Spring is finally here

Lately weather is nicer and warmer. Saja keluar pi kedai Salvage Road belakang rumah nak cari curtain. Salvage road tu actually kedai perabot. Dah 4 bulan duduk sini baru nak cari curtain. Bukan tak boleh beli awal2, tapi takde yg berkenan. Kat kedai salvage road tu jumpa la curtain yg sesuai utk kitchen. So skrg nie kitchen je yg ader curtains. Area lain masih kosong je, tapi takpe, semua tingkap mmg ader blinder.

Since the weather getting warmer, the boys berani la keluar rumah pakai seluar pendek. Angin sesekali kuat juga bertiup, so jacket mmg tak boleh miss. Kalau dah lalu depan ShopRite confirm la kena singgah, Harith mcm biaser sambar HotWheels. Nasib baik la takde jual Ben10 or Cars kat situ. Setakat hotwheels takde la teruk sgt poket kena kikis.



Later lepas balik dr kedai blkg, dpt phone call. Friends ajak join picnic kat West Haven beach. On aje... Lagipun bukan ader buat aper pun kat rumah. At the beach, macam2 jugak la activities buat kat situ selain acara wajib, makan2. Ada yg main volleyball (dlm bulatan), kids main baling2 pelbagai jenis bola, korek tanah pun ader. Weather makin sejuk pulak lepas tu. Control macho je la Azrul and Harith yg selamba berseluar pendek itu. All in all, it was fun and enjoyable.

Tipah tertipu

Teringin betul nak makan Twisties. Asyik makan cheese doodle, jemu la jugak. Cheese doodle nie cepat muak, byk sgt cheese.

Tahap mengidamkan Twisties nie sampai kemuncaknyer last wednesday. We went for groceries shopping at Shoprite. I went there first, Azrul joined later after sending Harith to school.




The moment I entered the door, terus nampak this one snack. Nampak sedap betul... Label dekat rack tu nampak written "cheese...". Semakin dihampiri makin bersemangat dah nak beli. Label on the snack tak nampak lagi coz terbalik. Sekali biler pusing tgk, PORK RINDS!!! Aiyark!!! Tipah tertipu... terbantut terus... hancusss harapan nak beli :-(

Later maser Azrul sampai, citer la dgn dier. Funny thing was, Azrul pun experienced the same thing. Dier pun tertipu dgn the snack yg nampak sgt sedap itu, wakakaka...

Saper leh tolong deliver Twisties ke sini??? I nak perisa BBQ satay, Azrul nak yg tomato tu, and Harith nak yg cheese and chicken :-D

Our series of digital camera

We started to own a digital camera in early 2004. Lambat la jugak considering that time dah pelbagai models berada di pasaran. Why at last in 2004 we finally bought a camera? Very simple answer, because we have a son, Harith. Sejak lahir dah byk ambil gambar, tapi camera pinjam. Nak pinjam sampai biler? Budak cepat membesar, nanti byk pulak termiss his progress.

Our 1st camera was Sony Cybershot DSC F77, 4.0mp. Model nie yg lens boleh pusing2, main reason why we chose this model. Senang nak snap gambar sendiri ;)

Next camera was Canon Ixus 500, 5.0mp. Time nie berpikir2 nak jual sony cybershot. Canon Ixus produces better quality picture. So tanpa disedari Sony Cybershot bagai dilupakan. Until one day teringat nak guna the camera, cari2 tak jumpa. Baru terperasan the camera dah hilang. Hilang kat opis Azrul, that was the last place the camera was stored/seen. Ralat la jugak coz that was our 1st camera, which cost us about RM1500. Kalau jual separuh harga pun sedap la jugak. Anyway memang takde rezeki...

We once again upgraded our camera to a better model, Canon Ixus 750, 7.1mp. We have it in Satin Beige color. The old Ixus 500 was sold to our brother in law. We used this camera about 1 year before Azrul decided to buy a semi-pro camera. After we got another new camera, we let Harith play around with the Ixus 750. Harith started snap pictures, especially his favorite character, Thomas & Friends. He even loves to snap pictures of himself. But being a 4-yr(time tu la) old kid, of coz he will be very careless in handling the camera. I found the camera laying under a bed with the lens open. The lens were stuck and cannot be closed. We sent the camera to Canon service which would cost us RM500 to replace the lens. We decided to let go the camera as it is.

