Swordie Bloggie

Tonight, I will have to use my mobile Celcom’s 3G broadband instead of the wired Streamyx broadband at home.

Why? Because my Linksys broadband modem/router got barbequed last night.

I think it was just before 11pm when the dark sky started flashing intensely. But I did not really bother because the thunder sounded very far away.

Then after 11pm, it started raining… followed by the strong wind. Then the rain started getting stronger with the strong wind… and it become noisy by the hauling wind and the rain hitting the roof.

I still did not bother… continue surfing on my notebook inside my room as if nothing going on outside.

The lightning and thunder stated getting louder and louder…

PHRAAKKKKKKK DOOM!!!

My hand experienced a supper strong electro shock and was thrown away from the notebook!!!

It turned DARK!!! The lightning tripped the whole house…

Lucky my notebook still alive… although it becomes dim coz it is running on battery now. I immediately pull the power cord away from the notebook.

BLOODY LUCKY!!! My notebook did not fry… PHEWWW…

I grab my LED torch-light… Lucky it wasn’t far from me coz I just took it out from my luggage bag… yea, the very same luggage bag I took with me to Gayana Eco Resort 😀

I went to the switchboard near the living room and put everything back to ON. The house turned bright again. Unfortunately, two of the fluorescent lamp got fried and probably an air-con.

After checking here and there, I went back to my notebook and see if it really OK. It is OK, and I am using it right now. I believe it was saved by the APC extension cord which has an internal surge protection… but I’m still wondering how the heck I got that bloody shock and the notebook is still alive?… but that doesn’t matter for now. When I check the Wi-Fi connection, it is down… DAMM… the modem/router got barbecued!!!

When I think back about the shock I got from the notebook… gosh… imagine if the notebook exploded and it wasn’t just a strong static shock but a real current from the lightning!!!… Imagine if I don’t have the APC surge protection!!! I don’t think I will be writing this piece right now… even if I have Lexington personal injury lawyer, I don’t think it will help. Who can I sue?… Who can give back my… errr hand?… life?…

Well, I don’t care all that for now… the most important is I’m still here typing 😀

And that’s how my Linksys broadband modem/router got fried last night… now I have to waste some bucks for a new router… and I’m willing to waste some more for a new APC or Belkin surge protection extensions cord, not for my notebook… but for the TV and router.

Gosh… it was quite sometimes already since the last posting. I did not really abandon it… I still do come here and check my blogroll to see what updates they have.

It’s just that I really don’t have the mood to write anything… I just look at it… and let everything go…

Anyway, since the first day of this year, I’m still occupied with my work… was struggling with the account systems. You know how important it is to make sure the previous financial accounts are closed on time. Have to make sure the systems are working correctly… whenever the system ‘whistle’, I have to make it stop ‘whistling’!

Then the current year works started coming already… in fact I just came back from Gayana Eco Resort at Gaya Island yesterday. I was there since Sunday till yesterday, Wednesday. The office’s top guns including the new Director went there to set the department’s 2009 goals. Twenty sets of goals… meaning there are 20 branches in HQ, and have not included the 24 districts yet… that for sure extra works for this year… going to be very busy again this year… busier than last year I’m sure… everyone need IT!

Waking up this morning is already like ‘zombie’… my whole body is aching… probably caused by the heat and the work in Gayana Eco Resort… with presentation and discussion from 8am to 10pm!!! I think I’m going to loose some weight this time… no need Leptorexin pills to diet… but I think it will be the opposite, coz when I work a lot, I gain weight instead of loosing weight 😮

I took some photos in Gayana Eco Resort but I’m not going to show it now coz I’m too lazy to edit and upload them… next time I show.

After so many years leaving school… last was form five at St. Michael Secondary School, Penampang, I’ve lost in touch with some of my schoolmate… classmate. There are 21 of us in the Form 5 Science class, 13 girls and 8 boys… I hope I got this correct, almost forgot how many of us in the class, and need to recall very hard their names too… LOL.

L-R: Jenny, Avril, me, Roland, Charlie, Lake, Jocelyn and Carolyn

I did meet some of them occasionally and some from time to time… but most, almost never since our last day at St. Michael School. Everyone went on with their own life… direction… after St. Michael…

Some went to further their studies locally or abroad. Some went into working life. Some started a family. And one, probably become a millionaire!

But last year (sound so long although last year is not even a week past), Christmas 2008, is extra special. I met 7 of them, four girls and three boys!

It went like this, although it was public holiday, Monday, 29 December 2008, I have to go to office to finish urgent work. After lunch, on my way to office, I received two calls from Charlie, one missed call. Charlie is one of the ‘never met’ although we did talk on the phone recently. He was asking me to attend a Christmas lunch at Carolyn’s house. I met Carolyn a few times since she is working with government like me.

