~Seriously?!~

Crapp..tootsie is plotting to kill me :S

2010-05-31T23:31:00.000-07:00

Project 365 malarkey

2009-04-07T06:00:00.000-07:00

Someone care to explain to me what in the world this Project 365 thing is?
I've noticed it popping up all over the net, but the point of which is not too clear to me =\

Hmmm..also came across this poor fellow lying on a boardwalk 2 days ago...a sign of things to come? ...hope not!

Bummer..

2009-03-12T06:48:00.001-07:00

12/03/2009
Originally uploaded by A Day in The Life of Shaun

Few months back, i blogged about my 3rd and last ditch attempt to use clipless pedals.
Well, the good news it i finally mastered it (i really do hope so)... To treat myself, i bought a new pair of Time ATAC ROC S pedals before the Eneloop Mountain Bike carnival in Singapore (more on this later).

Been quite happy with them and they seem to just work without any fuss. Today however, i bashed the left pedal into a rock on the way down my usual trail...here's the resulting damage :( ROCs indeed ...tsk tsk, poor babies :(

B-O-R-E-D

2009-02-20T07:45:00.000-08:00

God i can't wait to get to KL on Tuesday..then it's down to Singapore for my first real race. Hope i don't let my team mates down!

For absolutely no reason at all...i've been having this weird strain on my eyes for the past few days...had this a few months back, but it mysteriously cured itself...hmmm

KLD 2008 @ Bukit JalilYes yes, it's been awhile

2008-12-07T08:10:00.000-08:00

Last month, or was it 2 months ago, i attened the KL Downtown event at Bukit Jalil. I've no idea why they called it downtown because it was in bloody Bukit Jalil out in the boondocks! Either way, they had Cedric Garcia and Steve Peat there, so that was more than enough for most people, including me to attend. Besides, I might as well have supported my friends taking part in the event too :D

Anyways, here are the pics!

All in all, the event was not too bad :) I must say i couldn't believe how much the event organizers actually paid to bring Cedric and Peaty in tho...not much change left of 100k, each.....interesting =\

Time ATAC Alium Pedals - 2 weeks on...

2008-10-13T20:34:00.000-07:00

I've been cycling for quite a few years now (nearly 10, with pauses in between). Such is the case that you'd expect me to at least have given clipless pedals a go. Sure enough, i attempted to do so on various occasions (3 actually), and each time that i tried, it ended in tears...the horrid crash while stuck to the bike *gulp*.

Anyway, two weeks ago i decided to take the clipless pedal plunge again after some hefty persuasion from two friends, with an added dash of curiosity. Could they really be that much better than my current trusty companion of Shimano DX flatties and Five Ten shoes with their sticky soles?

To start of, i decided to borrow a pair of Shimano SPD's from my friend Ben, but he couldn't find the cleats to go with them, and neither could i. So rather than wait for one to materialize, i just popped over to the bike shop and after much pondering settled for a pair of Time ATAC Alium's over Crank Bro's egg beater pedals. The Time's were definitely heavier (410grams) but they also came with various raving reviews for reliability and extremely low maintenance. The Crank Bro's items were nearly as reliable in rough conditions but needed frequent service to keep their bearings running smoothly.

So to cut a long story short, I got the TIME ATAC Alium's. I've been running them now for more than a month through mud, think mud, and clay. The pedals have been dead reliable and they still spin as smoothly as they did when i first installed them.

I've only got one problem with them however. Why did they even bother painting them? Here's a pic of them after the 3rd ride!

Fear not however...i've discovered the beauts below..all in their polished glory. Next pair of them perhaps :)

Too much free time?

2008-10-12T08:31:00.001-07:00

This is what happens when you leave me with too much free time and an tools within easy reach =)

Of the lack of inspiration to write!

2008-10-12T08:16:00.001-07:00

Hello guys and girls! I would say that this blog's been around for quite awhile now...and especially lately, i can't seem to find the inspiration to write about anything! I really do admire some friends who manage to update their blogs so regularly, sometimes even more than once a day....one question: HOW??!?!?!