The semi-pro camera that we bought was Canon PowerShot S5 IS, 8.0mp. It is big. Tak boleh la I nak bawak suka2 hati letak dlm handbag, amatlah tak practical. Mulalah rindu balik nak guna camera kecik. Paling tak puashati maser our 2nd trip to Bali last year. Bila2 raser nak snap picture with single hand memang susah. So mula la berkira2 to get another camera. Tak secanggih our previous Ixus pun takpe, janji ader and it must be small.

There goes next camera, Canon Ixus i⁷ zoom, 7.1mp. Puashati! hehehe... :-D
Seems like we are so into Canon product. Yup! very true... For a digital camera, we will definitely go for Canon. Good quality for still picture and video.

Nokia E90

It has been about a year since both of us start using this phone. Through out that period, it has been serving us very well. Dah merata dah phone ni travel, sampai la kat US ni pun pakai lagi. This is for one simple reason, the phone still in good condition.

Nokia E90 is also known as the 10th generation of Nokia Communicator family. In actual fact, we have never used any of the Nokia Communicator before. This is our first time to own a Communicator. We migrated from Dopod (now HTC); Windows based PDA phone to the Nokia E90; a 3rd Generation Symbian 60. Both of us tidak termasuk dalam kategori orang yang kerap tukar handphone especially bila model baru keluar. Since both of us are IT graduates, we kinda have some interest in technical gadgets and widgets.

Why Nokia E90? Physically it is a bulky phone that comes in 2 colors; red and mocha, and weighs around 200 gram. It does not fits in your palm nicely since it's big. However, what comes with it is a major success. A Quad band frequencies I guess is a rather standard package with most mobile phones nowadays, HSDPA + UMTS (3G and EDGE) + GSM (850, 900, 1800, 1900) makes communication on the go really "going over the limit". Tak lupa juga ada WiFi 802.11 b/g. You can get mobile on your voice and data almost anywhere across the globe; provided the telco provider offers such services. Voice and video calls, fax, SMS, MMS and also emails (POP, IMAP or Blackberry - using 3rd party application). Other connectivity such Bluetooth, Infra red and USB support.

We do utilize the Office functionality of the Nokia E90. Word processing, spreadsheets, presentation viewer, PDF documents viewer, converter and file manager. I did store documents required for a meeting, seminar or even class in the Nokia E90. It's so convenient having the documents around in your phone. You can later email or beam to your colleague instantaneously.

Nokia E90 comes with Global Positioning System (GPS) capability. Maps are free for downloads. However, the navigation functions is available for download with minimal subscription fees (weekly, monthly or annually). The GPS functionality really helps a lot when we are traveling. We can plan our trip ahead, and have the navigation to guide you through your trip plus for confirmation you can use the navigation as a digital compass. Travel made easy with Nokia E90.

As for multimedia capability, Nokia E90 can handle most audio and video files. It also comes with FM radio. Nokia E90 comes with a 3.2 megapixel camera with flash, 20x digital zoom, night mode, AF, Red-eye reduction and self timer. The camera also able to capture a 30fps video. The length of the video depends on the size of your hot swappable microSD memory card. We hardly use the multimedia functionality since this is not our interest. Furthermore we do have Creative Zen Vision for that.

In a nutshell, Nokia E90 is a great gadget. It's more than just a phone or a PDA. It's a tool for the world of mobility. We are happy with it. Can't even think of additional functionality for the Nokia E90 except for touch screen capability. With this enhancement, you can navigate quite convenient, and adapting Graffiti to it is a plus.

Note: This is not a free ads for Nokia E90, just like to share our experience using it. Unless Nokia or HTC wants us to test their products. *wink *wink

Jom pegi pantai

Sepanjang minggu ni cuaca memang tgh best. Average temperature dalam 50 to 60 degrees Fahrenheit dgn matahari yg cukup la sporting. Cuma kadang-kadang ada la angin sejuk bertiup. Jadi takde la berani nak selamba keluar pakai t-shirt je. Kalau setakat pegi 7-Eleven or Shoprite dekat rumah ni ok lagi la sebab dekat. Or else still kena pakai jacket.

