On your mark...get set...GO!!

In less than 48 hours, I'll be taking part in the Genting Trailblazer adventure race. I haven't trained as much as I wanted too, partly due to the flu and cough that I contracted from my kids. I'm still having this chesty cough and I hope it will clear off before the race.

I'll be partnering with Dr M while Azad is pairing with Edrin. Our spirits are high and I just can't wait to start the race. Actually, I already have a story line to blog about the GT race later! So I'm very anxious to finish racing and blog about it! hehehehe

Check out the challenging 14km rain forest course below:

Klang New Balance 12km Run..

The Klang 12km run is meant to be a prep run for the upcoming Genting adventure race. Unfortunately, we had to skipped another prep race, which is the 10km Mizuno run due to some technical mishap. So we participated in one full race event and followed through with our own training regime before D-day (which includes attending open houses and makan kambing panggang yang lazat lagi berkrim).

Nevertheless, we enjoyed this Klang race. I would say it was refreshing as we ran through an unfamiliar territory. The route was relatively flat and not that torturing compared to the hilly Bukit Tunku course. Borriiingggg...(macam bagus..heehheeh).

gambar pose skema...future shot would be different..i promise...

I felt quite comfortable running at a consistent pace, although I did try to speed up half way through. But I didn't know the actual distance to the finishing line (organisers should think of putting up more informative markers; like distance, not just direction). So I conserved energy instead of me'rempit' tak tentu hala. Kalau nak rempit mesti kena tempat sebab lepas tu confirm terus pancit macam samprit.

I improved on my timing. By my standard, to cover 12km in about 1hr 20min is quite good. It tells me that I'm just 6 minutes away from breaking the sub 1 hour mark for a 10km race. I share Dr. M's target of finishing 10km in under 60 mins. Maybe we could achieve this in about 2 more races, InsyaAllah.

the one with the lucky draw prize...a gym ball

I got lucky that day. I brought back home more than just the finishing medal and certificate. My number was called up for the lucky draw! hahaha...haiya..sini pun boleh 'kena' ka?

To top it all, before going back home, we stopped by a restaurant in Shah Alam and had a hefty breakfast! Just like old time...roti canai banzai!

after the roti canai session...hungry for more!!

MNP is finally here...

I'm sure many of you have seen some if not all of the marketing campaign by Celcos on Mobile Number Portability (MNP). From this month, MNP basically allows you to switch to other cellular operators without loosing your current number with a maximum fee of RM25.

For the celcos, it's definitely a new competitive landscape where they try to entice and win over competitor's customers. It's certainly more challenging for them to ensure customer's loyalty. I'm really interested to see which Celco's are suffering the most from this MNP.

Source: ACNielsen

Many predicts that Maxis will loose most customers by virtue that they hold the biggest market share. Digi might gain as they are clearly the most innovative in their offerings. For the customers, we are definitely the biggest winner as the industry is getting even more competitive.

I, as a customer would like to ask this question though. Why am I still being identified using digits? With MNP, it seems that they want us to be known as 012/013/016/018-xxxxxxx until forever. Don't you feel like you're being bar coded and you have to carry it for the rest of your life? I don't want my operator to know me by the number. They should know me by name.

If you look at the Internet, when you register to an email service, instant messaging or community portal like Facebook, do they give you a prefix number to identify yourself? No. You are being identified by a name given by you. You can be known as Cicakman, Ironman, Max Payne or whatever, just like instant messaging.

With IP network or NGN, we will no longer be known by the number. It will be like the Internet but in a more secured environment. I personally feel the introduction of MNP service is 2-3 years late in Malaysia. Because, with prevailing technology, the IP network promises so much that makes MNP somehow looked trivial.

Perhaps its a case of better late then never. By having MNP, the regulators expects competition to strive. Hence, prices should go down and the citizen will be happy about it. I just hope the operators will start looking at other value added services and not just engaging in price war on minutes and sms.

Price war is good for the customers only in the short run. In the long run, with lower revenue income, it reduces the operator's capability to re-invest in new technology which ultimately reduces the country's global competitiveness.

MNP shouldn't be use to further commodities the industry and this spirit has to be shared by all players. If commoditisation continues, we will devalue the industry far into the future. And this is not good for operators as they are being squeezed by customers, demanding for lower price.

As for me, until an operator can truly identify me as Mafiz Seth, I'm not switching sides. And believe me, it's not far away for this to happen. It's closer than you think. If only the 'Truly Mobile', 'Truly Malaysian' operator awakens....

New Belkin wireless modem router in the house...

Bought a new modem router during the weekend for the house. Belkin's modem comes with a lifetime warranty.

According to the sales guy, if you have a technical problem with the modem and it's verified by their call centre support, you can straight away get a replacement.

That's good I think. My previous Aztech router modem only has a limited 2 years warranty. We'll see how long this new modem can last this time.

Ground Floor...

I was in the lift going back home from the office. I was tired and felt so sleepy. The lift stopped at one level and a young Malay guy came in. He was looking up and down at the control panel to look for his floor number.

Me: En nak pergi tingkat mana?

Malay Guy: Tak ada butang 'G' sini. Tingkat Paras Bumi dekat mana??

Me: Oohh... tekan Tingkat 1

The cab stopped at his floor and he went off.

After that, all the way to my car at the basement, I was laughing like mad..hahahaha...'Tingkat Paras Bumi'..hahahaha.. skema.

I don't know why, It's uncommon to say it that way kan?..I find it very funny..hahahaha..

Roasted Lamb, Chicken, Modem?

I've not been blogging for a month. My modem at home is roasted. Ingatkan orang bakar lemang je Raya2 ni.... Modem pun hangus...

The only way to update my blog is from the office. But I haven't got time to do it! Tak tau bila nak beli modem baru...