Get started on Android

Although the Android Developer site is pretty comprehensive, I found it is also useful for me to learn Android Developement via videos. TheNewBoston is hands down one of the best tutorial sites for technical knowledge, mainly for programming languages such as C, C++, Java and a couple more. If you haven't gone through his video, do check them here.

Nevertheless, I still think that some important aspects of Android development are best exemplified on Android Developer site and you will find you'll be doing frequent visit to the site. Bookmark it! :-)

You also need to know the Android API site. These explain all available APIs and it will be useful for you in order to understand each and every objects and their methods of within Android's Java. If you use Eclipse, right clicking on the methods will redirect you to this site within the editor itself.

Installing Python 2.6 and PyBluez on Rpi (or any Debian-based Linux Distro)

My experiment on running the simple server based on Python 2.6 and PyBluez works well in Windows along with the App I've written. I was able to send data from the Android App and the server was able to receive the data and display it.

Implementing native Bluetooth socket on Rpi sent me to a dead end where I could not figure out why it doesn't work and lack of resources to resolve the problem. Although packaged in within the more updated version of Python (Python 3.3), little documentations have been made on it.

On Rpi, the App shown that connection has been made with the server and data has been successfully sent, but none of those are indicated on the server that I ran. Weird? Yes. I have decided to try writing the server with the older Python 2.6 and PyBluez to test if it works.


Installing Python 2.6 in Linux:
1. Download Python 2.6 from here
2. Go to the containing directory (use "cd" command to navigate).
3. Decompress the .tar.gz by using
    "tar -xzf Python-2.6.6.tar.gz"
4. Go to the decompressed folder "cd Python-2.6.6"
5. Issues these following command
   "./configure
  make
  sudo make install"


Installing PyBluez in Linux:
1. Download PyBluez from here
2. Go to the containing directory
3. Decompress the .tar.gz by using
    "tar -xzf PyBluez-0.18.tar.gz"
4. Go to the decompressed folder "cd PyBluez-0.18"
5. Still in the shell, run "sudo python2.6 setup.py install" 

(Note that we run the script using "python2.6" and not "python". "python" will refer to the default installed python which could be Python2.7 or Python 3 which we don't want to use for now. Issuing "python2.6" will ensure that we run our scripts using Python2.6 instead.)

Update: You might get an error that says Python.h is missing. Python.h is a header file written in C++. It is used by gcc to build applications. You need to install a package called python-dev. This package includes header files, a static library and development tools for building Python modules. To install this package, enter: "sudo apt-get install python2.6-dev" targeting our Python2.6. You might also need to install bluetooth header (bluetooth.h). Enter "apt-get install libbluetooth-dev". After these two headers are installed, now you can proceed to installing PyBluez.

Update: It seems that writing the server with Python2.6 and PyBluez gave me the same result. My next try will be writing the server on another language. The problem could be on Python's implementation on Bluetooth with Rpi.

Raspberry Pi - A Brief Introduction and Basic Setup

Introduction

Raspberry Pi is the small size computer roughly sized as credit card that runs on Linux. The board is relatively very cheap which is $35. The RPi can be used to many things from using is as computer or to make it as small robot. It can be plugged in USB peripherals (keyboards, mice, etc.), output video via HDMI and DVI, or even composite out to an old analogue TV.

                       

Basic Setup

Setting up the RPi is very easy and it will only take in less than 10 minutes to setup and run.

Things needed before start:

- Raspberry Pi
- SD Card(at least 4 gig)
- HDMI supported monitor
- Mouse
- Keyboard
- Power Supply (5V - 1A)
- SD Formatter
- RPi recovery system(NOOBS_v1_2_1.zip)

Setup - RPi:

1. Insert an SD card that is 4GB or greater in size into your computer.
2. Format the SD card so that the Pi can read it by following the steps below.

3. Install the Formatting Tool on your machine.
4. Run the Formatting Tool.

5. Set "FORMAT SIZE ADJUSTMENT" option to "ON" in the "Options" menu.

6. Check that the SD card you inserted matches the one selected by the Tool.

7. Click the “Format” button.

8. Download the NOOBS_v1_2_1.zip from (downloads.raspberrypi.org/recovery).

9. Unzip the RPi recovery system or NOOBS_v1_2_1.zip.

10. Copy the extracted files onto the SD card that you just formatted.

11. Insert the SD card into your Pi.

12. Connect all the connections which is mouse, keyboard and monitor.

13. Finally connect the power supply to the RPi.


Setup - Raspbian

Once boot up for the first time, a menu will prompted(see the image below) you to install one of several operating systems into the free space on the card. The choice means you can boot the Pi with a regular operating system like Raspbian, or with a media-centre specific OS like RaspBMC.

Once Boot up, we now have most low cost computer running.

Android forums for inquiries

Over the time, while writing and testing the Android App, I came across some issues which are not very common thus making them harder to be reached from search engines like Google. It's very troublesome, especially when they are related to something new, something that was just recently released or updated. When it comes to that, the best way to battle the issues is by putting my own questions on the webs and wait for them to be answered. Believe or not, you can get few good responses just within one day.

