survival of the mind

 we live in a world where internet and communication connect people all over the world. it is really handy and helps in transfer of information to be faster and more information. everything is at the tip of our fingers. it is really convenient to us. but little do we realise everything comes with a price.

in a world where everyone is connected, it is easy for us to communicate and hence allow us to get more attention. social media platforms have enabled people to spread information, ideas and trends and the mass started to follow. this constant web of communication allows us to be connected all 24/7. more interaction means that we are socially more accepted and thus creating the influencers. this so called celebrities in the net. the status of these celebrites depends on how many followers they have and they feed of praises and interactions from their followers that provide them satisfaction and happiness. whos not happy being in the center of attention. the surge of happiness and rewarding feeling one get from being in the lime light is addicting. and yeah lots of people get addicted to the extent theyre willing to do anything just to get more attentions and more interactions from the mass. everyone is trying to get more attention in their own way be it good or bad. they do unexpected things, pushing their creativity to the limits to appeal to the masses. unfortunately some resort negativity in order to get attentions, just like a toddler throwing tantrum. some went to extreme by harming oneself or people around them just so that their goal is achieved. most of the times though, itss just the addiction of the mass approval that makes one do stupid stuffs without thinking of the consequences when they didnt even realizes their action harm themselves or people around them until its too late.

i realized that constant interaction with people makes us have less "me time". i feel that having me time is crucial in our lives as it is the time that you have a look at yourself, communicate with your soul, and reflect on yourself. it is part of your time where you can build your persona without anyone's interference. me time allows you to recognise your weakness and strengths, and ultimately be at peace with who you are and learn to love yourself.

when we are addicted to attention we lack me time and hence we depends on others to build ourselves. we created a persona based on the people around us. of course, it is convenient to do that but it is not a stable persona. the structure is supported by the mass and we all know humans are fickle. they can love us in one moment and the next thing they can totally hate us. all these interactions become input on how we build ourselves. when theres too much input the product will be just too unstable and in the end break down. this is what happen when we try to cater to too many demands and expectation from people surrounding us and eventually we are going to be too tired and burn out. not to mention that some are just manipulating us for their own benefits while completely disregarding our well being. 

this might not make sense to anyone that might read this probably because im not a good writer but yeah what i see is that the fact theres increase in behavioural problems and mental issues with advancement of technology in communication shows that alot of people are defined by the society surrounding them be it in reality or in the net. in fast pace society, a lot of people couldnt cope with all the changes and lose themselves leading to stress and depression. the persona created from external input is only superficial. though we look complete, we are actually hollow inside. theres no solid foundation from ourselves to fully support our mind when we have no time to build our persona

and i think thats why exercise is a good way to help in mental issues like depression. when i say exercise i mean the boring ones that we can do alone like running, swimming, weightlifting. scientifically exercise and weightlifting have something to do with our dopamine release that is related to reward feeling which can help reducing depression. besides that, these exercises allows you to totally focus on yourself as you move your body and pushing it to the limit. it allows you to drown the surrounding and block all input from outside. it just you your soul and your body. no interference from outside world. it might be only a brief moment but that allows you to discover calmness in your mind. dont be afraid of boredom. boredom is just a sign that youre craving for interactions when all you need is to focus on yourself. get the workout to help release the dopamine instead of from interactions. and then theres also the addiction issue of us having constantly releasing dopamine that not having it makes us feel bored. endure it long enough and the boredom will be gone, just like when the withdrawal effect is gone.

the concept of exercising alone/working out is quite similar to meditation albeit different method. while exercise helps you to focus on yourself with heavy task, meditation helps you to focus on yourself through stillness and blocking out interferences from the outside. through stillness you we heightened our senses and feel every part of your body. the pulsating of your heart, the flow of air as we breathe, to the twitching of every single fiber in our body. ultimately both methods allow us to be in a world of solitude within our minds.

thoughts

 recently i listen to radio while i was on my way to work in the morning. they usually have a talk session where they discuss random stuffs be it current issues or things that listeners post to them. there is this one topic they discuss about cheating in relationship. is it alright to think of someone else when youre already in relationship/married? will it be considered cheating? 

of course, there will be 2 responses to this. 

