Initially, I planned to come back to my hometown for just 4-days. But considering that I have to come back after just 9-10 days... rasa macam menghabihkan bogheh la pulak iye? So, we will just stay until Raya lah :)

But then, some of my frens will be having their wedding in September. One guy on the 18th, another on the 25th! So, if go back to Penang... then need to come back. Which will also be menghabihkan bogheh activities. So, insyaAllaah, will stay on after after Raya :D Harap2 siap le PhD aku dok sini lama lama. Hehehe....

And I'm surrounded by, a million people but I'm still alone... I wanna go home... got to go homeeee.... Lebih kurang like that lah Mr. Michael Buble sang his song :) It's been quite stressful for the last three weeks... and I really2 do need to see my wife and kids. Really2 miss them all. Asyik dok ngadap PC kat lab je, can become crazy before 14 Jun 2013 you know. Need to shift mindset and what-ever-sets there are so that I could insyaAllaah come back to work refreshed. Maybe until Monday in Bangi... then back to Penang for some cookie delivery... then back to Bangi --> Johor (insyaAllaah) for Eid'ul Fitr :D

Anywayz... as Allaah qadr has been decreed, one of my friends might also need a lift to KL. So ok la tu! Sambil menyelam sambil minum air zam zam alakazam :D Can do something useful during this Ramadhaan to hopefully increase my stock (saham) for judgment day :D hehehe.

Oraits... back to Bangi mode - ON!

The similitude... Nasi Kandar Beratoq!!! Seriously... I think longer at times! 

The Arabic Iftar line has been gaining popularity this year round. There is actually another line on the other side of Masjid Al-Malik USM, serving Malaysian food. But it seems that people are thronging the Arabs instead. I personally believe it's because of the more well defined portions of chicken that you get, plus the ARAB PORTION rice that is being put in your plate/tupperware.  If you've seen an Arab with good appetite, you will know what I mean :)

Anywayz, me and my Iranian friend Ehsan have already agreed that by 6:35pm, we should start heading down alerady. If not... we'd end up at the end of the line with the risk of getting no Arab food. But not to fret, for if the Arab food habis... insyaAllaah, most probably there is still more Malay food on the other side (Dah semua datang bedal makanan Arab? Siapa nak habiskan yg Malaysia punya side...).

Okes... berikut adalah a few pictures of the Arab Iftar Line @ Masjid Jamek Al-Malik USM :D Assalaam aleykom.

@ 6:30 - 6:35 pm... Empty. But like the changing windssss... (see next pic)

Line becomes long in an instant!

Ladies also ada line :) Minah tudung itam tu perasan ka gambar mereka di-snap?

Amir tak silap is the boy's name. The mum is a frequent patron of this line :)

Makhluk2 hampa pasal datang lambat... kasian, kena go back to the end of the already long line...

This is what pisses me off (and undoubtedly, other people as well). Some people (in this case an Arab) just came and 'inserted' himself into the line after seeing some friends. I think, if some people at the back don't get the food due to this injustice... this guy will answer dearly to God for what seemingly is a 'harmless' (yet annoying) act...

Intai2 the Pak Arabs getting the food ready

Pak Arabs in action :) The bald guy @ the end was actually a USA PR [or citizen? not sure]... But now he's like stationed in Malaysia :) Sometimes I feel that he looks like a Harley Davidson rider...

 

Happily performing their duties...

After I got the food..... The line was getting longer. Sometimes... it extends very2 long until the padang2 rumput @ the back !!!

This is what people are after :) Sometimes yellow rice with chicken kurma...

Durra dates... the 'wet' version :)

From the back of the packet

Of course, air kordial balang. This is more Malaysian than Arabic :)

Tok Uban waiting for the clock to strike 7:33 pm :D

I sorta promised to get the pics from the Arab Iftar Line in my last post... But since I went alone that time, it felt kinda awkward to snap pics of people I don't even know while putting on a straight face. Normally, I'd go and collect the food with my lab mate, Mr Ehsan Abbasnejad (smart Iranian fella)... But that day, my supervisor had one of her late 'energy boosts' and called upon him at around 6:45 pm to discuss a paper. Since this is the time we'd normally start lining up for the food... he asked me to go and collect for him lah... which I gladly did. Anywayz, like I said... I was alone down there... rasa pelik pulak kalau snap gambar line panjang2... and then have no one around to explain to (while of course giggling and giving reasons etc.).

Anywayz... I found an old crocodile (or alligator) of mine while I was Google-ing around. When I look @ it again, it does seem quite neat (hahaha! puji diri...). Anywayz, just for the sake of melepas batuk di tangga for a blog entry :D Salaaam aleykom!!!

