UPDATES Part III

UPDATES on ecotrail 4.0, STA Grads pix, etc... (see 2 posts below)

12thJuly -> Another kart session ... it rained early morning. Track was kinda dry except for some parts of the track ... (Zee, Iqbal and Ravi). Eventful day ....
Major accident ... fortunately the kamikaze driver wasn't hurt badly ... ego bruised mebbi. BASKET!!!! Never thought somebody can 'fly' off track at Kartworld but this bugger really did the 'impossible'! He skidded after the chains came off, hit the slight slope around the 3rd bend and flew into the bushes, karts overturned and landed on his head. Luckily his neck wasn't hurt or he could have gone kaput! If that happened, we would have commemorate that bend and name it 'IQBAL Memorial Death Corner' but since he's still alive and kicking ... we'll just call it 'IQBAL Corner' .... geezzzzz .... !!! Lucky my kart did not suffer major damages ....

AND .... Daniyal equalled and constantly doing sub 32secs ... BUT .. .BUT .. Aqilah nearly equalled my time!!!! 27.81 secs .... I was so overjoyed .... Somebody was there and he was so impressed that he was willing to sponsor Aqilah with a new kart and train her for races!!! Wow ... I'm so proud of her ... :) (though I was saddled with few hundred $$$ setback for some repair works). NOT really hoping for that to materialize but to know that she, my 12 yr old girl is nearly as fast as her father (yes, I'm quite slow .... because of my weight ... heheheeee), only after less than 10 track sessions .... speechless .... I juz want her to enjoy karting ... its all up to her if she wants to go further. I just want her to gain self confidence and be more self motivated. :)

18th July - Sepang track session and C&C track day -> looking forward to it!!! Pictures and details to follow soon ....

UPDATES Part II

9th May -> Sepang Day/Night Training Session .... AWESOMEEEEEEE!!! I lurrvrvvvv my track car!

5th June -> BOYS night out Part I before flying off to PErth the next day - Dinner with Iqbal, Zee, Nabil and Radzi .... at East Coast.

6th June - 14th June -> Went to Perth with family ... they lurrrrved it .... hhmmmmmm .... (more pix on facebook acct.)

25th June -> Karting session with Zee, Matt and Ravi at Kartworld, Jurong - exhaust burn marks ... swollen ribcage .... but super awesooommeeeeeeee! http://picasaweb.google.com/matt.x1r/GoKartSession?feat=email

Went for dinner with the GUYS ... Iqbal, Zee & Ravi ... BOYS night out Part II.

4th July -> Another kart session coz someone is hooked blazing down the tracks in the race kart .... excellent weather. (Zee, Ravi and kids)
It was more than a month since my kids karted ... The last time they karted, Aqilah was doing sub 31secs best and Daniyal was ard sub 33secs.

I was pleasantly surprise when Daniyal shaved off another sec from his best to do sub 32secs and Aqilah .... sub 29secs!!!!!!!!!! in fact ... it was 28.15secs! Well done my girl!!! She's looking very comfortable with the kart though it was old and badly tuned (dad's pocket not deep enuff). Minus my weight (more than double of hers) and the unsuitable driving position, I can only manage 27.65secs best.

UPDATES .....

Feb 17th - March 1st -> Ecotrail 4.0 .... (Check out more pictures at Facebook account under Hanafi ... Sandra ... Hadi ...)

March -> Ecotrail 3.0/4.0 Chalet at Changi
(Check out pictures at Facebook account under Hanafi)
April -> Dila's B'day Chalet
(Check out pictures at Facebook account under Dila)
April -> Bunker 4 Gathering at Pasir Ris Bungalow
(Check out pictures at Facebook account under Sheila ... Faridah ... errr)

April -> STA Graduation Ceremony (check out pictures from Facebook account)

April ... Start of Semester 1 ... again ...

Last day of Semester 2008/09

23rd January 2009 .... last day of school for the graduating 3rd year students. Nothing much happened .... except those who remembered, appreciated and extended an invitation for 'cikgu' to join the 'murid-murid' for the last official flying session at our usual haunt.

Alfi, Din and Syafiq .... great to see all of you again doing something that bind us together at the first place ... thru AIG (Aeromodeling IG). I wish all of you the best in your future undertakings and may we 'fly faster jet planes' again in future!!! :)

Dila, Arifah and Naq ... we'll catch up again some other time.

Flying with da boys .... !!!

Ecotrail 4.0 Ubin Training

Pulau Ubin SL trainig for Ecotrail 4.0 Team ... 29th - 30th Dec 2008.

Ecotrail 4.0 (Chiangrai, Thailand) Team Leaders

STA Graduates in Ecotrail 4.0 Team

Trekking ....

Ecotrail 4.0 Team to Chiangrai, Thailand .... tentatively 16th Feb - 1st March.

Karting ... finally!!!

