Thank God It's Friday...Not This Week For Me

People who work love Fridays. It marks the end of the workweek. Everyone's looking forward to spending quality time in the weekends doing something they enjoy doing. I was looking forward to have a nice time relaxing and chilling out after an exhausting work week, with the plant start up and all. Well, if it's not meant to be, it's not meant to be.

I was heading home from Ayer Keroh at about 6-ish. I was in the PLUS highway northbound to KL, when somewhere in Pedas, the rain starts to fall. Then it started to get really heavy (wiper no.2 la). I was doing around 90, 100kmh. Plus, the cars starting to pile up, you know, typical rush hour for the weekends. As I reach just after Seremban's R&R (km 275.5, according to what I wrote in my police report), the car in front of me suddenly braked. My quick reflexes triggered me to push the break hard enough, I managed to slow my car and avoid hitting the car in front. Unfortunately (hear comes the sad part), the car behind me could not brake on time and then, Bang! hits my rear bumper. I was shocked my mind just could not process what just happened. I drove my car for further 5 meters and then stopped. It was raining and I was like, damnnn..accident plak dah, and I put on the hazard lights and head out to check my car. Aiyoo, bumper sudah kemek. I grabbed my mobile phone and snapped the picture of my rear bumper, took photos of the car which banged me (btw, it's a white Proton Wira, registration no WMS 1467). Funny enough (although really it's not), there's 5 Series BMW got banged by another car (I think it's a Hyundai). The BMW, driven by a Chinese chap had minor bruises on his rear bumper, but his exhaust almost fell down! We then took our car to the side, chatted about what happened, what to do and all that, and this guy suddenly showed up to ask us to head to Seremban police station report about this. Later I found out that the dude was working for a workshop (kira macam runner la, siap ngan tow truck ready). Damn, they were quick to the scene (more about them later on).

So with my bruised bumper, not properly closed boot and with my hazard lights on, we headed to the nearest police station. Somehow I lost track of the convoy and took my own way to the nearest police station, which led me to IPD Sepang. There, upon asking me where the incident took place, they insist that the location is under Seremban's jurisdiction, so I need to head there to report. I was like 'Geez, takleh ke buat kat sini je?' I was hungry, soaking wet, so want to pee, not to mention fuckin' pissed! So I made my way, driving to Seremban at 60kmh (the last thing I want right now is to have my boot flying off my car, leaving me behind). At about 10:30 ish, I reached Seremban's police station. I parked my car outside the station, headed inside when a bunch of these runners I talked about earlier, starts asking me if 'abang dah ada workshop dah?', while at the same time handing over their business cards. I was like 'do they smell opportunity, do they have insider info of what's going on'? I head inside to find out they are about 20 people reporting of accidents! It was 10:45 when I took my queue number, and only called on at 12:30am! My god, this is just horrible! While sitting, standing, pacing around the station, I observed these so-called runners teaching victims how to write their report', explaining what to do next, bla3, even hanging around with a few of the officers. Haha, talked about networking for your business.

So then comes my number. I sat down, gave my IC and license number and the police lady took my statement. I waited for a while when another officer asked me to show my car, took some photos. The incident investigator then asked me to head home and wait for his call. By the time it all finished, it is already 2am. I head back to KL, doing 60, 80kmh and reach home at 2:45. I'm so starved and I can barely open my eyes....What..a...day it has been.

Some photos after this. I need some serious cheering up. I know! I'll get my 13.3" Macbook Pro today! Sighhh...

When it happened...
The banger...

The morning afterAnother view
My statement...

MG3 & HPU2 Turnaround 2009: Ramblings

This is like my first post for 2010, and it's been about what, a month since my last post. Before I go any further, I just want to wish everyone 'Happy New Year'. I would like to quote from my sms sent to mass recipients, 'Cheers to a good 2010. May this new year bring many opportunities your way; to explore every joy of life, turning dreams into reality, and all efforts into great accomplishments.' I wish nothing but the best to everyone including myself for this year. May all your dreams, wishes (and past unfulfilled resolutions) come true.

Enough intro. So, I've been busy over last month. As you have read in my previous posts, the refinery I'm working at is having its turnaround (TA in short, basically a routine major shutdown). A lot has happened within this time span. I am currently relaxing within the comforts of my own home, after gruelling hours spent working. I'll try my best to share what went on and all that, just so that you guys have a feel.

