Osim is a company founded in Singapore that specialises in “health” products. By “health” products, I meant products like massage chairs and ‘weight loss belts’. Initially I thought that the company is Japanese because “OSIM” is “MISO” spelt backwards. Miso being my favourite Japanese soup. Anyway, the success of the company is incredible, transforming from an obscure company a few years ago, to a multi-million dollar corporation that expanded rapidly in Singapore, to Malaysia and in fact, the world.


Those Singaporeans sure are damn serious about their health.

Osim iSqueez – Squeeze your legs (and maybe other body parts) for better health.

Osim iSqueez is yet another item in the list of many products that popularizes the use of small letter ‘i’ in the name, after Apple’s iPod, Helwett-Packard’s iPaq and George W Bush’s iRaq. The iSqueez (yes, that’s the correct spelling – no ‘e’ at the end) is a foot massage gizmo that, according to them, is “specially created to relief the negative effects of everyday stress on your feet and restore your overall sense of well-being”.
Whatever.

At RM1,388 the Osim iSqueez does not come cheap.

Someone bought one of these baby as a gift to my father, which costs RM1,388 from the Osim outlet in Tun Jugah Shopping Mall. Unfortunately my father prefers a real foot reflexologist than some thousand dollar gadget. There are other types of foot massagers available, but I reckon most of them should be marketed under “Foot Tickler” label instead.

Osim iSqueez’s package looks very inviting.

The back of the box brags about the foot massager even further. “The revitalizing massage relaxes and restores, giving you that extra bounce in your steps, just like walking on clouds!” Heh. Man! Walking on clouds? The last time I heard someone THAT boastful is when I told people I wear XL size condoms.
Well, I like the overall design of the packaging. Props to the designer to come up with such a nice colour scheme. Oh, did I mention that it has a similar colour scheme to kennysia.com? Heh, it is a good colour scheme I tell you, white and light blue.
Anyway, the box itself already look pretty very inviting to the wallet. Of course, a few pictures of some nice smooth pair of legs wouldn’t hurt either. 🙂

Different ways of using the Osim iSqueez.

There’s many different ways of using the foot massager. I would think that the most common way to use it is with you sitting down on a chair or sofa. Considering how heavy it is, I don’t think its something you would want to use lying down. After all if you happen to doze while using it, you might very well kick that lug of a thing down to the floor and break it.

And here’s the actual photo of the Osim iSqueez. You are forgiven if you mistaken it for a toaster.
There are handles on two sides of the unit. Too bad there’s not much use of them considering the iSqueez is about as heavy as a PC, and you won’t be carrying it around much. Unless you wanna show it off to people, Singaporean style.

The product is sturdy and well constructed. There’s two slots where you insert your feet and that’s where the action begins. These slots are covered with removable pieces of cloth, which you can (and should) wash regularly.

All the buttons you need are located at the top part of the unit, one each for power, vibration and kneading (squeezing). You can set the strength of vibration to high or low (auto will alternate between the two), and the strength of kneading action (1 for strongest).

So let’s see how the Osim iSqueez fare in action.
With the power off, I put my feet down into the slots (Pardon the hairy legs). The base and sides of the slots are uneven, but comfortable. The best way to describe the sensation is if you imagine yourself barefoot standing on a riverbank full of rounded rocks and pebbles.
Then, I set to vibration level to high. 🙂

…
Sorry, that was a bit of an exaggeration. How did it go? I felt like I’m wearing a vibrating condom of each of my feet. Nothing to shout about. I get exactly the same effect by rapidly shaking my legs whilst sitting down.
So I enabled the kneading action and set it to the second most powerful setting available.

