Computer keyboards

Everyone knows, and uses QWERTY layout keyboards. I'd seen alternative options, and thought it would be so cool to have one. They're expensive, so it was always a dream. Recently, I started looking at them again and saw the Kinesis Advantage 2. I was trying to get one from Ebay, but asshat sellers had make an offer set, for basically the same cost as their buy it now prices. So, I spent a lot of time looking around, fianlly settling on a new one from Amazon. This keyboard is still QSWERTY, but with a design focused on ergonomics. I've been using other traditional ergo keyboards, like this and most recently this (ignore this price, it's a crap listing.) Those keyboards were always great, and no one else wanted to touch my keyboard. Now, I'm slowly getting used to the Advatage 2, and loving it. I am, however, not liking typing on this keyboard as I have a ton of bad typing habits that shine through on this board and need to fix. Currently, my mastery in terms of shortcuts is hampered with the slightly different layout, so that's another adjustment to make. I may end up making use of this keyboard's programmable short cuts for those that I use frequently. The cool thing is that those are stored in the keyboard's memory, so they work with any computer. Of couurse, this was all typed with the new keyboard, and took quite a bit longer than normal. I really need to fix my bad habits so I can blaze away in a torrent of noisy mechanical clacking.

I bet that you thought I wouldn't update

It has only been 9 years since my last update. Things that have happened in the time between then and now. Felix has gotten much older and bigger, taller than Siew now. Sylvia was born in 2010 and is growing into a beautiful young lady. I got really tired of teaching, so I wanted to go back to Tech work. I earned a CCENT and CCNA and managed to get a contract job to move back to the US (I couldn't get tech work while in Malaysia, I tried). In 2015, we moved back, in stages, to the US. Me coming over first and then getting paperwork settled to get the rest over without hassle. . . which became a hassle and required contacting a Senator to get help to push Immigration. In 2016, I left Cisco for a fulltime job with a different company. Been there since, but really want to leave. In 2019, we bought a house that is out of city limits with a lot of room. The timing couldn't have been better as we had started getting things where we liked when covid hit. Being able to hole up at home, and have room to do things (almost an acre) has helped keep us sane. At the end of 2019, I decided to get back into Magic the Gathering. That was probably a mistake. At the start of 2020, before Covid, my grandmother passed away. Also in 2020, I stuck a machete into my leg. That was fun. Still haven't totally recovered lost feeling from that, I severed my saphenous nerve so I lost some feeling in my shin. In October 2021, I developed Bell's Palsy on the left side of my face, and that has been interesting. Still not fully recovered from that yet. In 2021, I finally managed to make a friend who I don't work with. I met him through Magic related stuff. I've seen been meeting up with him and some others to play Magic. It's been fun, not just to play the game, but to have some interaction with people again. 2022, well we're still early in the year, so let's see how it goes. To make my standpoints clear. I'm anti-Trump. I'm not for Biden. I don't think we should have "old" politicians. We need people who will be alive to face the consequences of their choices and greed. I'm pro-vaccine. I'm pro-mask. We need to all be vigilant to get the pandemic under control. Yes, it is your right not to wear a mask. That's fine. It is NOT your right to affect anyone else's rights, which means that you not wearing a mask and not keeping yourself away means that you are violating others' rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

Getting Back into Things and Future Plans

Tonight I went back to Bujinkan. It's not the first time, but this time I want to make it a regular thing. You see, I have a plan. I want a blackbelt. I've never earned one, and I want one.

There is more to it than just "I want one." There's also a potential. The potential to earn money. We might need to move back, probably will do so, to the States or even to another country. Work situations there are not really that great, so I might need an extra "weapon" to earn money. That's where a blackbelt comes in. I can teach people and earn something.

So, here's my plan. I need to practice hard, earn some rank and get to where I am competent to teach people Bujinkan. I ALSO want to find and study Tai Chi. Tai Chi is something that many people, of differing ages, want to learn. I can teach one and explain that I also teach the other. More earning potential.

Not only can I, eventually, use this skill-set to earn money, but it is something that I love, and it has the added benefit in regards to my physical health.

Now to work hard and keep focused... :-)

Reclaim your "child."

I just posted this on Facebook and Google+, this version is slightly longer though:

Today we went to out to do some things. We needed to get Sylvia's passport and consular report of birth abroad. We took the LRT, light rail train, to go out. Siew took a slightly different route since I was headed to the embassy to collect Sylvia's documents. She took the kids to KLCC so Felix could play there. They have a great park with lots of playground equipment and a kids' swimming pool.

I walked to the embassy and proceeded to wait, and wait, and wait. Finally my number was called. I went up, showed them the papers and within a few minutes I was finished. I teased the lady at the counter that she wouldn't see us again, we're not having anymore kids. She said we should have 3. I told her that that was not happening. Usually she's a very serious lady, but this time around I was able to break the ice a bit. After that I walked to KLCC and found Siew.

