I'm going to end my blog this year with this blog post... Nothing special about this blog post... Just that I find it appropriate to just say goodbye to year 2011... Year 2011 mark some high and low for me personally... But frankly speaking I have more low compare to high... So hopefully in the coming year, I have a more pleasant and smoother year!!! Really looking forward to it...

GOODBYE 2011!!!

&

I WISH ALL MY READERS A VERY 

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

My iPad2 is officially running on iOS5.0.1!!! Frankly speaking, I didn't have the intention to update... Is more like being force to... Blame my itchy finger because I kept installing apps for my iPad2 and it decided to crash on me... I don't really know which apps that I've installed that causes me sleepless night... No matter what I do, my iPad2 still crashes and before I jailbreak my iPad2 I didn't backup 'SHSH blob' for iOS4.3.3 so I'm out of luck to restore it back to iOS4.3.3... Without iOS4.3.3, there is no way for me to jailbreak my iPad2!!! No jailbreak = BORING!!! 

I know there are a lot of people who are against jailbreaking but I'm definitely not one of them... Free apps aside, what I really like about jailbreaking is the ability to transform my iPad2 into something else... Just look at the picture above and you know what I mean... No more boring looking icons and lots of enhancement that I can make... So guess I need to kiss jailbreak goodbye for the time being... Hopefully someone manage to come out with a jailbreak for iOS5.0.1 for A5 base devices...

On a side note, after playing with iOS5.0.1, I'm really liking what 'Apple' did to it... Definitely much better compare to iOS4.xx...

Here it is... My old school mountain bike!!! My 'GT Pantera' started life in year 1997... After doing some research, I can confirm that it was from year 1997 because of the front shock... 'Rock Shox' launches the 'Indy' series in year 1997 and my bike came with a 'Indy XC' hence I can confirm the date it was born... Not bad for a 14 years old bike... Everything still intact and running smoothly...

Last week I send my bike for some maintenance on both the front and back derailleurs... The shifters got jam up and I'm thinking of replacing the cables but the trusty bicycle shop managed to fix it without breaking a sweat!!! (sorry about the dirty chain!!! will degrease it when I'm free!!!)

Perfect shifting now!!! Both my front and back derailleurs are from 'Shimano'... Sadly the model (Shimano STX-RC) had been long discontinued... 

Besides fixing my derailleurs, I asked them to true my wheel as well since the back one was way out of true!!! Both rims are straight now and the brake pad have stop rubbing the rims... Finally!!! 

The only problem that I have with my bike right now is the 'Rock Shox' front suspension... The damping is way too soft and totally no rebound!!! So when I'm riding, the 'Rock Shox' seems more like a rigid fork to me... Anyway I've been toying with this idea... Replace the front suspension with a carbon fiber rigid fork!!! I know a lot of you will said a mountain bike suppose to have at least a front suspension... But I don't really see the point in my case... Because nowadays, I don't go offroad anymore... I'm riding on road now... So what is the point of having a front suspension when it will be totally under utilize!!! Furthermore, do you know how much the front suspension weight??? HEAVY compare to a carbon fiber rigid fork!!! 

But finding one with 'Vee brake' mount is going to be tough as almost all mountain bike gone disc!!! Not going the disc route as I find them really heavy... a 'Vee brake' is so much lighter in comparison... Again I don't go offroad and I'm not going to ride in the rain so I believe I don't really need the extra stopping power of the disc... 

 Change my brake pad as well... The old one was all worn out!!!

As most of you know, last weekend 'PIKOM' is having it's usual 'PC Fair' in 'Kuala Lumpur Convention Center' which is just right next to 'KLCC'... This is the last of the 'PC Fair' for year 2011!!! Since my buddy is busy with it's own business nowadays, I didn't ask him out as I know he will be busy during the weekend... So I ask my darling to tag along... 

The reason for us going to 'PC Fair' was...... errr I also don't really know the purpose... Maybe for some photo taking??? Yeah that's the original plan I supposed... But when we reached 'Kuala Lumpur Convention Center', I don't really feel like taking pictures!!! I have no idea what got into me... Still, I whipped out my trusty 'DSLR' and snapped some pictures... 