.
..
…
Excuse me while I return from heaven.
I doubted it initially, but I have to say… OH MY GOD, IT FELT SO FOOKING GOOD IT WAS ORGASMIC!!!
No, I did not wet my chair.
The first thing that happened as soon as I activated the kneading option, was the walls of the slots pressing in towards my lower legs. It felt very tight. At this point I felt as if I was wearing Nicole’s boots, comfy but darn tight.
Then the action began. Balls of silicone rolled onto my feet, my ankles and my calves. All of them focussing on the right pressure points. Within seconds, I was already lying back on the chair with my eyes closed, snoozing. Without looking, it really felt like two giant hands squeezing my feet, ankles and calves simultaneously. At this point, I started to wonder if I’m still straight, gay or machine-lover. It felt so painful, so sore, yet so pleasurable. (What the foot am I talking about here?)
There’s only one issue when something so magical works on you – you keep screaming “more! More! MORE!”. Although the iSqueez was touching me at all the right spots on my lower-legs, I was hoping it could do something about my toes and the base and roof of my feet. Those are the areas that need massages as well, and they seem left out from all the action.
After 5 minutes of massaging on the same spot, I started to feel rather sore and uncomfortable. I turned the power off, tried to get up and walk, but I floated instead because my feet felt so light. Seems like Osim wasn’t lying when they said you would feel like you’re walking on clouds.

Stupid iSqueez. Damn you for being so fucking comfortable!
Anyway, is this thing worth RM1,388? I don’t know. I think its quite expensive for something that’s good for one thing. It feels good initially, yes, but you do get sore after a while so its not particularly relaxing or addictive.
Then again, that’s just my personal opinion. Honestly, its not something I would want to buy for myself because I know its probably just gonna sit there and gather dust after a while. I won’t be surprised if Osim follows Apple’s foodsteps and perhaps come up with Osim iSqueez photo (lets you take pictures of yourself in heaven) or Osim iSqueez mini (portable lightweight version of the iSqueeze). Then again, I wouldn’t hold my breath. 🙂
That said, I so totally love the idea of a foot massager that squeezes your legs. I’m not kidding when I said that it feels really good and it really relaxes you. Shoppers who frequent enormous shopping malls like those in KL and Perth would really appreciate this nifty gadget. If you have some spare RM1,388 lying around, then get it.
Now…. if only Osim can come up with something similar for my manhood……

One thing that constantly amuses me with Kuching is that businesses here can come up with rather funny names for themselves. Examples include Nemo Bistro in Jalan Ban Hock, or Titanic Lounge in BDC, complete with Finding Nemo and Titanic themes respectively. There’s nothing wrong with that, but somehow I’d find it funny if someone were to ask me “Hey! Wanna go Nemo Bistro drink beer?”

Hair Port ’86 – Silly Name, Serious Hair.

There’s a hair saloon in Jalan Ong Kee Hui (near Soon Onn Furniture) called Hair Port ’86. The first time I saw that name, I thought “What a stupid name. Hair Port… sounds like AIRPORT! What lah! The hair dryer like aeroplane so noisy one is it?”
It did pique my curiousity though. Perhaps Hair Port was meant to be like a central point for all things hair! That’s why its named like that.
Anyway, I’m about to start work again next Monday and I hadn’t visit my hairdresser since before CNY, so I figured its probably time for a hair cut. As I’m always up for trying something new, I popped in the saloon earlier today for a hair cut and wash.

The interior of Hair Port ’86, stylish and contemporary

I am rather impressed by the interior of the hair saloon. The variety of bright colours marry well with each other, and the design of the furniture are all stylish and contemporary. The soothing music playing in the background makes it all the more inviting. This contrasts other hair saloons I’ve been to that’s usually filled with patches of hair on the untidy floor, and the stench of hair care products permeating through the air.
I was greeted by Ling, who quoted me RM30 for a men’s hair cut and wash. That’s rather expensive by Kuching’s standards, but considering a similar 15-minute service in Perth would cost AUD23, I thought the price is rather acceptable.

One of the nice comfy arm chairs in the hair saloon

I was seated on one of their comfy chairs in front of the mirror. Ling placed a stack of Cleo magazines in front of me, which I never touched. Here’s a shot of me before my hair cut.

Kenny – Before Hair Cut

To my horror, Ling proceeded to pour shampoo and water onto my head while I was still sitting on the chair! Holy Cow! Wouldn’t that drench my top? I would have though that they would wash my hair in one of those basin instead. But apparently, that’s the SOP for hair wash here. Talk about a culture shock.

In Seat Hair Wash!