Felix was running around the playground at that point, so I joined him. We have fun running around and jumping around. I enjoyed being able to run freely, despite my recent, frequent shoulder pain. My recently glue Vibram Five Fingers are holding up pretty well, although the rubber has hardened a bit, so they allowed me to bounce about like a kid. Felix was playing with a boy who was with his father. The boy is 4, but Felix is taller than he is. The boy's father commented to Siew that it seemed like I was having more fun playing than Felix was. I know that's not entirely true, but I was having fun.

It feels great to move around freely like that. Being limited in our movements on a daily basis is something I had never noticed. In general, as we grow up, we forget how to play like kids; free, unlimited, without notions of impossibility. Being able to flow and bounce around, jumping from things and up onto things felt so great. It made me realize that I've lost, but can reclaim, a part of my life that I didn't realize I had lost.

I hope that I can teach the kids some of my "tricks" to movement, and that they will develop their own. I also hope that they will live more as kids, in this respect, and not grow "old."

I'm posting it here since I haven't posted anything in a long, long time. I might just have to start updating this again. We'll see, I have some other ideas for blogs, so I might create new blogs, or throw those things into this one, even if that makes things a mess.

Now, go and play!

I'm not dead yet!

Ok, so, I know, I have not been writing here at all recently.

Those of you who are in the know, know that I have kept Felix's blog updated, to some degree or another, with videos, but I have not been good about my own blog!

Ummm, what to tell?

Let's see, Siew and I are working on buying our apartment. That is going to increase our monthly expenses, but the money is then going into an asset, rather than into someone else's pockets.

I started working at a new job on Monday. I am now a full-time employee of a local college as an English teacher. I am still working at the Korean-owned center in the evenings and am also trying to get my own students.

Ultimately, I would like to have my own students rather than working for someone else. I can earn more that way, and have a lot more flexibility. However I need to have a stable income, more so with the boy and with the house. The best way to stabilize things right now is to have a full-time job. I actually will get benefits from a company for the first time since I left Charter in 2007!

These changes have added pressure to Siew, Felix, and me. I have to get up earlier in the morning, walk to the LRT, get on the train, ride to the right station, get off, walk to work. Then I work at the college from 9-4. Promptly at 4, I rush out the door, get on the train, ride to another station, get off, and find Siew. Then she drives me to work where I teach for 2 hours and then we can all go home. I hope these changes are ok for her and for Felix.

On the plus side of this all, I get off work earlier on Fridays, as well as the benefits which means I get holidays off AND paid!

I hope everything can become more and more stable for us. I want to provide the best I can for my family. I will do what I can to make that happen.

I'm tired

That is all. . . For now.

Heroscape

I have a couple of sets of Heroscape. It's an interesting idea. If I had friends I'd even use it for an RPG. However,I do not, so I play solo for the time being. :-P

The game has a really interesting set of tiles to build up maps. The figures are decently painted. The price is the best part of Heroscape. It's not a collectible game, nothing you buy is randomly packed, instead it's a set-based game with many expansions. The main game is not bad, but the potential for use with other games (RPGs) or making your own rules is really high.

Here are some pictures of the last map I made:

So bad

I have been lazy about posting lately. Maybe it is because I have less time, or less to write, or something else. I am not sure.

I have been looking into other jobs. I have a feeling that the place I am at now may not be open for much longer into the future.

I have an offer from one place, but the pay is TOO low. It is just going to start up soon, and I am kind of the "head" teacher, but the pay is really too little for the position. I told the guy I was talking to that if that was the pay offer, there was no way I could accept it. So, he offered me a part-time position, paying by the hour that is about the same as what I make now. We shall see about that one.

There is a lot of potential there, and he wants me to meet with the CEO/Datuk who has started this up. That worthy fellow owns and runs a university here in Malaysia. If I meet with him, perhaps I can get myself the wages I need in this new, and certain to be stressful, position.

I have also applied for teaching positions in Dubai. There is a need for native speakers of English to teach in Dubai. The pay is really good (double to quadruple what I make now), as are the benefits. I will have to send out more résumés quickly!

Otherwise, Felix is growing fast. He is walking very well! He is actually trying to run now, and getting himself hurt because of it. He has taken to trying to go very fast, which often results in tripping to the floor. Houses in Malaysia do not have carpet. The poor boy is accumulating a lot of bruises!

Been a long time

I know I haven't posted anything in a long time. . . Sorry.

Anyway, here's an interesting link or 2 for you:

http://www.apath.org/im_right_youre_wrong.html

http://www.dscript.ca/index.php

Have fun with them both!

