Desktop Maintenance

I was doing a bit of servicing the other day and managed to take a few shots of my desktop. These pictures were taken by a Canon Powershot A430 (4.0MP, Canon Zoom Lens 4x Optical, 5.4-21.6mm, 1:2.8-5.8).


Side view unexposed


Side view exposed


Close up of side view exposed


An even closer look

Night Vision

Here's how my laptop looks like when the lights go out. No prizes for guessing what the different colours represent.


Lights out

SR71

The Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird is a Mach 3 strategic reconnaissance aircraft. The Blackbird is also known as the Sled or the Habu. It was manufactured by Lockheed Skunk Works. The SR-71 was in service from 1964 to 1998. It was designed by Clarence "Kelly" Johnson. The SR-71 has strengths and weaknesses. It's defensive strengths are its high velocity and high flying altitude. It is capable of evading a Surface to Air Missile (SAM) or a Side Winder (SW) or even an enemy aircraft; by accelerating to Mach 3.3 and outrunning and outmanuevering the enemy missile and the enemy aircraft. The missile and aircraft are unable to catch up with the plane. However, it also has weaknesses. It was shaped to reduce Radar Cross Section (RCS), but it was not stealthy enough (observability) because it produced a radar signature that could be tracked by enemy radar systems. It is not invisible to enemy radar, thus it is an easy target for SAMs or SWs or enemy aircraft. The SR-71 does not have any offensive capabilities, such as SWs or gattling guns. It uses its superior speed and superior flying altitude to defend itself.

13 SR-71s have been lost so far, all due to non-combat related reasons.

Here are the specs of the SR-71A:

General Characteristics
Crew: 2
Payload: 3,500 lb (1,600 kg) of sensors
Length: 107 ft 5 in (32.74 m)
Wingspan: 55 ft 7 in (16.94 m)
Height: 18 ft 6 in (5.64 m)
Wing Area: 1,800 ft2 (170 m2)
Empty Weight: 67,500 lb (30 600 kg)
Loaded Weight: 170,000 lb (77 000 kg)
Max Takeoff Weight: 172,000 lb (78 000 kg)
Powerplant: 2 × Pratt & Whitney J58-1 continuous-bleed afterburning turbojets, 32,500 lbf (145 kN) each
Wheel Track: 16 ft 8 in (5.08 m)
Wheel Base: 37 ft 10 in (11.53 m)
Aspect Ratio: 1.7

Performance Characteristics
Maximum Speed: Mach 3.3+ (2,200+ mph, 3530+ km/h) at 80,000 ft (24,000m)
Combat Range: 2,900 nm (5400 km)
Ferry Range: 3,200 nm (5,925 km)
Service Ceiling: 85,000 ft (25,900m, 16 miles)
Rate of Climb: 11,810 ft/min (60 m/s)
Wing Loading: 94 lb/ft2 (460 kg/m2)
Thrust/Weight: 0.382


Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird

Many thanks to Wikipedia for the above information.

Dinner @ 7 Mile

Just had dinner at Boon Tong Kee and McD. Had chicken rice and chicken teppanyaki burger with large fries and large coke, upsize yes please. The teppanyaki tastes like the prosperity burger, although I haven't tried the chicken prosperity yet. The fries were actually shaker fries, I had to empty the seasoning into a brown paper bag, shake it baby and you are ready to go. Chicken rice was a set meal, SGD3.80, normal chicken of course. (the chicken drumsticks would cost more) After that had some ice-cream, Walls Magnum Almond, yummy! Haagen Daaz and Ben & Jerry's is too expensive for me, if I had the money I would go for HD Green Tea or BJ Butter Pecan. Well students can only afford Walls. Parking was a hassle at 7 mile (Cheong Chin Nam Rd, opp Beauty World/Bukit Timah), all the lots were filled to the brim, managed to get a spot far far away, had to walk quite a distance. Anyone care to treat me to HD or BJ? Sigh... back to the grinding mill.

HP OmniBook XE2

Btw did I mention that I happen to own a laptop as well, a HP OmniBook XE2 which is 7 years old. This laptop is my working computer, my workhorse, my baby, my precious; I use it for my assignments and projects, it has not failed me so far. Not good for gaming though, it can run HL, Doom 1 & 2, Quake 1 & 2 and AOE2TC decently. It has decent specs: Pentium II 366MHz, 128MB SDRAM, 4.5GB HDD, 12.1" screen, 4MB integrated VGA, running 98SE. The HP is hooked up to an AL ADA305 speakers via USB, and 98SE only supports AMS. It is still chugging along fine, although it has a tendency to shut down when least expected. The PSU might be faulty, gonna send it for repairs one day, don't know if HP still stocks replacement parts for that model. Thinking of upgrading to a HP or Dell laptop, any suggestions? Which one is better - ATI Mobility Radeon or NV GeForce Go? Another question, which one is better - Intel Core 2 Duo or AMD Turion 64 X2? Should I upgrade to Vista or stick with XP? Some advice would be helpful.

HP OmniBook XE2


98SE