I have gathered some of the forums I normally put up my questions at below:

1. Stackoverflow
2. Android Forums
3. Android Central
4. xda-developers
5. Android.net
6. TalkAndroid Forum
7. AndroidPit

Arduino

My first encounter with Arduino was last year, when me and Ifa were working on our Embedded System's assignment. Our task was to design a Bin-to-Dec converter, with 3 7-segment displays. I didn't keep much records on the works done, but I did take this video after we unbox-ed the Arduino.

Uno!

Python 2.6 and PyBluez

My research on Python ended with Python 2.6 and PyBluez. If you haven't noticed, there are newer version of Python (currently on version 3.3) but the later versions are not compatible with PyBluez. My so-far googling skills got me to the conclusion that this is the better solution, albeit temporarily. Python does not have Bluetooth native library before version 3.0 (if I'm not mistaken) and while they have added them now, the documentations were not really thorough. PyBluez, on the contrary, is only supported for Python until version 2.6. Since I have to do some demonstration with Python and Bluetooth, this is the easier solution. I will get back to the Python native Bluetooth library later on.

This post will help you to do 2 things, assuming you're on Windows:

1. Installing Python 2.6 and PyBluez
2. Run a simple Bluetooth serial server script

Installing Python 2.6 and PyBluez
1. Get them both here : Python 2.6 PyBluez
2. Run the Python installer first, followed by the PyBluez Installer

Run the Bluetooth serial server
1. Copy the whole code below into a file named BluetoothServer.py
2. Save the file in the same folder where Python was installed previously
3. At this point, turn on your Bluetooth, set for an incomming connection (set a listening port) and pair with the other device (client)
4. Start the Windows command prompt. Navigate to the folder where Python was installed
5. Run the script : >>python BluetoothServer.py
6. Server is active and ready for an incoming connection : "Waiting for connection on RFCOMM Channel 1"

The simple server is based on the PyBluez examples here.

# file: BluetoothServer.py
# desc: Simple Bluetooth Serial Server (Python 2.6 and PyBluez)

from bluetooth import *

server_sock=BluetoothSocket( RFCOMM )
server_sock.bind(("",PORT_ANY))
server_sock.listen(1)

port = server_sock.getsockname()[1]

#change UUID accordingly
uuid = "94f39d29-7d6d-437d-973b-fba39e49d4ee" 

#start the listening server
advertise_service( server_sock, "BluetoothServer",
                   service_id = uuid,
                   service_classes = [ uuid, SERIAL_PORT_CLASS ],
                   profiles = [ SERIAL_PORT_PROFILE ], 
                    )
                   
print "Waiting for connection on RFCOMM channel %d" % port

#accepting connection
client_sock, client_info = server_sock.accept()
print "Accepted connection from ", client_info

#catch data and display.
#wait for the client to cut off the connection
try:
    while True:
        data = client_sock.recv(1024)
        if len(data) == 0: break
        print "received [%s]" % data
except IOError:
    pass

print "client disconnected"

#close sockets 
client_sock.close()
server_sock.close()
print "Server is off"

The Android App (client) for sending in data is discussed separately on another post. The next step is to have this simple server ran on the Raspberry Pi and adding in some output manipulations using the Pi's GPIO pins.

Update: Here is a good read on the same topic. Link

Python 3.3 and Bluetooth native socket

I have posted earlier on how to run a simple serial server using Python 2.6 and PyBluez. Python 3.3 has natively available sockets class written for Bluetooth communication, eliminating the needs for PyBluez. I have not tested it yet myself, but if I'm not mistaken the native Bluetooth socket is only supported on unix based OS. So, if you're on Windows, my guess is best to stay with Python 2.6 and PyBluez.

A sample script for the server is as below:

"""
A simple Python script to receive messages from a client over
Bluetooth using Python sockets (with Python 3.3 or above).
"""

import socket

hostMACAddress = '00:1f:e1:dd:08:3d' 
#The MAC address of a Bluetooth adapter on the server. 
#The server might have multiple Bluetooth adapters.

port = 3 
#3 is an arbitrary choice. It should match the port used by the client.
backlog = 1
size = 1024 

s = socket.socket(socket.AF_BLUETOOTH, socket.SOCK_STREAM, socket.BTPROTO_RFCOMM)
s.bind((hostMACAddress,port))
s.listen(backlog)

try:
       client, address = s.accept()
       while 1:
           data = client.recv(size)
           if data:
                   print(data)
                   client.send(data)
except:  
       print("Closing socket")  
       client.close()
       s.close()

The scripts was not written by me. The original page here discussed the difference between Python 2.6+PyBluez and native Bluetooth socket in Python 3.3.

Here's an example of how to use the native Bluetooth socket to send a few command bytes to control the speed and direction of a Bluetooth controlled car.

Johara - These guys never bored me!

It started a few months ago when I was doing my intern-ship. I am (no offence to Alex) always being picked to follow my boss around for meetings and other out-of-office works, which normally required me to be there at the office very early in the morning. He basically introduced me to the Johara Pagi Era session, saying he listens to them every day. It's aired around 715 AM in the morning on ERA.fm.

A good laugh to start a day.

They actually have a page archiving all their shows. Just perfect :D

Johara Pagi Era Session on ERA.fm

Python 3.3 and Bluetooth native socket

I have posted earlier on how to run a simple serial server using Python 2.6 and PyBluez. Python 3.3 has natively available sockets class written for Bluetooth communication, eliminating the needs for PyBluez. I have not tested it yet myself, but if I'm not mistaken the native Bluetooth socket is only supported on unix based OS. So, if you're on Windows, my guess is best to stay with Python 2.6 and PyBluez.