Minggu ni Harith cuti sekolah seminggu. Kesian pulak tengok dia terperap je kat rumah. Ever since the weather sekarang ni agak ok, janji la dengan dia hari Rabu nak bawak dia pegi beach. He's kinda excited with the idea. Pagi Rabu, dia bangun awal, sibuk ajak kami bersiap. Dia siap pegi keluarkan baju and pack toys dia dlm bag dia lagi. Punya la semangat. Kami tak bawak bekal pun utk pegi pantai ni, just prepare hotdogs. Just in case Harith ternampak orang jual hotdog, mesti dia nak.

We left home around 1215 in the afternoon naik bas. Rumah kami dgn pantai pun takla jauh sangat sebenarnya. Naik bas dlm 15 minit dah sampai. Tapi kalau jalan kaki tu takde la. Dari bus stop ke pantai around 5 minit jalan kaki. Singgah dulu Family Dollar beli air. Sekali dalam Family Dollar ternampak ada jual kite. Offer kat Harith, dia nak. Ok la, boleh main kite kat tepi pantai.

Sampai kat pantai, ramai gak la budak-budak. Kami pilih spot bawah pokok dekat dgn playground. Kami tengok Americans ni, kalau boleh nak carik tempat tengah-tengah panas. Kami lak carik tempat bawah pokok. Biasa la kan, kita dah biasa kena panas, cari la tempat redup.

Pantai ni ok gak la. Takde la kotor, tapi air laut dia nampak macam tak meyakinkan utk mandi. Lagipun takde pulak nampak orang mandi. Mostly orang melepak and berjemur je. Most of the time, Harith dok main kat playground je. Ada jugak dia main dgn budak-budak lain. Dia ajak buat sand castle, tapi kami pulak tak ada tools. Next time kita datang lagi bawak all the tools; shovels and buckets. Kite yg beli tadi, ayah dgn mama dia yg main. Dia buat tak kisah je bila tengok kami main kite tu. Lama jugak la kami melepak kat tepi pantai tu. Biar je Harith dok main and berguling atas pasir. Biar dia puas main. Around 2.30 lebih kurang, baru kami balik...

Needs and Wants

Kat US ni banyak gak la gadgets yang best and up-to-date. Harga pulak kira reasonable and even cheaper kalau nak compare dengan the one that we have in Malaysia. Its kinda cheap actually, but the thoughts of spending the allowances for those gadgets, not really a good move. Better spend the money elsewhere.

Some of the gadgets ni sebelum beli rasa macam best je kalau dapat, tapi bila dah ada, takut tak fully utilize. For instance, game console mcm Nintendo Wii or PS3, takut before beli berangan je nak main. Bila dah beli nanti, tak de time nak main, or even worse, asyik main sampai tak buat keja lain. Either options are bad, I know.

This dilemma reminds me the Psychology 101 class during Undergrad years, the dilemma is actually a conflict to fulfill your needs and wants. Even though, I never enjoyed the class due to the lecturer, but it suddenly does make some sensed. Needs are the those requirements to fulfill the basic necessity of life; clothes, shelter and foods. In contrast to the wants, its for of fulfillment of the desire. What ever it is, its all falls back to the basic. Bak kata pepatah Melayu, "Ukurlah baju di badan sendiri". Its almost true in respect to the peribahasa, lagipun buat apa ukur baju untuk orang lain pakai.

Among my wishlist are as follows:

1. Nintendo Wii or PS3 - both at the range of $300

2. GPS Navigator - around $200 *dah ader dlm e90. just need to purchase navigation function, peta leh download free
3. HDTV - around $500
4. iPhone - 2 options ($399 - 8Gb or $499 16Gb)

5. Taylormade R7 golf set - around $399
6. Prince O3 Hybrid Hornet Tennis Racquect - $99

Side notes: Selection handphones kat US sangat la tak best. Not like the wide range of selections macam yang kita ada kat Malaysia. Sini handphones semua basic, kalau nak extra features pun cuma ada Blackberry and iPhone je la.

I'm sure the other half of together-gather pun ada her own wishlist...

