Car Maintenance

Car just clocked 300,000 kilometers.

D-4D actually stands for Direct Injection 4 Cylinder Common Rail Diesel Engine. The Common rail is a computer controlled enjine that is able to inject a fine mist of diesel fuel into the piston shaft at very high pressure.

The result is the same power and refinement as a petrol engine, but with better fuel efficiency, lower emissions and increased torque.

One feature of the electronic controls associated with the common rail is that unlike old diesel engines, it requires constant electrical power to synchronize firring. Unlike old diesel engines, there’s no need to wait for glow plugs to warm up before starting the engine.

With the D-4D, it fires up without a need to wait or warm up.

Coffee, Durians & Uncle Leong vs Mini Lee

I like durians with coffee. Usually I have it at tea time in the field. That’s Sharpie. I’ve taking her out to experience the sights and sounds of the wider world along with training her to eat durians. Plantation dogs need to learn how to eat durians. That way when a durians fall, they will grab it and bring it to me.

On the subject Mini Lee suing Uncle Leong for a link that the latter posted in his blog without so much as a 5 cent comment. All I want to say is Mini Lee has lousy internet advisors.

As this latest move smacks of old school Singapore bullying and intimidation. It will not go down well with the millenials and the younger generation as most will see it as rightly heavy handed and it will likely end up being an epic own goal against the PAP hegemony…..maybe Mahathir is right…..could it be time for a change?

Coffee & Durians.

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‘Go and ask a person who knows how to maker fine calculations concerning warcraft. He will tell you this, there’s no way for Uncle Leong to lose. As even if he loses right down to his underwear and Pagoda t shirt, he would have won hands down! With Mini Lee, it is not so straight forward. Because even if he wins, he would have lost big time.

Besides it is very stupid these days to try to gag people. Najib & Co took that idea to a theoretical science and look where he and his motley crew ended up.

Besides from what I understand Uncle Leong is not the originator of this ‘libellious’ material. So why not go after the author? Besides when he was asked to pull it down by the organs of the state. He complied.

So to sue Uncle Leong is very very stupid. It is so stupid even all the pariah dogs two hundred miles radius are all howling now

‘SO STUPPPPPPPPID ALSO GOT AH!’

Because to sue Uncle Leong is akin to the classical dumbo case of the man who lost his keys in a park at night. But only confines his search for his lost keys to those areas that is lighted.’

Taking responsibility = Living a purpose driven life

When we choose not to be part of…..it simply means we are not willing to be responsible for its well being and outcome.

This is the reason why the philosophical question – what is the meaning of life? Can really only produce hubris.

The ONLY question is are you willing to take responsibility or find a hole to stick your miserable head in it…..if it is the first, then life will be meaningful. But if you’re into the running from responsibility business, then life will always be meaningless.

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‘I learnt to love from animals, not from anyone from my own species. Dont get me wrong. I am not saying my parents or any other dearly unfortunate who once came into my life didnt love me right. No! They probably did. Only I learnt about the subject of love from dogs.

Dogs dont live long. If you’re lucky, you might get eight or nine years. The first two. They’re just finding themselves. After that are the good years when they’re in their prime. Those are what I like to term the Hollywood years because that’s when man and dog bonds and they can do alot together. You get maybe four of those years and after that the dog will age and you will have to take care of him or her like someone really old.

Most people who dont really know about the Dao of keeping dogs, just know the Hollywood years. They dont ever want to know about the first two years of clearing slop or the last two years when the dog is half blind due to old age.

But for me I take the good and the not so good years, the blessing and the curse so the speak and that to me is a summary of what life is all about. Its not about cherry picking the parts that make you happy. I mean if you want that sort of plug and play experience maybe you should try internet shopping or online gambling. My point is we can never get to choose the good because the good, bad and ugly, they all make up the whole package and its arguable if you can gut out the bad and ugly. The end result may not even be such a good experience after all. Because when we can choose only the good or we are only interested in the parts that takes our fancy – that means deep down we want to play it safe. We want to hold some back and not run the risk of giving it all, that way if it turns sour, we dont ever crash and burn and feel bad.