A sample script for the server is as below:

"""
A simple Python script to receive messages from a client over
Bluetooth using Python sockets (with Python 3.3 or above).
"""

import socket

hostMACAddress = '00:1f:e1:dd:08:3d' 
#The MAC address of a Bluetooth adapter on the server. 
#The server might have multiple Bluetooth adapters.

port = 3 
#3 is an arbitrary choice. It should match the port used by the client.
backlog = 1
size = 1024 

s = socket.socket(socket.AF_BLUETOOTH, socket.SOCK_STREAM, socket.BTPROTO_RFCOMM)
s.bind((hostMACAddress,port))
s.listen(backlog)

try:
       client, address = s.accept()
       while 1:
           data = client.recv(size)
           if data:
                   print(data)
                   client.send(data)
except:  
       print("Closing socket")  
       client.close()
       s.close()

The scripts was not written by me. The original page here discussed the difference between Python 2.6+PyBluez and native Bluetooth socket in Python 3.3.

Here's an example of how to use the native Bluetooth socket to send a few command bytes to control the speed and direction of a Bluetooth controlled car.

Raspberry GPIO Introduction

Here's a good video to get started with Raspberry Pi's GPIO. It includes the installation procedures, among others. The scripts were pretty simple, but it's a good start nevertheless.

Here's a video on using the Pi's GPIO for a Keypad based Access Control. 

Python 2.6 and PyBluez

My research on Python ended with Python 2.6 and PyBluez. If you haven't noticed, there are newer version of Python (currently on version 3.3) but the later versions are not compatible with PyBluez. My so-far googling skills got me to the conclusion that this is the better solution, albeit temporarily. Python does not have Bluetooth native library before version 3.0 (if I'm not mistaken) and while they have added them now, the documentations were not really thorough. PyBluez, on the contrary, is only supported for Python until version 2.6. Since I have to do some demonstration with Python and Bluetooth, this is the easier solution. I will get back to the Python native Bluetooth library later on.

This post will help you to do 2 things, assuming you're on Windows:

1. Installing Python 2.6 and PyBluez
2. Run a simple Bluetooth serial server script

Installing Python 2.6 and PyBluez
1. Get them both here : Python 2.6 PyBluez
2. Run the Python installer first, followed by the PyBluez Installer

Run the Bluetooth serial server
1. Copy the whole code below into a file named BluetoothServer.py
2. Save the file in the same folder where Python was installed previously
3. At this point, turn on your Bluetooth, set for an incomming connection (set a listening port) and pair with the other device (client)
4. Start the Windows command prompt. Navigate to the folder where Python was installed
5. Run the script : >>python BluetoothServer.py
6. Server is active and ready for an incoming connection : "Waiting for connection on RFCOMM Channel 1"

The simple server is based on the PyBluez examples here.

# file: BluetoothServer.py
# desc: Simple Bluetooth Serial Server (Python 2.6 and PyBluez)

from bluetooth import *

server_sock=BluetoothSocket( RFCOMM )
server_sock.bind(("",PORT_ANY))
server_sock.listen(1)

port = server_sock.getsockname()[1]

#change UUID accordingly
uuid = "94f39d29-7d6d-437d-973b-fba39e49d4ee" 

#start the listening server
advertise_service( server_sock, "BluetoothServer",
                   service_id = uuid,
                   service_classes = [ uuid, SERIAL_PORT_CLASS ],
                   profiles = [ SERIAL_PORT_PROFILE ], 
                    )
                   
print "Waiting for connection on RFCOMM channel %d" % port

#accepting connection
client_sock, client_info = server_sock.accept()
print "Accepted connection from ", client_info

#catch data and display.
#wait for the client to cut off the connection
try:
    while True:
        data = client_sock.recv(1024)
        if len(data) == 0: break
        print "received [%s]" % data
except IOError:
    pass

print "client disconnected"

#close sockets 
client_sock.close()
server_sock.close()
print "Server is off"

The Android App (client) for sending in data is discussed separately on another post. The next step is to have this simple server ran on the Raspberry Pi and adding in some output manipulations using the Pi's GPIO pins.

Update: Here is a good read on the same topic. Link

Learning Android for FYP

I am now into my 2nd last Trimester in MMU, where I have begun my final year project (FYP). Me and my friend, Jeeva are partners, currently under the supervision of Mr. Cheong (a great lecturer, one of the best I've known). Our project? A phone based Access Control system, based on UniKey.

UniKey is an Access Control system which replaces traditional standard lock and keys with your smart phone. They haven't actually launched their product yet. UniKey makes use of the Bluetooth technology (low cost, low power, widely supported, readily available) to communicate with the electronic door operator. Initially, our project consist of 2 essential parts:

1. A phone App to that store the 'key' and response to the electronic door operator via Bluetooth. Plus, some key managements as an added feature. Android platform as a start.
2. The electronic door operator which communicates with the phone App via Bluetooth and responsible for the control that locks/unlocks the door. The development will be done using the popular Raspberry Pi before we move on to construct our custom circuit board.