Somehow Ling managed to defy gravity and removed all the foam from my hair before it reached my tee. I was also treated to a good 20 to 25 minutes of head and neck massage, which was so good it made my neck numb. I was then led to the basin for a rinse of my hair. Ling wrapped a towel around my head, which made me look like Osama bin Laden.

Kenny bin Laden

This is what I look like after the towel dry. I reminded myself of a young Aaron Kwok. Teehee.

Kenny Kwok

The actual hair cut was done by the taukeh-nio (proprietor) herself, Lina Chung.

My hair is done by the taukeh-nio herself.

Lina is friendly and chatty. I learnt that Hair Port was established in 1986 (hence the ’86 suffix in the name) and used to be located in Kuching Plaza until December last year. As patrons to Kuching Plaza dwindled, Hair Port relocated to this new area. Lina’s father is the owner of Soon Onn Furniture, and the interior of the saloon was designed by her nephew Ronald Chung – coincidentally also a graduate of Curtin University.
Here’s Lina’s name card.

Hair Port ’86 Name Card

After Lina skillfully snipped and buzzed my hair, I was once again led to the basin to rinse off the residual hair. After a blowdry and some minor touch up, Ling returned to apply liquid hair wax on my head.
And this is what I ended up like.

Kenny – After Hair Cut

So what do you reckon? Good? Bad?
Or had I just wasted RM30 looking exactly the same as I did before?

The 5 C’s – cash, car, condo, career and credit card. Those are the main concerns of Singaporean and increasingly, Malaysian people. Word is that if you are a male living in Malaysia/Singapore without any of the 5 C’s, you can more or less forget about having a girlfriend. Its true, girls these days are very demanding. Guys are not as demanding because us guys only need one C, and that’s Chee-B… sorry I forgot this is supposed to be a kiddie friendly site! 😉 Well, I have very little cash, I don’t own a car, I don’t have a condominium and I’ve only just gave up my career recently. Thank goodness I still have my credit card. That means I have a 1 in 5 chance of picking up a Singaporean girl!
The credit card in question is Virgin Credit Card. This is another one of Richard Branson’s venture in Australia after Virgin Blue Airlines, Virgin Mobile, V2 Music and Virgin Books, etc.

One thing that immediately caught my eye is the image Virgin Credit Card is projecting. All of their promotional printed and electronic materials are in classic Virgin red and white, written in a tone that sounds like a friend in a pub talking to you. Forget about those professional Gold or Platinum credit cards that the major banks are trying to push – those are for your mom and dad. Virgin Credit Card’s target market is the 18-30 year olds hip and rich young people.

The big words in the front page of their website says it all. The most attractive thing about Virgin Credit Card is the fact that there are no annual fees and they give you up to 55 interest-free days to pay your debts. For those of you who does not yet have your own credit card, these are the two major things to look at when choosing a credit card. For those of you who are still using your daddy or partner’s credit cards, you only need to worry about how big the credit limit is. 🙂

After I filled out their application form online, I attached certified copies of my driver’s license, phone bills, official letters, my most recent payslips and sent it to their reply-paid address. All these are returned to me 2 weeks later with a note saying that my credit card has been approved. Another week later I got my credit card along with a letter written in the same casual tone.

Thank you for choosing us.
Here’s your shiny new Virgin Credit Card. Please sign it immediately.
But wait, before you can use it you’ll need to call us to activate it on 1800 080 702. We’ll ask you a few questions to make sure you are who you say you are and then you’re ready to rock and roll.
…
The other side of this letter shows you your credit limit and contains all the other information that the legal guys said we have to include.
…

I called to activate it, and to my delight there’s no machine asking me to press ‘1’ to do this or that. It was 1am when I did this, and the operator was busy, so I was treated to some random Top 40 pop music while I wait, and wait, and… “We hope you’re still enjoying our funky music. Please hold and we will get to you shortly.” and wait, and wait… until the operator answered my call. After I answered all those confirmation questions, I’m ready to use my brand spanking new card.