But life is not like that – you cant bubble wrap yourself. The moment you say, ‘I love you.’ You’ve crossed that mythical line into the land of the unknown. You dont even know whether it will all end happily. All you really have is the moment. But that is life, its never about playing it safe where you say to yourself this is as far as I am prepared to go and no more. Because when you decide to love, its a commitment to responsibility.

I’ve had many magical and unforgettable moments with the many dogs that came and went in my life. I still dream of them from time to time and when the go on to the otherside I am always there, but I dont have any regrets to say that I would do it differently….you see, I learnt to love from animals.’

Discovering who you are really meant to be thru suffering

Suffering has become a very undesirable, loathsome and avoid at every opportunity and turn word….that is because modern man is addicted to the illusion of painless progress.

This is the reason why religious charlatans have been so successful in peddling their wares in Singapore because they are able to successfully sell the unassuming masses….there is no need to suffer. This is precisely also why pie in the sky diet programs that promise painless eat as much as you lose weight is so popular.

The modern human beings respond to suffering is to avoid and run from suffering. Ironically that is why so many continue to suffer unnecessarily.

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‘Look around. Do you notice the people who are least prepared to respond cooly and competently to the unexpected are usually those who don’t want to assume any responsibility. Since these people equate the whole idea of responsibility as having to carry a mill stone around their neck…they dont want it.

But think carefully of the man who picks up this heavy stone and walks right on. He’s got to be a whole lot smart about it. After all its a heavy stone. So he learns to shift his weight as he walks with this burden. Maybe he learns new things like how to tie his laces differently when he walks uphill or downhill. Or perhaps to accomodate this extra burden, he learns how to carry less of the stuff that he used to lug around. He learns to make do with less.

So this whole idea of seeing suffering as purgatory and as something that should be avoided is not true.

Life if you really must know is not nearly the case of only hearing the good news all the time only…no, life is actually fraught with danger, pain and uncertainty. That if you really must know is the nature of a real life. Not the bullshit cult church hear only the good gospel claptrap make belief life.

When we learn to be comfortable in uncomfortable situations…when we choose to go on when all others have thrown in the towel…when we say, we will win when all there is, is the a wall of nays….that is when we will find our true self.

Pain may well be avoidable, but suffering is definitely optional.’

Faulty backdoor latch fixed and failure analysis

The above is the faulty hinge before cleaning.

Faulty hinge after soaking in a solution of citric acid to remove rust, grease built up and dirt.

Failure Analysis – how did the component fail?

Originally, there are two identical assymmetrical hinges, L and R. When I remove the back plastic cover and metal cover tray. The L hinge had been disconnected from the pull level as the plastic guide had broken loose. Hence the backdoor was held close by only the R hinge.

I suspect the L hinge was deliberately rendered inactive by the last mechanic who opened up this section. Why was it not put back in the correct way is unknown. This panel was damaged due to a rear accident five years ago.

Hinge is constructed out of mild stamped steel without hardening heat treatment except the spring assembly.

Since only one hinge was holding up the back door all this while, it would be subjected to load stress since without the sister hinge working, this one working hinge would be a pivot point.

Failure is inevitable.

How did it fail?

The hinge mechanism is similar to trigger assembly on a standard firearm. A is the catch that when closed to a static U pin will in turn lock B thus preventing the rocker from moving.

The rocker @ B can only be released if a lever mechanism @ C is activated.

Observations:

(1) Lever assembly was bent.

(2) lever for rocker mechanism was below lever C.

Causation:

Load stress caused the metal to eventually lose its shape due to metal fatigue. This was inevitable as only one hinge was operational.

Solution:

I shaped all the critical points to what I believe to be the original position with a hammer and vice.

