Playing for Change

on Thursday, April 30, 2009

Found this website by accident and i have to say that it is really interesting the concept and not to mention the wonderful rendition of familiar tunes by the various artist that are featured in the songs. some of the artist are not familiar to us because they are street artists or buskers from all over the world. here are 3 videos that are available at youtube.


song title: don't worry


song title : stand by me


song title: one love



there are to many performers and artist that are involved until i can't list them all but if you wish to know more then you can go to their home page

until then enjoy their music.

touching short film

on Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Chicken a la Carte 

Director: Ferdinand Dimadura | Genre: Drama | Produced In: 2005

Synopsis: This film is about the hunger and poverty brought about by Globalization. There are 10,000 people dying everyday due to hunger and malnutrition. This short film shows a forgotten portion of the society. The people who live on the refuse of men to survive. What is inspiring is the hope and spirituality that never left this people.


so everybody, just think before wanting to throw away that peice of chicken or ordering you next meal so that you don;t waste. pity the children of the world who dies because of poverty and malnutrition.

Cheap Laptops and IT Peripherals



Found this blog that is having a sale on laptop s and it peripherals. the price is resonable and they have alot of other IT related stuff too such as antivirus and the other stuff. 
Have alook at their web which is www.finesttech.blogspot.com.

here are some stuff that is currently on sale on their site.



<-------Lenovo T5800 @ RM2400
















Lenovo IdeaPad S10 @ RM1550->











<-----Presario CQ40-401AU @ RM1860









There is a bunch of other models on sale so please have a look for yourself.

way to go Lim Kit Siang

i'm not in to politic nor am i a registered voter because i hate the antics of these people or so called " choosen by democracy" lot but this news headline in The Star today really made me think that there some really intelligent behind all of their childsihness.


i have express my views regarding the quality of the internet in Malaysia which is a dismay considering that malaysia is trying to become a develope nation by the year 2020 yet out internet facilities are really out of date.

the article that makes my heart jump in delight was this :


PETALING JAYA: The Information, Communications and Culture Minister must focus on providing better broadband service, says DAP adviser Lim Kit Siang.

He said the roll-out of broadband in the country had been slow, and Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim, in his new portfolio, should strive to be the “Minister for Broadband”,

Lim said he was shocked that Dr Rais had not uttered a single word about broadband in his 12 days of helming the ministry.

“It should be his most important portfolio especially at a time when there is so much broadband development internationally,” said Lim during a press conference yesterday.

He added that Malaysia would be crippled if there was no real minister for broadband.

On media freedom, Lim said Dr Rais should not try to bring back the old media controls which would be at odds with pledges made by the Najib administration.

Lim was referring to recent statements by Dr Rais which, amongst other things, had cautioned about legal actions against errant bloggers and stern warnings to the public to not abuse the Internet.

This article alone sums up my expectations regarding the future of the internet in malaysia. there is a new minister in office i really hope that he would make broadband and high speed broadband his first priority instead of attending to meaningless functions or launching or meeting of beurocratics shenanigans. 

for once i would really like to see tmnet to be put straight and focus on providing quality services instead of excuses and idiotic T&C which they are so popular off.

hopes things will change. i really hope that things will change. 

Grave of the fireflies

on Tuesday, April 21, 2009

anybody who is really in to anime should know this legendary movie "Grave of the fireflies".

this is a AMV that is like a synopsis of the movie.



The story goes like this :

Taking place toward the end of World War II in Japan, Grave of the Fireflies is the poignant tale of the relationship between two orphaned children, Seita (清太) and his younger sister Setsuko (節子).

The children lose their mother in the firebombing of Kobe, and their father in service to the Imperial Japanese Navy, and as a result they are forced to try to survive amidst widespread famine and the callous indifference of their countrymen (some of whom are their own extended family members).

The movie begins in Sannomiya Station, and shows the second main character: Seita, dying from starvation there in rags. A janitor comes and digs through his things, and finds a candy tin, containing Setsuko's ashes. He throws it out, and from there springs the spirit of Setsuko, Seita and a group of fireflies. The two spirits provide narrative throughout the story.

