Lynn's 1st Birthday!

Pada minggu yang lepas, hari Ahad 12hb April 2009 adalah 1 tahun selepas Lynn di lahirkan di KSH Kuantan.

Kami telah mengadakan satu kenduri untuk meraikan hari tersebut. Lynn sekarang berat dia adalah lebih kurang 9.8kg dan boleh berjalan tampa di pimpin. Gigi dah ada 4, 2 di atas dan 2 di bawah. Heh heh, masa dia sengih je nampak.

Berikut adalah gambar-gambar pada hari tu...

Letih...

Bersuka ria.

Untuk pose aje...

Potong kek.

Dah ngantuk dah?

Anak Bondzer.

Tetamu... (Boss lama)

Ada orang panggil saya ke?

Nak dukung...

Maaf le gambar tak banyak, sibuk melayan tetamu...

Sekian, wassalam.

Exchanger changeout.

Last week was a very busy week as we had to replace a damaged heat exchanger with a new one. The problem started with a leak from the tubes and as the product mixed with water and produces acid, it ate up the equipment.
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Now, is replacing a 53000kgs heat exchanger easy? Sounds easy.Preparations had to be carried out from the heavy lifting to the structural installations and of course manpower used for the job. The first thing needed was scaffolding to access the flange connections and the insulation which had to be fully removed.

Another problem started when the insulation was removed, no lifting trunnion! The lifting 'ear' is to secure the wire ropes so that lifting can be carried out without using the support lugs and also for tailing purposes. So how? Engineers had to be called in for the design and fabrication of the trunnion. Good thing that Wong from TC helped out the expediting of the trunnion fabrication.

The newly installed trunnion.

The trunnion was completed after 4 days of waiting and now the lifting part. With a 400T crane for main lifting and a 160T crane for tailing, everything was ready. The exchanger had to be lifted up for about 3", then only the structure could be removed. In about 2 hrs, the structure was not fully removed but all bolts was removed and the beams was moved to the side for a bigger opening during lifting. Some hiccups was evident as the nozzles and bellow cover was slightly bigger than the diameter of the tubesheet.
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Lifting...

The 'hole' after lifting.

Safely down.

The new exchanger was in place at about 6pm, and the structure had to be installed before lowering the exchanger in place. The job was completed at 11pm. Thank goodness there were no incidents.

A job well done goes to the Plant Workshop team and all the supporting contractors in this project. Syabas!

Holiday at the hills.

Assalamualaikum semua, mintak maaf lah lama tak update. Sebenarnya tak ada apa yang kena update pun, semua senyap je. Ini adalah kisah percutian keluarga saya di Genting Highlands minggu lepas.

Perjalanan bermula pada hari Khamis, selepas 'breakfast' lebih kurang pukul 10pagi kami pun bertolak dari Kuantan. Cuaca mendung ala-ala panas sikit dan perjalanan mengambil masa lebih kurang 3 jam. Itu pun sebab berhenti acak kali di R&R untuk rehat dan solat.

Sampailah di atas bukit lebih kurang 2:30ptg. Tempat yang pertama kami tuju adalah 'Splash pool' dan ini adalah sebab utama kami bercuti di situ untuk si kecik tu bermain air. Baju renang pun beli yang baru.




Yang lemah masa kat situ adalah masa menunggu untuk 'check-in', masa daftar nama tu ada lebih kurang 150 org sebelum saya. Semua guna nombor, so tahulah berapa orang yang menunggu dan masa yang di ambil lebih kurang 2jam! Apa lagi, hantarlah bini dan anak-anak gi main air dulu. Nasib baik masa nak gi counter, lebih kurang 5 org aje sebelum tiba nombor saya. 5 minit dan dah 'settle'. Kalau siapa nak bercuti di Genting Highlands, 'check-in' sebelum 1ptg.

Masa pun dah nak masuk Maghrib dan kami pun bersiaplah ke bilik untuk mandi, solat dan bersolek (heh heh untuk bini lah). Pergilah makan dengan mak-ayah saya serta keluarga kawan mak saya. Dah lepas main air dan udara yang sejuk mestilah lapar kan?



Keluarga saya yang belakang tu...

