New rims and tires.

After the recent track excursions, my tires were balding so bad that they were almost becoming full race slicks!

I went around shopping for new tires that past week or so and found that the original 205/60/15 tires cost a bomb!

With the announcement that tire prices will be going up from 1st April onwards, I'd decided that if an upgrade were to be made, it'd be now!

Good news came this weekend when a friend had helped me source out a set of 17" rims and new tires for a VERY good price.

The ever vigilant Bro Chris was there looking on the install. This dude is always looking out for me. Thanks so much bro. I owe you one! Patrick sohai (patricksohai.blogspot.com) was giving his "thumbs-up" to the new dubs... erk... I can speak "Nigger-ish" :P
Install was complete and waiting to get outta that bay.
I just couldn't resist taking another picture of my machine while parked at work this morning.
These rims kinda adds a certain "bling-age" to the ride doesn't it? Let me know what you guys think. It's kinda too many spokes for my taste... :P

Scrabble schmabble... Easy as pie.. Not!

This has got to be one of the most clever E-mails I'vereceived in a while. Someone out there either has toomuch spare time or is deadly at Scrabble. Wait till you see the last one!

DORMITORY: When you rearrange the letters: DIRTY ROOM

PRESBYTERIAN: When you rearrange the letters: BEST IN PRAYER

ASTRONOMER:When you rearrange the letters: MOON STARER

DESPERATION:When you rearrange the letters: A ROPE ENDS IT

THE EYES:When you rearrange the letters: THEY SEE

GEORGE BUSH: When you rearrange the letters: HE BUGS GORE

THE MORSE CODE : When you rearrange the letters: HERE COME DOTS

SLOT MACHINES: When you rearrange the letters: CASH LOST IN ME

ANIMOSITY:When you rearrange the letters: IS NO AMITY

ELECTION RESULTS: When you rearrange the letters: LIES - LET'S RECOUNT

SNOOZE ALARMS: When you rearrange the letters: ALAS! NO MORE Z 'S

A DECIMAL POINT: When you rearrange the letters: IM A DOT IN PLACE

THE EARTHQUAKES: When you rearrange the letters: THAT QUEER SHAKE

ELEVEN PLUS TWO: When you rearrange the letters: TWELVE PLUS ONE

AND FOR THE GRAND FINALE:
MOTHER-IN-LAW: When you rearrange the letters: WOMAN HITLER

Pro-poker!

A man is driving down the road and have a flat tyre near a 'Service House' ( Pokeing service that is ). He goes to the house, knocks on the door, and says, My car broke down. Do you think I could stay the night?

The 'mamak in charge' is more then happy to accept him as he show her his gold credit card, feed him dinner, and even fix his car. She also ask him if he want to have some 'service' which he declined as he is very tired! So he choose a nice room & tries to sleep!

As the man tries to fall asleep, he hears a strange sound; a sound like no other that he has ever heard, wonderful moaning sound!

The next morning, he asks the 'mamak' who make the sound, but she say,
I can't tell you. You're not a pro-poker!

The man is disappointed but thanks her anyway and goes about his merry way. Some years later, the same man breaks down in front of the same house.

The mamak again more then happy accept him, feed him, and even fix his car.That night, he hears the same strange mesmerizing sound that he had heard years earlier.

The next morning, he asks what the sound was, but the mamak reply,I can't tell you.
You're not a pro-poker!

The man says, All right, all right. I'm dying to know. If the only way I can find out what that sound was, is to become a pro-poker, how do I become a pro-poker?

She reply, you must travel the earth and tell me how many types of poosies there are and the exact number of poosies u have poked. When you find these numbers, you will become a pro-poker.

The man sets about his task. Some forty-five years later, he returns and knocks on the door of the 'service house'. He says, I have traveled the earth and devoted my life to the task demanded and have found what you had asked for. There are so many different types of poosie from white to black color & in between got reddish & yellowish types! I can't tell u how many type of poosies I have poked but I can tell u that all this pokeing have made me think of nothings but pokeing in my mind & my life!

