Speechlessness

Is this somehow what I should regard as "rezeki anak"? Is there even such a word in English?

I don't know if I can even think of such a thing, let alone do it.

Well, here goes...

Got Tag?

It is about time somebody tagged me. Even though it's only my sister.

1. Apakah benda yang paling penting dalam hidup kamu? (I will assume these are material things)

In order of appearance,

• a Quran and a copy of the translation
  
• a camera (ex), Minolta X-700
• a Mini (ex), SYCLONE,
  
• a collection of Mini magazines
• a desktop PC at office
• a collection of Konsumer newspaper
  
• a desktop PC at home
• a car, Proton Wira, I call it Warrior
  
• a pair of Pro-Mark drum sticks
• a car, Mini Clubman called STELLAR
  
• an RC car, Rover Mini
• a camera, Nikon 4600
• a camera, Panasonic FZ5
• a camera, Nikon D40 called Nik
• a tiny student size guitar
  
• a house we bought in Dengkil
  
• an ultramobile netbook, yet unnamed.
  

2. Apakah benda terakhir yang kamu beli dengan wang sendiri? (anything goes)

• papprika rice (a seemingly steep RM6)


3. Di manakah tempat impian perkahwinan kamu?

• the masjid

4. Berapa lama anda rasa hubungan kamu berkekalan?

• I hope it lasts forever

5. Adakah anda dilamun cinta?

• still do

6. Di manakah restoran terakhir kamu makan malam?

• Restoran Raene's

7. Namakan buku terakhir yang kamu beli?

• Two children's books for Muzaffar, Adab Dan Doa, and Sayang Muslim
  

8. Apakah nama penuh kamu?

• Muaz Che Kamarrudin

9. Kamu lebih senang dengan mak atau ayah?

• always my Mum

10. Namakan seseorang yang kamu ingin jumpa untuk pertama kalinya dalam hidup anda?

• Bruce Lee

11. Sebutkan 8 nama sahabat yang paling rapat dengan kamu?

In order of appearance

• Mohd Azammi M
  
• Kamarudin I
• Ahmad Nizam MA
• Mohd Shukri Z
  
• Mashuri M
• Arman HAM
  
• Intan SH
• Bastian AM
  


12. Adakah kamu mencuci pakaian anda sendiri?

• under necessity (for purification, as an example)
  

13. Tempat yang paling seronok kamu mahu pegi?

• England (the wealth of Mini spare parts available!)
  

14. Pelukan atau ciuman?

• I am so into both

15. Butirkan 5 perkara tentang orang yang tag kamu.

• the only girl
• tiny-ish
• jual jual jual jual
  
• garfield hello garfield
  
• kepakkkk
  

16. 8 perkara yang amat saya gilai.

Too many of them, had to choose what I can recall

• Hudud
• Jihad
• Gold Dinar
  
• Camera
• Mini
  
• My kids
• My gadgets
• this particular thing husband and wife do together (!)

17. 8 perkataan yang sering di ucapkan.

• Ya Allahu Ta'ala!
• As Salaamu Alaikum!
  
• Power Man Five Thousand!
• Huiyoooo!
• Elo!
  
• Opapa Omeme
• Wee Hee!
• Yaiyo!
  

18. 8 buah buku yang paling terbaru dibaca.

I seldom read book, thus the inclusion of webpages

• Quran
• Solat-Solat Sunat
• Nikkor Lenses Brochure
• Nikon D3 Brochure
• Unexplained Mysteries
  
• Why Things Are, Why Things Aren't
• Ken Rockwell (web)
  
• Thom Hogan (web)
  

19. 8 lagu yang saya boleh dengar berulang kali.

