What happened to my GT's tires? Where'd they gone?


Copying the recent trend of 'accidental exposing' of pre-production cars by car manufactures, here's a sneak preview of my racer-tires shod Giant, my "Leopard tank with F1 tires"! Will be intensively bike-training in the next 2 weeks, looking forward to the 13th Sept event! Will aim to emulate this mountain biker who won a road race on his mountain bike with mountain bike tires! I don't plan to win, although I'm hoping to be able to embarrass some road bikers on their 16 pound bikes with my 28 pounder bike... hopes hopes... =p =p =p Link to Bike Radar

Another pic of another of my samples! No, this is a backing plate of a sample of aluminium coating, but I thought this little bit of over-spray looked really like a miniature mountain peak! And like the real snow-capped mountains, this little peak grew from the millions of tiny particles of aluminium powder... =)


Kel's 7th Month themed photos continues! This time it's a much friendlier Mr glowing stick-man!

I just couldn't resist taking a photo of one of my samples... this is a bar of copper sprayed onto an aluminium plate. It was born when I was test running the system after some wrenching repair and cleaning job. But I am so inexplicably attracted to this particular sample! I especially love the colour of the copper, so reddish-brown, so shiny, so nice... =)

My buttocks are hurting like mad, especially while walking. Two days after my Bukit Timah hill climb. Haven't climbed so many stair-steps in ages. Seriously ouch-ing.

Feeling quite lazy on this Saturday afternoon. Too lazy to even get hyped up enough for my bike ride. So I just grabbed my camera, my Camelbak sans bike tools inside, and took the bus to Bukit Timah. The same bus which I'll take to work if I'm going to Rifle Range office. So quite funny, that I've been going to BT like so often in the past decade, but I've only been there to bike on the mountain bike trails, and I've never been on the hiking trail since 1993! And I don't recall the slopes and steps to be as steep, the trail to be as rough, and the scenery to be as beautiful. Especially in the golden evening sun. Was so excited when I saw a snake too! I think it was a chequered keelback... much like the striped keelback which Lee KW caught for me during army... Wanted to take pictures of it, but I was a bit too far, and I didn't dare move in case I scare it off... haiz... but I was so happy to see it! I saw a fish in the stream too, looked like some type of loach or catfish during the fleeting moment... But it is still our proud local indigenous S'pore wildlife! Until I have to practically run out as I ventured too deep into the trail, and with the sun setting rapidly... So tiring... But it was so fun! Will definitely be back soon! And I'll learn to be less 'scared' of using ISO, half of my pics turned out blurred on the computer!


My first attempt at using multiple bracketed exposures, merging 3 images into a HDR image.

I love this picture. I thought it looked like a mystical bridge leading into some dark enchanted world ahead... =p


All the stair climbing... the Vertical Marathon should be held here instead!

Nice, until the sun started to disappear below the tree-line, and the place started getting dark...

Only decided to venture into the Rock Trail at 6.30pm, when I was on my way out walking on the Main trail. But I thought I had time and daylight left... bad decision! Met this wall of rock about halfway on the trail, and it was getting seriously dark. And this trail is especially creepy, with badly overgrown vines, met this strange uncle and aunty meditating on rocks mid-way through the trail, got hissed by a troupe of monkeys, and I was running through the trail, stumbling over rocks everywhere! Too late to turn back, I climbed the wall of rock. It looked steep, but it surely is climbable. And it was so cool, even got to use the vine like Tarzan to climb up! Then, I had to get real again, and continue running out of the trail.

Kel's 7th Month photo special... =p


Goblins at work?


Mystical vodka... =p

Got the night shoot inspiration from a photog magazine... somemore shooting so late at night, tired, plus somehow worried I might actually capture something I shouldn't be capturing in my pics...

I hate all those bloody buggers who waste all their bloody life time writing viruses, trojans and spyware! Now both my home and company laptops, both my own and company thumbdrives and even my phone's memory stick has been infected with these bloody viruses and trojans! My company's servers and my school's computers are the main sources for these bloody shit, and even the two anti-virus programs that I'm using cannot get rid of all of the viruses/trojans! At least I've managed to get my phone's memory stick back online again, after a day without my MP3s...

