Berapa punya panjang daaa tajuk. Anywayz... Tonight (since it's already 8:11 pm) I'd like to blog about how I record soccer video from ASTRO. I am trying to use these footage for my PhD work, and plz make a prayer for me so that all will go well... insyaAllaah :)

Anywayz... To record from television/ASTRO to your computer's hard disk (whether laptop or PC), you firstly need to buy a tv capture card (also called video capture card). Now, since these devices can be done via small USB devices, they are also called sticks! No matter what they're called, the basic idea is to have them connect YOU (your machine that is) to the normal-TV or satellite-TV decoder. In my case, it's the latter cuz I connect it to my ASTRO decoder. Below is the pic :)

 Astro decoder (yes, ini yg lama punya dan bukan Byond)

 Composite cable connections :) YELLOW = video... RED and WHITE = stereo audio...

Ter-forget pulak. The card I'm using is the USB PLUSTV Hybrid TV Stick II (KW-DVBT 325U) from KWorld. What I do is connect the three composite jacks (Yellow, Red and Yellow) to the USB stick, and then cocok/insert the stick into one of the computer's available USB slots :) Of course I install the drivers first lah. Oh, and also the Hypermedia Center software so that an interface is given for me to view and record/capture video from the TV. My USB stick is as shown below:

The USB stick that captures tv signals into my hard drive

The jacks connect!!!

Composite-to-stick connection... small USB connection

Notice the blue light indicating successful signal transfer... alhamdulillaah...

After making sure that your ASTRO decoder and of course, PC, is turned on... run the Hypermedia Center software and you'll get a screen looking something like this:

Hypermedia Center...

Select 'TV'

Select Source Input (what cable ure using...)

COMPOSITE... as I'm using the Yellow, Red n White composite cables...

Ok. After doing all that... VOILA! You have ASTRO on your PC :) All you have to do next is to press the RECORD button (not shown, but I think U all know which button I mean) and you can store your TV/ASTRO programs on your PC :) If you move your mouse to the bottom-left corner of the Hypermedia Center interface, then all those buttons will come out lah :)

Channel 616... my daughter's favorite channel...

Example of FULL SCREEN mode. Kalau Byond lagik cantek ni. Cuz my monitor supports is HDMI ready!!!

Sah2 la mesti tengok bola kan... Malam ni World Cup 2010 ENGLAND vs GERMANY. Go Go GERRARD!!! (Not houllier tapi...)

Okes. That wasn't hard at all. The hardest part is only giving your hard earned cash to the orang kedai @ Low Yatt to get the USB stick :D Oraits... tq for reading iya. Assalaam aleykom WBT.

Last night, I received a dinner invitation from Mr. Akhmal Ikan Tenggiri Man. Since I gave him all of my share from our last fishing trip, he felt obliged to feed me... which is very2 good! Cuz dapat makan home cooked dinner without myself actually cooking it :) Plus, with the expert hands of Akhmal's mother and wife... maka the probability that the food is better than what I normally cook can safely be said to be equals to 1!!! Anywayz... I'd like to thank Mr. Akhmal and family again, for providing me with delicious sustenance last night. The anak jenahak n kerapu masak 3 rasa (masa 3 rasa ek?) were totally AWESOME!!! Gambar tak ambik tapi... lupa diri masa makan... Oh, and Akhmal got all of my share sebab I am now bujeng... wife and kids all in Bangi oredi. So, no point simpan ikan banyak at home. For one thing, no one to eat... Secondly, most of the time I stay in asrama @ USM nowadays... just waiting for the right time to let go of our rented house in Taman Ilmu, Nibong Tebal...

Anywayz.... The gambar that I managed to take however were of some DURIANS that Mr. Akhmal bought. There were three types... Durian Susu, Durian Holo (betul ke aku eja ni?) and Durian Kampung. Since again, I was de lupa daratan masa makan durian tu (maklum le dah lama x makan derian...), also I forget to take pics of most of the durians. But the durians were AWESOME!!! Alhamdulillaah!!! Arigato again Akhmal and co.

Below are the pics that I did manage to take. These were the 2 small sized durian kampungs that I got from Akhmal as takeaway :) Since I was already full last night, I bedal-ed them this morning as breakfast :D Kaler tak kuning sangat... but for a small durian... the flesh was quite delicious and sweet! Okes... itu saja update utk kali ini.... Assalaam aleykom!!!

