Walimatul Urus @ Negeri Sembilan

I would like to wish 'Selamat Pengantin Baru' to my cousin, Kak Long Shikin (sorry, I don't know her full name), Pak Long's daughter with her husband. The reception was held at her parents place in Linggi, Negeri Sembilan. Three cows had been slaughtered for the feast and thankfully the food was marvellous. Authentic Negeri Sembilan cuisine, rendang and gulai lemak cili api, cooked with Negeri Sembilan style. Something that I will not enjoy that often, causing me to stuff all of the food in my stomach. I personally do not really enjoy hot and spicy food, but this is different. Thick and creamy coconut milk combined with considerable amount of chillies created very delicious food. I prayed the best to both of the newly-weds and will be blessed by lots of children. :)

Family photo


Posing sket~

Selamat Hari Kejadian

Selamat hari lahir yang ke-22 (akhirnya) kepada Cik Faizatul Khasanah binti Sugeng. Semoga panjang umur, panjang badan (kalau boleh), dimurahkan rezeki serta berjaya dalam hidup. Amin~

Aidil Adha 2009

Walaupun pada mulanya aku tak bercadang untuk pulang ke rumah di Banting, Selangor, pada hari Khamis lalu (26 November 2009) aku tiba dengan menaiki motosikal tepat pukul 5.00 petang. Perjalanan mengambil masa selama 4 jam (antara perjalanan yang paling lama pernah aku lakukan dengan menaiki motosikal) kerana faktor jalan sesak dan aku mengambil masa yang lama ketika berhenti mengisi minyak dan makan. Akhirnya aku berjaya juga menyambut Aidil Adha di Banting yang indah dan permai itu. Huhuhu~

Aktiviti wajib ketika Aidil Adha sudah semestinya menyertai aktiviti korban di masjid berhampiran dengan rumah aku. Aku menyertai aktiviti melapah lembu korban setelah di sembelih. Bergelumang dengan darah, lemak, tahi merupakan perkara biasa ketika aktiviti melapah ini dilakukan. Aktiviti ini sangat menarik kerana walaupun nampak mudah, tetapi melapah memerlukan kemahiran dan common sense tentang anatomi binatang yang disembelih (dalam kes aku, lembu). Silap potong, mungkin anda boleh tersalah memotong ureter lembu ataupun tercucuk perut lembu menyebabkan segala isi perutnya terkeluar. Jika pisau yang digunakan tidak cukup tajam atau binatang itu tidak dilapah sejurus selepas disembelih, proses melapah akan menjadi sukar. Keadaan cuaca juga memainkan peranan yang penting kerana lembu paling mudah dilapah ketika suhu badannya masih panas (sejurus selepas disembelih). Ini bermakna, jika hari hujan, suhu badan lembu akan cepat jatuh dan menyebabkan proses melapah sukar dilakukan.

Pakcik yang berbaju putih dan berkopiah putih itu adalah seorang doktor. Tetapi bukan doktor haiwan la~ Sebab tu dia mengambil masa yang agak lama untuk mengeluarkan perut lembu yang ada 4 kesemuanya itu.

Alhamdulillah, Aidil Adha aku sambut dengan seadanya di rumah. Ini lebih baik daripada duduk terperuk di gurun Tronoh yang bosan dan tidak ada apa-apa ini. Aku sudah selamat sampai di UTP semalam (Sabtu) kerana aku akan mempunyai pembentangan untuk projek tahun akhir (fasa pertama) esok hari. Aku mengharapkan hanya yang terbaik untuk hari esok. Amin~

p/s: Aku mengambil kesempatan ini untuk mengucapkan Selamat Hari Raya Aidil Adha Maaf Zahir Batin~

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Now playing: Headwind - Suraya
via FoxyTunes

Bangang atau mementingkan diri sendiri?

Maaf, kualiti gambar tidak memuaskan. Diambil menggunakan kamera telefon bimbit.

Lihat sahaja gelagat pemandu trak pikap ini. Gambar ini diambil di Jalan Pasir Puteh, Ipoh semasa aku dalam perjalanan pulang ke UTP dari Ipoh untuk membeli komponen (IC 74LS163 tiada di EE Central Store, Blok 22) untuk projek tahun akhir aku. Pemandu trak itu cuba untuk memotong sebuah jengkaut (atau dalam bahasa orang kampungnya backhoe) di hadapan kereta bapak aku tetapi tidak sempat kerana lampu isyarat bertukar merah. Jadi, terpaksalah si pemandu wanita itu berhenti di laluan bertentangan sambil menunggu lampu isyarat bertukar hijau (sama ada dia bangang ataupun takutkan undang-undang dengan berhenti sebegitu). Walaubagaimanapun, tindakan pemandu tersebut sangatlah menyerlahkan kebodohan dan kesombongannya. Hahaha~


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Now playing: V.A. - Super Eurobeat Presents NON Stop Re-Mix [Project.D Ver]
via FoxyTunes

Experimental Verification of a New Resonant Gate Driver in High Frequency Converter Circuit Based on T.I Formulation

Noticed that my FYP title has been changed. (Note: T.I=Texas Instruments)

The first stage of hardware-based work is finally completed. The digital PWM generator has been successfully completed built on breadboard. The circuit is operated thanks to these integrated cicruits (ICs) namely (as labeled on the picture):

1. 74HC14 Hex inverting Schmitt Trigger by Texas Instruments™
2. 74LS163 Synchronous 4-bit Binary Counter by Fairchild Semiconductor™
3. MAX944 High Speed, Low Power, 3V/5V, Rail-to-Rail Single Supply Comparators by Maxim Integrated Products

74HC14 provides 1 MHz clock for 74LS163 counter operation while MAX944 integrates 4 comparators in one package. This circuit uses 3 comparators to generate PWM (Pulse Width Modulation) signal. One notable feature of MAX944 is it uses only single supply for its operation compared to normal comparator which uses dual-supply (+ve and -ve supply) thus simplifying the circuit construction. The DC reference level will be fed via the green wire (marked with no. 4) and white wire (marked no. 5) is the PWM output.

