Labs

Labs = Reports = Homework = Suck ass!!!

UV-A, part 2

Didn't know that there will be a part 2...


I just thought that it would be so cool to mess about with a highlighter on my acrylic window panel of my PC.




[Note the second hard disk...]

Hope that with the UV and all, there won't be as much mosquito. Though, I wouldn't want them to sneak into my PC.. Hmmm... -.-"

UV-A

Did you know that black lighting is so cool that it is used in night clubs and CSI?? Guess that you already knew that.

Well, there's another cool thing that you can see under UV light, that is your IC. Money under UV is also interesting, though not as cool as credit cards. Our MYcard is the best.



[The bright spot is an photoshop effect, to cover up the IC number. It also shows up under UV lighting right above the black numbering.]



Why do I have UV lighting? Well, I got a set of two cold cathode florescent light from the KL PC fair.



[Bad pic cause I took it with my phone.]


From the blurry and noisy picture, you can see two hard disks, with a total of 750GB.


Will post more about it later, along with some eye-candy...

Hate City Parking and Tow Trucks?

This will explain itself.

Kuching High In Flames!!!

Yeah, my torturous beloved school is up in flames.

Nope, I was not the cause since I have an alibi. I'm in KL.


To view some pics, head over to my class of 2005 blog, here.

DIY and Murphy's Law.

I read something about Murphy's Law here, which goes like this

1. Nothing is as easy as it looks.
2. Everything takes longer than you think.
3. Anything that can go wrong will go wrong.
4. If there is a possibility of several things going wrong, the one that will cause the most damage will be the one to go wrong. Corollary: If there is a worse time for something to go wrong, it will happen then.
5. You never run out of things that can go wrong.
6. If anything simply cannot go wrong, it will anyway.
7. If you perceive that there are four possible ways in which a procedure can go wrong, and circumvent these, then a fifth way, unprepared for, will promptly develop.
8. If everything seems to be going well, you have obviously overlooked something.
9. It is impossible to make anything foolproof because fools are so ingenious.
10. Whenever you set out to do something, something else must be done first.
11. Every solution breeds new problems.

It is so true in every way possible whenever you are doing something like DIYing, fixing your PC, or even cleaning it, upgrading it or modding it, everything that can go wrong will go wrong. And it always take longer than I thought it would be, even just cleaning the dust filter off my PC. It took roughly an hour.


Well, during the hols, I did some DIY on an Kitchen Island Peninsular.

First thing first, I got myself some material, compress wood, cheapo plywood that goes fat when drinking (must be careful) and table tops that are really hard-wearing. Well, the sizes are big, the length of the peninsular will be 8 feet, so its quite a project.


Didn't take any pictures of it since I forgot.



Plan out the design of the table, include drafts and support trust and braces.






Went to a hardware shop to get a few things.

1. 2.5" brush
2. ICI Dulux SatinWood paint (black)
3. Thinner
4. 90 Degree Brackets
5. 1 1/4 " screws
6. Wood filler putty, those cellulose type.

And tools includes

1. Drill set
2. Screwdrivers and Allen Key (DUH..)
3. Saw
4. Manual Sander and Sandpaper.


Since the raw material is from an L-shaped table with most of the things laminated with grey paper and top with Formica plastic, not much prepping is necessary.


There are some holes that need to be filled since I was making an ordinary rectangular table instead of an L-shaped table.


The first work is to paint the wood since this is a one person job and I don't want to paint upside down. Besides, moving a big table is a hassle by myself.


Thin the Dulux paint if necessary, cause you would want a thin coat of paint to make is even. If you really want it to look like those Cavenzi, Rozel smooth black, I would suggest you either

1. Use a really fine brush, those china white brush that has plenty of hair (pig's) and risk having pig hair on you finish.
2. Use a roller, with foam inserts for a smoother finish (I speculate that it would look nicer)
   
3. Use spray paint.
   
4. Use a different type of paint, that is water based so you can get a thinner mixture. Though I'm not sure that it can stand up to the wear and tear.
   

Take your time to let the paint dry. Under normal humid temperature, it could take up to an hour for the paint to initially dry, but maybe 3-5 days to dry completely.

I took myself 3 whole days to do the painting itself.


There are some problems like rain, since I'm doing it on a balcony with limited space.


After the paint session, its time to follow the plan and cut one piece of the plank into size as an additional support leg.





Measure twice and cut once.


According to Murphy's Law,
8. If everything seems to be going well, you have obviously overlooked something.


Yeah, like you know how you put something against something of standard length and draw a line to cut it, that's how I almost made my mistake.


This plank had wood pegs in it that made it taller that it really was. So if I just drew a line and saw it, I'll end up with something shorter than I really need.


Good thing I measured it again to make sure.


Now with the plank cut to length, its time to attach it to one of the leg and the supporting trust.


Drill holes that are SMALLER than the screw. Seems simple right?
9. It is impossible to make anything foolproof because fools are so ingenious.