Sebelum tiba di kedai makan, Daniel pun dah mula dengan 'nak main, nak main' sebab 'game-game' semua di sebelah kedai makan. Apa lagi, yang dewasa makan, yang kecik main. Sebelum ni saya pun dah beli unlimited pass untuk dia, bayar sekali untuk setahun dan boleh main kat indoor dan outdoor. Dah tahu akan pergi lebih 3 kali setahun, kira-kira save jugaklah.
Mainlah dengan puas Daniel...





Memang puas pun Daniel main, dan Lynn pun berjalan merata-rata.







Letih berjalan.

Pada esok hari, kami pun ke outdoor park. Dapat jugak lah patung untuk Lynn.



Patung tu lebih besar dari Lynn...

Cuaca ok, udara pun sejuk sikit sebab mendung. Kami tak main pun sebab yang kecik tu tak de orang nak jaga, Daniel je yang sibuk. (Maaf la, lupa nak ambil gambar banyak.)

Sampailah masa untuk makan tengahhari, dah lebih kurang pukul 2ptg. Kami pun berkumpul di Happy Valley Restoran dan bersarapan. Lepas habis makan, Daniel pun ngantok dan tidur atas bahu saya. Dan Lynn yang letih berjalan tu pun tidur jugak. Maka kami pun baliklah...

Boycott Lingerie shops with male salesmen.

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – Before her wedding last year, Huda Batterjee went abroad to buy her bridal lingerie — she just couldn't bear the humiliation of discussing her most intimate apparel with a man. She had little choice: there are almost no saleswomen in Saudi Arabia. Now a group of Saudi women — sick of having to deal with male sales staff when buying bras or panties, not to mention frilly negligees or thongs — have launched a campaign this week to boycott lingerie stores until they employ women.

It's an irony of the kingdom's strict segregation of the sexes. Only men are employed as sales staff to keep women from having to deal with male customers or work around men.
But in lingerie stores, that means men are talking to women about bras or thongs, looking them up and down to determine their cup sizes, even rubbing the underwear to show how stains can be washed out.

The result is mortifying for everyone involved — shoppers, salesmen, even the male relatives who accompany the women.
"When I buy underwear in Saudi, some salesmen say, 'This is not the right size for you,'" said Batterjee. "You feel almost taken advantage of. Why is he looking at me in this way?"
So for her wedding trousseau, the 26-year-old went to neighboring Dubai to shop. She now lives in Virginia with her husband.

Heba al-Akki, a businesswoman who supports the boycott, said when she shops for underwear, "I go to a store, pick this, this and that and leave quickly. It's as if I'm buying illegal stuff."
It's not easy on the salesmen either.

At one lingerie boutique in a Riyadh mall Wednesday, salesmen blushed when asked about their jobs. All said they back the campaign to hire female sales staff.

"Even in such open regions as the U.S. and Europe, men do not sell underwear to women," said store manager Husam al-Mutayim, a 27-year-old Egyptian. "I don't let any of my female relatives buy underwear from men. It's just too embarrassing."

Mannequins — headless in keeping with a ban on realistic depictions of women — were displayed in the shop window dressed in modest pajamas. Inside, racks held an array of colorful bras, lacy panties and sexy nighties — along with more day-to-day undergarments.

Under Saudi Arabia's strict interpretation of Islamic law, women are required to cover themselves head-to-toe in black robes in public. But in the privacy of their own homes — and bedrooms — they can wear whatever they want, and sexy undergarments are popular.

But buying them is another story. Fitting rooms are banned in the kingdom — the idea of a woman undressing in a public place with men just outside is unthinkable. So a woman is never sure she has chosen the right size until she gets it home.

"I have bras with sizes ranging from 32 to 38 because I can't get to try them on," said Modie Batterjee, Huda's sister and one of the boycott organizers.
Even male relatives get dragged into the embarrassment. Women are allowed to shop without a male relative, but husbands or brothers sometimes insist on coming along — or the women want them there — to ensure salesmen stay respectful.

Modie Batterjee recalls how her husband fled a lingerie store because he could not bear to hear her explain to a salesman that she wanted high-waisted underwear to hold in her tummy after their daughter's birth.

The boycott was launched on Tuesday by about 50 women who gathered in the Red Sea port of Jiddah at the Al-Bidaya Breast-feeding Resource and Women's Awareness Center, which is run by Modie Batterjee.