The circuit will be brought to lab tomorrow for testing. Hope it will yield the expected result with minimum variation. :)


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Now playing: M. Nasir - Balada Seorang Teman
via FoxyTunes

Goodbye...

I wanna wish...

Goodbye to sleepless nights
Goodbye to back pains
Goodbye to ink-stained fingers
Goodbye to shoulder pains
Goodbye to exam

Yet I'm still stranded here in UTP for FYP presentation! Sheeeeeeeeeeeetttttttttt!!! [I'm referring to FYP presentation's evaluation sheet... :P]

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Now playing: M. Nasir And Siti Nurhaliza - Bagaikan Sakti
via FoxyTunes

Hell's Weekend

Power System II
Today at 0900H until 1200H
Main Hall, UTP

Hope to keep my spirit high for this last battle or I will die from electrocution!

Diraba-raba, berdiri bulu romaku
Diramas-ramas tanganku, copot jantungku

*Manifestasi fobia dan kecuakan maksimum teserlah melalui lagu~

p/s: Akibat fobia Power Systems II, lagu dangdut pon bleh layan~


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Now playing: Nini Carlina - Gantengnya Pacarku
via FoxyTunes

Jual Ikan @ Selfish?

Just take a look at this picture. The selfish act of a car driver parked her car at motorcycle parking. The motorcycles rarely parked there but the car should not discriminate the motorcyclist through her selfish act. I know the owner is a she as this picture was taken in front of female students' block. To the owner of Perodua Viva, bearing registration no. QSP XXXX, if you happened to read this, please stop being selfish. Thank you. :)

p/s: I am not a car hater, as I am a driver myself.

Random Picture

Taken by the owner Sony α200 DSLR (I know it based on the EXIF data of the picture) during MEDTECH Club Raya Fiesta at Pocket D, UTP last month. This picture reminds me of my long-dead passion for photography after the loss of Canon EOS 300 and Olympus OM1000 with the lenses and flash guns about 5 years ago (right after SPM). I wonder when can I revive this passion again...

With Iman's Nikon D80 with AF-S Zoom-Nikkor ED 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G IF DX VR lens attached. Drool~

P/S: I wonder when I can get my hands on one of those... or even better? ehehehe~

Magnum, Kuda & Toto

Yesterday, I received an email with the content are as shown below.

En. Malik was so happy hitting the jackpot! I presume...

WTF they sent me crappy email like this? Quickly I marked this email as spam. By the way, I'm amused reading the testimonials. I hope Mr. Malik will stop his addiction to gambling. Insaflah sikit, awak tu orang Islam. The information is blurred on purpose so nobody will fall into believing this scam.

p/s: Berjudi itu haram disisi Islam. Gambling is forbidden in Islam.

11112009

I would like to wish my beloved aunt, Siti Khatijah Ayob whom I called Ateh, Happy Birthday!
I pray you will lead a prosperous life and live healthy all the time.
Be strong and never give up, you will always have my endless support!
I will always love you. :)

From left: Me, Pak Amin and Ateh
Bazar Ramadhan Gemas 2008

update on 1905H, 11/11/2009

Ateh will be undergoing operation to treat her breast cancer tomorrow (12/11/2009). She will be warded at 9 a.m (my Power Electronic exam will start at the same time) and the operation will commence at 1 p.m. The surgery is expected to take 2 hours. I hope my fellow readers will pray for her too. Amin~

Breast cancer: Are you at risk?

For some reasons, I would like to share with the readers about breast cancer. You might find it awkward since I am a guy and being overly concerned about this. Again, I have my own reasoning and this is the least I can do to create awareness about this No. 1 Women Killer. I hope this fact will be useful for my fellow readers.

Adapted from MAKNA website:

For females, ask yourself whether you are at risk of having breast cancer or not based on these characteristics:

• Age – any women, 20 year old and above are at the risk of developing breast cancer and the risk increases with age. In fact, 70 per cent of breast cancer cases occur in women aged 50 and above.

• Family history – women who have a mother, sister or daughter who developed breast cancer before the age of 50 are at a higher risk. This risk is further heightened if a woman has more than one immediate family member who has breast cancer.

• Previous history – women who have already been treated for cancer in one breast have an increased risk of developing cancer in the other.

• Menstruation – Early menstruation (before the age of 12) or late menopause (after the age of 50).

• Pregnancy – Never having a full-term pregnancy or giving birth after the age of 30.

• Breastfeeding – Women who have not breast-fed have higher risk of getting breast cancer.

• Diet – A diet high in fat and low in fibre will increase the risk of having breast cancer.

• Body weight – Obesity in post-menopausal years heightened the risk of breast cancer.

• Alcoholism – Excessive alcohol consumption will increase the risk of having breast cancer.

