Cooling a ADSL Modem Router without modification.

Have you ever noticed how hot a adsl modem can get? Yes it can get pretty hot and there is no in build cooling system other than a few ventilation slots on the casing itself. I am not sure whether it is true for most adsl modems, but I am sure of those that I had used before. I am not sure what is the max operating temperature for a adsl modem but operating at a pretty hot temperature is not a good sign.

I recently got myself a new adsl modem router after my old one had the misfortune of being fried by lightning. That one too runs pretty hot and so I had it hung in a way that it will get maximum exposure in the air, like hanging a wet blanket out to dry. It didn't work because there is no breeze because it is indoor and in a out of sight place. From my experience, a hot modem will cause the line to be disconnected by itself which can be very frustrating at times.

This new adsl modem router too runs pretty hot and this time I decided to do something about it with whatever I have available. This modem comes with a 2 year manufacturer's warranty and so I cannot do any modification to it because it will void the warranty. Basing on this I decided on a external cooling fan to increase the air circulation outside the modem.

Checking through my collection of junks, I managed to gather together the necessary parts to put together the external cooling fan.  Some of the parts are almost 40 years old, the fan itself was saved from a pile of other items to be dismantled and

sold to the junk yard. The fan was taken out from a computer CPU because it was running intermittently with lots of noise ....... thought that it was going to kick the bucket then. Since I am building a proto-type and as long as it can work long enough to confirm my set up will work, it was OK for me. Then I thought maybe a little oil down the spindle might help, guess what, it is working perfectly right now, guess it must have been real thirsty after working for more than 4 years without a drink!

The rubber base is a must, without it the whole thing might just move around from the vibration of the fan. It is also to keep the whole contraption steady because the modem is going to sit right on top of it. The idea is to have the fan blowing from the bottom of the modem and leaving the top safe to operate the switches and wires. The rubber base will also keep the modem steady when handling the switches and wires.

Next is to connect the power supply for the fan to a DC power supply source since it is a DC powered fan. The AC to DC converter was taken out of retirement after it had faithfully served us 24/7 for many years powering a caller ID gadget for land line telephones. A tip here for connecting wires without having a lump in it. I guess the picture is self explantory.

Having the contraption assembled, it just did not look right with the fan so far down and with a some modifications got the fan to where I wanted it to be. The fan have to be closer to the modem so that it can enjoy the full blast of the
cooling air. It is not necessary to have it that tall, just about a centimeter above the base would be great and everything would be more stable. I did not want to cut the supporting screws and since it is stable enough for me I left it as it is. Next placed the modem where it is supposed to be and it is done. This modem have some ribs at the bottom and so it sits quite steadily on the contraption.
So far it had been running for about 3 weeks now and the modem is running at about just the room temperature and the warranty on it is 100% intact.

Project Aquaponics

Aquaponics is the combination of aquaculture and hydroponics. I was introduced to this process of farming by a member of Garden Stew, the gardening forum that I particpate in. My intention was to plant cool weather veggies like lettuce, romaines, spinach, leeks and so on. Incidentally I found out that leeks cannot be planted this way and growing leeks is really different. Anyway I wanted to start a hydroponic system organically and I never knew aquaponics existed.

My princess did planted some veggies using the traditional hydroponics method when she was still in school. The system came in a set complete with all the chemical for the nutrients and veggies seeds. I was impressed with the way the veggies grew and from this memory I decided maybe I can grow cool weather veggies this way. So after lots of googling and asking around in Garden Stew, I was introduced to aquaponics. More googling and concluded the only way I can do this organically is by aquaponics. There are web sites that claim that their chemical nutrients for the hydroponics is organic but I wanted something that I can have easy access to locally at minimum cost.

There are many methods to set up an aquaponics system and after considering the basics of space and hardware, I decided on the ebb and flow method. For a detail account of my set up please check out my blog on my aquaponics in Garden Stew.

Anyway I had my first harvest just a couple of days ago which is "nai bai" and had it for lunch today. It tasted just as good as those planted on the ground and it is finer. As for the planting of cool weather, I guess it is out of the question now. I planted a whole bed with lettuce and it is not doing well. Most of the leaves were scorched by the super hot sun and they are bolting. So instead of getting nice bunch of leafy lettuce, I am getting long skinny ones. Looks like planting cool climate veggies here would remain a fantasy for me.

Hey!! I hope I have encountered the BLANK!!

BLANK!

It is really difficult for me to post anything lately. I have had wanted to post many things but when I log on all I can do is ................................ yes, just BLANK!! Nothing seems to enter my mind, sometimes after just keying in a few words and it is just BLANK again! Hmmm .................. don't ask me why because I have no idea myself why this BLANK is happening.