1. it is okay as long as you dont act on it. afterall it is just in your mind

2. that would be cheating. if you love someone you will be thinking and loyal to that person only. 

well both answers are acceptable. 

what made me thinking is that the mind is a great thing. it can be something so insignificant but it also can achieve greatness or becoming very dangerous. 

one can dream and visualize or fantasize many things. miracles, the impossible, absurd things. on the other hand the mind can be blank and not thinking of anything. or mostly buzzing like foggy. 

the mind on its own can do nothing and brings no harm. it doesnt cause even the slightest change to the world. everything only happen in the head of the person no matter how great or bizarre the thought is. however when things that happen in the mind arebeing shown via actions, that is when everything starts to move. like a clockwork. it triggers effects and consequences. consequences triggers reactions and in turn create more consquences be it small or big just like a butterfly effect. these combination of results over time will create the future. wether it be a good or bad future, nobody knows. some things lead to a splendid things while some can lead to monstrosity. 

now back to our issue regarding cheating, thinking of someone else of course, wont do anything and lead to anything. no harm will come from just thinking of it as theyre all in the mind. things start to get ugly when actions are being made out of the thinking. this doesnt necessarily means physically having affairs/sex. but also through projections that can be in form of story, portrayal, or pictures. 

this reminds me of the islamic teaching where if you think of something bad you are not doing sin, but if you take action on it you will be sinning. however if you think of something good or wish for it youre already considered as doing good deed and it is even better when you act on it. this shows how great a mind is and how scary it is. without action, a thinking is just a thinking. merely a fiction imprisoned in one's mind. but combined with action, everything changes.   

the mind is the impetus of everything that happened, like a seed to grow trees with the right action in right condition, it can grow into something big. a small vibration can lead to a big wave that consumes everything in its path destroying everything. the mind that is so harmless in every way, can lead to a nation built or even destroy a nation. 

this also means that the what we think can affect us indirectly. keep thinking of positive things and youll be a better person and if you keep on thinking of negative things, one can turn to be a dark person and do bad things. so yeah keep on thinking about goodness and you will eventually act on them. 

phi

 ever heard of fibonacci? at least people might know this from watching prison break. but no im not talking about that guy. it is a sequence closely related to golden ratio. lets talk about golden ratio. it is a ratio that exist and related to beautiful things in both nature, arts, construction. also in jojo.lol

pretty sure one have come across this at least once.

the number is 1.618. or (1+5^-2)/2. the symbol for this number is phi some sort of o with vertical line in the middle like deathly hallows symbol but without the triangle. so i became intrigued with this golden ratio as this thing occurs naturally in this world. like the angle of the petals, spider webs, seashells. even the ratio of human body using this golden ratio is related to beauty. 

here is an attempt of me making lines using the ratio. each line started from the endpoint of previous line and put at 90 degree angle. they are also 1.618 times longer than the previous line. this is the result. the red line i drew shows the points from the corner making straight line and they intersect 90 degree at 1 point. from this i just have to elongate the red line and and i can keep drawing the black line until it reach the red line and the length will always be 1.618x length of previous line. one thing i noted is also that the red and black lines formed right angled triangle. and im guessing here the size of the triangle increase by 1.618 also. im not sure as i lack the proper equipment to do the calculation right now. im also wondering whats the angle for the triangles but lemme guess one is 34.377 and another is 55.623. this is just a guess but ill need to get my friends help to do calculation. i dont have scientific calculator with me anymore.

why i do this? its just out of curiosity.

this is another attempt of me with drawing pentagon with different sizes but all according to the ratio. this is the result. 

terpesonaaaaa. aku terpesonaa 

i d like to try with other shapes with different angles but yeah all these are done using ms paint only. so its quite limited.

apple juice

 been attempting to make apple juice multiple times. and this time i hit the mark. managed to make the taste similar to the one i bought from shop or supermarket. 

the ingredients are these

3 apples
4 limau nipis
a splash of apple cider vinegar
1 litre water
4 tablets of stevia (dunno equivalent to how much sugar)
aloe vera (optional)

basically just chopthose apples i removed the seeds. squeeze those limes and pour in a bit of apple cider vinegar maybe like 2 spoonful amount. put in the stevia or sugar or honey or whatever sweetener you can think of. fill up the blender up to 1 liter so basically the amount of water i use is less than 1 liter as there are already other ingredients inside. blendddddddddddddddddddd and were done. can drink straight away or if you hate the fibre/pulp feeling. filter using muslin cloth filter and youll get a clean juice only.

add on aloevera to your liking. i read that aloe vera can be consumed raw even with the latex but some advise to wash away the latex first as prolonged consumption is not good. also the aloe vera latex is not goo dfor people with kidney problem or taking antihypertensive/ diabetes medication. how to prepare aloevera? cut the leaves. peel of the skin using knife or peeler.you will get a slimy translucent jelly like substance inside. rinse with water to  get rid of the latex or you can use the latex for your hair or skin then just chop the jelly and put in your drink

smoke house

 in view of covid and returning pkp, a lot of people went for panic shopping. my dad already predicted this earlier and guessing price will increase after this went for shopping spree a bit earlier. he returned with loads of salmon and other seafood. so what do we do with all these salmons? lets try making smoked salmon. 