• Def Leppard - Don't Shoot Shotgun
• Bryan Adams - Thought I Died And Gone To Heaven
• Mister Big - Never Say Never
• Journey - Hopelessly In Love
• Journey - Stone In Love
  
• Lynch Mob - Sweet Sister Mercy
• Hall and Oates - One On One
• Peter Cetera and Amy Grant - The Next Time I Fall (In Love)
  

20. 8 perkara yang saya pelajari tahun lalu

• About Diet and Exercise
• About Budget
• About Government Transition
• About PTD Exam Studies
• About Mini Fixing
• About PBX
• About ICX
• About Gold
  

21. Mari men'tag' 8 orang lain.

In alphabetical order, I hereby TAGGED these people..

• Aisyah D
• Azrul Irwan AR
• Azuhuri Mustakim MR
• Engku Iskandar EZ
• Mazlyda AR
• Salman AW
• Siti Haliza J
  
• Suhaida S

Nice And Slow

I do slow drives nowadays.

Like, very slow.

Like, 50. In an 80 zone.

Like, 60. In a 90 zone.

Like, constantly.

Not to worry too much though. I concentrate on the left lane, and even do it way before rush hour.

Like, around Subuh time.

You see, I was inspired by a series of fuel efficiency contests. First by the Isuzu D-Max. Then the Nissan Grand Livina. The latest was the new Proton Saga.

Thus I am only emulating what the contestants did.

I don't dare to dream of achieving such figures like the Livina or the D-Max's outrageous results of more than 50km per liter of fuel.

I am optimistic of only doing at least half that, though. Especially using STELLAR.

And while doing it using the Proton Warrior, I only hoped everybody are sleeping soundly the whole duration I cruised slowly, to avoid complains and the iconic "Are we there yet?!" questions.

If ever I get 25km per liter for both cars, I'll be happy to drive everyday.

New Gear

I have long imagined owning a true portable machine, ever since I saw the tiny Toshiba Libretto way back in 1996.

I imagined using such a gadget as a true road-warrior, for usage such as web use on the go, while thinking I might do a bit of photo selection from my seemingly endless collection. Movies, music or games will also come in handy once in a while, for me or the family. Nothing heavy really.

I was made aware of such a genre of ultraportable notebook back in late 2007 or early 2008, with the InkMedia. Then OLPC, UMPC, EEE PC came out. The EEE PC was particularly successful, covering both world with attractive package and low price, albeit a bit restricted initially.

The genre then basically was altered to the simple term Netbook.

After contemplating for a while (read: a year), I finally settled on a Netbook after all.

It is one Acer Aspire One, in blankish white. The lucky shop is East Computech near the Air Kelantan site I work at.

I chose it primarily because Acer accepted Easy Payment Plan with zero percent interest for 12 months. The rest are primarily the storage, the easy OS itself.

Using it till the last drop of the battery, I was particularly amazed by the elongated duration I saw. 6 to 7 hours to be exact. And I did use it but still do feel too conscious about exhausting the battery anyway. Only thing about the battery is, it protrudes out a bit.

I actually expected it to be much lighter, but I guess such a thing will not be available just yet. A kilo still seems many.

Halcyon Days

The Minolta X-700 was my first SLR.

I do miss using it. It's feel. The solid built. The smallish package. The aura.

And I miss the old photography days too.

I guess it's almost time to revert back, or something.

Me going to get a cheap enough film camera.

Here's my short list, a Minolta X-700 or the XD, or maybe a Nikon FM or F3.



The Minolta X-700

My Father's Namesake

He was my best friend.

I was his too.

We lost contact way back since UPSR days.

I have been looking out for him for what seemed like forever. I even thought I got a glimpse of him way back in 1995. And I did call out to him, but him not turning around makes me think it's someone else, and didn't retry.

We have not met in 19 years. I had to see him.

And that we did. I guess we missed each other so much, we hugged.

Apart from his basically superior current height, I think I am so lucky he stayed true to his roots.

He is still a good friend, and I positively think he will always be.

Effin Buckle Up Will Ya!

Anyone who does not buckle up, front or rear side of the car, is plain stupid!