Minggu Belajar

Struggling to avoid these...




Strugging to focus on these...

Thursday, 12/11/2009, 1430H-1730H at Multipurpose Hall
EAB4323: Power Electronics II

Monday, 16/11/2009, 0900H-1200H at Main Hall
MPW2133: Malaysian Studies

Tuesday, 17/11/2009, 0900H-1200H at Multipurpose Hall
EAB4023: Multimedia Networks

Thursday, 19/11/2009, 0900H-1200H at Main Hall
GAB3103: Strategic Management

Sunday, 22/11/2009, 0900H-1200H at Main Hall
EAB4333: Power Systems II

Good luck to me and to those who had sat or will sit for final exams!

Born in Selangor, educated in Negeri Sembilan

3 - 1
Period.

There are some things that money can't buy

Author's note: This post might be provocative and controversial to some readers. Reader's discretion advised. I won't apologize on what I am about to say in this post but I do still respect the freedom of speech. Just drop your comments in the comments section. :)

To most of us, including me, believes that money can buy everything that could be imagined in this world. But we need to realize that there are some things that can be bought with money (please exclude Mafia Wars' notice "This item is a loot drop and cannot be bought" :P). Safety, life, to name a few, are the things that fall under this category.

Let me be straight to the point. Today, in the afternoon I took a usual afternoon drive in my dad's Waja on my way back to my hostel in block V5E. I drove via the usual route from the roundabout near to V2 and V4, and proceed to the road that passes V3. Mind you, this road is a one-way road. This is a one-way winding road with sharp S-curve and there is barely any space left for the vehicles to move at this road as there are a lot of cars parked at the right side of the road. I was driving slowly today as opposed to my usual driving (I once cleared those curve at 70 km/h with many cars parked at the road side), suddenly there was oncoming motorcyclist going at the wrong way. There is barely any space left for the motorcycle to pass but I was able to dodge it since I was driving slowly at that time. Mind you, it was dusk at the moment where visibility is quite limited and I could tell the motorcyclist is heading to the mosque for the Maghrib prayer.

This makes me wonder. It is very good for him to perform Maghrib congregational prayer at the mosque, but why on earth is he risking his life riding motorcycle is such manner? Don't you think this is a selfish act despite his good intention to perform prayer at the mosque? In Islam, it is told to value life and not doing such suicidal act as Islam prohibit suicide. Is it worth to risk your life for the sake of saving the fuel to mosque by taking the so-called 'shortcut'? How ironic, isn't it? Please don't tell me I am bias to the motorcyclist as I am a motorcyclist myself. I also ride and OWN motorcycle in UTP. And I don't think most of the motorcyclist in UTP had ride motorcycle for long journey like I do. For that reason, I think I made myself clear on safety issues and I really hope that those irresponsible, selfish motorcyclist will not commit the same 'stunt' again.

Since UTP is infested with many engineering and technology students where facts and figures matter, I had came out with calculation that is hopefully can prove to these motorcyclist why such thing is not worth doing.

Here it is:

Assuming that a typical 4-stroke, 110 cc motorcycle tank capacity = 4.5 litres
Current RON 95 petrol price in Malaysia = RM 1.80/litre

Therefore,

The cost of filling up the tank (from completely empty) is = 4.5 litre X RM 1.80/litre = RM 8.10

Based on my experience, one tank can lasts up to 130 km on long journey.

Therefore, the fuel consumption is = RM 8.10 / 130 km = RM 0.062/litre

However, the fuel consumption on a stop-and-go daily commute will result in considerably more fuel consumption, let's assume 80 km.

So, the fuel consumption is = RM 8.10 / 80 km = RM 0.101

The journey to the mosque, back and forth is = 1 km

Therefore, the cost to the mosque each time is = RM 0.101

However, this selfish motorcyclist have managed to cut down the journey by 200m and risking his life.

So, the distance now reduced to = 0.8 km = 0.2 km saved on each trip

The price of his/her life by taking this shortcut = the amount of petrol expenses he/she tried to save.

The value of his/her life = RM 0.101 X 0.2 km = RM 0.02

Let say he/she is using the same route one time for each day in a month = RM 0.02 X 30 days = RM 0.60

Conclusion: Is it feasible to risk your life everyday for savings on fuel expenses of RM 0.60 per month? Please follow the proper traffic that had been gazetted. Diri sendiri pun selamat, orang lain pun tak menyumpah. :)

Rejuvenate!

Ia mengejar kecemerlangan tanpa lupa daratan,
Berperwatakan hebat, bersopan,
Sejauh mana kejayaan ditempa,
Balik mencium tangan ibu bapa,
Di barisan hadapan sebagai pembela,
Ilmu di dada menabur jasa,
Semakin memuncak cita-cita,
Semakin tunduk pada yang Esa.

I first read this long way back at year 2000. And today I found this again from my friend who quote this on his Facebook page. Thanks dude. This quotation really brings back memory to me. And each and every sentences brought deep meaning to me, making me reassess myself. It has been about five years since I left the place where I first read this beautiful and meaningful quote, am I complying to what this quote tries to say? Did this quote have done something good to me, moulding me to be a better person now? I really need to understand this quote deeply before I can untangle all of the confusions that I am enduring now. Somehow, despite horrendous period of final year study in UTP now, this quote has remind me about my aim, my focus in life. It is very rejuvenating when I discover this precious piece of words that I have been forgotten long ago. :)

From Banting to Tronoh

Currently listening to this song repeatedly to alleviate my stress for the tomorrow's FYP seminar presentation and Power Systems II test. Gotta deal with possibly fussy evaluators and numerous knock-down questions for the presentation and massive amount of matrices operations and iterations in the test. Arrrrgggghhh!

