Facebook and privacy setting on photos

Just when you thought you have set the privacy right, but it didn't.  

While going through a friend's photo tagged by his friend, I clicked to someone's profile that we do not have a mutual friend.


The mark with no album link to her photo. Meaning you cannot stalk her photo right?

Malakoff Interstate Fellowship Ride

I registered for last year event but didn't make it due to matrimonial harmony.  This year, I registered and start preparing for the ride.

What's the deal?

Day 1, 31 December 2010, will take cyclists around Penang Island passing through roads that allow you to look at Penang from a very different angle. There has been many round island rides but none can compare to this! This 67km route will leave you beaming with pride and bragging rights after completing it.

Day 2, 1 January 2011, will take you through 171km of rustic kampung charm. The road is flat with minor climbs and best of all it is shaded almost 80% of the route. With 3 feeding stops thrown in, it is definitely a doable ride for cyclists of all levels.

from http://www.kotrt.com.my/fellowship_main.html

So.. what's the plan?
Within this 5 weeks or so: -
1. Some flat and long distance return trip like Kuala Selangor.
2. Some hilly and not so long distance return trip like Bentong.
3. Daily dose of roller (I'm still trying to exceed 30 minutes mark).

Now go get some rest, it's Eid tomorrow!

I cycled to Teluk Intan

Last Friday we balik kampung. The next day, my father asked me to ride with him to Teluk Intan.  It is about 20km from our kampung. The last time I tried, I only managed half the way there and we turned back.  This time around I want to give it a try.

We started at about 9:00am.  We passed through numerous paddy fields and palm oil plantations.  It was enjoyable ride until I started to feel hungry.  My father told me that it was only few more kilometers.

Me going strong

A long way to go

I started smiling when my father told me that we are about to reach Teluk Intan. I started to feel even hungrier but managed to put up a smile on the following photo.

See how big is my smile

Soon we reached the town and stopped for a shot in front of my mother's school.

Sekolah Menengah Convent Teluk Intan

Then we headed to leaning tower before proceeded for a food.

The leaning tower. I'm going to use this for my Facebook profile's photo

I had a mee rebus at Mastan Ghani

The bridge that we crossed. This was used to be a railway bridge.

The rest of the photos is here

I retraced Sports Tracker tracklog on Google Maps for safety reason.


View Langkap to Teluk Intan in a larger map


Statistics
Start: 9:00am
Duration: 2h 11m (moving time only)
Distance: 37.54km
Speed Average: 17.1 km/h
Max Speed: 28 km/h


P.S. : This wasn't my own article. My father wrote it himself. Well, he did asked me to write an article for this ride.

Rich Dad, Poor Dad. An analysis by John T. Reed

This is not so new thing.  I haven't read Rich Dad, Poor Dad either.  I stumbled into this from Malaysia-Finance Blogspot.

Summary

Rich Dad, Poor Dad is one of the dumbest financial advice books I have ever read. It contains many factual errors and numerous extremely unlikely accounts of events that supposedly occurred.

Kiyosaki is a salesman and a motivational speaker. He has no financial expertise and won’t disclose his supposed real estate or other investment success.

Rich Dad, Poor Dad contains much wrong advice, much bad advice, some dangerous advice, and virtually no good advice.

The whole analysis.

Forget Endomondo, go for Sports Tracker

I wrote on Endomondo, training software on Nokia Series 60 (Symbian OS) that uses GPS receiver on the phone and plot our workout.  After giving it a try on the newer version of Sports Tracker (the older one is by Nokia, the new one isn't), I give a thumb up on the following: -

1. It tracks reasonably.  I preset it to only records on move above 5km/h as this will cut out those waiting time (on phone)
2. It plot to Google Maps (on PC)
3. It will keep your workout diary for comparison (on phone & PC)
4. It accepts Polar Heart Rate Transmitter connection via bluetooth.  This is what I'm referring to. (Endomondo don't have this. And obviously on phone, who would ride a bike with a PC attached?)
5. It let you upload photos taken during the ride and attach to those training log. Even geotagged it on the map! (Endomondo don't have this)
6. It can upload in real time or opt for offline mode.  I normally upload it much later after the ride.

Check out the screenshot below to get the clearer picture on the features.

 

Burung Hantu Jamboree 2010, Air Keroh, Melaka.

Tetamu Senja ~ A. Samad Said

Kita datang ini hanya sebagai tetamu senja
Bila cukup detik kembalilah
Kita kepadanya
Kita datang ini kosong tangan dada
Bila pulang nanti bawa dosa bawa pahala

Pada tetamu yang datang dan
Kenal jalan pulang
Bawalah bakti mesra kepada
Tuhan kepada Insan
Pada tetamu yang datang
Dan lupa jalan pulang
Usahlah derhaka pula
Pada Tuhan kepada insan

Bila kita lihat manusia lupa tempat
Atau segera sesat puja darjat
Puja pangkat
Segera kita insaf kita ini punya kiblat
Segera kita ingat kita ini punya tekad

Bila kita lihat manusia terbiar larat
Hingga mesti merempat ke laut biru
Ke kuning darat
Harus kita lekas sedar penuh pada tugas
Harus kita tegas sembah
Seluruh rasa belas

Kita datang ini satu roh satu jasad
Bila pulang nanti bawa bakti padat berkat
Kita datang ini satu roh satu jasad
Bila pulang nanti bawa bakti padat berkat
~ A. Samad Said

Something nice to share

When time is short, use roller

Time is short, at least for me.  I want to stick to training on weekdays in order to improve fitness but time always not on my side.  To cycle outdoor, I need to dress up in jersey, water bottle filled, bring along wallet, mobile phone, pump & spare tube and not to forget, put on helmet.  Night riding requires blinkers and bright color attire as preventive measure for other people to see you soon enough to avoid or slam on the brake.