The credit card is a Mastercard, and it comes with a unique rounded-corner shape. This is in tune with Virgin’s dare-to-be-different look. Actually, there’s five card colours I can choose from, but I decided to go black because I am very the sotis-phicated.
The credit limit I received is rather generous at AUD7,000. There’s no annual fee to pay, which makes people wonder how Virgin gets anything out of it. I guess they make up for that with a relatively high interest rate of 12.4%pa. However, there’s a 55 days interest free period. So as long as I am disciplined enough to pay my monthly bills in full on time, I don’t have to pay Virgin Credit Card a single cent extra.
The credit card comes with other nice rewards such as 20% discount at fancy restaurants, discounts for Virgin’s other services, plenty of shopping outlets like Sunglass Hut, etc. In my opinion that’s better than point-based rewards many other credit card uses, because I get my rewards instantly.
I say this is the best value credit card I have known and I doubt I can find any other deals that can beat it.

I’m not sure if its just me or what, but it seems like kennysia.com seems to attract female readers only. Of course, that’s not necessarily a bad thing (in fact its a bloody good thing), but I’d like to know if there are male readers to this site. Well, here’s an entry to try to get things started anyway.


Ralph Magazine is a very popular lad’s mag in Australia. For those who are not familiar, lad’s magazine (or lad’s mag) like FHM, Maxim or Loaded, are founded in the UK, and they serve as men’s answer to Cleo or Cosmpolitan magazines. These magazines usually rely heavily on attractive models or celebrities dressed in skimpy clothing to sell. Supposedly, this allows them to be classified as Men’s Lifestyle Magazines, which makes them more respectable than magazines like Playboy or Penthouse which are usually classified as filth or porno mags.
Unfortunately in Malaysia, only FHM is available despite it being heavily toned down to satisfy Malaysia’s “Sex = Bad” censorship board. Personally I prefer FHM Singapore although it is still holding back on its more risque content.
Whilst magazines like FHM has gone international, Ralph is unique because it is published in Australia and features mostly Australian content. Like others of its kind, it is printed on high quality glossy paper – not bad for a AUD7.95 mag. Apart from photos of near-naked ladies its usual content includes beer, sex, sports, unusual news, more beer, more sex and a good deal of men’s humour. Articles and interviews are usually written in a very casual manner, which makes it a fun read even for men with the lowest IQ, which happens to be most men, like myself.
Anyway, let’s have a look at the current issue of RALPH in all its glory.

The current issue of Ralph features Tara Reid on its front cover, fresh from her wardrobe malfunction a while ago. She’s trying to make her boobs look bigger I might add… notice how she’s leaning forward and squeezing them with the inside of her arms. Just thought I might point that out for the benefit of boob-obsessed Kim.
Ralph photographers are famous for their taking photos of ladies placing a thumb in the undies. A flip through the current issue of Ralph magazine reveals the a large number of these types of photos. Like this picture of the “Page 29 Girl”, which honestly is the lamest title I’ve ever heard.

Another thumb-in-the-undie shoot, featuring this issue’s “Girl Next Door” whom apparently does not live next door to me.

I think having a thumb-through-the-undie makes them look like they’re gonna remove it or something. Such a tease. This issue’s “Discovery Girl” also has that thumb-through-the-undie syndrome.

Oooh, more! Such as these. No wonder feminists complain women are being increasingly treated as sex objects.

And another one of Ralph’s heavily Photoshopped models…

Seriously this is not a porno mag. Doesn’t anyone believe me?
Ralph usually has great one-liners to accompany their photos.

The current issue has a feature article that pays homage to popular sidekicks. For some reason this entry cracks me up so much.

Towards the end of the magazine, there’s an abundant of ads targeted towards men. By that I meant ads for dirty phone calls or sms. Dirty sms you say? Why would anyone actually pay to send and receive dirty smses for $4.50 a pair!? For all I know the person maybe some sweaty 60-year-old dude in his boxers watching some gay porn whilst replying my sms!

Interestingly, there’s a sealed section in this month’s mag.