Durian Kampung

Closeup View Durian Kampung

I think I clicked on one of the ads on my Facebook homepage/profile page... which brought me to this Response 2 U website (a dot ws website btw...). Basically, this site promotes a program that can make you a millionaire within... somewhere between 33.33 (FULL TIME basis earning 30,000 p/m) to 66.67 (PART TIME basis earning 15,000 p/m) months. All you have to do is respond to their clients. Haha! Yes, just respond. Respond to what? I don't know. Maybe respond to the client's call of nature? Respond to the client's email? Ntoh. Business looks very2 blurry, while promising virtually limitless income! Has the word 'SCAM' written all over it. And yes, of course there are success stories of kids and sometimes old people, who seemingly do not know that much about computers, but yet are making tons of cash just by responding to who knows what...???  

Anwyayz, I actually wanted to do this thing for quite some time. It's just I kept forgetting since its really2 not important. Haha! Ok... Basically, if you've been to such sites, they'll say something like:

"REGISTER TODAY!!! THIS IS A LIMITED TIME OFFER. THE NORMAL LIFETIME MEMBERSHIP FEE IS $500.00. BUT FOR TODAY, IT WILL ONLY BE $45.00. SIGN UP NOW AND DON'T MISS THIS OPPORTUNITY AND GREAT DISCOUNT!!! THIS OFFER IS ONLY FOR A LIMITED TIME AND EXPIRES TODAY @ 23 JUNE 2010!!! ACT QUICKLY!!!" 

Well, somehow I accidentally remembered this thing I wanted to do, and I think it would make a good blog post :) Something to share with my fellow friends :) Anyhow, this expiry date thinggy... (in the above example - 23 June 2010) can be really2 effective. Especially if the opening credits are well written and enticing. But in the end, it's another way to lure people to signup @ a supposedly cheap price. Well, the program's normally worth ZIT, so either way the scammers are gonna make a fortune :P

Anywayz, what I did was take two snapshots of the site at different dates. The hypothesis was "If this is not a scam, then the membership fee will go up to the normal RM490". The results were predictable... The two pics below were taken on the 15th. of June 2010 and 23rd. of June 2010, respectively. Notice how the dates have changed!!! Not a so limited-time offer I guess... :D Okes. Shelaamat and TQ for reading iya. Assalaam aleykom WBT.

15th. June - RM69 and not RM490!!! Weh!!! Ni offer baaaikkk punya ni wehhh!!!! Musti join! Musti join!!!

Wallweh? Dia orang dah extend expiry date ke 24th June 2010!!! Lupa join ari tu, baik aku join hari ni!!! Musti join! Musti join!!!

Last night, at the very last minute (~9:25 pm), decided to catch a movie at Queensbay Mall, Penang :) I actually wanted to see Toy Story 3, but since the last show was at 9:35 pm, so memang tak sempat lah. After browsing the now-showing menu a bit, I suddenly remembered that Rotten Tomatoes gave Karate Kid (played by Jaden Smith) a 70++% rating. So, since Toy Story 3 (which got 100% when I last checked) was out of the loop, I decided to go watch Karate Kid (version 2010) lah!...

Quite surprisingly... the movie was very enjoyable! I even didn't mind Jackie Chan's bad English! The plot is guessable for those who know the original Karate Kid (or even Malaysia's copycat of Bujang Selamat played by Faizal Hussein :P). But the way they tweaked the whole thing was very2 impressive.

Firstly of course, it's no longer karate. Kung-Fu was the martial arts in this movie... and since the whole thing took place in China, it's a perfect fit I reckon :) I also thought that Jackie Chan did a good job playing the sifu role... and I also liked how Dre's (Jaden) character evolved from a jacket-dropper (U need to watch the movie to understand this) to a kung-fu exponent! And the "special move" at the end ... walawehhh.... it was quite impressive. I ended up involuntarily saying "fulamak...." when Dre delivered the final blow... Oh... and the crook also looked macam budak jahat betul, which adds to the experience.

Anywayz... in all, Karate Kid 2010 is a movie worth watching in my book :) Of course don't expect heavy drama or anything (although the movie does deliver some drama)... Action-wise, I think is sufficient.... Plot-wise... also quite nice as you won't mind (I won't mind, that is) to see the movie again say, with a tv-dinner?

Oh... and another thing that I found most interesting. This kid is a CARBON COPY of his dad Will Smith. I  mean, really!!! From his gait movements, facial expressions, blank-ness-of-face-look, etc. Mmg sejibik Will Smith... with the exception of the dreadlocks that it :D Anywayz... I give Karate Kid a 7.8966/10...