Right now I am fighting with this BLANK thingie so that I continue with my blog. I am going to post this even though it is a BLANK and if I can do it, I guess I might just overcome this BLANK period. A post is a post right?

Ham

Ham to me is a very delicious cured and cooked pork that is ready to be eaten. Chicken ham, turkey ham and whatever other ham is just nonsense. It was really difficult for me to enjoy ham in the past because of the extremely high unjustified cost so it is just look, salivate and bye bye.

I wanted to make ham earlier but was put off by the difficult and almost impossible curing process at home and in this hot tropical climate. I guess I was looking at the wrong site. Some of the sites mentioned that a curing chamber is a must to cure ham, guess they are making a different kind of ham. Anyway I was naive at making ham and all I know at that time is just to eat it.

Anyway December last year Home minister once again brought up the subject about making ham since I had success in making bacon and sausages. Hmmm....... bacon & eggs, sausages, ham also ..... wah!!! can have mat salleh breakfast almost every day huh!!! Yes, I was with Google soon enough clicking away on how to make ham. There were many sites on how to cook cured and raw ham until I came across this Making Ham At Home site. After reading through, I thought to myself that it is not as difficult as I had imagine. I guess I had been looking at the wrong place all this while.

Next is to look for the hardware required to do the job and guess what, yes they are already available and does not take up much space in the fridge. Ingredients were also already available except for the raw ham itself. Almost everything is already there and all it needed was just to put them together.

Five days later, we were enjoying the most delicious ever cooked ham for breakfast and it is really easy to do. If you ever thought of doing cooked ham at home, just do it!!

2011

A great shot by my son

2011, a brand new year and a new decade in the millenium. 2010 had been a great year for me and I am sure 2011 will be too! No sciatica, yummie braised pork leg, made bacon after wanting to for a couple of years, sausages .....also yummie!! Got my Intel i7 computer which is actual a project originally planned for this year. Original plan was a Intel i5 but with such great tempting price ......... it is now history. My princess is also now in the vicious economy eco-system full time, somewhere near the middle of the food chain. I harvested my very first luffa from my mini farm and also the sweetest of the sweetest sweet corn you can ever imagined. Yes 2010 was a great year.

I am looking forward to materialising my ideas for 2011 because the brain is already working overtime on some project for this year. The most interesting project I guess would be aquaponics and I am really excited about it. A project that is already on it's way is making cooked ham ........ a couple of days more and YUMMIE time!!!!!

Golf

Golf is a funny game played with a set of 14 clubs and a tiny hard ball full of dimples. When I was a kid I used to watch golf on TV, most probably the US Masters Tournament, where Jack Nicholas, Arnold Palmer and Gary Player were fighting for the Masters Title. To be honest I do not have the slightest idea what I was watching, I was just impressed how the camera man can follow a small ball in motion. Par, birdie, bogie, under ….. these are all Greek to me but I like the vast area of open space, beautifully kept grass and lakes …… nice.

When I was a teenager, I got to know that golf is for the rich and old, so I didn’t bother to pay any attention to it. Later I got to know a rich man’s kid whose father plays golf and so did he. I was kind of a surprise why a young guy like him plays golf. One fine day he invited a couple of us to try out the game with him at the Ayer Keroh Golf and Country Club that his father was a member. We were not told to prepare anything so I went in my shorts, T-shirt and favourite sandals. He was in full golf attire and we looked like his caddies. Well, maybe that is his way of getting us in for a free game.

Once in the course we were each given a club and a ball. All I can remember it was kind of a frustrating trying to hit such a small with small headed club but I liked the vast greeneries and lakes. We had to walk because at that time buggies were unheard of. I enjoyed the walk and I have no memories of playing golf at all …… maybe I wasn’t able to hit it at all. I have no idea how many holes we actually “played” but it did not at all aroused my interest in golf.

It was after many many years that I was exposed to golf again. I was in my thirties and was having a  business dinner with one of my most important client together with a Japanese supplier and my Japanese boss. They were talking about golf and it was still all Greek to me then. Later on I was given a so called old set, it wasn’t complete and looks more like trash. By that time I realised that most of my clients and suppliers are into golf. So I decided to give it a try.