Since I don't really have the mood, we just walked around aimlessly... In fact, we were searching for the exit where we can leave 'PC Fair' and maybe do some window shopping at 'KLCC'... Suddenly something caught our attention... 

It was 'DiGi' booth... They were having promotions for android phone and we decided to take a peek...(I'm thinking of joining android camp nowadays after reading up some reviews)... Wow they were promoting 'Samsung Galaxy SII' and the plan looked really tempting... RM1199 for the phone if you signed up for their data plan... I know their data plan sucks sometimes but it is really cheap... 3GB data plan cost RM48 per month instead of the usual RM68... My darling decided to sign up the plan and she got herself a white 'Samsung Galaxy SII'!!! (I'm still waiting for 'Samsung Galaxy Nexus' or maybe 'Samsung Galaxy Note' or even 'Motorola Droid Razr')...

I really hate to admit that I dislike 'Samsung' phones!!! I hated it because I find the build quality really cheap... Too plasticky for my liking... But you know what, the phone actually grew on me... The more I touched it, the more I liked it!!! Another thing that I must admit, 'ANDROID' was just plain awesome!!! My next phone will definitely be an android phone!!! 

Okay, these are the pictures that I took that day.. Only four in total!!! Using my 'Sigma 50mm F1.4 for all these shots... All these pictures were taken at F1.4 except the last one and I'm really happy with the performance of the lens... Sharp even wide open and really nice bokeh!!! Enjoy...

This was taken at F3.5 if I'm not mistaken...

I'm dead serious about cycling again and you know what, my beloved 'GT Pantera' is up in 'Kuala Lumpur' in one piece!!! I managed to transport it up last weekend and now I'm in the process of cleaning it up... The first thing I did was to give her a new pair of shoes... The one she had were in terrible state!!! The rubber  had hardened and cracked can be found on it's sidewall...

The picture above is the original tyre that came with the bike when I bought it around 16 years ago!!! It was from 'WTB' a renowned company that produces awesome products for everything mountain biking... The name of the tyre is 'VelociRaptor'... The tyres had served me well all those years... It was a remarkable tyres... It just grip to whatever surface thrown at it... Sand, mud, clay, tar and etc without failing... The thread of the tyre is very unique because it is a front and rear specific tyre... Besides that, the thread is really chunky and the wear rate is really good... After all those years of cycling, the depth of the thread is almost the same as new!!! The only downside of this tyre is rolling resistance... When cycling on tar or road, you need to use up twice as much power to get it into speed!!! Really tiring if you ask me... But once you hit the dirt, it just transform into something else... Since there is a lot of rolling resistance, you can expect that this is not a quiet tyre... It is super duper noisy!!!

This is the new tyre that I've changed to... It's call 'Small Block Eight' from 'Kenda'... The thread pattern is not as aggressive compare to the 'VelociRaptor' but it more than make up for the lack of rolling resistance... This time round, I'm looking for a more road friendly tyre and this is what the shop recommended... After trying it out, I'm really happy with my purchase... The tyre is really quiet and not forgetting smooth and it makes my bike so much faster... Again thanks to the lack of rolling resistance!!! I'm not sure about the performance when it hits the dirt though but currently I'm more than happy about it...

Next stop will be changing all the cables and fine tuning the gearing system!!!

I've started mountain biking during my teens and this is always one of my favourite hobby... After living in 'Kuala Lumpur' for so many years, my once favourite hobby became a really faint memory of mine... The reason I stopped biking was because of companion or rather the lack of it... Besides that, it is quite hard to find a decent place to ride unless you drive your bicycle there... Unlike those days where we can just cycled from our house and met up with my gang somewhere convenient for all of us... This is something hard to achieve in 'Kuala Lumpur' mainly because of the traffic and all the stupid one way road with divider in between... 

