouragement here

Here is the full 26 days program. The team will leave KLIA tomorrow just past midnight and will bring them to Mendoza VIA Johanesberg, Cape Town and
Buenos Aires.

Thanks Zabil for the full program and good luck to all of you! Make us all proud!


EXPEDITION PROGRAMME

PRE-EXPEDITION
DAY 1
SUN
14Jan

DEP KUL 01:05 ARR EZE 15:35
Depart Kuala Lumpur for Buenos Aires with Malaysian Airlines (MAS)
DEP EZE 18:55 ARR MDZ 20:45
Depart Buenos Aires for Mendoza with Aerolineas Argentinas

DAY 2
MON
15Jan

Rest day, overnight at Mendoza

EXPEDITION
DAY 3
TUE 16Jan

Equipment check and briefing

DAY 4
WED 17Jan

Drive to Penitentes

DAY 5 to DAY 7
THU 18Jan to SAT 20Jan

Climb starts... Approach to Guanacos Base Camp 13,000'

DAY 8
SUN 21Jan

Ice Climbing Training at Guanacos Base Camp 13,000'

DAY 9 to DAY 17
MON 22Jan to TUE 30-Jan

Ascend from Base Camp 13,000' to Camp1 15,200', Camp2 16,500', Camp3
17,800 and High Camp 19,200'

DAY 18 to DAY 20
WED 31Jan to FRI 2Feb

Summit Attempt 22,834'

DAY 21
SAT 3Feb

Traverse to Plaza De Mulas Base Camp 13,800'

DAY 22
SUN 4Feb

Hike out via South Face to Penitentes

DAY 23
MON 5Feb

Drive to Mendoza and overnight

POST-EXPEDITION
DAY 24
TUE 6Feb

Rest day in Mendoza and overnight

DAY 25 to DAY 26
WED 7Feb FRI 9 Feb

DEP MDZ 09:50 ARR EZE 11:22
Depart Mendoza for Buenos Aires with Aerolineas Argentinas

DEP EZE 20:20 ARR KUL 05:40
Depart Buenos Aires for Kuala Lumpur with Malaysian Airlines (MAS)

Thursday, January 11, 2007

Migrated to New Blogger!

Done. Finally done the complete migrating and updating of the template to look exactly like the one i used to have.

Without losing any content from the old blogspot.

Pay Per Post rejected my application as they say i have duplicate posting on anohter blog. I guess there is no such thing as easy money!

So, humor me, keep staying on this URL for updates. I promise there will be more activities update instead of just thingy about my son!

To friends from LJ which drop by this blog, welcome and don't forget to bookmark me!

Tuesday, January 09, 2007

Ryan and Water

No doubt baby felt safest when they are in water. The original condition in their mother's womb, filled with fluid, which cushions and floats them makes them happy.

Ryan is of no different.

He looks forward to each morning's bath. Wifey would take his clothes off slowly as he start opening his eyes. Then wrap him in towel and give him a warm bath.

He almost never complain!

And in the evening, she would wash him once again before changing him into something longer for the night. And this photo, was taken 2 days ago when wifey shouted for me to take his pic while he sits as if in a jacuzzi...


where's the babes and my blings?

Friday, January 05, 2007

The Day I Was Taken Off Banned from Adsense

My shortlived fantasy of striking it big as a millionaire by hosting adsense on my blog came to an abrupt end yesterday.

I was accused of *multiplying* my earnings by clicking on the ads just once too many times.

I admit that i did click on the ads, but not to the extend that it would earn me millions, if not hundreds.

My last Adsense earning was a measly USD 12.52, which is actually an accumulated sum since i signed up last year somewhere in May.

Now, even the USD 12.52 is not gonna go into my name, i felt at the very least, they shuld honour the amount before they deem my account, err... "to be violating our terms and condition"

I've written to them to explain, maybe it was the Firefox add on that i fix (to monitor Adsense earnings) or maybe it could be the work of my boss' kids, which come to the office to use the PC. As i've set the homepage to be my blogpage, and this office has 3 PCs connected via the same ADSL line via a router, with 2 of them having my blog as the start page.