I been doing some indoor cycling on a trainer but fail to set my mind to it.  If I may blame on something, lack of realistic is a major turn off.  A week ago, I borrowed Shaq's roller and since then I dedicate 30 minutes on it, daily basis.  It was hard at first to push it beyond 15 minutes but after few days, the body kinna adjusted to it and it does feel great.  On 2 occasions riding with some usual suspect on the road, I feel some satisfaction on my own achievement though it wasn't that significant that I can outdo Shaq.

Here some advantages of roller as tools for indoor cycling: -

1. Quick setup

2. No need helmet since I believe it's pretty safe to land my head on the carpet

3. Rain or shine, bring it on!

4. 30 minutes is good.  Above 40 minutes is excellent!  Compare that to an outdoor cycling in term of duration and returns

5. Can still look after the kids

The disadvantages:-

1. Sweat.  A lot of it! 

2. Must wipe all those sweat on the bike, roller & floor after each ride

3. Distraction when kids start asking too many question

Harian Metro - Jaja Kismis

Baru-baru ni aku terbaca di Harian Metro tentang pelajar sekolah agama yang menjaja kismis di Kuala Lumpur.

Nah.. Ini baru aku katakan berita dalam ertikata sebenarnya.  Peranan suratkhabar melaporkan berita, bukannya membuat ulasan terhadap berita dan diletak di muka depan dan dipanggil berita.  Di dalam berita ini, ia mengutarakan isu dan mendapatkan pandangan dari pihak pelajar dan Jabatan Kebajikan Masyarakat.  Alangkah indahnya!  Di sini, kita sebagai pembaca menilaikan sendiri isu tersebut.  Dan pada pendapat aku, rakyat Malaysia mampu berfikir dan membuat pendirian untuk berita sebegini.  Tak kisah la kita nak bersetuju dengan pelajar ataupun dengan Jabatan Kebajikan Masyarakat.

Aku terpanggil untuk mengulas tentang kisah Jaja Kismis.  Mari kita lihat respons pihak yang terlibat: -

Pelajar...

Saya perlu bekerja dan berdikari mencari wang alternatif bagi membayar yuran sekolah RM150 sebulan selain membeli keperluan harian lain kerana ayah perlu menyara ibu dan enam adik-beradik lain.

Saya menjual kismis pada hujung minggu dengan memperoleh bekalan dari sekolah dan akan memberi separuh hasil jualan kepada sekolah bagi membaik pulih kelengkapan serta separuh lagi disimpan untuk belanja harian,

Pengarah Kebajikan Masyarakat Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur..

Jabatan Kebajikan Masyarakat (JKM) memandang serius kegiatan berkenaan kerana ada pihak yang cuba menggunakan kanak-kanak bawah umur untuk kepentingan diri.

Mereka yang bersalah akan dikenakan tindakan kerana mempergunakan kanak-kanak untuk mencari wang yang menyalahi Akta Kanak-kanak 2001.

Kami akan membuat pemantauan bagi menangani masalah itu dengan memberi nasihat kepada ibu bapa atau penjaga, sekiranya mereka masih menggunakan kanak-kanak untuk tujuan itu kami akan mengambil tindakan sewajarnya.

Tentang Artis dan Ahli Perniagaan yang *berjaya
Pernah dengar cerita orang-orang yang *berjaya sekarang ini dulunya pun berniaga, tolong keluarga tampung belanja sekolah?
 
Siti Nurhaliza? Syed Mokhtar? Apa bezanya disini?  Disebabkan mereka ini orang-orang yang *berjaya maka menjaja itu dilihat sebagai perbuatan yang mulia?  Kalau belajar agama itu tiada masa depan?  Tidak boleh dianggap sebagai orang yang *berjaya?

Jabatan Kebajikan nak ambil tindakan jugak tak? 

*berjaya - mengikut kamus saya bukanlah diukur dari harta kekayaan maupun wang ringgit.  Anak yang berjaya adalah anak yang soleh yang akan mendoakan ibu dan bapanya yang telah pergi.


Ujian Allah dan Ikhtiar Hidup
Tiada siapa dalam pengetahuan aku meminta doa dari Allah untuk ditimpa kesusahan dan kesempitan hidup.  Kesenangan dan keperitan dalam hidup itu adalah ujian dari Allah untuk melihat sejauh mana ketaqwaan kita.

