The New iPad

Just want to write a simple review about ipad 3, (hey I haven’t even touched it!)

It is just simply amazing that the ipad 3 uses quadcore graphics and dual core for general processing.

The most amazing new thing on the new ipad is nothing else than the Retina Display. It is even higher resolution than any HD devices. It provides 4/3 of HDTV 1920 x 1080 p

I have seen the WWDC of Apple at apple.com , Tim Cook presented the new iPad.
Is it just me or his presentation for me is really boring? I did not see passion from the audience to hear him. Well, no one can be like Steve anyway,, I do really miss his presentation at former WWDCs

Wonder when will it come to Indonesia..

The Most Difficult Task

After all of these years, I have realized what the most difficult task is.
It is referred to one of the great quotes :

if you would like to be an expert, try to practice 10000 hours. It works.

Yup. That’s it. Everyone can be an expert if they would like, and willing to work hard.
But basically,  it is one’s skill which can achieve 10000 hours of practicing faster than the others.

One can accomplish the same goal in 5 years, another one in 3 years, even another one just in less than 1 year.
All based on their skill in time management.

As we live on the same planet, the same universe, we are all given 24 hours a day.
Someone who is successful, someone who is not, a doctor, a professor, a president, a star-singer, a criminal, a dropped-out student, all are given 24 hours a day. Not much, not less. The same time, different result. How can that happen?

be thankful of time given to you. Like the river, there will never be the same water flows twice in the same place.
It is also difficult for me to manage the time.

 

Just an introspection of me.

RIP Yofanka

My deepest condolences for our friend Angelina Yofanka, who had an accident during rafting in Garut, West Java.

It happened on Sunday, February 5th, when she joined rafting with her colleagues. With her 4 friends, their boat was hitting a rock and they fell, 4 of their friends were rescued and she was drown into an undercut.

The chronology can be read on the web from her colleagues made: http://saveyofanka.blogspot.com/

Based on the web http://www.ccadc.org/instruction/ACA_SWR_Class/HazHydro/Undercut.html , it is written:

Undercuts can be very dangerous as we will discuss in this article. Undercut rock formations are often quite irregular and may capture river debris like trees, branches, and manmade objects. Either way if you are in your boat or out of your boat, passing through an undercut rock is a crap shoot. Seldom can you see under the water surface and what you don’t see can be very deadly indeed. Since undercuts are typically in rapids the force of water can be really strong as well. Undercut rocks are created where the water is most forceful like the outside of bends, waterfalls and high ledges, and sometimes in mid-current like the clam shell formation on Railroad Rapid on the New River Gorge.

As told, it can be deadly indeed. Hopefully next time they can be more careful with this likely natural dangerous challenger.

Be at peace Yofanka.

Finally, the Problem is Solved

It has been a few days for me not updating this blog.
There was a problem in a customer that was quite complex.

Actually, it was MORE than complex, because the root cause would never be found if I did not contact the developer team of MIMIX.

MIMIX, like any other software, has a service pack upgrade patch which is released every moment of time, could be weekly, monthly, or 2-monthly.
By default, upgrading means making it better from the previous version.
Correcting bugs, improving its feature, etc.

But this time, it was a special case.

After upgrading to new version, the software kept falling down every couple of times. The log files told me that there was a network problem. Helped by the network team, I tried to investigate about the network. Could be the device A or B the problem, I have analyzed every possibility device that might be the root cause of the network problem. But I did not find any clues, then I tried to trace the network using network tracing tool called Wireshark.

After get the data from tracing the network, I was also advised by the network expert from IBM that told me that the network was FINE.

So I escalated again to the MIMIX support team, then they arranged a meeting with the developer team to help investigating what happened.
Then it was found: the new version has a bug. And after that they fixed the bug as soon as they can.

The next day, they released a fix patch for the software regarding the bug I reported. Mission accomplished, problem was solved

It took around 2 weeks to ensure that there was a bug in the software, because it was the last option or the last suspect I thought might happen for this 10 years old software. And it did happen.

The lesson is: Every thing is possible. There is no problem that cannot be solved, just do not give up to find it.

Click

After seeing today’s 9gag post :

I could not agree more.

