Miss Daisy is Back!!!

Today, Miss Daisy was discharged from the workshop after having some surgery done to her front left fender region. This all started 2 and 1/2 weeks ago on 18 Dec when I got her into an accident with a lorry. It was pure carelessness on my part and I should have really been a bit more careful.

The damage was more serious than it should have been, considering the circumstances of the accident. I can only put it down to pure unluckiness that produced the severity of body damage. After an eternity of quotations from various workshops, negotiations and other administrative hold-ups, work finally started a week ago and completed today.

It was a trying time initially, getting to work and around without Miss Daisy. However, looking back at the past 2 weeks, life did slow down a little. I was more careful not to create too tight a schedule for myself so as to allow time for travelling. I resorted more to the old, reliable form of transportation by walking. It created a certain breathing space in an otherwise packed and crazy schedule in my life.

It was a with some trepidation that I went to collect her today. I was worried about the workmanship, the paintwork etc... however, after giving her a lookover, she looks none the worse.

So today is a good day.... if you see her back on the road, give a HONK!

Song of Kilimanjaro

Kilimanjaro Song

Found this Kilimanjaro song. One that the porters sing to the group on the way down the mountain.

It is so cheerful and a wonderful conclusion to a great climb.

Kilimanjaro. Highest point on the continent of Africa. 5895m.

Quink

Welcome to our latest addition to our family, Quink. Ironically named after the famous Parker range of fountain pen coloured inks. He is our third and latest member of the Schnauzer brood. Fran and I must be Schnauzer crazy. We would not have gotten any other breed of dog.

Some facts first... he is 8 weeks old, Miniature Schnauzer and beautifully white. Picked him up from the pet shop at Bukit Panjang Plaza on 4 Nov 06. His birthday being listed as 21 August 06.

He is a definitely a contrast to the colour of our other dogs. Shy initially, over the past 2 days, he has shed all inhibitions and has been running around the whole place, biting any soft toy he can find and nipping at Nelle and Socks whenever he can. He is a curious little puppy but has shown signs of being an intelligent little fellow.

Introducing our new pet, Quink!

Four Star Kayaking ****

I have officially signed up for the 4 star kayaking award course to be conducted in Jan 07. This will be held in Ramunia, Johor during the monsoon season. This 4 star award is the standard adopted by the Singapore Canoe Federation and is based largely on the British Canoe Union (BCU) standards.

Having come a long way through the various kayaking awards, the 4 star is divided into two categories, sea and river. This course covers the sea and open water component, where advanced skills are taught to the paddler to evaluate and tackle more difficult sea conditions. This is a precious opportunity to be exposed to difficult waves and seas, This will definitely stand me in good stead as I continue to acquire and refine skills that will enable me to go further and safer.

Look at the course syllabus under the following link:
SCF 4-Star Award Syllabus



Just as an end to this entry, I share with you all the picture shown above of incredible wave conditions. If this is what the skills can enable me to do... awesome!

Back from Trail Bashing

We have just reached home after a four day three night expedition into the Malaysian rainforest. I am pleased to announce that driver, Fran and miss daisy are alright. Although a little dirtier than expected. It has been a long drive home, having left Kuala Tahan just before noon.

It was fun to see the stares from passing vehicles as our mud-caked vehicle passed them on the road home from the Second Link. Being so tired, only the essentials were brought up from Miss Daisy. Unloading and cleaning her will have to be left to tomorrow.

Over the next few posts, details of the trip will be shared and pictures from the trip will come online too. Come back for more exciting details from the Mat Daling trail.


6 Nov 2006
I have just uploaded the photos from the trip. Please follow the link below for a photolog of the journey.

Mat Daling Photography

Yokohama Geolanders MTs

Today is the day I got MTs onto Miss Daisy!

The impetus being the upcoming expedition on the Mat Daling trail. I have been researching on the available options and it is difficult getting MTs in Singapore. At least it's difficult getting the MTs of the right specifications.

I have been advised to get them from across the Causeway. I just have a few problems about driving around in JB, ensuring that the shop there does not botch up the tyre change and fleece me in the process. I also have the small problem of lugging back 5 ATs in the back of my truck. So, the next bet option is just to get them from here.

As luck would have it, the company had in stock 5 Yokohama Geolander MTs, with the same specs as the Grabbers that are on Miss Daisy. I have given much thought about whether to upsize my tyres but I at the end of the day, practicality and common sense overruled the other options and I had to admit that staying the same size would be best. As it is, I already have trouble getting into most carparks, any increase in height will effectively exclude me from ALL indoor carparks.