The film is, in effect, an extended flashback to Japan, at the end of World War II during the Kobe firebombings. Setsuko and Seita, the two siblings and protagonists, are left to secure the house and their belongings, allowing their mother, suffering from a heart complaint to proceed to a bomb shelter. They are caught off-guard by a batch of bombs dropped in their vicinity, although they survive unscathed. Their mother, however, is caught in the air raid and dies from burn wounds.

Having nowhere else to go, Setsuko and Seita go to live with their aunt, and write letters to their father. On the second day that they stay there, Seita goes out to get the left over supplies which he had buried in the ground to preserve before the bombing which killed their mother. He gives all of it to his aunt, but hides a small tin of fruit drops. This tin of fruit drops later proves a recurrent icon in the film.

Following cruelty from their aunt, who gives them barely enough food, insults them and sells their mother's kimonos for rice, which she keeps for herself, Seita and Setsuko finally decide to go and live in an old, abandoned bomb shelter.

Gradually, they begin to run out of rice, and Setsuko begins to starve. In desperation, Seita removes all the money from their mother's bank account, when he learns of his father's death. He buys a large quantity of food, and rushes back to the shelter, where he finds Setsuko hallucinating. She is sucking marbles which she believes are fruit drops and offers him 'rice balls' which are really only made out of mud.

Finally, she dies of starvation. Seita cremates her, using supplies donated to him by a farmer and leaves her ashes in the fruit tin, which he carries with his father's photograph, until his death.


i would really recommend this movie to everybody but if you are the moody type or easily touch by emotions i would warn you to stay away from this movie because you will be crying rivers like i did when i first say the movie many years ago and the images in that movie (the sadness, the human reaction ) is just to much for me to bear.



this is the scene that made me cry.

if you are interested you can get it online via ebay or amazon.

Proton Exora

on Monday, April 20, 2009

The highly anticipated MPV from Proton has been launched and it is called the Proton Exora. It looks like the APX Concept release by Lotus Engineering in 2006.

below are the two models.




<-------------This is the APX Concept.












This is the Proton Exora --->


well to be fair, lotus did came up with the APX concept as a platform for any manufacturer that was interested in it. the good thing about this platform that it is highly customizable to the car manufacturer with loads of layout that can be made for the chassis.

i had the time to go and check out the exora. the model that i have a look at was the 1.6 auto metallic m line. price at 70k++ depending on your interest rates.

i didn't took any external pictures as you can see them easily as an Exora past by so i took internal pictures. things that just not easily seen by normal people.

From exora


as you can see the Exora is a seven seater mpv and surprise-surprise the second and third row seats can fold down to create a flat even surface for laoding alot of luggage.

From exora


a cubby hole is located underneath the third row seats. gud for keeping first aids kits or anything else.

From exora


as you can see the lacking of the glove box in the proton iswara/saga blm and gen 2 was really notice by Proton and so they design not 1 but 2 glove boxes in to the Exora.

From exora


rear passengers are given their own air cond vents and the controller is sadly on the roof at the second row seat. but at least it is comfortable even in the third row unlike the toyota avanza where the third row seat is better off to children then adult being on them.

From exora


unfortunately the Exora only comes with 1 engine option and 1 gearbox option which is the 1.6 Campro CPS and a 4 speed auto box (as pic below)
From exora

. the gear lever is a gated type so you dont have to push any buttons on the lever to get into gear just push,pull and slide to either prefered gear. the gear lever action is really light and solid.

From exora


more cubby holes. there is 10 drink holders around the Exora but i only manage to find these.

From exora


new integrated cd player and radio with bluetooth support for phone by clarion . real positive move by proton to promote road safety by integrating the bluetooth system into their radio. the call can be made via the steering wheel. the radio also has an aux port so that you can also connect you media players (mp3/mp4/ipods) to the radio.