This is the best film of Adam Sandler, ever.
For anyone who think that their life is not satisfied enough, for those who always say that they do not have enough time, this film punches those questions back. “Do you really do not have time? or you just make it seems like that?”

The moral of the story is the best. Once we say that we do not have time, we will never have it.
More importantly, do not forget to whom you have to make priorities.

Even after I watched this several times, it still reminds me for thanking the god about how beautiful the life is.

“I will do that after I get promoted, I will do this after doing those works, etc..”
If we follow the situations like that, we will never have time for ourselves, for our families, etc.

Once my mentor told me that, “Works will never end, because after you finish one, the other will come. Spare time for yourself and your families, and friends.”

Next Vacation Destination

I do really love travelling, especially to places I have never been there before.
when I was surfing the web, it is undoubtedly that Indonesia has the most beautiful scenery of natural beauty on the earth. One of the places I mean is this:

Papua, yes Papua. The most remote area in Indonesia.
The edge of Indonesia on the East.

Having diving there will be an unforgettable experience!

Upgrading MIMIX

Although I have done several times upgrading MIMIX service pack, there’s still errors happened during this night.

What can I evaluate is:

1. Remember that we have to be in the Management System for Ending the MIMIX
2. Make sure that the user space is not taking too much storage, otherwise, the backup step when installing the new version will be very slow. Things need to be done: Sysreq, end the job of upgrading, delete the user space, then restart it again.
3. Make sure that all the systems which we want to upgrade are ready to be upgraded. Upgrade all the system in the same time. Because ending the MIMIX will impact to another systems related.
4. Don’t forget to End the MIMIX at all systems first, and then END the subsystem
5. Be calm and do not panic.

Well, just a random note from a sleepless guy during the saturday night, still working..
haha

The First Training Session

Finally I have made my first training in SMA 8 Jakarta about line follower robot.

For some robotic fans, line follower robot is not very interesting because it is very common.
But what I tried to make in my high school is a foundation about robotics extra curricular, which is started with the basic principals of electronics. And one of the beginning level robot project to make is line follower robot.

Line follower robot is a robot which can follow a line by reading it through sensors. I remembered when I participated in several competitions in college. I learned a lot about robot from doing those simple robot projects.

Within the project, hopefully the students will begin to understand:
- the basic of micro controller
- how the sensor works
- how the basic electronic circuits work
- how the motor works

Well, beside the training things, for me it is really fun to do something what I used to do in college. Because making robot is so interesting. It is indescribable feeling that seeing the combination of nuts, bolts, electronic things can move like a living thing.

The first module of the training will discuss about microcontroller and sensors.
It is important to introduce the micro controller first to these students because micro controller, for me, is the most amazing thing in my college life. With this tiny thing, we can make almost anything.

So, let’s have fun again

Working Late? Why Not?

During recent days, Jakarta has been raining every day.

And as we already know, when it is raining in Jakarta, the traffic goes really bad, especially during the time for people leave work to go home.

In my case, as my office is located in Plaza Indonesia, which is near Bundaran HI, it takes around an hour and a half travel time to go to home from my office.

But, when I go home late, around 11PM or 00AM, the traffic will all be mine

Yesterday I left the office at 23.55 , and arrived at home at 00.10. Amazing isn’t it? The traffic which usually takes an hour and a half, yesterday only took 15 minutes.

So, why not working late?

Sometimes, I feel that working at night is more productive, actually it is a common thing to do when I was still in college.

Though, I can be more productive by spending the rest of an hour and 15 minutes, sitting in front of my laptop doing works in the office, waiting for the traffic jam, and then go back home when the traffic is all mine.

Oh Well, Jakarta..

Preparing the First Material Robotics Training for SMAN 8

Few weeks ago, I have been contacted by one of the high school student of my former school, SMAN 8 Jakarta to give a robotics training for them.

As a basic training about robot for high school student, me helped by my dude Berry have decided to give a line follower robot training. The goal is to make a line follower robot for the next 3 months , hopefully the timeline can be kept as planned.

It will be a very fun tasks to do, since I started working, I have never had any chance nor reason to make robot again, let’s begin the FUN this first day training on this Saturday