Menjaja adalah ikhtiar. Bukankah itu lebih afdal dari mengharapkan bantuan dari badan kebajikan yang "nak bagi nasihat kat ibubapa, kalau tak nanti aku hukum"


Kisah Mak Su Si Ibu Tunggal
Aku bersetuju bahawa perbuatan ini akan mendedahkan kanak-kanak ini pada jenayah culik dan sebagainya. Tapi.. kalau dah terdesak?

Teringat aku pada ungkapan Mak Su satu ketika dahulu sewaktu adik beradik mempersoalkan kenapa dia boleh tinggalkan anak dia di rumah seorang diri untuk pergi bekerja.

Jawapan Mak Su amat ringkas, "Allah kan ada".

Segala kejadian itu ketentuan dari Allah.  Adakah kita redha?


Untuk Pemimpin Badan Kebajikan Dan Sewaktu Dengannya

Ingatlah ini..

Sesungguhnya Allah menyuruh kamu sekalian untuk menyampaikan amanah kepada yang berhak menerimanya, dan (menyuruh kamu) apabila menetapkan hukum diantara manusia supaya kamu menetapkannya dengan adil. Sesungguhnya Allah memberi pengajaran yang sebaik-baiknya kepadamu dan sesungguhnya Allah adalah Maha Mendengar lagi Maha Melihat ". (An-Nisa ': 58)

dan hayatilah kisah Saidina Omar R.A ini: -

Tangisan anak-anak itu semakin nyaring. Penat menjerit, mereka hanya mampu menangis tersedu-sedu. Di sisi mereka seorang ibu yang kelihatannya sedang sibuk memasak sesuatu.

“Sabarlah anak-anakku. Ibu sedang memasak makanan. Tetapi makanan ini perlu dimasak agak lama. Sabarlah dahulu. Anak-anak ibu boleh tidur dahulu. Kelak kalau makanan ini sudah siap, ibu akan kejutkan kalian,” pujuk wanita itu sambil membelai kepala anak-anaknya yang ramai itu. Sedaya upaya ditahan agar air matanya tidak mengalir sedangkan dia merasa belas yang amat sangat.

“Maafkan ibu anak-anakku,” rintih wanita itu di dalam hati.

Kebetulan Saidina Umar yang lalu dan sedang meninjau keadaan rakyatnya lalu di rumah wanita itu. Didengarnya tangisan anak-anak kecil yang dari tadi tidak berhenti-henti. “Pasti mereka sedang menghadapi masalah,” detik Saidina Umar. Sememangnya menjadi rutin khalifah itu untuk turun sendiri melihat masalah yang dihadapi oleh rakyatnya. Kadangkala kelibat Saidina Umar tidak disedari sesiapa kerana dia seorang yang sederhana dan kelihatan seperti rakyat biasa yang lain. 

Saidina Umar memberi salam di hadapan pintu rumah itu dan dijawab wanita tadi. Terkejut melihat kehadiran Saidina Umar, wanita itu mempersilakan Saidina Umar masuk. 

“Ada apa kamu datang ke teratak burukku ini wahai Amirul Mukminin,” tanya wanita itu. Kelihatan anak-anaknya yang menangis tadi sudah tertidur kepenatan. Tubuh mereka kurus-kurus dan perut mereka pula kelihatan kempis. 

“Aku ingin sekali tahu kalau-kalau keluargamu sedang menghadapi masalah. Aku mendengar anak-anakmu menangis dari tadi. Apakah mereka ini sakit?” tanya Saidina Umar dengan prihatin. 

“Aku malu hendak bercerita pada tuan, tetapi inilah yang terpaksa kulakukan. Aku ini seorang ibu tunggal. Sudah beberapa hari rumah ini kehabisan bekalan makanan. Anak-anakku sudah tidak tahan menanggung kelaparan. Jadi, aku terpaksa menipu mereka dengan meletakkan batu dan air di dalam periuk. Jadi, anak-anakku akan menyangka aku sedang memasak makanan untuk mereka. Inilah yang aku lakukan sehinggalah mereka akan berhenti menangis dan tertidur menanti. Barangkali dengan tidur, mereka akan terlupa sebentar akan perut yang sedang lapar,” ceritanya sedih. 

Hampir-hampir menitis air mata Saidina Umar mendengar cerita itu. Lantas dijenguknya periuk di rumah itu yang sedang berasap. Memang benar, ada beberapa ketul batu sedang direbus. Mana mungkin batu-batu itu mampu bertukar menjadi makanan?

Saat itu juga Saidina Umar merasa bersalah yang amat sangat. Bagaimana dia sebagai pemimpin tegar membiarkan rakyatnya kelaparan begitu? Dihambat rasa sebak dan bersalah, dengan segera Saidina Umar menuju ke Baitulmal. Diambilnya seguni gandum dan dipikulnya guni gandum itu sendirian. Ketika pegawainya menawarkan bantuan untuk memikul sama guni gandum yang berat itu, Saidina Umar menolak dengan keras. 