But recently, I really have the urge to start biking again after so many years... One of the main reason is to keep fit and hopefully manage to lose some weight while doing it (I'm really getting fatter and fatter nowadays!!! In fact, I stop consuming rice two weeks and I'm dead serious to lose weight this time!!!)... Thinking of resurrecting my old but trusty 'GT Pantera'... I got the bike since I'm in Form 4 if I'm not mistaken so you have some idea how old my bike is!!!

There are a lot of changes in the world of mountain biking and the biggest I've seen so far is the braking system... Everyone gone disc nowadays... Even entry level bike came equip with disc brake system... Another trend that I notice is the bikes are so much more flashy compare to last time... Lots of anodised aluminium with different colours for your own customization... In terms of frame design, there is not much changes I guess... 

Back to my bike!!! I'm thinking of pimping it up a bit and see how it perform... I believe lots of parts are not in working condition... Last checked I noticed that the tyres were bad and I definitely need a new set... The derailleurs were still in good condition though but definitely can't compete with system nowadays... My bike is still equip with an old school 8 speed system whereas 9 speed system is the norm and there is even 10 speed system now!!! I'm not afraid of all these as these are upgradeable... My only concern is the frame... Don't feel like changing to a new bike because I have very strong sentimental value for this bike... Will see how it goes when I transport it up to 'Kuala Lumpur'... Till then...

Yesterday I decided to format my desktop computer... I have this habit of formatting computer once in a while... I don't really know whether is it my age or I'm just plain stupid and careless!!! I format my computer without backupping my pictures folder!!! Luckily there is not a single object in sight that might harm me because I believe I will just grab the object and stab myself repeatedly!!! 

Can I have 3 seconds of silence for my photos???

1...

2...

3...

Thanks... I backup all my other folders but not my pictures folder!!! I lost all of it... So next time there will be no more 'FrankenBenz' update with pictures... All the update will be pictureless... And not forgetting my foodie pictures... I still have at least 10 - 20 restaurants yet to be blog... OMG!!! I still can't believe I actually did it... @#%*+@^&*$%#^@+*&^$%#*#&#&$&+@*&$^#... Curse myself for doing something so stupid!!! AAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Steve Jobs

1955 - 2011

Ever since I started using the first generation 'iPhone' aka 'iPhone 2G', there is no turning back for me... I won't take a second glance on other phones in the market (unless it is an android powered mobile phones... still I'm not impress... sorry android junkie!!!)... I used to change mobile phone almost every year... Sometimes even shorter than that... But this change totally when I got my hands on the 'iPhone 2G'...  I stop changing mobile phone and I've been using the 'iPhone 2G' until now!!! Almost 4 years if I'm not mistaken and the phone is still in very good condition... The battery will outlast a lot of other phones in the market now no joke about that...

The 'iPad 2' also change my lifestyle entirely... No more lugging a BIG and bulky notebook whenever I go for an appointment... In fact I stop carrying bag entirely!!! Besides that, I eliminate the use of paper hence saving some trees and doing my part to conserve the environment... Other than business, whenever I'm bored I can just turn to my trusty 'iPad 2' for games, browsing the net and photo taking... Yes you read that correctly... I've been taking pictures with my 'iPad 2' more than my 'Sony Alpha DSLR'!!! It is truly a wonderful device...

Although I stop using my 'iPod' nowadays, but I know that whenever I needed it, it will not let me down... I will still bring it during vacation just in case I'm bored... I used to bring my 'iPod' whenever I go jogging but this is not something that I do frequently!!!

The three 'i' devices that I have  really change my life and thanks 'Steve Jobs' for making this happen!!! 

RIP 'Steven Paul Jobs'... Thanks for revolutionizing the MP3 player, mobile phone and also the tablet computer.  Thank you once again!!!

What do you think is the scariest 'COLOUR' and 'WORD'??? It seems like in Malaysia, a lot of people are getting paranoid and scare about the colour 'YELLOW' and the word 'BERSIH'... Frankly speaking I can't think of any bloody reason for these people to be afraid of... Unless there is something going on behind close doors!!! If not, it just doesn't makes sense at all...