After few agonising months, I finally got the 2 karts to run well ... problem was we were running the karts too SLOW!!! It burnt 8 of my expensive spark plugs!!! I guessed we were cruising down memory lanes while karting .... not suitable for 125cc Rotax Max engine race karts! It's supposed to be revved up till its 11k-12k rpm ceiling. Anyway, we did some 'illegal' karting sessions round the open field opposite the Christ Church Secondary School. Thanks to Zee, Iqbal, Radzi and Nabil for being ever so enthusiastic. :)

Soon after, we found better places to kart ... we did rounds at Tuas and Jurong track. I even bought a storage container to house the karts there but unfortunately the Tuas track is closed for karting at the moment due to some 'political' crisis. Karts stayed idle for now ... Thinking of transferring the karts to Jurong while waiting for the Tuas track to get the approval and the Arena Country Club track to be ready by April (hopefully).

Got myself another kart ... but this time a 270cc, 9HP 4-stroke engine adult size fun kart for my kids. Modified to fit the pedal extensions for Daniyal to drive it. He's so puny-looking when he's driving it coz he's supposed to drive a baby/cadet kart instead of adult size kart.. Its too huge for Daniyal but surprisingly he adapted very well! His best time around the Jurong track was merely 2-3 secs behind his sister!!!! AND sister is just 3-4 secs behind the father!!!

Some of the visitors at Jurong track were quite amazed by their ability! Being just the 2nd session on the track and driving the kart, their abilities were quite commendable. Once Aqilah is good enough, I guessed she'll be 'promoted' to drive my race karts. But for now, both of them have to build up some arm and neck power coz karting and the track itself is very demanding ... It was so challenging that I was literally thrown about in the seat just after few laps ... Well maybe I have to be whipped back into shape if I were to seriously pick up this sport. I was invited by a few individuals to race around Asia but I guess its $$$ concern ... and also time .... Its time consuming and not cheap ....

Anyway, both sister and 'lil brother are enjoying every moment of karting ... They can't wait for the weekends where they can kart nearly the whole day. There was once where they karted from 11am till 4+pm ... minus some intervals due to passing rain. They really enjoyed it so much that I have a hard time to get them to stop. Fortunately it rained very heavily ... no choice ... have to pack up. Hope to bring them for karting session every week ... kinda a reward for them for studying the whole week. Well I won't be pushing them to join official races unless they really want to ... For now ... its just karting for fun .... ;)

Two karts but no time to burn rubber ...

This is by far the most stressful period since I joined RP ... Being the module chair (crafting module, problems and test questions) is no mean feat ... in addition to the 2 classes that I have to handle a week. AND that is on top of being appointed the in charge for EndLab (3D Scanners and milling machines). AND thats not all! Just arrowed to do some collaboration with external production house for some TV programme for Suria or Kids Central ... advisor for Ecotrail 4.0 .... Studio IG involvement in some campus activities ... 12 PP students and 2 FYP teams and ........... just GREAT!!!! Can't wait for this semester to be over.

Anyway, bought the used racing karts before my LA trip ... thinking that I'll have time to enjoy it with my kids/family ... but ... hhhmmmm ... not in the near future I guess ... This is so distressing ... :(

SIGGRAPH 2008: Los Angeles, California ... 9th - 17th Sep 2008

Just one week after touching down from Perth, I was on flight again but this time to the other end of the world attending conferences and exhibition in Los Angeles Convention Centre for SIGGRAPH 2008: EVOLVE. More than 17 hours flight is really no joke. I wonder how people can withstand nearly 24hours flight. Torturous! Oh yeah ... my flight to LA (transit in Hong Kong) was delayed for more than 3 blardy hours coz the plane was not in flying condition ... long wait but I guess safety comes first ... Watt De Hal!!!

Los Angeles Airport, LAX .... quite busy ... and not as organised as Changi ....
Stayed for 2 nights in Kawada Hotel, Downtown LA... Around half and hour walk to the Convention Centre. My fault coz I did not book the nearby hotel earlier. Made the reservations last minute ... And I have to find another lodging for the rest of the trip ... all the way to Redondo Beach ... AND that is nearly 2 hours journey to the Convention Centre by public transport!!! I have to take the train and a 'feeder' bus to commute between these two locations. It was quite intriguing though ... the houses, apartments, crowds, buildings, spaces, shops, roads, terrains, etc ...The only evidence that I was there ..... The temperature was nice ... Sunny but with cool tinge in the air.The junction in front of the entrance. View from the LA Convention Centre.The bus stop at Redondo Beach. One time, I had to wait for an hour for the bus to take me to the nearest train station!!! But that's not the bus of course ... i dunno wat it was oso.
The view at Redondo Beach ..... Mostly family picnics ... Very relaxing ... excellent ... Down there ... most of the foodstuffs or tidbits are FULL size ... and way cheaper than S'pore ... The wallet is a form of comparison how huge it is. The Tortilla chips just costed me US$1.99 and the Ruffles was less than US$3. Oh yesss .... thats my diet there!!! Can't find much for me to 'safely' eat .....

WALL-E!!!! Disney/Pixar's booth ...

They had a full size F1 replica car similar to the Singtel F1 simulator but without the motion. I was asked if I'm interested to try ... Am' I interested???? Are you kidding!!!! Came all the way from S'pore and miss this chance??? Of course I said yesss .... The fastest driver will get some kind of cash voucher at the end of the exhibition. Each participant was only given 2 laps - 1 lap for practice and the flying lap.