Infact, maybe my visitor traffic, which amount to about 150 on a very very good day (worse i had was 15 visitors and best was 350, but that only occur once for the later). Maybe my web audience is too low that it's unbelievable that there is that many people that click on my blog page.

I've been a faithful user of Google services (despite Steve telling me Google is evil) and to have the relationship come to this stage, is to me, a bit sad la.

I know my ramblings won't be heard by the people at Google Adsense, but let this serve as a lesson to all that think making it big via Adsense is possible... we are just pawns in the world wide web, bound by more fine prints than the sales and purchase agreement that you signed to by your own property.

So, with a sad (abeit happy) note, here you are, my blog, again, minus the adsense ads.

Thursday, January 04, 2007

The Lil Devil...

Ryan is now 6 weeks old. His colic condition seemed to come and go. But that is the least of our concern as of now. With Dentinox in hand, no colic would be too hard to handle.


Here i am, mimicking the air traffic controller...

He is now close to 5kg and has grown almost anohter inch from the last time he has his height checked.

He shows very good muscle strength, especially on his legs as he kick when he is feeling devilish.

As he is sleeping between me and wifey at times (when he is a devil at night), he has sort of punched and slapped my face almost everytime he is sleeping there. I thought it was wifey taking Ryan's mitten covered hand to brush against my face, but being woke up with those small strong lashes and seeing wifey sound asleep, i only can conclude that the lil devil did that.


Watch out for those bruce lee's hands and legs...

I admit, me and wifey has been spoiling this devil. We pick him up whenever he cries. But we had to stop ourselves from feeding him whenever he cries! This devil is a big eater. Only 6 weeks old and he is guzzling down 5 oz of milk, which me and wifey sometimes need to cheat him by giving some water at the end of the feed. He eats every 5 hours now and would wakes up an hour before and causes havoc.

"korang dera anak korang ke?, my neighbour asked.

We abuse our kid? Hardly! He is abusing us instead!

On the plus side, we now could get at least 4 hours of sleep straight everynight. That is really good. Sleep, which i takes for granted, and now, i find myself treasuring it even more.


Pa and mummy get 4 hours of sleep because i let both of you too... not because of anything else...

Trials and error in everything that we do. This include feeding pattern, sleeping pattern and even diapers. We found out that Mamypoko is just overrated (and expensive), you have to take extra care in putting them on the baby, they are prone to leakage. Can't hold as much as i thought it would. At best, it's just slightly better than Fitti, the brand so cheap we don't mind changing the diapers on Ryan like once every 2 hours (The branded one can't last 4 hours anyway).

So, it's still experiment with diapers. I guess we are not going to use the washable cloth diapers. Too much drama involved, especially when we are not talking about just urine. You get my drift la!

We also found out that Ryan gives us the most problem during the evening until his last feed at 12am or 1am. Perhaps he knows that during those hours, his parents are back home and he sorta want more T.L.C. Can't complain much though, me and wifey are more than glad to give him those attention!


Happily sleeping on his papa's arm on the second day of the new year

He is slowly outgrowing all his clothes. Me and wifey is like on a quest to quickly let him wear all the nice clothes friends and relative bought for him. So, technically, we didn't spoil him as yet as all the clothes we bought for him was from reject shop and also from the factory outlet...which explain the oversized of the clothes...

He has Aunt June getting him clothes from Bebehaus like the one below


I got bunnies on my feet...

He also has Aunt Vivien, my neighbour, getting him clothes from Next like this one below


I appear to be sleeping most of the time, but i'm actually NOT.

And he has Aunt Narissa and Uncle Nara to get him a Zara Kid cap...


Waaaaa....

Lets not even go to the toys he has...

I received a very good news yesterday from a close friend. I shalt reveal the news only a month later from today.

Also, me and wifey are waiting for the arrival of (in order), Tuck Yiew's Son, Shen's son, Iqbal's Son within this 3 months.

Here is a collage of Ryan. :) Simply adorable, no?