The return to Ulu Yam

Once again, the 8GCC organized another trip to Ulu Yam. In spite of what we read in the papers, our local expert Hock "Ulu Yam" Ming had scouted the route and found it clear of debris, rocks, chicken feathers, etc....

As for me, since no one else was coming from Melaka, so there was no need for an early morning convoy like before. Instead, I went down the night before to Damansara, so that I didn't have to find my way to Batu Caves in the wee hours of the Sunday Morning. Incidentally, the (im)famous Batu Caves Shell station was not on my GPS (must be an older revision map), so I reckoned I'd still have to do some searching that morning....



Anyway, I arrived at ~6.45am, where the current 8GCC president Kor was already waiting with a couple of other guys. Slowly, one by one, the rest of the team trickled in. Eventually, we made our move at ~7.30am or so. We had a number of FD's, a Type R, a BMW 323 and 2 Subarus (don't know exactly which model, I'm not a Subaru connoisseur). This was a leisurely drive, so basically hardly any overtaking took place.

I was more interested in testing out the set of newly installed Eibach Prokit Springs, which replaced my stock ones. When paired with my existing Koni FSD shocks, they allowed for a much firmer ride with practically no compromise on comfort. Unfortunately the result is a drop in ride height by roughly 1 inch in the rear and 1.5 inches in the front (my car now has a slightly front slating poise). This meant that on "regular" Malaysian roads, there was too much travel required of the suspension system, resulting in bumps with each pothole and speedbump. Ironically, this meant that I could go faster around bends, but slower in most straight-line situations....

I also had in my tank of fuel a healthy dose of Dixel RCL fuel additive, that made the occasional high revs both easy to achieve and smooth. Never hurts to protect the engine as much as you can.

As we made our run up the UY trail, at the first bend I was a little cautious, as during my previous run here I encountered quite a lot of "drifting". This time around, I encountered much less body rolling than before, and the tires did not lose their grip so easily.

With Bro Solid88 in front of me to keep the pace, I followed the line up the roads of the Ulu Yam trail and observed the noticeable difference in handling. Now, we were by no means traveling at breakneck speeds, and I'm sure that if we were, I would ultimately be left in the dust (the Bro in front of me was a skilled driver with better equipment and 2 HPC's under his belt, after all).

I took the opportunity to test out my Pivot 3 Drive, which was mostly in EC5 and forgotten about. Halfway through, I switched to S mode and engaged paddle shifting (our older FD2's are not capable of engaging gears in D mode). Switching over to SP5 from EC5, I noted that it was much easier to redline the engine compared to when I was in EC5. I switched back and forth a couple of times just to ascertain that it wasn't just psychological. Conclusion - if you want to drive as fast as possible, use paddle shift and SP mode (haven't tried SP7 though). Or, you can get yourself a Sprintbooster, but that's a permanent ON setting that you can't turn off on the fly.

Brakes were more than adequate, with no signs of fading or that awful burning smell as when I was on Honda stock pads. Of course, there was plenty of brake dust coming from my Project Mu Bestops. When these pads wear out, I'll evaluate on some EBC's next....





Halfway up, as we stopped at the cable car station, a fog was starting to brew. Now, it's been a long time since I actually saw fog at Genting (last time being when I went on a school trip during secondary school). The road ahead was severely fogged up - all the way to the mamak corner.






Well, after breakfast, we decided to head back down to one of the lakes / waterfalls before heading home. Unfortunately, the traffic was quite heavy by that time, so halfway down, Kor and I (who were at the back), got caught up behind a slow bas (not a slow bas**** - really just a slow bas). Due to communication challenges (never bring walkie-talkie), we lost the rest of the convoy, and thus went back on our way home.


It was a good event, smooth in execution, and I'm happy to have been able to join. I'd very much like to come again one of these days and stop by for photos (already test car, now time to test camera).

Looking forward to seeing more friends again the next time `round!

Fuel is now cheaper (again)

Hmm, I've still got more than 1/3 of a tankful of Vpower from my last refueling run, and yet, yesterday, the Government announced yet another drop in petrol prices!

