Today we decided to cook some crabs. We went all the way to Tesco 1U to find crabs but there were only 3 live ones left. So a change of plan. We decided to buy the pre-roasted chicken instead. While walking towards the chickens, we noticed that they had lamb on sale. The marinated lamb shoulders were going for RM1.40 per pack (refer picture below)! It was going to expire tomorrow but there's no reason to let good food go to waste. And since it was pre marinated, it'll make our lives easier. So we grabbed four, and some fries and some mixed vegetables and headed home.

RM1.40 per pack lamb shoulders. Pre marinated again.

Reason to celebrate: spotless living room floor.

Mixed vegetables in our new steamer. We're finding more ways of using this steamer. Pro chef Mark suggested making paos.

Shoestring fries. I hate crinkle cut ones.

Iced lemon tea by Mark.

Lamb sizzling on the pan.

Almost ready. Waiting for the last batch of fries.

Lamb shoulder on a budget. You get more fries than eating out.

And some lettuce to cancel out the guilt of downing so much meat and fat.

The lamb shoulder, being pre marinated, had most of its sauce burned in the pan and the pan had to be scrapped countless times. A better way next time would be to grill it, but not having an oven is problematic. Lettuce are steamed and chilled to retain its crunchiness. Salad dressing optional. Photos taken using an iPhone.

Mark the pro chef decided to do something special today with the 1.2kg fish that he caught. Instead of frying it like all the other fishes previously, we went out to buy some steaming equipment to steam it. Steaming it will retain the soft texture of the meat and it's also way healthier without all the oil.

Defatting the fish. Clumps of fat floating on the blood red water in the basin.

Because the fish was too big, it had to be cut in half and steamed separately. Fish seasoned with garlic, ginger, lemongrass, lime, lemon and red onion.

Red chill added for decorative purposes because I don't think I tasted it when eating the fish.

Steaming takes about 30 minutes.

Finished product.

The fish was so huge that even without other dishes the 4 of us couldn't finish eating it.

Photos taken and uploaded to Flickr using my iPhone. My camera is on a therapeutic vacation to Kuching because of some dust on the lens. Hopefully it can be fixed below the cost of a new camera.

Back to studying, exam tomorrow.

These are some pictures of instruments that you can find in a plane's cockpit. I copied these pictures from our course notes so they were not taken by me. Most of these photos were taken in the instrument workshop, where instruments go for repairs and testings. Brief explanations are provided under each picture.

This is a turn and slip indicator. It contains a rate gyro which senses the rate of turn of the plane.

Front of the turn and slip indicator. The white ball in the inclinometer indicates if the plane is slipping or skidding during a turn.

Pressure transmitter using synchros. The capsules detect the input pressure and that pressure is transmitted into linear movement by the capsules. The linear movement is converted into rotary motion by linkages and fed to a synchro transmitter which transmits the pressure information to the indicators in the cockpit. It's a form of remote indication.

This is a standby horizon. By looking at this, pilots can tell the attitude (roll and pitch) that the plane is in without looking out of the window. Useful for flying at night. The striped poles are the glide slope and localizer indicators. When coming in for a landing, if both the indicators are centered, that means that the plane is on the correct pitch and position to come in for a landing.

Artificial horizon on a test bench.

Artificial horizon on another test bench.

Parts of an artificial horizon after disassembly.

A modern glass cockpit artificial horizon (blue and brown). This unit also displays other information such as plane altitude, speed, rate of climb, localizers, glide slopes. With everything on one display, the pilot don't need to look around at different gauges.

CDU during testing, showing a test pattern.

A remote indicating hydraulic quantity indicator.

Flap position indicators. This is to indicate if both the right and left wing flaps are moving uniformly. The indicator on the picture is showing a large difference in flap angles. If this ever happens on a flight (flaps asymmetry), the flaps would stop moving. Only alternate flaps will be available then.

Engine temperature is very vital. An engine can be destroyed if the EGT (exhaust gas temperature) exceeds a certain limit. EGT indicators for each engine is available in the cockpit and pilots must monitor the temperature during starting to prevent it from exceeding the limits.

This is a clock from a Boeing 777-200.

Altitude indicator. The left knob is to set the reference barometric pressure. Can't remember what the right knob is for. The orange OFF flag shows that the altimeter is not working.

Another altimeter.

Front view of a disassembled altimeter. This is a direct reading type. Static pressure is connected straight to this device.

Rear of the disassembled altimeter. The capsules detect the changes in static pressure and moves the pointer.

Another view of the disassembled altimeter.

Not an instrument in the cockpit, but this is the cockpit voice recorder (if I'm not mistaken) of the plane. It's actually orange in color to make it easier to find.

Pneumatic duct pressure indicator. One needle indicates the pressure in the right duct, and the other indicates the pressure in the left duct.

Engine parameters indicators. This looks very cool when powered up. If I ever find a video of it, I will post it up.