“Biarkan aku memikul guni gandum ini sendirian. Di dunia ini mungkin kau boleh membantu aku, tapi bagaimana di akhirat kelak? Bagaimana aku hendak menjawab ketika aku ditanya tentang tanggungjawabku terhadap rakyat?". 

"Lihatlah, wanita itu terpaksa menipu anak-anaknya yang kelaparan dengan merebus batu. Jika aku tidak tahu, apakah anak-anak itu akan terus kelaparan sampai bila-bila? Aku pemimpin yang lalai dan cuai. Hanya dengan bantuan ini, aku mampu menebus kesalahanku,” ujar Umar sambil tergesa-gesa menuju ke rumah wanita tadi. 

Bagi Saidina Umar, tiada sebarang alasan lagi untuk dia mengelakkan diri. Dengan hati yang hiba, dia sendiri memasak dan menyediakan makanan untuk keluarga wanita itu. Dihidangkannya makanan lantas dikejut anak-anak yang sedang menahan lapar itu. 

Dengan tangannya sendiri, Saidina Umar menyuapkan makanan ke mulut anak-anak kecil itu. Nampak jelas anak-anak itu sedang lapar kerana mereka makan dengan laju dan cukup berselera. Saidina Umar terus melayan mereka sehinggalah dia yakin anak-anak itu sudah kekenyangan. 

Selepas itu, Saidina Umar memberikan mereka sedikit bekalan wang untuk menampung perbelanjaan mereka seharian. Begitulah sikap Saidina Umar yang begitu bertanggungjawab terhadap rakyat. Malah, selepas peristiwa itu, Saidina Umar lebih berhati-hati dan meningkatkan lagi usahanya untuk membantu rakyat. Hatinya cukup bimbang, kalau-kalau masih ada rakyatnya yang kelaparan dan tidak diketahuinya.

Nokia C5, money well spent

I wrote on this new phone that I bought few days before Raya and no, I was not paid to write a review on this Nokia C5.  This is about how to make full use of the features of this phone or any other particular phone with GPS, 3G and geotagging apparently combined with Google Maps, Endomondo and Picasa Web.

1. Fires up Endomondo on Nokia C5 and start my MTB journey.  Note: The data is loaded to http://www.endomondo.com live thus this cost some data charges to your mobile phone bill.

2. Starts Camera on Nokia C5 and shoot some photos.

3. Stop Endomondo once the MTB journey ends.

4. Login to Endomondo and export the tracklog to GPX.  Endomondo tracks & records your training and I suppose I should be able to monitor and improve my cycling performance ;)

Screenshot of my profile on Endomondo.  Click on photo for larger version.

5. Login to Google Maps and import GPX tracklog to your maps.

View RRI_SKSB in a larger map

6. Upload photos using Picasa (Desktop version) to your Picasa Web album.  Geotagging info are tagged to your uploaded photos.  In Picasa Web album of those photos (click on photo below), you can see individual photo and the location of the photo taken.  However tracklog on Google Maps of the above is not integrate to these photos in Picasa Web.  Some manual copy & paste of coordinate of photos in Picasa Web will enable you to have those photos to be displayed on Google Maps (Click on the blue Placemark on the above Google Maps for better illustration).

RRI-SKSB Recce Ride

PS: I was on motorcycle in this outing thus I can catch up with these avid mountainbiker.

Beware of Geotagging

Geotagging is the process of adding geographical identification metadata to various media such as photographs, video, websites, or RSS feeds and is a form of geospatial metadata. These data usually consist of latitude and longitude coordinates, though they can also include altitude, bearing, distance, accuracy data, and place names. It is commonly used for photographs, giving geotagged photographs.

Source: Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geotagging

In digital photography, basically it sticks GPS coordinates to your photo.  Long time ago (during 35mm era) if you do not want to forget the date of the photo taken, you can opt to enable it on the camera to 'print' it onto the photo itself.  Every time you print on those photo paper, the date appears at the bottom (can't recall whether on the left of the right corner).  I hate this features as it spoilt the photo.

In the digital era, the date is captured in EXIF data among other information with regards to the photo.  In order to enjoy Geotagging, you need a DSLR camera with GPS receiver.  In some mobile phone with GPS receiver, you have option to enable it.

This photo was taken during last day of Ramadhan

EXIF data extracted from this photo using EXIF Viewer add-ons for Firefox: -

EXIF IFD0
* Camera Make = Nokia
* Camera Model = C5-00
* Picture Orientation = normal (1)
* X-Resolution = 300/1 ===> 300
* Y-Resolution = 300/1 ===> 300
* X/Y-Resolution Unit = inch (2)
* Y/Cb/Cr Positioning (Subsampling) = centered / center of pixel array (1)