So, with the global price of oil dropping below USD50 per barrel, it's only a matter of time before the next fuel price revision. Here in Malaysia, the price of fuel is still regulated by the Government, who was supposed to finalize any time now whether or not to float the oil prices, just like every body else is doing.

So today, at the pumps, the prices are:

• RON 97 - RM 1.80 per liter
• RON 92 - RM 1.70 per liter
• Diesel - RM 1.70 per liter
• Vpower - RM 2.18 per liter (information from the guys at 8GCC)

On a separate note, local fishermen are still on strike as their extra subsidized diesel is still RM 1.30 per liter (just reduced from RM 1.43). They were expecting to pay only RM 1.00....
That price also applies to holders of Fleet Cards and Diesel Discount Cards (for certain commercial clients with more than 3 vehicles and for those who are eligible under the Government's subsidized diesel control scheme respectively). Obviously, to apply you'll need an Official Approval Letter’ from Ministry of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs (MDTCA). For Fleet cards, only certain industries apply, for example, you will be entitled for one if you are with the Pan Malaysian Bus Operators Association or Pan Malaysian Lorry Owners Association.

A Summary of Current Nikon Speedlight Options

Today, a friend of mine asked me, what would be a better choice, a 2nd hand SB-800 Nikon Speedlight (Nikon-speak for Flash) or a brand new SB-600. Well, given the two, I told him to get the SB-600, as he'd probably never use the extra features that were exclusive to the SB-800.

While on the subject, I did some research and put together a comparison of the 4 contemporary Nikon Speedlight Options (I-TTL compatible):

Model	SB-900	SB-400	SB-600	SB-800
Construction	Automatic Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor (IGBT) and series circuitry	Automatic Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor (IGBT) and series circuitry	Automatic Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor (IGBT) and series circuitry	Automatic Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor (IGBT) and series circuitry
Guide Number	34/111.5 (ISO 100, m/ft), 48/157.5 (ISO 200, m/ft)	30/98.4 (ISO 200, m/ft), 21/69 (ISO 100, m/ft)	Approx. 30/98 (at 35mm setting) at ISO 100	38 (with zoom head set at 35mm)
Flash Coverage	* 17 to 200mm (FX-format, Automatic mode) * 12 to 200mm (DX-format, Automatic mode) * 12 to 17mm (FX-format, Automatic mode with built-in wide-angle panel deployed) * 8 to 11mm (DX-format, Automatic mode with built-in wide-angle panel deployed)	Light distribution covers an 18mm lens when mounted on a Nikon DX format camera and a 27mm lens when mounted on an F6	* Automatic 24 to 85mm zoom * 14mm with built-in wide flash adapter	* 24mm to 105mm in 5mm zoom steps * 17mm, 14mm with built-in wide-flash adapter * 14mm with soft dome
Film Speed Range in TTL auto flash mode	100 to 6400 ISO	0.6m to 20m (2 to 66 ft.) (Varies depending on the ISO sensitivity, zoom-head position, and lens aperture in use)	ISO 25 to 1,000	ISO 25 to 1600
Recycling Time	* 4.0 sec. with Alkaline-manganese (1.5V) * 4.5 sec. with Lithium (1.5V) * 3.0 sec. with OxyrideTM (1.5V) * 2.3 sec. with Ni-MH (2600 mAh)	Approx. 2.5 seconds	* Approx. 3.5 sec. with AA Alkaline manganese batteries * 4 sec. with AA lithium batteries	Approx. 2.9 seconds with supplied SD-800 Quick Recycling Battery Pack (Manual at full)
Number of Flashes	* 110 with Alkaline-manganese (1.5V) * 230 with Lithium (1.5V) * 190 with Ni-MH (2600 mAh) Note: When firing Speedlight at full output once every 30 seconds (120 seconds with lithium).	Approx. 210/2.5-30 sec.	Approx. 200 (Alkaline) 400 (Lithium)	Approx. 130 (Manual at full)
Weight (without battery, memory card or body cap)	Approx. 14.6 oz. (415g)	Approx. 127g (4.5 oz.)	Approx. 300g	Approx. 350g
Other Features	* The SB-900 indicates unit is fully recycled: Rear ready-light lights up and the front light blinks. * Insufficient light for correct exposure (in i-TTL, Auto Aperture flash, Non-TTL Auto flash, or Distance-priority manual flash operations): both rear and front (in remote setting) ready-lights blink. * Ready Light	Ready light	Modeling flash, LCD panel illumination, Color filter set	* Ready-light, open-flash button, sync/multiple flash terminal, modeling flash, LCD panel illumination * Automatically fires LED beam toward subject when performing autofocus with Nikon AF SLRs in low-light conditions: cancelable
Dimensions	Approx. 3.0 × 5.7 × 4.7 in. (78.0 × 146.0 × 118.5 mm)	Approx. 66 x 56.5 x 80mm (2.6 x 2.2 x 3.1 in.)	Approx. 68.0 x 123.5 x 90mm (2.7 x 4.8 x 3.5 in.)	Approx. 70.5 x 129.5 x 93.0mm
Power Requirements	* 4.0 sec. with Alkaline-manganese (1.5V) * 4.5 sec. with Lithium (1.5V) * 3.0 sec. with OxyrideTM (1.5V) * 2.3 sec. with Ni-MH (2600 mAh) * Optional :SD-9 High-Performance Battery Pack, SD-8A High-Performance Battery Pack, SK-6 Power Bracket Unit	Two AA-size 1.5V batteries	Four AA-size batteries	Four 1.5V LR6 (AA-size alkaline), 1.2V KR-AA (AA-size NiCd), 1.5V R6/AA-size Nickel, 1.2V (R6/AA-size Ni-MH) or 1.5V FR6/AA-size lithium batteries; DC Unit SD-7, High-Performance Battery Pack SD-8A, Power Bracket Unit SK-6A/6
Supplied Accessories (may differ by country or area)	AS-21 Speedlight Stand, SW-13H Diffusion Dome, SJ-900 Color Filter Set, SZ-2 Color Filter Holder, SS-900 Soft Case	SS-400 Soft Case	Speedlight Stand AS-19, Soft Case SS-600	Quick Recycling Battery Pack SD-800, Speedlight Stand AS-19, Speedlight Color Filter Set SJ-800, Diffusion Dome SW-10H, Soft Case SS-800
Current Price	RM 1688	RM 588	RM 988	RM 1698