If you ask me, I think that 'RED' is much more scarier than 'YELLOW'... Normally people associate blood with 'RED' and normal people like me don't like blood... But this is not the case in Malaysia because I find some people like the colour 'RED' and also blood in terms of bloodshed!!! They embrace 'RED'!!!

As for 'YELLOW', I find it rather pleasing to my eyes... 'YELLOW' are suppose to be jolly don't you think??? But seems like it is really hard for us to see this colour very soon!!! Poor 'DIGI'... I don't know how you are going to survive!!!

So what about the word 'BERSIH'... No problem if you ask me... When I was a kid teacher used to teach us to be 'BERSIH'... I wonder how our teachers are going to teach our younger generation now... Maybe they start to talk like this... "Ali, remember to 'TAK KOTOR'kan your hand after eating!!! In order for you to grow big and strong, you must remember to 'TAK KOTOR'kan yourself, understand"??? I really can't imagine IF this really happen!!!

If you ask me, no colour or word is scary... It is HUMAN that is the scariest of all!!!

I'm very sure everyone will encounter this before in their life time... The only difference is some might need to endure it everyday while some might just endure it for a few days... Actually I don't think is appropriate to use the word endure as I know some of you out there actually prefers to be left alone... I don't know what you're thinking but I'm definitely not one of you...

In this aspect, I'm really bless I guess because my darling have been my companion for such a long time that I felt a bit uneasy when she left me alone for two days where she went 'Singapore and Bintan' celebrating hen night for a lovely bride to be... And to make matter worse, her little brother which is staying with us went back to hometown that particular weekend... This is really home alone for me I guess...

But fret not as these two days, I have my best buddies with me... One of it's name is 'Internet' and the other one is 'Astro'... If you ask me which is better in terms of accompanying me, I can't give you a definite answer but I can tell you that they are both inseparable... When you are bored of surfing the net then find a program that you like on 'Astro' and watch it... But after half a day, I will advise you to revert back to surfing the net as 'Astro' decided to repeat the program over and over again!!! And this is the time that the 'Internet' outshine 'Astro' where it don't repeat itself... But after surfing for a while, you ran out of idea on what to surf!!!

And I believe the time is right for me to introduce my third buddy... I call it the 'Bed'... Believe me, after you are bored with those two, the third buddy is the BEST if you ask me... After a good night sleep, repeat the damn process again the very next day!!! This was how I spent my two days home alone!!!

Guess I'm right that the guy that helped me out yesterday was a cheater!!! I tried calling him this morning and afternoon and guessed what, he's not answering my call!!! Nothing to be shocked about as this was what I'm expecting... Don't get me wrong because I'm not asking him to bank in the money... The moment I gave him the money, I knew that I'm not getting it back (I paid him more than he should get!!!)... I'm just trying to prove that good people are hard to come by!!! And I got the answer... But luckily, he didn't do anything to me... The only thing that I'm worried about was whether he's a real police or not... If he's genuine then there would be no more problems but if he's really an impersonator, then we really need to becareful as this was a really serious problem!!! Is it really that easy to get cuff and walkie talkie which connects to the police channel??? I know the uniform is the easy part, but those things that I mention earlier are quite hard to get I guess... Just something to share so that next time any of you who encounter something like me can know that it is not safe to simply trust those that offer to help... If is possible, just wait for those 'PLUS' guys or get your own mechanic!!!

Without realizing, blogging is already part of my life... So when I got my 'iPad 2', one of the things that I tried was blogging... But to my utter horror I can't seems to blog using it!!! This really drives me nuts as I'm trying to replace my netbook with the 'iPad 2'... I know there are a lot of limitation with 'Apple iPad/iPad 2', but I didn't expect something so simple can't be achieve!!!

So I set out to search for an answer... What can I do to turn my 'iPad 2' into a blogging tool... After searching around, I find that most people recommends 'Blogsy'... Since I'm really desperate I decided to purchase the apps and try it out... The apps cost USD2.99 which I find it quite reasonable if it really delivers... Truth to be told, I just downloaded it a couple of minutes ago... And this blog post is written entire using 'Blogsy'!!! I guess this is one of the best apps that I have purchase because it really change my iPad 2 into something else!!!

