Another day of Summer - Preparation

In about a week or so, people are going to celebrate Eid El Fitr. The road nearby my home is already frequently congested especially during weekends.

While everyone seems to be at it, I personally am trying to keep away from all those commotion.
I don't know, I find it hard to fit myself into the energetic environment with people talking here and there, making choices and stuff. Stress-ss! When I see those people bargaining, or choosing design for their baju melayu, there seems to be a strong white light emitting from their body, full with energy. In that situation, I will immediately find a place with no one a round, or in extreme situation, find a wall to lean on. Like a bat? Yeah, probably like a bat.

During this kind of time, especially with two weeks left before my holiday at Malaysia ends, I rather go to a quiet place, look at the sky, and sing a song to myself. REALLY!
Also... the idea of decorating my house, only to have those removed at a later date was a little bit, ... demotivating.
Am I looking at things the wrong way? Probably.

(I must get myself into the mood of an enthusiastic final year student.)

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I am glad that I went home for this holiday. I think of it as calming and refreshing my nearly-depleted soul before going all-out on the next war.

"When the going gets tough, the tough gets going."

So, I would like to dedicate this music to myself, with the message, Work Hard! Don't give up, the future me!!


I compiled this music earlier using Adobe Audition. I used various tracks from a game. I think it fits the state of my mind that I am having right now ^^: a soulful preparation.

Another day of Summer - I want to grow a flower.

I think what I will do on next Saturday is to buy a pot of small flower to be grown. Maybe I'll take a picture of it everyday, and see its progress for the 2 months im in Kuching.

Hrmmm I wonder if there is any flower species that can grow from small to full bloom in 2 months. Is there any? I guess I gotta ask the seller.

Another day of summer - Hazy

I think the sky here in Malaysia isn't getting any better every year, is it?

Today I will be taking a flight to Sarawak. As far as I can tell for 2 days I am here at Kuala Lumpur, nothing much has changed. I do see many construction projects are going on here and there, but I guess that's all.
The foods are awesome as always ^^, thanks to my cousin who treated me.

As for me, I think my health has declined since my arrival. Now I often cough and sneeze. ><. *sigh*...
I wonder how will I be after one month...
Ah, and talking about that,... I think I do have some sort of allergic reaction toward cats -.-.....
I was living so happily and healthily at Edmonton when suddenly a junior came and stayed at my house with his little kitten. Since that day onward, I was sneezing nonstop -.-...
Damn.... why must it be cats??? Family aside, what else is better to hug in this world???? Sob2.

Ah... I can't wait to finish Final Fantasy XIII and Tales of Graces f.

Another day of Spring - going back home this week

Hi ya.. uhh... hrmmm... hei!

This academic year could have been the worst so far for me. Soo many thing that I have to catch up in the last minutes. I personally think that I have come to a point where I don't know where is the boundary of the thing that I should learn for the course. The course subjects have become so sparse to the extent that even my textbook have to point out different textbook for "further read" on the subject matter.

Anyway, those misery is over for now. Well, maybe it is not a total misery, because there was fun as well.

In a couple of days, I will head back to my hometown just to see what's going on there. Hahah. I will definitely be lying if I say that I don't miss home. It's about time to refresh my tastebuds with "real" Malaysian food. Fwa ha ha.

And then, what will I do? Hrmm. I am going to improvise most of the stuff, but here's what I have in mind right now.

Do some sort of part time job (other than internship stuff).

Beat my mom's cooking. This time, I will definitely do it! Yea!

I want to expose my siblings to the library. I want to make it something routine for them. I admit I was not so much a library person, but that maybe because I wasn't that much exposed when I was little. So, I want to create a change in the way my family live once in a while. I mean, why not, right?

I want to renovate my mom's house at Malihah, as well as at my kampung. One may call it the "moonCube Expansion plan," haha!

Play with my camera and go outside Kuching. Maybe my kampung or anywhere else. I mean, I have been taking a lot of videos in Canada, so why not in Malaysia, right? Heheh.

Oh yes, that said, I am thinking of reviving my "boomdeyada" project when I go to Malaysia this time and this time, I am going to take the role of directing the footage. I have learned quite a bit from here and there and my little experience handling a camera. I hope this 2 months break will be filled with much productivity, yea!