The aim is to push for implementation of a law that has been on the books since 2006 which says only female staff can be employed in women's apparel stores.
The law has never been put into effect, partly due to hard-liners in the religious establishment who oppose employing women in mixed environments like malls, where religious police are always on the lookout to keep men and women from interacting.

Hiring women would also deprive men of jobs in a country where more than 10 percent of men are unemployed.
"We are raising awareness and calling for the implementation of the law," said Reem Asaad, a finance lecturer at Dar al-Hikma Women's College in Jiddah, who supports the boycott.

The campaign calls on women to shop at the country's few women-only lingerie stores. Usually stand-alone boutiques or located in malls that have women-only sections, these shops have no windows to ensure passing men cannot look in — and giving women the freedom to actually try things on.

How much impact the boycott call will have is unclear. Almost 1,700 people signed an online petition posted by Asaad on the social networking Web site Facebook. A few Saudi papers have written about it, but the campaign depends mostly on word of mouth.

Bagai air tidak di usik.

Assalamualaikum semua, minta maaf lama tak menulis di blog saya ini. Ringkas ceritanya adalah sebab tidak ada apa-apa menarik dan perkembangan pun macam tajuk di atas. Nak geram tak boleh, nak marah tak boleh dan nak sedih pun control jelah. Kesabaran adalah sesuatu yang di ajar oleh Allah s.w.t dan apa yang saya boleh buat adalah berdoa je.

Oleh kerana T+ tidak dapat lagi block visa dari KSA, maka process application tidak dapat di hantar lagi oleh mereka. Tiap-tiap minggu jugak lah saya bertanya dan si Farah pun takleh nak jawab. Nak buat macam mana, sabar jelah...

Untuk menambahkah kesabaran itu adalah membaca blog Neezashahril dan blog-blog yang lain yang ada update. Tahniah kepada Kak Neeze yang tidak terputus-putus dengan blognye! Baru tak bosan.

Menambah cerita saya dari blog yang sebelum ni, Lynn, anak perempuan saya telah pulih dari HFMD yang telah di sahkan oleh Dr Lee dari KSH. Katanye virus itu dah tak ada, (tak ada?) saya tanya, dan jawab dr tu sebab demam dah tak ada, virus pun tak adalah. Mmmm, betul jugak cakap dia, virus kalau ada akan menyebabkan demam atau symptom yang lain seperti muntah, pening, sakit badan dll lagi kot? Bersyukurlah dan semua ini dalam 4 hari je. Tapi dapatlah parut kat lutut dia akibat dari jerawat (nampak macam jerawat, tak tahu nama betul) sebesar 5 sen mak ooi! Sekarang jalan je kerja dia, duduk pun sebab letih. Gigi pun dah ada 3, 2 di bawah dan 1 di atas. Maaf ye, tak sempat nak ambil gambar, masa nak ambil mulut dia tutup plak! Heh heh, nanti saya cuba lagi.

Oklah, nanti tulis panjang sangat bosan la pulak. Sekian, assalamualaikumwaramatullahiwabbarakatu.

HFMD

Pada hari ini, 11hb Mac 2009 satu berita yang mengejutkan saya dengan isteri saya apabila membawa anak perempuan saya ke klinik.

Bermulanya 1 minggu yang lalu, di mana Lynn dengan tidak berhentinya air liur dari mulutnya. Kita rasa ini di sebabkan oleh tumbuhan gigi yang baru dan tidak merisaukannya. Baru 1 yang nampak di bahagian atas dan mungkin ada 3 lagi yang menunggu untuk tumbuh.

Di sebabkan perkara ini, dia menangis setiap kali berasa sakit dan mula kurang makan. Sebelum ini, makan saja kerja dia hingga berat dia sekarang dekat 10kilo pada umur 11bulan. 3 hari yang lepas, demam pulak dia dan kita pun ingat di sebabkan oleh pertumbuhan gigi itu. Hari ini pula cirit-birit dan nampak macam ada jerawat di lututnya. Selepas memeriksa tempat yang lain, di dapati jugak di kakinya dan tangannya. Dengan serta merta, kami pun bawanya ke klinik dan doktor memberitahu ini adalah Hand, Foot and Mouth dsease!