The Geolanders do not look as fierce as I thought most MTs would. But its look grows on you. I opted for plain black lettering as opposed to the raised white lettering on the sidewalls. I think it was a conservative decision. I negotiated a deal to store the ATs over at the dealer's place and to be able to run back there to swop to ATs when necessary.

Road handling was decent. It was not as loud as I imagined MTs to be. It has a pleasant purr on tarmac with a mild vibration at lower speeds during both acceleration and deceleration. This goes away once we pick up a certain speed. Off road, traction was discernibly better than with the ATs. Maybe it is all in my mind. I will have to confirm its effectiveness but for $250 a piece, it had better work better than the ATs.

The tyres were not cheap but probably a worthwhile investment for this offroading lifestyle. It may not be the best in its class for extreme type terrain but it will probably do for my expected level of offroading. I have included below, a picture of the tyre and the specifications.

Alegria

Why am I blogging about music today...I don't know. I was just listening so some of these old Cirque du Soleil tracks when it stuck me that I really liked a few of the songs found in their shows. 2 in particular will I remember. The first is from the show Alegria, entitled Alegria.

This five minute and forty-three second masterpiece is from the show, Alegria, meaning in Spanish, "Jubilation". The song itself has three parts, beginning in Italian,interludingg in English and concluding in Spanish. The song begins with light almost bell sounding percussions and by the time the chorus kicks in explodes in any orgy of splendor and strings the likes of which Vivaldi could only dream of.

The singer's voice can only be described as enchanting. It is powerful and clear with a raspy sore-throat like quality to it which makes it sound raw and real. Francesca Gagnon is the singer's name.

Try it and see....

Three Years

In a blink of an eye, Fran and I have been married for 3 years.

4 and 5 Oct 2003. 4 Oct was the wedding ceremony and the 5th being the dinner. It just seems like yesterday that it all happened.

Yesterday we went celebrating with a dinner at a quaint little japanese place called Sushi Kikuzawa. A small hole in the wall type of shop with a counter for about 10-12. Some have described it as a close resemblance to a small sushi bar you will find in Japan. For a flat fee, the chef (a real japanese) will prepare the sushi for you. Of course you can either order food that you actually like, but that would not be fun now would it; or you can leave it to the chef to prepare what he likes.

After some initial hesitation, we decided to go for the latter option, trusting that the good chef will prepare the freshest catch of the day. Boy were we surprised with some pretty good stuff. We had a range of nigiri sushi that we would normally not try. The unagi was particularly well done with a few bursts of fire from a blow torch. Wow!

We even had a taste of the fugu. This is the famed puffer fish. The flesh is edible but the innards are poisonous. The taste was rather bland but I think the thrill comes from knowing its potential for harm

All in all, we had a very good experience. It will be a tough decision to go back to the usual sushi joints with the conveyor belts. For you foodies out there, the address of the place is:

Sushi Kikuzawa
360, Orchard Road
International building
#02-13

Running the Singapore Marathon 2006

The time has come to train for the Marathon again. Having taken part in my first marathon last year, I never thought the day would come when I would sign up once again for such an inhuman race. However, I have parted with 30+ bucks to torture myself again and so it is high time I start training to minimise the pain during the race.

But seriously, the desire or need to complete this gruelling race in a shorter time compared to last year is the main motivation for doing it again. I completed it last year in a time of 5 and a half hours. Quite an achievement and unexpected for my state of fitness and preparation last year.



This year I have decided to follow a training guide posted on the internet. It is designed to allow one to complete it below 5 hours. Although it is a 21 week program, I am starting at the 8 week mark. It will be tough but I think it can be done.

So officially, I have started my marathon training. 3 Dec, here I come!

The Greatest 4x4 in the world...the Defender

Land Rover Defender Video


This is a fantastic video done by the BBC programme TopGear.

It gives a succint yet inspiring background to the Land Rover Defender. This has to be the greatest 4x4 vehicle on this earth.

And I own one.... Enjoy the ride!

The Khatsalano

I received local information about the kayak today. I have been eyeing this craft for quite some time now.

How did I come to this decision on what kayak I would like to have? For a start, I had to decide if I could live with renting kayaks from the sea sports clubs for the rest of my life. My conclusion is I can't, for the simple reason that the rental rules are too restrictive. No overnight rentals for the PA sea sports clubs and with the other commercial entities, cost becomes a real issue for a prolonged or overnight rentals.

So then I had to decide if I wanted a hard shell or a foldable. Let's not even go into the differences in quality of the different materials of the hard shell kayaks. Storage for one would be a problem with the fibre glass kayaks and I suppose where I stay, storing it in my flat will pose certain challenges. That will also mean that storage of the kayak at a certain locality will predispose her owner to launch off on trips from the same site. What a boring scenario. Might as well rent a kayak then yes?