How to prevent failure in future?

Two hinge mechanism MUST be operational for the backdoor to open and lock reliably. In the event one fails. The backdoor is supposed to jam shut. This is supposed to be the fail safe according to Toyota. It should not open. In this case the back door continued to open and lock as if two hinges were working as they were supposed too. Hence no warning till catasthropic failure.

Since only one hinge was bearing all the stress of load. And with the other hinge no operating. This one operational hinge was the pivot point. Since the construction of the mechanism is only sheet metal, it is very likely that under moderate to heavy load stress, it will lose it shape and all the tolerances for the critical points will run. When this happens the backdoor will revert to its fail safe and lock up and fail to open normally.

Something you cannot do without – a plan to break out!

I cannot emphasize strongly enough why it is so absolutely jugular for a person to determine not only WHERE they want to go, HOW and WHEN to commission this plan.

The reason why I say this is because virtually everyone who I know whose still stuck solid where they are or just going around in circles are people who don’t see the need for a plan…..don’t get me wrong. These people are not stupid. Its not as if they dont see the wisdom of planning. They do. They buy insurance that covers them for critical illnesses. They wear crash helmets when they bike. They use sun block when they’re out at the beach to avoid cataracts and skin cancer….sure they plan ahead.

But they dont have a plan to break out!

Most people just amble along in the long journey of life and hope that something will eventually turn up….. as time goes by, so will the aperture of opportunity close and in their latter years, they will feel short changed by life. This invariably leads to disappointment and frustration which in turn can only generate nervousness and anxiety…..and this is how a person becomes resentful, scolding and pessimistic in their old age.

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‘In the moment of my youth. I knew, I had to break out from the imfirmity of autism. I know that sounds straight forward. But when one is autistic such a realization may take years to congeal into a coherent thought.

The main problem was not so much lack of a plan. Rather I did not know WHAT to plan to work towards. But I did not have to wait long. As just around that period of utter confusion. A mysterious planter appeared in the scene.

The great planter lived all by himself in a mansion on the hill in his vast plantation. He wore a khaki safari jacket, dark glasses and sported a briar pipe. There were many rumors about him. Some said he once fought the communist in Borneo. Others even speculated he might have once been a tea grower as he seemed to only drink his tea with a slice of lemon and nothing else. Then there were those who believed he was none other than one of the dearly unfortunate who had missed that bus that takes every soul to that unmentionable otherside when their number is called – that’s to say they believed him to be from the spirit world. As it was widely rumored in the kampung, the planter was the dreaded orang minyak who roamed the rubber estates in the moonless night.

To me he was superman.’

Why you absolutely must grow sharp teeth!

The meek will inherit the earth. The perceptive reader will realize immediately, this is a lie. Not any lie. But a great lie, as it is designed to palliate the fears and anxities of the masses.

This is the truth.

When one is weak. One can only depend on the charity, sagacity and good nature of others for one’s well being. Since people are by nature selfish and even evil without realizing it! The weak person can only suffer under this arrangement. If the condition persist, the weak person will grow resentful, vengeful and angry and this will only amplify his or her suffering.

This is why so many innocent people suffer because no one ever told them the wisdom of growing teeth!

They listened to bad advice and as a result they suffer unnecessarily.

When one is strong, one is able to inflict penalties on others so as to seek their conformance and agreement – only understand this! This does not mean that power will be abused, just because someone has the agency of power doesn’t necessarily mean it will be used….but because everyone knows that person has rows of very sharp and long teeth….they realize that this person can inflict lasting and permanent damage and should never be trifled with….this will ensure they conduct themselves correctly, thus maintaining the delicate balance of power.

It is only when you have sharp teeth and you dont choose to use it and even if you should use it, it is only for defensive purposes that it is true to say that you are good….but if you didnt bother with growing teeth and all you can do is complain that the world wasn’t fair, humane and decent enough to parcel out whats due to you…BUT you dont have the capability to forcefully grab what is rightfully yours…it doesn’t mean you’re good, it just means instead of teeth all you have are soft gummy bears that can do no harm….so you take comfort in being falsely good only. After all what choice do you have?