The Cardigans
Daddy's Car

We took off that sunny day
Packed our things and went away
Me and friends in daddy's car
To find out how summers are
Found a card to send from wherever we went

From Luxembourg to Rome
From Berlin to the moon
From Paris to Lausanne
From Athens to the sun
Our car became a spacecraft
Flashing through the world
Crashed down in Amsterdam

We'll take off some rainy day
Pack our things and go away
Families and hotelbars
To find out how summers are
Find a card to send to some really old friends

From Luxembourg to Rome
From Berlin to the moon
From Paris to Lausanne
From Athens to the sun
Our car became a spacecraft
Flashing through the world
Crashed down in Amsterdam

A new lease of life

With the new motherboard installed

My aging PC finally breathe to new life today. After dealing with statics problem that made me unable to house the motherboard and peripherals inside the CM Elite 330 case, the PC finally beeped to life!

The problems

1. The aging MSI P915 finally rest in peace. There are significant signs of aging capacitors all over the motherboard. They might have just vaporised and malfunction causing the whole system unable to power up.
2. I came to Ariff's room to test the all the hardwares and detect the faulty ones as he has the extra hardwares. Later we found out that the graphic card (XFX GeForce 8600GT) is the culprit.
3. Upon installing the new motherboard, the system beeped frantically. Checked the manual, the beeps indicate ROM problem. I suspected that this is due to statics problem.

The old MSI 915P motherboard


The peripherals waiting to be installed on the new motherboard

The solutions

1. I replaced the aging motherboard with a new one (Gigabyte G41M-ES2L). RM 205 at PC Depot, Ipoh.
2. Sent the GC back to shop for RMA as it is still under warranty. Lucky me!
3. For statics problem, I have insulated all of the screw holes of the motherboard with cellophane tape. The frantic beeps gone and the system boot up normally!
4. I also replace all the interface cables (SATA and IDE) with the new ones bundled with the motherboard and all of the drives are detected and works like a charm!

Biggest gratitude

1. I would like to thank to Ariff for assisting me troubleshooting my PC problems. I owe you dude!
2. I would also like to thank Ariff's roommate, Wira Aiman for lending me his a stick of 1 GB DDRII 800 MHz RAM as the new motherboard is not compatible with DDR2 400 MHz RAM.
3. Gigabyte is generous enough to bundle the latest Norton Internet Security with the motherboard even it is the low end model. Surprisingly the antivirus does not bog down my system even though it only use the aging Pentium 4 630 processor with crippling 1 GB RAM (do not forget some of the RAM has been taken out by integrated graphic). No significant lag!

The new Gigabyte G41M-ES2L

Usual bundle

Dirinya Dalam Koma

Hari ini ku bangun seperti hari-hari biasa...
Ku lihat dirimu berdiri megah di depan mataku...
Ku hampiri dirimu yang terdiam kaku di sudut kamarku...
Lantas ku usap dirimu seperti selalu...
Jari-jemariku lembut mencari titik sentuhan yang bisa membangunkan mu...
Namun berkali-kali ku usap, ku picit dirimu...
Kau terus membisu tiada tindak balas...
Seketika itu ku terfikir...
Mungkin kau berpura-pura tidak bertindak balas denganku...
Mungkin kau ingin bercanda denganku, mengharap sentuhan yang lebih ganas...
Namun kau masih jua membisu...
Jantungku berdegup kencang, peluh mula membasahi tubuhku...
Kau terus terkaku disitu...
Kau langsung tidak memberi tindak balas...
Bangunlah sayangku...
Bangkitlah kau dari lenamu...
Ku merindui dirimu...
Ingin kulihat kau beraksi riang seperti selalu...
Adakah kau merajuk padaku?
Andai benar sangkaanku...
Ku pohon maaf darimu...
Dihari mulia ini...
Andai kau rasa terabai...
Percayalah, aku tidak pernah berniat begitu...
Mungkin aku terkhilaf seketika...
Kerana aku manusia biasa, bukannya mesin sepertimu...
Bangunlah sayang...
Banyak keje lagi tak siap weiii!!!!
Adoi~ gelabah laa aku camni~
Waaaaaa.....

Bangunlah sayangku~ come back to life!!!! aku da kopak nih~

Pakgad botak yang dengki ngan budak2 UTP yang baru dapat duit raye~ Parking elok2 pon die stil glabah cek stiker nak saman~

p/s: Post ini ditulis dengan ihsan dari laptop Qadir rumetku~

Silver Jubilee!

My beloved dad, Mr Mohd Sadli bin Abd Hamid turns 50 today~ Happy birthday to you ayah! I wish you would stay healthy and lead a prosperous life ahead. Semoga panjang umur dan dimurahkan rezeki!


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Now playing: OAG - Knocked Silly
via FoxyTunes

Raya 2009 Log: Raya Day 2 (Tour of the FELDAs)

We continued our Raya journey by heading to the Negeri Sembilan - Pahang border to visit our relatives there. I can conclude that my family is of the planters family as most of our relatives are the 'Penerokas' at the FELDAs around Negeri Sembilan. Nevertheless, one cannot avoid the fact that you will always entered the houses of Negeri Sembilan's from the kitchen or backdoor. It is not that they do not have beautiful entrance the front, but it seems more welcoming if we entered from the kitchen side. That's the uniqueness of Negeri Sembilan. Huhuhu.