Training on the Great Wall of China

Yesterday (Sunday the 20th of June 2010), went on a fishing trip around Pulau Aman :) Not the normal deep sea fishing trips where a 1-hour boat ride to the middle of nowhere is required. This time it was on a smaller boat, and we went around the islands of Pulau Aman :) The expected catch pon of course la, on a smaller scale... around the size of the palm or the hand, plus minus a few inches :)

Overall, trip ok jugak. Dapat la dalam more than 30? Or was it more? Did not check. Here are few pics. Did not snap much as was more preoccupied with re-string-ing my fishing set. Asyik dok sangkut kat dasaar je sampai putush tali dan hilang mata kail n batu ladung :D Anywayz.... Selamaat

Bot milik Zul... but this time his bro in law is taking us... Kelantanese guy who

now speaks a hybrid accent of Kelantan-Kedah

Small boat towing trash... once the wind was in our direction. I bet

even Channel can't neutralize that smell

Bait... shrimp :)

Ketuka a.k.a. Small Ray

We have no idea what fish this is. Macam ikan belacak... or is it

tembakul? Nie men bu che tau...

One of the few rocky islands around Pulau Aman

Sebijik batu ditengah2 perairan cetek

Restoren Mee Udang :)

My lunch... Mee Udang Pulau Aman :D Milo Ais n Air Kosong...

This trip is better in a sense we don't have to spend all day @ sea.

In the afternoon, can rehat sekejap to have proper lunch and perform salah.

If atas bot all the time like during the deep sea expeditions, food can come by o.k... but semayang kalu? Susah sket... xde proper place...

Sib bek when going deep sea fishing its always more than 2-marhalahs :D So can combine with Asar, which is normally the time  we return from sea...

The fish jumped when I took his/her pic... so that's why lari sket alignment

Finally he chose not to jump around... this is the baby grouper Akhmal brought up.

We got around 15 kot of this fish... Besar2 tapak tangan alhamdulillaah

Mr. Akhmal Ikan Tenggiri with one of his many catches :)

Why am I still fat? Why am I still 86 kilos? (or have risen to 87-88? It's been quite a while since my last weigh in). Anywayz, the point is... why am I still fat, and why will I not become thin again? Well, it's simply because I have now chosen an inactive life, and my food choices are just way way too sinful to encourage a metabolic rate for ultimate fat burning. HAHAHA! Ok... not actually funny, but that's the life I have now.

Anwyayz, I'd like to share with you my dinner last night :) NASI GORENG SPECIAL - RM6.00. Bought it from SURIA CAFE, which is my favorite gerai makan at the SURIS food court (yes, I know the food court name now... got it from one of the waiters there). I also finally have the explanation behind my Nasik Goreng USA Udang Sotong Ayam issue :D Now I know that to get Nasi Goreng USA, you should not ask for Nasik Goreng USA (please refer to the menu image for details). Okes... Sila tengok2 gambar2 ini iya :D Selamaat :D

 Suria Cafe

Nasi Daging Black Pepper 

Ayam Goreng (Tepung kot?)

Udang Goreng Tepung

 Telur Mata Kerbau

 Timun & Sambal Belacan

Nasi Goreng - a bit tawar

Nasik Goreng Special - The End Result
(Number of shrimps is double here. Took it from my 
Iranian friend's pack as he doesn't eat shrimp)

Nasi Goreng USA issue resolved. Ask for Nasi Goreng Amerika next time...

Oh... and as you all know from my previous post way back when... I am able to lose a significant amount of weight in just 30-seconds. After eating the sinful Nasi Goreng Special, I gained lots and lots of unwanted calories. But due to my abilities... I got back to my normal self in less than 30-seconds this time...  A new personal record!!! Please view the testimony picture below.

Miraculous!!!

I am now in dilemma whether to learn LaTex or not to learn LaTex (for those who are unsure of what I'm talking about, plz go to this link). No... it's not that rubber material thinggy that Hollywood uses for make up or what makes up the most part of  the Mythbusters' dummies. It's basically an alternative to using Word Processing software... one that have many advantages especially for academic writing.

Anywayz... now I am in the process of thesis writing... So much pressure here and there... And was wondering, should I add to these pressures by learning a totally 'new' language? (you can say that LaTex is a new language for me, since I'd have to learn some markups).

The benefits however outnumber the negativities. I'd not have to worry about generating my table of contents, no need to worry about numbering figures... and don't even have  to worry about positioning figures n tables as LaTex does it for me. There are also other advantages, tapi I myself donno. Anyone care to add to these advantages? OH! Templates... If I write academic papers, then template switching is just a matter of changing ONE LINE of 'code'....