EXIF Sub IFD
* Exposure Time (1 / Shutter Speed) = 3329/1000000 second ===> 1/300.39051 second ===> 0.00333 second
* Lens F-Number / F-Stop = 240/100 ===> ƒ/2.4
* ISO Speed Ratings = 100
* EXIF Version = 0220
* Original Date/Time = 2010:09:09 18:31:44
* Digitization Date/Time = 2010:09:09 18:31:44
* Components Configuration = 0x01,0x02,0x03,0x00 / YCbCr
* Shutter Speed Value (APEX) = 8230/1000
Shutter Speed (Exposure Time) = 1/300.25 second
* Aperture Value (APEX) = 104/100
Aperture = ƒ/1.43
* Light Source / White Balance = unknown (0)
* Flash = Flash did not fire, auto mode
* Focal Length = 330/100 mm ===> 3.3 mm
* Maker Note =
* Last Modified Subsecond Time = 057
* Original Subsecond Time = 057
* Digitized Subsecond Time = 057
* FlashPix Version = 0100
* Colour Space = sRGB (1)
* Image Width = 2048 pixels
* Image Height = 1536 pixels
* Custom Rendered = normal process (0)
* Exposure Mode = auto exposure (0)
* White Balance = auto (0)
* Digital Zoom Ratio = 100/100 ===> 1
* Scene Capture Type = standard (0)
* Gain Control = n/a (0)

EXIF IFD1
* Compression = JPEG compression (6)
* X-Resolution = 72/1 ===> 72
* Y-Resolution = 72/1 ===> 72
* X/Y-Resolution Unit = inch (2)
* Embedded thumbnail image:



EXIF GPS IFD
* GPS Version ID = 0x02,0x02,0x00,0x00
* GPS Latitude Reference = N
* GPS Latitude = 4/1,6/1,595582470/10000000 [degrees, minutes, seconds] ===> 4° 6′ 59.55825″ == 4.116544°
* GPS Longitude Reference = E
* GPS Longitude = 101/1,8/1,10905214/10000000 [degrees, minutes, seconds] ===> 101° 8′ 1.09052″ == 101.133636°
* GPS Altitude Reference = sea level reference (negative value)
* GPS Altitude = 900/100 m ===> 9 m


From the GPS coordinates (N4.116544 E101.133636), it tells the location of the camera that took the photo above.





View Larger Map



Everything seems okay and we praise EXIF data on our outdoor photography.  Then we start taking photos of our family, relatives and friends that we visited during this festive season.  These photos later made available in social networking, blog, and online web album meant to be shared among friends and families or even to the public.  Oppsss!!  We just let strangers know where we live, where is our kampung, and where our relative live too?



Try it yourself on the following blog

1. Go to http://girodilento.com/?page=8 and read entry on "Back on the bike - Ferrari special"

2. Right click on that Ferrari F40 photo and select "View Image EXIF Data"

3. You can find the coordinate towards the end of the data.

4. Open it using Google Maps.



Thus, we ought to be careful of information that we share in the Internet.  Or shall I quote what Kapla Hodot told some time ago.. 



Internet Privacy is oxymoron!

Handling Big Bad Boss

http://bigbadboss.com/BAD_BOSS_TIPS__ACTION.html

Nice reading on how to defense yourself or tackling bad boss.

Table of Content
1. Choose Your Fight-Back Strategy Based on Patterns of Behavior, Not Incidents
2. How to Write a Letter of Complaint to Your Boss
3. Get It in Writing
4. Build a Counter-Case
5. Do Not Sign!
6. Bosses Disagree? Not Your Problem!
7.Get Even by Doing Your Job!
8. Don't Get Sidetracked
9. Five Ways to Get Even with a Bad Boss
10. When Your Boss Steals Your Work
11. Write a Letter of Complaint about Your Boss?
12. Do Not Record Your Boss' Conversations

Addendum
P.S.: No. I do not have any problem with my boss whatsoever. I also shall not be liable by any consequences of your action upon reading the link I posted here.

Eid 2010

The grown up..

The game..

Those happy faces..

New mobile phone

Sonyericsson K800i failed to start-up after almost 3 years of mountain biking outing.  It produced nice photo I can expect from a mobile phone. It's xenon flash helps as my third eyes for those tight & dark spot in engine's bay when I tried to figure out what's wrong with it.  It has 3G, which become handy for faster mobile browsing while caught in the traffic jam or taking public transport.  It also has bluetooth with A2DP support, which free me from wired handsfree and let me enjoy stereo MP3.

Other features that I amazed is "Remote Control", it enables me to handle MS Powerpoint presentation slides, listen & skipping thru MP3 on Media Player, and wireless mouse (controlling your desktop with the phone's joystick, cool huh?!)

The drawback
I wish it have WiFi and GPS receiver.

The new phone, Nokia C5
When I bought that SE K800i, I hadn't taken up mountain biking thus a little lavish on big boys toys didn't hurt that much.  With current cycling 'commitment', RM1500 is a price for good performance fork while RM1000 can get me Fulcrum Red Metal 5.  As such, I keep telling myself, get a cheap one, get those with features that you really need.

