Received an email from Crocs Malaysia today, and just to share with my readers about the new Crocs concept store at Pavilion Bukit Bintang, KL.

In case you can’t read the yellow part, it reads: “30th august 2010 (mon): visit our new store with your crocs unisex or kids models“.

Have fun!

Paying zakat online...

I’m not pretty sure about this, but can we pay the “zakat fitrah” (obligatory alms/tithe) via online banking? Maybank recently stated in their Maybank2u site that we can pay our “zakat” online. Does this consist of the “zakat fitrah” as well? I never know ’cause I never try before.

But if I decided to pay via online, does it count? I mean, when we pay our zakat through the conventional way, we have the “akad” before paying. But paying through online, the “akad” is eliminated all together.

Or is it all right to just pay the zakat, and assume that we have fulfill our obligation?

Lemme know, please.

Have you ever wonder, how many SMS (Short Messaging System to those who lives in caves for the past 10 years) have you send in a month? It was said a few years ago that Celcom Malaysia collected a cool RM315k a day just from SMS alone (times it with 30 days and you’ll get the point on how lucrative is SMS to the blood-sucking telcos).

You can call me a sucker for SMS (rather than phone calls) as I prefer to type rather than talk. Based on that, you can always guess what type of mobile phone I’m using. Yes, the one with the QWERTY mini keyboard.

To conduct the investigation, I have saved all my SMS since 19th May 2010 until 19th August 2010. After spending several hours (!) on it today, I’m happy to announce that I have typed and sent:

• 403 SMS in May 2010 (with an average of 13.4 messages per day);
• 309 SMS in June 2010 (with an average of 10.3 messages per day);
• 511 SMS in July 2010 (with an average of 17.03 messages per day);
• 489 SMS in August 2010 (with an average of 16.3 messages per day);

I’m not too sure how much I have spent on these SMSes, as I had sent it to several different numbers and different telcos. It may not as much as an average teenager in Malaysia, as I’m in a different age group and needs. And most of my SMSes consist of confirmation messages and to confirm appointments, and not really a casual messages.

But I’m contributing to Celcom’s coffers. Until this day, I’m still advocating for the fact that the telcos should bundled their services with free SMS. That is not until they discovered that the SMS is a money making killer app for their mobile services.

To all the telcos, you SUCKS big time mate!

I’ve finally owned my car after 7 years of hardship car repayments. This is the first time that I owned 100% of my car (fully paid-lah), and also the first time that I had a car for more than 2 years. It’s some sort of a record to me, as previously the longest time is 2 – 2.5 years of ownership. Truthfully, it’s not because I can’t afford a new car (heck, everybody around me bought new cars, including my younger brother and my brother-in-laws!) but I got a thing going with my current ride. I think my Proton gives me pleasures that no other cars can offer (at least to me-lah), such as superior rides and handling (Lotus tuning, brader!), rather cheap affordable spare parts, spacious for my 6 foot and 240lbs frame, easy maintenance and high low medium resale value.

But after a good 7 years, some parts have shown some wears and tears, especially the absorbers and engine mountings (don’t let me start talking about the door handles, scuff marks on the steering wheel and constant dislodgement of parts inside the cabin). The rides are particularly hard now, with the rear absorbers bottoming, which makes it dangerous for high speed travels and cornerings. As for the engine mountings, the rubber mountings have hardened, thus making the engine vibrates and reaches into the cabin (translated that: it makes long journeys very, very tiring).

Moreover, Hari Raya is approaching and some long distance travels are required. I decided to change all four absorbers and engine mountings. This exercise alone costs me a cool RM1,250. Now, let’s see some pics:

Car ready to be "makeover"ed...

I was loitering around the workshop while they “make-overed” my car. Imaging waiting for 8 hours (!) for your car to be readied. How ridiculous that could be? But that’s what I had done. Luckily a mamak restaurant is nearby and I can get my constant supply of food and drinks there.

Check out the new absorber!

