Life 17 | I am Danny Foo

Da Vinci Machines

The last time the Da Vinci machines exhibition was in town was around 2 years back, said the counter person at the Mines International Exhibition & Convention Centre. It was previously hosted in the national science centre located in Bukit Kiara. Me and Ariel were thinking of going but our funds were overly tight at the time.

So we made it a point this time to pay it a visit. In addition, it was kind of our pre-Valentines date since the actual day falls on a weekday. 😛

Now, photography and video recording was apparently not allowed in the exhibit. Though I witnessed some other lady happily recording the whole place with her iPad2 as we exited the exhibition. Thus, as a disclaimer, let me say that my photos here are primarily to help promote the exhibition and isn’t used for personal gain.

da vinci exhibition — About the Da Vinci Machines exhibit

Although the exhibit space wasn’t huge, there were quite a number of machines, some paintings and even manuscripts to read. Note though Leonardo Da Vinci wrote backwards.

The Da Vinci machines were downsized replicas of what the man envisioned in his drawings. Some replicas were so cool that it allowed you to interact with the machines itself. Look out for the ones which says, please handle with care.

The coolest machine me and Ariel liked was the Archimedes machine. It was a machine which drew water using a pipe wrapped around a cylindrical object. By turning in accordance of the pipe, it pushed water from a lower portion to the container above. Cool!

In the TV series Doing Da Vinci which was on Discovery channel, they recreated a life-size replica of what was known as the armored tank.

The exhibit had a few sections starting from war machines to flying machines and other machines used by Da Vinci to create new inventions by experimentation.

Unlike a changing room, explanation written for this exhibit was to observe the person in it – beats me, what what Da Vinci was observing. 😛

Some of the famous paintings you’ll see at the exhibit are the Mona Lisa and The Last Supper. But they’re more like printouts than fake paintings. Nonetheless, I now know few other paintings which he did and what’s the story behind them.

Overall, it was an alright exhibition. Inspiring to see how one man, inventor and artist, actually visualized machines and ideas which gave birth to some of the things we use today.

The exhibition is on the Ground floor at the Mines International Exhibition and Convention Centre (MIECC). The entrance fee is RM28 for adults and RM18 for students. I personally recommend arts people, engineering backgrounds or people who appreciate Da Vinci to pay the exhibit a visit.

It just might be the spark you need to solve a problem. 🙂

Andale, andale! Arriba, arriba!

Yeehaw! Well, I suppose there’s some truth to that now that I’m on 10mbps…bitches! *throw retarded gang sign with fingers all twisted up that it hurts* 😛

Streamyx did not serve me excellence but it did serve me well. That’s after I got a really nice technician come over and help me bump up the line. So thank God for him and may he and his family be blessed. Lol.

You-ini-fai

In the end, me and my sister-in-law decided it was probably strategic to upgrade the Internet line. Counting more than 10 devices connected to the Internet with more than 4 always connected and at least 2 downloading heavily, I only hit a wall deciding whether 5mbps was enough. So, I thought 10mbps made most sense..

Anyway, enough jibber-jabber. Let me show you how’s the performance based on the time and server locations.

During this hour in the morning, I’m assuming the speeds may have been inaccurate because some people at home may have been downloading. But I’m not surprised with the international connection performance. To say the least, it’s better than using my so-called 1mbps connection.

This speed test was done while no one was using the connection and I believe it’s more efficient since most people around my area would be at their workplace than home.

Other known factors which affect the Unifi performance, similar to Streamyx, is the number of users in your area or how much bandwidth is being taken up.

The verdict

Is Unifi good? It’s alright.

So why upgrade? Because it’s just faster.

Is it noticeable? Kind of.

Then why not get the 20mbps? No budget.

So…can I leech your connection? Let me ask my imaginary friend first.

P.S.: LowYat forumer was helpful enough to get me signed up and he delivered his promise; installation within 7 days. Plus, installation team (2 young dudes) came on a public holiday and arrived 30 minutes earlier than the appointed time. Lovely.

Removing the dreaded road tax sticker

If you drive a car and have stuck on recent road tax stickers, you know the stupid ass shit you’ve to do now to rid yourself of the road tax sticker. Especially the goo, gunk or sticky crap stuff that comes with the sticker.

road-tax-sticker-goo — Road tax sticker goo

This is the shit I was talking about and not to mention how ugly a sight it is on the windscreen!

The previous year, I tried using an eraser but trust me, don’t. It’ll make matters worst because all it’ll do is mostly shift the crap around and leave smudges.

So this year, I decided to give nail polish remover a try after digging some solutions to remove the road tax sticker. Now let me say, it ain’t a great smell to have on your hands or fingers. But it gets the job done.

road-tax-sticker-gunk — After 5-10 minutes of nail polish

I’m not sure if nail polish removers have different grades, but it took me definitely more than 5 minutes to clean off the gunk. Even after that amount of time, you’ll notice leftover gunk still stuck on the windscreen. And the shit ass glue plays die-hard that it even leaves traces stuck on the cleaning cloth. Eesh.

After a good 15-20 minutes, I finally managed to get back the windscreen I once lost. Finally!

My fingers now still smell of nail polish remover and I nearly got a heart attack for sticking the wrong road tax sticker on the wrong car. However, I was lucky enough it peeled off without problem and didn’t tear. Phew.

