Selamat Hari Raya..

Aisehmen..been busy these three days. Didn't have the time to even surf the net...but anyway...
Selamat Hari Raya to everyone..



I like this song..It breaks away from the normal Raya song..

Fuel..RON95 or RON97...or is it the price?

Yup...it's been 5 days since our Gov decided to phase out RON92 with RON95. I've been pumping RON97. Now I have no choice but to pump RON95 instead since RON97 is a bit pricier than before.

RON95 is RM1.80 per liter and RON97 is RM2.05 per liter.

It doesn't feel the same as before. Now my car engine are a bit noisy. I also get an occasional 'knocking' effect on the engine. In which I never had when I was using RON97. And getting up a hill needs a bit 'flooring' on the gas pedal which surely cost me more. About the mileage, I'm not so sure since I'm more of a city driving than long distance.

Went to Semenyih last Monday. RM30 (from an almost empty tank) for RON95 yet I still manage to drive from Klang to Semenyih and came back to Klang without refilling my tank. I had full 4 adult passengers (5 including me) and a my boot was also full. No problem.. But the price wasn't risen yet until Tuesday...so..next time, I might have to fill more than RM30..ouch..

Oh, for now, I'm pumping at Petronas. So, different brand like Shell, Esso/Mobile, Caltex, BHP might give different result. I'm yet to try all of them though. Still searching for the best petrol station. Thinking on pumping at a different petrol station on my next empty tank.

Most of the comment I read in blogs, forums, are saying that RON95 cause your car to be less performing and less mileage. Well, it's a no brainer really since it's a RON95 petrol. RON97 would definitely be better since it burn better. So the engine would perform better. Technically. More on this here> link.

But, since the main concern is the fuel saving value issue, it doesn't matter which RON one use as long as it doesn't damage the engine. Because some engine can't use RON95 like Honda Civic type R, Mitsubishi Lancer Evo and othe high performance car where the minimum requirement is RON97. More on this here> link1. link2.

It is more on how we drive the car. If one use RON97 and always rev his/her car more than 3,000rpm, he/she would be burning more compared to someone who use RON95 and drive smartly and not revving his/her car past 3,000rpm.

So, just use whatever RON that is suitable for our car engine and our wallet.

Well, that is if I'm viewing this issue in a positive perspective...
For a not so positive perspective...
- Those who used RON92 before have to pay more since RON95 is the minimum spec for petrol in Malaysia.
- Those who used RON97 before can opt for RON95 yet also have to pay more for a lower grade petrol.
- Those who own a car which requires a minimum RON97 petrol have to pay even more since they can't use RON95.
- It's not about the RON, it's about the price.

The not-so positive view is quite short eh..but it sums it all..

What to do? Self quarantine?

No...I'm not infected with H1N1. It's just that H1N1 is running rampant out there and being a health-conscious person (or at least that's what I think..), maybe I should stay home more.

But, it's boring!! What to do?

Sleep? Eat? Watch T.V? Internet? Play video game? Play guitar?

my dust covered PS2 joystick.

Video game...hm.... I was once quite a heavy gamer. Spending countless hours of my spare and not-so-spare time on PS2 and PC game. But now, I'm getting mellow. Maybe it just grew out of me...maybe... I still play though..occasionally..or rarely. My PS2 is already covered with dust.

Come to think of it, I've played a lot of video games; mainly PS2 title. My favorite would be RPG, action adventure and football (also known as soccer by those who dislike this sport).

Only a very subtle lovey-dovey story, the rest are genius.

For RPG, first on my list would be the Final Fantasy (FF) series. Yes, FF is somewhat tedious. All those leveling up, exploring the game map, side quests etc. Yet the story line which unravels along the game-play is what keeps me glued. My favorite would be FF-XII because it doesn't have the cheesy love story in it like its previous series. It was more political. My cup of tea.

kill on sight...

Action Adventure game; my current favorite is non-other than (GOW) God Of War I and II. I might as well buy a PS3 just so I can play the GOW III. I also like Metal Gear Solid (MGS) series because the story line was so well executed. Way better than FF and GOW. GOW won the action element though due to its action pack game-play. But my all-time favorite would still be MGS. The story line was so intense and pure genius. One got to play to know what I meant by 'pure genius'. No, I'm not exaggerating.

FIFA '10... Not yet released though, looking forward on this one.

Football, my most played game since it's a simple put-cd-in-PS2-and-play kinda game. I was a fan of Winning Eleven but since FIFA '08 came out, I liked the latter better now. The current Wining Eleven title seems to lost its 'touch'. But if I was playing against other player (my friend etc), Winning Eleven is better. FIFA is not really user interface friendly. The loading time for FIFA '08 is a bit long for my liking. But the better-variety-control game-play kept me on the joystick. The best part in playing Wining Eleven or FIFA is, I can stop whenever I want without struggling to reach a 'saving point' like the other games.

Well...all of those gaming are in the past now. The only game I play (occasionally) now is FIFA '09. Got to work more (less gaming) so I can fork more money. Mau kawin maa..hehe

My cam, pushing its limit in: slow shutter..(?)

Well, this particular type of effect made me wonder.. Can I snap this kind of effect with my compact digital camera?

I didn't snap this pic. Got it from here.

But, my digicam shutter speed can't be controlled or change freely like a DSLR. Yet, after a couple of trial and error, I've found a way to create such effect.

I used fireworks mode (It's said so in my digicam, dunno the real name..). I also used timer to snap the shot and placed my cam on a still object (since I don't have a tripod) or my shaky hand would make the pic blurry. With a little touch up using Photoscape...wala..



Hmm... I can see other possibilities with this effect..

Perodua Viva Elite...what so 'elite' about it?

Looks nice..too bad it's just cosmetic..

After their cheap version of Perodua Viva (Perodua Viva 660 BX), now the 'overpriced' face lift (is it?) version named Perodua Viva Elite.

Seriously, what's so elite about this new version? The specs are all the same as the previous model. Ok, the front grill looks nice but...that's all about it..nothing else.

For a professional review, visit this link. PaulTan.

I'm going to rant about this..amateurishly. hehe..

First and foremost, for me, Perodua really have stray away from its 'Building Car People First' motto. They've really change to 'Building Car First, People'.

Just look at this new version of Perodua Viva. It's a total rip off. The previous Viva model/version was already a rip off to begin with. I've own one before (in which I regretted it) so I know how it feels like to drive this car. Basically, it's the same car with same body, same chassis, same engine, same everything.

Ok, it's a standard car just like every other car out there but my main point of concern which piss me off since it makes me feel like I'm being rip off is the PRICE. Yes, it's just so overpriced for a car of this quality.

I know it's basically engineered by Toyota+Daihatsu but the problem is Perodua downgrade it yet sells them with a hefty price tag.

I know there are people who would still buy this car. Well, it's their cash, their choice.

But still, Perodua, what happen to you? Why are you becoming more of a 'Blood sucker'?

p/s: I wonder what happen to Perodua Nautica...hmm.. I'm yet to find any on the road until now.