Nokia has released a new business class device, the E63… Looking at the specs, it seems to be a baby E71.. with some features missing. Nokia says it represents a new proposition, that it provides people with a way to keep in touch with both their personal and business sides.. I’m not too sure about that.. but if it’s cheaper than the E71.. I might get one. Now.. which should I get.. the blue? or red?

Update 1: ARGH! It has a plastic body! Darn… E75 maybe?

Think of it logically, if you have one big carbon fibre board which has “STOP” and “1st GEAR”, along with the pre-requisite advertisers’ logos.. it’s quite impossible for the driver to miss it. Even if it were pulled up early by mistake, it is easy for the lollipop man to actually just drop it back down in front of the driver, thereby stopping the driver.

But if the LEDs have already indicated a go, is the driver still gonna be looking at the overhead lights? I doubt it… so Ferrari.. Suck it up.. bring back the lollipop!

related links: F1-Live: Ferrari denies need to ‘lollipop’ return

** Update: Looks like Ferrari reverted to a lollipop on Raikonnen’s second stop.. I didn’t catch the other stops though…

The fact is, petrol prices have gone up. And we have to do something about it. No, not by complaining.. but by changing how we do things. Here I’ll present to you what I’ve been doing to save petrol.

1. Avoid taking unnecessary trips.
2. If possible, do your driving in the morning or evening. Cooler temperatures mean denser air which is easier on the engine. Plus, cranking up the air-conditioning in the afternoons just adds to your petrol consumption.
3. Similarly, top up on your petrol when it is cooler. The cooler temperatures mean denser petrol.
4. Don’t drive aggressively. Curb that right foot! The harder you accelerate, the more petrol you burn.
5. Plan your trips to avoid jams and heavy traffic.
6. Let your car coast in neutral. Of course, you have to make sure the situation is safe as a neutral engine means a lack of engine braking.
7. Don’t leave your engine idling. When waiting for someone, turn your engine off. Too hot? Get out of the car and in the shade.
8. A friend of mine does this in Australia, he turns off his engine when waiting at a long traffic light. Of course, you need to be familiar with the lights and anticipate when the lights will turn green so you don’t bring any unnecessary attention on yourself.
9. Don’t drive with your windows down or your sunroof open. These create drag. The more drag you have, the more your engine has to work. Remove that bicycle rack when you’re not using it! Thinking of adding some cool rear spoilers? Think twice… those spoilers may look cool, but they also add drag. Besides, how fast do you think you’ll be going that you’ll need to add more rear downforce??
10. Ensure your tyres are properly inflated. An underinflated tyre creates more rolling resistance. It also wears your tyres out. Oh, and remember.. a tyre’s pressure goes up after some driving due to heat build-up. So, if you drove 10 minutes to the petrol station and then inflated your tyre to the recommended pressure, chances are, it’s still underinflated. The recommended tyre pressures are for COLD tyres. So, overinflate your tyres at the station, get a pressure gauge and measure the pressure in the morning when they’re cold and adjust the pressures down accordingly. Need I mention not to overinflate your tyres past their recommended limits?
11. Make sure your car is in tip-top condition. If your spark-plugs aren’t working as they should it means your petrol isn’t burning as completely as it should. Keep your air filter clean… a dirty filter means an inefficient engine.
12. Polish your car! A clean car means less drag.
13. Carpool! Yeah.. the added weight makes your car less efficient, but it sure beats driving two or three cars to work or to that mamak.
14. Reduce weight! Stop carrying that bag of golf clubs in the boot!
15. Do you leave your car to warm up in the mornings? Don’t! Just drive gingerly and you’ll be fine. Leaving the car on idle for 10 minutes is a sure fire way to increase your petrol consumption.

I’ve been practising some of these tips for the past 3 months. And it does affect my petrol consumption. My car’s trip computer calculates an average distance (km) per litre of petrol (L)consumed, or km/L. I used to get about 9.8 - 10.1 km/L. Now, I’m averaging 10.8 - 11km/L. At the maximum, it’s a 1.2km/L increase which means I can go 50.4km further on my full tank (42L) of petrol.

