"V"

The "V" miniseries is makin a comeback. Back then, I was really engrossed with the series. I just hope the remake would be as good as the original.

I wonder what other series will be making a come back later. Buck Rogers?? Automan?? Manimal?? hahahaha

Remake series........


Original series...

Telcos should work together to improve country's broadband penetration

I took this picture at the Pizza Hut junction near TTDI. You can see the competition is heating up in the broadband space in Malaysia. The current marketing campaign by broadband providers, notably from P1 seems to be attracting alot of attention. If you follow them on Twitter, you can see how they use the new media to make the connection with the customers. It's common sense (unfortunately uncommon for many) when a service provider shows leadership by embracing all these media channels that they transport in their network.

Competition is heating up. In the end, consumers obviously win. However, looking at the current marketing campaign, it's clear that they're churning the same set of customers. When Telco A attacks, Telco B naturally retaliates. How do we want to grow broadband penetration when Telcos are fighting for the same customer? I don't understand when one says that they uphold government's aspiration of increasing country's broadband penetration but at the same time asking customers to 'cut' relationship with the competing service provider??

Different technologies or comms media should be optimse to provide coverage according to demographic and geographic needs. Currently, we see these technologies competing in the same segment and geographic area. If resources are being used efficiently, i.e matching demand with the right supply, I really think we could increase both coverage and take up quickly. I'm not saying they shouldn't compete at all, but perhaps be given some set of priorities.

For this to happen, I reckon there must be some level of cooperation between players and of course, the regulator plays a major role. In the next generation network or an all IP industry, the economics works best when there's interworking between operators. The legacy circuit switch network economics was built upon a scarce resource transport technology. So telco shares capacity only at a premium. But in NGN, capacity comes in abundance. By working together, this capacity can be made even bigger. Competing on price only pushes the industry back to the commodity field. If we want to move up the value chain faster, interworking is key to optimise expertise and resources.

High Speed Broadband

If you live in TTDI, you might have noticed new terminal boxes installed on telecommunication poles. If you look closely at the box, it says 'FTTH' with TM company logo. For your information, this equipment is part of the TM-Gov't HSBB co-investment. In other words, the telco is wiring up the access network with Fiber links. Previously, our broadband is delivered using DSL technology on copper access network.

Current speed range on DSL is anywhere between 256kbps to 4Mbps and service is based on best effort. With Fiber To The Home (FTTH) however, surfing speed can be anywhere between 10Mbps to up to 1Gbit/s depending on end terminal installed at premises!

The FDP (fiber distribution point) picture that I took here is on a pole where currently my house phone is connected too. So I guess, when one day this new HSBB service is available, they will drop a fiber wire from this box to the wall terminal at home. With FTTH, I have a dedicated fiber access connection to the cyber world. Unlike WIMAX or 3G where you are actually sharing capacity with other 'roamers' because transmission is limited by spectrum or frequencies.

Now with 100Mbps (potentially) to the house, one could not really imagine what it can do if you just think about surfing the internet. Seriously, if you're just surfing, maybe 1Mbps is more than enough. But imagine if you can get video on demand or IPTV. Astro contents are being broadcasted and you have no control over viewing slots. But with IPTV, you control what and when to watch. It's on demand high definition TV! I hope TM will work out good content to be made available. ASTRO now have a serious competitor. They should think twice when offering packages.

Raya feast..

My parents, brothers, sister and close relatives came by the house for raya recently. We had dinner, played fireworks (klcc scale mind you) and something special for dessert. Durian!!!! hahahha.

first taste sensation.. "durian apa nih?? unbelievable!"

These are highly saught after durian species we're talking here. Everyone (well almost laa, my grandma is not a fan) had a sensational shock to their taste buds. Lazat, lemak dan berkrim..

second, third serving is guaranteed...

my brother Helmi sampai beristighfar..

And you can find them infront of Pasaraya Tmn Tun. Yes it's pricey (about RM20/kg before nego) but you'll get more than what you're paying for. Believe you me, it's absolutely amazing.

Something's wrong with my iphone

I can't make or receive calls or connect to the internet using my iphone. After Celcom's network went down last week, until today, I couldn't even detect celcom's signal. Probably after they've reset their nodes, some databases must have went corrupted. Or maybe it has to do with my Iphone. You see my iphone is locked to Telstra's network and I use a turbo sim to be able to use Celcom's service. So what to do..

I gave up. I decided to get myself a Blackberry. Now I'm waiting for Celcom's call for me to collect the new smartphone. Meanwhile, I'm exploring to 'unlock' the Iphone. A day trip to Low Yat might solve my problem..

