Kevin Cordon - When the tiny turns giant…

He was born in 1986 in Guatemala, a country that is not just too far from famous but no one expects can produce such a talent in world badminton. Kevin Horaldo Cordon Buezo, better known as Kevin Cordon is now a shining gem from the tiny Guatemala.

From what I observed 2011 is the year for Kevin. Although he was the runner-up in a series of tournament such as Yonex OCBC US Open Grand Prix Gold, Yonex Canada Open, Slovenia International and Croatian International, and was the winner of Peru International and Polish International, none of these really opened the eyes of Asian badminton fans until he made to the quarterfinal of 2011 Yonex BWF World Championships in England recently.

Beating one of the world's top players, Chen Long of China in the world meet is his best achievement so far. I am very sure he can upset a few more top 10 players this year. I am so hoping to see him trashing Chen Jin, Bao Chunlai, Taufik Hidayat or Peter Gade in the near future and win a super series title.

Beaten at last... Kevin is congratulated by current World No 1 Lee Chong Wei of Malaysia for his fighting spirit

I hope Federacion Nacional de Badminton de Guatemala can consider sending him to Malaysia or Denmark for training under renown coach, such as Misbun Sidek or Morten Frost Hansen. I am not saying Guatemalan coaches are not good but it would be better to add more spices to his game. It is always worth to try. What say you Kevin?

Episode 57: The Kulim Magic School Bus - Lost In The Jurassic

This is the Malaysian Kulim version of The Magic School Bus. Similar to the American version, this episode's main aim is to show that dinosaurs weren't all terrifying monsters, like movies often make them out to be.

The Kulim version of Magic School Bus has never been aired on TV, so I would like to take this chance to show you some snapshots from the real footage of "Lost In The Jurassic".

WARNING! This program contains scenes that some viewers may find it offensive, therefore parental discretion is advised... hehe

Now we understand that dinosaurs weren't all terrifying monsters...

From left to right: Nasha, Syed and Aswad (The Kids), Me (Mr Frizzle, the teacher) and Hafiz (Mr Garth, the PE teacher)

Actually the photos above were taken at Petrosains Dinotrek - Dino Dance exhibit on 17 May 2011. Too much funny moments during the photo shoot, alhamdulellah it was fun...

My interesting Thursday...

Things would have been easy if my Perodua Kancil can talk, tell me this or that needs to be fixed or changed. But my Kancil isn't BumbleBee, as much as I ain't mechanic. My Kancil, having served me for almost 14 years, is just too old for a standard of economy class vehicle, therefore too old to work always fine. I know that.

Last Thursday could probably one of my unlucky days. My 14 year old remote stopped working for the first time. I never thought my remote was the culprit since the LED light was still flashing fine whenever I hit the open/close button. My Magic School Bus Gang (Malay: geng bas sekolah) - Aswad, Kayrol and Hazwan witnessed how I broke into my car, which by default had triggered the car alarm to sound out loud. This is what perhaps, most people are referring to as 'too stupid to be smart', eh?

In this entry, I just want to thank those helping hands, who dropped by to help me especially Suhaimy Wahap, Nik Azmi, Zahid Omar, Shamz, my geng bas sekolah, etc. (sorry if I left some names unmentioned). May Allah bless you and give you rewards. It is so true that at my workplace, there are so many helping hands, no doubt about that. I'm just so happy to be part of the community.

I love my Kancil as what it is. No turbo, no skirting, no sporty spoiler, no nothing. But my remote really needs overhaulin'...

Kulim-Taiping Weekly Travel: Now I save 50 km (Part 2)

In my previous entry [ From My Desk: Kulim-Taiping Weekly Travel: Now I save 40 km ] I showed how Kulim-Serdang-Bandar Baharu-Taiping route can be used as an alternative route connecting Kulim and Taiping. Yes, I can save a 43 km traveling distance and RM7.30 highway tolls, but truly not on the traveling time, which I found was rather disadvantage.

Now I'm testing another alternative route, i.e. Kulim-Kampung Batu Sepuluh-Selama-Pondok Tanjung-Taiping, in which in my opinion is more quiet and lower-traffic than the earlier alternative. Interestingly, although unpopular, this countryside route is clearly visible in the Google map.

 Kulim-Batu Sepuluh-Padang Terap Village-Selama-Pondok Tanjung-Taiping is marked in Green

After three weeks of route testing, considering the driving comfortability and beautiful countryside, I'm very sure now that Kulim-Kampung Batu Sepuluh-Selama-Pondok Tanjung-Taiping route is a better route than the earlier alternative. Besides, many connecting roads have been upgraded and straightened, resulting in reduced traveling time by 20-30 minutes.