1. FELDA Pasoh 1 in Simpang Pertang, Negeri Sembilan
2. FELDA Jelai 1 in Gemas, Negeri Sembilan
3. FELDA Bukit Jalor in Gemas, Negeri Sembilan

At night, I continued my own Raya tour to Seremban visiting Miss Azie (my teacher in SDAR) at her new house in Bandar Warisan Puteri, Jalan Sikamat. It was personally a memorable drive for me as I kept on reminiscing my memories in Jalan Sikamat. That road had undergone vast changes; there is no Cendol Megaway stall, G Internet Cafe, the road's condition had been improved and there is no small roundabout anymore at the intersection of Jalan Dato' Siamang Gagap, Jalan Tunku Kurshiah and Jalan Sikamat. Instead, it has been replaced with four-point junction with traffic light. I really missed my time back in SDAR Jalan Sikamat...

Raya 2009 Log: Raya Day 1

On this 1st day of Aidilfitri, we headed to the homes of our grandparent's hometown. I swapped cars with my dad (I drove Kancil while he drove Waja) just to avoid my grandfather nagging at me and disturbing my focus on the road. The signature Hari Raya meals like lemang, ketupat and rendang were served at almost every home we have visited:

1. Wan's (Grandma) hometown in Sg. Siput, Melaka
2. Atuk's (Grandpa) hometown in Titian Akar, Negeri Sembilan
3. Pak Long's house at Linggi

Raya 2009 Log: Raya -1 day

Our family packed our bags and headed to Felda Sg. Kelamah, Gemas, Negeri Sembilan (my mom's hometown) to celebrate our Hari Raya there. The journey started at 3.00 p.m. on convoy of two cars. My dad was driving Kancil and I drove Waja. The journey is pretty much boring since we drove according to the speed limit for fearing the Ops Sikap. But it was not for long. It was shocking to see that the automatic Kancil can cruise up to 130 km/h without the assistance of slipstream. Instead, the Waja was drafting the Kancil at that speed on the highway. I think servicing the rusty radiator really contributed to the engine's performance and reliability (the 660cc power plant was prone to sudden overheat before). The traffic on the highway was quite congested but flowed smoothly. There are some hiccups on certain 'favourite' spots like the Seremban - Senawang stretch of the NSE. We arrived safely at about 6.00 p.m.

Dugaannya

Hari Khamis sememangnya hari yang paling ditunggu-tunggu dalam seminggu kerana kelas hanya akan bermula pada pukul 2.00 petang. Hari-hari lain kelas bermula pada pukul 8.00 dan 9.00 dimana aku terpaksa bangun awal (kadang-kadang terlajak juga, lebih-lebih lagi di bulan puasa ni). Bulan Ramadhan ini sememangnya betul-betul mencabar kesabaran aku dengan kehidupan di UTP (sama ada di luar kelas atau pun di dalam kelas) yang semakin serabut dan menambah tekanan ini.

1. Masalah coverage Maxis di UTP sejak aku mula bertapa di blok V5E. Fluctuating signal strength and sudden disconnection during calls. Coverage 3G pula hampir mustahil di bilik aku, terasa sia-sia pula sebab dah beli handphone mahal (bagi aku). Dah call Maxis Customer Service Centre tadi, harap-harap aduan aku mendapat perhatian yang sewajarnya.
2. Masalah sambungan Internet yang tak pernah selesai. Nak masuk Google Talk pun kena berkali-kali cuba baru dapat. Katanya ITMS dah upgrade kemudahan Internet dengan bandwidth yang selebar lebuhraya 8 lorong tapi masalah tetap ada. Padahal MPPUTP siap buat banner mengucapkan terima kasih kepada ITMS UTP kerana sudah menaiktaraf kemudahan Internet. What an arselicker...
   
3. Esok aku ada test Power Systems II dan masih mencari semangat untuk belajar. Haish~
4. Esok juga aku kena hantar progress report FYP.

And the list goes on... Sabo aje la~

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Now playing: Hujan - Dugaannya
via FoxyTunes

PART 1 : Nursing the Two-wheeler - Flat tyres

Yesterday morning I woke up and found this.

Flattened...

Yes, the tyres are flat, both of them. So I pushed the bike for about 800 metres to UTP PETRONAS petrol station located at the main gate. I quickly inflate both tyres (luckily the puncture wasn't so severe) as a temporary measures before went to the workshop to replace the tubes and tires. The repair was done at SRY Motorcyles at Bandar Universiti.

For the tubes, I opted for higher quality tubes (price starts at RM 10 onwards per piece) as the rubber is thicker from the cheaper ones (RM 8 and below). Durability is my primary concern as this bike frequently do long distance journey. So, I would not risk myself choosing the cheap tubes for only few ringgits price difference.

The tyre tubes

Replacing the front tyre tube

Due to budget constraint, I could only replace the rear tyre. My choice is Dunlop TT100. I only choose this tyre for it's intermediate nature that provides sufficient grip on both dry and wet road condition. I will replace the front tyre using the same TT100 tyre next month though.