using things from around my house we build the smoke house using zinc as the wall and metal pole as the pillars. 

now the smoke house is ready time to lay down the salmon. since this is just a test run we just put plain salmon and some of them rubbed with a bit of salt. the hanging thing is a metal collander tied using wire to the roof of the smoke house. i put some chillies to make smoked dried chillies. initially i want to hang meat but oh well, thats for another time i guess.

smoking started at 6pm and left until 7am tomorrow morning and voila the result. i used jackfruit wood as thats the only wood material i have around the house. oh yeah we did put in too much wood to burn and that causes the smoke house to be too hot and cooked the salmon too fast. we had to smother them with soil to prevent fire from coming up. note to self. use less wood

overall the experiment was a success. them salmon taste exactly like smoked salmon you buy from market. its a bit dry but that can be improved next time.

side product. the chillies i smoked became super dried and brownish in colour. probably because of the heat i think. went and blitz em to make chilli flakes. all went well except the blitzing part. the moment i opened the blender to transfer the chillies my eyes started to become watery and the next thin i know im crying like a little girl. not to mention the sneezing that ensues. the smell of the smoked chilies was so strong that everyone in the kitchen started sneezing. i had to stop breathing alot during the whole process to prevent further sneezing. also, not opening up the blender straight after blitzing helps to reduce the chilies particle from flying in the air.

i remmebered i used to love ewating smoked salmon with cheese but that was cold smoked salmon and i cant remember what cheese i ate with it. so far successful combination for the salmon is to go along with honey mustard or relish added with some chili flakes. tastes good.

i wish i can do cold smoked salmon but the idea is not viable in malaysia as this is a tropical country. 

javanese curry

 ive long wanted to try what does katsu curry taste like. tried several times in some japanese restaurant but those are not high ends restaurant so the taste is quite meh. tasted like prepackaged food or canned food mostly which i think dont do justice to the real one. other restaurants though mostly are just non halal as thy usually use pork in the making.

so i ended up buying this prepackaged curry sauce from this japanese shop in mid valley. my friends recommended this item as they say it is quite good.im not really into cooking using paste actually. i prefer to cook things from basic ingredients but meh just make use of everything available. so why not since i dont know how to make japanese curry from scratch anyway.

this is the curry im talking about. its quite expensive. well, imported stuffs are always expensive

the cooking directions are super brief and skipped some steps during the saute process. nevermind that. im the type that never cook following instructions step by step. usually i just see how things a re made roughly and tried cooking them my way but this time i tried to adhere to the instructions as close as possible just so that i can get the taste as close as i can to the normal japanese curry. heck i even weighed my meat this time which was never done before. it just happened that the bag of frozen meat i have in the freezer is close to the instruction actually. even if the frozen meat is way off the weight ill still use them all too.

prepping part. chopped up everything that need to be chopped up. notice how cooking in professional kitchen or restaurants are fast? thats because the prepping stage are done way earlier before opening time and the only thing left to do is to mix them in fire thats how you get food to be served fast.i now this looks like a lot of waste of bowls usage but for presentation purposes they are necessary. im cutting these things while getting my meat thawed in microwave. forgot to bring them out earlier. oh yeah i decided to cut them because its easier to eat everything in bite size rather than chunks of everything. smaller pieces also means they cook faster  

oh yeah right off the bat i didnt follow the instructions as i mentioned before. its really hard for me to adhere to instructions step by step when it comes to cooking. i ran out of carrot so i replaced it with tomatoes, celery, brinjals, and mushrooms. the other 2 ingredients are potatoes and onions. i decided not to  put any chillies in as my parents cant stand too much spiciness also iwant to try these non spicy japanese curry. also it rained alot nowadays and the chillies in y backyard are going to be hotter than usual.

now first part of cooking sauteing the ingredients. onion first, then the root vege (e.g carrot/potatoes) as they take more time to be cooked. then only you add the other ingredients. leafy stuffs usually will go in last. meat was added together with the roots vege. i dont care if theyre still half frozen as long as i can break them into small pieces instead of one big ice block. let the thawing process continue in the pan

add water get them to boiling and simmer for 15 min. this looks like im making stock. oh yeah the frozen chicken turned out to be marinated with black pepper that my mom prepared earlier. oh well more flavour i guess. now while waiting back to playing game for 15 min.