We might actually want to enhance further when we have some basics working. I am in charge of the software development part of the project while Jeeva will do most of the hardware part. The Iphone App for the Unikey looks like below (they haven't developed an Android App yet);

This week marks the 3rd week of our project development stage and I am still at the stage of "learning" and "figuring out". I had my first touch on Android App a year ago while helping a friend on his project, but those were merely introductory. Android Bluetooth API is something very new to me and with the lack of hardwares to test, I ended up progessing pretty slow. For a start, I found out after 2 weeks that most Bluetooth adapters on Samsung phones are not reliable which really is a headache because I only have Samsung devices available (Note 2, Tab). To summarize, these are what I have done in the past 2 weeks and what should I be doing in the next few weeks. This is based on MMU Trimester calendar, where I started the project on Week 2, not on Week 1.

1. Week 2 : We were briefed on the project. I was assigned to write a 10 page of Literature Review and  to write a simple Android App to get me familiar with Eclipse and Android GUI. Simple Android App with basic GUI is completed.
2. Week 3 : Demonstrate the simple App to Mr. Cheong. Next, I was assigned with a new task to write another App to simply send a file to another phone via Bluetooth. I went as far as to able to discover other available Bluetooth device, but unable to pair and hence, unable to connect. On the other hand, Literature Review Draft 1 is submitted. Mr. Cheong added a few points of suggestion to add into the Literature Review.
3. Week 4 : The App is able to connect and pair, but crashed at run time a few seconds afterwards. Meeting with Mr. Cheong went well although I wasn't able to demonstrate a fully functional app. He asked for the submission of the edited Literature Review during the next meeting. I was asked to write a fully functional App that is able to send a file to a Bluetooth device (this time, probably a computer with a Bluetooth dongle) as well as some simple server program (written in C or Python) which can read the file.

As I am not really familiar with Android development as yet, this is quite a tough project to work on. As Mr. Cheong described, I should be doing head banging most of the time while working on the project. However, I am pretty excited. I love challenges. :-)

By the way, our work will not entirely be published here as they are belong to MMU, per their policy. In fact, I will not be posting any of the works here. However, I have promised myself I will keep posting something on the progress of the project and probably some interesting tutorials and articles that I found useful.

I need that practice in writing.

Internship

I am now into my final year of engineering study. I admit, I'm lagging behind of most of my peers. However, I'm living my life as much as they do, feeling blessed despite all of the shortcomings.

I'm currently doing my internship at a small local company named Tri System Technology. It has been a month and a half....and I'm enjoying it :) I discovered myself as a person who dislikes being idle, so sometimes having no tasks to complete day-to-day bored me easily. However, most of the time I'm pretty occupied. I'm here with another guy from MMU who is also my friend, Alex.

The company mainly involved in supplying and installing ICT solutions to newly built buildings which are offered through tender contract, mostly from TNB, TM and JKR. Lately, they are now into bigger projects such as MRT and Matrade.

For now, me and Alex are involved in MRT projects. In this project, Tri System is a subcontractor of Apex Communication and Johnson Control in Electronic Access Card (EAC) installation. Simply put, Tri System as subcontractor, are the one to do all the works. Me and Alex have been to the Interface Meeting since the beginning and I am proud to say that we are quite heavily involved in this project. The Interface Meeting enlightened me on how these people manage between a number of parties to make progress in the project. I'm glad having the opportunity to learn how they conduct the meetings, scheduled the work progress and coordinated between them. It is pretty much like our engineering group assignment, but this is on a huge project.

Cable routing, door schedules, those are the term we learned so far. I can't wait for more. This has been quite a good experience for me.

Need to get some sleep. Later.

Convert the whole website to pdf for offline use

I normally use this (http://pdfmyurl.com) to convert a single file to convert a single page to pdf file. It helps in keeping the original structure of the page intact without any kind of distortion of any sort, just the way we view it from any browser.

Now, what if I want to convert the whole website to a pdf file, with all the link in tact? This is especially useful for tutorial sites, as I sometimes love to have them available offline.

After looking through the Net, this is the best method I found.

Adobe Acrobat.

Once you have it installed, press the press "SHIFT + CTRL + O" or click on the Create PDF > From Web Page button. A menu opens up that is asking for a url and offering several options on how to proceed. Have a look around.

You can specify the depth levels of the initial page where you are converting from. It is normally a good idea to stay on the same server and even on the path.

Works perfectly.

Garmin Asus A50

Pretty fast GPS signal capturing

 My second smart phone, Garmin Asus A50 has probably the best GPS chip of all the smartphones out there. That's the perk from Garmin, you can say. Now that Garmin-Asus colloboration has ended and no new phones of similar hardware will be produced in the near future. So, I'm practically stuck with a low end A50, first launched on June 2010, almost 2 years ago. The hardware limits the capability to upgrade the Android OS. Hence, only up to Eclair (2.1) is supported.

If you used Garmin GPS device before, this would be familiar to you

Comes with free holder for the car as well

It's hard to call this a phone, it lags heavily sometimes. I would rather call it a GPS with phone capabilities. That's one of the reasons the phones are still in the market anyway. The built in GPS chip is that good. Not to mention that the phone comes with pre-installed Garmin app, similar to the app found in any Garmin GPS device.

The specs:
QualComm 7227 Arm 11, 600Mhz
256 MB ROM, 256 MB SDRAM
4GB Extendable Flash
Qualcomm GPSOne
(Here is why it's one of the best GPS chip on smartphone : LINK)

Easily rooted. Very hardware limited. Not much you can tweak with this one, but definitely worth keeping.

