Yamaha YG521M-R guitar

I recently acquired a used Yamaha YG521M-R guitar. It's black in colour, 24 frets with a reverse headstock(i love those!). Just one problem, I can't look for the specs or infos about this guitar, and some of it are in Japanese.



I sought the help from fellow forummers in lowyat.net and i got some little infos. It's Yamaha logo on the headstock is using the old font, so I'm assuming it would be somewhat a vintage guitar. A fellow forummer is also helping as he's able to read Japanese and I'm looking foward for his reply.



Anyway, this guitar in need of major servicing. The frets, neck, and the electronics and knobs needs some cleaning, dusting and i think the body might need a new paint. Nevertheless, I will wait for the information first before I proceed with the servicing. I wonder how much would it cost me later.



p/s Now I'm at home in Bau celebrating Gawai soon. To all who celebrate Gawai, Siramat Onu Gawai!

Let the sound do the talking

Last Monday a friend of mine invited me to a gathering of his around Lawas town. It is a group of friends who had something in common, the love for in car entertainment(ICE). He knew that I would want to shoot something like this. I went there with my equipment and starts shooting. Little did I know that it wasn't as easy.





I went there around 7 pm and I find it difficult to get some nice shots and composition even with my flash. All of his friends opened up their car bonnet to show their systems, with all the neons lighted up. Somehow its my responsibility to bring the best from each car.





Here are some of the shots that I took but still I'm not impressed with most of it.

Her Perodua Kancil

This is my fiancee's 2002 Perodua Kancil. It has a manual transmission, 850cc engine, original silver colour with adequate space for four adults. It has been serving her well for the past seven years. When the loan was fully paid, she thought of modifying her car to look better than original. What a better way to do that than to put in some Daihatsu Mira stuffs right?



So the bodyparts was changed to Daihatsu Mira L200s front and rear bumpers, L200 side skirt(I bought, installed and then I realised it was the wrong combination...:D) and we replaced the original dashboard taken from Mira L500. It has better aircon flow and the looks.



We send the car to be painted white to replaced the original silver. She thought that it's a better idea to paint the whole car, inside and outside. We went for the VIP look for the interior; the dashboard and some panels were painted cream and with some brown accents, and installed seat cushions. Then we bought a used L500 13 inches sport rims and a Pioneer MP3 player and speakers to complete the whole modification.



She spent more than RM4600 for the whole thing. But it was worth it. The painted interior gives a bigger looking interior than it is. It is quite a looker too. Just recently she felt that it was time for a change. The Kancil wasn't equipped with power steering unit and it's a manual. She wanted a bigger, auto car which is easier to drive.



Due to our limited budget and the low second hand value of the Kancil, we search for a used family sedan. Her first choice was a used first generation Honda CRV, followed by the 1997 Civic EK and the Toyota Corolla AE111. I on the other hand, would prefer more if she buys the Civic. After 10 years, the car still have the looks, with a realiable engine if it is cared well. A non-VTEC version would be suitable for her. After days of persuasion, she finally agreed, and now we are waiting for her loan to be approved.



Hopefully if we are able to buy the EK3, it's time to hunt for some modifications parts. I'm already thinking of getting a 15 inch Racing Sparco rims, EK9 bodyparts...hmm...the list just won't stop.

Basic Athletics Course

Last week I attended a basic athletics course jointly organised by Lawas Education Department and Sarawak Teaching Institute. The course was given by STI's head of Physical Education deparment Tuan Haji Hassan Nor and Mr. Sain Datok. The aim was to provide exposure for proper athletics training to the teachers here.


Tuan Haji briefed us about the day's activities.




The moment that everybody have been waiting for...eating time. The day was very hot.




Shotputing is fun!

Being a teacher which involved in the student's training for the annual school's sports meet for the past five years, I looked foward towards this to enhance my knowledge and experiences. The one and a half day course provided us with the theories of traning and we did some training on the field too.








Mr. Usang gave briefed us about discus event.


One of the exercises.




Mr. Sain Datok on javelin.


One of the field events that I dislike. Haven't mastered the correct technique since high school. I only know how to teach my athletes but cannot perform them.

Update for the Asus EEE netbook

This is an update for my previous post dated 13th May about the EEE pc that I owned.

Guess what? Just received a call from Highpoint saying that the parts have arrived and asked me to send the laptop there for servicing. I remembered that they told me it would come on the week when I blogged about my EEE. What the? Its already almost two weeks after that then the parts really arrived. I was wondering if I didn't take my EEE in the first place from them, it would just be there, left unattended.

I don't know how long would it take them to replace the faulty parts if I send this EEE, and I haven't inform them about the problems arised when I took it back from them few weeks ago; the malfunction buttons and such.

Really hope that this will be the last time I'm sending my EEE there as the service kind of slow. Hmm...

Framing the Honda EX5...

I don't quite satisfied with the shots that I took yesterday, so this evening I went out to have another photoshoot at a different location. Some shots taken with the F42 to expose some details.

Pimp My Honda...unveiled

I can't hide my excitement and joy when the bike came to life today. I'm afraid that after all these months, the engine would get some moisture or oil up into its valves and making it hard or won't start at all. Took us almost 15 minutes of hard kicking on the starter. We took it out for a spin and making some final adjustments. Blew up the main lamp but nevertheless, all mechanical and electrical components were working fine. The carburetor was cleaned beforehand so the bike's pickup increased. Sweet!





I'm really glad that we did this project by ourselves. And thank you so much to my cousin for without his guidance, I wouldn't have completed the bike. Did some photoshoot of the bike but I'm still not satisfied will the angle and flash positions.







So, what do you think of the bike?

Maswings Twin Otter

It seats 20, small, light, loud turboprop powered engines and capable of providing some thrill ride, the DHC-6 Twin Otter is the only mode of transportation by air to Lawas. The Twin Otter is still being used in some inferior towns in Sabah and Sarawak due to it's capability to land and take off from a short runway.



I was skeptical when I first boarded this plane back in 1994 when I got posted to Lawas. I have heard of it but never knew that it would look that small. I was wondering if it can fly 19 of us safely to Lawas. To my suprise, it was a fun ride. The seats maybe small and it comes with no headrest just like old buses, but I enjoyed the entire 45 minutes flight. The pilot would maneuvre the plane away from big clouds and it felt just like the simulation game you get from theme parks.







But the real thrill happened when it comes to landing. As we approached the landing strip, I could see the runway from the pilot's cockpit! The normal landing route would require the plane to pass over the town and a small resindential area. So the pilot had to 'dive' the plane a bit to land. Huge sighs can be heard from the passengers when the plane finally landed. And I, still got goosebumps everytime I board it, and even close my eyes when it's time for landing.





Want some more thrills? Wait till it rains. :D

p/s I saw a TUDM plane hovering Lawas last week which is my first after 6 years staying here. It tried to land and quickly it rose up twice. Maybe it's trying to gauge the runway. It was quite a magnificent view of the plane taken from my house.