Terkejutnya kita mendengar keputusan doktor itu sebab telah pernah mendengar berita kematian budak-budak dari penyakit ini dan berita-berita lain mengenai penyakit ini. Risaulah jugak sebab terkena kat anak saya. Doktor pun memberitahu penyakit ini tidak begitu serious dan tidak ada ubatnya (tak ada ubat dia kata?) Dia pun cerita yang virus ini mesti di lawan oleh antibody dalam badannya sendiri. Antibodynya mesti di bina sendiri hingga cukup untuk melawan virus tersebut. Oleh itu, ubat yang di beri ada calamine lotion sahaja untuk menyapu kat tempat jerawat itu.

Kisah ini bukan untuk menceritakan pasal penyakit anak saya tapi pengetahuan berkenaan Penyakit Tangan, Kaki dan Mulut (HFMD).

Di bawah adalah sedikit penjelasan berkenaan HFMD ini, dan saya harap ia berguna. Sekian, asssalammualaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatu.

Description

Hand, foot, and mouth disease (HFMD) is a common viral illness of infants and children. The disease causes fever and blister-like eruptions in the mouth and/or a skin rash. HFMD is often confused with foot-and-mouth (also called hoof-and-mouth) disease, a disease of cattle, sheep, and swine; however, the two diseases are not related—they are caused by different viruses. Humans do not get the animal disease, and animals do not get the human disease.

Illness

• The disease usually begins with a fever, poor appetite, malaise (feeling vaguely unwell), and often with a sore throat.

• One or 2 days after fever onset, painful sores usually develop in the mouth. They begin as small red spots that blister and then often become ulcers. The sores are usually located on the tongue, gums, and inside of the cheeks.

• A non-itchy skin rash develops over 1–2 days. The rash has flat or raised red spots, sometimes with blisters. The rash is usually located on the palms of the hands and soles of the feet; it may also appear on the buttocks and/or genitalia.

• A person with HFMD may have only the rash or only the mouth sores.

Cause

• HFMD is caused by viruses that belong to the enterovirus genus (group). This group of viruses includes polioviruses, coxsackieviruses, echoviruses, and enteroviruses.

• Coxsackievirus A16 is the most common cause of HFMD, but other coxsackieviruses have been associated with the illness.

• Enteroviruses, including enterovirus 71, have also been associated with HFMD and with outbreaks of the disease.

How It Is Spread

• Infection is spread from person to person by direct contact with infectious virus. Infectious virus is found in the nose and throat secretions, saliva, blister fluid, and stool of infected persons. The virus is most often spread by persons with unwashed, virus-contaminated hands and by contact with virus-contaminated surfaces.

• Infected persons are most contagious during the first week of the illness.

• The viruses that cause HFMD can remain in the body for weeks after a patient's symptoms have gone away. This means that the infected person can still pass the infection to other people even though he/she appears well. Also, some persons who are infected and excreting the virus, including most adults, may have no symptoms.

• HFMD is not transmitted to or from pets or other animals.

Factors That Increase the Chance for Infection or Disease

• Everyone who has not already been infected with an enterovirus that causes HFMD is at risk of infection, but not everyone who is infected with an enterovirus becomes ill with HFMD.

• HFMD occurs mainly in children under 10 years old but can also occur in adults. Children are more likely to be at risk for infection and illness because they are less likely than adults to have antibodies to protect them. Such antibodies develop in the body during a person’s first exposure to the enteroviruses that cause HFMD.

• Infection results in immunity to (protection against) the specific virus that caused HFMD. A second case of HFMD may occur following infection with a different member of the enterovirus group.

Diagnosis

• HFMD is one of many infections that result in mouth sores. However, health care providers can usually tell the difference between HFMD and other causes of mouth sores by considering the patient’s age, the symptoms reported by the patient or parent, and the appearance of the rash and sores.

• Samples from the throat or stool may be sent to a laboratory to test for virus and to find out which enterovirus caused the illness. However, it can take 2–4 weeks to obtain test results, so health care providers usually do not order tests.

Treatment and Medical Management

• There is no specific treatment for HFMD.

• Symptoms can be treated to provide relief from pain from mouth sores and from fever and aches:

  • Fever can be treated with antipyretics (drugs that reduce fevers).