My legs are dying, after a day of many troubles at workshop today... feeling like I've just finished a stage of the Tour de France! Hopefully my product from today's work can work as intended; I've had enough of seeing it sitting at the corner of my lab! And hopefully I can progress to my next project, which is already dog-gone-long-overdue! A least I've learnt something new about my ABB robot, and managed to get it working again, and get my projects moving along again as well... ^_^

Thinking of fitting my red narrow 1.25 inch width T-Servs onto the 21 mm wide white Excalibur rims of my Giant... Don't know if they fit or not, probably will try it one or two weeks before my Tri team relay on 13 Sept... If the T-Servs do fit onto my Giant's rims, then it'll rock man! Imagine a Leopard tank with F1 tires, racing with F1 cars! Hahaha! Should be so fun!

The sole of my old SAF New Balance shoe is falling off again, for the 127th time. This time, some parts of it had fallen off without me noticing, and I didn't get to pick up the pieces. I've had enough of it. Will be going down to Chevrons to get the new version of it soon. Think the newer one looks cooler too. Will work great for work =)

Really had biking fun today. Rode till my quadriceps started to cramp up again, and forced me to go home for lunch. Otherwise I will be starting yet another lap of BT! I really was riding until I didn't want it to end... such beautiful riding conditions! Still, I managed about 20km of off-road trails today, which means, Vincent & Violet, Kel's ready for the triathlon team relay! I've never been in better form in my life, after realising how to 'flow' and 'pump' the bike through the trail, which really made things a lot easier and way more fun! Still got much much more to work on and to learn, but yeah, Kel's in the best riding form yet! Kel's even seriously toying with the idea of bringing my heavy Giant to the race, much like using a Leopard tank to race F1 cars, but it does seem fun to put some red faces on some other fellow competitors, if I manage to that is... =p

We used to love the mention of 'Cat 1' weather during the army. It was a real god-send on those IPPT, SOC or 'Life Run' mornings. So I was thinking about this when I was rather pissed when the lifeguards whistled for us to get out of the pool, 45mins into my swim at the pool opposite my place. What a turn-off to pay to be sitting under a roof, under a fan, shivering in the cold wind, with pesky kids running all around me. Until I got up, walked to the canteen and got myself a nice steaming cup of milk tea. Then I realised what a nice afternoon it was too. Wrapped in my warm towel, grasping a warm styrofoam cup, sipping hot sweet tea, watching the pitter-patter of the pool water, watching the kids having fun even with their swimming class halted, with no schedules to catch. And yes,the skies did clear up nicely just as I emptied my cup of tea. And the pool water was so comforting after the rain. Nice. =D

Kel is back to the trails again! Yeah! So shiok! Did 2 laps of BT and 2 laps of Mandai Scorpion Trail, at a crazy fast pace too! Until the sun's threatening to set, the birds starting to fight over sleeping positions, and my quadriceps starting to cramp up! Forced me to slowly pedal on the pavements all the way home... but with a big big big smile on my face, and I'll bet even my heart's grinning brightly as well... ~ =p


A beautiful lone palm frond poking out of the leaf litter on the forest floor...

Bike and rider taking a break...

Yeah she's mine... =)

A half squirrel-nibbled cocoa fruit, in the blurry backdrop of the parent cocoa tree... I'll bet I'll be great pals with the squirrel who ate this! =)

My poor jeans... it was the first pair that I bought myself. I got it from Chua Chu Kang's Lot 1, on the first weekend out from BMT. Really liked it a lot... Until I unexpectedly found this huge gash when I sat down to rest after getting some stuff done at work. It was a mystery too, I was looking everywhere for the one thing that might had sliced my jeans, but really I could find nothing... I don't think I can wear it again with this huge hole, rest in peace...~

Saw this article on Straits Times Online (Syu Ying Kwok, Article)

Syu quoted "If you marry Mr or Miss Right for yourself, then you are very wrong. Marriage is not about finding the right partner (especially not one that fits your 'profile'), it is about giving unconditional love to someone you hold dear, and celebrating it when the love and commitment are mutual. Sadly, many men and women pick and choose the right partner as if it was a home or a car. Even worse, some spend more time and effort choosing a home or a car..."

Kel's seriously confused. While I do believe that the person that I'll love in the future may not be my Miss Perfect, but shouldn't I be entitled to choose someone whom I'll be comfortable living with for the rest of our lives, and ditto for her? Doesn't that mean matching with that someone who is comfortable with who I am, what I like and what I'll be, which constitutes my 'profile'?

I should go back to work... blogging while in office... GG... =p

Went to the NDP Preview on Saturday, and then Labrador Park on Sunday with my aunt. My aunt's really into photography right now...