looking good. tatoes are staring to get soft after 15 min.  time to add the curry sauce

once the curry sauce added up the whole thing become thick. no need for me to add thickening agents at all nor do i need to reduce the the curry by heating. no wonder the instructions stated to get everything cooked first then only adding up the sauce. just put on low flame while awiting to serve.

itadakimasu. well the result is better than any low end restaurants ive tried so far though they have similarities in term of the flavours. also the taste is completely differet from south east asian curry. i think the decision to add more vegetables made the curry taste better than it's supposed to be. my parents accept the curry well and they even had seconds. that means this curry can be 6-7/10. its not spicy at all so they can eat it happily but its still a bit heaty since the chicken was marinated with black pepper earlier. 

the bowl with the green content is just mashed avocado. we eat it like a condiment as it bring creamy texture to food and lighten up any spicy or mellow down sharp flavours. its like eating rice with tempoyak but Juan style instead of Ali style. 

overall this is one of the better curries ive made. time to get to know how to cook it from scratch.

another one bites the dust

this refer to one of the laptops. i did mentioned my mom need a desktop due to her laptop died. yeap that one. one fine day it just decided to went black screen upon booting up. start the comp, the windows logo appear and then its supposed to be the windows with all the taskbar and icons but nope. it went pitch black. so yeah i know theres a way to fix this problem but im gonna shove it to the side for now. hehehe

the thing is there are files and documents that she wanted still inside the computer hence i need to extract the data from the drive. dead people tell no tale though. so im just gonna necro the hard disk and get all of the data.

this is compaq presario cq40

an the view from back

unscrewing the cover for all parts just because i can. i rarely monkey around with a laptop so yeah just wanna have a peek at the inside a bit. the hard disk was removed

this is how to remove the hard disk. unscrew t 3 screws holding the hard disk and pull the black plastic tab to unlock the disk.

so i went to the other computer to borrow a sata cable from the cd rom drive as this cable was missing. without it i cant transfer the data and files. 

using this device it allows me to connect hard disk to computer like an external hard disk using usb cable. the device though have multiple ports to allow it to connect to various type of hard disks. notice the red sata cable? yeah i found it in my stash. no point in borrowing from the other computer

everything connected and running

voila. time to transfer. also praise the sun

ill probably try to fix the laptop one day. or not. its an old laptop anyway

cyber cafe

back during college, i used to arrange my room so that it can handle lots of people coming in to play games together. my room can afford 8 laptops and we would be gaming all night together. it was fun. its like im managing a cc in college. people come and go to play games or sometimes just to do assignments together. they prefer using my room as there are mattress to lie down during break time and most of all they can smoke. ash trays are even provided even though i myself dont smoke. the maintenance and cleaning is a bit of a hassle though. soot and dust build up quickly. 

anyway, now that was in the past. now im setting up computer corner in my house for my parents they both use the computers more than ever now that they already retired. also my mum's laptop keep on hanging and going slower now that i think its high time for her to have a desktop. she has a massive storage of pics and documents a desktop is ideal for her. manage to reuse back an unused cpu with other accessories set her one. its not as fast as my computer but it would be suffice for her usage. i just change the hard drive to a new ssd so that it can be faster. ram sadly is 2gb only though haha. i really want to add another ram card for this computer. i think its a 2nd gen ram for this computer though. dont know if the price will be higher as it is considered an antique stuff by now.  

tadaaa cyber cafe in da house. the big tv used as a screen as my dad mostly used it to watch dramas and movies. the other cpu is placed behind the tv. 

dhal curry

Yesterday i decided to cook dhal curry after a long period of not cooking. theres no exact reason why i decide on  dhal though. just want to eat some indian themed food. besides i already bought lentils in advance. after watching 2 videos of making dhal curry here goes my attempt. oh i've made an attempt for dhal curry few years ago. it was edible but the quality is below par. i blended the beans nad used too much of them for my consumption alone. it ended like a thick broth. not gonna repeat the same mistake again. since i know theres a possibility that my parents wont eat this as im planning to make it a bit spicier, i decided to make a small portion only enough for one meal. my parents cant tolerate spicy food as much as me. 

ingredients are as below:

-150mg of lentils it is

-3 dried chilli (theyre are spicier than normal dried chilli. dont know where we bought this batch of chillies)

-some cili padi i dont remember how much i just pluck them to my liking from my backyard. just count them in the picture

-1 bulb of onion

-a splash of cumin (jintan putih) i just pour a bit of them in the pan. probably a teaspoon amount

-vindaloo curry powder (around 2 teaspoon i think. i just poured them) this curry powder is made to be spicier compared to other curry mixpowder. and the smell is good too

-butter (i just put 1 chunk of spoonful of butter)