Since we (me and another staff) just reach office, I said I can’t make it… after ‘talk talk’, Charlie said ok lah… About half hour later, Bonnyventure (hah… dono how to spell his name already… just call him Lake lah), called me. I met Lake occasionally. He and Charlie are at Carolyn’s house… including a few others. Since it sounds exciting, I said I will come but for a while only since I’m working today… I told my friend that I will leave him behind for a while. So off me to Carolyn’s house… arrive there in about 10 minutes, with great navigation through the phone by Lake.

There, I met the classmates.. Carolyn, Jocelyn (very long time no meet), Avril (very long time no meet), Jenny (very long time no meet), Charlie, Bonnie and Roland (occasionally meet).

I greet and shake hand with everyone… no hugging with the girls… their husband are around LOL. I greet them with ‘wah agazo kono’ aka ‘wah basar sudah ko’ aka ‘wah u so big already’.

But in return, when Jocelyn said we have not met for 20 years… WHAT 20 YEARS?… holy cow… I felt so old now like cow… Anyway, it was great meeting them again, although not all of them but it still makes the ‘reunion’ great… glad that I come.

The only ‘bad’ part is the liquor… yalah… I don’t drink like u all lah bah… I told you all I can take one can only ok… end up consuming almost two cans, some wine and some spirit called Jack & Daniel… shoot man, those stuff burned my throat and lungs… and I was walking and driving like a crab after that. Luckily I manage to reach office and get a half done nap while doing my work.

OK lah guys, hope to meet you all again…

A new chapter will open soon. Have you fulfilled this year’s chapter? The 2008 vision, mission, resolutions… or what ever you would like to call it. Every year, at the beginning of the year, people lay out their plan, their yearly master plan. And some love to frame their resolutions and probably call it Holiday frames resolutions.

But plan or resolution is just something you promised to fulfill… hoping to fulfill them without knowing what are ahead of you for the next 12 months, 365 days or 8760 hours.

This year, 2008, I believe most of us never expected the oil will shoot up to almost $150 per barrel in the middle of the year. But some were so excited that it will shoot up to $170 by the end of 2008.

But look… just look at the whole world economic right now! You don’t see $150 or $170 per barrel right now! Not even $100. It drippings to almost $30 per barrel right now! The whole world economic has tumbled down.

Although cheaper oil means cheaper gas, petrol or diesel for us, but the drippings of oil price as usual bring along with it bigger trouble… economic meltdown.

Countries which do not have other resources other than oil… Countries which depend too much on their oil revenue… will face the greatest economic meltdown…

But let’s hope the economic meltdown don’t bother us so much next year. Hopefully everyone will be happy with what they have.

Happy New Year 2009… P E A C E

How many of you stuck in the traffic jam during your recent Christmas shopping round? With the sale carnival on going, shopping complexes are like circus. Roads are jammed with vehicles and shopping complexes are jammed with shoppers. And if you were driving yourself, you also have to face another problem, parking!

But if you said you did not experience any of those, then you must be shopping somewhere else… online shopping right? I’m sure some did their shopping online. It is much more convenience than wasting time stuck in the jam.

I did not do much shopping for Christmas through online or at shopping complexes. But I did my online shopping for some stuffs for the coming New Year… only 3 days away… I hope I can receive my stuffs before New Year 😛

While searching for information about Cisco hub, I came across with Sapia Network. They are selling used network stuffs like router, switch, VoIP phone, and many more. The used network devices in their offering are from well know brands like Cisco, Juniper, Foundry, Extreme, Marconi, Riverstone and Brocade.

I was not looking for used cisco hub or anything but I just want to get some information about our old Cisco FastHub. You must be wondering why I keep on mentioning ‘hub’ instead of ‘switch’.

Well, our network was setup in the late nineties, around 1997. During that time, switch is not that commonly available and it can cost a bomb… but not as much as a warhead 😀

Our backbone are taken care by the 12 ports Cisco FastHub 100 FX, all 12 ports are fiber port. And the rest of the hub are Cisco FastHub 300 series, which has 16 ports only. The 16 ports are 15 100BaseTX ports and one 100BaseFX port for linking UTP devices to a fiber Fast Ethernet backbone. If I ask you to guess the price of the 16 ports Cisco FastHub on that time, you will not be able to give me a correct guess. Well, the cost of the hub at that time is almost RM10K each… yes almost RM10k for a mere 16 ports hub… not even a 16 ports switch!

Today, a 16 ports switch will cost less than RM1k, depending on the brand and features it has. But although switch technology is faster than hub, some of today’s switch will not be able to beat that more than 10 years old Cisco FastHub technology… it is rock solid! They have been working 24×7 since 1997. Of course we lost some of it because of bad main power supply… but 80% are still working.