Then,.. then.... nah, I will leave the rest for further "improvising". Basically, I simply want to stay close with my family as much as possible.

=). Jya!

Phone problem

For this entry, I just want to spread that I think I found a workaround for network crash problem that happen when Location Service is used in iOS5 on iPhone 3GS (old-bootrom) with iPad baseband (06.15.00). The proposed redsn0w 0.9.9b6 solution didn't work for me.

First of all, this idea came from a comment at http://www.jailbreakqa.com/questions/75187/network-crash-that-happens-each-time-location-services-is-used-in-ios-5.

Basically, I used sn0wbreeze to create the custom IPSW and then shift-restore my 3GS via iTunes using the custom IPSW. Done.

In summary,
What I have before:
-iOS5.1 for 3GS custom made with redsn0w.
-Carrier unlocked with ultrasn0w.
-Network often crashes when Location Service is used like Google Maps, Foursquare ='(

What I have now:
-iOS5.1.1 for 3GS custom made with sn0wbreeze.
-Carrier not yet unlocked. I don't need to unlock it for now since I am using the official carrier. However I think ultrasn0w should be able to unlock it.
-So far no crash yet when Location Service is on.

I am not aware of any cons of using sn0wbreeze for the moment as it has been only a day since. Will update in case anything happen.

Update 1 (11 June 2012): I have been using Google Map and move around the city for the past 2 days. I found that the app takes longer to determine my exact location as I move from one place to another. Sometimes my "exact" location is off by 50 meter. So for now, it has not much use as GPS. Well, at least it doesn't crash.

Update 2 (21 June 2012): Did you heard about redsn0w 0.9.14.b1? Haha.

Another day of spring - Getting some fresh air

Final exam season has passed. Not sure how well can I do it this time. I hate to say it, but brutal is too simple to describe the exams -.-.

Anyway, yesterday my housemates and I went outside Edmonton to refresh ourselves. Took a video.

Another day of spring - Here I go!

Another day of winter - A little bit more!!

Another day of winter - OMG OMG OMG tomorrow is the start of my...

Another day of Skyrim?

Ever heard of Skyrim? It is a western RPG made by Bethesda which is set in a world where dragons exist. I like it a lot because of the depth of the game and I am also an RPG lover myself. Anyway, recently I took a video of me playing it. I've put some balloon dialogues for added fun ^^. Have a look.

Amazing Race - Malaysian Student Association U of A

Last year, we organized an Amazing-Race like activities for fun. We had 6 teams and 6 cameras following each team. I find that compiling all those videos from different cameras was quite challenging. You had to have a sense of time and order of which events happens. I am wondering how the Amazing Race crew does it. Anyway, here are the compiled video. I was in 'Team Ali'. (Part 1) (Part 2) (Part 3)

Another day of winter

Just a video of me recording myself while on my way home after class. Nothing much.

Should I change blog title?

Lately, I feel weird looking at the word Ron -.-

It was intended to reflect my online nickname when I play MMO games.
But, since I study thermodynamics in school, I am getting more familiar to 'RON' as chemical component in fuel. -.-

So, I'm going to change it soon. Winter 2012 is ending soon anyway. :D

Sound diabetes

Double bass amplifier setup (Triple, if counting Windows 7 sound driver amplifier)

 I'm do not always listen to music, but when I do, I make sure that it sounds sweet.

*WARNING* Do not expose yourself to loud sound excessively. Enforce a time limit.

Another day of Winter - Brace yourself, busy weeks are coming.

At the right side are my notes on tasks due dates for the next 3 weeks.

Hectic.

Ya Allah please help me to go through each one of them!!

Return to myself.

You know... I often feel that I am much inferior that what I used to be during my childhood.

When I was a kid, I was full of energy, keep pestering others, love to have bicycle race with friends, play with mud, annoys my teacher in school, kick my innocent friend out of nowhere.
But those aside, I always enjoyed hanging with friends, be the one who called for a groupwork doing homework, sell 'rare' printed material I made with 'rare' computer.

But now, look at me. Sitting at my own bedroom looking at the monitor screen reflecting myself. Haha!