-1 cinnamon stick

a bowl of meat

-1 lime (limau kasturi)

-tumeric (i used tumeric powder and 1cm of fresh tumeric the size of my pinky finger just because i have it in my backyard)

- salt

note that i dont have proper measurement for the ingredients as im too lazy to measure things just like any other malaysian. agak-agak is the key. i only measure lentils because i bought a small weighing scale for my mum few months ago and i just want to try it. i only watch the videos to see how they cook it and the ingredients used for the cooking. didnt use tomatoes because i forgot to add them in.

smash those chillies to paste. mortar and pestles > blender

wash and toss the lentils, boil em in potand simmer until soft. skim the scum made during boiling. add some tumeric powder and salt. i used 1 teaspoon of salt and 1 teaspoon of tumeric powder. adding them will make the water not boiling over the pot when you cover it with lid. keep on adding water if it started to become dry during the process. it took me almost an hour to soften the lentils. use pressure cooker next time to hasten the process or soak them early on. 

on side note, the boiled lentils tasted like kacang kuda that we used to buy in rnr. yummeh

cumin, vindaloo curry powder and meat (i have a bowl of leftover meat that i stir fried with carrot cubes, oyster sauce and soy sauce. so might as well use them rather than let them turn bad)

firstly melt the butter over low heat. dont wanna burn it. boiling point is way lower compared to other vegetable oil. id prefer to use ghee but dont have it for now. then add cumin, cinnamon stick and chillies followed by curry powder after 1 minute. slice the onion however you like or you can even cube them. sautee them together oh you can use big flame when you start sauteeing. add the fresh finely chopped tumeric. missing here are the garlic and ginger. theyre unavailable in my kitchen currently. 

onion soft enoughand well cooked. time to add the meat. tomatoes are supposed to be added here too. continue sauteeing and stir frying like a pro. 

add the soft, boiled lentils into the misxture and add a bit of water to let them mix together. i put too much water though. gotta simmer it extra long to get rid of the excess water.

squeeze some lime juice into the mixture. i use a flour sifter to filter the lime seeds. lel. 

stirring to remove the water faster. you can make it thick or watery based on your preferences. i dont use corn starch or thickening agents because i dont want the volume to be high.

taadaa the result after thickening the curry using water reduction. the lentils are soft but still intact which make it better compared to blended lentils.

the curry was a success. my parents tried and they like it. thumbs up from them. yeap it was finished clean eaten together with a roti canai. guess it isnt that spicy. the amount of chillies can added more. i can try to make it again spicier next time.

oh if you want to make a vegetarian version just switch the butter with vegetable oil and the meat can be substituted with mushrooms. to provide the umami flavour. personally i always go for the king oyster mushroom as meat substitute. its not that expensive and it gives the springiness like meat when eaten. just cut them to small cubes and people will think theyre eating meat.

Audi TT

i got myself a secondhand audi tt because i dont want a big car living in kuala lumpur. Parking would be a hassle there. Initially i got my eyes on a hyundai coupe 2000 for rm 10k only but the plan was scratched as the car i viewed cant start at all. Too bad though it was left in garage and only had low mileage as the owner rarely use it. If i know more about the car then i would have been able to buy the car at even cheaper price. Woe on me. 

Anyway, i have a TT now so that doesnt matter. It is an MK1 TT 1.8T. yeah it came with ots own baggage since its a second hand car but thats for another story. I enjoyed this car as it is quite stable when going for high speed. I dont feel the vibration much compared to honda city. 

Otherwise this car consumed more fuel compared to honda city. That i can be sure of hehehe. Hopefully i can fully enjoy this car for a long term. Planning to mess with the engine bay someday and perhaps some upgrade?

i stand corrected

ever had a situation where you do something and get discouraged by people around you? or when you do something the whole world is going against you. or when you tried to do things and suddenly get frowned upon or looked down for what you want to do.. well you get the gist of what im asking.

this is a piece of reminder to all of us that no matter what you do believe in you yourself despite the whole world turn you down. got to persevere mate. why i said this? it's because i had this one experience that i really think of it as a good example of this.

it happened in my backyard. so my house was built on a land that was added on soil or people call it tambak. its mainly yellow and red soil. those soil is not rich in nutrient at all which means they arent good for trees to grow. it would take ages for nature to let the barren soil become suitable for big trees to grow healthily so what i did was i made a plan of making compost to add nutrient to the soil. being someone not serious at all in gardening, i refuse to spend my money on buying compost so i decided to make my own compost from every organic waste produced in my house. thats how cheapskate i am.

