Tribute...

I have sponsored dinner for some folks close to where I live. Special folks. Hope they enjoyed it.

Haywire

The best job is when you enjoy what you're doing. Full stop.

Difficult situation. But I'm grateful. Life goes on.

Fedex

How do you top final-tennis on a big screen on Sunday.

Good job Federer. He is indeed betterer.

Another Pair...

Congratulations Firdaus & Seri. May them both live happily ever after.

Erm,, when's my turn.

Chainsaw Needed

Site survey to Sg. Buah with Abg Long, mom, and Asri. Below is an example of improper stance in chopping down a tree, especially when u have back and knee problems. Fortunately the heart is still good. Hopefully.

Brake, Break [edited]

I'm taking a pause from this to focus on something very important.

I'm pretty sure you wouldn't miss anything. If u need to get a hold of me, just holler.

*****

Partially resolved. More things coming up.

True love

An example of true love here.

Would you do the same?

Coarse After Fine

Sore throat. Rough voice.

An early morning call had entirely changed the course that was initially lingered in my mind. It keeps me in a difficult situation but sufficiently motivated for now. You never know how the tide turns.

In Perspective

I almost thought it's all in the shoulder. But it's in the hair.

But it's not 'fitrah' (by nature) though, so I still think there's a gap there. I'm going to investigate further.

Regeneration

My skin regenerated. This is probably due to the sun ray from Sunday. It's peeling off.

Today I learned about new things, and I'm so excited about it. But I can't be too excited about it too soon. =\ I'm confused. But I'm excited. =) But I shouldn't be, yet. =0 Well, I should be able to hold the boundary ;)

*****
2 hours plus in detention for a job slipping due to
A) Process beyond my control
B) Progress that was fighting in resources of time with my injury, identification of derated stuff, and rectification of the interim measure.

Business with too limited resources is like a car fueled up for only RM30 a week. How many trips can you make, or, how far can you go? =p

Bagan Lalang picnic

It was cloudy when we got there. The morning breeze was superb and the shallow seashore was only about 50m away. Then it got a little warmer as the sky cleared and the water dried up pretty quickly (actually it's the gravity of the moon that had the tide fall effect). Soon, the seashore had moved to the middle and swimming meant a 2km trip to and fro in total. It's not an easy feat to swim as the tide turned and you had to carry your little bro on your back heading towards the deeper water far away.

I swam and swam like I never have before.

On our way back we passed by Uncle Rashidi's goat place. That's a nice business. We also hit some durian on our way to home while dad and I then attended a wedding ceremony nearby almost immediately afterwards.

We also managed to cut down a 'pole' rambutan branch that had grown 90 degrees up. It's not realistic so we brought it down. The rambutans have all shrinked for being a little too ripe - didn't make the specs for redistribution.

Dagangan Timur's Rain

We had a house-warming and supposingly new year (Awal Muharram) feasts at Abg Din's. It was raining heavily outside and thus we had a long chat with relatives in the inside. CP and I were helping ourselves to some Tapai more than the regular dosage.

*Truth and reconciliation. My back hurts under an even greater stress and/or sleeping disorder. It's a newly discovered phenomenon, if may guess. Typically, it's just headache or migrain.

Listening to the travel agent, CP, in orange.

Happiness

The key to happiness is to admire without desiring.

- I forgot the source. Bradley I think.

*I've let myself down. My back hurts.

The Return

I had a really bad case with my PowerBook and it's back! Well, I shouldn't be too excited about it. It shouldn't be my focus anymore. But I just can't help but realize that this machine is part of me, and not another entity. This is my nerdishness. A Mac geek.

It all started with an increasing loading time for just about everything. RAM is big enough so it must've been the VM. The hardware scan couldn't pick up the HD issue but the software scan did - that, to my relief, was a signal for partial failure and not a complete one.

Images:
1. kernel_task is doing something at 40 threads.
2. The HD volume was later found dismounted.

You can tell that the second image is slightly doctored by a single dot.

As Your Wish.

Lunch was with Solehuddin, now an engineer at Petronas Drilling, and Mizuar, his buddy there.

On walking and the pace: it shouldn't be a stroll, but it somehow is. Walking shall neither be too fast nor too slow. Hold the shoulder as level as comfortably possible. Presumably the key to a healthier way of walking - it's also good for the knee.

*****
I have been invited to join a conference with so many players from the same industry. An excerpt from its Invitation Notice:

Dress/Attire.

Conference: Business attire.
Social: As your wish.

Doesn't really make me want to join as a base case.

Tomorrow

Save tonight
And fight the break of dawn
Come tomorrow
Tomorrow I'll be gone.

What Do Women Want?

Heard this from TraxxFm.

More women prefer men with financial security than men who are faithful.
More women prefer men who are loving than men who are honest.
More women prefer men who are strong & attractive than men who don't cheat.

But

More women prefer men who are funny & hilarious than men who have financial security.

Perhaps women prefer men who have a little bit of everything? I don't know.

Where Applicable

Beauty is not just from the outside. The inner working has to be considered as well.

Take the case of Perdana V6 2.0, a higher class model of Proton. I have been considering it for a while and finally decided to rule it out. Base case is that this model is so awesome looking and the ride is smooth - I've tested it myself. But according to what I heard from my brother, an office mate, and a skilled car mechanic, Perdana is somehow quite troublesome from the inside. The V-shaped engine introduced hefty labor to change out its timing belt. The engagement of gears are slow coming out of a halt.










*All the above may or may not apply to only cars.

Blog Trigger

One entry triggers another. Accepting one of the bummers in the digital age we are.

Hey, there's a boy by the name of Muhammad Zidni Ilman. Hello, buddy.

iPodhone

Your PDA. Your iPod. Your movie player. Your camera. Your phone. Your browser. Why switch to Apple phone?