This was the first time in my life that I witnessed a live riot... It happened today at the 'Bukit Bintang' area... Maybe you will think why they choose the spot to carry out the riot... It was not because the place was strategic or because it can draw the most attention... But it was more towards who they were rioting at!!! Yes it was 'Maybank'!!! It might be difficult for you to see the banners but it was written all over the banners... "Maybank menggalakkan jurang pendapatan", "Maybank penipu besar", "Maybank majikan yang zalim", "Maybank memalukan Malaysia", "1 Maybank, CEO didahulukan, pekerja diabaikan" are a few that I saw... There are a few that really caught my eyes and kept me thinking about what they written... "Stop outsourcing jobs to Pos Malaysia" and "Stop exposing customers info to Pos Malaysia"... Hmm can someone tell me more about this??? Are they selling the info to 'Pos Malaysia'??? If so I will be the first to boycott them!!!

By the way, sorry for the pictures because I only carried my 50mm lens with me today and I'm just too lazy to walk all the way across...

I'm really happy when I checked my email last week because I got an email from 'Nuffnang'... I got 4 movie tickets courtesy of 'Nuffnang' and 'TGV'!!! As most of you who read my previous blog post, my birthday falls on this month and this is a birthday gift from them...

I've already used a ticket on 'Scream 4' and the review will be up very shortly... And 'Thor' will be the next one!!! Anyway, I'm really happy to receive this awesome gift... Thanks 'Nuffnang' and 'TGV'!!!

Woo hoo I finally got my 'iPad 2'!!! I'm really grateful because my friend kept the box and it even came with a lovely 'Apple' plastic bag!!!

Nothing special once you open the box... All the usual 'Apple' stuff is in there... In fact it is exactly the same when I unbox my 'iPhone 2G' more than three years ago... Wait a minute, not exactly the same because my 'iPhone 2G' came with a dock!!!

It is definitely slimmer and lighter than the original 'iPad'... I got no further comment on it because my 'iPad 2' had been hijacked by my darling!!!

I'm really happy with the 'Cygnett Lavish' folio case that I bought yesterday because it has the wake/sleep function just like the 'Smart Cover'!!! This is really unexpected because they didn't even mention it in the manual!!!

So long for now as I'm going to hijack my 'iPad 2' back!!!

Ok you can call me 'kiasu' if you want and I will admit it!!! Actually my new 'Ipad 2' is still with my friend and I will only be able to get it tomorrow... But I already bought a 'Ipad 2' case and a screen protector already... Hmm feels like history is repeating itself because I did exactly the same more than 3 years ago when I bought the 'Iphone 2G'!!! Don't wanna risk my baby being scratch!!!

I didn't buy the 'Smart Cover' because it doesn't protect the back of the 'Ipad 2' and this is a BIG no no for me!!! I really like the 'Marware Microshell Folio' but too bad it is not launch yet so I got to find myself another alternative...

Since I'm going to use my 'Ipad 2' for work and recreation purposes but more on work, so I guess it is better for me to get a case that looks more presentable which won't look out of place in a meeting room rather than those which looks more funky... I decided to get myself a folio type case from 'Cygnett' because I don't really have much choice and it is really hard to find a 'Ipad 2' cover now in Malaysia!!!

The case is call 'Lavish' and it is made from man made material that is really nice to touch at... The case can be converted to 3 different viewing angles which is something important to me... But what I really like about this case is the protection it provides for my 'Ipad 2'!!! I know some of you might say that it adds a lot of bulk to the 'Ipad 2' but I don't really care about that as bulkiness is not an issue for me...

And this is the screen protector that I got for my 'Ipad 2'... Never heard of this brand but it is much cheaper compare to the others... Most of the screen protector cost around RM100++ whereas I got this 'Monifilm' for Rm69 only... Arghhhh!!! I can't wait for tomorrow!!!