With no knowledge at all I went to the golf shop to just look around and have a feel of what it is like, wow!!! expensive. Anyway I bought a trainer ball, one of those plastic ball with a string attached to it and just starting whacking it. Just whacking the trainer ball is getting me nowhere, so I decided that I should get proper coaching. With proper coaching I guess I would be able to have a better basic foundation and understanding of the game better. My knowledge of golf is still like zero at that time except that one has to be a member of a club which was very expensive to become a member. I guess my decision to take up golf was to a certain extend the influence from my clients, suppliers and especially the comment made my big boss that I could be a nominated as a member to one of the golf club memberships owned by the company if I could play. With that in mind I invested in a basic golf lesson package.

It was not a easy decision to make and only after lots of thoughts that I decided to get involved in this funny game. After many hours invested in the swing, I only managed to get the ball air borne and the distance is pathetic. After completing my first basic course, I was invited to play a 9 or maybe 18 holes game which I do not have any memory at all because I was so busy either trying to hit the ball or looking for the ball. My host was really patient with me and he was one of my customer that really encouraged me to take up golf.

After many more hours in the driving range, it was still a frustrating time of trying to hit the ball and looking for the ball in the course, but it was getting a little better because my knowledge of golf was also getting better. Not all clubs manufacturer make their products in the same manner and there are actually clubs for players of different skill level. Guess what I decided to get a new set of clubs that suit me better and at the same time a refresher basic golf swing correction package. Wow!! that instructor really helped me put my swing together and I was really pleased with my own progress. From then on I was really playing golf, not just trying to hit the ball but really playing it and enjoying it. Sometimes still have to look for the ball.

My Scale Models

One of my longest lasting hobbies is scale model collecting. I can still remember what was the first scale model I had, a military Land Rover from Corgi. I was just a kid then and that land rover belongs to my cousin. When we visited them, I just kept on playing with it because I really like it. When it was pushed it made a noise like just like a Land Rover with off road tyres. No it did not have a sound generator but the sound is just natural to it. They gave it to me because they knew I really like it and I really clocked plenty of fun mileage on it. Hmmmm …….. wonder where it is now.

The next piece is a Sky Hawk fighter jet when I was in primary four, off course there were many other stuffs in between which is not worth mentioning like plastic figurines, vehicles and others. The Sky Hawk fighter jet was a self assembly plastic model kit. One of the rich kid in my class brought it to school to show off and it instantly caught my attention. After all the “huu haa” my classmate offered to buy me one if I can come up with the cash. Well after a month or so I managed to save enough from my pocket money without spending a single cent for that whole period. It cost me just below RM5.00 I think and that long to save for it. Later on I found out that a shop in then Newcome Road called CY Chang were selling these models.

Every time whenever I passed by that shop I would spend time admiring at all the models that were on display to lure people like me. I can still remember those state of the art train models by Hornby, they all look so real with a whooping price tag to go with it. Well I guess I can only dream about it because not only because of the price but also the space needed. Anyway it was much later in my life that I was able to realise this hobby after the Sky Hawk.

Most of the models I had - only a few - then were war aircraft including the famous B52 and Mustang. I had a couple of battle ships and an aircraft carrier too. The B52 was really large and when there is a breeze, the propellers would turn. It fell a couple of times from its stand because of strong breeze and I had to repair it a couple of times.

Then came the Japanese Model kits, mostly of automobiles and some are even powered by battery. One of the model that I really spend lots of hours detailing was a Datsun 240Z by Fujimi. It was like the 240Z was THE car at that time and the model is really detail with engine. Then came the motorbikes by Tamiya and I had a real big collection of it but the one I like best is the Honda Super Cup or commonly known as "cup chai".

Most of these plastic scale model kit cannot last long because they are very flimsy and our weather here is not kind to them. As of today only a few of the plastics models that are still with me, most of them needed repair and still in the box when I transported them back to Malacca. Maybe one of these fine day I might just take a look at them.

Not long ago, actually about 10 years ago while I was killing time in the Atria Shopping Centre in Damansara Jaya, a display model shop caught my interest. I was really impressed by the collection of highly detail metal die cast model they had. By the time I left the shop, I was sure I would like to start my own little collection. Yes, yes, yes, I know I can only stare at it, push it around and make some engine noise by myself – V-R-O-O-M-Mmmmm……I was happy with my buy and I guess this is the part of human nature that is not logical only understood by capitalist.

One fine day like 10years or so ago, I decided that the time was right because there was a sale in Metro Sungei Wang Plaza and I got my very first die cast model, a Ferrari 550 Maranello 1/18 scale by Bburago. Slowly and surely one after another started rolling in.

Metal die cast model are much more robust and so far all those that I acquired are still with me almost in the same condition when I got it, never driven on the road before …… hehehe!!! A little dusty though.

View Full Album

Want to go for a spin? You chose the ride and I’ll push, you make the sound ya!!! …….. Vrooommmmmm ……………..