i gather dry leaves, dead trees, kitchen scraps, dead animals, and dead trees and pile them up. the extra effort i did is that i chopped up the dead trees and wood to smaller pieces so that they can turn to compost faster. if any of you see me doing all these you would say im just wasting my time doing something useless. yes, my dad said the same thing. just leave em be. they will decay on their own along with time. so everytime i started doing it my dad will make a remark i better do this or that. no need to spend time chopping those woods. eventually i stopped and let the compost pile be as it is. oh yeah this happen several months ago.

fast forward to few days ago. my dad started to get serious into gardening again with my mom as they have nothing to do being cooped up at home. he was looking for compost material like cocopeat to be added to soil as fertilizer for the plants. guess what he came to me and said the pile i made ages ago turned out to be good compost. and its even better than the black soil sold in the market (those compost are mixed with dirt. its not 100% compost). see if had just continued back then we would have a way better result than what we're having now. now only he believed what i did and tried to do the same thing.

this is a good reminder stubbornness is good when youre right because in the end the fruit will bear. nevertheless dont be ignorant or bodoh sombong. we can be stubborn because we know/think we are doing the right thing. but at the same time dont be arrogant not to listen to advice or critics as that will just prevent you from improving. or maybe youre perhaps doing something wrong and being stubborn will make you unsalvagable. people might look down or disagree with you as they might not have the knowledge of what you know of but that doesnt mean that you should be discouraged by what they say. but dont be blinded by arrogance because you think youre better than others hence that will be your downfall.

so yeah dont be afraid to pursue your dreams/passions because through struggle/hustle you will appreciate your dreams when you achieved it.

henlo

after a year of laying dormant...

fuhhh fuhhh

coolant

since im learning about cars, here's a new thing i learnt today. coolant or also known as antifreeze is used to absorb heat from the engine and together with the radiator helps to cool down the engine. so it is made from propylene or ethylene glycol which when combined with water changing the freezing and boiling point thus helping to distribute the heat. there are different types of coolant which will help further change the freezing/boiling point and that will depend on the car and weather of the place but for my place which is constantly hot all the time i wont bother much about the freezing point.

first thing about coolant is that it must be mixed with water 50/50 ratio as coolant itself will not do anything. so note that product bought is already mixed with water or purely coolant that will need to be diluted.

the issue with coolant is that we have to change it after sometimes depending on cars as coolant properties for anti rust deteriorates over time and will need to be replaced with a new one. a coolant that lose its function can lead to rusting and corrosion which will be bad for the engine.

now there are also issu eof low coolant level. basically the radiator will be connected to the coolant reservoir and from there we can check if theres enough coolant. low coolant level will cause your car engine to overheat and lead to more serious damage and in some cases can be irreparable. so yeah check your coolant level from time to time. coolant level become low can be due to evaporation whch is normal but very little as coolant is in a closed system and another thing is due to leak. well we can notiece the leaking if there are drops of fluid from the engine bay  and just pinpoint the where the leaking is. got to fix the leaking then.

i read about coolant as i note theres a coolant warning sign popping up in my car as i drove yesterday. and yeap the level is way below the reservoir. thats not a good thing. upon further inspection i noted that the fans are not working and my brother manage to find that the fuse is burnt out. so yeah the car aircond system is now not functioning, cooling system went busted and coolant level is super low.
i wonder is it because the fan not working leading to overheating of the engine causing the coolant to evaporate faster or its the low level coolant causing the damage ofthe other components. either way ill get these settled in the workshop then. one thing i notice is that theres no leaking there which is a good sign.

oh yeah i used to remember my father just fill in the radiator with tap water as a coolant in his old car. man that thing was rusty inside 100%. if that was in the car mechanic game, i would have change toa  whole new component

oh btw, side note, coolant has a sweet smell (no idea how it smell though) and if theres leaking we should be able to smell it and yeah the sweet smell can attract animals/kids. becareful not to let anything ingest it as it is really poisonous. a small amount is enough to kill a cat or dog......
hey, wait a minute.... i can "accidentally" spill it on the floor to get rid of the cats thats been littering shits infront of my house heheheh

car

im recently into cars since im looking to buy a car for myslef been doing a bit of studying about cars as i will need to take care of the maintenance. another reason is that im aiming to buy a second hand car. cheaper that way. to buy a first hand car wiht automatic transmission the cheapest would be 40k.
ive been looking at 2nd hand car and they cost cheaper. so im learning on the issues that might arise from cars and how to deal with them.learning about engine and cars components are quite fun.and somehow i ended up watching all these car restoration videos.its very cool to being able to restore car like it was brand new.