From exora


the normal controls for aircond, hazrad light and windows de-mister.

From exora


the cockpit panel. nice reddish glow. quite sporty if you ask me but in an MPV it just look strange.

conclusion.

well inmy honest opinion, the Exora has a lot to live up to. it is the most crucial product after the new proton saga that has to make people believe in proton again. the value for money is really good but i do think that the price could be cheaper and also more items as standard such as sat-nav(which is only available in the H-line)and also an overhead dvd player with screen (which is also in the H-line models.)

The engine could have been a bigger capacity. i was hoping for a 2.0 v6 but only a 1.6 Campro. it really makes me wonder because proton have a good relationship with Renault why didn't we use 1 of their engines to power the Exora like proton did for the Savvy.

i will buy it. that is my honest opinion. and i'm not paid by proton to say this but i would buy it if i
  1. have a growing family.
  2. travel alot.
  3. always bring alot of stuf.
  4. have alot of pets(dogs/cats) that follows me everywhere i go.
  5. like to bring my whole family for road trips.
  6. like to bring my buddies for teh tarik,football, etc sessions.
  7. not looking for something that is more stylish.
  8. and i'm able to stand the mockery of other people saying that proton builds bad cars which they do once in a while.
Have a good day everyone.

congratulations

on Thursday, April 16, 2009

i would like to welcome baby Nurdina Athirah who was born on the 15 of April 2009 to this awesome world.

congratulations to amad and sue on thier first child. pictures will come as soon as they send it to me.

Gundam OO

on Tuesday, April 14, 2009

part 1

synopsis



Mobile Suit Gundam 00 (機動戦士ガンダム00(ダブルオー) Kidō Senshi Gandamu Daburu Ō?) is the seventh incarnation of Sunrise's long-running Gundam franchise.


It is directed by Seiji Mizushima and written by Yōsuke Kuroda, and features character designs by Yun Kōga. The twenty-five episode series was officially announced by Sunrise during a 15-second trailer on June 2, 2007.

The series aired on the Mainichi Broadcasting System and Tokyo Broadcasting System from October 5, 2007 to March 29, 2008. On July 13, 2008, a trailer announcing a second twenty-five episode series was aired.

The second series began on October 5, 2008 and concluded on March 29, 2009. A movie sequel is planned for the year 2010.

Mobile Suit Gundam 00 is the first Gundam series to be animated in widescreen and in high-definition, as well as the first to be set in the non-fictional Anno Domini era.

The series is set in a futuristic Earth and centered around Celestial Being, a private paramilitary force and their efforts to rid the world of war and conflict with a series of unique and highly effective mobile suits known as "Gundams".

Google Chrome

on Sunday, April 12, 2009

i've been using Google Chrome for about a month now and this is my review on it.

1. Really nice layout. clean no messy nav bars but can be intimidating to those who are used to Firefox and IE. There is an address bar but it also doubles up as a search bar too.

2. difficult to clean the download history. it is not in the download windows such as Firefox but in the customize and control Google Chrome sections.

3. Downloading is nice. speed difference is obvious from Firefox. faster(at least i feel it faster). have a nice little graphic to show how much have been downloaded.

4. Doesn't have integration with Free Download Manager. so if your using Free Download Manager like me then you have to do it manually.

5. i like the layout when you open a new tab. it displays 9 off the most visited sites that you go and also the most recent closed tabs also the book marks. you can even search you history via the history search tab.

6. low memory consumption. unlike forefox, chrome is very prudent in utilizing memory.

7. the click action is lacking or lagging. i'm not sure if this is due to my mouse of the browser itself.

that is all i have to say for now about firefox. if you are interested in using Google Chrome the download link is on the right.

thank you for reading.

my brute

join mybrute.

a simple 2d fighting game where you just have to click and watch all the action happen.

here is the link : Mybrute


site updated

on Saturday, April 11, 2009

i have make a new face for this blog.

someone told me that my blog was colourless so i put some thought into it and find a nice template as you can see from this orange hue. i also put up several links to popular applications such as winamp, flash players and other stuff that might be essential to make it the internet much more enjoyable.

i also deleted and entry becoz i was too lazy to redo the coding on that entry so it is gone to accommodate the new template.

i would really would like and comment and suggestion regarding this new layout so please feel free to comment.