Then I say, what you never schooled yourself defend competently…you never once owned….you only have the illusion of ownership.

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‘When I was a child. It was not uncommon for people around me to talk about me as if I wasnt really around. You see it is really quite simple. Everyone was convinced that I was an idiot. So I was very much like a dearly unfortunate Claudius. Somewhere in my teens I must have stepped out of myself. I believe this is a good description. As that was how it actually felt when I became conscious of my ‘infirmity’ for the very first time in my life.

As I observed this new thing callex the world around me. I noticed most people who many considered good hearted and benevolent were actually just pretending to be good. Of course there were genuinely good souls, but my point is that there were far and few. Not enough to make a difference to improve my lot. For instance the supervisor who I worked as a dog janitor in a nearby plantation regularly pocketed fifty percent of my monthly salary. He said it was to take care of me, but as memory serves ever so faithfully. I can tell you, never a brass cent came my way. There were many other instances of inequities that befell me in the moment of my youth, but for the purposes of brevity I will confine my account to this dog hostel where I worked with this greedy supervisor called money crazy maniam.

One day I asked money crazy maniam whether I could have my full salary. He got so angry that he hit me.

At that time there was a very big and fierce alsation there, his name was Franky, short for Frankenstein. He was so scary no one dared let Franky out as none of the dog handlers could control him….except me.

You see it is very simple actually. I love Franky and Franky loves me….and dogs are not stupid, they can pick up sadness along with anger….and I was a very angry young man then.

I could see this strange emotion curl around my little heart like a dancing tongue of light…it was so powerful, yet unruly like some wild animal that I knew almost as soon as I saw it…..it was a force that I would do well to harness and master.

One day I ran over to the plantation office and told Money crazy Maniam that Franky had escaped from his cage.

Money crazy Maniam rushed to the dog hostel and the moment he entered Franky’s cage. the door slammed shut. He didnt understand what had happened. How could he….you see I was to him only a benign idiot child – that is to say people can do things to me….I on the otherhand can do very little except put my fate on the altar of the caprice of others.

But when he saw Franky lumbering out from the shadows, he must have known and begged me to let him out.

I am not going to go into the colorful details.

Three months after that unfortunate incident I visited ‘not so money crazy maniam’ with my mother in the hospital, as since he was no longer the security supervisor in charge of guard dogs. I got my full monthly salary.

He looked exactly like an Egyptian mummy. All i could make out was the white of his eyes darting frantically left to right like pinballs. My mother told me that was Mr Maniam’s way to convey to us how happy he was that we bothered with the two hour bus ride just to pay him a visit.’

Epic 24 hour rain!

It started raining at around midnight last night. It’s half past nine now and still raining. And by the looks of it, its likely to go right on for the whole day and possibly the next day.

All plantation work will have to stop. As the roads will turned into mud pies. If this keeps up. The river nearby is likely to swell and burst its banks and flood everything.

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The neccessary lie – always negotiate from a position of real or imagined strenght

The road to the west this time of the year is hazardous. The road to the west this time of the year is called U bot road. That is because all kinds of vechiles can be magically transformed into submarines in one blink of the eye!

I have choosen to transport my fruit on this road. The journey is very difficult, but we are managing well.

Tomorrow I will sit down and discuss price with the millers.

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‘The whole day starting from the hour of the rooster. The road to the west has been busy with lorries transporting fruit. Many can see the lorries are full to the brim with fruit. But what they do not see is the bottom half is filled with empty plastic drums. Neither do they all realize these lorries have much more powerful engines. Even less are aware that these lorries are fitted with expensive off road tires. And absolutely no one knows that for every lorry that successfully completes the journey – the cost of the journey can hardly justify the selling price of the fruit….its a classical loss making enterprise….so this begs the question…why do it?