Let me summarize my findings:

Distance from my rental house (Kulim) to my house (Taiping)

… via Taiping Utara-Juru PLUS Highway + BKE = 137 km

| 0 km reference | Traveling time = 90 minutes | Toll fares = RM11.70 |

… via Kulim-Serdang-Bandar Baharu-Taiping = 94 km

| Save 43 km | Traveling time = 90-100 minutes | Toll fares = RM4.40 |

… via Kulim-Batu Sepuluh-Padang Terap-Selama-Pondok Tanjung-Taiping = 87 km

| Save 50 km | Traveling time = 70-85 minutes | NO toll fares |

The best time to travel is around 6.30 pm where you can appreciate the beauty of the countryside of Selama-Pondok Tanjung. You'll pass by MIDA Boer-goat breeding farm upon approaching Pondok Tanjung (nice view too). InshaAllah, if I got time, I'll upload some pictures of the countryside.

I hope my friend Badrul will be happy with this entry since he has been using the later route for quite sometime. Thanks Badrul for your inspiring story. I myself try to experience night time driving in this quiet route and of my greatest concern is the safety but I just did last Friday night, alhamdulellah. 

Secure From Flash Flood

Considering frequent flash floods hit Serdang-Bandar Baharu especially after heavy rain, Kampung Batu Sepuluh-Selama-Pondok Tanjung will definitely be the best alternative for Kulim-Taiping travelers, inshaAllah.

"HERE I AM AGAIN… I'M JUST A WEEKLY TRAVELER"

When I dream of Narnia

I'm a big fan of Narnia Chronicles since the release of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe in 2005. I was so impressed with those animal characters. They were so human and realistic. Moreover the fantasy world that extend far beyond my imagination had added spices to the movie. The fact is that I always enjoyed watching Sci-Fi and fantasy movies. Narnia will definitely be one of my all time favourites. For that I didn't blow the chance to watch the subsequent Narnia Chronicles: Prince Caspian (2008) and The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (2010).

I admire most of the characters, which made me missed Susan and Peter for not appearing in The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. While the two youngest Pevensie's, Lucy and Edmund have grown and shown maturity in their characters, the newly introduced clumsy nerd character of Eustace Scrubb was rather impressive. Thumbs up to Will Poulter for playing the role excellently! He was so fired up (already before he turned into a dragon). Although I hardly understood, I enjoyed listening to his ‘very thick’ English accent too.

I watched DVD The Voyage of the Dawn Treader quite late at night. Didn't realize I fell asleep after almost half way. The only thing I remembered I got sucked into Narnia and was fighting with the evil pirates while trying to find my way back to the real world. I played no character by the way, it was just me, surprisingly as a young kid! In my dream it was so mixed up and confusing. Suddenly I heard a disquieting sound, "The time now is six ten A.M.!". Okay that's my handphone's alarm. Alhamdulellah, I'm back to the real world. What a relief! I'll make sure there'll be no more late night movies in the future.

In your dream, you may appear as a young or an old you

Specky prince, eh? Sorry Caspian, I laughed a lot when I look at me like this

The pictures above were just an example of the manifestation of my own fantasy. Yes, it is about 'the amazing', 'the weirdo', 'the fantastic', etc. but it can never be true. I know it's fun but always put limit to our imagination. So it's time to wake up! I hope you understand what world of fantasy is all about.

How to adjust Perodua Kancil Headlamps

If you are experiencing frequent headlight flashing particularly from the vehicles of your opposite direction, that really means something. Please check your headlamps immediately. Your low beams could be too high or too dazzling for the oncoming drivers.

This is my Perodua Kancil (1997 - present). Kancil is just small car but still can fit in a very big guy like my Jordanian friend Anas.

When I changed my Kancil headlamps to the new ones, I didn't even think about the headlamp adjustment. As an ordinary driver, all I want is to get the new one fixed and then just drive away. In terms of 'Fix N Go' kind of service, I think the mechanic did well for my car. The new headlamps were nicely installed and work as intended. However realizing a number of headlight flashing I received after that, I knew something was wrong with my low beam alignment. What a frustration! But this was not the end of this chapter, in fact it was just a new beginning since in turn I learned something good. I learned how to adjust the headlamp myself, alhamdulellah.