The mamak reply, Whoa! U do all that? Congratulations! Now you are a pro-poker!

I shall now show you the way to the sound.The mamak lead the man to a wooden door, where she says, the sound is behind that door.

The man reaches for the knob, but the door is locked. He asks, May I have the key?
She give him the key, and he opens the door.

Behind the wooden door is another door made of stone. The man requests the key to the stone door.

She give him the key, and he opens it, only to find a door made of ruby. He demands another key from her, who provide it. Behind that door is another door, this one made of sapphire. And so it went until the man had gone through doors of emerald,...

...silver, topaz, and amethyst.

Finally, the she say, This is the key to the last door

The man is relieved to no end. He unlocks the door, turns the knob, and behind that door he is astonished to find the source of that strange sound. It is truly an amazing and unbelievable sight.

Scroll down......................................
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. . . But I can't tell you who it is because YOU are not a pro-poker!
DON'T SWEAR AT ME;
I'M STILL HUNTING FOR THE IDIOT WHO SENT THIS TO ME!

Flabby morning.

As I got out of my apartment to get to work, I'd reached the end of the road and realised that my front right tire was punctured!

My handphone cam has no flash, so sorry for the badly lit pic.

I had to change the bloody thing in lousy lighting and off to work in sweaty clothes.

Bloody thing looks slashed! That crooked piece of shit bugger (I can't say bastard publicly now can I?) better not let me find him otherwise a punctured tire would be the least of his automotive worries.

The only reason as to why I'm still in a cheery mood is that these tires have lasted through Sepang and Kg. Gajah twice, and that its time for a tire change anyway. I guess this is a good juncture for my upgrade to a larger size :P

Parting ways to an acquaintance

Haiz... Parting is always such sweet sorrow even if its just an acquaintance we'd met ever so briefly.

I'm referring to the sale of my KP60 Starlet of course. This cute little bugger can turn into an a$$ biting monster (as proven by Zoggee's Kookaburra) with the right mods.

I had little memory of this acquaintance as I only drove it for less than an hour before the engine, conrods rather, knocked out on me. It's been left at Henry's place for ever so long until an interested buyer came along.

So now this is saying my piece to the departure of the KP60 Toyota Starlet from my stable.

Cheers to the car that could have been!

In loving memory...

Tri-color sunrise

As I was making some sandwiches for breakfast this morning, I just happened to look out the window to a tri-colored sunrise. So off I went for my handphone (I got no cam at the moment) for some pics.

This is a pic from my kitchen window where I first saw it.
This is a pic from my store room. It truly looks beautiful, too bad I didn't have a proper camera.

Dinner at Sri Ananda Bahwan

I had dinner on Sunday night with my family at the Sri Ananda Bahwan reataurant located at the foot of Pearl Hill in Tg. Bunga, Penang.

They even had a traditionally dressed doorman to welcome the guests.

It had a very serene garden style open setup with benches and stools.

There are also conventional tables and chairs for the more discerning diner.

This restaurant serves mainly Indian cuisine, which I'd just found out is split into Northern Indian and Southern Indian cuisine, each with their different fare.

I'd ordered tandoori fish (a change from the usual chicken), mint chicken, chicken masala (some spice), and fried veggies as the main courses.

All of us ordered some naan (indian bread baked in an earthen kiln), except my dad whom decided to have some briyani rice as his staple.

As you can see, we were a hungry lot so everyone had dug in before I could snap pics :)

As we were seated out back, I went to take in some fresh air at the fore front of the restaurant after my hearty meal.

This is where the tandoori is prepared. Notice the big earthen pot to the left of the counter, that's where all the food is cooked.

Sri Ananda also serves traditional Indian sweets for dessert. Try with caution, VERY sweet.

Sri Ananda was a nice place in overall with good service, great and authentic food, fantastic ambience and very hygienic. I suggest a try if time and tide permits.