Al-Safa Halal

Al-Safa Halal ni satu jenama pengeluar produk makanan halal yang popular di area US dan Canada. Macam-macam produk yang diorang ni keluarkan. All the products are certified Zabiha or being hand slaughtered by a Muslim by The Islamic Food and Nutrition Council of America (IFANCA). IFANCA is recognized by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Food Safety Inspection Service as well as by Rabita al-Alam al-Islami (World Muslim League), Majlis Ugama Islam Singapura (MUIS), Majlis Ulema Islam Indonesia (MUI), Malaysian Prime Minister's Department-Islamic Affairs Division and several other government and non-government organizations, as a certifying agency for HALAL slaughter and HALAL products.

Bila baca pasal history product halal in the US, baru la tau yang dalam tahun 1992, Kerajaan Malaysia ada hantar para pegawai yang berkaitan to meet with several beef companies, hoping to find a facility that would be willing to convert to Zabiha in order to supply Halal beef to their country. One of the companies approached was MGI Beef Packers, a mid-sized plant that was owned and operated by a group of investors, including the Muller family. After lengthy discussions with Islamic leaders and a subsequent thorough understanding of Halal procedures, MGI agreed to convert its entire slaughter to Zabiha, and soon thereafter began shipping Halal beef not only to Malaysia but to other Muslim countries as well. On September 1, 1999 AL SAFA HALAL was created by the Muller family together with two other partners, Otter Capital and Packaged Food Investors. Today, AL SAFA is widely distributed to many grocery stores and foodservice operations throughout North America. Besar jugak peranan Malaysia dalam mengembangkan produk halal dunia.

Alhamdulillah product Al-Safa Halal ni senang kami nak dapatkan. Boleh dibeli kat Shoprite belakang rumah ni je. Produk diorang ni pun macam-macam ada. Chicken nugget, chicken strips, wieners, franks, patties sampai la ke pizza dan samosa. Rasanya product halal ni dah mula dapat demand dalam market kat US ni. Maybe sebab tu la agaknya, produk-produk halal ni makin senang nak carik.

AL SAFA HALAL is The Name You Can Trust. More info at http://www.alsafahalal.com/

Reminder

This is a reminder for me... the wifey, other half of together-gather.

A list of favorite series to be on air soon... :D

Desperate Housewife	April 13th	9pm	abc
One Tree Hill	April 14th	9pm	cwtv
Brothers and Sisters	April 20th	10pm	abc
Gossip Girl	April 21st	8pm	cwtv
Greys's Anatomy	April 24th	9pm	abc
Ugly Betty	April 24th	8pm	abc

Harith, please kasi chance mama pulak tengok TV yea... ;)
tq...

Dr Henry C. Lee

Siapa la Dr Henry C. Lee ni? Dah la nama dia ni terpampang kat Henry C. Lee College of Criminal Justice and Forensic Sciences, University of New Haven. The NS Program that I am currently in pun bawah this college.

Dr. Henry C. Lee is one of the world’s foremost forensic scientists. Dr. Lee’s work has made him a landmark in modern-day forensic sciences. He has been a prominent player in many of the most challenging cases of the last 40 years. Dr. Lee has worked with law enforcement agencies in helping to solve more than 6000 cases. In recent years, his travels have taken him to England, Bosnia, China, Brunei, and other locations around the world.

Dr. Lee’s testimony figured prominently in the O. J. Simpson trial, and in convictions of the “Woodchipper” murderer as well as hundreds of other murder cases. Dr. Lee has assisted local and state police in their investigations of other famous crimes,such as the murder of Jon Benet Ramsey in Boulder, Colorado, the 1993 suicide of White House Counsel Vincent Foster, and the reinvestigation of the Kennedy assassination.

Dr. Lee is currently the Chief Emeritus for the Scientific Services and was the Commissioner of Public Safety for the State of Connecticut for over two years and has served as that state’s Chief Criminalist from 1979 to 2000. Dr. Lee was the driving force in establishing a modern State Police Forensic Science Laboratory in Connecticut.

In 1975, Dr. Lee joined the University of New Haven, where he created the school’s Forensic Sciences program. He has also taught as a professor at more than a dozen universities, law schools, and medical schools. Though challenged with the demands on his time, Dr. Lee still lectures throughout the country and world to police, Universities and civic organizations. Dr. Lee has authored hundreds of articles in professional journals and has co-authored more than 25 textbooks, covering the areas, such as; DNA, Fingerprints, Trace Evidence, Crime Scene Investigation and Crime scene reconstruction.