Beckham would pay me millions for this... but then again, he doesn't buy his boots :'(

Today, for break fast, insyaAllaah I will go to the Arab food counter. Alhamdulillaah, some people are forking out $$$ to feed orang berbuka puasa. According to what I know (is it from the Quran or Hadith? Tak sure...)... Those giving food for people (who are fasting of course) to break fast, they will obtain the ajr (pahala) of the person who is fasting, without being lessened even a bit.... Well, of course for more accuracy on this, you can refer to any imam or 'alim :)

InsyaAllaah I will take pics... to show you the length of the line... and also the type of food that all these people are crazing for. Okes. That's all for now. Salaam and Happy Ifthar!!!

Been looking at the Feedjit "Popular Pages Today" widget at the bottom right corner of my blog. When I first put it there, I saw that many people who stumbled across this site were looking for info. about Halal Protein powders or supplements. But now... it seems that the protein topic has been overtaken by the kambing topik. 14.22% of the alfiantroxion blog visitors are kambing fanatics! And I realize that most have arrived by Googling about Kampung Pelet or Puncak Mutiara Cafe. Kok tak sangka dengan secara tak sengaja that this blog is one of the top pages for those keywords. Alhamdulillaaah. Ada jugak yang lain land pasal nak cari info. about ELKEN Biopure (Ken-2) Water Filtration System, Naza Forte Review (even though I don't provide a review... somehow people accidentally come here) and also Seoul Garden.

Anywayz, in all... Alhamdulillaah. TQ for dropping by and although we're almost half way into it, it's not too late to wish Ramadhaan Mubarak :D Assalaam aleykom WBT...  

Assalaam aleykom WBT :) Today I decided to drag myself out of bed instead of falling back into slumber after Subuh prayers. Alhamdulillaah, surprisingly... feel very2 de segar one. Maybe its also due to the fact I ate an apple (after rice n chicken of course) for Sahur? Maybe all those simple carb juices are flowing rapidly through my body providing instant energy!!! But have to get ready btw, as instant energy is always followed by instant sleepiness (at one point). 

Anywayz, back to the topic of Ceramah. Listened to a ceramah today... I think it's my first post Subuh ceramah in years! A good natured, sunnah following guy sat in the front of the masjid talking about Ramadhaan... Have to say, he has quite a nice looking beard :D Talked about things we should do during Ramadhaan and of course, things we should not do. Nice reminders over all.

The ceramah was good... but the thing that bothers me is the manner in which participants sit during these talks...  Similarly, even non post Subuh ceramahs are the same, where people sit very2 far apart from each other. It's like, the further, the better.... If I'm not mistaken... similar to how we're supposed to perform salah, everyone is supposed to come close together. Of course not in a straight line, but everyone should gather in a cluster around the speaker. Mostly, its a scatter... some one here, one group there, another group here and also sleepy heads almost every where :P I personally think, the proximity between ceramah participants should be made closer :D 

Okes.... Selamat berpuasaaa...

The verdict has come out. Good news and just little bad news :D As a matter of fact, the bad news is quite insignificant as it was a minor (so to speak) glitch in the network of employees...

Table 1.0: Puncak Mutiara Cafe Verdict by RR, Mat John and Alpyan 

Item	Verdict
Goat meat softness	Very-very soft, like the first time we came
Heat of hot drinks	As hot as it can get... no more cold MILO for me!
Service	Beverages came on time... but it took more than 30-minutes for the food to arrive

I changed my ordering habits a bit... instead of going for the Beriani Paha Kambing, I opted for Nasi Putih with Paha Kambing. It proved to be a good move since the beriani was a bit spicy this time around. It relates to the fact that the food came late. The goat meat, I reckon was already cooked... but everyone had to wait for the rice.

The waiter who brought us the food told us that the Bangladeshi workers responsible for the rice had all slept! I think they ended up noticing there was no rice left, and had to brew up a new pot! And since Malay workers might have done it instead of the Bangladeshi workers, a bit too much chili-based ingredients were added... This is my theory :)

Anywayz, that was the only glitch. Everything else was back to normal :D Even the MILO was hot! (compared to last time, when it came back relatively cold after 2-times of correcting the order).

In all, the nasi putih + paha kambing cost me a bit less... @ RM13.50, which is quite surprising actually as the difference is RM3.50. But I think they charge for the Dalca + Air Asam @RM1.50... which makes the white rice also RM1.50. Gulp... mahal jugak for white rice bila fikir2 balik! Hmmm.... Do people actually have the right to charg RM1.50 for white rice? Ntoh le... hantam saja la. That's why we can only eat at this place once evey two or three months... Considering the location, RM1.50 for rice is a bit steep. But then again, they will have their arguments.