Now, TTL stands for "Through-The-Lens", which is basically the principle which SLR's (Single-Lens-Reflex) work. The photographer literally looks through the lens of the camera via mirror / prism mechanism, therefore seeing exactly what the film / digital imaging chip sees through the lens. This is different from a rangefinder, where the eyepiece is a separate optical path from the lens. For rangefinders, you don't really see exactly what the camera sees, and there will be some differences in terms of angle and coverage (especially up close).

Back to I-TTL or Intelligent TTL. Before I-TTL there was D-TTL, beffore that there was 3D-TTL. This is merely the progression of the exposure control technology (even I-TTL has improved to I-TTL 2, so I wouldn't get too hung up on the terminology). What matters is that your camera is compatible with your flash, so if you have the latest Nikon DSLR, it's going to work fine with any of the above 4 speedlights.

Now, the SB-800 is no longer available, having just been replaced by the SB-900, which retails for slightly cheaper than its predecessor's starting price. That leaves just the SB-900, SB-600 and SB-400 in the equation. The SB-400 is a really simple flash which operates on only 2 AA batteries, but lacks the full bounce capabilities and IR AF assist features of its brethren. That last bit means that it only tilts UP, not to the side, so for horizontal shots you bounce off the ceiling, for potraits you bounce off the wall. No IR AF assist means you will have to depend on the camera's AF assist lamp in low light instead. Therefore, it's fine for beginners, but you may find yourself wanting when you progress. Good thing is that it's tiny and portable, consumes less power and recharges faster between shots.