Anywayz, besides not wanting to add more pressure to my current life, the other thing stopping me is the  malas-nak-belajar-something-new factor... and also since I've already been using EndNote for so long as my bibliographic reference (from what I know, LaTex is not 'friends' with EndNote), rasa macam malas pulak nak guna a new bibliographic referencing tool. Might need to convert to JabRef or something...

Anywayz, some frens say its quite easy to learn and apply... and I'm now thinking of whether to learn it or not. I've got some basic HTML coding experience behind me... and since LaTex works in somewhat the same fashion as HTML, then maybe... maybe la it won't be that difficult. Hmmm... Tapi takpe. Nanti kita pikirkan dahoolooo!!!!

Okes. Tq for reading :D For those of you who have read until here... say "WARRDOOO!!!!!"... Or better still, you can write it in the comment section :) hehehe...

Salaam aleykom :D   

As Britney Spears sung it, Ooops, I did it again. And it appears so, I did do it again. Order nasi goreng USA and got the udang sotong ayam (U.S.A.) version. Same story with what I blogged about previously. This time I went to the shop in front of the shop that sold me the nasi goreng udang sotong ayam. Actually I did think of specifying to the cook about the rice. But since it was my favorite shop, I thought tak payah la. Kakak ni sah2 tau. Plus, when I saw her bungkus-ing the rice from afar, I thought I saw a telur goreng! So kompom, nasik goreng USA that I wanted. But alas... the thing I actually saw was the act of bungkusing the nasi goreng ayam for my fren. The ayam must've looked like an egg. Hehehe... Now that's the case of me seeing what my mind wants me to see (there's a name for this, mentioned by Ian McKellan in the Da'Vinci Code).... So in the end dapat udang sotong ayam... again....

Now I'm beginning to think that for ALL the shops there, nasi goreng USA does indeed mean Nasik Goreng UDANG, SOTONG dan AYAM... Anywayz, alhamdulillaah. Dapat la jugak makan malam ni :D I will now share the actual pics of the real deal nasi goreng usa :D Hari tu dah makan dulu baru terfiki nak blog :) So x sempat letak gambar... TQ for reading iya. Assalaam aleykom WBT...

Far view of Nasi Goreng Udang Sotong Ayam

Clearly... you can see the Sotong, Udang and Ayam 

Assalaam aleykom WBT. At my hostel room, the mosquitoes are going berserk! Don't know where their 'pot' or hideout is, but when night falls, they come out (or come in is more like it) by the throng. So when I go to sleep at night, all these freeloaders will come in and 'steal' a few straw-fulls of my blood :P Tried using the VAPE ubat nyamuk thinggy, but somehow they don't seem to be bothered. My roomate Ehsan used to spray using the aerosol thinggy, but that also tak jalan. Can't shut the windows cuz if we do, there is risk of suffocation and dehydration due to overheating... panas itu bilik walupun malam yang hujaaan. 

So, what to do? I go and buy mo-hi-qui-to net! Hehehehehe... Firstly I bought one from a DIY shop. Specially designed to fit onto windows (or doors) to keep out mosquitoes. The claims on the wrapping implied that installation was easy, and the net would stick to provided the Velcro. Tapi in the end hampeh... It was difficult to custom fit it to my room window! Lepas tu pulak, even though the Velcro stuck quite firmly to the net, the tape pulak tak melekat kuat pada window pane.  (in all, lost ~RM50 :P Learn from ure mistakes boy).

Looked something like this... senang nya dia ni buaat... sebelah tangan je... NOT!

Then, decided to go to kedai apek yang berhampiran... Had the green colored net in mind. Tengok punya tengok punya tengok... Alhamduilllaah, adaaa :D Bought 3 meters x ~4-kaki (dua unit yg berbeza but that's how I struck the deal with the makcik nyonya) @ RM7.50 semeter... Tiada tawar menawar pasal I have no skills in that...sob sob... Anywayz... went back and Alhamdulillaah... Installation was quite a cinch (took 1/2 the time compared to the DIY one). The real test however is tonite. Let's hope that it holds out against the dreaded mosquitoes :D Oraits. Assalaam aleykom WBT.

Tingkap tanpa net (orang sebelah punya tingkap...)

Tingkap lepas dah pasang net (still buleh bukak tingkap tapi... alhamdulillaah)

Close-up view

Used tape itam tu je... hopefully strong enough

Tiada tangga, jadik pakai kerusi aja :D