Rooting Galaxy Tab 10.1

Well, Ipish got a Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 from her dad a few months ago. She kinda use it not that often, probably not much during lecture hours. Well, I'd like her to make use of it more. So I google-ed up for all the drivers needed to make it easy for PC-to-Tab transfer (that's one of the reasons she rarely use it). It turned out that the drivers are easily available. It is almost plug-and-go actually. So the problem probably lies  on her desktop computer, which I'll have a look later.

Next on the list is to root the Tab so she can use all the extra features on the device. Unrooted devices lack in permissions, hence lack of special features i.e. backing up sensitive data, exploring system folders etc. I make use of the tutorial here (LINK). In fact, I rewrite the whole thing on the page here, just because the ads annoyed me.

First, the requirement. 
1. This guide is only for P7510 (Wifi) version.
2. Need a windows computer
3. Windows driver for Galaxy Tab 10.1
(LINK -  you gotta wait for a few seconds for download link to appears)
4.Download Odin3 (a Windows tool to update Android system) LINK

Once we have all the files downloaded, we're ready to go:
1.First we need to put the Tab into 'download' mode. 
Turn off the Tab.
Then, press the Power button and Volume Down button simultaneously.
Right after the Samsung Logo comes out, let go of both buttons immediately.
Then, hit the Volume Up button (choosing the download mode on the right), we should be in the 'download' mode.

2. Next, we run the Odin3 application.
Run the Odin3.exe (of whatever version you have)
Tick on 'PDA'
Click 'PDA'
Choose 'recovery-cwm_4.0.0.4-sam-tab-10.1.tar.md5' (from the same folder of Odin3.exe)
Hit start

3. Then, copy 'Samsung_Galaxy_Tab_10.1_root.zip' and save it to SDcard, preferably in the root folder i.e. sdcard/

4. Next, we put the Tab into 'ClockWorkMod' recovery 
Turn off the Tab.
Then, press the Power button and Volume Down button simultaneously.
Then, hit the Volume Down button (choosing the 'ClockWorkMod' on the left)
Then, hit the Volume Up button. We are now in 'ClockWorkMod'.

5. Now we're ready to root
Choose "install zip from sdcard" using Volume Up or Down button.
Hit the Power Button to activate it.
Choose the 'Samsung_Galaxy_Tab_10.1_root.zip' (that we copied into SDcard earlier)
Hit the Power button and hit 'yes'.

When that is done, reboot and we should have fully rooted Galaxy Tab 10.1

Note: The Galaxy Tab 10.1 (P7510) has 1GHz dual-core Tegra 2 processor and 1GB RAM. If I were to buy an Android tablet later, I'll make sure I have something that matches that :P

I miss this girl

Happy 2 Years

Hi

You guess what? It has been 2 years since this

Who could have thought I have liked this girl for 2 years now :-)

I never regret being honest at that time.

I love you, Nurul Aliffah Ali. Happy 2 Years

She, being "gedik" as usual

Blogging by phone

Now that I have a smart phone, no more excuse for me not to write regularly.

Btw, holiday mood! Some new stuff coming up!

MMU FOE Board

Sigh. Another project not even started (don't talk about finishing it here).

This is supposed to be a forum where MMU Faculty of Engineering (FOE) students can share stuff (tutorial answers, past assignment resources etc). We do have a facebook group for such function, but over the time things will get real disorganized and being me, I just can't stand that.

Here is the MMU FOE students FB group: link

The group was orignally has 10 members which were all my former classmates, but now it's consistently growing over these 3 years. Hopefully it will stand benificial to them.

MMU IEEE Student Branch approached me with the idea of continuing this project under their name. I am willing to, but not by myself, no. If there are some people who are willing to spend times on this, I'd be willing to help out.

It's official - we are fat!!!

Today we went to Seri Kembangan Giant Store and measured some stats about our body. Yeah, we learned that we are fat beyond help. So, we decided to put the stats here and put some targets to achieve. We'll give it a month.

Current date : Dec 4, 2011
Deadline : Jan 4, 2011

Here we go!

Jquery Mobile

Adroid, The open source Mobile OS.

I asked a friend so that I can join in any project that involves some programming. Programming is a skill set that needs to be nurtured as always as possible, hence why. He introduced to me, sort of, the android developement stuff and I am pretty much, currently, hooked up to it.

Pretty neat stuff. I never actually code Java before. Everything is new to me. This is going to be tough, and I'll just have to like it. I've been doing some readings and tried some examples. I'm not sure how I put it, but as far as I have discovered, there are tonnes of people out there who are very much experts in this field. When you feel like a newbie in any skills, you feel dismotivated. Thanks god that this is Malaysia. Not that many people are good in this stuff, just yet. But I could be wrong. Heck I think I'm wrong. But what the heck, this stuff are interesting, I must say.

I applied for a part time job at the nearby petrol station and was accepted. My first day starts this Saturday. Currently, it's 3 days per week job, from 3pm - 11pm. Yes, it's 8 hours job. I'm not sure yet how much I'm making, but I really do hope that this will give me some motivation to take care of my valueable time each day of the week. And I do hope this will cover my living expenses.

I end this with a quote: Chances are like playing poker. You will get a hand as soon as you fold.

