Great Balls Of Fire!!!

Nope, I'm not writing about Jerry Lee Lewis's song "Great Balls Of Fire", I'm talking about an eminent danger we IT people face with each day now. (*_*)

Yep.. It's another exploding laptop folks!!

I was surfing around the Lowyat website looking for my next IT "toy" deal when this article caught my eye --> Another exploding ThinkPad. Apparently, this is the 2nd IBM Thinkpad to explode, as there was one which exploded in LAX last week. For those who don't know, LAX = Los Angeles International Airport.

I'm getting kind of worried now as I'm sitting here at my laptop, writing this blog. (*-*)

My laptop's battery is being charged as I've used it up today. When I first got this laptop I noticed that the base got a bit too hot but now, it seems to be ok. However, I always unplug the battery once its fully charged so that I can preserve the battery as well as minimize the risk of it being blown up. |>-<| However, some thoughts are running through my head now...

1. By the action of plugging and unplugging the battery often, would it make my battery more susceptible being blown up?
2. By constantly draining it every other night and then, subsequently re-charging it back again, would it cause it to blow up?

Anyway, as I recall, some friend told me that these batteries have a certain number of charge/discharge lifecycles and that the proper way to charge the battery was to ensure that the power adapter wasn't faulty in the first place. So, in the end, your laptop will turn into a desktop. hee... (^_^)

I had a laptop with a suspected faulty power adapter once (it was a Compaq Evo) and after calling up HP support (yep, they got taken over, remember?), the kind support guy told me to bring the laptop in for servicing. I remembered asking how long it would take, and he said 3 days. I couldn't afford 3 days and besides, all the data on the laptop was sensitive (there was no PGP encryption at the time - co saw no need for it) and so, I opted for a replacement.

Anyway, that was scary because I found that the cable on the adapter was melting away (due to overheating) and the HP support guy did suggest to have the laptop checked in case, something bad happened. Never did I think about it exploding. The worse I thought was the laptop wouldn't start and that it would trip the office's power (hehehe... **evil laugh**)

Oh well, here's to all of us road warriors. Better pack a mini fire-extinguisher and watch for those tell-tale signs of when the laptop is about to explode. Should something does happen (touch wood.. NO...) remember the following,

• Run away!! Run away!!
• Run and shout "Fire in the hole!!"

Anyway, for those travelling and you need to bring your little lappie along, if you're not using it, guess its best to remove the battery away from the laptop. Since those travelling to the UK (not sure about Europe) or US need to check-in their lappie, guess this is already being done. (^_^)

So, stay safe you laptop owners out there!!!!

Anyway, some interesting pieces here:

• Gizmodo Reader Witnesses IBM Laptop Catch Fire at LAX
• ExplodingLaptop.com
• After the Thinkpad Exploded

Guess that even non-Dell laptop owners are cringing in fear now.. (o_0)

Jams (Not the Sweet Kind)

9:40am - Got into car, to get to work... ** Yes, I start work late... ^_^ **
9:44am - Damn!! Took me so long to find my shoes... (+__+)
9:45am - Listening to my favourite channels.. WTF??? Why so bad jam on opposite side of the road??
"... bla bla... Overturned lorry on Federal Highway, near Anchor/Guiness... Don't try to use NKVE as there is another overturned lorry near Bukit Jelutong toll... NPE at a standstill... "
9:47am - (O____O)... FaAAAARRRRR***KKKK....

I was on the Federal Highway when I heard the traffic update on the radio. Anyway, I decided to take my chance to get on the NKVE and turn off from Damansara Toll (cheaper-ma.. RM1 only...) and I was greeted by a wonderful view of classic Malaysian bottleneck road.... The jam was backlogged towards the toll... (o___O)... I had no choice.. Had to SMS my colleague.

Sent SMS: Fantastic traffic 2day. Massive jams everywhere. Chk hitz fm.
** Beep! Beep **
Received SMS: Wa... Take ur time.......

As it turned out, there WAS overturned lorries and as well as several car breakdowns on the way to work. The last I counted, when I reached my workplace in KL, was 4. ALL of them were locally made cars. 3 out of 4 were driven by females... Hmmm...

I'd guess these people didn't really maintain their car properly. It was particularly warm and sunny today. There is a kind of syndrome here in KL that when the rainy or hot season starts, cars tend to breakdown easily.... Don't ask me why... Must be some timer in the car engine which switches to "OFF" when it touches water or sunlight. LOL!!!

I managed to reach office by 10:30am.. *SIGH*.. Means, OT for the day... -__-|||

Oh well, got to think about LRT.......... But then, I've not recovered of being nearly crushed by a big guy...

Aiyo.. Are you sure you Malaysian or Not?