In other news, i've finally got back into cycling and am in the process of "learning" how to use clipless pedals. For that, i got hold of some Time ATAC Alium's after reading various raving reviews of them (more on them in a later post).

Also related to cycling, I've been busy spring cleaning and filtering out old parts to sell. In that i've discovered that i have a lovely pair of Avid Code DH disk brakes! AND, at least a dozen old stems to get rid of, refer to pic below :) Anybody wants to buy them?

Hmmm...mind you, this is the smaller box of accessories :) In any case, anyone have a suggestion on where's the best place to get rid of them?

Joy of Joys, the Facebook iPhoto Uploader

2008-08-17T01:43:00.000-07:00

I've been using Facebook for awhile now. It's a wonderfully easy to use social networking website/service that offers photo hosting (more on this later), privacy management, and the ability to install plugins "applications" to tailor the service to your liking.

One of the best things about Facebook, in my humble opinion is the ability to create effectively unlimited photo albums (limited to 60 photos per album), with the ability to tag friends in each photo. The one problem i've had so far as a Mac user however, is that uploading photos with the Java uploader is horribly slow and clunky.

It's not just the loading that takes time on a slow connection, the time it takes to upload a photo even with a good connection is agonizing. The Java uploader will attempt to shrink all your photos (even though they're already shrunk) before uploading them.
I've had it fail on me time after time.

I therefore suspect that Facebook, knowing this launched the iPhoto Uploader to alleviate this issue. Problem is, it never worked for me until version 1.0.5 was released. The previous 1.0.4 version kept telling me that i had some internet connection issues (which plainly i did not). Among the myriad of things the app allows you to do are, create albums, use existing ones, tag your friends along with the description of the photo.

So, if you're a Mac user on Facebook, hit the download link: Facebook iPhoto Uploader
I highly recommend it ;)

Petrol expensive larr...save and don't drive so much!

2008-07-28T21:43:00.000-07:00

Save fuel, don't drive so much!
Why're you driving so hard? It's a waste of petrol!

Well, if you were nodding in agreement to the statement above, i'm sorry but you're just wrong. See thing is, and i'm sure i'm not alone on this, i drive for pleasure. I derive fun from driving, perfecting that corner just that bit faster every time, and finding the best lines to accomplish it.

I've had various people complain about the way i was using a nanometer more of accelerator travel than was neccessary. "Ooh my, aren't you aware of the current fuel price hikes and such?!?!", they exclaim. Well, yes of course i am. How can i not. It now costs me RM135 to fill up my tank, as opposed to RM96. Am i fussed? Well, no, not particularly. I don't drink, i don't particularly party, i pretty much don't spend my money on much else. So what's wrong with choosing to spend my hard earned cash on burning some rubber, and keeping that rubber burning for as long as possible? If you disagree then that's just too bad, you can just sod off for all i care. If people can justify hundreds if not thousands drinking/partying a night, i don't see what's wrong with spending RM135 on a tank of petrol once, or even twice a week.

In other news, our Malaysian government has just approved the purchase of 14 Mercedes E200 Kompressor's by the Terengganu state authorities for foreign dignitary use only. Interesting then that the state seems to be receiving quite a lot of dignitaries of late eh? Those cars have been spotted all around town. How many foreign dignitaries does that state get at once anyway to warrant 14 luxury sedans!
Upon opening today's copy of The Star newspaper, the first headline that grabbed my attention was - "BN states to promote cost-saving habit". Really????? They're gonna pull that on us again while they sit on their RM20k toilet seats??

I think it's about time the people wised up. Before i go off, i'll leave you with a question that i think i'll answer in another post.

Why do we have to pay so much for our cars and bikes here???

Disclaimer: The information posted herein is for informational purposes only and should not be taken as fact, ideally.

The Audi Symphony

2008-07-17T20:56:00.000-07:00

As a general rule of thumb, i quite like the cars produced by the VW/Audi group. This however most certainly isn't a plug. Just came across this bit of news surfing the internet this morning. Turns out Audi hired an advertising agency to come up with something for their R8 supercar.

