Just recently after the new year started in 2007, we were pleasantly surprised by AirAsia with their free 1Million Ticket Offer which ran for 10 days or more. It was hard work for us but we did manage to get quite a few free tickets for my parents and our friends and us to go Macau, albeit at different times. We also managed to get free tickets to go to Phuket (had to pay one way but for RM30.00 for the air ticket?… what a bargain!). We also made use of this offer to get free tickets for my parents to go Hanoi! Yes we’re going for all the popular destinations as reported by the newspapers.
You might have tried getting tickets and was unable to get them and you must also be wondering why. Well… we managed to most of the tickets esp to Macau on the day before the advertisements came out in the papers. Yes, we had pre-warning and notice from AirAsia themselves. The other free tickets were then booked within a day or two from the press release date but by then we already found it hard to get onto their website to finish the booking process… not to mention that it was difficult in locating free tickets by then already. On the whole, I would say it was very lucky of us to be able to get the free tickets. I’m sure a lot of people didn’t get to get free tickets but then again, if there’s 1,000,000 free tickets…. then that means quite a few other 999K+ others did manage to get them 
Thanks to AirAsia, now everyone can fly. Hmm… isn’t that their tagline?
January 27th, 2007
Though I haven’t had the chance to fly my real helicopter inverted before, I have had the chance to  fly inverted with my trusty Aerofly Pro simulator. I would have to say the simulator has save me loads of money when it comes to learning new maneouvers especially inverted heli flight.
I have noticed that inverted forward flight is somewhat like backward flight in terms of cross controls for the aileron and rudder. When you input right aileron, left rudder is needed and vice-versa. And most of the time, it is also followed by forward cyclic to help keep the forward portion of the heli (either nose or tail dependng on inverted FF or normal backward flight). That’s why I recommend anyone going into inverted flight to master backwards flight first. Once you are comfortable with backward flights, all you need to do is then flip the heli over and do your cross control turns like how you would do it while in upright backward flight. One thing you need to bear in mind is of course the collective pitch is totally opposite so to go up, you need to push down and to go down you need to push up on the collective stick. Once you have had enough practise… everything will come in naturally.
As mentioned, you should learn on a simulator first. It helps keep costs low and definately helps speed up the learning process because you’re more relaxed and you can try over and over again without the fear of crashing. However you should be as disciplined as possible to treat simulator flying like real flying, as though the model is real because you wouldn’t want to learn to acquire bad habbits and bring them to the field unknowingly. Once you’re comfortable enough, then its time to take the big leap of faith and go into inverted flying with your real model. Of course it would be best if you’re able to perform inverted hovering before hand. Haivng a good bail out plan and lots of altitude should help until you’re comfortable with inverted flight.
January 27th, 2007
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I was informed by a friend yesterday during dinner about Apple Computer Inc’s new phone, called the iPhone. I went to apple’s site today and checked it out on Quicktime and yes, I was truly blown away!
If the phone was readily available now, I’d go pick it up! Unfortunately it will only be released in US around July and Europe will only get it by the 4th Quarter of 2007 and Asia will only get it in 2008. What’s the date today? It’s only Jan 12! That means I have at least 353 more days to wait! In the meanwhile, there is one year for other companies to work on to change my mind. If Nokia is innovative enough, they will not lose a loyal customer like myself. Let’s see what they will be able to offer…
So what’s so great about the iPhone? EVERYTHING! It’s basically an IPOD, PHONE and INTERNET COMMUNICATIONS DEVICE. All three items built into one sleek looking phone which has no buttons apart from the Sleep-Wake Button on the top right hand side. All other buttons are virtually built into the touch screen.
A host of toys are available on the iPhone, ranging from smooth butter like scrolling displays, to OS X operating system to high screen resolutions for movies, photos & graphics. There are even different sensors built in like the proximity sensor which switches off the touch screen when the phone is placed near your face to avoid accidentally “keypresses”. There’s an “Accelerometer” which basically detects whether the device is in Portrait or Landscape mode, thus changing the display, features and orientation automatically. The last sensor would be the ambient light sensor which automatically adjusts the brightness of the screen based on the ambient light where the unit is housed. Cool or what !?!?
