The week on cruise control

It felt like life has taken its course on cruise control over the past four days.My 10-day leave ended last Saturday and as I returned back to work on
Sunday, there were plenty of work to do and things to catch up.In just three days, I ploughed through with loads of stories to be filled for my
regional pages.The only thing that I am looking forward to, is a short weekend with the dogs. We plan to spend this at the Cutie Pet Fair in 1 Utama's Central Park.Its been a while since we had some time out with the dogs.On Sunday, Michelle and I are going on a ride around the City Centre with
members of the Dahon Folding Bike Club.One of the members, Mr Wee rang me up early this morning, asking for
directions to the Bukit Aman carpark.He is a Dahon Eco-5 folding bike owner and had recently purchased a Speed
P8. I guess my convincing power had influenced two riders who purchased the
2010 Speed P8.Hopefully, it will be a smooth weekend and I hope the Sunday ride is gonna be
fun!

The Camera buff

Panasonic's latest high end compact camera: the Lumix LX-5

The evil twin sister: Lieca Digilux-5

I met some old friends for lunch on Monday and in our discussion, we talked
about photography.One of them, a retiree, is a camera buff.I had the faintest idea on his fixation on high-end compact camera until he told
me about his acquisition: the Panasonic Lumix LX-3 and Canon Powershot
G-11.Both are impressive tools to capture good photographs. But without the eye behind it, the camera is an inanimate object.He wasn't too pleased when I told him that Panasonic has a lousy
user-interface and that there were too many steps to manipulate the camera's
controls.Recently, Panasonic announced the replacement model for the LX-3 which is
aptly called the LX-5.Many camera buffs are jumping onto this new camera that offers a bright
aperture of F2.0 on its 24-90mm Lieca DC Vario Summicron lens.I am impressed with Panasonic's effort which also translates to Lieca's range
of high-end compact camera.Similarly, Lieca has a twin sister of the LX-5 called the Digilux-5 which costs
five times as much.I wouldn't touch that camera with a 10-feet pole.All good things said and done, Panasonic has a good system and with the
Lieca lenses, its bound to produce some good images.But if you are a crappy cameraman, even the best cameras can only yield
some mediocre results. I guess this is the case for the camera buff.

A recent upgrade on my Dahon Speed P8

The luggage rack and SKS mudguard on the rear fender

My 'urbanised' Speed P8

Another view of the bike...

Its been more than a year since I've acquired my Dahon Speed P8 folding
bicycle and recently, it underwent some minor upgrades.I've added a rear rack to carry its stowaway bag and a set of SKS mudguards
for riding in wet weather.So, basically, its not so 'naked' anymore.I am also looking at the possibility of adding a spanninga rear LED light which
is mounted on the luggage rack.This item is not available off the shelves and I managed to trace it through its
manufacturer's website. Perhaps I would have better luck shopping for this part in Singapore.Right now, the Speed P8 is up and going without any hitches.I've added a Garmin Oregon 300 GPS mount on the handlebar and its also
equipped with a Catseye wireless cycle computer.With the Dahon Folding Bike Club established for KL riders, I can look forward
to some rides around the Klang Valley.My next riding adventure would be Malacca.