HAIH. MALAYSIA'S INTERNET................

on Thursday, April 9, 2009



this is the most recent speed test that i did using speednet.com

i'm currently speechless over the current internet quality in malaysia.
we are striving(trying) to be a develop nation by 2020 but out IT infra are just to ancient.

i'm currently having a lot of difficulties in accessing the internet. i really don;t understand why we as paying customers have to bear with idiotic internet speeds. i can;t use other service providers because there are non available in my part of the woods.

i have heard of lease lines and so called business lines from tmnet but the prices are exorbant. is this the malaysian way?? put high price for commodities that the people really needs? not only the internet but water and electricity tariffs are also going up but how come we don't hear the utilities company posing losses. which means they are making profits and does the profits profits the users? no they profits the managers and higer ups of the company.

if wishes do come true, i wish that malaysia would have a true, and united rakyat taht will voice out their displeasure with confidence and knowing that the goverment would hear the pleas and cries and actually do something about it then bickering about in the dewan rakyat like kindergarden pupils or to be more specifically like dogs fighting over a bitch.

to our elected MPs. stop your foolishness and do your job before you are asked on your death bed what have you done to help the people that put you into power.

najib's new cabinet.

Najib names 28-member Cabinet (Update 3)

KUALA LUMPUR: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak's new Cabinet will have 28 members. Two ministries have been abolished.

New Cabinet line-up: Prime Minister and Finance Minister 1 - Najib

Deputy PM and Education Minister - Muhyiddin

Finance Minister 2 - Ahmad Husni

Ministers in PM dept - Nazri, Nor Yaakob, Koh Tsu Koon and Jamil

Transport - Ong Tee Keat

Maximus Ongkili - Science and Technology

Ahmad Zahid Hamidi - Defence

Hishammuddin - Home

Shafie Apdal - Rural Development

Kong Cho Ha - Housing and Local Govt

Liow Tiong Lai - Health

Ng Yen Yen - Tourism

S. Subramaniam - Human Resource

Douglas Uggah - Natural Resources and Environment

Shahrizat - Women, Family and Community Development

Mustapa Mohamed - International Trade and Industry

Khaled Nordin - Higher Education

Rais Yatim - Information, Unity, Culture and Arts

Noh Omar - Agriculture

Shahziman Mansor - Works

Ismail Sabri - Domestic Trade

Ahmad Shabery Cheek - Sports

Anifah Aman - Foreign

Raja Nong Chik - Federal Territories

Earlier Najib left Istana Terengganu at about 11.25am after a 30-min audience with King regarding the new Cabinet line-up expected to be announced 3pm Thursday.

Najib arrived at the palace 10.57am to submit the list to Tuanku Mizan and left about 30 minutes later without stopping to speak to the media representatives waiting outside the gate.

He is scheduled to announce the new cabinet lineup in Putrajaya at 3pm. The new ministers and deputy ministers will take their oath of office at Istana Negara at 9.30am Friday.

Umno sources earlier said that Najib had spent the last five days juggling names and positions to take into consideration the requests and views of various Barisan Nasional component parties.

It is speculated that there could be as many as seven new faces in the line-up – most of them from Umno, while the party itself may give up a few ministerial posts.

Up till Wednesday evening, several Barisan component leaders had met with Najib and Umno deputy president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, who will be named Deputy Prime Minister Thursday.

The message Najib had for all of them was the same – that Umno was giving up quite a number of posts and that they should also be willing to make sacrifices.

Najib is expected to downsize his Cabinet, which now has 27 ministries and 31 ministers.

At present, Umno has 22 ministers, the MCA four, and the MIC, Upko, SUPP, PBB and PBS one each.

