It is sad. But it happens. Nothing lasts. Especially something like this. In a tumultuous world like this :( No one can foresee the future, nor can anyone foresee what holds beyond it. We can only pray that God gives us the best life we can hope for... We came together on the 8th. of August 2004. Now, after more than 7-years, we have to part ways :( It is sad... but this has to be done. 

As evil as the reasons maybe for my leaving you... I stand firm by my decision. Our time together is UP! You are too old now, too soggy... You cannot hold within you what I ask you to carry... what I ask you to conceal... what I ask you to help bring for the sake of the whole family. You cannot deal anymore with the plastics, paper and whatever 'rubbish' I 'feed' you... Although I realize most of this is my fault... still, we have to part ways. Even if you really had feelings, you would realize that what I say is true. I have to put you aside, to make way for 'someone' new... Please understand... 

But do not worry my dear. Even though I am cutting you off from my life... I will still keep you somewhere safe. Since you're one of the best 'ones' I've ever had thus far. The dark beauty of you insides, the coarse outer cover of your skin... all have impressed me much. For that... I will empty you... and put you in a box :) Now, I say bye bye to you bebeh. After more than 7-years of service, the Braun Buffel legacy has ended. Maybank sudah kasik gua redeem wallet lain pulak guna point yg pak pak arab tolong accumulate. Now dah jadik Charles Berkeley pulok. Hehehehe. So my Braun Buffel... I still love you. But I have to keep you in a box la from now on. You oredi nazak. But all your jasa, tetap akan dikenang dan kekal di dalam lubuk hatii kuuuuuu!!!!!!!  Sekian... Ma'assalaam :D

(Dramatik benau la pulak citer pasal wallet iye tuan?)

Within 2-weeks dah sampai lepas redeem kat Maybank2U. Dalam 30,000 treat points jugak 

kalau tak silap...

This is what I got... One wallet (belah kiri) and one card holder. Tapi yg kad holder tu pon mcm

boleh jadik wallet jugak saya rasa

Guarantee Encik Charles bin Berkeley

My old wallet... Braun Buffel. Served me for more than 7-years now. Hehehe. Hadiah

hantaran ni. Dah koyak2 pon. But that was my bad as I overloaded it with plastic cards :P

Belah dalam. Buleh tahan sedih gak le. Hehehe...

Exterior view of my new Charles Berkeley wallet :) Pengganti kepada Braun Buffel

Belah dalam dia pulok. Braun Buffel lagik banyak compartments... yang ni sikit je.

But that's ok considering I got it for 'Free'... Alhamdulillaah. Again, TQ also to the Pak Arabs

for all those online tickets!!!

Side-by-side komparison...

Zis is my vallet now... T'iz lookging good a bit, ya?

When I first saw the name on the box, Japanese Mandolin... my mind immediately pictured a small, semi-egg-shaped musical string instrument (like a mini gambus), the one that would be played by people from either Mexico or Spain (I don't actually know the origin of this instrument, but somehow my mind goes to these countries :P). But that's just the thing... A Japanese Mandolin? Kok bagimana? Ghupa-ghupanya... it's the kitchen utensil mandolin thinggy. Sebelum ni, I never knew it was called a mandolin, but a quick image search through Google confirmed it... A Mandolin Slicer!

The website hosting this image can be found here... (ni kira free advertising ke? Or am I simply committing digital-image-theft?)

This is the mandolin slicer... also rembatted.... from here...

Anywayz... my wife just bought this kitchen slicer utensil mandolin thinggy yesterday. At first I was quite surprised as it costs RM77!!! Tu dah nak lapan puloh hengget dah tu weh??? But since sometimes, my wife makes quite wise decisions, I decided not to pull a fit... and just berdiam diri. At the same time, I was very2 de excited also, because I liked the fact that something new was bought (doesn't happen very often in my household...)

Balik rumah, I opened the packaging. At first sight, I immediately agreed that the RM77 price tag was worth every penny. Most quality kitchenware selalunya mmg mahal-mahal, but the hefty price tag is normally justified by the quality and durability.