When they jacked up the car, I had the opportunity to view the underside of it. Lemme ask you, how often did you ever view your car’s underside, let alone photograph it? Well, that’s what I’ve done again (that shows how bored I am waiting). While the mechanic was working on the car, I’m doing a visual inspection on the tyres, sport rims and other things under it. Truly the shock absorbers are worn out. I decided to get the original OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) absorbers, which is manufactured by Kayaba and made specially for Proton. While the engine mountings are made by MMC (Mitsubishi Motor Company), which is the OEM for Proton too.

The Barum tyres are still looking good after more than 1 year and 40,000km later...

I’m a bit worried on the condition of the tyres initially. But after inspecting it, they’re sure in good condition. You see, this is the first time I bought a different tyre brand (Barum), as my usual brand is either Goodyear or Sime. The decision was made based on the price, performance (I googled ‘em) and longevity (it was reported that the Barum Bravuris lasted 15% more than normal brands). But in real life, I had quite a hard time to get the tyres ready for everyday use. It took me close to 2 months before the tyres are truly gripping, and my confidence to drive in the rain. I don’t really knew the reason behind this, but in my opinion the tyres are not really suited to our road conditions and took some time to “seasoned” it out. Or maybe the radical thread pattern, I’m not entirely sure. But it’s OK now, considering it’s already been a year.

Rust appearing out of nowhere...

And finally at 6.30pm, the mechanics completed their tasks. Changing the absorbers are hard work, as there are adjustments and proper fittings to consider, while the engine mountings are easy job. Such a daunting task, the workmanship charge consist of 10% of the total bill.

But now, my car is almost like new! The ride quality is just superb. The engine is quiet again, with very minor vibration into the cabin. All these brought back my past experience more than 7 years ago, when I had my Proton for the first time, brand spanking new, and ready for Hari Raya.

Beckham & me

I was featured recently in an entry by a fellow blogger after winning his “are you BECKS enough” mini contest. And I won Beckham’s David Beckham: My Son by Ted Beckham book, which I must admitted that the book is good and very informative about Becks.

I’m a long-time Beckham fan and have been following his career since he joined Manchester United in 94-95 (and I’m not even a Man U’s fan).

Check out my winning photo above.

Note: All photos are taken with Nikon D5000 with 18-55mm lens.

Secara sedar tak sedar, udah setahun yang lepas kita berpuasa. Kini kita mula pulak puasa baru pada tahun 2010 nih. Pada teman, bulan puasa nih agak dinanti2 jugak. Ya lah, selain dari berpuasa, boleh jugak kurus2kan badan sikit, disamping beribadat dan berjimat untuk persediaan raya nanti.

Bila tiba aje puasa, mesti kita akan terbayang dan mencari tempat2 menjual juadah berbuka puasa yang sedap2. Setengah2 orang nih, dia sanggup pergi ke pasar ramadhan yang jauh2 hanya sekadar nak merasakan makanan yang sedap. Pada teman, itu hanya membazir masa dan takde berfaedah.

Ada setengah2 orang nih pulak, kalau udah membeli makanan, memang tak ingat dunia. Dia dok beli apa saja makanan yang sedap mata memandang, dan bukannya tepuk dada tanya selera. Bak kata orang Melayu, lapar mata. Orang macam ini memang jenis yang tak pikir jauh punya. Pendek akai. Udah la pendek, akai pun takda. Amacam?

Orang ramai beratur membeli juadah berbuka

Teman dok pegi berbuka di rumah keluarga teman di Taman Keramat. Ada pasar ramadhan pulak kat tempat parking kereta di kawasan rumah2 kedai kat situ. Fuh, teman tengok punya la ramai orang. Masing2 macam berebut nak beli makanan. Agaknya dema takut makanan habis kot?

Wah, lauk pauk kakak nih dah habis!

Masalah teman kalau pegi tempat2 sebegini untuk cari makanan, memang teman jadi bingung. Bukan apa, cuma bila teman tengok makanan begitu banyak dijual, naik rambang mata jadinya teman. Sampai tak tahu mana satu nak beli. Tapi teman bukan jenis yang kalau dah tak tau nak beli apa, then pakai taram ajer beli. Teman beli pakai otak, bukan pakai hati.