Bila the fellow Americans tanya belajar kat mana, sebut UNH, diorang tak heran sangat. Bila tanya ambik course apa, sebut NSP, baru diorang tengok balik. Most of them will ask "Have you met Dr Henry Lee himself?" Belum ada rezeki lagi la nak jumpa the well known Dr Lee ni. Nak jumpa macam mana, he's all around the country. I do hope at least before habis, sempat la jumpa dia at least sekali.

Note: More info on http://www.newhaven.edu/9/ or http://www.drhenrylee.com/

Academician vs. Practitioner

Note: The banner was taken from the Henry C. Lee College of Criminal Justice and Forensic Sciences, UNH Website.

Oftenly heard people would argue who have more credentials statements. Ada orang kata academicians since these people possess vast amount if knowledge and written numerous numbers of books, journals and white paper related to their area of expertise. They are people of an academic institute that promotes academics ideas and thoughts. In contrary with the practitioner, they are the people who work hands on or practices their knowledge and applying them into their daily jobs. Practitioner normally are the people with some skill sets and knowledge that related to their area of expertise. Susah nak cakap sebenarnya siapa lebih handal. Both academicians and practitioners have their own credentials and knowledge. Both ada kepakaran dalam cara masing-masing.

Personally, I would prefer to have both views. As a practitioner myself, I feel that there some needs to have a third party opinion whom possesses knowledge and understanding related to the subject matters, but did not practice them. The theories that derives from the academicians,may at certain extend fulfill the missing link that the practitioner may overlooked. It is easier said than done. In order to draw down a mid-point of argumentation between academicians and practitioners, series of discussions taken place. Practitioners will try to defend the best practice based on their past experience, and the academicians will try to outline the best theoretical approach. Getting the best result out of both is really beneficial for all.

Alhamdulillah kat Henry C. Lee College of Criminal Justice and Forensic Sciences, UNH ni barisan tenaga pengajar mostly are the people who have served as practitioner dalam bidang yang relevant. Especially those that involves with NS Program. Some of them used to work with the law enforcement agencies, Intelligence Community and come from other federal agencies. I consider myself beruntung bukan setakat dapat sambung belajar, tapi dapat berkongsi experience dengan diaorang ni. The intention of the NSP is to prepare the fellow American who are interested to serve the country.

Being the only international student (they prefer to use this term instead of foreign student) dalam NSP ni, I have to admit it is not an easy job to furnish myself as a student and as "Duta Kecil Malaysia". I have to spell out the rite way to answer questions from the professors and colleagues, especially when it comes to NS related matter. So far, as I said before, I do enjoy this moment as a student, and as part of the program.

Bila Musim Berubah

Without we even realizing it, it has been Spring already. We hardly can tell the differences since area New England ni sememangnya keadaan selalu je sejuk. Even though dah masuk Spring, the temperature never goes above 60 degrees Fahrenheit or kalau dalam Celcius around 15 degrees je. Tapi ni dah kira cukup panas dah untuk kami sepanjang kami tinggal kat sini. Kadang yang buat sejuk tu is the gusty wind. If you're reading this Joey, kami tak tau la kalau area kau tu still sejuk lagi ke tak. As we said, tunggu kurang sejuk baru nak naik tempat kau.

Masuk musim Spring, maksudnya masuk la new Trimester. University of New Haven ni guna Trimester system. Which means that each Trimester ada dalam 3 bulan je, and it coincide with the seasons too. Just imagine, baru je masuk kelas sebulan setengah dah masuk mid term exam. Dah la Graduate classes ni we are expected to be ready prior to classes. The classes was more on facilitating discussions based on the required readings. Sometimes it turns out into a debate dalam class. I have no reservations on that, I even enjoyed the classes. So far, Alhamdulillah I made through my first trimester; Winter 2008, here with a result yang agak menyenangkan hati.

Spring 2008 ni, I'll be taking another 9 credit hours or equivalent to 3 subjects. Nasib baik this trimester semua electives subjects. Nak kata padat sangat jadual, tak jugak. Nak kata sikit sangat 3 subject pun, tak jugak. Basically 3 subjects for a trimester is just nice for a Trimester system. Tapi boleh tahan heavy jugak la subject yang diambik ni. Harapnya boleh bawak la this trimester dengan jayanya.