Cardio

I have fewer afternoon classes now, which gives me time to exercise more, again.

Previously I discovered that there is a really nice, mostly shaded, hill to walk up near here.

Now that I have a break, I am making use of that hill. On Monday I walked up and back down the hill twice. Wednesday I did the same. And today I did it 3 times.

I am not totally sure how far it is. I guesstimate 1 kilometer up and 1 kilometer to the base of the hill from my place of work. I think I'll take the car and drive it to measure the distance.

If I am correct, that's a pretty good walk. I walk at a pretty fast pace, but the more that I do it, the faster I can go. If I keep going, maybe I can try jogging up once in awhile as well.

This week I did 2, 2, 3. Next week I'll do 2, 3, 4. The week after 3, 4, 5. If I have time, and depending on how I feel, I will change it to include a jog, or continue to increase the times I go up and down.

So far, on this walk, I have seen a brown frog and a dark green, fairly large, snake. I wonder if I will see anything else interesting.

Fireworks. . . at 10pm

Last night some family, not for the first time mind you, was playing with fireworks in the parking lot of our apartment complex.

At first they were playing with the types that make very little noise. After that, they started playing with rockets that explode.

This was at 10pm. Felix was crying loudly because of the fireworks. Siew tried to shout down to the people, but they did not listen. So, I shouted. . . I have a loud shout. I got their attention, and a lot of other people's attention as well! Siew asked them to stop. She was not rude. After that, apparently, the family asked the father to stop. However, he refused to stop. He purposely turned back to light off more rockets!

I lost my temper and shouted at him, calling him a son of a bitch, that my son is trying to sleep, etc. That got his attention. He walked closer, so I stopped shouting, I was trying to control my temper, but he was basically saying that I should shut up. I said we'd call the police if he didn't stop. He said that we could do that if we wanted to. Ironically, at just that moment, the police arrived! Someone else had already called the police!

Now, the wife of that family, and her daughters, always glare up at us when they walk past. That's their problem. They were being jerks! We didn't call the police, someone else did.

I can understand wanting to have a fun time with your family. . but this is not the countryside. This is a huge city and we all live in an apartment complex. They have done this same thing before, apparently someone had had enough and called the police. We'll be doing the same thing if it happens again. No more shouting out the window.

At one point I was going to head downstairs, but Siew sharply told me to stop. She is wise. I'd have kicked the crap out of that guy in front of his family and gotten myself into trouble.

Private Islands

Who would have thought that private island was actually not overly priced?

Take a look at this site: http://www.privateislandsonline.com/ and have fun browsing!

Logo

I need a logo that has my statement on it.

Here is my statement:

I wish you were a zombie, so I could put a bullet in your brain.

That is all.

Clean

Last weekend I started something that I almost regret.

To give the history. We had hired a maid once to attempt to have a major cleaning done. However, it did not work out at all. In the four hours she was supposed to work, she had to redo many things because she was lazy/terrible/stupid. We had to pay 55 Ringgit for this "service."

Previously we had cleaned, but not as thoroughly as what I am now doing. Siew was "in charge" of that until Felix arrived. After that, she had no time for regular cleaning. I work quite a lot and do not have a lot of time to help clean either. So, we had thought about getting a maid to do some of the bigger tasks and we can maintain things.

That was our first attempt at hiring a part-time maid, and our LAST. I said no more of that nonsense. I can do a better job than a "professional" maid can, saving my money and ensuring that the job is done to our standards.

After that fiasco, I decided to start cleaning by groups. Why clean the whole house every weekend? Why not spend 2 hours focusing on a room (or room-set)? And then I could change room-sets every weekend. That way the entire house is completely, thoroughly, cleaned every month.

I figured out that I could do it like this:

Set 1: living room and balcony
Set 2: kitchen and "balcony 2" (it is not REALLY a balcony, but might as well be)
Set 3: all three bedrooms
Set 4: hallway and the two bathrooms

So I tried it out last weekend. I decided to start with the living room. Even with the maid's prior "help," it still took me 4 hours to scrub things down to where I considered them clean. I wore myself out. I did not expect it to take that long. Because of this, I have reconsidered my sets, but I am not decided on how I will break them up.

This weekend I did the kitchen. I am not sure how long I worked. I cleaned the cabinets, inside and out, and all other surfaces, pulled the fridge down (it's on an elevated platform) and cleaned it inside and out, as well as the whole platform, most of the walls, etc. It took me so long, and was so tiring to clean and re-arrange the cabinets, that I did not finish my "task" yesterday. Who would have thought it would be so hard to clean some cabinets and walls?

Today I finished the remainder of the kitchen, much to my pleasure.

The house FEELS cleaner by doing this. And Siew has been working hard, when Felix allows it, to keep the floors swept and mopped. That helps me out a lot.

