Optra

At last I've got my new girlfriend,..the black optra, last Friday. It wasn't my first choice, as it will always be a Civic, but it's the best non-Malaysian car that I could afford at the moment.

At this point, not much i can say in terms of handling, performance, and fuel efficiency as I'm still in running in stage, thus I can't push it to the limit. Wait until I reach my first 1ooo km, than I'll definitely try to discover what is she capable of.

It has been mentioned that the car needs a full service every 10,000 km or a year whichever come first, so that only adds to the hassle free nature of the car. I can bet that this car is not as frugal as the New Honda City, but according to the reviews that I've read on the net, it’s really not too bad. A steady figure of 9 km/l in the worst City Traffic Conditions (KL rush) with Air conditioner is respectable for this class. That number rises considerably when you turn the AC off and drive at a constant 60-70 km/h. The car should return 11-12 km/l realistically on the highway, which is damn good for this kind of car.

The fit and finish of the body is excellent. The steering is speed sensitive and is a joy to drive! The interior is spacious for a not so big car. The car is very quiet Cabin noise if very less and it takes time and practice to keep note that engine is running and don’t gun for the ignition key. It is also very smooth, came factory with a MP3 player but of course, I've already upgraded the speakers, tweeters, crossovers and amplifiers! And with the installation of Dynamat sound proofing material, I must say the sound getting way way way better than my previous ride (though 80% of the ICE set up is taken from my Satria). I can feel the bass..so solid I don't need subwoofer anymore (but i still have it anyway..for extra power!)

One of the features I like most is the remote boot opener, more over when I have to carry bags of shopping stuff back to car and don’t have to fumble with opening the boot. Press of the remote switch is sufficient to open the boot..and yeah, this feature makes my mem besar smile all the way from Carrefour to my house!

Lightning – Chapter 2

In July 1962, US Army detonated a 1.5 megaton nuclear warhead 250 miles above the Pacific Ocean. The explosion takes place in an area of natural radiation called the Van Allen Belts. Wrapped around the earth like two giant donuts, they’re full of deadly radioactive particles – and a threat to astronauts and satellites.

It's a very hazardous area because these particles are moving so fast they'll move through skin, through flesh, tissues, also through spacecraft, damaging delicate circuits and eventually leading to satellites that will no longer function in Space.

Between the belts is an area with much less radiation – called the safe slot. Its home to commercial satellites, operating in the safety of its low radiation environment. But the warhead sends a massive dose of radiation straight into the safe slot. Radiation levels soar. Satellites cease to function. But then, just a few weeks later the slot is free of radiation. Nasa scientists are stunned. Something has created the safe slot. What?

Soon there’s a breakthrough. Researchers realise violent solar storms pump radioactive particles into space. When these head in our direction, radiation saturates the safe slot. Then, as if by magic, it clears, and the slot becomes safe again. But not all at once. And that’s the vital clue. Whatever clears the safe slot seems to be more effective at some times than others. It’s more intense on the day side than it is on the night side and it’s more intense during the summer than it is in the winter.

But how could lightning on earth affect the safe slot – 4000 miles up?

A lightning bolt tears through the air. It doesn’t just produce light, and sound, it also creates radio waves. Turn on your radio when there’s a storm nearby, and you can hear them as interference. But tune in with an all frequencies receiver, and you can pick up more than just crackle. This eerie whistling is the sound of those radio waves after they’ve travelled through space.

In 2005, a group of researchers come up with a radical new theory. Less than a second after a lightning strike on earth, the radio wave reaches the radiation belts. There it interacts with the electrically charged particles – the radiation. It forces the particles out of the safe slot. The radiation is cleared and the safe slot returns to normal.

If they are right, without lightning, radiation would soon fill the safe slot. Satellites would go down – taking out many things we’ve come to rely on. Global communications, navigation systems, cell phones, satellite television – all could shut down. Life as we know it would grind to a halt.

So, now I realize if lightning stopped tomorrow, we would see a dramatic change in the way we live today. It’s probably one of those fundamental parts of the equation that really contribute to life on Earth…and this evidently shows why God created lightning, and this is why we have to hold firm our believe in God, that whatever things He’s created, there must be significant reasons behind it.

Don Corleone.