There are basically two models available, the 4GB or the 8GB model. The recommended selling price in US with a contract with Cingular is about USD499 for the 4GB model and USD599 for the 8GB Model. That works out to only about RM2150 or so… which I feel is very affordable especially if everything is in one cool devide like the iphone.
Technical Specifications
 |
| Screen size |
3.5 inches |
| Screen resolution |
320 by 480 at 160 ppi |
| Input method |
Multi-touch |
| Operating system |
OS X |
| Storage |
4GB or 8GB |
| GSM |
Quad-band (MHz: 850, 900, 1800, 1900) |
| Wireless data |
Wi-Fi (802.11b/g) + EDGE + Bluetooth 2.0 |
| Camera |
2.0 megapixels |
| Dimensions |
4.5 x 2.4 x 0.46 inches / 115 x 61 x 11.6mm |
| Weight |
4.8 ounces / 135 grams |
|
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This phone is definately on my wishlist for next Christmas…
In the meanwhile, here’s a good read at http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/01/10/tech/main2349900.shtml?source=RSSattr=HOME_2349900Â which describes the lawsuit Cisco has filed against Apple for using the trademark name iPhone in their products. Cisco says they own the name, Apple says the products are different thus justifying the use of it. Who do you think will win? This will be interesting to follow. But even if Apple loses and renames the phone to a simple “Phone”,… iWantOne and iStillWantOne!
January 12th, 2007
2007 is the Official Visit Malaysia Year. It makes me proud to be Malaysian and I would like to invite everyone to visit my lovely country. Lots of things to do, sights to see and there’s always something right for everyone! From the lovely shopping complexs and comfort malls, to roadside bargain shopping, historical sights, serene beaches, majestic mountains and rainforests as well a diversified culture of celebrations and Asian cuisines, we have it all!Take this opportunity to visit Malaysia and understand why it is a top destination around Asia. Too bad its not well known as yet but I hope this drive changes everything. Its about time everyone enjoys Malaysia, not just us Malaysians. I’m glad the Malaysian Government and its people are doing their part to create awareness of Visit Malaysia 2007. Malaysia Boleh…
If you have any questions about Malaysia and you are thinking of dropping by for a visit, do feel free to post questions here and I’ll try my best to answer them. Hopefully I will be able to bring you one step closer to learning more about what we have to offer.
Hmm… where should I visit first… There’s no saying that Malaysians can’t go around Malaysia right ? There’s so much to do… so little time… Perhaps I’ll start with the EYE OF MALAYSIA
January 7th, 2007
Our Trip to Singapore from 28 December 2006 – 2 January 2007…the story goes…
The planning for this trip was made just a week or two before Christmas.
The initial plan was to follow our dear friend John down in his car and stay with him at his apartment near Great World City at Zion Road and then take a bus back to KL. We opted for Aeroline Bus which leaves Harbour Front and stops at Corus Hotel on Jalan Ampang. The reason why we choose Aeroline is because all other bus companies were full up on the return trip up till the 3rd or 4th January. As we had to come back on the 2 January, Aeroline was our only easy choice. I really didn’t want to try to call the other companies like KTM (Malaysia Railway), Nice or First Coach. It was totally difficult to get through to them… either their lines were busy, off the hook or nobody answered the calls. Out of 20 times I tried calling, perhaps I only managed to get through once.