I am not sure which set I will do, or how it will be setup, next week. I'll be very glad when this first round is completed. It will be much easier next time around!

Insects

A long time ago, while I was still in the states. A friend of mine was looking up things about Malaysia. He found out that they have the largest flower here as well as the largest moth.

Until Monday, I had seen neither of these things. Monday, however, I saw an Atlas Moth. I happened to be walking into my work place and I saw some large winged insect on the doorway. I stopped and look at it. It was battered, but beautiful nonetheless!

I took two pictures of it. One is without anything for reference, which does not show its size. The other has my hand right next to it.




As you can see, these things are BIG and pretty. I am sorry that my phone's camera is not very good. The real thing was really a spectacle to behold.

While I am on the subject of insects. I am not sure I posted these long ago or not. Just before Felix was born, while on my way to Penang for that event, I stopped at a rest-stop to use the restroom. While using the facilities I saw a rather large preying mantis. I took pictures of it as well.




I haven't really been to any jungles here yet, but one day I will, and I'll take a lot of pictures when I go. I'll need a better camera and lots of insect repellent when I go!

Hit and run

I just heard a loud crash. I ran to look outside, with the selfish reason of checking on my own car. I saw a car with its rear bumper torn almost completely off's alarm going off wildly. I saw another car driving erratically away. It was driving the wrong way (as is frequent in this apartment's parking), obviously the culprit.

I wonder if I should leave a note on the damaged car's window in the morning with a description of the car I saw driving away? (I could not see the plate numbers)

Someone is going to have a rotten day in the morning. Poor guy/gal.

Happenings

Well, I'm writing a short post tonight. I have been neglecting the few people who read this. I apologize!

Things have, of course, been busy. Felix is growing fast! He can now crawl and sit up on his own from his tummy. He is trying to stand already. He is only six and a half months old! He has started eating solid food as well. We fought with him for a long time and then tried controlled crying. Now we get to, mostly, sleep through the night! He also gets tons of attention wherever we go. He always gets lots of compliments and double, triple or quadruple takes!

Siew is doing a great job taking care of him. Today she went to help her friend because her friend just had a baby and the hospital did not teach her how to breast feed. She already has one son who was not breastfed, so she wants to breastfeed her daughter (YAY!) but didn't know what to do. Siew helped her out, so, hopefully she can do things the way she wants.

I have been exercising at least 4 days a week and will continue to do so. I'm not doing a lot, but since I have a break in between classes I started taking a change of clothes with me and have been stretching and doing different exercises. I already know tons of exercises, I just didn't have the "time." I feel better from what I have done so far, but my main goal really is to burn a little fat and get my endurance back. I'm going to need it with Felix!

I also went to Bujinkan on Saturday. It was fun. One guy was annoying, but everyone in the class harassed him for being an idiot. I am too lazy to explain what he was doing. James, the instructor, has not been feeling well recently, I found out, so he asked me to teach something I know for the last half of the class. That was a bit weird, but it was fun as well. It's also good for the class, they learn something different so they are not too "locked" into Bujinkan, which is SUPPOSED to be formless in the end.

I'll try, but make no promises, to update more frequently!

This may be the best link EVER!

http://www.craigslist.ch/about/best/all/

Darn weather

Ok, so I have been exercising more recently. I have time during my breaks to do so. I had planned to go for a long walk today. The weather interfered with that plan. So, I guess today is a rest day. Tomorrow I'll go back to other exercises. I will, however, do some pullups at home tonight.

Exercising is a strange thing. When you do it, you feel better. When you don't, you feel worse, but it's hard to make yourself do it. I like how I feel, but I am too lazy. I am going to change that.

I need to lose body fat. I want to look better, feel better, and more importantly, have better endurance. I am strong, and fast, but I have no stamina. I used to have nearly limitless, or so it seemed, stamina. I want to get that back. If I do not, Felix is going to exhaust me all of the time. I want to set a good example for him. I need to be his role-model for good things, not bad things!

Shock!

Tonight Felix was being fussy, yet again. Siew and I are becoming distraught with him not sleeping. He fusses because he is tired, but also because he does not want to sleep!

So, Siew asked me to look information up online to try and get him to sleep. I said that I had looked it up before, I had, but tried it anyway. This time, because of the search including his age, I found this link that details a few ways to get a baby to sleep.

So we tried the Controlled Crying method.

I put him down, with the lights out, said, "Time to sleep." and left the room. He, of course, cried. I came back in 10 minutes and "sshhh'd" him while touching him a little. Did that again in 10 more minutes. He stopped crying on that visit, and was asleep within a few minutes.

Siew and I were excited and shocked! It WORKED! So, now, we're going to try this method tomorrow as well. If this works, it is a miracle that we have been needing!