Goes straight on top of my wish list.

Week Log Offshore

Jan 8 Mon
Final day of vacation. Still somber. Arranged for trip offshore.

Jan 9 Tue
Original taxi booking slipped (driver overslept). Rushed to Bangi. A driver by the name of Yahya literally burned tiretracks to get me to Subang in approximately 40 minutes. It was 7.10AM. Hugged my mom and dad tight before I left. Asked my beloved ones for forgiveness.

It was windy. Raining. Gloomy sky. Not very motivated contractors.

Jan 10 Wed
Sharp headache on right-hand side. I laid in the darkness for a couple of hours. Thanks Azam. Go around for detail design & engineering.

Jan 11 Thu
Trip to another plant (a huge complex) next door. A cool place to visit.

Jan 12 Fri
AZM was very cool. Nizam C. too. Quick Ogawa trial - it hurt. Flight delayed for an hour. I gained 4 kg in 4 days. (67 to 71 kg). Awesome.

Jan 13 Sat
Memory is improving - most likely an aftermath of the last 8weeks. I can recall the last 10 days, roughly. Room renewed. More furniture but minimal – wardrobe, and two book shelves. Dad extended the shelves downstairs. Couldn’t offer as much as help as Muzani due to limited carpentry skills.

Mere Mortals

We received a shocking call from dad that our beloved uncle, Ayoh Long, had passed away. It was decided on the spot as day-trip to Kuantan, paying our last respect to my dad's only elder brother.

I couldn't hold my tears for the first time in many years. Somehow I had to go another round afterwards.

Rest in peace, ayohLong. Al-Fatihah.

Still Water Runs Deep

I just couldn't come up with words for this one. The end is a little abrupt, but since everything's happening a little too fast anyway, I wouldn't want to count a single second.

But the memory remains...

The Swedish (and the) Curve

The Curve has got some terrible spots to park. Actually, terrible labels and signposts down there. There was no 'Underpass' sign anywhere but the one before it. But it's more like I'm absent minded. Or maybe my mind was occupied. I ended up carrying a 11-kg chair around while in search for my ride because the initial underpass and many elevator-ways & doors were closed and I totally forgot to memorize the exact location. It was 10.30pm. They closed the underpass so I had to go up and cross the main road to get to the other side (from IKEA to the Curve). Then I was lost for nearly 2 hours, figuring out where it was, having to work out some arm muscles along the way. So, don't laugh... you don't want to mess with me. It was quite a workout, you know. =p

I have also, in some way, interrupted a family trip. I tried my very best to lessen any sort of intervention and do my own thing with optimal interaction and minimal interference to the ongoing process (why do I have to make it sound a bit corporate-like). IKEA is indeed a very nice place to 'look around'. Yeap, don't shop. But just gaze at plenty of excellent displays and theoretical lifestyle. Dream a bit, and sometimes getting shocked of what you were dreaming about. I'm just terrible at getting along with people. There was a chair modeled "Love", believe it or not.

The model of the chair that I bought was 'Moses'. 17 C.

HDD Operation

Screw Apple support. I'm going in. I had something to be taken care of in the office and later met up with Farid for a favor. Money talks as usual. Hehe.

(Borrowed Farid's iBook for host-target connection: FW Target Disk mode. Target's HDD will mount at host's desktop as a volume.)




















The operation was unfortunately not very successful. Spot Amac was then the arrangement..

Firewire Target Disk Mode

My HDD almost failed but not completely. I'm struggling hard to back things up. Don't die... don't die!

I waited for Pacific time to call up Apple Care specialist and explained my situation and the distance, how far I currently am from official Apple support and all. The advice was to bring the TiBook to a Mac Genius in the Apple Store. Well, ain't that a genius.

Splash

All right. All I needed was a splash of water. Pangs of reality uncovered.

Thank you, dear.

Whatchamacallit

CB has a sophisticated internal circuitry that goes beyond clock and ticks. Delicate Samsung facets, maniacal electronic beats, Animusical video feeds, whimsical beatboxings, are only a few that goes insofar as live emulation than just a mere collection.

Prone to science, physics, music, as well as the understanding of technology but lack the mathematical beams to support the entire structure - concrete evidence that he is an intricate mixture of left and right brain. 99% of the time, CB eats using fork & spoon. He is also an avid gadgeteer, fan of Apple, Macintosh and Whose Line Is It Anyway.

*picture courtesy of Developers+Domo-kun

Distraction

I am quite troubled, I think I need to bury myself in books, computers, or work. About Time, How to Have a Beautiful Mind, Control Valve Handbook (I'm not seriously going to read this, am I?) Freakonomics, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, or, hmm, maybe movies... well, what does an engineer normally do?

I have been dreaming all along. Help.

Call me, toll free, 1-800-99-ZIDNI. While stock* lasts.
*Battery sold separately.

Smashing Glass

A part of me just shattered to pieces. Old feelings are coming back again. How could this be? It's like you twist your knee when you've already lost a ligament. Wait a sec, that's exactly what happened to me physically. And now it's happening emotionally, like some salt rubbed on a recovering wound.

True enough, you can't have everything you want.

Now.. where is that positivity of mine. Hope it's still working.

2007

The first improvement in 2007 is to remove unnecessary loading of banner backgrounds and the body outline. Things should look simpler and cleaner, and faster to load! =) And I shall try my best to reduce the bit size of the pictures without jeopardizing the quality too much.

Less is more.

>
For those planning to shed some weight, forget all the complicated therapy, lose-weight programs, pills, dietary modules, and so and so forth. The formula is actually very simple:

Eat less. Exercise more.

Whether it can be carried out, successfully and persistently, that's another question (and that's your solution).