Photo from Nokia website

Firstly, I set my mind on the features: -

• WiFi - faster internet access.
• 3G - mobile internet access.
• GPS - for impromptu needs of navigation.
• USB connectivity - for 3G connectivity and it must also able charge the phone at same time.
• Instant flash drive - The phone must be able to function like flash card without the need of installing any driver.
• Candy form factor - sure grip feeling.
• Keypad (not touch screen) - obvious touch screen cost even higher.  I want the keypad type because it is so much easier to SMSing without the need to have a look on the phone while typing.
• Symbian Series 60 - abundant software available in this platform e.g. 
• Endomondo (previously known as Nokia Sport Tracker, it use GPS to track your workouts (speed, altitude, & route).
• Garmin Mobile XT - Navigation software by Garmin
• Fring - IP phone, Instant Messaging and Tweetering

I been eyeing on Nokia E52 which suit perfect on the features that I want but hands down on price tag (nearly RM900).  The dealer at Wisma Central proposed Nokia C5; it has all the features that I want minus WiFi.  Other than my home AP, those free access APs in public places are next to 10 years back modem in term of speed.  Thus WiFi is something that I can life without especially with mobile broadband subscription.  It's was RM500 deal for AP set (not those original Nokia set by Avaxx or Zitron).

So far, I like the phone.  It performs just as expected.  Other things that I like: -

• geotagging on still photo and video.
• A2DP bluetooth supports.
• Radio
• 3.5mm audio jack (works with standard headphone and earphone)
• Fully integrated Gmail (native)

Only one my dislike for this phone, short battery life.  For the first few days, full charged only last about 18 hours.  This may be due to me endlessly fiddling with the phone.

Last kopek Ramadhan ride

Azhar on the foreground.

Cousins inflicted by MTB decided to join me cycling back at our hometown. We reached hometown on the last day of Ramadhan and unanimously wanted to cycle around our hometown. According to my guesstimate, the route is around 20km and it should roughly take an hour to complete it. So we hit the road at 6:15pm and should be home just in time.


A short break for Azhar to adjust his saddle height.

Just as we expected, we have 5 minutes break right before Iftar. It was a nice short ride before a longer ride on the second day of Raya.


Azhar is trying hard to catch up with Azlan the foreground. Yours truly is killing time by taking photos of them ;-)

Alahai..

Sesampai rumah, Izzah mengadu Haziq tak bagi pinjam buku kaler Haziq.  Mengharap belas-kasihan Ayah, Izzah gagal.  Izzah pun merajuk lalu lari masuk bilik.  Seketika kemudian, Irfan masuk bilik lalu terdengar jeritan kecil Izzah, "keluarlah!".  Lalu disambut jawapan dari Irfan, "ehh.. ini bilik abang la".  Alahai....

Moral of the story:  Kalau nak merajuk, lari la masuk bilik sendiri.

Izzah, watak utama semasa berbuka puasa walaupun janji untuk berpuasa pada hari cuti jarang dipenuhi.  Gambar ini diambil selepas berbuka puasa beberapa hari yang lepas.

Kayuh sampai sahur

Kayuhan mencari nasik kandar Yasin. Break dulu bro!


Sepinggan nasik kandar berlauk ayam kicap untuk Syuk Alamort

Bikes have a new spot

For almost 3 years we been living with bikes.  Up to a point, 2 on the staircase, 2 hooked up on the wall and 2 at the corner of the hall.  What started with "honey, let paint our living room and our bedroom" - wife, ended with a proper spot, ready to occupy 5 bikes (sold Spesh frame a month ago).

Renovated balcony turned into 4 feet extended hall.  We keep the existing sliding door to become a barrier to the storage area.  Now I can keep all *my belonging here rather than scattered around the house.

Storage area is on bottom right & top left

*my belonging - Parts/items/tools/chemical that only me know how to operate/use or see value in it.  If I were to live with Mak, she would had thrown this away long long time ago.

Saddle repair

I got this saddle with bent rail from Azmi.


And I got this saddle with worn off skin from Shaque.


Skinned Shaque's saddle then wrap with skin from Azmi's and this is the result!

What happened in between..


1. Clean the padding surface
2. Apply glue on the middle first (an inch stripe from front to rear) as this would be your baseline to properly align the skin to the padding.
3. Apply continuous pressure with your thumb and leave it cure for about 5 minutes.


1. Apply glue one side at a time and stretch the skin towards the edge of the saddle’s base.
2. Apply continuous pressure with your thumb and leave it cure for about 5 minutes.


1. Use staple gun with 6mm staple
2. Keep stretching the skin before firing the staple gun.  Ensure perfect shot as multiple error may tear the saddle skin or even our own flesh.


1. pleat where the saddle’s base curve edge and staple more on those sharp curve.


1. for those impossible to reach by staple gun use glue and apply greater pressure with paper clip as seen in the photo.


1. Take note that pleat not require on straight edge.

Life beyond cycling

I changed my blog title to the above cause my life is more than just about cycling (though wife would beg to differ).  There are other things that I like to do apart of cycling and bicycle.

I love DIY.  I love electrical & electronic devices that I had two electric shock before I reached 12 years old (one of it really threw me back few feet but luckily nothing severe).  I made a lamp shade from a coconut shell before I was 15, with attention to detail.  Just put it this way, it did looked like the one that deserve a spot on the shelf of tourist attraction outlet.