Originally, I didn’t want to stick the road tax sticker directly on the windscreen this year but on a clear plastic first. But my Dad said if I did that, anyone can steal and use your road tax. In addition, his reason despite me saying the road tax sticker has our car number, he says no one checks that – go figure.

Anyway, here are some other suggestions to remove the goo other than using nail polish remover.

Goo Gone. Heard it’s a product you can buy from Ace Hardware. I’ll probably get myself a bottle to try for next year. 😛
Pen knife and hard card to peel and scrape the gunk. Though many fear damaging the window or their tint.
Lighter fluid. Beware that it’s flammable liquid.
Thinner and turpentine. Some forumer discouraged this as it can damage the tint.
Soap water. I was thinking of whether or not to use this but just went with the nail polish in the end.
Hair dryer. Apparently you heat up the sticker, it’ll come off easily. Though I doubt there won’t be traces of goo.
Eraser. As mentioned, from my experience, it just smudges the goo around than remove it.
Wet tissue. I thought I could just wipe it away after applying some nail polish remover but the tissue fibre just got caught in the goo.

Lastly, some people have said you can ask a workshop like Brothers or Eneos to help you remove, clean and stick the new road tax sticker for a small fee.

Anyway, the reason I’m not using the clear plastic technique is because I read this with regards to the compliance to JPJ, if you’re using the stick on plastic then stick on windscreen technique.

Display Of Motor Vehicle Licence ( Section 20 of RTA1987)
(1) Every motor vehicle licence granted under section 16 other than a motor vehicle licence granted in respect of a motor cycle or an invalid carriage licence shall be fixed to and exhibited on the vehicle in respect of which it is issued, in the manner and subject to such conditions as may be prescribed.
(2) No person shall (either by writing, drawing or in any other manner) alter, deface, mutilate or add anything to any motor vehicle licence, nor shall any person exhibit on any motor vehicle any vehicle licence which has already been altered, defaced, mutilated or added to as aforesaid, or upon which the figures or particulars have been illegible or of which the colour has become altered, by fading or otherwise, nor shall any person exhibit any colourable imitation of any such licence.
(3) Any person who contravenes this section shall be guilty of an offence.

Have you or friends been stopped by the traffic police because you used the plastic technique on the road tax stickers?

The house I would own

Over mamak last night, Hawk asked what features would our house have if money wasn’t an issue. And what surprised me was whatever ideas I had in mind was very realistic and well…mature. LOL!

So allow me to invite you into my soon-to-own home, when money isn’t a problem. 😉

high-ceiling-livingroom — High ceiling living room

You’ll find my house with lots of room to move and breathe. Plus, there will be ample natural light thanks to the large windows, especially in the living room.

I wouldn’t have a glass balcony for the safety of our children. But our model home would still feel spacious enough for you to just chillax. 😀

aquavit-guesthouse — Infinity pool overlooking garden

And when you walk out from the living room, you’ll find the infinity pool overlooking the garden area with space for kids to run around while chasing the family dogs. At the corner, a barbeque pit for the weekend get togethers with family and friends. But let me show you upstairs.

One of the wants of every woman now is a walk-in wardrobe – same here. It’s a space for clothes alone – keeping clutter away from the bedroom. I like. 😉

home-theater-room — Personal home theater

Then because me and Ariel are avid movie and anime watchers, this room makes it perfect to watch Hayao Miyazaki films and enjoy loud laughters with friends whenever we even watch our TV series. Woot!

wall-high-library — I've always wanted that ladder!

But of course, a library for us and kids to work or study. I’m not sure why the ladder fascinates me but I’ve always found it a must-have whenever I think of a library. Maybe it’s because of a movie I recall where the person slides from one end to the other on it. LOL!

And finally, as I take you round the back of our house. Let show you our indoor basketball court!

Well, thanks for coming to visit us. I hope you’ve liked our humble abode and do drop by again when we have barbeques. Now if you’ll excuse me, the kids wish to escape the heat and hit the pool. CANONBALL! 😀

Thank you Zappos

One of my 2012 goals was to read 1 book a month because I’ve never really had the habit of reading so thought I should start now. The 1st book I finished reading was the Delivering Happiness book by Tony Hsieh. And I was so excited after reading it that I immediately composed an email to them wanting a copy of their culture book.

And what d’you know!

On the golf course, Ariel informed I got a package though it was apparently thrown in. Hmm. Anyway, I had a strong feeling it was my Zappos package!

After dinner with the family, I tore open the package like an anxious kid receiving his birthday present and found the book which contained the mysterious secrets and fetishes of the Zapponians! LOL!

zappos-culture-book-cover — Lo and behold

Here’s a look inside the book.

The Zappos culture book is the curation of what everyone in Zappos feels about their internal corporate culture. I expected nothing less of this book and true to that, one of the featured items even had a crossword puzzle. Its instructions read:

2009 was a big year for Zappos. See if you can find a few of the things that happened!

I’m not sure if this still remains but if I’m not mistaken every Zapponian is given an edition of the culture book.

This gift has made me contented not only because it’s from Zappos (and we can’t order shoes from their website) but because it’s my reward for finishing my 1st book of the year! 😀