The TA begins with the handover of the plant from the Operations team to the TA team, which is on December 3rd, according to my Twitter. The plant comprises of equipments such as distillations columns, heat exchangers, pressure vessels, relief valves, furnaces, and many more, the size is just massive! I was given the responsibility to supervise the works for pressure vessels. Basically the works will be done by the contractor, and it is my responsibility to ensure everything goes well, within the require time frame, and ensure work execution was done safely. Pressure vessel works started with the equipment isolation (to make sure no hydrocarbon enters the vessel before entry), opening of the manhole, pre-cleaning inspection, cleaning, full inspection, inspection by Department of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH; more about them later), manhole closing and de-isolation, and I think it applies pretty much the same for other equipments. Some of the equipments operate in high pressure (to give you an idea, there's a picture of the size of the bolts and nuts used to seal the manhole and contain the vessel), and there are some which is located in high elevation, so heavy lifting is required to remove some parts (as you can see later, the cranes used are just like the Transformers)

The stud bolts used at of the pressure vessels. Huge!The 400T crane used for the heavy lifting. There are 2 of these, and a smaller one

The TA is also the time you can see inspection works carried out in a bigger scale. Basically for an equipment to operate, it must have a CF (Certificate of Fitness). You need to know how good/or bad your equipment is after operating for a certain period of time. Parameters checked include corrosion rates, signs of deterioration, hairline cracks, weldin intergrity, and many more. The inspectors always have the coolest gadgets! They have infra red, ultrasonic, CCTV, boroscope. You name it, they have it! They are like the CSI of engineering. I happened to witness some of the inspection works carried out, such as CCTV, Ultrasonic Thickness Scanning (UTS), and it was a great experience.

TA challenges are totally a different ball game. You'll never know what to expect till you actually see it. We've encountered this coke substance (solidified, hardened carbon deposits) stucked at a few of our heat exchangers, then I've experienced pyrophoric material first hand (stuff that auto ignites when exposed to air). We've had issues with heat exchanger leaks during hydrostatic tests, seized bolts till it requires flame cutting, unprecedented thinning in one of our heat exchangers; problems are encountered one after another. Not to mention the weather has not always been on our side (what do you expect, it's the time of the year, the monsoon season). It kinda slowed down our progress a little bit. We're a bit off-schedule, but heck; work must be completed at all costs!

Throughout this TA, I was on a journey to explore my true mental and emotional limits. The contractors just like pushing our buttons, and sometimes they just get into your cracking nerves. By the final week, I think my mind works differently than my body (basically dah weng la). My bosses almost got into a fist fight, mind you because of these emotional stresses! That is how tensed all of us are. I even followed one of my colleagues for a full body massage (haha, not to be shared in this post, next one perhaps?:p)

I lost track of what to write next. Ahaa, let's talk a bit about the DOSH fellas. They basically are the ones who determined whether these equipments are fit to run. They're from the G, so yeah, they got the power. What I found out is that all of them are relatively young (the one I escorted is just a year older than me!), lack of experience, mostly a diploma holder. But from what I heard (biasala, office gossip), they demand! They had new bags, uniform, shoes each day they come for the visit, escorted by their entourages, dining VIP style, came and go whenever they feel like it, banyak lagi la. Hahaha, hopefully this stays here.

I lost ideas of what to write. Will update soon of any. Have a good weekend!

Yawnnn...

When I stumbled into this article, I remember being in a Physics class back in college. Mr Suresh, my Physics teacher was explaining something I don't quite remember, but I do remember unintentionally yawn (I supposed it's because it's a bit boring), when I got caught with a caution 'No yawning in my class'. I supposed now reading this article I can say, 'You should let me yawn!'

Yawn It’s one of the best things you can do for your brain.

By Andrew Newburg

Go ahead: Laugh if you want (though you’ll benefit your brain more if you smile), but in my professional opinion, yawning is one of the best-kept secrets in neuroscience. Even my colleagues who are researching meditation, relaxation, and stress reduction at other universities have overlooked this powerful neural-enhancing tool. However, yawning has been used for many decades in voice therapy as an effective means for reducing performance anxiety and hypertension in the throat.

Several recent brain-scan studies have shown that yawning evokes a unique neural activity in the areas of the brain that are directly involved in generating social awareness and creating feelings of empathy. One of those areas is the precuneus, a tiny structure hidden within the folds of the parietal lobe. According to researchers at the Institute of Neurology in London, the precuneus appears to play a central role in consciousness, self-reflection, and memory retrieval. The precuneus is also stimulated by yogic breathing, which helps explain why different forms of meditation contribute to an increased sense of self-awareness. It is also one of the areas hardest hit by age-related diseases and attention deficit problems, so it’s possible that deliberate yawning may actually strengthen this important part of the brain. For these reasons I believe that yawning should be integrated into exercise and stress reduction programs, cognitive and memory enhancement training, psychotherapy, and contemplative spiritual practice. And, because the precuneus has recently been associated with the mirror-neuron system in the brain (which allows us to resonate to the feelings and behaviors of others), yawning may even help us to enhance social awareness, compassion, and effective communication with others.