If it is possible, I would like to travel to the past and face to face with me from then.
I would like to ask
"Do you like the way I am now?"
"Do you feel like want to punch me in the face?"
"Is the kind of people I'm hanging out with right now looks right to you?"
"Do you like my attire?"
"What do you think about my hair? Nah, I don't think you care, but yah... what do you think?"
"Do you think my dedication towards Islamic teaching is enough?"
"Do you think I spend too much on entertainment?"
"From your point of view, am I keeping good relation with my family? Or do I seems to be too far distanced?"

This is the me who I want to meet.

There is a bunch of stuff that I would like to discuss with him if I have the chance.

*butterfly effect*
And one thing, if there is one advice that I will give him for his new world line... I will say...
"Always love your family. Don't be afraid to depend on your family. They have been very helpful to me in my time of need, and they will also be helpful to you".


Hahah. look at me. ranting about myself. T_T
OK back to the damn endless assignments!

(p/s: The first ever picture of me from pre-secondary school ever posted on internet. Woot! Woot!)

Another day of winter: Looking for the ideal state of myself

Recently, whenever I am up to a certain task, I always wonder how good can I pull it off. No matter, homework, assignments, group tasks, etc. Sometimes I am unsure. Sometimes I feel not motivated enough. Sometimes I feel not being at my best state to do it.
It results in me not giving the best dedication that I should have given for the task.

From my point of view, the world is getting to look like those old pictures in sephia. Dull.
VERY DULL. I begin to question the purpose of everything that I do.

Why am I here. What am I doing. What I should do next. Why I should do it.

And yes, I am living within the community of engineering students, lecturers, and workers. Until now, I still wonder what are their sources of motivation whenever they are working on something. Is it money? Happiness? Why are they doing the thing that they do? Where is the source of their motivation and curiosity?

Every night before I sleep, I usually feel frustrated thinking of my lack of enthusiasm for the day. I don't know. There isn't much feeling of enjoyment in completing my assignments anymore. Not as much as it used to be.
I wonder if this means that I am bored?

Right now, out of 6 subjects that I am taking, there is only 2 that I can relate to my interest. The rest are SHIT that I have to make sure I know so that I am up to par with other people. I am not sure what others are thinking about this, but personally I think this is forced learning, and I do not enjoy it. And this is only the third year of university. God knows what I will deal with in the fourth year, wallahualam. I hope there will be something that I am interested in.

Well, *sigh*. Motivation. Motivation. Come to meeeee!!!

Terrible social network

I don't know about you guys, but I think my facebook page has become another 9gag page. -.-
Full of memes.

In fact, it is worse. Not only it collects memes from 9gag, but also dozens other gag community. I believe the situation has come to a point where I feel disgusted of my facebook page.

I am thinking, how can I unsubscribe from these pages, while still get up to date on latest trends?
How? How?

It is mid of the term. Warrrasdsghfsbgfsdggghhhh!

Must study for midterm... regardless.

Another day of winter: To feel time.

*listening to Tell Your World by livetune feat Miku*

Sometimes I wonder why do I have to go through the same routine as everyone else.
I mean... to wake up in the morning.. to eat lunch in the afternoon,... to relax in the living room at night... to sleep at night.

A psychology book that I read says that human biologically live in a 25.1 hours clock.
That means, compared to our sun calendar which has 24 hours per day,... we are wasting 1.1 hour of the extra productivity.


I don't want to live in this planet anymore.

Building my first modern rig.

1)      I have been planning to assemble myself a powerful desktop. Only recently, I found the chance to do so. So, 2 weeks ago, I went online and investigate a desktop setup that can be considered a beast, yet affordable.
After 3 days of sleepless nights identifying the best combination of hardwares, I finally made my purchase at newegg.

2)      ...ジャジャン！！ A week later, these came to my door. =D 5 boxes in total. 1 contains a monitor and 1 contains the tower casing. But I don't really care about those two.

It is the other 3 that I have been waiting for.
Upon unboxing, I get these: MORE BOXES!! but definitely more colourful.

Highlights: *drumrollllll*

CPU: Intel i5 2500K
(CPU type: LGA 1155)

GPU: XFX HD Radeon 6870 CrossFireX ready.