My favorite answer to my mother call to check on me when there was a total silent for few minutes were.. "Tak ada apa2 Mak" while I were busy covering my traces of a surely kena rotan if Mak finds out.

I discovered that we can make huge flame by putting a light up lighter in front of aerosol mosquito spray and sang..
Rumah terbakar panggil bomba,
Bomba datang berlumba-lumba
And lucky enough, I put off the fire without the assistance of Bomba.  The reward.. few strokes of rotan on my butt.

As a toddler, I broke new toys even before we reached home.

My Abah always lost his spanners... and I was the one who used and misplaced it or even broke it.

Some other life experience was beyond Mak and Abah knowledge like.. I took wrong bus to Mak Long house at Pantai Baru and end-up in Pantai Dalam.  I walked few KMs out and asked for direction to her place from bystanders.  Ohh wait... I specifically told my little brother not to tell Mak and Abah but he broke the news the very moment we reached Mak Long's.

Nowadays, I have my own spanners and toolset enough to fix/service bicycle and some house repair.  Have GPS receiver to navigate (or Google Maps if I forgot to bring GPSr).

Shall you have extra money

A supplementing write-up to Akmal's post on Weight and Reaction

Generally, upgrading means buying lighter parts.  In many cases, more efficient mechanism. 

Wheelset
Those lighter one also has lower rolling resistance on bearing of the hub.  Thus when we upgrade wheelset, we get lighter wheelset and also lower resistance hub than before.  As a result, we pedaling up lighter bike and better power transfer right down to the tire.

Lighter & Better
Apart from wheelset, the following will also contributes to better you in cycling shall you unable to increase your power output (e.g by training more).
1. Change Crankset
2. Change Pedal
3. Change Tire
4. Change Chain
5. Adjust brake pad clearance to avoid rubbing.
6. Clean sludge on drivetrain (chain, cassette, and chainring) due to excessive lube.

I would suggest that you do 5 & 6 first since didn't cost money (maybe a little insignificant cost of brush & detergent).  This maybe another good way to spend your non-riding weekend, after all.. it's Ramadhan.

New-look Oldie

Shogun was green and pretty much in original form here.  I was like lalang, within 2 years from the day I bought this frame, it had been single speed with MTB wheelset, single speed with 27" wheelset, and 9 speed touring.

At one point of time, I even was contemplating to sell this frame for merely RM100.  Thanks for an insulting offer of RM50 from a bidder made me change my mind and keep it for a little bit longer.  After I sold my Specialized, surplus parts from it goes to Shogun.  Not long after that, hard-to-refuse offer from a dear friend to paint my frame with color of my choice.  Next thing I know, I handed him the frame and a week after that it came up in orange.

I collected the frame yesterday afternoon, and apparently.. headset was faced, BB was tapped and faced by Kelolo, all parts get fitted by themselves, really, for real!  However, I wonder why I feel so sleepy now... ZZzzzzzz

The Kampung Ride

For the record, I haven't ride in my own kampung before, not even once.  Considering my parents live in Kuala Lumpur, I know less about my own kampung that sometimes I rather not claimed I'm genuinely from here.

On the day I sold my Spesh, I met Shaaban.  He happened to be my own orang kampung.  He told me that there was a ride will take place on the next day.  My initial plan to leisure ride by the beach side changed accordingly and with wife's approval.

The RV was somewhere 10km away from my kampung.  According to Shaaban, we will ride there from our Kampung via coastal road.  Some 15 minutes we reached the RV and I get acquaintance to some local cyclists.  A few came from nearby township Masjid Tanah and to my surprise, they already formed a cycling group and actively ride nearby trail.

After we had fully sponsored breakfast, we starts rolling at about 8:30am.  Few KMs of tarmac before we hit the offroad.  It was an open area where trail wasn't really obvious and number of times, I lost them.

Beware of cow's dungs!   From The Kampung Ride

"Badminton is not as tiring as this".  Behind is Powertek's powerline.  From The Kampung Ride

Shaaban precaution me on my expectation of the trail over here.  I am very much prepared to expect less of single tracks and more of open space.  This is quite common for places in the coastal area.  After a few tarmacs and road crossing, we came into a section of gas pipeline.  Series of climbs up to the peak.

The climb to the peak..  From The Kampung Ride

Shaaban on top of the climb.  Far behind him (that little dot on his left finger), 4WD supports with candy and bottled water awaiting us down there.  Less technical but exhilarating fast downhill.  From The Kampung Ride

After that, the ride was rather as flat as pancake or roti canai that we had that morning.  Distance wise 40km, and I reached the RV by 11am.  I badly perform due to lack of training that even a school boy was way ahead of me.  My plus points were on those technical climb and bombing the downhill.  Riding with kampung folks have a lot of advantages in term of.. foods!  We are served with chicken curry, fried fish, salted fish, watermelon, sambal belacan, and sayur nangka.  Mind you, there was no riding fee chargeable to us. 

Thank you folks!

Goodbye Spesh

After many months of contemplating either to sell or keep it, the frame has a new owner. I bought the frame from Big Mac in 2008. From a full fledge MTB, to commuter, then single speed, and finally 7-speed rigid MTB.

