30 years old water tank float gives way

 

Every thing has an expiry date and for our water tank's float, it was 30 years old. The service charge to replace it was RM240 inclusive of transport (I assume RM60) and The brass/plastic float (RM20) labour (RM160). There were 2 workers so assuming each got paid RM50/job, the boss got RMRM60 so all in all reasonable at current Klang Valley prices. This is something I could not do so that was that.
 

V-19 Wireless Header replaces trusty earphones

 

 

After I had one too many expose wires from my iPhone earphone set, I felt it was time for a replacement but I did it with this RM16 Wireless Header from Lazada. The choice for this option was because I tend to get too engrossed using earphones and do not concentrate when someone calls so felt this was more practical. It took a few minutes to charge from a red warning light to turn to blue. This is my first time using such device and I found the silicone ear support very comfortable. After successfully connecting the Bluetooth feature from hand-phone to wireless header, I turned to a song at YouTube and was surprised, impressed, in fact, the the acoustics delivered was very good for a device this cheap on par with  my iPhone earphone set. The front switch changes to the next song in YouTube and the rear switch selects the song before the current one. A tap on the side power button switches off the set. I have yet to test the microphone still I feel it is money well spent.

Ya Allah, you blessed my professional carrier to the Nth value.

 

In January 2022, 5 years after I ended my government service, I received a mail package containing an A4 document entitled "TOKOH (Figureheads) PlanMalaysia" from the old department which had even rebranded it's name from the Federal Department of Town and County planning to PlanMalaysia.

In a department of 300+ officers and 700+ support staff nationwide, the current top management officially endorsed me as one of 9 people (not including previous and current Director-Generals) as a departmental figurehead, specifically, as the pioneer who introduced and promoted Open Source Software in the department (which incidentally is not even from my academic background but something I just happened to enjoy tinkering during my spare time). Of course, it is a great honor to receive this recognition as the previous top management often did not see eye to eye with me when I shared constructive opinions and criticisms so this document squashes all bad things said in front of as well as the back of me. (Though I rather prefer them remembering me as the Elvis Presley of the department).

This recognition took 42 years to hatch from the time I first started to work at the department in 1980. It shows that Allah's blessing concerning one's professional abilities may not outstanding surface during one's professional carrier but while one pensioned and stamps that recognition on the department wall for all to see from now onwards. For all the blunders I made during my professional carrier, truly, I am blessed. From a different angle, it was already written long before I was even born. Shukur Alhadmuillah.

The problem about good reliable handphones

 

Every new year comes with new, better and attractive handphones which makes one feels just like buying the latest. The problem is being practical, it is rational to wait at least for the current handphone to become faulty or hand-me-down it due to lack of storage space. The thing is that is not with me. The IPhone 6S+ I bought for wifey as a gift 6 years ago was used by her for 3 solid years then hand-me-down to daughter Sabrina as she needed a reliable handphone for her new job. Wifey too was also desirous of upgrading for the latest iPhone. Sabrina used that iPhone 6S+ for another 3 years but she decided to hand-me-down the iPhone as her job required a bigger storage space to store her WhatsApp business discussions. Coincidentally my humble Nokia 8110 4G had reached its maximum life-span so receiving the iPhone6S+ was a blessing. Still I got myself a silicone case because that iPhone has a smooth and slippery case. I used it for more than a year and it functions very well and there is still enough storage space for my needs so unless this handphone becomes faulty. I also prefer a smaller handphone because the iPhone 6S+ is difficult to take out from my slim jeans but I do not see it being faulty as it has proven itself to be a tough nut over the years. Ah well, maybe when the local 5G infrastructure has matured, it may be a good reason to upgrade the smartphone.