Because when I walk into that conference room tomorrow attired in my jaw dropping Zegna No.1 gun metal safari suit. Everyone on the otherside of the table MUST be absolutely convinced that if they dont give what I want….I will sell my fruit to the millers in the West!

Give me what I want….and I will be nice!

Give me what I want….and I will behave myself!

Above all…Give me what I want and I will go away.

Tell no one of this…I was not here…I never said all these things.’

How strong people deal with manipulative people

Mentally strong people never ever give evil people the power to make them feel inferior or bad.

They ALWAYS understand they are in control of their actions and emotions.

They know their strength is in their ability to manage the way they respond.

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‘No! I am not an approachable person and I dont want to be approachable. If you’re the sort who likes to keep your door open and that happens to work for you. Good on you! My point is everyone has a RIGHT to determine how, when and where – they want to interact with others.’

Backdoor of car jammed!

When the backdoor of my iron horse jams. Its no bloody good! As it means I cannot carry loads and that means no work!

Asked a mechanic to look at it and judging by the way his head crooked from left to right….I knew even he didnt know how to get the job done. His partner insisted on a princely sum and asked me to leave my car overnight. That was when I decided, it was a bad idea go there. Before I left. I took a look at the Toyota manual.

One good thing about being autistic. I can look at really complicated technical drawings and its all in my head….every nut and bolt….every detail!

After that I went back home and started tearing apart the back of car. Managed to get in when I slipped over the plastic covering. Found the reason why it couldnt open was because the dumb engineers at Toyota motors used a 5 cent plastic clip to hold a steel wire!

YOU’RE FUCKING KIDDING ME RIGHT TOYOTA!

I mean if they designed it that way on a saloon car that only runs in on smooth bitumen roads. That I can understand. But to severely under design a component that in all probability will be used in the field under rigorous conditions!

That’s just either stupid, highly socially irresponsible or both!

Christmas lunch

Durian…stingray assam curry…rice…& food security

This is something that one would normally ever encounter up north in Malaysia….that’s because the best durians come from there.

But I digress.

At some point for Singapore to further improve its food security…she would require a cohort of professional planters. There is ONLY so much that can be accomplished thru the Olam model…it is good, but the value chain is still too long and fraught with risk and uncertainties.

At some point in the game, boots need to come into contact with dirt and sleeves on strong arms need to be rolled up.

Only we have such men. They do not exist elsewhere…..remember the Ukraine….Ukraine…..Ukraine….they’re all there….our elders told us this day would come!’

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‘What brought down imperial Rome was not superior force of arms from invaders. Dont let derelict historians pull the wool over your eyes! I read alot. Knowledge is power…that is why so many insecure people fear me. As I can see patterns that they can never make out even if they have ten life times! so I know the unabridged version of how end came for Rome and even why.

Rome was brought to its kness by what we consider to be a mundane everyday agricultural produce today….pepper. Yes specifically spices from India was what actually beggared and eventually bankrupted Rome to a point where it didnt even have enough funds to maintain its grostequely fat public service and once great military meat grinders.

This lesson should prove instructive to those who are genuinely intrested in the art of war.

So remember next time you see a pepper shaker. Take a long good look at it….as this was the equivalent of the thermo nuclear weapon of the ancient world!’

The ‘new’ government of Malaysia that is not so new.

The ‘new’ hope of Malaysia….Pakatan Harapan is floundering. The recent en masse crossover from Umno to PH was definitely engineered by Bersatu bigwigs to strengthen their position.

The result has been a lot of discontentment and disillusionment among those who once voted for PH, who rode to power based on the promise of a better malaysia.

The systematic hollowing of UMNO and migration to Bersatu will eventually tilt the balance of power againstPKR.