Happy dining!

Tougeking stickers!

I've just got and installed my Tougeking stickers. Sweet!

Check them out:-

Our expert sticker man. Tommy from Tommax No. Plate and Sticker Workshop.

"ScAvEnGeR" labelled Tougeking sticker installed in inner windscreen. Sweet eh?

16th open track day at Dato Sagor

We had an open track day after the defensive driving course since we were staying over at the chalet anyways. Plus, we had to rent the track for both days (owner's requirements).


Zoggee organised something similar to Solo and took out timed runs as benchmark for future improvement. I didn't get any pics because all the participants and I were too busy being nosey. Sitting near the timekeeper and watching for others' lap times.


One interesting participant was the Saga from Hell, which I first saw at Sepang's open track on the 27th of Jan 08. This fella ran coil over shocks suspension in the rear and a 4G63T resides as its heart. Heavily modified and torque steers like mad. Enjoy the view :-

*Picture adapted from tougeking.blogspot.com

I had a blast of a time and I finally got Tougeking to drive my car. Despite being and FF layout, balding yr 2003 tires and his first time driving my car, his time was :-

1. 44.78 secs.

2. 44.94 secs.

3. 44.45 secs.

As compared to my own time of :-

1. 47.24 secs.

2. 48.35 secs.

3. 47.92 secs.

4. 47.89 secs.

5. 47.02 secs.

I tried entering the chicane on third gear and missed the following apex slightly on my second run, I didn't think it'd cost me so much. Haiz...

Now I know what I'm aiming for :) Thanks TK for the taxi ride and for the benchmark timing. Thanks also for showing me how to take the chicane, I shall return soon with vengeance and new tires :P

I just gotta say this. IT'S ALL ABOUT BALANCE!!!

Defensive driving exercises.

I'd just like to list down and archive what we'd learnt this weekend at the Dato' Sagor Track with Sean Khoo (Ah Sien).

Med-speed Slalom -> There were 6 cones placed in line and spaced about two and a half car lengths apart. We all started at speed of 60km/h with a 5km/h increment in every following round. Eventually, after around 3 runs, my rear was throwing and I got scared. But Sean mentioned that we'd to be dedicated and not fluctuate. So I went at it again at 70km/h and felt the wonderful adjustability of a slightly sliding rear :P

Staggered gate -> This is almost the same with the slalom except that the cones are offset around two car lengths. As you enter you'll turn-straight-turn-straight-turn. More or less like zig-zagging maneouver. By the time I reached the third cone at a speed of 60km/h I'd oversteered due to the build up of momentum and me upsetting the car's balance.

Threshold braking -> This is where you'd use the full potential of your brakes and grip of your tires. Very fun except for the time that Johan and Yoong fooled me into going at it around 120km/h and they placed a cone smack in the middle of the braking zone. Luckily I stopped just in time, but my bumper did touch the cone although it didn't fall over!

Obstacle evasion -> This was indeed the most fun part of the day when you'd use your natural reaction and all that you'd learnt in the day to evade two imaginary obstacles which are only around a car's length from the braking point. Trouble is that we were instructed to come at it at 60km/h and it's hard to maintain speed when you know you've got to brake. So a lot of the participants cheated by lifting off or braking way before where we were marked out to. We all got a rightful telling from Sean. Due to being chosen as the guinea pig for this exercise, I had to do it at 80km/h. All Sean told me was that, "Imagine you were in the Touge (Jap word for hill run) and a tree fell in front, how will you avoid?" Good example! But I screwed up big time and killed off 4 cones.

Defensive driving with Sean Khoo on 15/Mar

I had a track event this past weekend at the Dato Sagor track in Kg, Gajah. It was the defensive driving course with lead instructor, Sean Khoo, and his assisstants, Johan and Yoong (aka Mr.Nismo although he's driving a Caldina).

Here are the pics. I didn't get many as I was excited for as much track time behind the wheel as possible.