After registering myself for Blackberry service, I went to the optical shop and got myself a pair of new glasses. Hmm, its long overdue really. I should have changed my glasses long time ago. My left eye now is 850 and right side is 750. Makin blur aku ni. But even then I still couldn't get perfect vision. As long as I'm comfortable, that's OK. Oh yes, the glasses matches my new Blackberry Curve too! hehehe

Hari Raya 2009

This year, we celebrated hari raya by spending 3 nights in Penang. The drive up north was bad. It took us 6 hours to reach Penang despite leaving very early from KL. There were too many vehicles on the emergency lane either due to road accidents, break downs or drivers simply jumping queue. We were reduced to crawling speed especially at exit and entry points. Hmm..6 hours with the kids in the car could really test your patience.

sabar je lah...this crawl was after Ipoh tol plaza

We stayed at TM resort for the first 2 nights. Whenever we go back to celebrate Raya in Penang, this is what we usually do. Stay in Penang and go visit the relatives in Alor Star, Georgetown and Bayan Lepas area. So it's raya and holiday combo to us.

my son claiming his prize for puasa penuh

difficult to take photo with zidani. after the count of 3, he'll wave his hands up..

We performed our aidilfitri prayer at the newly open 'floating' mosque in tanjung bungah. Since tanjung bungah isn't really a malay settlement area, the jemaah that morning were predominantly foreigners. It felt like we were in a different country. Funny how the Bilal called the jemaah to prepare for the prayers on loud speakers "Bangun semua...rapat-rapat aahh....yang belakang nanti habaq kalau dah siap....dah siap belum??"

masjid terapung tanjung bungah

One disadvantage of celebrating raya this way is kids would like to play in the swimming pool rather than visiting their grand uncles and aunties. The trick is not to give in to their demand. Don't set a precedent. Instead, use the swimming pool as a reward for completing the visits. And never break that promise. Raidi insisted we go back to the hotel after the prayers for a splashing time. Sorry son, raya first, swimming pool later.

at Linda's in laws place

Celebrating raya in Penang has always been fun. Imagine all the nasi kandaq we ate. Most of the famous eatary are already open for business 2nd day of raya. We went to this place in Sungai Dua where we had Mee Udang for dinner. I couldn't believe the size of the udang! It's fresh and delicious.

mee udang power sg dua, bayan lepas

We were supposed to stay at TM Resort for 3 nights. But no more rooms available for the 3rd night stay. So I looked around and made bookings at a hotel next to Gurney Plaza. But then I realized that there's a new hotel just opened on Saturday at Batu Feringghi. So I made an enquiry and the next thing we knew we were checking in at this brand new Hard Rock Hotel.

Hard Rock Hotel Penang

Watching NRG performing at Hard Rock Cafe..

Since they're having an opening promotion, room rates are almost 50% off. I don't think I'd ever step into their hotel room without the promotional rates. So for a night, we were treated like a rock star! The staff really tried to make us as the center of attention. Great facilities, everything's new and one of the most beautiful Penang sunset can be seen here from our room balcony. The lobby was really crowded with non-guests wanted to have a glimpse at the new hotel. Unfortunately, they couldn't access the pool area. It's so inviting and I my self couldn't tahan! limited edition souvenir for guests
mandi-manda bersama anak-anak...

Rizal, Linda and Abg Bob came by the hotel that night. With the kids fast asleep with their grandma, we went downstairs to watch live band performances at Hard Rock Cafe. As the hotel guests, we didn't have to queue with the rest and went straight inside for a rocking time.

The drive back to KL was OK. 5 hours of driving with Zidani's awaken the whole way? What else could a driver ask for? hhmm.. he's hyperactivity helped me to stay 'fresh'! And by the the time we reached home, we were gladly entertaining Dr M, Ibdil and their family right away.

Balik Kampung episode, closed. Now it's Raya time in KL. At the same time I have the Genting Trailblazer race in mind. Need to find time to trail run.

Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri everyone. Maaf zahir dan batin.

Genting Trailblazer 2009...

the daunting 14km route

It's back. I'll be racing again in this highly anticipated adventure race at Awana Genting. Last year we ran through 14km of jungle trail and it was very challenging. Definitely not a walk in the park. (Genting Trailblazer 2008 blog here).

With first hand experience, I guess we'd be more prepared this year. At least mentally. Seriously, to cross the finishing line, I think it's will power over strength. Finishing the race itself is a great achievement.

last year's finishers...gila penat..

It's a team event and I'll be partnering with Dr.M. As far as preparation goes, zero progress so far for me. I haven't been running since I undergone my eye operation. I'm gonna do some light training post Raya holidays. The race is about a month away so I hope I could build enough confidence and stamina by end October.

My biggest concern is how my left eye would cope under intense physical activity. Yes it's not a contact sport. But the eye irritation i get whenever I sweat bothers me. Wearing a goggle might solve this problem, hehehe.