Orait. That's all for now. TQ for reading iya :D Salaaam

PS:- no pics since camera phone had charging problems...

InsyaAllaah, this morning at around 2 or 3 a.m.... myself, Raja Azhar bin Raja Othman and M. Faizal Zainoldin have planned to take our sahur (soq in the northern slang) or early breakfast at Kampung Pelet. Of course for me, it would mean ordering the RM17 Nasi Beriani Paha Kambing!!! In my previous post however, I mentioned that the goat meat had gone sooo tough, that even biting was futile. My theories were that, they might be finishing off some old goats, or maybe for that particular month, the supplier gave them a wrong shipment of kambing kampung yang berotot keras? Wallaahu a'lam...

A good thing though, on the same post itself, one of my friends (Rash) gave a comment that the meat had gone back to its original condition... tender and juicy... with the flesh sliding off effortlessly like peeling the isi from a durian ulas :D Anywayz, this sahur or SOQ session will be the judge... whether or not Puncak Mutiara Cafe has reverted back to its glory days. Harap2 udah le... if not sia2 la pi makan sana :'( Dah le jauh... Di bawah adalah gambar kambing yang dirembat dan diedit dari sini... Salaam aleykom :D

Hmmm... Takde la jauh sangat pun bila dah actually jalan. Normally, I'd drive from my hostel to the lab, which takes ~3-minutes. Sekarang kalu, I think I have to walk to the lab. Takes just around 5 to 8-minutes by foot. Rain or shine... walk mesti mau walk juga. No more spoiling my feet with pressing the paddle (ke pedal?) to the (tak-sampai-pun) metal (ke middle?) ...

Anywayz, I tried walking a few times before... and found that it's quite invigorating once I set myself in at the lab. There's this relaxed feeling while at the same time having more energy than always. Furthermore, I couldn't have picked a better month to start walking... With fasting and all, I hope I could cultivate more good habits as the the holy month passes by.

I have discovered though, that walking requires:

1. A really2 good pair of shoes. Cross trainers or any shoe that has soft and thick soles. Unsuitable footwear can really2 make ure feet hurt;
2. Great deal of care, since cars and motorcycles rarely give a dayem to the rights of pedestrians (but not me la. When I drive I try my best not to hit pejalan-pejalan kaki. Except the not-so-smart ones who somehow try to walk in the middle of the road for no apparent reason); and
3. Payung kena ready senantiasa... the heat and rain can kill ya! For guys, yeah... have to throw away a bit of the macho complex and start using umbrellas during hot and sunny days :P.

This is from what I observed lah. Okes. Plz. do make dua for me so that I continue this effort of mine insyaAllaah. Oraits... Ramadhaan Mubarak!!!

PS:- Missed the days of walking to class at Monash though. It was nice walking many kilometers per day in low humidity and low heat... Maybe that's why I was 68-72kg back then, compared to 88kg now! Hahaha!

Image rembatted and edited from here...

Last weekend, myself, Akhmal Ikan Tenggiri and Cikgu Othman (Akhmal's father) went on a fishing trip @ Sungai Semeling, Sungai Petani, Kedah. This time it was a river trip... tapi quite close to sea jugak la since the water already started to get masin :) Muara sungai la kot? Anywayz, the targeted fish was siakap (bahasa orang putih dia apa ye? Baramundi kah? Ke Perch?).

Image edited from source: http://secretofhealthylivings.com/2009/11/28/pulau-ketam-kelong-fish-farm.html

Long story short... I got ZERO... Akhmal got ZERO... but Cikgu Othman got TWO!!! Alhamdulillaah. Added up with ONE caught by our beloved tekong Pak Long... maka jadik lah TIGA EKOR SIAKAP yang di bawa baliiikkk :) 

Trip-wise, have to say that it was quite nice even though myself and Akhmal didn't get any siakaps. The weather was superb! Not hot at all. As a matter of fact, at one point it rained quite heavily and strong winds accompanied the downpour. It was so de sejuk sampai menggigil macam di Kutub Utara!!! (macam pernah pegi je...). But it was quite ok... cuz I'd take Malaysian cold weather any time to the heat wave we had a few months back, ye dok?

Oraits... anywayz... the next day, Akhmal took the fish home to his grandpa's house in Permatang Pauh. In the expert hands of his mother and Mak Tam... walllawehhhh... end result mmg tableh tahaan punya! Siakap masak stim masam manis and siakap masak sambal!!! Tersangat lah sedap sampai aku terpaksa makan banyak :P Below are the pics :D After this, wajib ask for recipe from the chefs. Kena mau kasik cuba masak sendiri tengok jadik ke dak :D

Nasi + lauk pauk...

The two main dishes from afar

Siakap masak tomato + sambal (I think...)