Good thing the drill set comes with a screw set, too bad there's no Allen key add-on.


Slow and steady, and don't tighten the screws before all of it are on so that it will fit perfectly with almost no need of adjustment.




Add the braces on the structure before putting on the top unless your eyes are on the top most part of you head and your hands can make a fist with the screw driver on the same level of your knuckle. Either that or your fingers can screw things.


[Without braces]





[With braces, obviously]


Finally the top goes on last. Lock it in place and you are ready to go!




And the finished product,

RA3

Seeders.

Three words: Red Alert 3.









So far it looks nice on youtube, and its great that it has marine in it, on a RTS. So far I don't think that there are other RTS that has any extensive gameplay on marine warfare, except Pirates which is all but marine gameplay.

As Real as it Gets

How to make pretty gals even more breathtaking? Or get rid of pimple by zapping it with your pointer?

Photoshop!


Well, I stumbled upon this picture from here.

Looks something like this




But, it can't fit it as my desktop wallpaper...

So, I just photoshop it to fit, by duplicating the edges. Well, being a noob, the work is kinda sucky so... Well, at least it looks nice on my desktop.




Job well done?

How to Keep Yourself from Driving like a Possesed Racer

One word, pictures of accidents that involves with places that you are familiar with and cars you can associate with. There's also one about a headless motorbike victim too...

this was contributed by kcng





Click here!

Oh.. the headless man is in page 6 or somewhere around page 6. Click on the spoiler if you want to loose your lunch.

Hols at last~

After a long and tiring two weeks of final exams, its all gone!!! Yeah..


Well, there's six movies that I've been saving for my hols... Lone Wolf and Cub series (Kozure Okami)


Well, to summarize, its one of the best all time manga there ever was. To think that it was something from the 70's.

Usefull and Interesting Stuff about cars!

Ever wonder how stuff works when HowStuffWorks just plain sucks, leaving all the juicy detail that just roughly explain stuff that leave those that have some background in physics (engineering) coming to the question, 'So it just magically appear?' That's how they explain stuff to you and me. 

So, if you want to know more about car engines, types of suspension (leaf spring, double wishbone, etc..) or what is Rack and Pinion is or even calculate your tire size when you change your rims!

Go here!

Slipping and Sliding for a Month or So

That's what it feels like to have something that has a mass of 1.2 tons that on a relatively frictionless plane.


So the energy that is required to dampen the motion required is at least half of that, i.e. the kinetic motion. But, factor in the impulse that is needed for greater effect, we are looking at one hot plate.


Damn. Cost plenty just to fix the system. Two words: Dot 4.

Procastination

Hmm... It sounds like a sickness, acts like a sickness... Why don't we have a disability named procastint???

Raya = Not a good time to study

To summarize what I did for the whole week of hols and the week after can be put into one word, or two in Japanese, Manga.



But, I still managed to finish some of my work. Just barely though.

How do people learn Geology man? Its like trying to fill rocks and soil into your head and hope that diamonds the size of cars comes out through your nose! Don't even get me started on the lecturer. I would rather listen to the feedback of a misplaced microphone and speakers than her voice noise. My ears at sharper than usual due to the overwhelming audio pollution. Ooops! There goes the brain too...


Damn, there's still some graphs I need to do.

Nothing

Well, the bored machine at its best, leaving me with no movies, since there's no fucking seeds, well a few. Last week was three movies a day. Now I'm still waiting.



Oh, got my plane tickets, will be back on the 3rd Dec till 8th. Shortest non-semester-break holiday trip [uhhh, non holiday..] back home.



Reasons? Family.


On a non related note, I seriously want to kill TM.

Left Handed Cursors..

They are weird. 

[You can get them here] 

Nothing much to say anyway, since they are on the wrong side, or the right side in my case (no pun intended). 

You sorta get used to it, after a few clicking. 

They have black and white cursors by default, why not left and right? We can choose if we want our mice to be left or right handed configuration, but why not the cursors? 

I guess that there's no wonder racial dicrimination is still going on around the globe no matter where you are. Humans can't even get over human discrimination!!!

Oh well, at least they do try. Cheers to them~

Grandeur

Everyone has their own illusions of granduer.

Occupying Yourself

The bored machine hits again.


This time, did something totally different rather than finding that missing sock.


Edit songs and themes for ring tones and message alerts.


Fun stuff that takes plenty of time.


The thing that took more time was the transfer of the tones to the phone.


WHY can't they just mate and be happy?

Bored

Its boring.
Places have less meaning.
All the wait and strain for not much results.
What do people do when they are bored again?

Hmmm... Since I'm this bored, why not just list out the possible things to do when you are bored.