My trail running shoes I bought last year is still in mint condition. I have to put more mileage into it to lower the ownership cost per KM..hahaha

Star Wars - Y-Wing Fighter

the most powerful vessel in the Rebel Alliance fleet, the Y-Wing Starfighter

Bought this toy from e-Bay. To me, next to the imperial shuttle, this is my favourite vessel from Star Wars. My vehicle collection is almost complete. What's left now is the Imperial Shuttle and the AT-AT. Quite competitive if you're bidding for the shuttle on e-Bay. The shipping charges alone is about USD80.

it comes in one of the most neat packaging i've seen. complete with the rebel base diorama.

includes Y-Wing pilot and R5-F7 droid

nice....

I'm gonna 'weather' these toys to make it more realistic and that requires some paint job. Might ask for my brother's assistance. What I need to do now is go to IKEA and buy a new displaying cabinet to protect my investment. I'm so glad the boys knows how to discipline themselves when playing with the toys.

very nice....

next to the millenium falcon..

Han Solo: Ko bukak puasa dekat mana hari ni? Aku pikir nak beli seri muka la

Gold leader pilot: Aku tak puasa hari ni, aku hyperdrive berapa kali dah...Musafir...

I thought i had it.....

I'm not an experienced bidder on ebay. Still, I thought I had the chance in bidding for a mint condition Imperial Shuttle from Hasbro. It's a cool toy really and it's so cheap there. Here in KL it could cost you up to RM700! But what to do. I lost to a bidder who's probably surfing on a 100MB/s broadband SDSL somewhere in Europe. I can see why we need high speed broadband to remain competitive!!!

p/s: dah confident menang, siap buat screen capture to 'capture' the saat-saat kemenangan..

1 min 51 seconds to go....

just 35 seconds more and this baby is mine..muaahahah

what the hell?? kalah???by a dollar?? under 30 sec??

Face Mask..

I'm having a difficult time persuading Zidani to put on his face mask. He don't even let us wear our mask! It terrifies him as it reminds him of the hospital.

I have a suggestion for the producers. Make the mask more fashionable. I don't know whether it's possible but it would great if they could print out the mask with cartoon characters. Print out Ben10 charatecters and I bet all young school children would want to wear it. It makes parents life easier. God knows it could even help to reduce the spread of H1N1.

So make it more fashionable and trendy laa..letak gambar bunga ke..buat macam kaler tudung..baru la matching. A slow yet assuring transition to purdah...hehehe

p/s: hope to see somebody selling face mask with jalur gemilang imprint..sempena hari merdeka. maybe corporate bodies should think about this...

"Today's Internet a force to be reckoned with" - But it's still a jungle out there...

Interesting article from the NST here. The Internet was used to pressure a mobile operator in the US. With community based websites, it’s possible that state/corporate level command and control model can be directly influence by the citizen/consumer. Democracy would strive best when decisions are made bottom up.

The corporate and Gov’t sector must embrace social networking platforms. It not only connects them to untapped knowledge resources but most importantly it links them directly to citizens who puts them into power, the voters. In Malaysia, governing the majority group is not as easy as it used to be. It’s almost like when a company used to be a monopoly and suddenly, the market liberates and they grapple with competition. And hopefully, the political competition would push the incumbent to be more citizen centric.

Governance model in Malaysia is very unique and I think the country has the opportunity to showcase the world how we use broadband to enable citizen centric governance. Multi ethnicity, religions and social history demands differentiated services from the Gov’t. And these differentiated services, not the one size fits all approach can be delivered through the Internet or Web2.0 apps. 1Malaysia to me means treating each citizen as a unique individual with their own rights as a Malaysian.

The question is how does a Telco play its role in enabling this? Do we just supply infrastructure services and be detached from the application value layer? Or do we marry or embed application layer into the network? The Internet is a force to be reckoned with. But as it is, it’s like a jungle out there. It has it’s pros and cons. IP network provides ubiquitous connectivity. What does is it mean really? Are we making the ‘jungle’ even more denser?

A telco could provide a more robust and federated interconnecting world. It could make the Internet more secured and organized. People have been talking about the effect of information overload as we have to increase our capacity and capability to assimilate and synthesize information. This is an opportunity for a telco to provide crucial value in terms of transporting the right information at the right time to the right audience. In a knowledge and innovation society, a federated network is critically important especially in the area of governance, health care, security and financial sectors before we extend it to the consumer or citizen.

To deliver this value, for a Telco, being customer centric is a must. By being customer or industry centric, we could map industry, social, legal or governing standards into the network. And that’s how we add value to the network. That’s how we bond the application layer and infrastructure layer. It’s a deep jungle out there and no one else is going to cut the under growth, collect rubbish or clear the trail for you. No rangers to come to the rescue when you’re in trouble. By integrating infrastructure with the application value layer, a Telco can make this ‘jungle’ clearer, safer and more sustainable for everyone to use.