Academic Period :Spring 2008 Trimester
NSP611(01) : NSP Situational Evaluation and Failure Analysis Models
NSP613(01) : NSP Issues in Research and Policy Analysis
NSP644(01) : Cross-Impact Analysis: National Security Future Issues

Bila kira balik, exactly ada setahun je lagi kami kat sini. InsyaAllah kalau semua berjalan lancar, around this time kami dah sampai balik ke Malaysia. Rasa macam suntuk je masa. Harap semuanya berjalan lancar, and sempat la kami berjalan kat US ni.

Forest Elementary School

Last Tuesday, we registered Harith for kindergarten. Sekolah sekarang ni cuma nursery, atau kat sini orang panggil peringkat pre-K. Next level pulak is the kindergarten. According to the West Haven Education board, any child yang dah cukup umur 5 tahun aje boleh masuk kindergarten at the public schools. Since Harith's birthday in the end of May, he can only enroll for Sept intake.

Sistem pendaftaran kat sekolah sini ditentukan oleh West Haven Board of Education. Kita tak boleh suka hati nak daftar anak kat mana-mana public school. Earlier this year, kami dah pegi pejabat diorang ni, and based on our residential address, Harith akan didaftarkan ke Forest Elementary School. We were asked to contact the school ourselves for any inquiry and registration processes.

After contacting Forest Elementary School, we were given the registration and medical examination forms. Jangan tak percaya, kat sini budak kecik nak masuk tadika pun kena medical check-up. Harith pun kena la physical examination check-up and diorang mintak the immunization records. Nasib baik la kami ada bawak semua record dia tu. Masa nak masuk West Haven Nursery awal tahun dulu dah buat dah medical check up, so laku la lagi medical check up dia ni.

So last Tuesday, Harith was registered in Forest Elementary School. It was done in a very professional manner. Cepat pulak tu. Walaupun tak putus parents datang register anak, tapi proses dia berjalan lancar. Siap the school nurse pun ada untuk check medical examination forms and immunization records. Tak sampai half and hour dah selesai semua.

The school will start on August 28. For the meantime, Harith akan habiskan sekolah di West Haven Green Nursery School until summer break. However, on June 4th nanti ada orientation kat Forest School. A session for familiarization to the new school. We hope that Harith will enjoy his new school (Forest Elementary School) as much he loves West Haven Green Nursery School. Semua ni persediaan untuk dia jugak. By the time kami balik nanti, dia cuma ada a few months sebelum masuk sekolah rendah kat Malaysia. Jangan balik Malaysia nanti dia culture shocked masuk sekolah rendah dah la.

Hidup tanpa batasan...

Hari minggu baru ini bermula dengan cuaca yang sangat baik. Sang mentari menampakkan sinarnya. Suhu pada hari minggu ni sekitar 50 darjah Fahrenheit. Cukup baik bagi kawasan New England ini. Walaupun sepatutnya musim bunga atau Spring telah bermula, namun keadaan di sini masih lagi sejuk. Kata orang sini, tunggu musim panas atau Summer baru kita akan melalui bahang mentari yang sebenar. Buat masa ini, bersabarlah menghadapi hari-hari yang mendatang dalam keadaan sejuk.

Pada lewat pagi hari minggu yang indah, tuan rumah kami mempelawa sekiranya kami mahu turut serta mengikut mereka membeli belah di pasar raya Walmart. Memandangkan kami sememangnya tiada peracangan yang spesifik, kami bersetuju. Sebelum ke Walmart, kami mengambil keputusan untuk melihat di mana letaknya lokasi Forest Elementary School. Sekolah yang bakal menjadi sekolah Harith pada bulan September kelak. Takpe, cerita pasal Forest Elementary, kita buka topic lain.

Dipendekkan cerita, bila dah ada kat Walmart tu, kami pun beli la barang keperluan apa yang patut. So far from our observations, barang kat Walmart ni paling murah antara banyak-banyak tempat yang kami survey. Dalam banyak-banyak barang keperluan tu, kami selit sekali beli wireless router.