Installing the new tyre into place

SRY Motorcycles has been my workshop of choice if I want to service my bike at UTP. I also managed to get discount on the parts and services. :)

The bill:

Dunlop TT100 rear tyre : RM 55.00
Rear tube: RM 8.00
Front tube: RM 7.00

TOTAL = RM 70.00

For the next service, my plan is to replace the front tyre and the drivechain. These parts also due for replacements. :)

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Now playing: The Beatles - Ticket To Ride
via FoxyTunes

The Meaning of Being a PETRONAS Scholar

1. You are on your own.
2. You can't no longer expect your parent to financially assist you.
3. Spending money on your own needs using the monthly allowance will attract negative connotation from your family.
4. You will be regarded as a 'rich boy' from your family so you are not worth any of their assistance.
5. When you are run out of money, you better keep your mouth shut. Or else, you will be nagged at even though you used up all the money for something necessary.
6. You have to pay your own 'Zakat Fitrah' because you are no longer your parent's responsibility.
7. You have to be strong facing all of the injustice imposed on you by your parent.
8. You have to pay for everything you want from your parent while the your other siblings don't.
   
9. When you screw up, you will be scolded rather than being asked about the problem causing it to happen by your parent.
10. You have to have a strong mental or else you will get crazy and screw up with your studies, hahaha~
11. You don't feel like you are belong to your family anymore. The difference is you have to come back home to avoid from receiving 'anak derhaka' award.
    

Who says being a PETRONAS is your parent's pride? It is merely an attempt of escape from the responsibility but yet you can't really stand on your own. :)


p/s: Or is it because I am what I am? Maybe my PETRONAS scholar fellows do not face all of this?

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Now playing: Samsons - Kisah Tak Sempurna
via FoxyTunes

Selamat Hari Kejadian

I would like to wish a joyous happy 22nd birthday to Miss Nursakinah Abd Latiff today~ Hope you will lead a wonderful and prosperous life ahead. Happy birthday! :)

p/s: Taya blakang moto pancit~ aduii~

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Now playing: Radja - BBC (Benci Bilang Cinta)
via FoxyTunes

Dean's List at Last!!!

Among my UTP folks, getting GPA of 4.00 for industrial internship is not hard to get. But I believe, all of us (my batch mate and those who had undergone internship and score 4.00 pointer) had put a lot of time and effort to achieve such a perfect score.

Alhamdulillah, I finally scores 4.00 for my internship as well. Hence, I would like to thank to everybody that helped me along the way especially my family members, bosses (Mr. Adnan, Mr. Rohizat, Tn. Hj. Hamdan and Mr. Irshad) and staffs at Synergistic Generation Sdn. Bhd. (especially Mr. Ahmad Zamir Mohamed Noor as my plant supervisor) and my UTP supervisor Dr. Hasnah M. Zaid. My greatest appreciation to all of you for the assistance and supports during my 8-month industrial internship at this company.

I would also like to express my fullest gratitude to my engineering department counterparts like Iz, Anas, Haslan, Fadhil, Badrulhisham, Palie, Badlishah, Nizam, Naz, Arshad and Yusri. Working with all of you was a great and wonderful experience for me. :)


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Now playing: Joe Dassin - Les Champs-Elysées
via FoxyTunes

A Year Older

I would like to wish Happy Birthday to my younger sister, Nur Haziqah bt Mohd Sadli who turns 17 today. She is also sitting for SPM at the end of this year. Study properly and may you excel the exam with flying colours!

p/s: Saje ltak gamba kat Bazar Ramadhan Gemas taon lpas, bia nmpk gedik sket~ hahahah~


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Now playing: Adele - Right As Rain
via FoxyTunes

Post Saturday Night Fever Syndrome

I have just watched the popular movie in the 70's, Saturday Night Fever starring John Travolta, Karen Lynn Gorney and Donna Pescow. These are the songs that I have been longing to search for, as previously I only get to hear them on the radio without knowing the title of the songs. After watching this movie, I am glad to know the title of the songs and I want to share with you some of my 70's disco madness. I just love the 70's disco beat, let's get boogie! :)

Artist: Yvonne Elliman
Title: If I Can't Have You

Don't know why
I'm survivin' every lonely day
When there's got to be no chance for me
My life would end
And it doesn't matter how I cry
My tears, so far, are a waste of time
If I turn away
Am I strong enough to see it through?
Go crazy is what I will do

If I can't have you
I don't want nobody, baby
If I can't have you...uh-huh-huh, oh
If I can't have you
I don't want nobody, baby
If I can't have you...uh-hoh

Can't let go and it doesn't matter how I try
I gave it all so easily to you my love
To dreams that never will come true
Am I strong enough to see it through?
Go crazy is what I will do

If I can't have you
I don't want nobody, baby
If I can't have you...uh-huh, oh
If I can't have you
I don't want nobody, baby
If I can't have you...uh-hoh

If I can't have you
I don't want nobody, baby
If I can't have you...uh-huh, oh
If I can't have you
I don't want nobody, baby
If I can't have you...uh-hoh

Oh! If I can't have you...

Artist: The Bee Gees
Title: More Than A Woman

Oh, girl Ive known you very well
Ive seen you growing everyday
I never really looked before
But now you take my breath away.

Suddenly youre in my life
Part of everything I do
You got me working day and night
Just trying to keep a hold on you.

Here in your arms I found my paradise
My only chance for happiness
And if I lose you now I think I would die.