I had lunch with a few ex-colleagues today. It was a nice Saturday and we haven't seen each other for a while...
** Damn! Should have taken some photos... ** (-__-)

We were catching up with each other and just talking about general stuff as my friend announced that he's getting married next year. --> ** WAH LIAO!! Advanced Warning!! **

Anyway, we were talking about how this one ex-colleague was so blur... Here's the sample conversation according to her... (^_^)

** Some time back in August 2006 **
Ex-Colleague Aunty: Aiyooo.. My Singapaw flen so gud... Got holiday today....
Ex-Colleague Friend: Hah?? Really-ar... ** Very busy typing... **
Ex-Colleague Aunty: Yealo... **Thinking**
Ex-Colleague Aunty: Eh... You know what day is it today-ar?
Ex-Colleague Friend: Hah? What...?
Ex-Colleague Aunty: Aiyooo... You sure you Malaysian or not? Today is Singapaw National Day-la!!
Ex-Colleague Friend: O____O --> ????????? ** Thinking, what is Singapaw National Day got to do with us?? **

Note: This "Aunty" can't pronounced certain English words properly, so, hence...
flen - friend
Singapaw - Big island south of state of Johor, some country-la

As my friend finished her story, we just sat there, LOL.. I nearly fell off my chair. Kekekeke....

It got me thinking... Today is 16th September 2006... MORE IMPORTANTLY, DO YOU KNOW WHAT DAY IS IT TODAY????

Give you 3 seconds.. If you cannot answer, haii.. I congratulate you. You are certainly a product of the Malaysian Education System. (^___^)

Selamat Hari Malaysia....

Still Tired....

Snoopy, taking a nap

Finally, the house painting is almost complete. All the rooms were painted and all that is left are the grills and other small stuff to clean up. I believe the doors of the house are to be painted as well. If I'm not mistaken, my Mom has chosen white. -___-

Yes.. Yes... Its a boring colour and yes, it will mean that we have to have clean hands when we use the door. I'm actually quite happy with the current colour, but Mom said that it doesn't match our new look.

Anyway, there is still a lot of junk even after we cleaned up the place. I was going through some stuff and found that I had software from way back in 1999... (o___0)

I think some of these software are either

1. obsolete
2. bought over by M$ to be apart of its tools
3. original developer died. look at 1st option
4. the o/s became obsolete

Oh well, as much as I would like to keep some of the software CDs (what? You don't recall software being in CDs??? Oh yea, these days, software comes in DVDs.. ^_^), I can't find any use for it anymore.

So, armed with a whole bunch of CD jewel cases, I thought of something to do with it...

1. Build a replica of where I work...... KLCC-la...
2. Build a fort made of plastic for me and Snoopy to play...
3. Give Snoopy something to play with (unlimited frisbees)
4. Recycle... --> become future empty DVD??

Anyway, I'm still exhausted from all this cleaning. I had a night "off" as I was so exhausted from the last few nights that I had enough of the cleaning. However, the mess is waiting for me and I've got to clear it up by this weekend. So, my plans are set... *sigh*...

One thing I'm glad though, the weather had been pretty good for the painters to complete the job on time. (^___^)

Otherwise.......

OK.. Time to go....

I'm breathing in too many paint fumes....

o_____0.... **pengsan**

Exhausting Weekend...(-___-)

I'm absolutely tired. I could just fall asleep on my lapppppppperewraera'foka;qkl3eavameir1lmhs/[ppafd..ZZZZZZZzzsaerar.... ***oops*** laptop... (@____@)

It all started some many many many bulan (Malay-Eng. translated: moon) back.

Mom: Please clean up your table..
Me: **mumble mumble**.... ZZZZzzzzzZZZZZ
Me: <-- T I D U R (Eng. translated: sleep)
Mom: >___<

** Some "bulans" (Eng. translated: plural of moon) later **
** Came home from work... mau 死 (die) from 重音 (stress) @ 办公室 (office)... Went to my room.. **
Mom: Noticed anything different?
Me: ...... \^o^/ **shock**
Mom: 吓死你了!!... (Cantonese-Eng translated: Scare you to death-le!)
Me: ...
Mom: I cleaned your table, so much dust!! Next time, better clean up, ok??
Me: ...

** Some more "bulans" later... Wednesday, 6th Sept 2006 **
Mom: You better stay home this weekend.
Me: Why??
Mom: Got people coming to paint the house tomorrow and you need to clean your room.
Me: ...... \^o^/ **shock**
Me: SO FAST??!!!
Mom: Yeah, we never expect it also, but the fella is coming to paint the house tomorrow. I give you colour to choose, ok?
Me: ...

** Present day... Sunday, 10th Sept 2006, 10:37pm **
Actually, my Mom asked me to choose a paint colour and I've been going around either green or blue. My Mom kept saying too dark and won't be nice. In the end, we end up with some "vineyard green" colour for the interior rooms.

Me: Aiyo... 我瘁死了... (Cantonese translated: I am so tired until I want to die)
Mom: Why??
Me: I pick this up and that up. Move this box here and there... Tired...
Mom: Oh! So, are you done yet?
Me: No, just finish the tables and part of the shelf. I want to move some books to storage. Maybe might sell them to 2nd hand bookshop.
Mom: How about your cupboard?
Me: Cannot! That one another day...
Mom: The drawers?
Me: Wah!! You want me to die-ar? That one, another day...
Mom: Ohhh...
Me: So tired... So tired...
Mom: Go bathe and then sleep early-la!!

I'm afraid that after this post, after my shower, I will go tidur and may not wake up in time for work since I'm so tired. This is a good workout. I seriously think my Mom is quite happy that my room is finally being cleaned.