I have buckled up rear side ever since I saw the first accident photo on the Internet, though sporadically, and I cannot remember when is that. And I went serious when I frequently went to site in 2003, and having to sit at the back.

Regardless of what position you are sitting in, you will get thrown out, and a merciless one at that. You may not crush somebody in front, but you may crush a pedestrian, another car's occupant, a biker, a toddler.

Just watch the vids. Warning, the first one have quite a squeamish content.

Muzzammil Is Two

Happy birthday Muzzammil.

With his birthday, I resolute to treat them the best of my ability. To shower them with lots of love. To give tender loving care.

Them, including the soon-to-come baby.

Stay tuned. August this year, yeahh!!!

Boycott Till They TOTALLY STOP

To my brothers and sisters in Gaza. My utmost prayers goes for you.

I have boycotted almost everything I should. And everything else I already bought, I will finish up and replace with something else.

And I wholeheartedly support the Halal Movement by PPIM and CAP.

Let's boycott to stop their invasion. Let's boycott to stop their colonization. Let's boycott to stop their attacks to Islam.

I am doing whatever that I could do now.

AND PLEASE READ THIS! Sorry for the cap letters, just trying to get yer attention.

Muzaffar Is Five

Ultimately one high-FIVE!

I thought time runs fast! And I think I stayed the same. Still the same size, weight, height, car, bla bla..

Yeah, some thing's different too. Different house, extra kid, more house furnishing, longer hair, receding hairline, bla bla..

And my God he grew already!

I am thinking of the day he was born as I wrote this.

STELLAR Road Test

Instinct makes me feel like taking a drive today.

The purpose is mainly about testing him after his latest repairs almost a month ago.

All was nice and cozy, other than one or two glitches, plus an overly warm moment in a traffic jam.

Read more about it here.

Incapacitated Rocker

I do feel old now.

I think I am losing more hair than I should have.

God I am worried.

An ex-rocker (or probably still am) like me losing hair!?

Think Sean Killian in 1992 compared to the more recent live version back in 2005.

Or even better, think Rich Dean Anderson during Macgyver times compared to Stargate SG-1.

Or the best, think Kojak or Yul Brynner, all those eternal times...

Arrrghhh!!!

Far from serene isn't it....

Or was it the MSG I subconsciously ate these few weeks...

Aspiring

I do feel jealous sometimes.

My office mates have their own laptops, and are blissfully surfing the Wi-Fi airwaves available just about anywhere.

I feel so left out.

In fact I am so jealous I am thinking of my Citibank credit card, and whether I should swipe it at the Acer branch opposite my Air Kelantan site for the brand new Acer Aspire One netbook.

Lucky I did not bring THAT credit card. It's all lust... hedonism... heck...

Niner

Can't wait.

I just can't wait....

Worn Out Reverse Gear

The 80s were my era.

It belongs to me.

That's why I can never leave it. It will certainly almost immediately came back to me.

Ohh! Those were the days.

The songwriting, the musicianship, the sincerity, the true heyday.

I can consider the Malaysian seminal band Alleycats as my first serious music listening, and that was way back in around the year 1986 when they are at their greatest. And up to now, most of their songs are still covered, and was never obsolete.

And my first serious listen at rock was the quintessential band Def Leppard and that was in 1988. And that particular album Hysteria was the best, and still is.

How about Ratt? Guns N Roses? I don't think anyone can top them, especially back in those arena rock days.

Who can forget screaming heavy bands such as Overkill? King Diamond? Metallica? They were all born in the early 1980s. The late 80s saw Vio-Lence, Sacred Reich, Forbidden etc. And that era was the best for all of these bands.

And who can deny the soul rock musicianship of Hall & Oates, and those jazzy sensibilities Sheila Majid, Chicago, even Toto?

Those doesn't include countless other I can only hope I have more time to listen and indulge.

I had to mention this. Punk and hardcore, too was prevalent in those days.

Though my listening diversified in the 1990s when I bought my first tape, it was still those based on rock. And the grunge movement didn't even make any difference. Besides, it's only a part of rock.