After ride meal

Roti Special @Selangor Mansion.

A nite with GLC

Chain snap. Kelolo conducting road side repair.

Little daughter

She poses and force me to take her photo.

Universal Tag-A-Long Trailer Bike

I dropped by Juara Bikes in Subang Perdana for a tube few weeks ago and ended up with Universal Tag-A-Long trailer bike.  It was rather impromptu decision to buy it but I hold no regret.  At RM100 for a used item like that, it was a real bargain.  Comparatively, check out this online offer from Universal Cycles.

Fixing it to the seatpost is simple however it needs to tighten firmly or the clamp may scratch the seatpost shall it twist under pressure.

Verdict
Fully satisfied due to: -
1. Can have another kids joining me cycling on road (trail? I've a doubt on stress limit on the seatpost due to lateral load). 
2. It can takes those who are still on training wheel a spin for a lesson on balancing.
3. Seeing the happy face of Haziq.
4. Lastly, with this extra load, it is a good training ground.

Leave your own brain at home

I have no Full-Suspension (FullSuss) bike.  First, I can't afford it.  Second, I can't afford it.  Third, any other excuses will look lame on me.  Ok, seriously.. I know nuts about FullSuss, not so keen to learn about it, and again.. can't afford it, thus I can afford to be ignorant.  Having said this, I welcome knowledge sharing by my fellow FullSusser.  Someday if I can afford it, which means I'm so much willing to be parted with my RM10,000, maybe I would buy it.

Back to the topic, for those hardcore FullSusser, now you can afford to leave your brain at home and let the bike do all the thinking.

source: http://trailcrew.specialized.com/matthew-h/2010/03/2010-stumpjumper-brain-fsr-and-travel-adjust-technology-video/

Parts Spending. Do it wisely (Rear derailer)

I: Why do you change from 7 speeds to Deore 9 speeds groupset.
The person I met in LBS: Because it is 7 speeds!?

 
Impulsive spending
Occasionally I walked into LBS and walked out with something I didn't have intention to buy at the first place. It could be something that I never realize I need it until I saw it. It is like window shopping in ACE Hardware.  However my impulsive spending is limited to cable end, cable housing end, chain lube, shifter cable, brake cable and other consumables.


Parts upgrades
When the part deteriorated in performance or functionality, I'll go for better part replacement. Say that my RD need replacement, well at this moment I have 1 weak reason for it which is the jockey wheel becomes pointy. Since current RD is Shimano XT, better part would be XTR but exorbitant price may not allow my hands on it. So very likely I'll go for XT of the newer model.

For a start, there are 6 variants from current Shimano XT RD which make my choice become harder.  Check out the following: -

1. Top normal, Shadow, Long cage, Direct routing (RD-M772-SGS)

source: bike.shimano.com

2. Top normal, Shadow, Medium cage, Direct routing (RD-M772-GS)

source: bike.shimano.com

3. Top normal, Long cage, Straight pull (RD-M771-SGS)

source: bike.shimano.com

4. Top normal, Medium cage, Straight pull (RD-M771-GS)

source: bike.shimano.com

5. Low normal, Long cage, Straight pull (RD-M770-SGS)

source: bike.shimano.com

6. Low normal, Medium cage, Straight pull (RD-M770-GS)

source: bike.shimano.com

Top Normal - resting pulley is on top i.e. smallest cog (eg. 11T). Downshifting on the shifter requires pushing your thumb on the lever.

Low Normal - resting pulley is on low i.e. biggest cog (eg. 34T). Downshifting on the shifter is by 'release' action by your index finger

Shadow - Non-protruding RD.

Direct Routing - cable comes from top to down.  I believe this overcoming issue with Straight pull.

Straight Pull - cable comes from behind to front, thus the loop with potential to hook on something on trail.

Medium Cage - for chain capacity up to 33T. Eg. 32T/22T chainring, 11T/34T cassette = 33T

Long Cage - for chain capacity up to 45T. Eg. 44T/32T/22T chainring, 11T/34T cassette = 45T

Chain Capacity (aka Total capacity) - result of (biggest cog - smallest cog) + (biggest chainring - smallest chainring)


Decision making
Long or Medium Cage
I'm currently running 36T/22T chainring and 11T/32T cassette on my Kona Cindercone thus my chain capacity is 35T.  This means I can only use Long Cage if I were to use 36T chainring and 32T at any point of time. 
Shortlisted: RD-M772-SGS, RD-M771-SGS, RD-M770-SGS

Top or Low Normal
Since I'm used to Top Normal, using Low Normal requires some adjustment for my brain to register and react subconsciously.  As a matter of fact, all my bikes run Top Normal thus Top Normal would be my choice.
Shortlisted: RD-M772-SGS, RD-M771-SGS

Shadow
Shadow is associated with Direct Routing.  While I like the RD to be less protruding, it comes with a perk of Direct Routing, features that I believe address issue with Straight Pull.
Shortlisted: RD-M772-SGS


Verdict
Top normal, Shadow, Long cage, Direct routing (RD-M772-SGS)

source: bike.shimano.com