Fuel quantity indicator. Shown powered on. This indicator detects the fuel quantity using capacitance.

Horizontal situation indicator (HSI). Shows the plane's heading and VOR information.

This is a speed indicator. It shows how fast the plane is flying. Orange flags show that the indicator is not working or not providing correct readings.

This shows the same speed indicator working properly.

I have a few more videos to post up on gyros and it will probably be on the next post.

This reminded me of the Nike soccer commercial, "The Mission".

Making of the world's roundest sphere.

From NewScientist: The mass of each sphere matches that of the Australian copy of the kilogram. The small-scale roughness of the balls varies by only 0.3 nanometres, and their curvature by 60 to 70 nanometres.

"If you were to blow up our spheres to the size of the Earth, you would see a small ripple in the smoothness of about 12 to 15 mm, and a variation of only 3 to 5 metres in the roundness," Leistner told New Scientist.

I've been away for a weekend BBQ at Inti College Nilai. My friends managed to get accommodation for all of us at Block A so we won't need to drive back in the middle of the night. Reminds me of the time when I was still in college. Pictures from the BBQ will need to wait for Irene to send to me.

Clean sheets and blanket.

Air-con not really needed at night though.

Yes, it was a very nice "camp".

Exams will be next Monday so this coming weekend will be packed with studying. Something interesting that I've been learning about: the Inertia Navigation System (INS).

An INS in an aircraft looks like this.

To put it simply, an INS tells you where you are on the Earth. You just need to give the INS the starting location during initialization and after that, no matter where you bring it, it will know where it is. INS is used in aircraft, ships, submarines, missiles, rockets, space shuttles. It senses where it is going by using gyros and accelerometers. It's a very clever piece to technology. And unlike other systems in the aircraft, it does not require any inputs from other sensors. It is a self-contained unit.

5x7 dot matrix display. This is one of 6 displays that I will be building.

I've decided to resume work on my dot-matrix display after leaving it lying around for months. This will probably turn into a clock soon. Or a real-time tzywen.com hit counter on my desk! But most probably a clock.

Note to self: When using a 16F88, remember to disable "low voltage programming" (LVP) if you want to use RB3 as an I/O pin and also set "/MCLR Input Enabled" to disabled to use /MCLR as an input pin.

Finally, after a few weeks of waiting, I've managed to proof that my iPhone charger concept works! Special thanks to Jia Ying who helped me buy components from Pudu. Here's how to build your own iPhone charger:

All you need are the 4 resistors stated above. I have modified some values of the resistors because of some miscalculation. Connect them as shown and provide the circuit with a regulated 5v supply. Get a female USB plug and connect it as shown to the circuit. Make sure the positive and negative terminals are connected correctly. The D+ and D- pins have low currents so connecting them wrongly may not blow up your iPhone.

Once you are done, triple-check your circuit. Use a voltmeter to make sure everything is correct. Then plug in your iPhone and you should be greeted with the charging chime, indicating that your iPhone is now charging properly.

Practical application: In-car iPhone charger.

A normal cheap car USB charger.

I have tons of USB car chargers lying around because it seems like every device that I buy comes with one free. These chargers are very simple in construction. They take in 12V and they output a regulated 5V to the USB ports. These cheap chargers will not work with the iPhone because the D+ and D- pins are not connected. I can remember at least one incident when I need to charge my iPhone but couldn't because I didn't have the proper car charger.

This charger is a bit special because it uses switching (pulse width modulation) to get 5V from 12V.

So with the circuit diagram above, I constructed the voltage divider circuit and put it into the charger. It's wrapped in tape to prevent it from shorting.

It works!

Now I can charge my iPhone when I'm traveling long distances.

Other practical applications: External battery.

Get a high capacity battery (8.4v @ 3000mah for example) and use a 7805 to regulate it to 5v. Then feed it to the circuit above and you'll be able to charge your iPhone when you're not in a car or near a wall socket. If you use 6 AA batteries (9v), you can charge your iPhone anyplace where you can find batteries. That's almost anywhere in the world! The days of running out of juice is over!

Disclaimer: I will not be responsible if you destroy you iPhone with the information posted here. I have tested the circuit and it works perfectly with my iPhone. If you plan to build this circuit, please triple-check everything before plugging your iPhone in. Happy charging!

Sometimes when their international link goes down, you're really left with a connection that brings you nowhere.

If the title doesn't send a shiver down your spine, you should watch the Matrix Trilogy again and maybe Virus, which is a very old movie about an outer space virus taking over an advanced research lab and building robots using other robots. The future belongs to the machines. It takes a human 9 months to reproduce one, or maybe two or three (in the case of twins and triplets). They didn't mention, but I think it will take the 3D printer less than 10 days to replicate itself. Once there are 2, they will be able to make another 2 simultaneously. And they will follow the pattern of cell replication until they take over the world.