And yours truly ... ehheeemmm ... tracked the fastest time with more than 13 secs lead for the day .... but I didn't check with them if my timing was the fastest throughout though ....
This computer rendering of Lamborghini was AWESOME!!!! Super detailed ... in REAL TIME!!!! Wowwwwwaaawweeeewwwaaaahhhhhhh!!!! Just imagine the future of PC driving simulators to be of this quality ... I was blown away ... fuyoooo!!!! Power beb!!!

Cute beetle buggy. My son really gonna love this!!!!

This was the nearest shopping centre I could find near the beach ... Have to take the bus which go all the way to the train station (ard 30mins-45mins route) and back to the beach (another 20mins) when actually if the bus just gonna go straight to the shopping mall would take 15minutes. :)

Anyway ... went round ... dunno what to buy ... In the end, just buy the 2 cinnamon buns to last for breakfast, lunch and dinner ...
Elevated rain station ... Redondo Beach stop ...
Road level train station ... PICO station ... stops around 5 minutes walk to the LA Convention Centre. No proper barriers .... so watch left and right before you cross the train rail tracks.
View from inside the convention centre. Quite huge ... I came across more African Americans and Hispanics more than the whites in this part of LA. It wasn't as enjoying as my Perth trip ... was all alone ... no vehicle to travel around (unlike Perth, get to rent a car) ... missed my family. AND yessss ... i did not visit the 'HOLLYWOOD' side of LA .... Disneyland ... Beverly Hills, Sunset Blvd .... doesn't interest me anyway ....

SECRET MISSION: DOWN UNDER 19th - 31st July 2008

Mission accomplished .... report due soon. Nice place ... pace of life ... people ... kart tracks ... racing track ... beaches ... car shops ... Carousel Shopping Centre ... very very cold weather, at times below 10 degrees celcius. Freezing .... more text coming as soon as I can get my module/problems crafting out of the way! That will definitely be after my SIGGRAPH 2008 Los Angeles, California trip ....

REPORT ....

Well ... just to quell rumours ... I was there to visit my friend, attend some personal matters and went on a MISSION!

Soooooo many cars for sale along the roads. Spoilt for choice! Just imagine ... 1997 Toyota Supra 3.0L Twin turbo for less than AU$20K!!! Crazyyyyyyyy ... droool .....

Rockingham beach ... or was it Kwinana Beach .... nice ... quiet beach. There is a Masjid managed by a Singaporean imam nearby. Did our Asar, Maghrib and Isya' there. The Imam invited us to their humble house within the Masjid's compound. They even served us with food! I was so touched by their hospitality ...
Oh yeah .... the mission meant nothing if a Supra is not involved!!! Found a couple of them .... niceeeeeee!!!!

We (Anuar and myself) stayed at Anis's rented house. About AU$360/week. Great vicinity! Less than 5 minutes walk to the Greyhound Race Course ... where they race ... not cars ... greyhounds!!! Dogs!!! I guess its their fav past time .... Its also near Carousel Shopping Centre ... super huge ... got lost a couple of times inside.

MANDURAH .... Sentosa Cove is nothing compared to this! Each house has their own boat ... luxury yatch .... If i'm not mistaken each house costs at least AU$2M .... OOOooooooooo ...
Barbagallo Raceway ... where they race V8 supercars like Holdens and Fords ... missed the event though .... :(
Crazy enuff to do karting at Wanneroo Kart Circuit in the cold weather .... My palms were frozen at the end of the session ... The track was quick challenging and slippery .... Excellent!!! But I prefer the track at Cockburn Kart Circuit. More challenging ... a downhill cockscrew turn at the end of a long straight. Ribs breaking!!!! I suffered ribs ache after every session .... too old for this i guess ....
Yeah ... Wanneroo Track Circuit. If only Singapore has a few track circuits like this or Cockburn's. Kart Haven!!!
Old driver in action ..... Yeah eat my dust!!!!

Rainbows .... easily spotted after the rain there .... As far as the eye can see ... In Singapore??? Fat chance ... 1oom view oso got blocked by high rise building .... cheyyyy .... Sianzzz!
The coastlines are beautiful .... dunno what to say ... how to describe ... ocean view ... no land in sight .... just water ... strong waves .... No wonder they do lotsa surfing here.

We travelled more than 300km to the Northern Perth to experience the 'desert'. They call it The Pinnacles. Actually doesn't really look like desert larrr .... just small sand dune area with limestone rocks protruding almost anywhre .... Interesting though ...
On the way to Pinnacles .... Vast land .... I've never experienced such a view that I stopped the car and just absorb the atmosphere. Just imagine flying the Microlight around these areas .... speechless ... total speechless.

Houses along the Cottesloe Beach .... very scenic drive .... People strolling ... jogging ... cycling ... no pressure ... no crowd ... just enjoying the things they do .... awesome!!!

Oh yesss .... they also have the flying field ... i mean really specially dedicated RC flying field! Not like Singapore where we are playing cat and mouse game with the police each time we go for flying session. Bestest!!!

Next stop ... Los Angeles for SIGGRAPH 2008 Convention and Exhibition.