The new Cabinet is expected to have between 20 and 24 ministries, with no more than 27 ministers. Several ministries are expected to be merged.

Insiders said the ministries which could be merged are Tourism with Unity, Culture, Arts and Heritage; Education with Higher Education; Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs with International Trade and Industry; and Agriculture and Agro-Based Industries with Plantation Industries and Commodities.

There have also been suggestions that the Federal Territories Ministry be merged with the Housing and Local Government portfolio.

Three ministries – Works; Energy, Water and Communications and Science, Technology and Innovation – could also be merged into two ministries.

This means that seven new ministries will be created from 13 merged ones.

source: href="http://www.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2009/4/9/nation/20090409114244&sec=nation">

speednet test speed

on Wednesday, April 8, 2009


well looks like the line is picking up.
but it is 1230 in the morning.

my internet speed by speednet.

on Tuesday, April 7, 2009

i'm making this post as a reference to the internet connection in my area for the whole week. it will be done at 9.30am, 1.00pm, 5.00pm, and if possible 12.00 am.


this is 9.30 for today.



taken at 8.57pm. getting slower.

to my wife

on Monday, April 6, 2009

most of my friends know that i just got married on the 25th of january 2009. but due to the matter that i'm working far away from my wife life can get really lonely and put a strain on the relationship.

i was watching macross frontier and herd this song. it sums up what i feel inside. so i dedicate this song to my lovely wife.



hope you enjoy it honey.

Mukah

Went to mukah yesterday due to some business there. the last time i went there was a year ago.
It is to my knowledge that there are some major road works that have been going on for years. it is the upgrading of the road linking mukah to the main bintulu-sibu road. after a year of not going there i expected that the road condition have gotten better but i was really surprise when i reach the junction. it has gotten worst.

these are the pictures that i manage to take while being bounce all over in my 4x4.

From mukah 2009

notice the heavy vehicles that are also using the road. it just makes the road worse.

here are more pictures.

From mukah 2009


From mukah 2009


the road is not that long it is about 30 km but it took me about an hour plus just to get to the end.

finally i reach mukah. nice coastal village. is at best to describe it. i can't say a city eventhou they called it bandar mukah because it is really small for a "bandar".

these are some of the pictures of bandar mukah.

From mukah 2009

the fish market
From mukah 2009

the fish here a really fresh and really cheap.
From mukah 2009

this guy was selling a local delicacy called Umai. basically it is raw fish salad. other ingrediant are onions, chillies, limau kasturi, kuih kacang tumbuk, some salt and sagu. it is really nice if it is eaten fresh but taste horrible if it is not.

mukah is divided into 2 parts from my own observation.

first is the old town where the fish market, a cineplex and the old bust station is located. the second part of mukah is the new town which basically is a new town. the buildings are very modern looking. it is really a contrast of the development that is being done there.

old part of mukah.

From mukah 2009

this used to be the bus station. now it is a parking lot. notice the buildings in the background that is the old commercial district. still in business.
From mukah 2009

this is a cineplex. the entrance is from the side.
From mukah 2009

this is the mukah food court. the old one. sits beside the batang mukah (mukah river). fishing vessels use the river as a passage to the sea.

From mukah 2009

From mukah 2009

From mukah 2009

the river mouth that leads to the south china sea.

this are pictures of the new part of mukah.

From mukah 2009

the mukah mosque. now known as the masjid pehin setia raja. don;t ask me why it is called that way.
From mukah 2009
a picture inside the mosque.
From mukah 2009

mukah's clock tower.

From mukah 2009

the menara pehin setia raja.
From mukah 2009

the new commercial center.
From mukah 2009

and a landmark of mukah. the famous batang mukah bridge.

there was a bus that skidded of the road due to the poor road conditions. i pass by the accident site just moment after it happen and this is the only pictures that i got.

From mukah 2009

this was in the middle of nowhere with no houses located in a 5km radius. i really don;t know what happen to the passengers or when they were rescued.

well that is all. have a nice day.