A step up from that would be the SB-600, which has full tilting bounce capabilities and AF assist, and also wireless slave capabilities as well. Meaning, you can set this up off camera and trigger it remotely for some clever lighting effects (note you need to know what you are doing and you need a camera / flash which functions as a master, which the SB-800 and SB-900 does). Now, the SB-900 improves on the SB-800 in zooming farther and correctly compensating for the 1.5X crop factor of DX frame DSLR's, as well as optimizing itself for the full-frame FX models.

So, in the end, my advice to my friend was, as a hobbyist, get the SB-600 (which is nearly half the price of the SB-900 on the street) and start taking creative flash photos!

Note : the table doesn't seem to appear entirely on Blogspot. See the full table over at : http://mcwk.multiply.com/journal/item/120/A_Summary_of_Current_Nikon_Speedlight_Options

Melaka Line Dance Competition 2008

Last weekend, I attended the Melaka Line Dance Competition at the Pay Fong School in Kubu, on 6 December 2008. This was the first ever competition of it's kind, thus I was curious to find out what exactly it would be like.

Tickets were RM40 a piece, I got one for myself and one for my wife. Arrived half an hour early - a good thing too as it was pouring that time, sure to be a massive traffic jam if we were to arrive "on time".


To inaugurate the event was the ever present Datuk Wira Gan Boon Leong, a prominent local politician who was frequently invited to partake in opening ceremonies all around Melaka. Seen him around quite often. Even shook hands with him once (he has an iron, vice-like grip - ex-bodybuilder....).

Anyway, there were several teams from around Malaysia (mostly from Melaka and one from Negeri Sembilan, if I remember correctly). Each team was given the opportunity to present their dance routine under the scrutiny of a panel of judges that lined the perimeter of the dance floor (which was on ordinary days the badminton courts - we are in a school hall, after all).

First thing to note - almost all teams were using the similar dance songs, like "Mony, Mony" and "Part-time lover". So, we had around 4 or 5 groups using the same song, frequently, back to back. On one hand, this got quite repetitive. On the other hand, the judges were able to judge based on the same song, so this made their job "easier" (?).


Photography in the dark hall was a challenge in both equipment and skill. A minimum of ISO800 was needed, even with F2.8 lenses. I neglected to bring along my F1.8 and F1.4 lens, to keep my bag light. Due to the absence of my 18-200mm, which was still under repair, I brought along a few other alternative lenses:

• Nikon 70-300mm F4-5.6 AF-S VR - Not really for indoor use, but I didn't have much choice. Had to crank up to ISO800/1600 to use - even then, most shots were blurred beyond salvation.
• Sigma 150mm F2.8 - My sigma macro lens, being a macro lens, focuses really slowly. Once locked on, the shutter speed was much better. However, at 150mm, it was a little too long from where I was sitting to get a wider picture.
• Tamron 17-50mm F2.8 - the workhorse lens for low light. Didn't have enough zoom at the tele end for tight shots, but then again, where else to get a more affordable F2.8 zoom?
  

Photos can be viewed at : http://mcwk.multiply.com/photos/album/72/Melaka_Line_Dance_Competition_2008

After all the teams had presented their dance numbers, we made an early exit to avoid the rush of the crowd at the end of the event. Overall, it was a good experience, but the only letdowns were that the table was too small to seat 10 people comfortably, and also the servings were too small (then again, what would you expect for just RM40, when the rate these days was RM60-70?).

Charmaine and the porcelain bowl

This is Charmaine, eating porridge. Why is she sitting here? Our earlier attempt to feed her on the couch ended up with one incident of splashing porridge all over the place as she slapped her hand right in the middle of the bowl I was holding when I was not looking (active hands). After clearing up the mess, continued feeding her. Was successful for some time, until, somewhere in through the middle of the bowl, she slapped her hand down once again, knocking the bowl from my grasp. Ultimately, it landed faced down on the cushion, hence the migration to the low baby bench you see here.


This is a porcelain bowl. Made of a ceramic material, it's popular as kitchen ware in many homes. It's tough, resistant to high temperatures, non-porous and has a glazed appearance. Unfortunately, it's quite brittle and not designed to withstand drops....


This is a porcelain bowl after being dropped from the height of 3 feet off the edge of a kitchen counter. With someone's record for the day, I don't think you need to think much to figure out what happened....

