Thought of the Day

So much of what we call management consists in making it difficult for people to work.

Location Review: Mariott Putrajaya Hotel main entrance

In front of the hotel is a huge water fountain. Looks very pretty at night.

Light Moments: Pavement Art (part 4)

Product: Schmidt-Rubin K31 bolt action rifle / carbine (Switzerland)

K31 rifle.

K31-55 sniper rifle; note different stock, muzzle brake, integral bipod under the forearm.

View on K31 bolt and receiver; top rifle has the bolt partially retracted; the curved track on the bolt body and stud on charging handle are clearly visible.

Caliber: 7.5x55 mm GP11
Overall length: 1105 mm
Barrel length: 652 mm
Weight: 4.00 kg empty
Magazine capacity: 6 rounds

Swiss army always had very high standards for individual marksmanship, as well as for reliability an accuracy of weapons in use. Since the late 1880s Swiss Army was equipped with Schmidt-Rubin rifles, named so after Maj. Eduard Rubin, who developed the small-caliber rifle ammunition, and Rudolf Schmidt, who developed the straight-pull bolt action rifle. The basic pattern of Schmidt-Rubin was adopted by Swiss in 1889, and then redesigned by the 1911 along with the introduction of the new ammunition, the 7.5mm Gewehrpatrone 11 (7.5x55 GP11). By the 1932 it became apparent that the M1911 rifles and carbines are not up to date, and Swiss parliament authorized development of a new short rifle to replace both G11 long rifles and K11 carbines. In the summer of 1933 the new carbine was adopted as the Karabiner 31, or K31 in short. The K31 was still based on the straight-pull Schmidt action, but with severe modification. Most notable modification was the relocation of the locking lugs from the rear of the bolt to the front part. This resulted in much shorter bolt and receiver, making the new carbine more handy and lightweight. Being intermediate in size between earlier K11 and G11, the K 31 was noted for reliability (at least in the hands of the highly skilled Swiss riflemen), and for great, if not outstanding, accuracy. It was produced between 1933 and 1958, when it was replaced in service with 7.5x55mm Stg.57 / SIG-510 assault rifle. Total of about 580 000 K31 rifles were produced. The K31 also served as a starting point for the K31-55 sniper rifle (also designated as ZfK-55, for ZielfernrohrKarbiner model 1955, or telescope sight carbine), which, while being similar to K31 in general design, was quite different in most details. For example, K31-55 had redesigned receiver with integral scope bases and loading / ejection port moved slightly to the left side, to clear the telescope sight, and a heavier barrel with large muzzle brake / flash hider. K31-55 rifles were fitted with 3.5X magnification Kern telescope sights, graduated up to 800 meters.

The K31 is a manually operated, straight bull bolt-action rifle. The rotating bolt has two opposing lugs at the front, which are locking into the cuts in the receiver ring. The straight pull bolt handle has a large T-shaped handle and a stud, which enters the helical groove on the bolt body. When the bolt handle is retracted, the stud first forces the bolt to rotate and unlock, and then pulls the bolt back for reloading cycle. The receiver has a small opening at the top, which is used to load magazine from the stripper clips and to eject spent cases. Detachable box magazine holds 6 cartridges. Large ring at the rear of the bolt body is used as the manual safety switch, as well as for manual cocking of the striker. When this ring is pulled back and rotated to the right, it locks the firing pin and bolt, so rifle cannot be fired or reloaded. The open tangent rear sight is graduated from 100 to 1 500 meters in 100 meters increments; front sight is adjustable for windage (for zeroing only). K31 carbines were issued with slings, muzzle caps, knife-type detachable bayonets, and carrying pouches for stripper clips.

Thought of the Day

The significance of man is that he is insignificant and is aware of it.

Location Review: Loft Apartment - Post Renovation

This is the view of the living room after the renovation.

Loads of glass paneling used.

The wall is still bare. Will have to see whether we want to have a picture hung there.

Light Moments: Pavement Art (part 3)

Product: Arisaka Type 38 and Type 99 rifle (Japan)

6.5mm Arisaka Type 30 rifle.