Ralph kindly explains “Unfortunately, we can’t show you the raciest pictures – the ones that take a year off our lives everytime we look at them – unless we do this nify ‘sealed section’ trick to stop you opening that part of the mag in the newsagency and giving five pensioners heart attacks.” Thank you, Ralph. I flipped through the sealed section and find myself very enlightened indeed. Let’s just say that I’d like to preserve this site’s kiddie-friendly status. 😉 Anyway, I decided to pop the sealed section into the recycle bin just in case Nicole finds out and cooks me alive in my Kambrook Omelette Maker.
The rest of the magazine features news and articles on boy’s toys, entertainment reviews, best beaches and pubs in Australia, a pretty good style and fashion tips section, and finishes off with some steamy erotic story guaranteed to give an old man a hard on without the need for viagra.
All in all, makes for a fun and interesting read! Too bad they don’t carry Ralph in Malaysia. Stupid censorship board…


Those Singaporeans sure are damn serious about their health.

Osim iSqueez – Squeeze your legs (and maybe other body parts) for better health.

Osim iSqueez is yet another item in the list of many products that popularizes the use of small letter ‘i’ in the name, after Apple’s iPod, Helwett-Packard’s iPaq and George W Bush’s iRaq. The iSqueez (yes, that’s the correct spelling – no ‘e’ at the end) is a foot massage gizmo that, according to them, is “specially created to relief the negative effects of everyday stress on your feet and restore your overall sense of well-being”.
Whatever.

At RM1,388 the Osim iSqueez does not come cheap.

Someone bought one of these baby as a gift to my father, which costs RM1,388 from the Osim outlet in Tun Jugah Shopping Mall. Unfortunately my father prefers a real foot reflexologist than some thousand dollar gadget. There are other types of foot massagers available, but I reckon most of them should be marketed under “Foot Tickler” label instead.

Osim iSqueez’s package looks very inviting.

The back of the box brags about the foot massager even further. “The revitalizing massage relaxes and restores, giving you that extra bounce in your steps, just like walking on clouds!” Heh. Man! Walking on clouds? The last time I heard someone THAT boastful is when I told people I wear XL size condoms.
Well, I like the overall design of the packaging. Props to the designer to come up with such a nice colour scheme. Oh, did I mention that it has a similar colour scheme to kennysia.com? Heh, it is a good colour scheme I tell you, white and light blue.
Anyway, the box itself already look pretty very inviting to the wallet. Of course, a few pictures of some nice smooth pair of legs wouldn’t hurt either. 🙂

Different ways of using the Osim iSqueez.

There’s many different ways of using the foot massager. I would think that the most common way to use it is with you sitting down on a chair or sofa. Considering how heavy it is, I don’t think its something you would want to use lying down. After all if you happen to doze while using it, you might very well kick that lug of a thing down to the floor and break it.

And here’s the actual photo of the Osim iSqueez. You are forgiven if you mistaken it for a toaster.
There are handles on two sides of the unit. Too bad there’s not much use of them considering the iSqueez is about as heavy as a PC, and you won’t be carrying it around much. Unless you wanna show it off to people, Singaporean style.

The product is sturdy and well constructed. There’s two slots where you insert your feet and that’s where the action begins. These slots are covered with removable pieces of cloth, which you can (and should) wash regularly.

All the buttons you need are located at the top part of the unit, one each for power, vibration and kneading (squeezing). You can set the strength of vibration to high or low (auto will alternate between the two), and the strength of kneading action (1 for strongest).

So let’s see how the Osim iSqueez fare in action.
With the power off, I put my feet down into the slots (Pardon the hairy legs). The base and sides of the slots are uneven, but comfortable. The best way to describe the sensation is if you imagine yourself barefoot standing on a riverbank full of rounded rocks and pebbles.
Then, I set to vibration level to high. 🙂

…
Sorry, that was a bit of an exaggeration. How did it go? I felt like I’m wearing a vibrating condom of each of my feet. Nothing to shout about. I get exactly the same effect by rapidly shaking my legs whilst sitting down.
So I enabled the kneading action and set it to the second most powerful setting available.