i know i always prioritize cost and functionality over other things when doing purchase but id like to indulge myself a bit here to get myself a car that is not economical at all. im gonna get myself a coupe or 2 doors car. one of the reason is that i want a small car. living in kl will be easier having small car instead of a large one.

so yeah im deifnitely gonna get myself one later but the problem is coupe cars are not common in malaysia so theyre more expensive and the parts are also more expensive. then if its second hand car the likelyhood that the car has a problem is really high.  so yeah its gonna costly. some more i dont think car parts aare easily accessible here in malaysia unlike in US. all these means increase in cost. however id like to tinker around with car too. that would be awesome but to get the necessary tools will incur more cost for me and considering that i wont be dealing with cars often means ill be purchasing white elephant hmmmm

i need to get myself acquainted with some mechanics and know more about cars and perhaps rent their tools from the garage? heh

anyway ill definitely get myself a coupe someday

been watching the videos made by chrissfix a lot. his videos teaches a lot regarding cars and i find it really useful. he even made a checklist of what to inspect when buying a secondhand car. handy. just go to his videos and look for the links for the checklist

goreng

when it comes to cooking the least favoured method for me is frying. especially deep fry. why? because the oil usage. the leftover oil is such a hassle for me. it is not the explosion and oil drops that burn your skin that makes me not favouring oil but its the oil itself. after im done cooking i cant consume the oil. throwing it away seems like a waste. unlike water, i can just make them into soup and drink it up but oil... theres no way for me to use it except for cooking. such a hassle.

anyway today i made fried seabass anyway due to sudden me wanting to fry. i cant use the air fryer because that will damage the fish. i dont have the accessories for snack or fish. anyway, back to main topic. it was good. just a simple tumeric with salt and chilli flakes and sichuan pepper coating.

didnt make the oil hot enough. the fish skin stuck to the bottom of the pan but manage to take it out later as a piece of crunchy goodness.

anyway dig in time and i was happy but then i realized..... the fish inside is not fully cooked. i fried it too fast. my mind was going 

sorry chef

anyway eat it anyway. its not the first time i eat raw fish

upgrade

soo i finallydecided to upgrade my computer a bit after a long procrastination due to refusing to learn about computer hardwares.

so yeah first i opened the computer and hoo boy its so dusty inside especially the graphic card area given that it is side by side with the wifi card. then i decided to upgrade my graphic card. i tried looking up graphic card that is not too powerful because then my cpu will just become a bottleneck and that would be wasteful. also cost is another factor. im a filthy casual, so no need for super high end graphic card.

here is the inside my amd radeon 6790 neighbouring with the

wifi card below it realllly close

see how close it was. there no room to breathe there and the dust accumulated between them is way too much

then, i went to lowyat to buy some stuffs for the old buddy. got myself a gtx 1060, pci e 16x riser and new wifi card.

a new better wifi card that can use the 5ghtz bandwidth. my unifi has 5gh bandwidth but i was unable to use it due to my old wifi card not being able to connect to it

the new gpu i bought. not the latest but still good and hence not too pricey. 

the smell of new items from shop, the excitement, but then it went downhill from that point. the first hurdle is to make sure everything fit together in the tower(desktop body). see my motherboard only has 2 pci express port: one 16x for graphic card and one 1x for anything else which i used for my wifi card. the problem is that the new gpu is huge. it is tripple the size of the old gpu. if i slot in the card directly to 16x port it totally block the 1x port, hence blocking me from fixing my wifi card.

see how close it was placed next to each other. 

so i decided to buy a riser which is cable for extension from the port to the gpu. this will allow me to put the gpu somewhere else instead of fixing it directly to the slot. the problem is not many shop sells it. most of them sells riser 16x to 1x only which will diminish the graphic card potential. its like changing from a 16 lanes road to a 1 lane road (these risers are usually used by those doing bitcoin mining where they use lots of gpu). i only found 1 shop selling riser 16x to 16x and decided to buy the gpu there. buy stuffs in bulk then you can get more discounts.  

then to my horror, the space between the gpu and tower wall is so small that theres no room for the riser to put in between. so now my graphic card is floating with no where to settle. then i decided to make a stand for my graphic card first as a temporary solution.

tadaaa.. i had to leave it outside of the tower a bit to allow the hdmi cable connected to the gpu since the normal port cant be used. made the stand from box and sticks. with the riser connecting gpu to my motherboard, i can use the pci e 1x port for the new graphic card. 

