First Time at MARA Digital

This article was originally written in August 2016

MARA Digital was launched in a big fanfare, dubbed at the Low Yat killer. I suspect it was hastily planned, after there was an incident at Low Yat. And the Menteri trying to prove that Low Yat Plaza was just a flook and given the right resources, there could be another IT hub in town. And his vision was for the business to be controlled by Bumiputera.

This was almost about it ....So, after almost a year after the launch, I went to have a look.

And it was lame! I wanted to look for a new mouse, but they couldn't give me what I wanted. I wanted a gaming mouse from Razer. One of the vendor even pretended that he never heard of the brand! OMG!

The shops occupied one of the middle floors, and I was done after 10 minutes. It was that bad. I ended up spending more time at Permata Complex next door afterwards. And there were even more selection of hand phones there!

I don't think that MARA Digital will be anything near a success. With news that the stock was controlled by a single supplier - to make sure that the stock were all "original" - you could already see the corruption and monopoly there. Business will not prosper with such control, and I predict that it would die a slow death.

Working Sundays

I will be doing two Sunday calls in a row at the beginning of the month and then will be in JB the weekend after to attend a conference in JB. Anita wanted to join me there but after going through the itinerary decided against it. My schedule then would be packed and I planned to take the first flight back on the Sunday to do my rounds.

Upon hearing that, she scrapped the plan.

Wouldn’t mind working Sundays but I would make sure that the Monday after that would be a light day. No procedures or clinic. If possible.

Working Sundays also meant that there would be no afternoon photowalk for the week. 

V-Drumming

Idlan had been keen to take-up drumming for a while. He even signed up for classes at school and would be starting lessons in the next few weeks. And I had always been fascinating by drums but the main problem with them was the loud noise they generate!

As a compromise, we went for an electronic drum kit. We had been looking around for one, reading forums and review. It was quite difficult to be able to see and test one in KL. The only shop which allowed us to play around with a kit was in Mid Valley. After a few visits, we finally made up our minds.

It was a Roland rather than a Yamaha.

The set came in with a real foot pedal, as well as fabric snares and toms. This would create a real feedback and bounce so that when Idlan use the normal kit at school, it felt more natural. With your headphones on, the drums played out with minimal noise, although not completely silent.

The package also came with a dedicated speaker, from which drum noise could be generated. It was pretty clear that I would need plenty of practice to be any good at it, and at the current rate, Idlan would be teaching me a trick or two soon ….

IJN Morning

My mother-in-law an episode of breathing difficulty a couple of weeks back. Much to her reluctance, she had a check-up with her usual Cardiologist. She was told that a more thorough check-uo was needed and she was referred on to IJN.

All packed upThe main lobby at IJNThere, they found thatvshebhad been suffering from irregular heart beat which prompted further tests and change of treatment. Today, she was admitted for an angiogram.

For the last week - and next after discharge - she would be staying with us while she recovers. We were at the waiting room at the moment waiting for the procedure. An enduring wait. But no one was more nervous then her. Hopefully there would be encouraging news and she could get on with her treatment.

Sasana Kijang

Passing by Jalan Kuching everytime I travelled from Gombak to home, I noticed a modern-looking building right up the hill around Kenny Hill.

After reading about it, I found out that it was called Sasana Kijang, a museum owned and operated by Bank Negara. It showcases old money and information about economics, something which I may visit in the future. It was also then that I realised that one of my friends worked there full time as an artist.

But the modern architecture was what attracted me, and since I had some spare time in the morning, I decided to take my drone there.

It was rather tricky to get a good angle to photograph the building as the was nestled in between trees. The only way to get a decent photo would be to fly high and photograph it obliquely at an angle. I got a few decent snaps but in the end concentrated more on the city skyline. The lights were against me as I was in the West of the city. Harsh light was coming towards the drones and the contrast was too great. Best to come back here in late afternoon when the lights would be behind me.

What did I learn this time around? It was tricky to capture a building in small space, plus it was important to plan on the time of the day to go out to photograph ....