The RepRap (Replicating Rapid-prototyper) printer and its "child".

Maybe that's a little far-fetched. Machines need to be self-aware first before they will replicate themselves and plot against the humans. So far the best AI I've seen is probably a chess playing computer. We've still got a long way to go.

Now the interesting thing about RepRap is that it's open source. That means anyone can own it for free. If I have a RepRap, I can print you one RepRap for free! The goal of the project is to "build more and better RepRaps."

However, RepRap can only make up to 60% of its parts only. The other 40% like motors, electronic circuits and steel tubings need to be sourced from elsewhere. And human interaction is needed to put the parts together to make a new RepRap. So in a way, it cannot self-replicate and over-run the human population yet. But with the help of robotic arms and printers capable of printing electronic circuits, it just might happen. Currently there are 7 known RepRaps around the world.

Some parts to build a new RepRap.

So what does all this means for us? RepRap, being an open source 3D printer, is very cheap to manufacture. Everyone can now own a 3D printer if they want. But why would you want a 3D printer? Easy, so you can build more 3D printers. With more 3D printers, you'll be able to make things faster. And the great thing about it is that it doesn't cost a lot to "replicate" another one.

The completed RepRap.

For more practical applications, take a look at the examples below:

A pair of shoes made by RepRap. It took 1 day to make.

Custom made iPod holder to fit your car.

Make extra shot glasses if you have extra guests coming.

Make spare parts for your other devices when they break down.

The applications are limitless. I can an object on my computer and if you like it, you can instantly print it out using your 3D printer, even if you're halfway around the world! Now how cool is that.

Since I live near the airport, I suspect that planes will fly obscenely near my area when coming in for a landing. I got this shot when I was cycling out looking for the perfect sunset.

It was very close. I can hear the 4 turboprops clearly, chopping through the still evening air. Man, I wish I had a Nikon D40 with a 55-200mm lens then.

High-tech bait for fishing. I've even seen some bait with those "glow sticks" to attract fishes at night.

With the earth warming up rapidly due to increased CO2 emissions, it will only be a matter of time before our earth succumb to global warming. Polar ice caps will melt and low lying areas will be flooded. Plant and animal species will go extinct, unable to cope with the changes to the environment. We're facing a very grave situation here.

Global warming is caused by CO2 emissions.

There are of course many ways to deal with global warming. The reduction of CO2 output will help to stabilize the CO2 content in the atmosphere. Plants will be able to convert the excess CO2 back into oxygen through photosynthesis. Without the excessive CO2 in the atmosphere the earth's temperature will slowly return to normal.

But if the amount of CO2 released to the atmosphere cannot be controlled then we need to find a way to take away the CO2 faster than we can produce them. This can be done by planting more trees or creating a device that can extract and store the CO2 elsewhere (e.g. Underground). Inventing a device to store CO2 might not be such a great idea because a machine of such scale will probably require massive amounts of energy to operate. With current technology, such energy is only available through the burning of fossil fuels. That means more CO2 will be released and a waste of energy that can be used for other processes.

What we need is something that will take away CO2 without consuming large amounts of energy. Something that doesn't require lots of raw material to construct. Something that is self-sustaining and require little maintenance. Something that will not harm the environment.

The answer is pretty obvious. Nature had one of the most efficient air purifiers in the world. Trees. Perfected through million of years of evolution, with the help of sunlight trees will convert CO2 and water into oxygen and food. Not a lot of money is needed to plant trees. After planting, maintenance is minimal. Large trees will last over a century. They don't pollute, they don't destroy the environment and when they die, they are 100% recyclable.

Trees blanket the mountains of Langkawi.

So it seems very obvious, no? Our Kedah Menteri Besar Azizan Abdul Razak is doing just the exact opposite. He's proposing to cut down 1 million trees at the Ulu Muda forest reserve area to increase the government's coffers to fund development projects. Let me ask you something Menteri Besar. What's the use of development if people are going to suffer in the future when the environment is destroyed.

If he had said this during 1908, I would have brushed it aside. It's now freaking 2008! Which century is he living in? Everyone's planting trees now and addressing environmental issues. Global warming is serious. Didn't anyone tell him about it? Sure, he might not live long enough to feel the effects of global warming, but he should at least think of his children.

I don't even know how to explain this. You're supposed to be preserving the trees.

Development should compliment the environment, not destroy it. It didn't come as a surprise when local environmental groups and NGOs voiced out against the proposal. The felling of the trees will earn the government RM100 million. In the process, the government has to spend money on felling the trees. Helicopters will be used to lift the trees out after they have been cut to reduce the damage to surrounding areas. I'd like to imagine the cost of lifting 1 million trees using helicopters. And not to mention the 400KM road that has to be constructed to transport the logs out. If the logging activity doesn't destroy the environment, the building of that road will.

For our sake, I hope this proposal doesn't go through.