The ability and freedom to bring the kayak to paddle and launch from anywhere then becomes an important factor. Yes, in the spirit of adventure and exploration, I want to explore the waterways around the island and be able to paddle anywhere I want around the region. And I want to do it having confidence in my own gear rather than having to rent sub-standard crappy gear elsewhere.

So as of now, I have homed in on a foldable. A Feathercraft. The Khatsalano.

This picture is from the feathercraft website. I place it here because the photo exemplifies the dreams of every sea kayaker. To stand at the shore and look out to the waters before setting off on an expedition of a lifetime.


This greenland style kayak stays true to its roots to provide an 'on the edge' experience while paddling. Sleek, fast and edgy. I am excited that this very type of craft was used for transport and work. The package comes with travel-style backpack, large bow and stern flotation bags, small diameter sponsons, adjustable padded seat, perimeter deck-lines and cross-deck rigging, adjustable neoprene spray skirt, sea sock, repair kit, assembly video. Quite a neat complete package.

Check out the craft at Feathercraft

The premium you pay for such a craft is daunting. It costs a princely $7500 for the khatsalano. Not a small sum of money but considering that a craft well taken care of is reported to be able to last 20-30 years. That is a depreciation of $250 a year over thirty years. One might argue that you will spend more than that sum a year on boat rentals alone.

What a temptation. I shall lay back on my bed and dream about faraway land that this boat can take me to....

Senja Doggy Resort

Today, we welcome the arrival of Sundae, my parent's pet papillon. Since they are traveling over the next few weeks, we have been entrusted with the task of caring for him in their absence.

It will be interesting to see how he interacts with Nelle and Socks. I think they will be good company for one another. Sigh, will have to deal with dog poo and pee around the house during this period of time. Maybe he can be house broken soon so that the havoc wreaked will be little.

D200 and other paraphenalia

I once mentioned to a friend that changes to my photographic equipment occurs in shifts, not drifts, The last 2 weeks saw one of these shifts.


30 July 06

I have been think about this for a long time. I have had my D70 for quite some time now. It has followed me to most of my overseas trips. I love the camera but felt the need to further upgrade my basic piece of equipment. The launch of the D200 earlier in the year bridged the final gap between the amateur digital SLRs and the pro range of digital SLRS produced by Nikon.

After much heartache and mental calculations, i decided to bite the bullet and take the final step in upgrading my camera body.
Even at the shop, I hesitated a couple of times during the decision making, almost turning back just before forking out the cash.
Final gear bought:

1. D200 body
2. MB-D200 Multi-Power Battery Pack



The battery pack is so cool. Makes the camera approximate the look of the professionals as well as adding a vertical grip to the camera. This allows you to take vertical shots without contorting your hands and face in the process.




6 August 06

This weekend was the 2nd step in the evolution process that commenced the previous week. A light weight quality tripod capable of enduring the rigours of my travels has always been on my wishlist. After much deliberation, again, I finally settled on the following

Tripod: Manfrotto 055MF4 ( with a magfibre construction and carbon centre post)
Ballhead: Kang Rinpoche Ballhead

All in all, it was an extremely satisfying fortnight having made the necessary improvements to further develop my interest in photography. Heavy on the pocket but in my opinion, worth every single cent.

Fish...

Why can’t fish shops in Singapore be more responsible? I just saw the most disturbing thing during lunch. A mother with her child and a stroller had obviously just paid a visit to a fish shop. Three plastic packets hung from the stroller, the kind that coffee shops use to contain your coffee. Each contained three fishes and a sprig of plant. The bags were not tied up nor was it pumped with air.

Most fish buyers are ignorant about the conditions required to successfully look after these delicate and beautiful animals. Most buys are fuelled by the whims and fancies of children who pester harried parents to buy them. Fish shops, on the other hand, should know better. They should take the opportunity to educate and advise the buyers on the intricacies needed to enjoy this new hobby.

The deplorable condition under which the fish were subjected to was heart breaking. The sprig of plant, serving as a small effort to beautify its surroundings, was distinctly out of place. In its small plastic world, the volume of water is small making it vulnerable to temperature fluctuations. There is probably little oxygen in the water. The frequent swinging must seem like an endless series of earthquakes to the little fish. The flurry of activity in the food court did nothing to make the situation any less chaotic.

It is no wonder that, on reaching home, those little buggers have little or no chance to survive. It is just not right to treat a living creature this way. I know fish are not as cute as dogs and other furry animals, but it is still a life!

I can only wish that local fish shops can slowly raise their standards and professionalism and provide the level of expertise needed for such a specialized hobby. As of now, the usual heartland fish shops have a long way to go.