The product's name is BENRINER - Japanese Mandolin (Slicer). Japanese Mandolin, but with a USA patent... Ok la kot... I don't know how other countries' mandolins look like, but I reckon almost the same. I read somewhere that Rachel Ray uses this product (on her show I guess?) Anywayz, ini lah dia rupa benda alah tu. Actually it's the same brand as the mandolin pic above, only ours is white :) It's the new wide type also (dunno if the previous one was too narrow?)

64 m/m dia tulis... 

First impression... from the (plastic?) material used for the body, I was convinced that it had quality. I've used mandolins before and most of them had the normal, plastik-keras biasa body. But this one... Walaweh... it actually feels quite hard and strong! Like very2 susah to break one. It also has a textured effect, which I believe was intentionally designed to stress the sturdiness. 

 

Provided are three slicing blades, FINE, MEDIUM and COARSE. Each with their own unique slicing/cutting abilities.

  

  

The slicer blades of course, can be easily interchanged :D  The main blade... looks very2 sturdy, like can cut anything from onions to shoe-soles (I am exaggerating of course). The slicing thickness can also be easily adjusted. And I pretty much like the safety-holder (finger guard) thinggy... the design is quite nice aye?

 

 

 

  

And of course, they provide handling instructions and safety precautions so that you don't wreck the thing during use and keep your fingers in tact at the same time  :)

 

syok tengok mandolin dot com

I look forward to be using this thing ASAP. My wife of course, akan guna dalam jangka masa terdekat. Pasal kalu tak, takkan dia beli ye dok? (Kalau dia beli saja-saja, nanti aku upah orang karate dia... hehehe).  At the moment, I myself have too much work to do and little time to do kitchen work (hence using kitchen utensils). Alhamdulillaah, ada maid dah sekarang, so no need to headache2 thinking of household cleaning n joint kitchen management with the wife. Tapi takpe... sikit lagi PhD ni nak habis dah. When that time comes, insyaAllaah I will start using this thinggy. Lepas tu, another post pulak :D Orait... Assalaama aleykom!!!

[click the above image to view this item on Amazon.com]

AND... enjoy the demo video below. Don't work quite well on cucumbers I see... hehehe.

Today, I'd like to post about a bit about DIY :) Specifically, on how to replace a door knob set :) Alhamdulillaahirobbil'aalameen... it wasn't that difficult (mainly because the doors already had holes drilled in them from the default knob installations) :D Anywayz... It was a good experience and since I have nothing better to do, I will blog about it :D

Firstly, you need to go to Econsave or Billion to buy a cheap door knob system/set. Why cheap? Because ini rumah sewa... so no need to buy the mahal2 one. I am gonna leave one day anywayz rite :D I bought the WINSIR one, cost me around RM8++. The other one cost me RM9++, forget the brand.... I am blogging about the RM9++ one here :) After unwrapping... you will basically have this:


Before installing the new set, you need to get the old one out first :) Bawah ni, ialah gambar knob lama di bahagian sebelah dalam pintu. In the multi-colored circles, you can see a small punat (apa ek? punat dalam English?)... Using the device in the next picture, you will need to press down that punat so that the knob can be removed from the set :) Only after you've removed this knob that you can BEGIN taking out the whole old set from the door.


Then proceed to kopak-king (again, what is kopak in English?)... then unscrewing... then... kopak-king some more on the other side... then FINALLY... taking the whole thing out. Please refer to pics :) ... (brand KAH rupanya iye tuan?)


Get the new set... firstly install the... the... dayem... apa nama benda ni ek? hehehe. Ok. Install BENDA NI...


In the next pic, you can see that there's something protruding from the bigger hole. You will need to align this with the knob set... Make sure the knob set inserts smoothly into this protruding-something :D


Then screw... tighten... and voila! Siap... you're DONE! :D Room now secured from non-professional thieves, insyaAllaah :) Oh, btw... I had to replace this whole door knob set because in the old one, the key sorta broke and got stuck in the key slot place thinggy (I am sooo bad with all these 'technical' terms... I cry).


Okes... hope this has benefited the general public :D Assalaam aleykom WBT

Alhamdulillaah. Today I got the road tax for the wife's Perodua Kelisa :D No morphing happened though... the guy came without first being a sexy girl clad in a tight read leather suit :P

Anywayz... my last entry concerning MYEG was just blabbering in general about the

whole experience. But I've noticed that some visitors who happened to land on my blog (from Google or Yahoo!) were actually looking for information about how to get the road tax thru MYEG... Okes. This post will talk about that :D

Okes. Here goes...