6.5mm Arisaka Type 38 rifle.

6.5mm Arisaka Type 38 rifle, close-up view on the receiver; bolt cover is removed.

6.5mm Arisaka Type 38 rifle, close-up view on the receiver; bolt cover is installed.

6.5mm Arisaka Type 38 carbine, with the bolt cover in place.

Arisaka Type 44 carbine, with integral folding bayonet and bolt cover installed.

7.7mm Arisaka Type 99 rifle and bayonet in scabbard; bolt cover removed.

7.7mm Arisaka Type 99 rifle, close-up view on the receiver, bolt cover installed, bolt handle is turned up and ready to be pulled back.

	Type 38 long rifle	Type 99 short rifle	Type 02 paratroop rifle
Caliber	6.5x50SR	7.7x58	7.7x58
Overall length	1275 mm	1150 mm	1150 mm
Barrel length	800 mm	656 mm	620 mm
Weight	4.12 kg	3.8 kg	4.05 kg
Magazine capacity	5 rounds	5 rounds	5 rounds

Japanese Army began the search for a new small caliber magazine rifle in 1894, with intention to replace obsolete Murata rifles. For this purpose Imperial Army created the commission, led by Colonel Nariake Arisaka. First design, known as Type 30 rifle (30th Year of Emperor Meiji, or 1897 A.D.), showed some deficiencies during the Russo-Japanese war of 1905, and the updated design appeared in 1905-1906 as the Type 38 rifle, generally known as Arisaka type 38. This rifle, chambered for relatively mild 6.5x50SR ammunition, was manufactured in several versions, including long rifle and carbine variants. More than 3 millions of Type 38 rifles were manufactured by various Government arsenals. The Arisaka Type 38 rifle was heavily influenced by contemporary Mauser designs, but also had some unique features.

After serious battle experience in China, Japanese Army decided to step up in caliber and power, and introduced the 7.7x58mm ammunition. The 7.7x58 cartridge was based on the British .303 round (7.7x57R), with the rim removed. New rifle was based on the Type 38 design, and was designated as Type 99 (this is another Japanese nomenclature, actually meaning that the rifle was adopted on year 2099 from the creation of the world). In 1940 Japanese Army adopted the short pattern of the Type 99 rifle, which replaced both long infantry rifle and carbine. More than three and a half millions of Type 99 rifles were manufactured in Japan between 1938 and 1945. There were some further developments, for example, several sniper rifles, fitted with 2.5X or 4X scopes, as well as several take-down rifles, intended for paratroopers. First takedown rifles were made in small numbers from standard Type 99 rifles and featured interrupted screw joint between the barrel and the receiver. This system proved to be too weak, and in 1942 Type 02 paratrooper take-down rifle has been introduced, with simple and rigid cross wedge lock. This rifle, chambered in 7.7x58, has been adopted in mid-1943.

Arisaka Type 38 and, especially, Type 99 rifles are generally quoted as very strong rifles, but this refers only to the rifles, made before the late stages of the World war 2. Late-war rifles, sometimes known as Substitute Type 99, or "last ditch" Type 99 rifles, were often made from low grade steel, with no heat treatment and no finish. Many of these rifles were simply dangerous for shooters to fire.