Anyway on 25 December, my car gets rammed from the back by this idiotic Lady Driver who was on the handphone while driving. Her Estima hit a Proton Isware which then hit a van which in turn managed to hit and crumple the trunk of my car and crack my lights! And guess what? We were all stuck in a Traffic Jam…. So how in the world she managed to do that and transfer all the force to my poor car… I have no idea! And yes you read correctly…. 25 is Christmas Day! Ho Ho ho…
And to have it my spate of “bad luck� did not end there, our dear Friend John who was supposed to bring us down with him told me a day or so later that he fell off a ladder while painting his house. Poor dude… luckily it was just a “minor sprain�. Anyway we decided it was best we found another way to get down to Singapore while he rested in KL. Luckily for us, we managed to get two seats on the evening NICE Bus from the old KL Train Station. All was great and we were all set to be on our way to FINE FINE Singapore.
The bus ride from KL to Singapore was uneventful. We managed to get into Singapore slightly short of 6 hours. The ride was pretty pleasant. We managed to get lots of water from the storage area. And yeah there wasn’t any Stewardess taking care of our bus. Perhaps they went on holiday already. We did have a quick stop over at a rest area and hastily resumed our journey after some inconsiderate passengers decided to turn up 5 to 10 minutes later than the planned time. A quick Taxi ride from our stop in Singapore to John’s apartment concluded our southward journey to Singapore.
What greeted us when we arrived at John’s apartment was pure delight. The apartment was apparently only 3 years old or so. Everything was almost spanking new and it was definitely much better than staying at any hotel. You get the comfort of your own home and yet the luxury was definitely there. Nice airconds to keep you nice and cool, nice water heaters, nice pressure from the water for showers, a nice little kitchen to cook noodles and light meals, comfy couch to watch Starhub Channels…. And the list does not end there. After having stayed there for a mere 6 days, I think I have grown attached to his apartment. It will be a pity as he mentioned he might be moving out soon by mid-year… so hopefully, we can make another trip down there to enjoy one last stay before the apartment becomes no more. Our sincere thanks goes out to John for offering his lovely apartment for us to stay while in Singapore. We just hope that the next time we are down in Singapore, that he’s down there with us.
As mentioned, we were actually in Singapore for 6 days… but I can tell you this… it definitely didn’t feel like 6 days! It felt like only 3! Could it be that we lost some time due to alien abduction? Or perhaps we just had so much fun and enjoyed our stay that we didn’t realize how fast time was flying. We did however manage to do quite a few things. Firstly we met up with Kok Liang and his two friends for a round of Texas Hold’em Poker. Playing in Singapore Dollars was definitely a new thrill for me. Luckily I managed to hold my own and even got some sponsoring for the trip’s expenses 
We also managed to meet some other new and old friends in Singapore over lunch and breakfast! We were treated to a scrumptious lunch at Soup Restaurant at Paragon Plaza by Helen and KC. The steamed cold chicken dish is a must! Breakfast on the other hand was spend having nice Mc Donalds’ pancakes in Lucky Plaza treated by Wee Loong. Traveling down to Orchard Road Tangs was a synch. All we had to do was walk over to the Great World City shopping center opposite the apartment and take the free shuttle down to Tangs which was just 5 mins or so away. To make things easy, the shuttle was always on time, very frequent and while waiting we could always take a nice little stroll at the Great World City outlet shops. Oh yes, we did frequent the toilet, Cold Storage and 7-eleven for food snacks and meals, Body Shop for their daily offers. We actually walked around Great World City almost each time we had to go take a bus. How convenient is that ?!? Just wonderful! I wish Malaysia had something like that. What’s with the Public Transportation System here? With Visit Malaysia Year happening this year… I do hope the Government does something to make it easy and a pleasure for people to move around.