Relax

Found this years ago. Still recommend it :-)

cold windy rainy day

Step 1.
Make yourself a cup of your favorite drink, a hot coffee, a hot milo?
Step 2.
Open a web browser with 2 tabs and put the sound volume a bit high
Step 3.
Go to www.rainymood.com on one tab
Step 4.
Go to www.endlessvideo.com/watch?v=HMnrl0tmd3k on the other tab
Step 5.
Sit back, relax, take a sip, close your eyes and enjoy

Top 10 Reasons Marriages Fail

Arrgghhhhhhhhh!!

Although this article (not written by me though) is about marriage, it is very applicable to relationship. Okay, except the Sex Problems part. Read the whole thing. This is really a good way to sometimes open up our minds on some things that matter, especially when we're having a difficult time in relationship. Read and reflect, tell me what you think.

1. Financial Problems
For the most part, it is the lack of open communication about money problems that jeopardizes a marriage more than the financial problems alone. Everyone has financial issues concerning bills, debts, spending and budgets. How a couple deals with those issues can make or break a relationship.

2. Communications Problems
If a couple has communication problems prior to marriage, those problems are likely to get worse after tying the knot. It is important that both partners are able to discuss every aspect of married life openly and on a regular basis. A marriage without two-way communication will not last long.

3. Family Problems
Family relationships with children, parents, in-laws, siblings and step-children are all sources of marital problems. Raising children increases stress in the home and can cause minor differences of opinion to become major rifts in a relationship. Discretion is the better part of valor when it comes to family and marriage.

4. Sex Problems
Sex is an important part of marriage and the source of many marriage problems. Every marriage requires the act of consummation by sexual intercourse. Failure to consummate a marriage or problems with sexual frequency, quality, and infidelity are all common reasons for marriage failure and divorce.

5. Friend Problems
Close personal friends of either spouse do not always make the transition to friends of the marriage. Some relationships with friends can be toxic to the marriage if they insert themselves between spouses. A good friend will enhance a married couple’s relationship. People who try to break a marriage apart are not quality friends.

6. Addiction Problems
Drug, alcohol and gambling abuse are all forms of addiction that are very detrimental to a marriage. Even without the presence of physical or verbal abuse, the behavior of an addicted spouse can make normal married life impossible. Addictions are also a common source of money problems in a marriage as well.

7. Abuse Problems
Abuse of any kind is never acceptable in a marriage. Physical and verbal abuse are all too often the causes of a marital break-down. Sexual abuse and emotional abuse also fall into this category. One partner’s desire to degrade their spouse in an ongoing pattern of abuse will surely cause a marriage to fail in time.

8. Personality Problems
There are many kinds of personality traits that can make a couple incompatible and unable to reach agreement in matters concerning sex, intellect and emotion. Partners that have compulsive needs to please or belittle can make honest communication impossible. Negative personality traits make a long-term relationship unbearable and divorce a real possibility.

9. Expectation Problems
The ability to adapt to changes in married life often depends on having realistic expectations about a spouse and the marriage relationship itself. It is common for disillusionment to set in when romantic or other unrealistic expectations are not met. Over time, unmet expectations can generate enough dissatisfaction to make meaningful compromise impossible.

10. Time Problems

Work and home schedules are not always compatible. Time spent apart and time spent together are equally important for maintaining a good married relationship. When time is used in a balanced way, it results in opportunities for growth and harmony. A lot of time spent alone without a corresponding period of quality time spent together puts a lot of stress on a marriage.

To err is human. But to forgive, is divine. Love ya.

stay motivated

Stay motivated, young lad. Know your strength, fight off your weaknesses.

Win everyday

Nasi Lemak buatan Bangi :D

Ini bukan saya buat. Saya buat lagi huru-hara, haha

Oh yeah it's the semester break and I pretty much have nothing else to do. I didn't go back to Kemaman this time. I thought I could stay here in Bangi for a while because practically I wasn't living here during the study weeks. I wasn't busy with anything in particular, just filling up my free time learning stuff I wanted to learn during the study weeks. Websites, land buying, home buying, small business, all those future shit.

I promised to the princess that I'll make her Nasi Lemak and go picnic with her somewhere with it. I tried out on one of the recipe I found online and what can I say......I can cook! (self confident level is 120% at this moment). I just need to put less onion.....and use Tamarind Juice, not the Tamarind Paste all the way...

Here is the recipe:
Bahan untuk nasi :-
@ 2 cawan beras
@ 1 cawan santan n 1 cawan air( jun guna 1/2 cwn santan pekat n 1 1/2 cwn air)
@ 1 helai daun pandan - disimpul
@ 3 hirisan halia
@ secubit garam

Bahan untuk sambal :-
* 6 sudu besar cili kering mesin
* 4 ulas bawang merah -ditumbuk
* 2 ulas bawang putih -ditumbuk
* 1 biji bawang besar -dihiris
* segenggam ikan bilis (dibasuh, separuh darinya ditumbuk)
* sedikit air asam jawa
* sedikit belacan
* garam n gula

Bahan sampingan lain :-
Ikan bilis goreng, telur rebus dan timun.