.
..
…
Excuse me while I return from heaven.
I doubted it initially, but I have to say… OH MY GOD, IT FELT SO FOOKING GOOD IT WAS ORGASMIC!!!
No, I did not wet my chair.
The first thing that happened as soon as I activated the kneading option, was the walls of the slots pressing in towards my lower legs. It felt very tight. At this point I felt as if I was wearing Nicole’s boots, comfy but darn tight.
Then the action began. Balls of silicone rolled onto my feet, my ankles and my calves. All of them focussing on the right pressure points. Within seconds, I was already lying back on the chair with my eyes closed, snoozing. Without looking, it really felt like two giant hands squeezing my feet, ankles and calves simultaneously. At this point, I started to wonder if I’m still straight, gay or machine-lover. It felt so painful, so sore, yet so pleasurable. (What the foot am I talking about here?)
There’s only one issue when something so magical works on you – you keep screaming “more! More! MORE!”. Although the iSqueez was touching me at all the right spots on my lower-legs, I was hoping it could do something about my toes and the base and roof of my feet. Those are the areas that need massages as well, and they seem left out from all the action.
After 5 minutes of massaging on the same spot, I started to feel rather sore and uncomfortable. I turned the power off, tried to get up and walk, but I floated instead because my feet felt so light. Seems like Osim wasn’t lying when they said you would feel like you’re walking on clouds.

Stupid iSqueez. Damn you for being so fucking comfortable!
Anyway, is this thing worth RM1,388? I don’t know. I think its quite expensive for something that’s good for one thing. It feels good initially, yes, but you do get sore after a while so its not particularly relaxing or addictive.
Then again, that’s just my personal opinion. Honestly, its not something I would want to buy for myself because I know its probably just gonna sit there and gather dust after a while. I won’t be surprised if Osim follows Apple’s foodsteps and perhaps come up with Osim iSqueez photo (lets you take pictures of yourself in heaven) or Osim iSqueez mini (portable lightweight version of the iSqueeze). Then again, I wouldn’t hold my breath. 🙂
That said, I so totally love the idea of a foot massager that squeezes your legs. I’m not kidding when I said that it feels really good and it really relaxes you. Shoppers who frequent enormous shopping malls like those in KL and Perth would really appreciate this nifty gadget. If you have some spare RM1,388 lying around, then get it.
Now…. if only Osim can come up with something similar for my manhood……

I am a big fan of Logitech. In fact my computer desk is cluttered with more Logitech products than any other stuff. Their products are always sleeker, cheaper and simply better than many of their counterparts. To date I have had Logitech webcams, PC gamepad, PC flightstick, PS2 gamepad, keyboards and mice.


Recently however, my precious Logitech MX Duo decided to die on me. So I called up Logitech support and they replaced it with Logitech LX700 which I absolutely hated.
The first thing I did was to chuck the mouse away. Whilst Nicole was in KL I asked her to make a trip to Thundermatch to get me the Logitech MX1000 Laser Cordless Mouse.

The mouse comes in a beautiful Logitech green-and-white packaging. Inside you can find the usual suspects such as the power adapter, cordless receiver/docking station, a USB-PS2 adapter and of course, the laser mouse.

The MX1000 is slightly bigger than most computer mice (and slightly smaller than most household rodents). Despite that, the contour of the mouse fits my palm perfectly. There’s a nice deep indent for the thumb which helps prevent sore thumbs commonly associated with prolonged mouse-stroking. A plethora of special mouse buttons placed at intuitive locations secures the MX1000’s place as the one of the most comfortable mice available on the market.


Obviously the biggest selling point of the mouse is the use of laser as the tracker instead of the now ubiquitous red LEDs or *sniggers* balls. The laser is invisible to the human eye, but it can be detected by my digital camera as a white-purplish light.
Logitech claims the laser manages to ‘see’ the surface detail 20 times better than conventional optical mice. However, in my normal usage I have yet to detect any incredible improvements. I have also found out that I am unable to reach the ‘forward’ button and the ‘cruise up’ button without manoeuvring my wrist slightly.
The laser technology is nothing to shout about. However, I willingly paid RM305 for a solidly constructed mouse that has plenty of useful buttons and sleek curves.
My advice: if you have any mice from Logitech’s MX series, stick with it. Otherwise, if you have the cash to burn, get the MX1000.