A good example of difference in Mind Set can be seen when comparing our experience of lining up at Genting’s Cable Car ride and Singapore’s Night Safari. Both involved lots of people but somehow the lining up at the night safari was so much more pleasant. For starters, things were more organized, secondly there were ample staff to tell people where to go and how things are going. We had to line up from the road entrance to the Night Safari all the way to the Tram rides but it was bearable because were constantly moving along the line. Each time we moved along, we covered a good distance and we didn’t have to stay stationary for more than 4-5 minutes each time. We were so impressed at how they handled the situation that we wished the same could have been true for the Genting Skyway Ride. Perhaps there’s just something to learn here…
The Night Safari was a great place to visit. Not that we don’t have such animals in Malaysia… We definitely have them and perhaps even more… but Singapore just managed again to out-do themselves in this aspect. Wouldn’t it be great if we had night safaris around here with the same concept? I have been to the one in Melaka A’Famosa. It was great but its nothing compared to the experience in Singapore. Perhaps the thrill factor of riding in a cage less tram or a cage less surrounding where Tigers and Lions roam just makes it a complete and fulfilling experience. Of course the English of the staff working there is also so much better… need I say more? While traveling to the Night Safari was a bit tedious… it wasn’t that bad. A quick ride from Jurong East to Choa Chu Kang MRT Station was needed before we boarded a bus that took us all the way to the Night Safari. The return trip was done by taking a bus from the Night Safari to Ang Mo Kio MRT Station and then back to Orchard MRT. How simple is that ?!
We also went to the Singapore Science Center before the Night Safari which was within walking distance from the Jurong East Station. We had a lovely time at the Science Center trying all the silly exhibits and also managed to catch two Omnimax Movies; Roving Mars and Deep Sea. Oh I got out of the place feeling a little dizzy. Perhaps I wasn’t used to the way the screen wraps around the globe. But it was a pretty good experience as the last Omnimax Movie I watched was while I was in Vancouver during the 1986 Expo.
Once we were done with the shows, it was already evening and we had to walk back towards the Jurong East Station where we stopped along the way at a Food Center and introduced Mee Pok to May Lee. Mee Pok is a type of Noodle and May Lee is my girlfriend. Pls don’t get confused haha.
Other activities in Singapore was of course walking and shopping along Orchard Road. We managed to pick up some goodies there which I will be writing about in one of my next blogging articles. For now, we can tell you we had a great time doing after Christmas sales. I also managed to get some parts for my Model Helicopter from Singapore Hobby at Fook Hai Building near the China Town MRT stop. Too bad my trip to rotor.com.sg near the Lavender MRT stop was unfruitful as they were closed for the year end break and only opened on the 3rd Jan when I would be back in Malaysia already. Oh well.. I guess I’ll get more time to save up for my TREX Chopper which I wanted to get.
New Year’s Eve was equally wonderful. May Lee made me a nice meal at John’s place. We had pasta and it tasted wonderful… especially when you don’t have to do the cooking after walking around on aching feet the entire day. We were supposed to meet up with her friends at Sentosa Beach Party until we found out it was a Foam Party. We decided to stay back but managed to make our way to City Hall overlooking the Esplanade (The Famous Durian shaped building) by the bay. There were many people on the streets that night and we all enjoyed a great fireworks show laid out by Singapore. Getting back was easy even with crowded streets, the MRT stations once again surprised us on how efficient large number of people moved around without incident.
We tried going to Sentosa on New Year’s day just to try the LUGE ride that they had there but we never made it across to the Island from the Harbour Front Bus Stations. There simply were too many people lining up and no matter how efficient the transportation system was, we just had enough of lining up for the couple of days. We figured we can always do it another time when there are less people around. We also did not fancy lining up again when we reached Sentosa side. We decided to only take a quick walk in the Mall at Harbour Front before heading back to Orchard for even more shopping! May Lee managed to get something nice for herself as a result. What is it? We’ll keep that a surprise and save it for the next blog article.
The trip back from Singapore was equally uneventful. We boarded out Aeroline bus from Harbour Front. It was definitely much nicer than the NICE bus we took. Both were double deckers but the Aeroline was newer, had nice shows during the trip and even had a nice meal for us, plus coffee or tea and fruits! Is that first Class Service or what !?!?! We totally enjoyed the bus ride and I definitely will not hesitate to take the bus down to Singapore again the next time I decide to go down.
Click Here to see more photos of our Trip to Singapore
January 4th, 2007