What they came up with however was totally unorthodox but, i'll let the videos do the talking :)

What do you think?

Audi Symphony from Bullet on Vimeo.

Audi Symphony from Bullet on Vimeo.

Audi Symphony from Bullet on Vimeo.

Source: Vimeo

Holy flying bricks batman!

2008-07-17T20:45:00.000-07:00

I'm sure pretty much everyone's seen the game Tetris being played, and nearly everyone's played it at least once during my life. However, i bet you guys never knew it was possible to do this :o

Check out this video of some jap dude totally rocking it:

It's just one of those days..

2008-06-27T07:19:00.000-07:00

..one of those days when nothing works. Seems like there's no right thing to do and no matter what you do, nothing seems to come out of it.

Ever had one of those days??

Top Gear is back, FINALLY!

2008-06-22T18:45:00.000-07:00

Months of waiting and suffering without a decent motoring program to watch are now over. The 11th season of Top Gear TV started airing again yesterday on the 22nd of June, promising more wreckage, mayhem and most certainly more POWERRRRRRRRRRRRRR.

If you're new to Top Gear, watch it! I promise you you'll be entertained. If you're a veteran to the Top Gear program, well there's no need to say anymore but, start your t0rr3n+ clients =)

Here's the ad for the latest season. Enjoy!

Lastly, for all your Top Gear and Fifth Gear fixes, don't forget to check out Finalgear.

Malaysia Boleh!

2008-06-11T21:46:00.000-07:00

How do you know when you've pushed the English to Malay translation too far?

A person with half a brain would know that, that just doesn't work!!! Imagine Ms Hilton going up to someone and saying "Itu panas!" Nuff said...

3G iPhone is finally out!

2008-06-09T22:25:00.001-07:00

So, after months of waiting, the 3G iPhone is finally out. I must say however, i'm mildly underwhelmed. Here's why, firstly, 3G in itself is great, if you have an unlimited data plan. I for one, use 3G mainly to download and send MMS's which, ooh wait, the new iPhone still doesn't have. There's no news on whether or not bluetooth functionality has been added either.

That's not all either, it seems as though the designers didn't even bother to design it, the only difference between the 3G iphone and the original one is the back plate. Other than that, it's business as usual.

Forgive me if i've led you guys into thinking that it's a piece of crap though. For all its foibles, all is forgiven the moment you glance at the price, US$199 for the 8gb model. That works out to about RM637, give or take some tax RM800 when it comes here - a bargain! All is forgiven, i guess. I also suppose all the glaring omissions can easily be added by them, software wise if they wished. So, i suppose i'll very likely get one when it comes out, but there's just this inkling feeling that there's something much bigger brewing in the pipeline =)

Pictures courtesy of apple.com

No money to put petrol already la! Continued..

2008-06-05T07:26:00.000-07:00

I was just browsing the web and came across our very own Patrick Teoh's blog. He made an extremely good point that i neglected to mention yesterday. It too, highlights how full of $h!t our government is.

Here's a quote from his blog:

And another thing is this. Can somebody please tell me why our government always seems to choose this way of telling about price hikes. It's not like "Hey people we can't subsidise anymore la. Sorry ah. So please be prepared for a major increase in prices of (this and that) which will take place in 6 months from today." Clear, transparent. Understood. Right? Wrong. That's not the way.

"No there will be no increase. Well, maybe there will be la but we will inform you in plenty of time. We don't want to burden the people la."

"No definitely no increase."

"No there will definitely be an increase. Soon."

"Maybe there will be an increase. Later this year la"

And then.......BOOM!!! Surprise! Surprise! The increase is effective NOW! Caught ya! I can almost hear the laughter from the cabinet room!

It wasn't until i read this that it made me realize, "yea man! WTF!!" This also goes to prove my earlier assumption that the person who signed off on the bill didn't even bother to read the document he was signing!

ARGH...

Hit the linky for the full post: Linky

No money to put petrol already la!