Why am I so insistent? Because if I were to ask you to put this magazine down right now and yawn 10 times to experience this fabulous technique, you probably won’t do it. Even at seminars, after presenting the overwhelmingly positive evidence, when I ask people to yawn, half of the audience will hesitate. I have to coax them so they can feel the immediate relaxing effects. There’s an unexplained stigma in our society implying that it’s rude to yawn, and most of us were taught this when we were young.

As a young medical student, I was once “caught” yawning and actually scolded by my professor. He said that it was inappropriate to appear tired in front of patients, even though I was actually standing in a hallway outside of the patient’s room. Indeed, yawning does increase when you’re tired, and it may be the brain’s way of gently telling you that a little rejuvenating sleep is needed. On the other hand, exposure to light will also make you yawn, suggesting that it is part of the process of waking up.

But yawning doesn’t just relax you—it quickly brings you into a heightened state of cognitive awareness. Students yawn in class, not because the teacher is boring (although that will make you yawn as well, as you try to stay focused on the monotonous speech), but because it rids the brain of sleepiness, thus helping you stay focused on important concepts and ideas. It regulates consciousness and our sense of self, and helps us become more introspective and self-aware. Of course, if you happen to find yourself trapped in a room with a dull, boring, monotonous teacher, yawning will help keep you awake.

Yawning will relax you and bring you into a state of alertness faster than any other meditation technique I know of, and because it is neurologically contagious, it’s particularly easy to teach in a group setting. One of my former students used yawning to bring her argumentative board of directors back to order in less than 60 seconds. Why? Because it helps people synchronize their behavior with others.

Yawning, as a mechanism for alertness, begins within the first 20 weeks after conception. It helps regulate the circadian rhythms of newborns, and this adds to the evidence that yawning is involved in the regulation of wakefulness and sleep. Since circadian rhythms become asynchronous when a person’s normal sleep cycle is disturbed, yawning should help the late-night partygoer reset the brain’s internal clock. Yawning may also ward off the effects of jet lag and ease the discomfort caused by high altitudes.

So what is the underlying mechanism that makes yawning such an essential tool? Besides activating the precuneus, it regulates the temperature and metabolism of your brain. It takes a lot of neural energy to stay consciously alert, and as you work your way up the evolutionary ladder, brains become less energy efficient. Yawning probably evolved as a way to cool down the overly active mammalian brain, especially in the areas of the frontal lobe. Some have even argued that it is a primitive form of empathy. Most vertebrates yawn, but it is only contagious among humans, great apes, macaque monkeys, and chimpanzees. In fact, it’s so contagious for humans that even reading about it will cause a person to yawn.

Dogs yawn before attacking, Olympic athletes yawn before performing, and fish yawn before they change activities. Evidence even exists that yawning helps individuals on military assignment perform their tasks with greater accuracy and ease. Indeed, yawning may be one of the most important mechanisms for regulating the survival-related behaviors in mammals. So if you want to maintain an optimally healthy brain, it is essential that you yawn. It is true that excessive yawning can be a sign that an underlying neurological disorder (such as migraine, multiple sclerosis, stroke, or drug reaction) is occurring. However, I and other researchers suspect that yawning may be the brain’s attempt to eliminate symptoms by readjusting neural functioning.

Numerous neurochemicals are involved in the yawning experience, including dopamine, which activates oxytocin production in your hypothalamus and hippocampus, areas essential for memory recall, voluntary control, and temperature regulation. These neurotransmitters regulate pleasure, sensuality, and relationship bonding between individuals, so if you want to enhance your intimacy and stay together, then yawn together. Other neurochemicals and molecules involved with yawning include acetylcholine, nitric oxide, glutamate, GABA, serotonin, ACTH, MSH, sexual hormones, and opium derivate peptides. In fact, it’s hard to find another activity that positively influences so many functions of the brain.

My advice is simple. Yawn as many times a day as possible: when you wake up, when you’re confronting a difficult problem at work, when you prepare to go to sleep, and whenever you feel anger, anxiety, or stress. Yawn before giving an important talk, yawn before you take a test, and yawn while you meditate or pray because it will intensify your spiritual experience.

Conscious yawning takes a little practice and discipline to get over the unconscious social inhibitions, but people often come up with three other excuses not to yawn: “I don’t feel like it,” “I’m not tired,” and my favorite, “I can’t.” Of course you can. All you have to do to trigger a deep yawn is to fake it six or seven times. Try it right now, and you should discover by the fifth false yawn, a real one will begin to emerge. But don’t stop there, because by the tenth or twelfth yawn, you’ll feel the power of this seductive little trick. Your eyes may start watering and your nose may begin to run, but you’ll also feel utterly present, incredibly relaxed, and highly alert. Not bad for something that takes less than a minute to do. And if you find that you can’t stop yawning—I’ve seen some people yawn for thirty minutes—you’ll know that you’ve been depriving yourself of an important neurological treat.