Star Wars - Millennium Falcon

Pictures first...toy review later...you might have a PS3 at home, but do you have a 2 1/2 feet long Millenium Falcon Star Wars vehicle??? hehehehe

it comes in a huge box....

assembling the vehicle is kids play....

we had dinner that night with millennium falcon on the side..hahahah

this is one cool toy... storing it is a problem though....
we couldn't take our eyes and hands off her...hahahaha

Collectibles...

Our growing Star Wars vehocle collection...can't wait for the arrival of the Imperial Shuttle...

We like!

The ARC-170, can carry 3 clone troopers and an R2 Unit..this vehicle is huge!

2 imperial tie-fighters lead by an advance tie fighter... (my personal favourite)

Obi wan kenobi's star fighter... (Raidi's favourite), Zidani's playing with his personal favourite, the V-Wing Starfighter

Star Trek 2009: Review

I can't really describe the feeling. It was so damn good! Maximum impact!! The movie affected me deeply that I went shopping and bought presents for everyone!!

Got myself a Master Replica Luke Skywalker's light saber......VERY VERY COOL!!! Check the video...make sure you have your speakers on! Peeeerrrrghhhh

Another childhood dream comes true. I can stop thinking about lampu kalimantang...hahahaha

Bought Zidani a TIE fighter that comes with huge wings and Raidi now plays with a V-Wing star fighter both from Hasbro...

Im happy to see you happy..heheheh

My next target would be the Imperial Shuttle, AT-AT and the Snow Speeder. I have big projects going on here...I want to re-create my favourite movie scenes!! hehehe

The Star Trek movie summons out my Star Wars obsession....the force is definitely strong in here...

Bali trip

The day after I came back from JB/Nusajaya, I went to Bali with Ayu. It was my first visit to Bali and also my first flight on Airasia. My view on low cost flying? Now everybody can fly! Including infectious germs. Good thing they 'fog' the cabin with disinfectants before take-off. Funny how some people thought it was part of the airline's gimmick and special effects. Btw, I never thought I could eat maggi 20,000 feet up in the sky. I'm sure it will make you feel at home right away..hahaha.

We stayed at Barong Resort in Ubud. Most Malaysians like to stay in Jimbaran, Seminyak or any other places closer to the beach. But I don't like crowded beaches and I want to stay near the padi fields. Ayu didn't like this idea. To her we could always go back to Kedah to look at sawah padi. I told her Kedah doesn't have padi bukit.

entrance to our villa...and the public pool

Villa comes with private pool...

I was shocked to see this boutique next to our hotel...Ayu was drooling..

Ubud is located about an hour drive from the airport. As soon as we reached the hotel, we knew we picked the right accommodation. I won't say much, just look at the pictures. The hotel's location is midway along monkey forest street. The public park is 100 metres to the south and the famous Ubud market is 100 metres to the north. Ayu was extra excited because Uluwatu boutique is just next door. Tak ku sangka...

the famous Ubud market... beli kain...

If you like arts and handicrafts, then Ubud is the place for you. We could have spent whole 3 days just exploring Ubud. But since it was our first trip to Bali, we hired a car and a driver to experience everything we could. So we went to all the usual tourist spots. We were very very close to wake up early in the morning and scale up a volcanic mountain to catch the sunrise. But it would be too much for both of us.

buffet lunch with a view...we wanted to climb this mountain, tapi takut tak larat..

sunset at tanah lot...

Good thing we made the trip short. Not that I didn't like the place but the longer we stay, I'm not only burning my pockets, I might burn my pants and underwear to ashes as well. Unless you have deep pockets that run through your legs, 2 nights are just right to keep it within reasonable budget. It depends on what you want to do really. I wanted to look at landscapes and Ayu wanted to shop in markets and bazaars. At Ubud, we both got a bit of what we wanted.

kopi luak anyone? seafood lunch at Jimbaran beach...Ayu had lobster that day...

Weather was sunny and it hasn't been raining for quite awhile. I don't like the idea of wearing shades. Everywhere I go (not just Bali), I want to see landscapes as it is, in it's glorifying natural colours. Unfortunately this comes with an expense. It was here in Bali that I first noticed something peculiar with my eye sight. After we came back, the symptom persisted. One visit to the specialist, I was diagnosed with retinal detachment.

It's unfortunate for this to happened and it took away some excitement after coming back home. But I'm thankful that it happened now for me to treat it early. If not I wouldn't have known both of my eyes are affected and its too late for any kind of treatment. Anyway, Bali was a good trip and we will definitely go back one day. To me I can say that literally, there was more about Bali than meets the eye!