STEPS FOR ROAD TAX RENEWAL THROUGH MYEG... (http://www.myeg.com.my)

1. For my case... I already renewed my takaful (insurance). I did it at Syarikat Takaful Malaysia. Easy and simple... and ikut syarak :D So insyaAllaah all will be ok for this life and the hereafter :D Ameennn...

2. After finishing all that, keep your takaful (insurance) confirmation slip handy...

3. Goto http://www.myeg.com.my... At the main page, click on the 'ROAD TAX RENEWAL' link. Easy peasy... :) - see image below...

4. Since you already bought your insurance (as in my case)... just ignore that big blue link saying 'CLICK HERE TO BUY INSURANCE' at the road tax renewal page. Just key in all the details... and after that... just click 'PROCEED'... the page after this should display all your details (if I remember correctly) pertaining to your car, as well as the takaful/insurance information :D After checking... proceed to payment (but if the info. is wrong, I have no idea how U can correct it. Supposed to be correct...)

5. Finally, select the payment method... and finish up the transaction... Oh... and key in the mailing address. Shouldn't forget that one :)

That's basically it. There's RM12 (RM10 for delivery and some RM2 fee for what I forget) extra though that you have to pay (for my Kelisa that is... shouldn't be any different for other cars I guess...). So, if you think not lining up at the post office or JPJ is worth RM12... then MYEG is da way to go :D - as for me, I'm just lazy. But I think RM12 is ok... even though I'd prefer it to be below RM10 :D

In 2-working days, insyaAllaah the road tax will be delivered to the mailing address you specified. Oh... and I recommend sending it to your office address... because for me, mostly no one's at home from morning till evening... so most probably the delivery guy won't be able to deliver... as a result you'd be the one who has to go and collect... There goes the RM10 :P anywayz... :D

Okes. Hope this info has helped... TQ for reading :D Salaaam...

Okes. Today I would like to recommend a product that I use to hang clocks, mirrors as well as clothes... on the wall/behind doors etc. The product's name is COMMAND ADHESIVE hooks, from 3M :) Why I like this product? Okes.... I will story now :)

I was firstly introduced to this product from a TV advertisement (2003-04). But wasn't the Malaysian TV la... as even now I haven't seen it aired on any TV station. The main advantages of the Command adhesive hooks series are:

1) They are strong (difficult to tanggal). Seriously strong and reliable;

2) So-so-easy to take off also... Unlike other adhesive-hooks (where there is a large probability of you pulling out the wall-paint as well during peel-off), all you have to do is PULL the adhesive out... and VOILA! Settle. When properly done... it slides of very2 nicely. Even if improperly done... the remaining adhesive can be scraped off relatively easily with no residue :D (Please refer to http://solutions.3m.com/wps/portal/3M/en_US/Command/home/us_en/how_use/. It's the circular animation on the right...)

So... in this short post... I am promoting the use of Command Adhesive Hooks :D Heheheheh. I have used them to hang clocks, mirrors, winter coats, jeans etc. But of course, select the one that suits the task at hand lah. Don't la choose a 450-gram hook when you plan to hang a leather jacket!!! Sah2 la fall-down jatuh dan tergolek-dog :D

The price... well, since I am not familiar with standard adhesive prices (and I don't buy adhesive hooks on every hypermarket visit)... I think it should be ok. Maybe a bit expensive kot? ... RM5.00 to RM5.90 for TWO 45-gram hooks and 4-adhesive strips (that’s what's in the package lah). But in all... totally worth it :D It hangs on to the wall quite reliably... and up to this day, Alhamdulillah, has never failed me (when I follow the proper adhesive-hook capacity lah).

You can also buy the adhesive strips separately :D Which would be useful to stick other stuff other than hooks (I use them to stick an electric socket adaptor to the wall for my fridge, water filter and also rice cooker)....

Okes :D That's all I guess. Hope this post has been informative :D

Arigato dan Terima Kasih.... Ingat nama ini... Suleiman Akhlaken... Eh... wrong.. Command Adhesive....

PS:- Suleiman Akhlaken was a Peguam-Pumbela... a close friend of the late Ismet Ulam-Raja and also Abdul Wahub Ulam-Raja.