Abang Bangla tekun berniaga

So last2 teman beli air tebu ajer. Teman tengok air dia fresh, sebab perah straight dari batang tebu dan tak campur apa2 pemanis. Huih, bila teman tengok air tebu tuh (udah la perut tengah lapar & dahaga), memang terlior brader! Kalau minum dengan ais, memang syurrggaaa!

Tapi teman heran bila tengok pekerja Bangladesh pulak yang menjaga kedai tuh. Tokeinya Melayu sebab teman nampak dia yang mengambik duit. Kenapa? Udah takde orang kita ker? Atau orang kita malas nak kerja macam ini?

Masa untuk balik...

Memang happening pasar ramadhan kat Taman Keramat nih. Punya ramai orang! Udah macam semut! Makanan pulak kiri kanan dah habis disapu dek pembeli. Yang tinggal cuma air minum ajer. So, teman pun balik la ke rumah keluarga teman dengan hanya membeli dua bungkus air tebu. Dalam fikiran teman, buat apa la nak beli makanan lagi, mak teman pun dah masak banyak makanan. Nanti kalau tak habis, membazir pulak.

Out.

I’m beginning to lose my patience over my internet provider, P1. Their service is excellent in the beginning (when I first subscribed to P1 almost a year ago), but it seems the service deteriorated over the months, probably because of oversubscribing or simply due to poor service maintenance. As I was writing this entry, it has been 2 days since their service outage (it means, no service at all).

A few days ago, I decided to do some speed tests using P1′s own speedtest site – P1 Speed Test.

I took the test on 4 consecutive days and four different times. Bear in mind that that P1 once said that even if you subscribed to the 1Mb line, you will normally gets higher speed than that, which is true a few months ago, when I can get about 1.3Mb constantly. I can’t say the same today. Check out the results below:

Test on 28 July 2010, 3pm

Test on 29 July 2010, 7.26pm

Test on 30 July 2010, 3.42am

Test on 1 August 2010, 2.46am

Based on the four-day tests, my download speed averages 695.8 kbps, while my upload speed averages 341.8 kbps. This is a far cry from the quoted speed of 1Mb as promised, let alone the “unofficial” promised 1.3Mb.

Recently, Telekom Malaysia (TM) installed a server and router at the MDF room in my apartment building. Probably later this month, they will offer a fiber optic broadband service to all residents with a monthly payment of below RM100 a month. I’m still an advocate of a line-based broadband services, as it offers a consistent and stable internet service. So, should I terminate my P1 ( I still got another year into my contract) and join TM? I’m seriously thinking that way now.

BTW, I wrote this entry using my backup Celcom broadband. It may be slower than P1, but it offers minimal interruptions.

UPDATE (10 August 2010): Suddenly at 3.00pm today, my internet connection is restored, after no connection at all for 3 solid days!. P1 technical support informed me that P1 is doing some system maintenance & upgrades on 9 August 2010. Whatever the reasons, I stand by the test I’ve conducted as above.

Liverpool's 08/10 Jerseys

At last, I managed to complete my Liverpool 08/10 jerseys (thanks to the final requisition of the white 3rd jersey a few weeks ago). Since I’m only collecting authentic jerseys, this hobby is mine is definitely costly in a long run. Therefore, I’ve decided to collect only Liverpool jerseys and black jerseys of other teams. I’m a sucker for black jerseys!

Talking about jerseys, the authentic ones are normally cost up to RM260 a piece, regardless of brands and teams. Because of that, the jerseys are out of reach to most people, and they are the REAL fans of the football teams.

I was wondering. Since the majority of the jerseys are made in Thailand and Indonesia, if we buy them there, would it be cheaper?

Newcastle United's 09/10 Home Jersey

Since we’re in the topic of jerseys, I would like to introduce my latest catch: The Newcastle United’s 2009/2010 Home jersey. This jersey has been on my radar for quite some time, and I’ve decided to buy it during the annual off-season sale in the UK. And it’s my size too!