I tried to capture the beautiful wide open paddy fields in the light morning mist. But I was driving slightly over 100km/h so please forgive me as it's a bit blurred.

A view of the cars waiting in readiness for the event to start.
Sean started the theoretical part of his course. "Now this is how you open the door!" - Jus jk :P

He was explaining seating position and the placement of your arms on the steering.
Sean was explaining steering work. In this pic, he was telling us not to get cross armed.
Our lead instructor again at front stage. This time he's explaining that there are chances of our cars turning into submarines in Sg. Perak if instructions are not followed.
Yoong and Johan listening on and adding some comments.All cars were lining up to attemt the slalom and staggered gate formation, which everyone tried to do at speeds of up to 80km/h... I did it at 60km/h and the rear of my car started coming alive! I never knew that the throttle could help you gain more traction! - Sean did it at 80km/h with no drama at all. Darn he's good!
Zoggee looking UBER gay in his long sleeved cotton shirt. I mean, just look at his pose! ;)
I sat down for a chat with Yoong, Johan and Sean after a simple lunch while we waited for Muslim prayers to end.
Ah Aun looked sleepy and tired. Probably due to unloading a lot of "cargo" that very morning along the PLUS highway :P
Yoong was feeling mighty proud of his Caldina after he took me for a ride around the track, drifting after the rain. He started off by using the Caldina's foot actuated handbrake to initiate drits, after which he explained that it's all about throwing the car's weight. From then on, it was inertia drifts all the way, handbrakes were no longer needed! - Thanks for the ride Yoong.Henry in his very limited Subaru. It's a boxer engined, front wheel driven Subaru. But it had a working air-conditioner, good balance and frameless windows!!! Nice car bro.
Yoong, Lao Heah and Jay Kang posing after Lao Heah drove his Honda Accord over the drain and into Yoong's club!
After a good night's rest and getting ready to leave for home, the resort guys requested a picture session. So we threw in a few of our own cams for the heck of it.
Our cars all lined up after lunch with Kookaburra (KP61 Starlet) taking the fore front.

Our VIP Henry being escorted home on the highway by two Perdana's.
The weekend ended with dinner at Restoran Kapitan for some tandoori with Tommy, Christopher and myself.

This course was worth every cent. It's a real eye-opener to emergency situations and car control. Do try to go for Sean's course if you have the chance to.

Demonstration at Komtar, Penang.

Do I even have to mention who? Darn these fellas just don't know when to quit!

I'm all for the DEB (Dasar Ekonomi Baru/New Economic Plan) where the projects will be open tender instead of being valid only to Bumiputera contractors. Why should they gain from a marginal mark-up, being payed with taxpayers' money, just cause only they can tender for it.

Check out this scene outside the Chief Minister's office at Komtar, Penang.

Suzuki Escudo

I was at a friend's shop later yesterday and I saw this self glorified Suzuki Vitara Sport (also known as the Escudo). It had all the badging and body parts of the later gen 2.0 Escudo, just missing the engine yer? Hahaha...

Teluk Kumbar touge under construction

While I was waiting for some parts from my supplier yesterday, I decided to go up to an old haunt to see how's the progress. Sadly, it's still ongoing and the roads are horribly scarred from the construction work, and some parts are now one way with no street lamps. It'd be dangerous at night but it was noon-ish then so I'd went to the start of the touge to get some pics.


The initial part remains the same with smooth tarmac and wide roads. You can see from this pic that the road winds higher and higher into the hill.

A pic of my car at the banking with a good view of the initial sweepers entering the Teluk Kumbar touge!

This is a pic of the downhill showing the initial part of the Teluk Kumbar touge.

Since I still had a few minutes on my hands, I'd just fool around with some angle pics. Darn! I miss my TE.

My supplier had called up so it was time to leave. I'd wanted to make a spin turn (I miss my "Pooh" TE), but I could only manage a slow U-turn in this large saloon :(