Cara-cara
1.Campur semua bahan untuk nasi dan masak seperti nasi biasa.
2.Tumis bawang besar, masukkan bawang2 yg ditumbuk, cili mesin, belacan dan ikan bilis yg ditumbuk..hingga sedikit garing dan pecah minyak.
3.Masukkan air asam dan separuh lagi ikan bilis yg sudah dibersihkan tadi.
4.Masukkan garam n gula. Masak sehingga agak pekat.

p/s : Princess, this is for you. Don't tell me I don't work on anything for you, ever! :P

Dalam hati kita sabar

Nothing is unbearable in this life. Deal with it.

Scared

I'm lying if I say I don't think about what you were saying last night. Sorry I can't just ignore them.

It hits me.

All the past years...., I don't know :(

But thanks for being honest, I need that

Happy Birthday Nurul Aliffah

That Sunday was one of the best thing that ever happened to me. Happy twenty-first!

I love you, sayang.

sayang

You don't like me saying anything that sounds sweetish and I'm trying my best not to. 

But I'm dedicating this song to you anyway.

You'll find this on your own and you'll know I wasn't just being sweet.

Thanks for making me feel so blessed. And I truly meant that.

:-)

The sweetest

You're the sweetest.

and you're telling me I am being sweet? :P

Babe

I meant every love and every miss.

No word

She cried when she felt like I don't trust her after all.


It hurts, when I do so much.

Do you know, you make me feel like my past is just.....simply the past.

While the present is just unbelievable.

And the future? :-)

New year

....and the hated New Year Resolutions :)

I had this silly argument with one of my close friend the other day (silly, since it brings us to actually nowhere) about why would people be making new year resolutions. Well, my friend hate it. To him, it brings no good. To him, you just f*cking walk the talks. Actions speak louder than words. Well done is better than well said. Et cetera. 


I didn't say he was wrong.

To celebrate is to have fun

I couldn't be wrong to say many people failed to keep their resolutions last year. And also the year before and the years before. Hehe. But on the other side of the coin, there should be many people who actually accomplished just about everything they had on their list. So, I ask myself, why being pessimistic?

And then, people asked, why would you need to wait until the 1st of Jan to do something, or to stop doing something? Well you don't have too!

Having a list of your new year resolutions doesn't mean you have to justify yourself to anyone why do you wanna have one, why you failed to keep the previous year's, why not putting something else on the list and so forth. Why bother? No one actually really care, really! Nevertheless, putting a "be a top scorer in every subject" on the list without actually touching the books doesn't make any sense at all, does it?

The idea is (okay, my idea, actually) is to keep it simple, to keep it do-able, to keep it specific and to have fun, enjoyable. I never made a single list of new year resolutions ever in my life before and this year, I beg to differ. I guess my number one new year resolution is already concluded! - making the list.

Raf's NYR

1. Make a list. Done (yeay me! :P)

2. Losing some more weight, hopefully about 70kg or less. Currently at 73kg. (See, that's so do-able!)

3. Fasting for at least twice per month. InsyaAllah

4. Getting a CGPA of 3.5 or more (currently at 3.3) And getting her a 3.2 or more. Dudette, embrace the free tuitions! :P

5. Paying at least half of my debts that I owe to my friends using my own pocket money. I have the list. Basketballs and all, I could't resist the temptations to join the tourneys and most of the time, friends didn't mind paying for me first. What a life, kan?

6. Writing at least twice per month, with or without a pc. Hehe

7. Remembering all my lovely sisters's, brother's, mom's and dad's birthday. I'm never good with numbers, really.

8. Running a marathon!

9. Donating blood at least one! The red book is so empty!

10. Have a game where I score 20 points or more.

Okay, no 10 is the least do-able of all but it's still not impossible. One teh tarik if I cross it off the list. Any takers?

P/S : I'm just kidding with no 1 Hahaha. Happy new year. God bless us all with happiness in this life and hereafter.

Love

When you're not looking for one, there it is

Kenapa - Daus

P/S : 1 dedicated  :P

The Baby Elephant Syndrome

cute baby elephant syndrome

Hi, here's a quick one.

I need to start doing my assignments and catching up to my studies. I just hate it when I spent too much time on having dinner with my guys. No offence, but it's kinda waste of time sometimes. 2 hours for dinner every night, sigh...there are truckloads of works to do..

Anyway, have u guys heard about "baby elephant syndrome"? My Electronics 2 lecturer, Dr. Marinah brought it up this morning in her lecture. Quite a good thing to share :) So, have u guys heard about it?

No? lemme explain.

Imagine a circus, the usual fun fare we have around. In there, lived a baby elephant. This baby elephant has been living in captivity since it was born. During the captivity, it is tied to a small tree with a thin rope every night. Due to its nature to roam free, instinctively the baby elephant tried with all its might to break the rope but it wasn't strong enough at the time to do so. For years it tried and tried until at some point, it realized its efforts are of no use and it finally gave up and stopped struggling. After that point, the baby elephant never tried again for the rest of its life.

Years later when it grew bigger, it was still tied to the same small tree with the same thin rope. It could easily free itself by uprooting the tree or breaking the rope but because its mind has been fully conditioned by its prior experiences, it never made the slightest attempt.

Poorly, the powerful gigantic elephant has limited its own present abilities based on its thought on its limitation of the past - the Baby Elephant Syndrome.

yes yes yes

We, as human can be exposed to the same condition except for one thing - we could choose to re-discover our own abilities and believe in ourself and break free from our thoughts on the limitation of the past. Be honest to yourself, when we put our mind into it, there are many things we might have wished to do in the past but at that time, we were limited by external factors of some kind. We stumble into things in daily life and for a few seconds, we wanted to do something. Seconds later, comes the thought "...I can't do this because in the past.." - you realize you have been in the similar situation in the past. That's it.