2008-06-04T08:02:00.001-07:00

As most of the Malaysian population is already aware of, our government has just raised the price of petrol from RM1.92 to RM2.70, a huge 28% price hike. The price of diesel, likewise has increased from RM1.58 to RM2.58, a massive 37% price hike. You see, the government claims that it is raising the price of petrol because they claim that they are no longer able to bare the costs of subsidizing fuel. This however has been proven wrong by quite a number of locals. Calculations have shown that an average person would have already paid way more than what the government claims to pay for an individual's fuel usage in tax when the paid for the car, fact!

The government claims however that with the population in mind, they have taken measures to 'ease our burden'. Well, they say a lot of other things too. Below is a snippet from The Star:

Abdullah also announced a RM625 annual cash rebate per vehicle, for owners of private vehicles with engine capacities of up to 2,000cc, as well as pickup trucks and jeeps with engine capacities of up to 2,500cc.

Owners of private motorcycles with engine capacities of up to 250cc will receive RM150.

Payment will be made via Money Order upon renewal of road tax, from July 1.

For owners of private vehicles with engine capacities exceeding 2000cc, road tax will be reduced by RM200.

After reading that, i had only one reaction, pure BOLLOCKS!! I drive a car that has an engine capacity below 2000cc, so hurray i get an RM625 rebate *insert sarcasm*. However, i've done some calculations of myself too. It normally costs me RM96 to fill up the tank with 50liters of petro. After the price hike, it'd cost me RM135 for an equivalent 50litres, an increase of RM39. Assuming one were to drive EXTREMELY economically, and assuming i didn't drive much, so i'd fill up once every fortnight. Even then, i'd fill up about 24 times a year, an increase of RM936 a year. Don't even get me started on the price hikes of other consumer goods and food this will cause. By the way, who the hell still refers to 4x4's as 'jeeps' in this day and age!

OOH WAIT! There's more, the road tax vehicles with engine capacities that exceed 2000cc will be reduced by RM200. Well, i've only got one thing to say to that, WHAT THE HELL??!?!? Did the person who signed off on this new ruling even read the draft?! Even with my under 2000cc car, that would only equate to only 5 fillups a year - pathetic! They might say, well they're richer, so it's their fault if they want to buy all these luxury vehicles with big engines, we'll tax them through the roof. Roadtax for a 5000cc car is about RM12,000. Well, that's pure crap too because did you know that yachts, jet skis etc etc are tax free? Ooh well, i suppose only the poor can afford them. The politicians will also argue that it is still significantly cheaper than what the Thais and Singaporeans pay for their petrol. Well here's the thing, their vehicles, and the costs associated with maintaining one are significantly cheaper there as well.

If they really want to help the rakyat, cut down, or even better, remove entirely the preposterous tax they impose on cars brought into the countries, at least down to internationally acceptable levels. After all, they say that Proton is no longer under protection by the country. So, why exactly are all the measures that were put in to protect it still there? Just as an example, a Range Rover bought in the late 80's cost about RM125k then. Buy one now, perhaps a medium specced one and you wouldn't get much change back from your RM800k, a 600% increase.

A side effect of this was, Malaysians being Malaysians, all flocked to the petrol stations to fill up their cars, even if it was just a bit. This caused a massive traffic jam nearly a kilometer long at nearly all the petrol stations, halting any progress.

Lastly, increasing the price of diesel by that much is just pure madness. It'd be fine if we got high quality diesel. Thing is, there's more sulphur in the diesel here than what a Ophidiophobic (snakephobia) stashes away. You might not know this but Mercedes benz stopped bringing in their CDI engines after the sulphur kept fouling up the injectors. New BMW diesels such as those that come in the 335d and such don't even come into Malaysia for fear of injector problems. How dare they increase the price that much and still give us the same sorry excuse that they call diesel??

Oooh government, what a tangled web you weave! I suppose there's nothing left to say, well other than Malaysia Boleh!!

Amen...

The V-Max reborn..FINALLY!