Oh say youll always be my baby
We can make it shine, we can take forever
Just a minute at a time.

More than a woman, more than a woman to me
More than a woman, more than a woman to me
More than a woman, oh, oh, oh.

There are stories old and true
Of people so in love like you and me
And I can see myself
Let history repeat itself.

Reflecting how I feel for you
Thinking about those people then
I know that in a thousand years
Id fall in love with you again.

This is the only way that we should fly
This is the only way to go
And if I lose your love I know I would die.

Oh say youll always be my baby
We can make it shine, we can take forever
Just a minute at a time.

More than a woman, more than a woman to me
More than a woman, more than a woman to me
More than a woman, oh, oh, oh.

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Now playing: Bee Gees - More Than A Woman
via FoxyTunes

808.8 + 80.0 = 888.8

888.8? What is the significant of this figure? Some of my friends had given their assumption via my Facebook page:

The figure looks gay, at least that's what they said. Does it sounds gay to you?

Ok, let me clear things up. 888.8 translates into 888.8 GB of my current hard disk space in my PC. It consists of two Western Digital S-ATA hard disks, the 80.0 GB Caviar and the recently owned 808.8 GB Caviar Green. Previously, my PC faced a very serious disk space issues so the acquiring of new hard disk solves my problem. Currently 3 of the S-ATA ports on my MSI 915P motherboard are occupied; 2 are used by the HDDs and 1 is connected to S-ATA Pioneer DVD burner.

Setting up the new hard disk was a breeze. Then, I backed up all of my files at second partition of the old hard disk to the newly formatted 808.8 GB hard disk. To obtain a significant boost of performance, I have reformatted and departitioned the old hard disk to be used as primary location where I installed my Windows XP SP2. Now, I have one whole 80.0 GB space specially assigned to install all my software. Most importantly, I installed the Microsoft Office 2007 suites and MATLAB 7.1 R14 software as my specialization in Power Systems require me to do power flow analysis that involves iterations using Gauss-Siedel and Newton-Raphson methods. MATLAB is very great mathematical tool that can do the jobs for me, and for that it requires large disk space and processing power to complete the complex and lengthy iterations.

However, I noticed a significant lag in my PC although I have just fresh install the WinXP. I suspect the RAM is the bottleneck here as my current RAM is only 1 GB made up of 2x512 MB DDR2 RAM sticks running in dual channel mode. I think my next step of improving the performance of my PC is to upgrade the RAM to 2 GB (2x1 GB on dual channel). I might opt to go for 4 GB of RAM but since I am not going to use Vista, installing 4 GB of RAM would be pointless since WinXP only detect up to 3.5 GB of RAM. Only after that I can think of procuring new 1 TB HDD to make full use of the available 4 S-ATA ports on my motherboard. Hehehe...~

Working in Tandem: The 80.0 GB HDD (bottom) and the 808.8 GB HDD inside my PC

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Now playing: Yvonne Elliman - If I Can't Have You
via FoxyTunes

Shopping Spree!!!

Today I go back to UTP again since I have lectures on Monday. I departed at about 9.30 a.m and arrived at UTP at about 3.00 p.m. Why I am taking so long to arrive at UTP? Yup, I went to Low Yat Plaza in KL to do some shopping! Here are my shopping bill:

1. Western Digital WD8088AADS 808.8 GB S-ATA Hard Disk : RM 235.00
2. VZTEC Bluetooth USB Dongle : RM 20.00
3. Kingmax UD-02 8 GB USB thumbdrive : RM 55.00
4. Kingmax Super Stick 2 GB USB thumbdrive : RM 24.00
5. Buffalo Mini Station HD-PFU2 320 GB External Hard Disk : RM 230.00 (for Aiza)

When I arrived at my room in UTP, Qadir told me that the printer toner is running out of ink. Also, I forgot to but a new S-ATA cable for my new hard disk! Therefore, I called Aiza who was in Ipoh to do the shopping for me. So, my shopping bill adds up:

1. Canon Cartridge 303 Laser Printer toner : RM 195.00
2. S-ATA interface cable : RM 5.00

Total spent = RM 534.00 (excluding Aiza's external HDD)

Verdict: Totally satisfied with the purchase.

I need a new hard disk since my current WD 80 GB hard disk has very serious storage space issues. I need a new one primarily to allow me to work with engineering softwares like MATLAB that requires huge storage space. As for the thumbdrive, I need a new ones since my last SanDisk Cruzer U3 went kaput. My selection of Buffalo HD-PFU2 portable HDD is because it offers shock protection, faster transfer rate with TurboUSB technology and wrap-around cable that is very useful in managing the USB cable. These features, especially the shock protection and cable management is very suited to sloppy nature of Aiza. No offense here :P

So, I better do autopsy on my PC to install the new hard disk drive (HDD) and partition it to suit my requirements. :)

Always use genuine toner for my LBP2900 laser printer

Kingmax Super Stick footprint is smaller than my room key!

This brick should keep me satisfied for quite some time... Hehehe...

Home 1 Nice 1, Not...

Yesterday I received a call from Ayah right after performing Maghrib prayer telling me that my mom are struck by fever. The doctor gave her anti-viral treatment and asks her to rest at home and reduce outdoor activity, fearing H1N1 plague that is currently the universal phenomenon. Worrying about Mak's condition, I rushed back home at 9.00 p.m. by motorcycle. I arrived home at 1.00 a.m. using Tronoh - Setiawan - Hutan Melintang - Kuala Selangor - Klang - Banting route. Upon arriving, I found Husna is down by fever too. Thankfully, both of them are not in critical condition. I hope they will get well soon.