Arisaka Type 38 rifle is a manually operated, rotating bolt design. Mauser-type bolt has two frontal lugs, and non-rotating Mauser-type claw extractor. Mauser-type integral magazine held five rounds, and was loaded using either stripper clips or loose rounds. One specific feature of Arisaka rifles was the sliding bolt cover, which protected the receiver openings from harsh pacific climate, and reciprocated along with the bolt. This feature was hardly useful, especially as it rattled when the bolt was operated. Not surprisingly, many soldiers removed these covers from their rifles. Another specific feature of Arisaka Type 99 rifles was the anti-aircraft sight with lead bars, intended for shooting at low flying aircrafts. This feature also had a very little practical value, as even the 7.7mm ammunition was way too weak to do any serious damage to WW2 era attack aircrafts. The chances to hit the fast moving aircraft like F6F Hellcat or F4U Corsair with the shots from bolt action rifle also are diminutive, to say the least, so this feature, probably, had more psychological effect than anything else. The manual safety is controlled by the large rotating knob at the rear end of the bolt. The knob is usually serrated (late-war rifles has no serrations as a money and time-saving measure), and had an indexing groove, which allows to check the state of the safety manually and visually. Some rifles, including Type 02 paratroop rifles, also have folding monopods, made from steel wire and located under the forend. The paratroop rifles were easily disassembled into two parts, the receiver with the buttstock, and the barrel with the forend. To take the rifle down into two major parts, one must unscrew and then pull the cross wedge out, and then pull the barrel forward and out of the receiver.

Thought of the Day

I do not want people to be agreeable, as it saves me the trouble of liking them.

Blogger's Shoutout: US Elections

It is interesting to note the level of interest the current US elections have on the global community. We should be concerned as the elected President (whoever he might be) can dictate how the world will behave in the next 4 years.

Personally, I would like Obama to succeed instead of McCain. Obama's policies is more human-centric compared to McCain's. To some people, Obama is a socialist hiding as a democrat. To others, he is the anti-thesis of corporate America.

To me, he is just plain simple and to the point. Although I may not agree with him on his Middle-East views, I believe, when shown facts, he will be able to choose the right option.

I sincerely hope the voting American sees it too.

Video: F22 at an Airshow in Langley

An F22 doing its thing at an airshow.

Light Moments: Pavement Art (part 2)

Product: Mosin-Nagant M1891 1891/10 1891/30 M1938 M1944 (Russia / USSR)

Original Mosin-Nagant rifle of 1891: Infantry rifle top, Dragoon rifle bottom.

Mosin-Nagant rifle model of 1891-1910.

Mosin-Nagant rifle model of 1891-1930.

Mosin-Nagant carbine model of 1938.

Mosin-Nagant carbine model of 1944. Note that the bayonet is in folded position.

M 1891-30 Sniper rifle.

View on the receiver area of the M 1891-30.

Standard spike bayonet of the Mosin-Nagant rifle.

7.62x54mm R ammunition. At the left - a loaded stripper clip; at the right, from top to bottom: original 7.62x54mm R cartridge of 1891 and two post-1908 cartridges (middle with steel case, bottom with brass case).

	M1891 and M91/10 infantry rifle	M1891 and M91/10 Dragoon rifle	M1891/30	M1891/38	M1891/44
Caliber	7.62x54mm R
Action	manual operated, rotating bolt
Overall length	1306 mm 1738 mm with bayonet	1234 mm 1666 mm with bayonet	1234 mm 1666 mm with bayonet	1020 mm	1020 mm
Barrel length	800 mm	730 mm	730 mm	510 mm	510 mm
Weight	4.22 kg 4.6 kg with bayonet	3.9 kg 4.28 kg with bayonet	3.8 kg 4.18 kg with bayonet	3.45 kg	~3.9 kg with non-detachable bayonet
Magazine capacity	5 rounds in integral magazine

The Mosin-Nagant rifle, known in the Russia as a "Vintovka Mosina" (Mosin Rifle), was developed under the government commission in the late 1880s and early 1890s, and was officially adopted for service by the Russian Tsar in 1891 as a "Trechlineynaja vintovka obraztsa 1891 goda" (three-line rifle, system 1891; three line means caliber of three lines; one line is an 0.1 inch, so it's an .30 inch, or 7.62mm). Along with the rifle, a new, small-caliber cartridge was adopted. This cartridge had a rimmed, bottlenecked case and a jacketed, blunt nose bullet. The rimmed case design, which at that time already started to became obsolescent, was inspired by the low level of the Russian arms industry, and also as intention to keep the price of the rifle as low as possible, since the rimmed case, which headspaces on rim, allows for much looser chamber dimensions, unlike the rimless ones, which required headspacing on the case shoulders, so chambers must be machined much more precisely (that means - on better machinery and for much money). This decision, while probably worked as a savings measure, caused a major headache for Russian small arms designer, since for different purposes this obsolete, rimmed cartridge is kept in general service with Russian army for more than 110 years!

