More Colour Down Below - Blue Shoelaces on Black Shoes

One of the reasons why I prefer shoes with laces instead of wearing slip ons to work is that they make you look prim and proper. Slip ons are good for casual fridays, and weekends, or when you're not wearing your best dress shirt with those expensive cufflinks, nice knitted tie and that good pair of pants.

And who says using shoes that need tying are boring? They've got the most patterns and styles. Take for example the brogues, they're the most 'flowery' of all shoes out there. If they were in chocolate brown, they're delightfully tasty.

But what if you have a very simple plain toe bluchers (bluchers or derby shoes are those with open lacing instead of the more formal balmorals) ?  You can play around with some coloured laces. I've done them here and most of the time no one will notice it, except the wearer himself. It's a sartorial twist that only the wearer will appreciate.

People may notice those green socks though.

Tech Blast From The Past: Nokia HS-1C Camera Headset

This is something from our not so distant past. From a time when Nokia still ruled cellphones and a time when no one wanted an Iphone or an Android based one. This was circa 2002 to 2004, a time where cell phone manufacturers first started integrating cameras into cellphones. The first cameras were not actually built into the phone but were connected to it via connector ports, or Pop-ports in Nokia based phones. I happen to have one Nokia camera headset lying around, the Nokia HS-1C camera headset.

 It is basically your handsfree headset with a built in VGA (0.3MP) camera in two settings (low and high - which I now consider lower and low). I connected this to my trusty Nokia 6610i, which is still working fine. All it needed was a new battery and a new case to make it look good as new. But no touchscreen, no 8MP camera (it has a 0.1MP CIF camera), no proper internet (you could, but you'd be frustrated like crazy as even Opera Mini hangs and stalls).

I suppose it could be considered as an upgrade to those who used Nokia without a camera then or an upgrade from the crappy built in CIF camera the 6610i had - compare the two pictures above, the smaller one is taken with the built in camera and both are in their original sizes. Anyway, it is actually a toy, or a gimmick for people to show off to others at that point in time. Why do I say so? Well it actually cost half as much as the Nokia 6610 at that point of time - in 2003 the 6610 (without the 'i' as it has no camera - the 6610i came a year later cost in the region of RM700-800 and the HS-1C cost around RM400. And it was outdated within the year as everyone built in cameras into their phones.

But when it comes to these cameras do not expect the pictures to come out fabulous, it will not work in badly lit places as their sensors are minuscule. Processing power is limited. Imagine if I wrote my motoring reviews in 2011 and the photos used came out from the little Nokia phone or the HS-1c headset camera instead of the 5MP, 8MP camera phones and my trusty point & shoot camera. Check out the same car taken with a 5MP sony camera phone below. Camera phones of today have made blogging and taking decent photos much easier.

 In a world where everything is now HD this and HD that, this bit of lo-fi technology is refreshing, but that's about it actually. You can't use it for anything these days. The quality really sucks and we loved it back then as we had nothing else unless you bought a proper 2MP digital camera those days - while a far cry from the point and shoot and DSLRs of today was adept in taking proper digital photos for its time.

Trip to Australia Special: A good watch, decent walking shoes and clear blue skies

Going O.S. (that's Aussie talk for 'overseas') requires you to pilot your rented car with some confidence and style. An Omega Seamaster 300 circa 1965 on a NATO type strap did just fine. Another one of that 'One Good Watch' that everyone should have.

And if you're going on holiday one should wear a decent pair of shoes. You may drive, but you will also walk a whole lot. From one tourist locale to another, from one shop to another, from one amusement park ride to another. The little gal is wearing canvas Keds in checkered pink, the Malaysian man (namely, yours truly) is wearing chocolate brown leather wingtip sneakers - Portugese made shoes marked DeMiguel and the missus, multi-coloured Bimba & Lola.

Blue skies. Clear blue skies. This is something we do not get here in the Klang Valley, Malaysia at the moment as it seems the bushfires over in Sumatra, Indonesia has caused smog. Shitty. Really shitty And quite unlike the scenic lighthouse over at Byron Bay, New South Wales that I frequented very recently. Sigh. Quite a climb for a lazy boy like me, quite a climb.

Really Ridiculous Self Defense Item of the Month - The Slap Hat Extreme Self Defense Cap

Spotted this over on boingboing.net and it is currently on sale over on Amazon.com.


"This standard baseball cap is one the most simple, least noticeable, and efficient personal defense items on the market. The secret of this hat is a pocket of unique impact material that is 100% the density of lead and which is sewn into the cap. Simply use the bill as the handle and the cap becomes an instant impact weapon to be used against a threat. Simple, fast, and effective! The cap includes Velcro adjustment to fit all sizes."


Yeah right......... Imagine going 'Hai Yah!' and then swinging the cap like in the picture above. If it were Oddjob's bowler hat then I'd be worried.

The One Good Watch: Omega Seamaster Professional 2541.80

As I said in my last post over here that every man should have one good item of everything. I now bring you the One Good Watch. This is where I bring you short pictorials on that significant timepiece which I believe every man should have. Or aim to have. Or had.

This is an Omega Seamaster Professional Quartz divers watch circa 2001 which I currently own and cherish. It looks pretty good, large enough yet due to the bracelet dressy enough for most occasions including those pretty formal functions (although a leather strap dress watch is better but this would do). The way is looks and its heritage (its an Omega, enough said!) is why one should get a proper timepiece instead of one of those fashion or knock-off watches. It looks good, is durable 300m with a helium gas release valve for those people who end up doing deep sea dives (which I obviously do not)-

I've stuck my hands into dirty, greasy engines while wearing it on my wrist, gone swimming and lots more sweaty stuff with it. It has a few dings and knocks, but that adds character I think. Somehow doing menial chores while wearing a proper timepiece does wonders to your self esteem.

Oh yes.The Omega Seamaster Professional 300m 2541.80 (its model number) may be a quartz, but heck, its the watch James Bond used in Goldeneye (1995). And one needs a little bit of quartz accuracy and a break from winding watches all the time. This watch has basically been in production since the mid-1990s and the latest quartz variant is basically unchanged with some cosmetic accents on the dial and a slightly different caseback pattern. The thing about investing in a proper timepiece is that there are always parts for it even after ten years. Thus It deserves to be in the list of the One Good Watch.

Of course, there is the One Good Watch for formal occassions, the One Good Watch for driving, for diving, for timing a boiled egg. The list is endless............

What Every Man SHOULD Have - THE BASICS

I posted this over in motoring-malaysia.blogspot.com back in 2009. It still makes perfect sense to any man out there. There are some additions which I have marked in italics:

A Bit Of Colour To Brighten Things Up

It is actually quite dull to just wear black colored socks...with black colored shoes and with most Malaysian men, black colored pants. There are more colors out there and black colored pants should be kept for black tie functions, funerals, weddings and other formal occasion. But things should be brighter.

And EVEN IF you wear black pants, which I never do these days, you can brighten things up with a blue pair of socks. It goes extremely well with grey pants/slacks and that pair of black perforated cap toe oxfords. It also brightens up the footwell of your car.

Oh. By the way, welcome to this new blog, people.