SSD: Crucial M4 64GB (SATAIII)

and the rest,
Motherboard: ASRock Z68 Extreme3 Gen3 (for LGA1155)
Heatsink: Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus (supports LGA 1155)
Hard disk: Hitachi Desktar 1TB (SATAIII)
RAM: G.Skill 4GBx2 DDR3 1600
PSU: PC Power and Cooling Silencer MK III 500W
Optic Drive: Asus DVD Burner (SATA)
Keyboard/Mouse: Logitech MK120 Bundle

As for the OS, we installed 64bit Windows 7 Professional with free key provided by the University service (thanks to Ammar for the heads up, I wonder why I didn't get any email about that).

3)      Assembling the desktop takes about 8 hours of menpower from me and my housemates (thanks to Ammar again, Hafiz, Cimi, and the occasional words of encouragement from the others XD).
The final result is....
SATISFYING =D.

4)     A few things that catch my attention:
-My new desktop can boot up in under 30 seconds. Woot2! Well, without any antivirus though. I wonder how well will it do if I install one.
-In the Windows 7 Windows Experience Index, the slowest component is the CPU and RAM with rating of 7.5. I was expecting the hard disk to be the slowest, but the opposite happened, the hard disk maxed to 7.9. o.O..... is this the power of SSD?
-The desktop is surprisingly quiet, even with 2 chassis fan, 1 CPU fan, 2 GPU fan, and 1 PSU fan. Two friends of mine who went to my room after the assembly thought that I connect the big monitor to my laptop instead, and didn't realize a big desktop house is there.

5)     The verdict. This purchase is satisfying. I believe the specs could last for at least another 3 years before the rig become less-supported. The only thing that I have to think now is... how to ship it to Malaysia later. -.-" I can only think of contenna courrier for now. Well, I'll save that thought for later =D.

My newly renovated workstation. Really, I plan to work with it, no kidding.

p/s: I actually made a mistake in choosing the PSU because 500W is not enough to do multi-GPU (aka AMD CrossFireX or nVidia SLi). Heh, typical kind of mistake if you only have yourself to consult with. As the result of this, I will have to buy a new PSU if I want to do CrossFireX in the future.

In the meantime however, a run through Skyrim and Assassins Creed Brotherhood in High Setting 1080p prove that I may not even need it. They are able to maintain steady rate of frame per second between 50 to 60 with not very common drop to 40 fps. Meh, I guess I can live with that.

Another day of winter: First day of class

Now it is 6.25am in the morning.
I suppose to wake up at 7am, but somehow I slept too early yesterday, and end up waking up a couple of hours ago -.-".

I will have the first class of the term at 8am, Math 300. Math in the morning, isn't that great? Fwa ha ha ha ha.
I hope that this term will be even better than the last.

Okay, I want to take a 30 minutes nap.

zZZZ

Another day of winter: New Year 2012

^^. Happy New Year 2012 everyone.

     For most part of the world, the day is already in 2012. This day marks the next revolution of earth orbiting the sun. Some say that it is insignificant, while some say that it is important. I say that today is a rare enough event for everyone to notice.

     Just like every other new years, I've been thinking on what shall be my resolution for the next 365 days.
But WAIT. Before that... what happened to 2011's resolutions??
-.-" While I didn't put it into words on this blog, I believe it was something about... getting better grades in my academic terms. Well, thanks Nizam of 2011. I guess you did a good job. One thing that I succeed was I was finally able to have good sleep the night before exams. No more being an all-nighters. ^^

     So, now, it is MY TURN, Nizam of 2012. What kind of paths shall I face for the next 12 months? What choices shall build up dilemmas for the next 12 months? What are the things that I could do the best as a 22 years old teen for the next 12 months? What level of misery that I can expect for the next 12 months? What can I do today that may help me for the next 12 months?

     I think last year, I was a little bit misbehaved. There's a lot of area I could have improved on, particularly in performing daily prayers. Then, while my time management showed some improvement, I still depend a lot on last minute pressure to finish the job. Whereas for daily consumption, I concluded that coffee & coke is bad for exams. MILO is by far the best!

     Therefore, I believe what I need for next year is to practice one-time-FOCUS aka giving dedications. FOCUS when I am studying. FOCUS when doing prayers. FOCUS when playing games. FOCUS when doing team projects. FOCUS when I am cooking. FOCUS in doing assignments. This is my resolution for 2012. I believe everyone would agree that 'focus' is a word with many good connotations.

=D

p/s: I bought a desktop!! ^^