Create Your Own Passport Photo!

When I go to photo shop to get my passport photo done, 4 pieces of photo costs me RM 15. If you have a family of 4, that quickly add up to RM 60. Add it up with the cost of applying for visa, that can easily reach RM 120++.

Most photo shops only use a cheap point and shoot camera, with a makeshift backdrop. Yet they charged so much for the service. When I looked at my passport photo, the quality is pretty crappy. When my photo stays at the passport for 5 years, might as well I look good in it. So I looked into alternatives...

1) I've considered purchasing a compact printer, Canon Selphy CP910. The printer itself costs RM 449 and to get the 108 pcs of 4R photo paper and the printing cassette, it costs another RM 108. If I can squeeze 4 to 6 pieces of passport photo size in 4R paper, it will only costs me RM 1 per piece of paper. Pretty cheap, but I need capital of RM 557 to get the complete equipment

2) I've considered freemium online services that will detect your faces and the proper size requirement for certain countries. After googling for various websites, I came across 123passportphoto.com, that provides pretty good services and the pricing is not that bad too.

For ~RM10, the code is valid for life time and it can be used for the whole family. So instead of paying RM 15 for one-time, 4 pcs-crappy-photo from photo shop, I would rather spend on this service. I can decide how my photos looks like from my own camera, get 6-8 hi res photo on 4R sheet, stick it in USB drive and print it at quick photo labs for around 50 cents per piece (example at Harvey Norman ) , it still comes cheap rather than buying a printer that you don't use regularly.

The downsize is that the list of the countries are not complete (yet?). But as long as Malaysia is available, it's good enough, although the information on photo requirement is outdated ( latest Malaysia passport requires white background photo, not blue). I hope they update the database from users' feedback. I've sent them a note today (29 January 2014), let's see how long they will respond

Update 4:57pm : Wow! Their response were very quick. They have updated the information for Malaysia already!

Malaysia Telco Contract Penalty Calculations

Maxis
(this info is correct as of 7 November 2013)

Penalty = (RRP-upfront payment) x (remaining months / 12 or 24 months) + RM 100 (admin fee)

example :
iPhone 5S 16GB : RRP RM2,399
iPhone 5S 16GB : bought with package iValue 1 : RM1,899
contract : 12 months
months remaining in contract : 3 months

So, Penalty = [(2,399-1,899) x 3/12] + 100 = RM 225

Philips GC9240 Iron Review

Philips GC9240 Steam Generator Iron

Introduction:

All my previous irons are from Philips. It’s just a personal preference that whenever I bought an iron, I wanted Philips. The oldest Philips iron I bought was 7 years ago, and it is still working fine. So naturally, when I’m looking for a new iron, Philips is the first thing that comes to mind. Here comes the GC9240

First Impression:

It is one expensive iron! I came across this thing during HOMEDEC 2012 Exhibition at KL Convex. I was impressed with all the bells and whistles that comes in it and decided to get it right away, but at different store or course :)

What I like:

1. My big turn on is the absence of temperature knob. Means that I don’t have to set different temperature for different fabric. I don’t know how it works but there is a chip in it that detects different kind of fabric. It’s no coincident that I have burned many shirts (together with ironing board) before this. So I guess this iron could solve all these problems.  I tried ironing my cotton shirt, linen shirt and polyester pant after one another and it just works! I also left the iron unattended for 10 mins with my old shirt (for experiment) and it did not burn at all. I’m lovin this!
2. I discovered that I can save time and electricity with  this iron. How? Take a long sleeve shirt for example. With regular iron, I need to iron on both sides of the sleeve. With this iron, I just iron one side of it, and the other side will come out perfect as well. Same goes with my wife’s baju kurung. I can do twice amount of clothes at any given time with this new iron compared with the old iron. There is a button under the handle where the pressured steam came out when you push it. For even higher pressure, push the button on the top handle. Philips says maximum steam pressure is 6 bar, but no way I can measure this.
3.  Just don’t put your hands under the ironing board. The pressured steam from the iron can pass through the board and burn your hands. Don’t let kids playing underneath it either.
4. Big water reservoir. It is 1.5 liter tank of water, good for almost 1 hour of ironing. So I don’t have to go to the kitchen for a refill as often. Means more ironing. Means less idle iron. Means more electricity savings
5. The lock switch. After I’m finished with ironing. I don’t have to worry my kids pulling the cable and tipping over the iron. Once it’s locked, it securely attached to its base. The kid needs to be very strong to lift the whole unit (~5 kg I guess) 
6. Philips throw away free ironing board. It’s not a cheap wood board, but an iron mesh with foam. It’s quite long too. I got to check the exact measurement
7. It comes with standard 2 years warranty. I purchased mine from Harvey Norman with add-on for extra 3 years warranty. So in total I’ve got 5 years warranty

What I don’t like:

Nothing I  don’t like but there are some minor things I need to adjust.

1. This iron is not meant to be portable. I have to have a dedicated space to put the base somewhere
2. The sound came from the pressured steam is much higher compared with traditional steam iron. Maybe it’s a new thing for me, but it is like a small laundry shop.

Conclusion:

Philips GC9240 Steam Generator Iron serves true to its promise. Although it  is on the pricey side (RRP RM1699, although some shops can give you some discount), but you’ll definitely save in the long run. Plus, the reliability of the brand makes me comfortable investing in this particular iron. My family doesn’t have a maid, so we are doing our own house chores. So I thought if we were to do it ourselves, better get something good. Ironing in particular, can be a tiring and time-consuming affair. But this iron definitely helps us a lot!

Conversation with 2 year old

Mama: Esok Abah work, Mama work. Rais buat apa? Pergi school ye? Rais: Rais pegi Giant beli ikan

How Maybank2u Scamming Works

Maybank, being #1 bank in the country undoubtedly makes its more vulnerable to phishing attacks. I'm sure most of us have received emails regarding 'Security Alert from Maybank' asking to update our account information.

This email looks familiar?

When you click the link to 'Unlock Account', a login page appeared. It looks very convincingly similar to the authentic Maybank2u website. Take a look at the comparison image below...

The fake link. Note the URL address redirects to some weird address

The authentic link. Note the security signature on the 'tiger' logo on the url bar, and secured url (https) and also the 'locked padlock' icon on the bottom left of the window

That's the reason why logging in to your bank account from email link is a badddddd idea. ALWAYS log in to your online account via original bank address (http://www.maybank2u.com.my/ in this case, and login from there)

Now, back to the fake login page. I managed to bypass the security system to login to my account. See below

My dumbass account

After that, it will ask you to enter your TAC number...

Once you gave up your TAC, you'll be milked dry...

Finally, you will get a friendly message saying "Your account is being verified by our security team. Do not login to your account within the next 48 hours so as not to cause error(s) in our database."

Why 48 hours, you might ask? Because by then your bank account will be milked dry by the syndicate. Please do not login before 48 hours, otherwise you'll messed up our database. For a bank who conducts billions of ringgit worth of transaction every day, its that easy to messed up the database, eh? Sounds phishy.....