Duty calls… no choice but to attend it although it still Christmas week. The air-con in the server room supposed to be fixed a couple of weeks ago. I reminded them again before Christmas, that’s was on Wednesday.

I have been warning them that the temperature in the server room is too warm… both air-cons are not in good working condition. Even the air-con compressor outside are making loud noises.

So here I am… on leave but in the office. While waiting things to be done, I sit in my room doing what I need to finish. Well, I guess it is blessing in disguise… at least I can do some work while no one disturb me… I’m not going to answer any calls or entertain anyone coming. Sorry… I’m on leave OK.

So, looking at my desk, I was thinking, do I need computer desks? Yea, computer desk… you know, computer table… for my two CPUs and a monitor… which are enough to accommodate a desktop PC, a server, a monitor and a KVM switch.

But I don’t really like using computer desk. I prefer my monitor to be on my table and the CPUs under the table or at the side of the table. That’s why I like to have slightly bigger table so that it can act as an office desk and also as computer desk. It is much convinient to do work… because I can say that more than three quarter of my office hours, I will be using the computer. I don’t have to switch desk.

What I actually need are filling cabinets… the files and documents are pilling on my office desk cum computer desk… and yes, it looks very messy, you don’t have to remind me for that 😛

I’m sure you all noticed in today toys’ box, some has ‘suitable for’ age sticker meaning if it state ‘6 years old’, 5 years old or younger are not supposed to use the toys, it is not suitable for them.

But today toys are also very complex, I’m not even referring to Play Station or Xbox kind of toys. During Christmas, my nephews got few presents and also puppies. Early morning, they are already ransacking the Christmas tree.

But I think this one particular toy is not meant for kids. Even adults will have a hard time to assemble them. Well, it is good that the kids can think, imagine and solve on how to assemble them at early stage, but this one is just too difficult to finish.

My nephew asks for my assistant to assemble his toy after he can’t go on anymore. The toy when fully assembles will supposed to turn into moving pods. It will carry marbles from the bottom to the top of the tower of the moving pod using chain and ‘bucket’. Once on top, the marble will slide down along the ‘cables rail track’ attached at the side of the moving pod’s tower.

Assembling the tower, chain and the electric motor is no problem… my nephew did it.  But assembling and aligning the marble’s cables track is the problem. It took me morning, afternoon, evening and night to try to align it but it just not perfect. The marble can slide down but the shape of the cables track is not perfect… I have to assemble and unassembled it, and it is not done yet. Clipping and unclipping the clips is hurting the fingers. There are more than 200 parts in this toy to be assembled.

You might think it is easy… what so difficult about assembling rail track cables? I have installed all kind of cables… UTP cables, fiber cables, armored cables… above the ceiling, under the ceiling and even under the ground, but these two less than 300 cm steel cables are just giving me a hard time. You see, if your alignment is not correct and the turning radius is not right, the cable will not end at the same length, although the outer cable has a longer length.

Today, I’m on leave, but got a call about office ‘server room’ air-con… I’m lazy to drive, wish I have moving pods or teleport pods…

Christmas is here bringing good cheer to all mankind… let us celebrate together the peace, joy and hope it brings.

Merry Christmas

You wanted to watch tv while lying on your bed. The tv is in front of your bed. But you can’t have a good view of it, so you have to lift your head a little bit using some pillows or you have no choice but to sit on your bed and lean on the headboard… which will cause you neck pain or back pain.

To have it at good viewing level and to avoid severe neck or back pain, the tv has to be on a higher level, higher than the usual 3 feet high cabinet that we usually have in the living room.

How about fixing the tv on the wall? Or how about fixing it on the ceiling? Yea, ceiling will be nicer since you don’t have to use additional pillow or sit and lean on the headboard. No more neck pain or back pain, just lie down and enjoy the tv shows until you fall asleep 😀

But how are you going to lift and fix the tv on your ceiling? You definitely are going to need a lifter to do that… probably tv lifts. But I don’t think you want to install the tv on your ceiling if you don’t want the tv kills you while you sleeping… kaboom… the tv falls on you while you are sleeping.

Even with plasma or lcd tv, they are still not suitable to be installed on the ceiling. The best option is to get a tv cabinet with an adjustable tv lifts so that you can have a better viewing level.

But yesterday at Karamunsing Complex shop, Micron, at the 3rd floor, I saw a neat gadget… handheld projector. The projector is the size of a pda phone. You can project the image anywhere you like while holding it, just like pointing a laser pointer. And the best part, you can point it upward to the ceiling. WOW… can watch movie while lying on the bed lah… 😀

Just look at the picture, I took it using my hand phone camera. Although it was projected to the checkered wall which is like silk and very reflective, the image is still very clear. Imagine if it was projected on to a white plaster ceiling… 😀

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL of YOU… and if you want to give me a present, you know what I want, it’s only about RM1,000.00++ 😆