Sigh, have to consider switching to impact-resistant Melamine-ware....

And the price of Vpower today is.....

As per the last revision in fuel prices, RON97 is now at RM1.90 per liter (refer to here for details). As usual, no one ever publishes the price for Vpower, so today, I went to investigate and found out that a liter of Vpower costs RM2.35.

It's reported in the front page of the Star Newspaper today that the Government is now making RM 16KK per day, instead of shelling out for subsidies as it was doing so just a few months ago.
See : http://www.thestar.com.my/services/printerfriendly.asp?file=/2008/12/6/nation/2736651.asp&sec=nation

In any case, the Government will announce next week whether they will implement a floor price for petrol and diesel, as these days the price of crude oil is really, really cheap!

Facebook up again

Hmm, that was fast. Just last night it was down - but this morning up and running once again. Sure wish that they'd inform beforehand. That should be the case for any scheduled maintenance.

Posting short messages like this is almost like a twitter, which is another social networking site, albeit that posts are all text with maximum length of 140 characters or less. So short - call it micro-blogging to coin a term....

Facebook down for maintenance

Hmm, Facebook is temporarily offline for maintenance, so it says on the login screen. First time for me. Wonder how long it'll last. I've only had experience with Multiply being down once before in the past....

Another HPC event at the Sepang F1 Circuit

This was the 2nd time I'm going to the Sepang F1 Circuit to support my friend, Benny, who was taking part yet again in the High Performance Challenge (HPC). Our Melaka Civic friends gathered in front of the MPMBB / Melaka Mall and set off for Sepang at around 8.15am (15 minutes later than planned). Still we made good time with light traffic in the early hours of the morning, and managed to arrive at our destination by 9.00am, without going too much above the legal speed limit of 110kph.

Now, the registration fees were around RM265 - but there was a 15% discount for early, online registrants. All you need is a good full-face helmet, shoes (no slippers or barefoot) that preferably had thin soles so that you could "feel" the pedals better, and a roadworthy car!

It was one of those days, like the previous session last November, with many drivers trying out their modified (and some stock) rides on the full track of the Sepang F1 circuit. There were the high end makes, including a Porsche and a Ferrari, as well as some modest rides like Myvi's and Proton Wiras.

As the drivers coaxed every last drop of performance and skill out of themselves and their rides, those of us on the sidelines were busy bringing out the best in our photographic gear. I had brought along my 70-300 Nikon (The latest one with VR and SWM), which proved more than adequate for zooming in on to the action, even from high up in the media room on the first floor that overlooked the pit area, opposite the grandstand. As it was a really hot day, I did not venture right to the top where I would be able to get a much wider view of the entire track, so I did not need to use my lens to the limit (most of the time, up to 135mm was enough).

Breaking shortly for a late breakfast, we sat down at the stall behind the pit area for some fried rice and drink. Hmm, the rice was "half-cooked" but expensive (rice + 1 glass of hot MILO = RM6.00). Luckily, my wife packed me some curry puffs, so my stomach didn't suffer that much.

After the morning session, it took us around 15 minutes to finally decide on the venue for lunch, which was at the nearest McDonald's. We split off into two groups after that, me following the group of sedated drivers, while the other group, well, I never saw them again for the rest of the journey back to Melaka....

All in all, I still enjoy myself at the HPC session as before, though this time 100% of the action was on the track. I'll definitely come again, planning for the next session already in progress, sometime in Q1 next year....

For photos, please check out my gallery over here.

Petrol prices at an all time low!

It happens again. Just when you thought petrol prices are as low as they'd ever get - the Government announces yet another drop! Now:

• RON97 = RM 1.90 per liter
• RON92 = RM 1.80 per liter
• Diesel = RM 1.80 per liter
• Vpower = ??? (never announced anywhere, only one way to find out....)

Hurray? Petrol is now basically cheaper than mineral water. And just before the school holidays, too. I only hope that this will result in lower electricity tariffs and hence reduction in the prices of food and other essentials.

Source : NST, The Star, Paultan.org