You Know Italiano? Si, Si, Little Bit...

I'm not sure if this is a standard issue of Lonely Planet's guidebook to Italy...but it sure is funny. Imagine, getting lucky with some Italian chick when you just have to reach the phrasebook to ensure she's having a good time, haha...

The Refinery Turnaround

The refinery I'm working at right now will be having its first turnaround starting today. We will start reducing feed capacity and should be in total shutdown mode in 5 days time. So, since the refinery operated 24/7, you can't afford to shut it down very long. Work around the clock is very, very necessary in this case. Thorough and detailed planning has been taking place for the past year, ensuring that everything is in order. Even 1 hour delay is not acceptable in a turnaround, as time is money, literally. Just as a ball park figure, the plant I'm working in generates about 300K dollars per day in revenue.


So, why do we have to shutdown? Well, in the new plant's case, once you got it commissioned you will get the Certificate of Fitness (CF). For a new plant it will last for 12 months. Then you need to shut it down, held up a series of inspection to make sure everything is in order, then you'll get to extend the CF. You can get an extension up to 72 months before shutting down again. So, the Department of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH) will be calling the shots when it comes to the inspection.


Besides my plant, another complex will be having its turnaround as well to extend their CF. Things are going to get very complicated, messy, not to mention tiring. I don't think I'll be able to update the blog for this coming 1 month. I will however try to update myself via Twitter, so stay updated. I might also post something in advance if I have the time

The Most Hideous Burger In Town?

So I took my mum & Yaya for dinner last night. We went to My Mom's Chicken Rice (the famous Linda Onn's dining spot) nearby Ampang Point, which I don't quite understand why it got so famous. If you ask me, I've tasted better chicken rice. Perhaps, because it's Linda Onn's it has some star appeal to the customers. Anyway, driving home Yaya suddenly mentioned about 1 particular burger stall which is quite famous. Having a big appetite, I thought 'Let's check it out'. 10 minutes later, here we were, at Burger Om.

Seeing the stall at first sight, the stall definitely does not spell out much appeal. It looks like your typical burger stall that you came across every day. By the way, don't get me started on asking why the hell do all burger stalls are located so close to 7-11? The only difference I can see is the one who's making it. Most stalls that I go to are handled by teens at their 20s, not some old chap with his wife as you can see here. And thanks to my eavesdropping skills, I learnt that he has been involved in this business for the past 25 years.

So, after waiting we got our burgers and we headed home. I can't wait to see what's so special about this burger. Is it so delicious beyond imagination? That would probably be too ambitious, judging from the appearance of the stall. But I'm not to judge, I'm just wanting to have a good meal. I opened the wrapping when I saw this:
I might be wrong, but could this be the most hideous looking burger I've ever seen in my life? I mean look at it! Does it not spell sloppiness and poorly prepared? How come this burger got famous? Mind you, I've ordered a beef special, not a double beef special. You can only imagine how double beef special will look like after looking at the above. I looked at Yaya when she insisted me to try it first. I had my first bite, and then everything changes. It DOES NOT taste like it looks. It may look poorly done and all, but it sure tasted good. Juicy, tender, full of flavour, as what you might expect from an experienced burger maker. But again, looking at the image above and you are not wrong; it looks like it is deep fried, with all the oil and grease...and...may I suggest full discretion upon eating this. Your health is yours to take care of. Hehe.

Satisfied with the 'sloppy burger', I browsed the Internet to verify the claim that this 'Om Burger' is in fact famous. I was stunned. There have been a few food blogs praising about how good this burger is. And one more thing, it may be the most hideous burger in town, but it also holds another record, according to popular votes:

I'm not kidding you. Fried Chillies (a legit Malaysian network site on food) organised the 1st Annual Fried Chillies Foodsters Awards and Om Burger was voted 'The Best Street Burger In KL'! (you can check the list of winners here).

So, don't just take my word. Try it out! Om Burger is located at Lorong Kolam Air Lama, 68000 Ampang Jaya, Selangor. (N 3.16063 E101.78560 for those of you with GPS). Who says sloppy can't taste good? Till the next post...

Seen And Heard: Kris Allen - Live Like We're Dying

Today has been a gloomy day, as it started raining from the afternoon till about like 6 or so. Anyway, I was downloading a few songs for my collection and I encountered this song. At first I thought it was from The Script. I was like 'Gee, haven't heard this song before. Is it from The Script?' After further digging, I found out the truth: it is Kris Allen's latest single! Hey hey, now why it sounded just like The Script's nature of songs? Turns out, it was originally recorded by The Script. But then, it was pretty much unreleased, and now Kris got his hands on it! Check out his video after this. If you're a big fan of The Script, I'm damn sure you'll like this too:)
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