Are they out of their mind??? Who in their right mind would like to eat condom??? So why condom shape chocolate in the first place??? I guess the manufacturer is some kind of sick dude and decided that it is fun to eat condom and since the 'normal' one is not edible, so they came out with a made from chocolate one...

'Choco is better than sex'??? Hmmm frankly speaking, I don't think so...

And before you jump into any conclusion, let me clarify that this does not belongs to me... I'm not some sick pervert who likes to eat something like this... I admit that I like chocolate and I'm a really curious type of person but eating a condom never cross my mind!!!

Is time for us to do our part again in this year 'Earth Hour'!!! And this year, they are urging us to go beyond an hour... So lets see what I can do... :)

Wow I really can't believe it... My antique 'iPhone 2G' still rocks (been using it for 3 years at least)... I didn't charge it for 4 days and the battery is still alive and kicking... But to be fair I try to minimize talking and SMS in order to preserve the battery... My darling did the same to her 'HTC Hero' but she didn't make it... The battery is flat in the second day I guess... Actually we are not doing some kind of research on who's battery last longer without charging... The reason we don't charge our phone is because we forgot to bring our charger back when we went back hometown...

So this is an unofficial battery war between the two heavy weight phone of the bypass era... And I declare the 'iPhone 2G' as the winner!!!

I received a forward mail today and I find it really hilarious!!! So funny in fact that I almost fell from my seat and roll on the floor and laugh till I burst in tears!!! So I decided to post it up and let all of you enjoy... I'm very sure it will make your day because this is really what it did to me!!!

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'DS Samy Vellu' finally and officially resigned from his post of the longest 'MIC' President ever live, after leading the party for almost 31 years!!! Frankly, I will miss him very much especially for all his FUNNY QUOTES he made all these years... Like what our Prime Minister said in the 2010 'Barisan Nasional' Conference, "We will miss 'DS Samy Vellu' because he add a lot of colour... Sometimes a bit too much colour"... Therefore, as a token of appreciation, I just wanna share his famous quotes ever made by the one and only, 'Samy Vellu'...

Counting down from number 10!!!

10. 'Samy Vellu' quoted on 'Pos Laju':

"Besoh kirim, hari ini juga sampai"

9. On one TV news when he tried to say he felt very ashamed:

"Ini prekara sangat memalukan saya dan KEMALUAN saya sangat-sangat la besar"

8. 'Samy Vellu' said in one of his "ceramah":

"Kita akan bina satu jambatan wuntuk worang-worang kampong di sini... "Then one pakcik

asked, "Datuk, sini takde sungai, buat apa bina jambatan???" And 'Samy' gloriously replied,

"Kalao takde sungai, kita bina sungai"

7. 'Samy's' most favourite quote on the news for the decade is this"

"Toll naik sikit, banyak marah saya... You worang ingat semua ini toll saya punyer bapah

kah!!!"

6. During water crisis:

"Semua worang diminta jangan membuang aiyerr!!!"

5. On social society's problem:

"Worang-worang muda sekarang banyak suka hisap dade <---- breast/tits/boobs

4. During blood donation's program at 'Sungai Siput':

"Marilah kita semua menderma dare <---- virginity

3. His welcome speech in most of his functions:

"Selamat datang saudara-mara semua" (It should have been "saudara-saudari")

2. During the height of the 'Al-Arqam's' saga, he said in a press conference:

"Saya gumbira bahawa didapati tiada pemuda 'MIC' terlibat dalam kes 'Arqam'"

1. At an opening ceremony for a new building:

"Mempersilakan 'Datin Paduka Rafidah Aziz' naik dari pentas wuntuk membuka kain"

(to open her clothes)

If you didn't laugh till now, I'm very sure you will in a moment!!! Hold your breath for a bonus round!!!

And of course the world's greatest joke of all times:

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"Kita akan bina roket pigi matahari"... One of the reporter responded, "Tapi Datuk, matahari terlalu panas untuk didekati"... 'Samy' replied, "Itu takde masalah... Kita hantar waktu malam"!!!

OMFG!!! That's one helluva joke!!! Thanks 'DS Samy Vellu' for making my day!!! You are the man!!!