KY’s Mini Studio

How do you find these pictures of the Stella 10k? Nice? Sharp? :)

And here is one with a Rapala lure.

And the Pluton. 

And here’s some comparison with the BEFORE pictures. Same camera and setting.

NEW

OLD 

NEW

OLD

Anyway, the NEW pictures are taken in my new mini DIY studio. I think they are sharper because of the softer more evenly distributed lighting. The OLD ones are also more grainy. And the NEW ones has sharper distribution on the object. I think it will be even better with a tripod and on timer. And much better with a DSLR. :-p

Here are the materials. White hollow boards. Tapes, single and double sided. Stapler. Blade. White smooth surface A3 paper. 

Trim to desired sizes and join them using the tapes. Few layer would be good.

 

Cut holes on the top and side for lightings. These holes need to be covered with white cloth to soften the lights.   

Tape the whole box up, double tape the white paper inside for the background and base, cover up the top and sides with the cloth... And JOB DONE!! :D Project budget, less than RM30 :D Number of lights pretty much depends on preference. I use 2, 1 from the top and 1 from the side.

Battle of the Tubes

Well not exactly a battle. Just thought I’d do a simple write-up of the rod cases/tubes that I have.

Here are the contenders…

From left to right-

1) Plano Airliner Telescoping Rod Case,

2) Nature Boys Rod Case,

3) Pioneer, &

4) Plano

 

Lets start off with #4 Plano. Latest acquisition to replace #3 Pioneer. I use the Pioneer tube everytime I fly back to Brunei. I’d pack 2/3 light rods to go. But because it’s one of those cheap and happy for a while case, the zipper didn’t last after a few trips. The zippers are still there; it just doesn’t zip. So the last trip back to Brunei, I had to wrap the opening with duct tapes with a pad lock just so people think that it’s securely locked. So once I got back, I went to Sabre to pick #4 up.

At RM195 (prior discount) it definitely gives me much better piece of mind knowing my rods are safe. I think rod cases/tubes are something you don’t wanna stinge on. It’s a necessity. Anyway, here are some pictures…

This is the part that holds the extension of the case; which extends up to 9ft. Which I don’t think it’s advisable as it becomes flimsy like can break anytime like that.

 

And this is the cap/cover.  

Twist and lock mechanism.

And of course slot for your padlock.

Comes with a leather strap to hold the cap/cover to the case.

Here’s the base. Stands upright nicely but definitely not firmly.  

And here’s my gigantic rod case from Nature Boys.

This is the heart of the case; sturdy and solid support throughout.

And it opens and closes like a suitcase. Very functional compared to the normal ones where you insert from top. With this, you can line them up on the suitcase part first. Once done, just slide the top cover and close.

 

Extends up to 8ft+. Weighing in at 5.7kg, (3kg more than Plano Airliner) it’s definitely a heavy weight. But heck… 3kg for additional piece of mind… ok wat…

When I received this case, the first thing I did was stand on it. Something you won’t wanna try on the Planos Airliner.

And this is #1, my Plano Airliner. Been my faithful companion for many trips. Never had a problem with it. Good investment too. But of course, retirement is inevitable, to make room for Nature Boys!!

Crocs

New Crocs!! Dunno what's the model. Can't find it in their website. Wore it to Cyberjaya for fishing few days back. Suprisingly comfy and good grip on wet grass and climbing up and down loose pebbles.

Lace to tighten the grip on your feet.

Non-marking rubber.

Crocs exo-frame.

Toshiba Satellite M300

Toshiba Satellite M300

For the past few years that I've been blogging, I've always been using company's laptop, and it has always been IBM's Thinkpad. Recently, because of security and cost cutting reasons, we had to switch all our laptops to desktops. And that is why the past couple of weeks I was not able to blog. No laptop and worst of all, all my pictures were stuck in my company's laptop as they disabled all the USB ports, again for security reasons. Am kinda upset as I still have lots of pictures that I wanted to post but didn't have the time... so kinda need to retake all the pictures..

Anyway, knowing PC Fair was around the corner, I decided to buy a laptop of my own. Hahahaha... after so many years.

As usual, I was doing some extensive reseach on CNET and multiple forums and the finalist were down to HP's DV4 and Toshiba's M300, with similar specs and pricing. And since Toshiba seems to be slightly more reliable with better built quality, I got myself the Satellite M300 :)

Here are some pictures...

Powered by Intel.
Fingerprint reader.
harman/kardon - speakers brand I think...

Proud member of...

For more info, please refer to Spirit of the Sea.

Plano Flipsider Base Station

An extract from Plano website -

This totally unique hybrid system has a molded storage area with three rows of FlipSider® compartments. Also includes three 3700 ProLatch™ utility boxes. Three exterior pockets let you store necessary items without getting in the way of your tackle.

And a quote from Tackletour -

The hybrid Plano FlipSider effectively blends both soft and hard tackle storage systems together

A gift from NN couple months back, from Fishingline Tackle. Been wanting to get this ever since I saw the review in Tackletour. But after getting the Shout! Jigger Bag which kinda took care of all my travelling needs, the Plano took a number that never got called. But anyway, totally functional and cool storage bag to owe, value for money. Can't remember exactly the price, I think it was between RM300-RM350. Push the guy in Fishingline a bit and he will give a good price. ;-)

Here are some (jumble up) pictures and some of my comments.

JENG JENG JENG!!!

Heavy duty stitching all around for extra durability.

Multiple latch, again for durability.

Fits most lures and jigs.

Non slip padding to prevent slipping.

Buckles that didn't sit well with saltwater. Totally corroded after my trip to Tukun Perak. Not so much built for saltwater.

This is comfortable!!!

It's call Base Station for a reason...

Front pouch for extra storage. Good for leaders, pliers, gloves, etc.

With water proof zipper.