im so proud of myself for this feat hahahaha. anyway, another thing that really amazes me is the wifi card. my internet speed with the old wifi card used to be 1mbps download and upload and during off hours at most it can go up to 5mbps only. i was really frustrated eventhough unifi claims to provide 100mbps. after i changed the new better card i was really surprised to find my download speed went up to 130 mbps and upload upto 150mbps. i didnt know wifi card can be the bottleneck for internet speed. no more slow download or buffering after this.

anyway, this solution didnt last long few days later my computer started acting up. it keeps on restarting on it s own especially when im using heavy graphic programs like games. at first i thought it was because i installed the card without first removing the old graphic card driver. proceed with uninstalling all the graphic card driver, then removed the gpu and fixing it back and reinstalling the driver but it was futile. the restarting got worse over time in the end my comp cant even start. after some pondering i decided to fix the gpu directly to the motherboard and voila. everything runs smoothly. so yeah, no wifi card for me.

made a run to lowyat again to buy a usb wifi dongle since i cant use wifi card. the reason why i dont buy usb wifi in the first place is because 1. i prefer card. its constantly there and i wont lose it unlike usb. 2. id like to leave my usb slot free for something else. 3. i believe the card wifi works better in performance compared to the usb version. of course i choose the best usb wifi to match with the new wifi card. dont want to have slow internet anymore.

so while i was there decided to buy a new monitor as the new gpu doesnt have vga port so my 2nd monitor cant connect to it. also bought a new headphone razer elektra. my WoW bluetooth headphone keeps on disconnecting that i cant use it at all. besides, the new headphone has a better mic so i can stream better. now all is good. not gonna tinker with my desktop anymore for now.

next project would be regarding cpu, tower, and motherboard and maybe ill build a desktop myself and leave this comp at home for my parents to use.

fusion HA!!!

off day means cooking day for me. so i planned to cook the beef that i bought few days ago. to big slabs. first one i just coat the beef with salt, pepper, and chilli powder then panfry with butter and garlic. the result is so gooddddddd

didnt know that my housemate was having guests. they asked me what i was cooking last night as it smelled good. of course the smell of fring beef with butter will always be good.

and today i decided to use the remaining beef differently. marinade it with some salt, pepper, chilli powder, chilli flakes, mixed spices, mustard, and wasabi dressing mixed with chopped onion, garlic and carrots.

then i stirfry the beefs and veges to be eaten with mashed potato.

since i only have one stove, i cut the potatoes to smaller slices and just microwave it after that added with milki just blend it to become smooth mashed potato. i was thinking of adding some cheese for th emashed potato but that would be overkill to go with beef dish.  also added some chopped raw leeks.
a mix of western and eastern food. still good but lacking of something. oh well can be improvised later

crap i forgot to use the mushrooms that i have in the fridge.

time for some avocado smoothie

living a healthy life

i want to live a healthy life but at the same time i want to cook. just that when i cook means i eat more than i should hahahaha. still havent make exercise a routine in my daily working life. so much things i want to do but being lazy takes precedence over anything else after working for long hours. anyway, hope i can make full use of the time now

listening to music while lying on the bed watching the fan moving with blank mind 

living in the city

im living in a big city now. i see lands  filled with tarry road, concrete buildings reaching the sky, and cars roaming the land i dont have land and soil no more.

hmmm im thinking of trying indoor gardening. should give it a try afterall my living room is basically empty. i can use that space to experiment a bit.

anyway, i still wantg to try to make compost from organic matter and kitchen compost.
i noticed that weather plays important role in aking compost. i can just dump everything and mix with soil and leeave it in container back in ireland and the scraps wil just slowly turn into compost without any problem. in malaysia the weather is hot. dumping the scraps and trash without proper management will just lead to the scraps rotting and producing foul smell in just few days. not to mention the amount of pest it attracts. ill be making a breeding ground for flies and roaches. that is somethign that i want to avoid especially if im doing this indoor.

how should i make small scale composting but fast enough to show result.....

Thefatrat  - Mayday

masak lagi

i started to cook again now thanks to getting new equipments and me having enough time to cook. i was able to bring bento to work.

today  i made bolognese using ground buffalo tomato puree added with mushroom and raddish. unfortunately i wasnt able to make it taste good like the usual bolognese. guess i put too much tomato puree. anyway since i cooked it already ill just eat it. suprisingly the flawed bolognese taste is completed with the raw celery. spicy meat with acidity from tomato combined with crunchy refreshing taste from raw celery fits just fine. lol unexpected. yeay for me. i can eat happily then.

turned out to be so simple lol

anyway, im curious how radish taste like when cooked and how it can be used. never use it before. unlike carrot that taste bland raw but gives sweet flavour when cooked, radish has a sharp taste and smell. cant really tell whats the difference with adding raddish to this dish though. oh well, lets try again later.