Kel getting sentimental... This is a picture of a man pushing a wheelchair-bound person (not sure if it's his mum or wife...) along the Labrador coastline in the warmth of the setting sun...


Kel getting romantic too...~

So freaking nice to be at home... no more bathing in the ashtray of a toilet, exposing my most intimate regions and all to those filthy used cigarette butts stuffed underneath the water pipes and who knows where else... my version of hell!

Just finished my 3rd In-camp reservist... just a very short 4 days, pretty less tiring than in the past, partly because I've been used to waking up just as early in the mornings for work everyday! This kept coming up in my thoughts... should I downgrade or not? I'm pretty worried that I'll be sent out of this unit, and not be able to stay with this great bunch of guys... I'll miss the chance of driving a 28 ton steel box around... I've been feeling great recently, being able to run and jump and walk and do pretty much whatever just as before. But every once in awhile, a numb pain will act up right at my right hip area to remind me of the weakened structure within. And my heart will literally stop whenever my back sounds off a crack from some bone joint. And I'll think twice, thrice, before I jump anywhere higher than 3-4 inches. My unit MO says I could downgrade to Pes C2L2, and still be fit for frontline duties, except I will never need to do situps ever again. But I'll never get money from IPPT ever again too, which sounds bad to me. And if so, I'll never be able to carry 155mm rounds ever too, which will make me a burden if we were to go live-firing. Thoughts... thoughts...

Our range went like stink. My rifle was a complete piece of junk. It jammed every few rounds, and I'm now pretty damn proficient in rectifying all the M16 IA drills now, having more IAs in one range shoot than some people in their whole lives! My night shooting is crap too, can only hit the big targets... at least we got to have an unlimited flow of keropok during our range... I've never eaten from a garbage bag half filled with keropok! So oily, so salty, but so nice, especially when so damn bored...

Convo was quite good, probably my last chance to meet many of the MSE peoples ever... starting to miss some of the days in school... gave up eating the brilliant buffet to try to meet up as many of the people there as possible, especially when I have to get back to camp later in the evening... took so many taxi rides! What a big transport expenditure for this month!

So strange... cannot upload pictures to my blog...

Anyway, what a tiring Saturday for me!!! I had a medical exam for my life insurance. Went through it completely smoothly... must thank Esther so much for all her work! =D

Then I had to take my grad stuffs to Marina to meet Huat, Grace, Woods, Liping and Shiming. Was thinking that I would be able to wrap up by 6 and meet the photo-taking peoples... but then the guys were all late! We only got to take photos at like 5! But the pictures should turn out great! Got to thank Shiming for all that! He so pro lah, arranging us for poses, and so garang lie down on the floor, climb up walls, forgot to tell him we won't pay him for his services ley! Waiting so excitedly for all our pics! =D

Already soaking underneath all the grad cloth... I had to walk from Fullerton Hotel to the Benjamin Shears Bridge, not so much a straightforward walk, as a section of the road was closed, and I had to walk through Marina Square to get pass the closed 100m stretch! Then I had to get lost somemore! Walked all the way to the Sg Flyer and F1 pits... and then I proceeded to walk like half of the Shears bridge only to find that I'm on the wrong side of the road! Feeling really really pissed already, so hungry and thirsty, legs totally tired... leather shoes really not meant for walking long distances! Adding to the flames, the fireworks photos didn't really turn out epic... But at the end of the day, it's still all the fun and friends that count! Cheers!!! =D

I now have a Star Trek triangular logo on my right forearm... result of me accidentally coming into contact with a 180++ deg C electric heater at work... a case of trying to finish work on time on a Friday evening... not healing even after a week... the scar would be so deep this thing... heck I'm not even a Star Trek fan!

Happy happy at work this week so far! Got one product out to customer this week, after being delayed for so long... another one's delayed by some new discoveries that I've noticed when using stainless steel powders, will be trying out some new recipes before going in for reservist next week...

I was thinking, after some chatting with my FYP student, why people would readily embrace and tolerate all those distinctive, unique "local flavours" in foods and drinks, but not so in language, in particular our Singlish? Really kelong sia these peoples...

Writing in using my new company laptop! It's so light as compared to all those anvils I've been using, including my own one at home! And it has a built-in Bluetooth and LED light! Cool! And it's so fast! My own one hangs even when I'm opening folders or just simply right-clicking! This new company laptop makes me want to get a new computer of my own...

Strangely, I'm having the urge to go swimming now! It's noon time, I'll probably become an Indian when I'm done with it!