2008-05-30T00:29:00.000-07:00

Picture: Raptors & Rockets

When it comes to pure thrills, there's nothing that can quite match the kick you get out of riding a really fast motorcycle. If straight line speed is you thing, then as the name implies, one of the baddest (though not as most people would know) bikes ever to come out of Japan - the Yamaha V-Max- was launched in the mid 80's with a 1200cc V4 engine. It produced a monumental (even by todays standards) 145hp with the aid of a system called v-boost.

The bike was a hoot to ride, often seen blasting away from traffic lights. The first generation V-max with V-boost managed a 1/4mile time of 11seconds, and in the process obliterating all but the fastest of its contemporary supersport bike rivals. Throughout the years however, ever tightening noise and emission regulations meant that the once mighty v-max now only makes a "measly" 100 or so horsepower, nearly 50% less the original one.

The traffic light drag king was dead. Fans bemoaned the loss, critics rejoiced.

Now however, the fans will have something to cheer about. Yamaha will relaunch an all new V-max in 2009. The bike will come powered by a 1800cc v-four (as per tradition) producing 210hp. That's the amount of power in between a Golf GTI's 200hp and a Civic Type-R's 220hp. If that amount of power is enough to propel those cars to 60mph in under 7 seconds, imagine what it would do for a bike weighing a fraction of what those cars weigh. 1/4 mile (400m) times are estimated to be about 9seconds from a stock bike - Long live the street drag king!

Here are some pictures for your ogling purposes.

Source: The Kneeslider

Blogger Templates?

2008-05-28T20:13:00.000-07:00

I've been digging around the net for days looking for a nice looking template for my blog.
Anybody have any suggestions on what you guys think would be great? Or perhaps a suggestion on a website where i can find some? As of now, i've ruled out those with very dark backgrounds and bright text, they wreak havoc to my eyes :S

Thanks a bunch :D

How many pairs of black shoes does a girl need?

2008-05-28T03:50:00.000-07:00

I was speaking to my friend HsinYi just a few moments to go and here's a snippet of the conversation that ensued:

Me being a guy obviously expected something else when she exclaimed how hot a certain picture was.
So, here's the question that begs to be answered: Exactly how many pairs of (black) shoes does a girl need?

p.s. I suppose there's no need to stress the significance of those black shoes above to you shoe connoisseurs.

HELP! ..updated

2008-05-27T03:37:00.001-07:00

Argh, the default template of this page seems to be fouling up my pictures, cutting them off. Anyone here care to chime in on how this can be fixed? (editing the CSS/html or something?)

HELPPPPPPP!!!

Update: Thanks Corra for helping me with the formatting bit ;)

My latest toy has arrived!

2008-05-27T02:39:00.000-07:00

You know how when you're young you see so many things you want yet can't get? As a kid, i used to adore lego Technic sets. I always felt that they were cooler than ur plane jane cartoony lego sets. Problem was, they always seemed to be priced out of reach, and parents being parents refused to buy them for me because they were too expensive, and cause they didn't wanna spoil me (all for my own good, ya understand?)

Fast forward 15 years, i now have enough money to buy my own lego set, and what did i get? A cartoony lego set-a Star Wars one to be precise. I'll just cut to the chase and let the pictures do the talking :D

My very own collectors series Star Wars Imperial Star Destroyer

And here's the build process, about 21hrs over 3 days.

Day 1,

Finally, the completed frame

Day 2,

Completed hull structure

Day 3 - final day of construction,

And FINALLY

It also came with a plaque and a cute little Rebel Blockade Runner ship

I don't know how you did it, but if you've managed to finish reading till here, congrats and kudos to you for your patience :)
Lastly i'd like to thank the ever gracious Seng Lee for helping me acquire this :D

Until the next time...ciao!

My first post ever, isn't really a post at all.

2008-05-27T02:15:00.000-07:00

So here's the thing, i've been asked time and time again to start a blog. So finally i've decided to write something in it..a friend and i have been thinking, what exactly should i write about?
Cars? Bikes? The latest gadgets? Hmm...really can't decide, how about rants instead? Well i really can't decide on anything in particular yet. So until i do i'll be writing about anything that pops into my mind first.

You guys out there care to provide some suggestions please? They would be greatly appreciated :D

Until the next time..toodless!