Olle

Sliced fresh habaneros for dehydration Dehydrated habanero for grinding Habanero chilli powder Habanero chilli powder Cayenne chilli powder

10/5/2017: Western Digital WD Blue 1T B WD10EZEX was delivered overnight by PCCASEGEAR. Using Acronis Rescue Media, I cloned the failing HDD to the new HDD. Process took about 2 hours. Once done, I did another Parkdale test; result is good: Important note: when using Acronis Rescue Media, make sure that 'iGPU Multi-Monitor' is DISABLED in your motherboard BIOS. Otherwise, you'll be staring at a blank screen forever.

Our HDD (Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB WD10EALX) is acting up this past few days. Access is very, very slow and as it's used for installation of software programs, desktop use is really bad. Example, opening Photoshop takes around 15 minutes, ouch! We got this HDD back in August 2011. I ran a Parkdale program this evening and this the HDD Write/Read result: And from Western Digital's own diagnostic tool which shows a FAIL on SMART status: In contrast, HDD Write/Read from a few years ago: SSD Write/Read this evening: I bought a replacement HDD today, a Western Digital WD Blue 1TB WD10EZEX. It should be with me by tomorrow.

Our Kia Sportage 2010 had its 75,000km servicing (major) about a couple of weeks ago. One of the parts replaced is a drive belt. Starting 3 days ago, car emits a squealing noise during cold starts. See sample videos below: The servicing invoice did say that new belt(s) might need re-adjustment within 3-5 days. So I popped in to our local NRMA MotorServe, they did some checks (bolts, pulley etc) and re-adjusted tension, and now no more noise! Of course, no charge for this re-adjustment.

Daytime is getting shorter so I added a 'be seen' light on my bike. It's a  Lezyne Zecto Drive Front .

As expected in a new bike, the chain dropped. This created minor scratches near the bottom bracket. As frame material is carbon, I got worried so I bought a K-Edge Chain Catcher. Installation was pretty easy and I was also able to correct the minor error of front derailer installation by Specialized AU. Here's the chain catcher as installed: