First Malaysian in Space

Last night I watch life on Astro channel 588, our very handsome doctor, Sheikh Muszaphar lift off into space on board the Russian Soyuz TMA-11 spacecraft at 9:21pm (Malaysian time). Rephrasing Neil Armstrong’s legendary words, Dr Sheikh Muszaphar said, “It’s a small step for me, but a great leap for the Malaysian people.” Hospital UKM’s Dr Sheikh Muszaphar will make history being the first Malaysian in space.

The TMA-11 aircraft carrying the 35-year-old doctor and his flight mates - Russian cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko and American Peggy Whitson - is scheduled to dock at ISS (International Space Station) at 10:51pm (local time) on Friday. Soyuz TMA-11 will take 2 days to reach the ISS - 360km above the Earth.

Dr Sheikh Muszaphar is to study the effects of microgravity and space radiation on cells and microbes, as well as experiment with proteins for a potential HIV vaccine. Malaysia is paying for the voyage as part of a billion-dollar purchase of Russian fighter jets. The rocket - adorn with a Malaysian flag and coat of arms and carrying the Soyuz TMA-11 spacecraft - was moved on Monday to the launch pad from its assembly site at the Baikonur Cosmodrome, which Russia rents from Kazakhstan. Dr Sheikh is to return to Earth on Oct 21 with two Russian members of the current space station crew.

Another first for the Malaysian ‘angkasawan’ (astronaut), is that he will be hosting a Hari Raya party on board the space station on the first day of Syawal. He has taken satay and some ‘kuih’ Raya to treat the others on board. This is all so exciting. I bet Dr Sheikh will get his Datukship when he returns to Malaysia - our very handsome orthopaedic surgeon who’s also a model.

Going to KL in a short while

I have been travelling so frequently. Later this morning, my colleague will come to fetch me for the trip to KL, to meet up with a client and maybe we might drive down to Johor for another meeting. I am not sure when I will be back but hopefully by the weekend I can be back to Penang. Now it seems that I travel about twice a month outstation mainly to KL. I guess I need to get used to this frequency of travelling at a short notice.

Furniture

I have worked in a furniture show house in Gurney Plaza before for a few months before working for my present company in my home office. My previous employers have a wide selection of furniture from Storage beds, Platform Bed to Leather Dining Chairs and even chaise lounge. I remember each morning I will help to clean the furniture with damp cloth before opening to the walk in customers. And since we were paid by commissions from the sales made, it was very competitive amongst the sales consultant to run after the customers for potential sales. Thank goodness I am out of it now and doing better working at home.

BikerPlanet.com

I used to date a lot when I was single and just broke up. It was like a marathon dating from the Social Development Unit (SDU) in Singapore. The reason was that I needed someone to share my HDB flat with as my unsupportive sister wanted to pull out her name and I was given 4 months to find a partner. Otherwise, I have to sell off the flat and rent outside again. It was a bit stressful to be given a date line to find a partner. But with a dating site like biker personals, you can easily find someone and date him or her out to find if he is the one for you. If you are lonely, single and looking for a partner, read biker dating today.

I am back from Kuala Lumpur

Yesterday, I came back last night at around 9:00pm. We set off from KL in the afternoon at about 4:00pm and stopped by in Sungai Buloh at Baskin Robbins for some ice-cream. I had a scoop of green tea and another scoop of pistachio ice-cream. They were delicious and spoon-licking good. We went to three different places in KL before coming back. It drizzled a little on the way back while I was driving from Tapah to Ipoh where we had out dinner in Kenny Rogers in Jaya Jusco.

GPS Insight

GPS Insight is a hardware and web software-based vehicle tracking product which is the technical leader in the GPS tracking field. They have the only hardware which is trivial to install (plugs directly into the vehicles diagnostics port). Also, they have same-day-shipping and they are the only product which gets direct engine diagnostics (fault codes, speed, fuel consumption, odometer readings, idle time, etc.). Their product gives 2 minute updates with VERY high end map options and customizations. GP Insight only costs $1.50-2 per day per vehicle, and the benefits include no more labor paid when people aren't really working, fuel savings, routing efficiencies, etc.

Their target customers are service and trucking companies, e.g. HVAC, roofing, plumbing, construction, sales forces, delivery vehicles, long haul trucking, etc. GPS Insight provides intuitive and powerful reports and graphs with features like Speeding, Engine Diagnostic Fault codes/alerts, Begin/End of day report (compare to payroll), Off-Hours Reports/Alerts, Landmark Reports (by landmark or by vehicle), Detailed and Summary activity reports, Miles Per Gallon / Fuel Consumption report Stop reports with configurable idle stop times, Idle time report using engine diagnostic data, Service log with scheduled service alerts, Accurate odometer, speed, diagnostic fault codes, emissions, compliance, and fuel usage/MPG from the engine's computer. It also comes with scheduled email reports/graphs, and automated alerts.



Other features include Real time map updates and 2 minute vehicle locations to help your dispatchers know exactly which vehicles are close to new orders - no more calling your drivers or relying on them to provide their location and trip status.
There is also 90 days of history, allowing you to go back and ensure that you have unquestionable proof of service when billing or service questions arise. Others include reports to identify reckless and wasteful speeding with 100% accurate speed readings from the engine's computer. There are also automated alerts identify you to engine light status and exact diagnostic fault codes, along with scheduled service reminders and a service log and emissions report will identify vehicles which require service before they go for testing, and help to keep your fleet running clean. A 24x7 roadside assistance and theft recovery center is included too.

Further information about their product, it is available at http://www.gpsinsight.com, support, and blog. The site is comprehensive with many features provided for your GPS needs. Do check out the links today.

Blogspot's Upload Video Button

Blogger has just added a new feature on the dashboard. We can now upload videos to our blogs the same way we upload pictures. We no longer need to embed the codes from YouTube. Though I have not tried this yet, I think it is a nifty feature to use. Maybe one of these days, I might just upload my own videos of a stage performance taken in China that comes with the delicious Mongolian food buffet. Blogger only allows video uploads of not more than 100mb each time. Most formats are accepted. Have fun with your videos.