To me. This was had always been the secret agenda of Mahathir & Co. To consolidate political power by sheer power of numbers and do an epic U turn that would have seen Anwar becoming the next Prime Minister.

Once again the voters have been royally shafted by the power brokers.

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For the political landscape to mature, improve and become better. There needs to be healthy rivarly and competition in Malaysian politics. This is true not only for Malaysia, but virtually every country on this planet.

Without the necessary push and pull of a credible opposition – the political systems will simply calcify and eventually fossilize into obselescence.

As it is. Malaysian politics is likely to intensify. As Mahathir & Co party, Bersatu swells in numbers, it is likely to rival PKR and the balance of powet is likely to shift.

Where this shift will end up to determine the new pivot point is not clear at this moment – but whatever the outcome, a few things are guaranteed.

(1) Malaysia is going to be a very different country from that one that we have seen so far.

(2) Tensions generated by political intrigues will create further uncertainty and this may result in both political and economic instability.

(3) Hang on tight! As we will be in for an epic ride!

Christmas field dinner

Durian pocket knife

When it comes to prising open stubborn durians. Pocket knifes are generally useless, flimsy and dangerous. But not this one…its solidly built like a Russian T-34 tank. Everything about it is super sized, exagerrated and over designed by a factor of ten…the blade is an indestructible 5mm thick on the spine which allows me to put my thumb squarely on it and apply pressure. The unusual shade of the bow and point makes it ideal to wedge open durians.

The scales are titanium to cut down on weight (not that I registered its lightness! On account of its ultra thick blade) and the blade is crafted out of Rolls Royce quality VG10 Japanese steel.

I never leave home without my durian pocket knife when the king of fruits is in season.

Thank you Yen.

Is Mahathir weaponizing fisb & shrimp to Singapore?

If this proves to be true…then I have to say with the deepest regret…..Mahathir may well be the dumbest prime minister in Malaysian history.

Because Singapore has built in contigencies for virtually everything from sand to sunflower seeds….she will simply source fish & shrimp from elsewhere and in the long term the people who will really suffer most as a result of this ‘shoot myself in the foot’ foreign policy adventurism will be Malaysian fishermen and breeders!

THE FUCKING POLITICIANS DONT HAVE TO PICK UP THE BILL!

I really do hope all the rumours in the internet amounts to just fake news for the sake of Malaysian fishermen and breeders!

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‘I am going down to the city. If I find this to be true. I will bring this matter up officially with the Planters assoc, after that we can all say good bye to PH….i dont really care!’

Give your love to only responsible people

When you give your heart to people who are responsible….even if it doesnt work out. They will never throw your love away like rubbish. They will always see it as a very rare and valuable thing and will treat it well.

But if you give your love to someone who is irresponsible. Not only will they not value it. But they will also not be able to see any value in it, that is because irresponsible people have NEVER given anything valuable to anyone before….so they do not know what is valuable and worthless…it is like talking to an ignorant person about diamonds and precious stones…that is because there is literally nothing of value in the heart and mind of an irresponsible person.

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‘When you give your love to someone irresponsible. The day you break your leg. He or she will leave you! Its not that they are cruel. That is only true if they have the power to imagine what you are going thru. Truth is they will leave you with a care free and happy heart. Because one side of their brain can even convince the otherside that you will somehow be able to live better in a wheelchair without them….to put it another way. Irresponsible people dont dare to look squarely at the truth!

A person who is responsible never fears the truth. If you break your leg. He or she will always see you all the way down…and even if things dont work out and they need to take off. They will always make sure that you are OK first.’

Durian madness

Durian for breakfast, lunch, dinner, supper……durian with rice. Durian with bread. Durian with ice cream. Durian by itself.

Intimidation

The psychological warfare theory goes something like this – if you want to control someone….make them fearful.

The problem with that maxim is what happens if the act of creating fear creates so much fear in those who plan to instill fear in others.

http://www.sarawakreport.org/2018/12/singapore-sledgehammer/