Now that you have heard about the Baby Elephant Syndrome, take some time to find out your list of reasons why you are not having or doing what you want.

Are any of them merely excuses rather than legitimate reasons?
Is any of them just an elephant rope holding you back?

P/S : It's an analogy used by Dr. Marinah to persuade us to realize that Electronics subject wasn't that difficult. That's true. It is not naturally difficult, you see. But, when we don't study...

hey

The girl with the white black scarf,

I know you'll be reading this.

I'm telling you, my past is the past. I have moved far away from them.

Trust me.

At least, try. I know, it's gonna be difficult. Hang on there.

You know me better than anyone right now, I'm sure of that :)

and thanks. I'll give you more. Promise.

Sorry

I'm sorry. I am. I'll work it out okayy.

Dah la.

Not in the mood. Esok la sambung electronics. Not that I did anything pon tonight. Aiya.

Kenapa takut sangat ni? :(

Old but still awesome

If you are a fan of old Malay movies like me, you would probably know this song. I was heartlessly doing my electronics assignment when it hits me, why do some people would chase antiques over the new modern stuff? Why eh?

Well, my 2 cents do not constitute the world's opinion but to me, it's kinda like the same way I feel about this song.

It feels "nostalgic". It brings some kinda feeling of "peace". It makes me wonder how the people in those era feeling about how good the song was, about the way it's played, about the way the singers sang it, about anything at all related to those people's perceptions towards the song. And I can't help to think that those people must have loved the song. And when I think about that, I can't help but to love the songs too.

Try imagine the same kinda song played by a decent modern young singer. Not the same feeling, eh?

Random ramblings, my bad. Now, what the heck is h-parameters?

Do I believe?

Senang2 jadi heartless je kan?

I'm not sure what to think after last night, really. All what she said were true. Well, because all of that is from her point of view. She feels mad when I said I love her because she thinks that I'm just making it up and trying to be romantic with her. I guess she feels like being cheated on. She said all the words of love coming from me is the same thing that coming from me when I was in love with my ex before and thus, it is nothing special.

It hurts hearing that from her.

But I never cheated on expressing my love to them. And  I'm most certainly not fooling around with her. I am just being as honest to her as I am to my ex before. Heck, they are the one who taught me to be honest with my feelings.

About what's she doing.......I'm not sure if I can live with that. I mean, this are the little things that perhaps I shouldn't be worried about. But...what if from these little things, I can see the way she really is and have a change in heart? Ya Allah. All I'm holding on to is this straight-forward optimistic thought of mine. Yes, I'm not sure to even call this "trust". But if this is trust, I am definitely gonna hang on to it.

What am I thinking? what should I do? I have no idea.

After all, there's only one thing in my mind though. I would probably never again be crossing path with someone as awesome as her. Life have taught me to appreciate what I currently have. Life taught me if I want something so much, I should work for it.

And trust me, this is one of the most wonderful thing that ever happened to me since years.

I really really wanna work this out.

Love you, pancake :)

Merry Xmas 2010

An attempt to create a snow angel

The holidays are here. There are Christmas decorations in almost every window. It's freezing outside and the huge amounts of snow is glittering in the sunlight. The park is all white. Snowmen are everywhere. People are throwing snowballs. It's not just another day in London.

When I was a kid, I've always thought that celebrating Christmas means celebrating a Christian's festival. It kinda feels like I'd be part of them, part of the religion. Well, why not. At that time, all I know is that Christmas Day is a Christian holiday celebrated on Dec the 25th every year to commemorate the birth of Jesus Chris. Celebrating it would make me conflicting against my faith as a Muslim. To me, celebrating Christmas was wrong.

But that was then.

After two years in London, I kinda understand now how those people feel about Christmas. Some practicing Christians are really honoring the birth of Jesus. While for some, celebrating Christmas is not really about participating in the religious traditions. It's a great day to spend with their family and friends. It's just the way we Muslims celebrate our Eid. Friends and family. Great foods. Chats and laughters.

While being particular with what we do in relation to our faiths is good, rejecting everything that sometimes actually bring good is not. That's what I think. Ah well.

Merry Xmas. Ho - ho.

Arduino

Been looking around to land my hands on some actual electronics devices outside the lab and I found this.

Arduino Uno

I want one! RM175.00 Anyone wanna give me this as a gift? :D

Midterm exam finished

It's my 4th semester here in MMU and everything is just fine. Alhamdulillah :-)

The Electronics 2 test we had just now was pretty bad, haha. But lets face it, no hard work, no gain.

Today was awesome. Because I spent the entire 12 hours with an awesome girl. No, not a date, not yet. We were studying, really. And that what makes today really special, kinda.

She's awesome. I wish I could let her feel what I'm feeling now.

comeback

Kinda busy now. Just to put a note : All headers are not linked correctly for now. Will fix them later.


Fixed. and now with my bro's pc, I can start writing again. Yessss! :D

Get it

If someone seriously wants to be a part of your life, they will seriously make an effort to be in it.
All you need to do is to 'see' it.
And pray.


Thanks god :-)