I have at times moved forward. But I will always pull that reverse gear and head back home.

Very Crunchy

They say toasts are the best breakfast one can eat.

I read that probably a couple of years ago. I don't know who said it, but considering I read it in English, it might as well came from an Englishman of yore.

But bread has been a somewhat Muslim food too, especially in the Arab countries, since historic times. And I probably have a small percentage of Arab blood in me. So there...

Nevertheless, I love bread. And everyday it did for me.

For this week, it's been almost everyday that I ate toast, with one session as my lunch instead of breakfast.

At other times, I ate Kellogg's Corn Flakes. Nothing like the originators of corn flakes, Nestle doesn't even come close. With milk, it's a quintessential food of choice.

Back to toast, what I did was to buy a loaf of Gardenia bread, preferably the 3rm fibre type. And it can last for about 3 days.

We have a a toaster and a fridge in the office, and it's filled with jam spreads, Kellogg boxes, milk packs and a plate of Raya date, which I assume is still edible.

Usually the prefered choice of spread is the Orange Marmalade of the Chivers brand, though I can do with Strawberry or Raspberry too. Yes, it's sweet. Shoulda spread it thinner too, and it can be a healthier combination. Sometimes, I also spread JIF peanut butter or Goober of any combinaton. And mind you, one slice is only for one spread.

When I do feel like spreading the Planta margarine, I pour a fingertipful of sugar as a topping. Usually the amount needed for four slice doesn't exceed a teaspoon.

One thing though, never use one spreader knife for multiple spreads. You will ruin the spread in the jar.

Usually I ate four slices at any one session, usually mornings.

I don't feel like eating out anymore. I practically don't need to leave office.

No Kia

I pledge to give up Nokia.

I already sold two of the three units I have, the 1200, and the 2300. I still feel like keeping the classic 6510 though, in case I need a backup.

But I will let it go too, but that's a later thing.

Why am I doing this? For one, my lovely mother gave me her Sony Ericsson, which is a fully welcomed change. Besides, it has MP3 Walkman features. I love!

Two, I needed the money.

Three, Nokia, I heard, contributes to the Zionist Jew. Being a Muslim I can only imagine the feeling a Palestinian do every day.

Tracii Guns

Reading about all this crimes around me, makes me think...

I should get me a license.

And then get a Glock or somethin'.

Islam Supreme

If there's one thing that is more interesting than everything else, it is the differences of opinion.

Differences of opinion has actually shaped the world to be what it is now. Or so I thought.

West vs East, Islam vs Others, Yoga vs Edict, Fatwa vs Constitution, Ulama vs Secularist, etc etc.

Those are a few of the big names in the news currently. Especially one of the four letter word mentioned above. Uh-huh...

We are entitled to our own opinion, so be whatever it may be. But there must be limits. And your opinion must take into account that others may not agree to it.

But in the end, it is Islam that matters the most. And nothing stood above it. Yoga all you can, but when you disregard Islam for the sake of yoga, do you think you are still a Muslim?

To put it a bit simpler, you actually put the yoga interest above Islam, as though that is more important than your own way of life, Islam, by making Yoga your way of life.

To put it in an even simpler form, you are with Islam (follow it fully), or you are not really Islam (follow only what you want, and reject the rest).

Yoga all you can, yoga all you want, but He the supreme being knows what lies in your heart. What your priorities are. And He witnesses every move you make, be it underground, above the skies, and He hears what you really think.

So do what you want. Fatwa forbids smoking, yet people still do it.

Yes I might seem like I judge, but I am actually just expressing my concern.

Priority is still the order of the day my friend.

One On One

I am currently crazy about Hall & Oates song, ever since I ignorantly heard it years ago, and actually stumbled upon again just a few days ago.

This is one of a few song that you need to close your eyes and just feel the music.

Here is the live version, way back in 1983. Apparently there's lots.

Enjoy!