The history of the development of M1891 rifle is somewhat shady and controversial. During the official trials, two designs were selected for final - one by Russian army captain Mosin, and another, by the Belgian designer Nagant. Final design, adopted by the Commission, utilized features from both, and Leon Nagant was paid for his part for some very serious amount of money. Mosin received a rank promotion and worked on the Sestroretsk arsenal, trying to set this rifle for production. The exact amount of influence of each designer is still unclear for me, so at this moment I'll leave this for further research.

Since the Russian arms industry was not ready to produce this rifle at the moment of adoption, the first batches of the M1891 rifle were purchased from Chatelleraut Arms factory of France, and a full-scale local production began only in 1894 - 1895 at two major Russian state arms factories, at Izhevsk and Tula. Foreign contractors were used once again to manufacture this rifle in 1916 and 1917, during the First World War, when Russia was in desperate need fort more rifles. Contracts were signed with two major American companies, Remington and Westinghouse, which manufactured large numbers of the improved pattern M1891/10 rifle. During the local clashes and revolutions in 1917 most of these rifles were not delivered to the Russian government and later were used in USA for training and sold for civilians. Russian production of this rifle continued until the 1948 or so, when the machinery was sold to Poland. The Mosin rifle in different variations was a standard military arm of the Russian and Red army for some 60 years, and also was adopted and used by China, Finland, Hungary, Poland, North Korea and some other countries. It is still popular in Russia as a civilian, hunting rifle, due to relatively low prices and a readily available ammunition.

The M1891 rifle was originally issued in three versions: Infantry rifle, Dragoon rifle and a Cossack rifle. Two latter were intended, obviously, for issue to cavalry units. The Infantry rifle was a standard, long rifle issued with bayonet. Dragoon rifle was slightly shorter and with different sling mountings, and also was issued with bayonet. Cossack rifle was similar to Dragoon one, but issued without the bayonet. Original pattern rifles are easily distinguishable by the lack of the upper handguard. Circa 1894 the pattern was slightly changed by addition of the upper wooden handguards, and rifles remained unchanged until the 1908, when new type cartridge was adopted. This cartridge featured the pointed jacketed bullet with better ballistics, so new type rear sights were adopted. Other minor changes introduced in this pattern were: different handguard bands, sling swivels were replaced by cut-through holes with steel surroundings. This rifle was standardized as in 1910 as a Model 1891/1910 and was used by the Russian army (in all three flavors) through the First World war and later through the Russian Civil war. Since 1923 Red Army decided to abandon all but the Dragoon rifles of 1891/1910 pattern, so production of the Infantry and Cossack rifles was ceased. In the 1930 Red Army adopted next pattern of the Mosin rifle, obviously called the M1891/30. The M1891/30 rifle was an upgrade, but only slight. New sights were installed, that were graduated in meters instead of older 'arshins' (arshin - old Russian measure of length, circa 71 cm). New bayonet mount, more rigid, was adopted. New handguard bands used. Improved cleaning rod fixture was applied to the stock. In all other respects this rifle was similar to older patterns. In 1938, Red Army finally adopted a carbine version, called M1938, which was shorter, lighter and much more handier than a basic rifle. M1938 carbine was issued without a bayonet. During the Second World War, a new pattern of carbine, called M1944, was adopted as a main service rifle, that replaced both M1938 carbines and M1891/30 rifles in production. M1944 carbine was similar to M1938 except that it featured non-detachable, side folding, spike bayonet with "+"-like cross-section.