Siakap masak stim masam manis (I think...also)

Siakap slice goreng... Forget to eat this one as it was on the girls' side

Adam bin Akhmal

Akhmal Ikan Tenggiri

Pak Long de tekong otai

The place where the two siakaps were landed by Cikgu Othman

Cikgu Othman (right) and Pak Long (left) with the cikgu's catch

Akhmal and Alfian yang sudah tembam teramat sangat... uwaaaaa!!!

Antique fan... Akhmal's camera managed to get a still pic of the rotating blades

Same fan from my camera... 5 mpixel SE Elm

Was chatting with a friend last week. Both of us are in the the academic business and we talked about the requirements set by some local (Malaysian) universities for a candidate to obtain his/her PhD. With all the fuss about publishing... some unis apparently are setting up some, if I may say, CRAZY rules in order for one to obtain his/her doctoral certificate. The general rule was that a student has to produce at least 3 ISI Journals (I believe with impact factor)... if not, the uni will not grant him/her the PhD cert. This is absolutely absurd as 3 journals (ISI pulak tu!!!) within the duration of 3-4 years is quite difficult to produce, especially for a PhD candidate who is just learning the ropes of reading papers!

For some disciplines, yes... this rule can be applied. For instance, it seems that Chemical Engineering students can publish 10 papers (ISI and with impact factor) during their PhDs... similarly, Maths students can also do almost the same. I know this because most of the time, when the School of Computer Sciences USM decides to talk about publishing in impact factor journals, they would invite speakers from the Engineering campus... whose publication records are sky high! While this is not wrong (we do get motivated by these talks), some things have to be put into correct perspective. Once I asked one of my engineering friends (an academic of course)... he told me it was common that each chapter of the thesis to be an ISI paper. The main reason was that, provided the work is good, most of the journals respond within 2-4 months. Comparing with my field (computer science)... it normally takes 6-months just to wait for the answer of either being rejected, or accepted with corrections. Most of the journals that I see (the great ISIs if you may...) can go up to one year! And finally, ultimate acceptance  and online publication is only achieved after 1.5 to 2 years. 

The thing is this... different disciplines have different timelines for publications. Physics, Chemistry, Maths and some other fields don't take that long for papers to be processed (from what I've learnt). Comp. Science on the other hand takes almost forever. So, to get 3 ISIs might span up to 6-years, and even then only if you're smart and lucky enuff to get acceptance. I really2 do wish that some unis use their brains (as that is what unis are supposedly filled with) when setting such standards. I hear some overseas unis don't even require publications for passing a PhD, and this is from some of the most renowned unis in the world! Malaysia ni terlebih power kot.... We are trying to catch the boat... but thru weird and most of the times absurd policy making. This is my thought :D hehehe... Okes... Assalaam aleykom WBT.

PS:- don't get me started with supervision. Hahaha!!!

Example: This paper took approx. 2-years (Machine Learning paper). Click to view full-size

Alhamdulillaah... had a good two nite stay at Langkawi Island. Me, the wife, kids, my in laws, our helper Kak Ati and sis in law accommodated ourselves at the AB Motel in Pantai Cenang for RM120 per nite... I think that was quite an OK price considering the Saudi and Indian/Pakistanian tourist season :D

Anywayz... went to the Langkawi Cable Car place. Didn't know that they started operations at 12:00 pm on Wednesdays!!! Kena la tunggu for almost 2-hours for the counters to open... We did consider going elsewhere while waiting, but when fikir2 balik... macam jauh la pulak since the Cable Car place was quite far from the next place we wanted to visit (forget which place...). So... during the waiting period, I saw some people riding on that two-wheeled contraption  Obadiah Stane rode in Iron Man (2008). Thought it was kind'a interesting since it stood on two horizontally aligned wheels but did not terbalik dog. After contemplating for a few minutes, finally the wife convinced me to take Farhanah on a ride. Of course, I was not qualified to give my daughter a ride as it  was my first time... so my she went with one of the attendants (for RM12) and I had my own machine to ride (mine was charged RM17...)... Overall... RM29. Ok la kot sekali sekala.

Have to say it is quite intuitive and takes you around 3-8 minutes to get used to. Lean to the front to move forwards... lean to the back to brake or reverse. Turn the handles right and left for ... right and left movement :) Was thinking of buying one for myself... but after knowing that it costs at least RM29,000 per pax.... takpe la kot. Anywayz... the SEGWAY was quite a neat machine. Not only is it green due to zero gas emissions (I think)... but also quite safe and makes your journey from point A to point B faster. Oraits.... Eh.. chaits! Takde pics la pulak. Tapi takpe... it looks like this :) Selamaat...

From: http://www.segway.com/individual/models/i2.php