And that also means I can celebrate the first day of Ramadhan at home although I do not plan to go back home at first. The first of day of fasting, we only break our fast with foods that were bought from Ramadhan bazaar in Banting. At least, for the first day of fasting I can avoid eating food at the cafes. To mak and Husna, rest well and get well soon!

The Waja's battery died today, so the Kembara is giving the dying Waja a jumpstart...

The Most Awaited Thursday

I always wait for Thursday to come. It is like the 3rd day of my weekend, sort of. This because I only have one lecture on this day and it starts at 3 p.m. That means I can wake up late (although it is no later than 9 a.m since I am trying to be morning person now, hahaha...). This week's Thursday is as torturing as always since I am still struggling to survive in UTP due to ESU arrogance and foolishness for holding my monthly allowance (and so the rest of my colleagues who are returning from industrial internship) until the result comes out.

Enough of that crap, I tried to divert my anger to anything related to blogging. This is the only thing possible to do in this snailing-slow UTP internet connection. That includes posting something on my blog and bloghopping. While doing this, I noticed something when I surf these blogs. I always watch their language style when writing to their blogs. As for me, I think the authors should use proper language when writing posts on their blogs. No bahasa rojak (mixing languages) in the posts. I have my utmost respects when reading posts that have no mixing of languages although the post is totally crappy ones. What I mean is, it is better to use either fully English or fully Bahasa Malaysia in the posts. That will give the author some dignity and shows the level of proficiency of the languages. If you really need to use the terms from other languages, you may do so by properly quoting it or italicized it. Some of them also assimilates words of other languages into the other languages indiscriminately. The most obvious situation is borrowing some words in English and change the spelling to sound like Bahasa Malaysia. Here I would like to share with you some of the examples and the suggestion to replace it. I am not a master of languages nor the moving Oxford dictionary nor moving Kamus Dewan. But I hope through blogging, we can help to give the language some identity. I am not opposing the use of some terms in English to be borrowed into Bahasa Melayu especially terms that are related to science and technology, but the examples below are the common words that has their own words in Bahasa Melayu:

appreciation => appresiasi = penghargaan
conclusion => konklusi = kesimpulan
consumption => konsumsi = penggunaan (this is funny word that is blindly 'borrowed')
family => famili = keluarga

These are the most common words that need not to be assimilated into other languages. They have their own definition in respective language. Mind our language. Thank you.


p/s: Looping on Hujan, Mencari Konklusi. Haish, I can't resist the catchy beat...

PMS

It was a sunny Tuesday, overcast in the midday and raining in the afternoon. The discussions with my dear friend had already shaken me and thrown me off balance. To top it off, an investigative phone call exacerbated me. But I can't blame the caller though. I am controversial and everything I do will bring suspicion to the person who only see at the surface. I am all aware of that and I am OK with it. Feeling like I have PMS today. And that cost me the Multimedia Network tutorial. Anyway, it turned out good. A good afternoon sleep while it is raining outside. So refreshing. :)

Boleh tak ikhlaskan hati tu sikit?

Wahai diri sendiri,

Tolonglah ikhlaskan hati tu bila membantu orang lain. Lakukanlah pertolongan itu atas dasar kemanusiaan dan tanggungjawab setiap manusia di atas muka bumi ini. Kau hanya tahu nak melenting, nak rasa down bila orang abaikan kau walaupun kau dah tolong dia sebelum ini. Hentikan sajalah perasaan sebegitu, ada ramai lagi orang yang ingat pada kau walaupun kau tak tolong dia sangat pun. Kalau kau rasa kau bengang sebab orang tak ingat jasa kau pada dia, kau berhentilah tolong dia. Tapi kau ni lembut hati sangat, kau memang tak boleh tengok orang lain dalam kesusahan apabila kau tahu kau ada kemampuan nak membantunya. Sebab itulah kau harus ikhlaskan hati kau bila melakukan sesuatu. Kalau orang tak nak tolong kau, apa yang kau boleh kata pun. Kalau orang tak ingat pada kau, kau ingat orang tu ikhlas ke nak ingatkan kau kalau kau paksa dia sekalipun? Mungkin kau rasa kaulah yang paling hebat bila ada orang datang meminta bantuan pada kau. Tapi apa yang terjadi kalau orang yang kau bantu itu langsung tak menghargai pertolongan kau itu? Mungkin kau rasa kau patut menerima layanan yang baik apabila orang yang pernah buat salah pada kau datang merayu-rayu untuk berbaik dengan kau. Tapi kau pernah tak terfikir ada manusia yang akan lupa segala-galanya apabila dia sudah dapat apa yang dia mahukan? Tolonglah hentikan kerja sia-sia ini. Ikhlaskan hati tu. Buat kebaikan bukan untuk dipuji. Membantu yang dalam kesusahan bukan untuk mendapat penghargaan. Buatlah kebaikan semata-mata untuk mencari keredhaan dari Tuhan dan mengumpul keberkatan dalam hidup.

Otak serabut seperti wayar-wayar yang berselirat ini. Tapi tak mengapa sebab nampak cool bila bekerja dengan perkakasan yang nampak canggih seperti ini. Kuang2~