Kat sini pelik sikit. So far kami tak ada jumpa wireless ADSL modem router macam yang ada kat Malaysia. Senang sikit kalau guna satu device je. Kalau ada pun dijual oleh Internet Service Provider. Macam dalam kes kami, AT&T la. Ambik AT&T pun sebab tu je service yang paling murah. Masa order service dulu memang dah mintak ADSL wireless modem router. Tapi bila dia deliver, hantar ADSL modem je. Nak tukar balik rasa macam malas pulak mengenangkan customer service yang sangat la tak friendly. Nasib baik current modem dapat balik rebet $49.99.

Sejarah nak pasang internet kat umah nie quite interesting. Kami ader 3 phone ports. Once we applied for the internet, org AT&T pun dtg la nak activate line dlm umah nie. 3-3 ports boleh pakai. Then package from AT&T arrived. Kena tunggu another week until ADSL line activated. Once dah activated, setup la sendiri. Tak berjaya... Call support, dtg la sorang technician. Tu pun lepas dah beberapa kali kena pass sana, pass sini. The technician godek sana, godek sini, dier deactivate 2 of our phone ports. Then berjayalah kami connect to the internet. 2 days later, tak boleh connect. Hmmm... apsal lak nie??? Call support lagi... dtg org lain pulak. Check sana, check sini... seems ok. At last dier pi check tiang line kat luar rumah nun. Katernyer one of the wire kat tiang tu crack. So biler angin kuat sikit, or burung dtg hinggap ke, tergoyang2 la. Tu yg mcm tak stabil jek. Esoknyer dtg la lori AT&T dgn crane tu, repair wire tu. So actually problem dr awal adalah wire kat luar tu, takde kena-mengena pun dgn phone ports dlm umah nie.

Balik pada cerita wireless router ni, kami beli Belkin F5D7230-4 Wireless-G 54Mbps Broadband Router. Harga dia tak mahal, around $38.99. Kira ambil rebet dari AT&T yang kami dapat $49.99 tolak harga router ni, kami untung dalam $10. Kira bagus la tu, kan.

Wireless router ni lain dari modem router yang kami guna kat Malaysia. Kalau kat Malaysia dulu satu device je guna sambung kat Streamyx, terus satu rumah WiFi. Ni kat sini, kena connect kat ADSL modem. Kira kena ada 2 device yang berasingan. Layan je la, kan. Kalau tak nanti tak wireless la pulak.

Balik je rumah, kami terus la setup router kami ni. Sungguh tak sangka, punya la senang nak setup. Connect dengan ADSL modem kami, terus je dapat signal. Dah settle setup, baru kami "secure"kan network kami ni. Kalau tak nanti, maunya ada orang lain menumpang sekaki. Macam la kami tak pernah buat, kan? Hehehe. Standard, nak hidup. Actually earlier dah pernah beli Linksys router ($48.99), tapi ader factory defect kot, lampu tak nyala2 pun. Hampesss jek!!! Sib baik la leh pulangkan balik tanpa byk soal.

Jadinya pada hari Ahad, Mac 30, 2008, bermula era baru dalam hidup kami kat sini. Kehidupan tanpa batasan (wayar) dalam rumah sendiri. Have to la... since both of us bawak laptop. So skrg takde la sorang online, sorang offline.

It's tax time!!!

It's income tax time!!! Every year, around this time lah orang mula sibuk pasal income tax. Those yg dah start guna E-Filing, baru nak tercari2 maner Digicert from previous tax. Those yg masih guna borang, dok tercari2 kat maner la borang yg LHDN hantar few months ago. Towards end of April, website LHDN pun boleh jadi slow.


For us, this year is our 3rd year using E-Filing. Senang banyak guna E-Filing nie, takyah nak calculate sendiri :D Tambah lak tahun nie berada di US, dgn E-Filing tak yah kisah la berada di mana2 pun, asal ader internet. Kami dah siap dah pun isi cukai taksiran 2007. Tapi belum submit, masih cuba percayakan diri sendiri jumlah cukai yg perlu dibayar tu. Adusss!!!


Next year boleh lega sket la kot coz sorang jek yg bergaji. Sorang lagi tak bergaji for 1 year. Boleh letak semua tanggungan kat satu form jek. So aper lagi korang??? dah mula kira cukai ke?

Laman web rasmi Lembaga Hasil Dalam Negeri (LHDN) - http://www.hasil.org.my