  • Pain can be treated with acetaminophen, ibuprofen, or other over-the-counter pain relievers.

  • Mouthwashes or sprays that numb pain can be used to lessen mouth pain.

• Fluid intake should be enough to prevent dehydration (lack of body fluids). If moderate-to-severe dehydration develops, it can be treated medically by giving fluids through the veins.

Prevention

• A specific preventive for HFMD is not available, but the risk of infection can be lowered by following good hygiene practices.

• Good hygiene practices that can lower the risk of infection include

  • Washing hands frequently and correctly (see Clean Hands Save Lives! ) and especially after changing diapers and after using the toilet

  • Cleaning dirty surfaces and soiled items, including toys, first with soap and water and then disinfecting them by cleansing with a solution of chlorine bleach (made by adding 1 tablespoon of bleach to 4 cups of water)

  • Avoiding close contact (kissing, hugging, sharing eating utensils or cups, etc.) with persons with HFMD

Vaccination Recommendations

• No vaccine is available to protect against the enteroviruses that cause HFMD.

Complications

• Complications from the virus infections that cause HFMD are not common, but if they do occur, medical care should be sought.

• Viral or "aseptic meningitis can rarely occur with HFMD. Viral meningitis causes fever, headache, stiff neck, or back pain. The condition is usually mild and clears without treatment; however, some patients may need to be hospitalized for a short time.

• Other more serious diseases, such as encephalitis (swelling of the brain) or a polio-like paralysis, result even more rarely. Encephalitis can be fatal.

• There have been reports of fingernail and toenail loss occurring mostly in children within 4 weeks of their having hand, foot, and mouth disease (HFMD). At this time, it is not known whether the reported nail loss is or is not a result of the infection. However, in the reports reviewed, the nail loss has been temporary and nail growth resumed without medical treatment.

Cameras...

The fun part about starting a hobby is the shopping. The process of surveying for the best specifications, reading through reviews, checking with peers, rummaging through forums, scouting for best bargains and then comes the finale. You purchase it and excitement stops.But then, for some hobby like dslr photography the fun doesn't have to stop there. The anticipation for getting the next gadgets continues. You got to have lenses. Good lenses.

I do not mean that the kit lens SAL17-70 is useless. It does won itself some pretty impressive rating from http://www.dyxum.com/. Same goes for the SAL70-200 which it is pretty sharp as compared to the SAL75-300.

But good is often the enemy of excellence. So the pursue has to continue.I knew the G lenses are out of my league (for now) and that there are loads of superb pre-owned minolta lenses at a bargain. I have basically been reading tons of reviews on the Minolta 50mm F1.7. Though with the crop factor of 1.5 this lens is actually a 75mm (not an ideal range), I read that it has some impressive sharpness even in low light conditions. And its excellent for portraits. This was my first "must haves'.I managed to hunt down a bargain at forum Free Trade Zone (Malaysian Photography). An old school minolta enthusiast put his Minolta 50mm F1.7 for sale at RM450. It was a no brainer. I called, we met after 30 minutes. Inspection shows no oily blades, no fungus, snappy operations. I took two shots. Wow!

I thought I would be content with the range offered by kitties 18-70mm, 70-210mm zoomy and super fast prime 50mm but then I saw picture like this:

Above: picture from ephotozine taken with Sigma APO 70-300mm. Taken using macro 1/800sec at f/8 and ISO500. Not that I want to make it my life purpose hunting down dragon flies and shooting them during flights. Not that I have the skills, at the moment, anyway. But there is something about the game of gadget chase that, if its out there, you got to have it. My range is currently limited to 200mm. I have to do something about it. Why 200mm when you can have 300mm?

The Sigma 70-300mm F4-5.6 APO DG Macro offers a pretty decent image quality for the money. With a beautiful lens case.

I have been reading superb reviews about the Minolta 24-85mm and the Minolta 28-105mm. These are pretty old lenses like the Minolta 50mm F1.7, but there are plenty lying around Ebay if you are willing to pay for the shipping. These lenses are known for the legendary Minolta colours and sharpness for that price.

Above: The Minolta 28-105mm F3.5.

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Pictures below are taken at the Buttrefly and Bird park in KL.

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