Mom: You know..
Me: What?
Mom: This is a good way to get you to clear all your rubbish...
Me: .... (o_______0) ** mata terbeliak ** (Malay-Eng translated: Eyes pop out of socket)

=======ZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ=======

P/S: I know that I'm very lucky to have my Mom to help clean my room for me. But you see, she "beh tahan" (Hokkien: cannot stand) the amount of rubbish I kept in my room anymore that she had to take some drastic action.
Anyway, she doesn't do this anymore, the most she does is just to wipe the surface area from time to time... (^_^) I still need to do all the hard labour-le... (-___-*)

My Dad's Breakfast Oats

This may be a weird category to post a recipe but then, I'd figured that since I don't do many foodie posts, I might as well plug it into this category until such I have such need for it. (^_^) Besides, we have Foodbazaar for such posts! LOL!!! (^___^)

Anyway, this recipe was an idea originated from my Mom who heard from her colleague about an alternative method of preparing quick-cooking oats. Here's the quick recipe:

Ingredients
- Quick cooking oats (as much as you can eat)
- 1 to 1.5 glass of room-temperature water
- 1/4 cup of raisins
- 3 tablespoons of unsalted sunflower seeds
- 1/2 cup of breakfast muesli or cereal
- 1 whole fruit (banana or orange or apple or... your liking)

Preparation Method (The night before)

1. Take a large bowl and place the oats in it.
2. Place the 1/4 cup raisins in the bowl with the oats.
3. Add the water.
4. Leave to soak overnight.

"Cooking" Method (The next day)

1. Once the oats are left to soak overnight, the oats will soften and the raisins have also absorbed some of the water as well, making it quite "juicy".
2. Add the rest of the ingredients to your liking, i.e. sunflower seeds, breakfast cereal, and fruits.
3. Mix well and enjoy!

Note: You may add more liquid such as milk if the oats feel a bit dry, however, I feel that after adding the breakfast cereal, a lot of the liquid has been absorbed as well. (^__^)

Anyway, if you're curious about how it looks like, have a look at the picture I took below!

Dad's Oats!! Yummy!!!

Jesus, I Trust In You!

Today's theme at church was about differences of observing the commandments and human traditions. The liturgical readings today spoke about the importance of commandments to help us lead a good life. The 1st reading from Deuteronomy (Dt 4:1-2, 6-8) reminds us that the commandments which Moses presents to the Israelites is to help guide them be a great people by careful observance, i.e. "In your observance of the commandments of the LORD, your God, which I enjoin upon you, you shall not add to what I command you nor subtract from it." (verse 2).

The 2nd reading from the letter of James (Jas 1:17-18, 21b-22, 27) reminds us that we should not be hearers (and readers) of the Word, but also doers as well, i.e. "But you must do what the Word tells you and not just listen to it and deceive yourselves.". By this, he means that one should not think that he can be holy by just only listening to the Word of God. We need to live the Word of God in our lives.

The Gospel of Mark (Mk 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23) elaborates further by Jesus telling the Pharisees that they, being hypocrites only provided God lipservice (verse 6) and they have put aside the commandment of God to ovserve human traditions (verse 8). Jesus goes on to say that it is not what that goes into a man which makes him unclean, but it is what comes out of a man which makes him unclean (verses 20-23). What Jesus meant to say is that it is not enough that we listen to the Word of God, we need to live it as well.

During the sermon, the priest mentioned that he saw some road signs while driving along the road in US. The first one he saw was, "THINK GOD". The second one was, "FEEL GOD", and finally the last one was "DO GOOD". This message had a profound meaning to me as I pondered about the message as how many times we profess that we believe in Him but yet, we fail to do His works?

I recalled back as I came to church, I encountered some very nasty drivers who had no considerations about the safety of other drivers on the road. I remembered feeling angry about them but when it came time to admit our sins in front of God, I remembered the words of the prayer "I Confess", where it states, "... that I have sinned in my thoughts and words, in what I have done, and in what I have failed to do...". I prayed for forgiveness that I had failed to forgive those who crossed my path. In this, I had failed to do good by being more considerate.

The priest then asked the congregation if there is anyone who could truly profess that "Jesus, I trust in You!" always and every chance they can get. Not when they have problems, or when they're sick, but at every chance they get. I found myself thinking that I lack the faith and trust in Him to say this. I reflect on the many times in which I asked God for strength and help when I came upon a crossroads in my life. I now realize that I should have said to God, "I leave this in Your Hands, I trust in You that You will give me wisdom to choose the right path!"

At the end of the sermon, the priest closed by saying that the Pharisees have missed the biggest point that Jesus was trying to sell to us, that "Love Your Neighbour As Yourself", because that commandment supercedes all the commandments which God gave to us. Only through Love that we will be able to follow the commandments God gave us, only through Love, all things are possible. When we surrender ourselves to God fully, by trusting Him fully, in his Love, we are free. We need not hide behind traditions and laws which humans have created because this is not what He wants from us. He wants us to live fully in His Love.

THINK GOD, FEEL GOD, DO GOOD.

Amen!