1. Sleep. Even you had your 5hrs nap just get more sleep.


2. Eat. Yeah! Find that crunchy fix that you need, salty stuff or even those sweet little things.


3. Play computer games. Even a little DotA fix or CZ could past some time


4. Watch anime or movies that you've downloaded last month. Yes, there's still 50++ episodes worth of anime till it ends.. [don't know its suffering or just to pass the time]


5. Clean your room/computer table/house for God's sake!


6. Please refer to item 5.


7. Find that missing sock.


8. Ok! Next is to rearrange the room after finding that missing sock.


9. Take the sock to the laundry bin.


10. Post a blog entry about finding a sock??!!


Well, actually there's no actual sock involve..
At least this time..

PC Fair II 2008

Logitech is biased. Well, most peripheral manufacturers are biased to the 12% of the world population.


Thank god we have Razer.





The angry eyes stare at you for leaving us 12% out of the fun, ready to pounce.





It will strike at any moment!





For the snake, krait with its knife edge precision will make your throat slither with pain [I have no idea what I'm writing]




Looking tame, calm and normal in its natural habitate




Taking it slow after its first meal, [Multi-tabbed internet browsing]






While its fangs glimmer with venom when it takes on its second prey, faster and more agile than the last one.

SEEDERS!!!

WE NEED YOU!!!

Changing Power Supply

Better efficiency.


Its what we all want, and need now.


From a 70% PSU tp a 85% is a big jump, means I can really be on 24/7 without having to switch to hibernate.


Here goes:


Start time: 1930



[The patient]





[The tools and transplant organ]





[Incision 2]




[Incision 2: Removing the veins]




[PSUs side by side]




[Its bigger, more wires and better]



[Assembling and rewiring the nerves]




[Cleaning up after the operation]




[Final check, to see any tools left inside the cavity]




[Closing of the incision]


End time: 2200

Complications: Rewiring of the nerves took some time

Torrent in Malaysia = Slow Speeds??

Torrent, or any form of online downloading is a way to go green.

Let me explain...

Consider that going to the movies that is 10 km away requires fuel, and even if you take the train it still requires electricity. All the above creates green house gases. But, downloading movies requires less electricity.


Ok... I'm not the green peace type, but that is still my point..


Well, in this country, we slow down the access to torrents since there isn't enough bandwidth.



Usually if you can get 30kBps its considered good.



Well, I found that you can get your maximum bandwidth worth of torrent downloading speed..


Like if you use a 2.0 Mbps connection, the max downloading speed is around 220kBps.



Vuze? nope!
BitCommet? nope!
Limewire? No Way!!

Just Free Download Manager!!!


[Other downloads running so bandwidth is suppressed with this one..]



[All 5 torrents running, slowing my internet browsing bandwidth]

Preview: Silverstone Strider ST50F 500W PSU

Unboxed!!!

Blurred pictures are the norm!




[Tadaa!!! This PSU is hard to find, since its price/performance is one of the best there is]




[Simple manuals and guides]




[That's a quite fan and heavy part]




[Wires un-sleeved, but not a problem since I have twist ties!]




[Screw you!]


Note: This is not a review, rather a transplant. For the full review please visit HardwareSecrets



The rough specs that matters to me: [Official Specs are here]

Max DC output: 500w
Efficiency: Minimum 80% [Reached a maximum of 86.5% at 115V @40% load]
PCI-E connections: 2
Fan: 120mm with audio of 22dBA [means reached 22dBA at zero degree Celsius]



Will transplant on Wednesday... Wait..
Going to pasar malam then..
Thursday morning??!!

Past Two Weeks of Hometown Fun

Things that you don't normally on the road, back home in Kuching



[That's one big assed body kit you got there...]


Anyways, people from West M'sia thinks that Kuching is in Sabah, and that we live in trees, have man-eating plants in our backyard..



Like these??







[Let me eat you!]

Fitting Plenty of Stuff into Small Bag

How to overcome the laws of physics by fitting stuff into a small and confined space.


Plenty of crap to go into a small bag??





1. Just mash your mushy clothes into small pulps, hope that non of them will get too damaged beyond recognition.




2. Pry to the physics god!




3. Squeeze tightly, compress and listen for anything that may break due to over-pressure.




4. And you're done. Next time get a bigger carry-on bag.








Why do I need such a small bag? Well, I have a box that I need to check in, and its 13KG worth of crap.

At a Dilemma

Hmmmm....


Which should I get?

A Nvidia 9600 GT priced around RM550






or



An ATI/AMD Radeon HD4850 priced around RM650






Performance difference is 50% and price difference is 18%, while power consumption for the card is increased to 98%.


But, when calculating the 500W power supply needed to power the HD4850, is RM260



So, overall price difference is 65% for an upgrade.


Factor in that I will change my processor,motherboard in 2 years time, a new PSU is a must.


So for performance that is 50% better, price increase is 65% (actual)


I think that I'll just wait and see. I guess that Nvidia will slash their prices soon.

Some TLC

Recently, I've been giving my PC some TLC.


Cleaning it, making the black finish as shiny as possible.

Rewiring the internals, from spaghetti to organized spaghetti.

Here's the before:





And after:












Much better...