Give it a shot… and see what kind of improvements you get!

I don’t normally hear from them, they don’t really make the effort to keep in touch and I for the most part, like it that way. But every so often, they’ll call. Mostly it’s because their PC has gone out of whack because they don’t know how to Google.

I keep things civil, I understand that people do need help and I never know when I might need theirs. Although I reserve the “Can you help me?” question for my closest friends and family.

So I give people some help, I feel good about it, having done something to help someone. But sometimes, I get really peeved off… here’s why:

• They show a total lack of appreciation for the help I provided
• They take for granted that I will MAKE time for them
• They set up an appointment and then cancel WITHOUT informing me

WTF!?

Every so often, I’ll hear a siren coming from behind the jam. A quick glance in the mirror confirms that a VIP wants to get somewhere fast and has a police outrider to move the traffic aside. So, where does he have to be in such a hurry that he gets priority? I’m pretty sure it’s the same VIP.. cos it happens around the same time everytime I see him (it could be a ‘her’ for all I know… I can’t see through tinted glass).

The fact that this so called VIP has only one outrider leads me to assume that he isn’t all that important, hence VIP and not VVVIP or something. But still, where does he need to go in such a hurry? I bet the other people on that road are equally hurried to get to where THEY want to go. How come WE don’t get outriders? Oh wait.. if all of us had outriders, we’d just be jammed in the same place with our outriders cos everyone is in a rush to go somewhere.

So, to the ‘VIP’ who has to get the help of a police outrider to get to wherever he wants to, I don’t care what your reasons are: you woke up late, you have to travel a great distance, your other woman’s home is quite a distance from yours, whatever…  Either wake up earlier and leave earlier, or SUCK IT UP like the rest of us in the traffic! The police have more important things to do than to escort you to work.. or do they? Hmm…

Kechara Soup Kitchen feeds the homeless and urban poor on the streets in KL. I didn’t know such a charity existed in Malaysia. I only knew because they had a booth set up in 1 Utama.

It’s gratifying to know that Malaysia as a whole is moving in the right direction, albeit slowly. Any pace is better than not moving at all I guess.

You may or may not know that I am red-green colorblind. Money looks grey to me, pink looks white, brown looks green. No big thing. Since I was born colorblind, I have no frame of reference for how the world is “supposed” to look and, therefore, I’m not constantly in a state of misery and woe over the fact that I can’t differentiate maroon from purple.

Here’re some well executed videos courtesy of Youth for Change.

Video #1

English translation:

Newspaper: Prime Minister Asleep Again.

When leader sleep, criminals rule.

This election, vote for change.

Video #2

English translation:

Joe Public: My life was ok before. Until oil prices starting rocketing up.
Politician: CHANGE YOUR LIFESTYLE.
Joe Public: But toll charges went up too!
Politician: CHANGE YOUR LIFESTYLE.
Joe Public: Every other bill has also gone up.
Politician: CHANGE THAT LIFESTYLE, CHANGE IT, CHANGE IT!
Joe Public: Prices of flour, sugar and milk have all gone up.
Politician: I feel… you should just wear these.

Change Your Lifestyle
Or Change Government?

Video #3

English translation:

To raise his popularity, the YB (Yang Berhormat) launched a stamp featuring his portrait.

After one month…

YB: So, how was my stamp in the eyes of the public?
Postman: Good YB. It was very well received. But there’s one thing.. there are alot of complaints that the stamp doesn’t stick.
YB: Why doesn’t it stick? Let me take a look.
YB: See? It sticks very well.
Postman: But, they don’t lick the backs of the stamps.
Postman: They spit… erm… they lick the front of the stamps.

Money can buy you prestige, but it cannot buy you integrity.

This election, vote for change.