The Mosin-Nagant rifle was relatively modern when it was first introduced, but continuous trend for "economy solutions" and minimal possible upgrades lead to the outdated and not too comfortable weapon by the standards of the first half of the XX century. The positive aspects of the Mosin rifles were the reliability and simplicity of both manufacture and service - a paramount for generally poorly trained, low-educated and poorly funded Russian army. This rifle also offered a decent ballistics and an acceptable accuracy, it was even used as a sniper weapon with the addition of the telescope sight and some minor modifications. But, on the other side, this rifle had some serious drawbacks. First of all, in all patterns prior to M1938 and except for Cossack rifles, all rifles were intended to be carried and shoot only with the bayonet attached. This caused the already long rifle to be almost as long as an average mans' height, awkward to maneuver and carry, especially in the woods and trenches. All rifles were zeroed in with the bayonet in place, so removal of the bayonet seriously affected the point of impact and effectively required the rifle to be re-zeroed. Original pattern bayonet mounts were prone to loose during the time, decreasing the accuracy. The horizontal bolt handle was short by necessity, so, in the case of the cartridge case stuck in the chamber this required a lot of strength to extract it. Horizontal bolt handle also was uncomfortable to carry and slower to reload, than bent down handle, which appeared only on the sniper versions. Safety switch, while very simple in construction, was uncomfortable to operate and required the rifle to be removed from the shoulder to apply or disengage the safety. Overall, this was somewhat typical example of the Russian mass produced weapon - cheap, simple, reliable and adequate for intended mission - but that's all.

The Mosin-Nagant rifle is a bolt operated, magazine fed rifle. It used an integral, single stack magazine, loaded from the clip chargers, with capacity for 5 rounds. Magazine protruded below the stock just ahead of the triggerguard, and had a hinged floorplate, used to unload magazine at once and to clean it. Due to the single stack design and a lack of the feed lips, a special device - second-round cutoff, was built into the magazine, to avoid double feeds. On early pattern rifles this device also worked as an ejector, but since the M1891/30 model, a separate ejector was introduced. Rotating bolt featured the dual frontal locking lugs that were located horizontally when bolt was locked. Rifle is striker-fired, striker was cocked on the bolt open action. Safety was incorporated into the bolt and locked the striker. It was applied by pulling out and rotating a knurled cap at the rear of the bolt. To disengage the safety, reverse operation was required. The bolt could be removed from the receiver without any tools, simply by pulling bolt to the open, then depressing the trigger and removing the bolt. It could be further disassembled without any other tools and contained very few parts. Original spike shaped bayonets featured a rectangular cross-section and a point shaped as a flat screwdriver, so it could be used to as a disassembly tool when removed from the gun. Bayonet was always carried in the battle-ready position. Some late pattern bayonet mountings featured a front sight protection hoods. All bayonets were attached directly to the barrel. Stocks were usually made from birch, except for American-made M1891/10 rifles, that featured an walnut stocks and were thus slightly heavier.

Sniper rifles, based on the M1891/30 rifles, hand-picked for accuracy, were issued with scope mounts on the left side of the receiver and with bolt handles bent down.

Thought of the Day

Usually, terrible things that are done with the excuse that progress requires them are not really progress at all, but just terrible things.

Business, Economic & Finance: Deposit guarantee until 2010 bolsters confidence in the Malaysian banking system

[Article from RAM: 20 October 2008]

In line with many central banks globally, Bank Negara Malaysia’s move on 16 October 2008 to guarantee deposits of all financial institutions until December 2010 is timely.

“While our banking sector still has strong fundamentals and does not need support like some other banking systems, this decisive measure is clearly a much welcomed confidence booster,” says Promod Dass, RAM Ratings’ Head of Financial Institution Ratings. This measure is purely pre-emptive in nature as the banking system is flushed with liquidity and is well-capitalised.

“This recent Bank Negara Malaysia action, however does not change the financial institutions’ ratings in RAM Ratings’ portfolio, which reflect a particular financial institution’s unique credit fundamentals,” he adds.

RAM Ratings, however, cautions that this medium term action which was also observed internationally by several central banks, while relevant and needed to restore global financial stability, should not be taken as a carte blanche by management teams to lower their risk management standards and throw care to the wind in making long-term decisions, which, if not checked, would create a serious moral hazard in the various banking systems.