Here I give you a simple guideline on how to adjust your Perodua Kancil headlamps. It is also applicable to Daihatsu Mira (3rd Gen), Daihatsu Ceria (Indonesia), Perodua Nippa (UK) and perhaps Subaru Rex (since all of them are sister cars to the 3rd generation Daihatsu Mira). By the way, my headlamp is of a square type.

Where are the adjuster screws?

There are two hexagonal headed screws located on the upper side of the headlamps (on both left and right). For the left side headlamp, the left screw is for up-down alignment, while the right screw is for left-right alignment. It should be another way around for the right side headlamp.

My old headlamps. Take a closer look at the adjuster screws.

I do advice you to use offset ring spanner (offset wrench) for your headlamp adjustment. Size 8-9 offset ring will do.

For me, night time is the best time for headlamp adjustment. You can observe the performance of the illuminating beam before your very eyes.

One of the adjuster screws is not easily reachable by ordinary open-end spanner. You need to use the offset type. Inset: Offset ring spanner

A step by step guide to adjusting your headlamps:

• Park your Perodua Kancil in front a wall (approx. 2 meters distance will do).
• Turn on your headlamps and switch it to low beam. Mark the focal point of the left and right beams using coloured tapes.
• Adjust the up-down alignment. Turn anti-clockwise to lower the beam or turn clockwise to elevate the beam.
• Adjust the left-right alignment. Turn clockwise to direct the beam to the center. Turn anti-clockwise to shift the beam to the lateral side (off-center).

Note: Unlike the original HL from Japan, some copy version from Taiwan may have an opposite tuning direction for the up-down and left-right alignment. Better check and play around with it, the more you get use to it the better the adjustment.

Test-drive your car and observe the beam.

• If so happened that you are tailing another car, the low beam should not hit the rear-view mirror of the front car. You need to further lower the beam otherwise.
• Your illuminating beams should distribute almost to the center and allow certain amount to diffuse to the lateral side. If they are too off-center, further adjustment will be required.

My last call
To car accessories shop owners, if you are selling headlamps, please make sure that you also do the headlamp adjustment. If you don’t provide the service, be honest. At least tell your customer how to do it.

Kaspersky AV2010 Root Scan Issue: Solve it using KAV2011

I have been using Kaspersky AV since 2005 and a legal user since 2007 [From My Desk: Kaspersky Antivirus - It's time to be a legal user]. Since that time I have experienced the best virus protection ever for all my PCs, laptop and netbook. No wonder Kespersky was graded the best Antivirus for the new millennium. However, those comfortable years don't last forever. Kaspersky has been badly criticised after the released of KAV/KIS 2010. Since I'm a loyal Kaspersky user, though a bit surprised, I'm inline with the critics. It's all about the root scan, that's what let me and others down.

Since upgrading to KAV2010, I noticed that my laptop runs slower at the start up, my broadband initialization turns sluggish, as well as my browsers' initialization. Apparently KAV2010 root scan has badly affected my Vista-based PC but not XP. I realized I'm not the only one facing this problem. What an embarrassment to the so-called 'the best Antivirus of the new millennium' after loyal users put so much faith in it but end up with sluggish initialization and poor start up.

The question is why Kaspersky Lab put so much emphasis on the root scan? There must be a solid reason behind it. I spent my 10 minutes googling for the answer and trying to find out what root scan really is and its correlation with rootkit. What I understand, in a layman's term, rootkit is a virus program, but unlike ordinary computer viruses, its code was writen in such a way so that its activities are hidden from detection by users and in a more advanced manner, undetectable by many antivirus software. That's not cool, isn't it? The consequences are also severe - users might end up with their password, identity and secrecies stolen by cyber criminals.

Now I realized how important root scan is. I'm glad that I'm still part of legal Kaspersky Antivirus community. Kaspersky Antivirus has been rated #2 in 2010 Topten Reviews: 2011 AntiVirus Software Review Product Comparisons, #2 in 2010 Notebook Review: Best Antivirus 2010 Buyers Guide and #3 in 2010 PC Antivirus Reviews. Based on my experience, Kaspersky always responds quickly to new viruses, way faster than F-Secure or Symantec Norton.

Untick the Perform Regular Rootkit Scan in General Scan Setting

If you are experiencing sluggish initialization and poor start up, that is not the end of your PC world, just upgrade your KAV/KIS2010 to KAV/KIS2011. There is an option where you can set rootkit scan to be non-regular (I couldn't find this option in my KAV2010). Just do it and have a peace of mind. For my case, my Vista-Based laptop performs much better than before, alhamdulellah.
.