It's been far too long!

I was contemplating deleting the whole blog since I do not post anymore.

However, I have decided to keep the blog and post regularly whenever time permits.

I have been really busy since my last post about a year ago and have not been cycling regularly with my trusted Stumpjumper. sigh.............

I really must get off my butt and start again.

73's

Renewal of Friendship Part 2.5

Aha........... another one in the bag!

Met up with some of my former classmates in Tawau a few days back. Haven't seen some of them for 23 years!

Too long...... but I should have made effort to touch base with them but did not for various reasons. Now that we have met up again, we have promised to keep in touch with each other.

Really enjoyed myself that night. We had dinner and then went for some booze. Got very intoxicated that evening.

Hopefully, we will be able to do a big bang in Tawau again with a much larger reunion next time round.


On another note, I will be starting my cycling regimen again starting from May onwards. Will be on the road again and will start with Kingfisher-Karambunai and progress to Rasa Ria followed by Tuaran. Hopefully I will be able to do the Kingfisher-Tuaran route again within 4-6 weeks.

We'll just have to see how strong my will is. The will is strong but the body is weak....... ha..ha....


Also managed to get my Icom V8000 mobile radio repaired. The speaker went kaput leaving me with intermittent audio only. It was frustrating to say the least when you want to use the radio and there was no audio at all from the speaker.
With a new speaker, she's as good as new. Perfect five nine RST report in our ham radio lingo.

Short vacation in Singapore

Came back yesterday evening from KL on business and prior to that spent a few days in Singapore taking a short R&R.

Got from Singapore my new toy which is a Treo 680 smartphone running on the Palm OS. She will replace my HP PDA running on WM5 which I don't particularly fancy. The Treo 680 sure looks sexy and I guess I'll be wasting lots of time in the evenings looking for new software for her. It's much cheaper to get a smartphone in Singapore than KL as smartphones are taxable in Malaysia.

Also got a Canon A550 digital camera to supplement the Sony camcorder. 7.1 MP, 4x optical zoom and runs on AA batteries. She's not top of the line but sufficient for my needs as I just need a point and shoot. I've had enough of SLR's and the like as they are just too bulky 99% of the time. When I took the family to Hong Kong/Macau last year, I did not bother to bring the Nikon SLR.
I bought the digital camera in KL though as the prices of cameras are dearer in Singapore.

The last time I was in Singapore was more than a decade ago and it's still as clean as ever if not even cleaner! The local food sure has improved a lot and it tastes much better! I couldn't last long in Orchard Road though as there were just too many people shopping and the shopping complexes were too spotlessly clean for my taste!

Met up with Dav, Lily and kids who took me out for a wonderful dinner and also to the Singapore Zoo which was absolutely outstanding. Thanks for the hospitality guys. Dav, please don't forget to email me the pictures we took together. Please send my regards to your little ones and Claudia .............. they were great to have around and I honestly enjoyed the Sunday outing.

Amanda thanks Auntie Lily for her little present. It was awfully nice of you Lily.

World's Shortest Personality Test

Your Personality Profile

You are elegant, withdrawn, and brilliant. Your mind is a weapon, able to solve any puzzle. You are also great at poking holes in arguments and common beliefs. For you, comfort and calm are very important. You tend to thrive on your own and shrug off most affection. You prefer to protect your emotions and stay strong.

The World's Shortest Personality Test

LUX accessories

Got my LUX in July 06 and to date I have added the following:

Thule, Sweden roof load bars
Thule, Sweden roof fairing to reduce the bloody wind noise which was driving me nuts. Had to order the Thule fairing all the way from the US as it was only available there.
FlatTop, Aussie hard tonneau cover
Aussie dashboard cover
VDO turbo boost and pyrometer EGT gauges
Philips H4 60/55w +15 halogen bulbs
Aussie floor mats
DPChip, Aussie diesel tuning chip
EGR, Aussie bug deflector
Icom V-8000 VHF mobile rig with Diamond SG7500 Super Gainer or M150 1/4 wave antennas
Permacool ATF oil cooler
K&N air filter
Nippon tint film


Many more bits to come but it will be a long term project to gradually transform her!

My LUX

I'm back!

Was just reading my own blog and I know I have not updated my blog for almost a year!

It's just that I didn't feel I had much to post anyway in my mundane and unexciting life....... LOL!

Anyway, after reading my blog I found it fascinating that I actually had a collection of my thoughts and events recorded ............................

Anyway, a very nice event happened today. I met up with about 10 of my classmates from my secondary school in Tawau today whom some I have not seen or heard from since 1984. That's 23 years.............

Yep, 23 years is a bloody long time........... It was fantastic to share and chat after all these years. We are planning to meet again in Tawau in May 2007 for a even bigger reunion and I'm looking forward to meet some more class mates of mine.

The circle is almost complete and as I look back in life, I wish I had done more in life and had been even more adventurous.

To my schoolmates whom I met today, it was definitely fun to meet all of you again.

Cheers mates.

Books galore!

Forgot to mention that I've been doing lots of reading especially before going to bed.

I read until the wee hours of the morning......

Current books are:

Jefrey Archer 3 volumes (Volume I - Hell, Volume II - Purgatory & Volume III - Heaven) about his life in prison after he was incarcerated for perjury. Very interesting but makes me wonder if he is as innocent as he seems? I've actually finished reading Volume I & II. Volume III is at my study table waiting tantalizingly!

Arsene Wenger - The Professor by Myles Palmer. Being a hardcore Arsenal (Gooner) fan since my early teens this was too good a book to miss about the manager of my beloved Arsenal.

Combat - a collection of short war stories. Can't remember the author as I'm just too lazy to go upstairs to my bedroom to check. Still not finished yet. Some of the stories suck........

One Day in September - Simon Reeve. Haven't read this book yet. It's about terrorists in 1972 which massacred Israeli athletes in Munich, Germany.

As you will notice, I'm a war buff and unfortunately Tom Clancy has not got any new books worth mentioning. My all time favourite is still 'The Hunt for Red October'.

Besides that, I've still got some cycling training books which I have not finished yet.

Only problem though is that when you've got a good book, you don't want to put it down. I read in the bedroom until 3 or 4 am before retiring. Not good........ But can't help it...... ha..ha....

Good night mates.

 

 

 

Minoura bike trainer! (Yeeha.....!!!!!!)

Hmmm......have not posted here for some time. Actually, been quite busy with work and was running up & down for a seminar we organized recently at Beverly Hotel.

Furthermore, the weather sucks and have not been cycling for about 2-3 weeks.

But, I did manage to get a stationary bike trainer from KL while on holiday. The brand is Minoura and i have managed to get some mileage on the trainer. Unfortunately it's not as good as the actual riding experience and you can get bored easily. I watched a DVD movie on my laptop while on the trainer and that makes it bearable. The movie was about 90 minutes so I managed to spin at about 70rpm cadence for some light workout. Without the movie, I think I can only last about 30 minutes or so.

Unfortunately, I can't make use of my Vetta cyclo-computer to get a cadence read out and heart rate reading on the trainer. I'm making use of Dav's Kona Stinky hardtail for training purposes. The stupid thing is, I can't use my own Stumpy on the trainer as my Shimano XTR wheels's spokes are not the typical spoke setup! Should have used Mavic Crossmax wheels instead of Shitmano! ha..ha....

Picutres of the trainer are attached.

That's a short update and got to go to shower.....mandi bah.......very smelly.......???!!!!!!!!*******