Video: Army TCAM Block 1 Tactical Battlefield Rocket

This is the video of rocket launching of the Army TCAM Block 1 Tactical Battlefield Rocket.

Light Moments: Pavement Art (part 1)

Thought of the Day

The trouble with the rat race is that even if you win, you're still a rat.

Blogger's Shoutout: New segment called Musical Notes

I will start to upload songs that I owned on the blog. Due to technical constraints as well as IP issues, I have downgraded the quality of the songs as well as uploading in flash format so as not to be easily copied.

The tag for this is "Musical Notes".

Enjoy!

Business, Economic & Finance: U.K. Government announces financial support package to banks, ratings of Malaysian subsidiaries unaffected

[Article from RAM: 15 October 2008]

Amid the intensified disruption in global financial markets recently, the UK Government announced a proposal to provide support for its banking system on 8 October 2008. The proposal involves coordinated efforts between the UK Treasury and the Bank of England, with a three-pronged objective of ensuring sufficient short-term liquidity, medium-term funding and longer-term capital to the banking system.

“Ultimately, these measures have been designed to put the banking system on a stronger footing, and in turn bolstering confidence as well as supporting the broader economy under the currently difficult operating environment,” says Promod Dass, RAM Ratings’ Head of Financial Institution Ratings.

“We have been evaluating the impact of the global financial crisis on the parents of locally-incorporated foreign banks, since they have an international presence and may be affected, whether directly or indirectly,” he adds.

In RAM Ratings’ portfolio, 3 locally-incorporated foreign banks are part of these UK-domiciled banking groups, including HSBC Bank Malaysia Berhad (AAA/P1/stable), Standard Chartered Bank Malaysia Berhad (AAA/P1/stable), and The Royal Bank of Scotland Berhad (AA2/P1/stable, formerly known as ABN AMRO Bank Berhad). We rigorously examine the capital strength, asset quality, management capability, earnings robustness, as well as funding and liquidity position of any bank in deriving its credit rating. Specifically for locally-incorporated foreign banks, we also factor in the role of the parent as part of the assessment; however, the emphasis on the parent bank may vary depending on several factors which include the Malaysian subsidiaries’ local footprint, fundamentals and level of interaction with their parent.

As HSBC and Standard Chartered have significant presence in Malaysia with strong fundamentals, the ratings of these locally-incorporated foreign banks rely more on the local operations. The Malaysian subsidiaries of HSBC and Standard Chartered have solid local banking franchise and performance track record. For RBS Berhad, greater consideration is given to the financial and operational support, as well as franchise from its parent bank, given its smaller footprint in Malaysia on a relative basis.

The relief package provides the UK-based banking groups instant access to capital funds, allowing them to strengthen their capital positions amid a challenging business landscape. As at 30 June 2008, HSBC and Standard Chartered have Tier 1 capital ratios of 8.8% and 8.5%, respectively. In this regard, we view the two banks to be adequately capitalised. Both HSBC and Standard Chartered have indicated that they do not have current plans to utilise the UK Government’s recapitalisation initiatives. On 9 October 2008, HSBC had injected £750 million into its UK banking subsidiary, which was funded from the Group’s own resources, to further strengthen its capital position.

RBS announced an offer to raise £15 billion in ordinary shares which will be underwritten by the UK Government. In addition, the UK Government will further subscribe for £5 billion of preference shares to be issued by RBS. The UK Government’s financial relief measures will bolster RBS’s capital position and strengthen its financial profile; RBS reported pre-tax losses of £691 million in the first half of fiscal 2008, following £5.9 billion of credit-market write-downs during the period. While the UK Government’s support aims to stabilise and rebuild the British banking system, we note that it does not intend to be a permanent shareholder of the recapitalised banks.

“All ratings on locally-incorporated foreign banks in our portfolio are intact,” adds Dass.

Media contact
Promod Dass
(603) 7628 1790
promod@ram.com.my

Light Moments: Korean Trannys vs P.R.C. Trannys

The first 4 pictures are Korean. The next 4 are from the PRC.