It's not over and will stay

Hey yo, first and foremost I want to apologize for the last post, I was so demotivated and losing my mind a while there but after a deep thought, that was so wrong, very very wrong. So for that my blog will stay and I will not quit blogging, at least not for now. So this will not be a long post, just to announce that, this blog will stay alive accept that it won't be here anymore. It will be moved to a new "house" and still in its long process to be completed. Well, I hope this will be a right decision I've made. So, I'm backkkkkkkk :) :) :)

p/s: While waiting for this blog to be transferred, head down to my photo blog at www.rodznocturne.com for the time being :)

This might be my last post

Sound sad isn't it. It is sad indeed as this might be my last post in this blog. I won't be posting anymore things here and I'm quitting this blog. It's a hard things to do but it must be done. Not that I don't have any other choices, I do, but I choose to leave this for good. It's been a while that I plan and intended to end this but a lot of things still holding me on. Even if I start a new one, it won't be the same, it will surely be very very different. This is hard for me but someway somehow leaving is the best option to divert or transfer my direction to another things that will make things better. I don't want to do this but I have to, I'm not forced to do it, it's out of my own will and I feel this is the best for me. This is in line with the saying that goes "nothing live forever, nothing exist forever in this world, all that gone will be replaced but it will be different", in other words everything has their own ending.

If any of you still asked me why, my other answer would be, I have to follow my heart, I have to feed my preferences which has been telling me for quiet a while to quit it here. It is now or never and we will surely meet again at a better place one day. Until that day come, please do remember everything that any of you had experience here. I know, not a lot of good thing to be seen here but I've tried my very best. Blogging has always been the things that I love, things that I've pour some part of my heart to but yet I still couldn't find enough satisfactions. I need something better, some big changes and maybe something different but I've tried so hard to find it here but still I couldn't find enough.

Enough saying, what has to be done, will be done, regardless whatever it takes. Thanks everyone for everything and thanks for being the readers of my blog here. By the time I'm typing this sentences, I was thinking that this will have stay for while more. This blog will be still accessible at www.nocturneofmine.blogspot.com as I won't use the nocturneofmine.com domain name here anymore. So do still visit it before I'll delete it completely. I will not cry, I will have to smile instead because I've make the right choice for myself. As much as I wanted to type longer, I will still have to go. So, adios my blog spot and my readers, I'll see you all at the "other" side one day.... Chiowwwsss...

p/s: Don't hate me for this, I will be back one day, I can't promise as it all depends on what I should do, what I will acquire and how long to complete it.

New Hotel to be tuned in Sarawak??

Hotel to be tuned?? Seriously?? Well what other hotel you can use to tune your stay if not..... Tune Hotels! Ok lets go straight to the point. Most people will surely looking for a comfortable hotel with cheap or reasonable price to stay in when traveling to certain places. Sometimes it's so hard to find a very comfy hotel with the price below RM100 per night nowadays, unless you want to sacrifice the privacy and 50% of the comfortableness then money won't be much problem.

I believe many of us aware about the Tune Hotels and now they set to expand their hotels to another location in Sarawak. Yes, it's in Sarawak!! For the time being the only Tune Hotel in the state can only be found in Kuching and now another city will be a place for you who want to tune your stay :p 

Alright cut the crap, just tell us where is it? To my surprise I've never thought they will open their hotel at this city. As I've tweet to them in twitter a few months back on suggesting to them to open one Tune hotel in Miri and they said "We'll see next year" and I'm pretty confident they will open it there but..... they will be opening a new branch at Bintulu!! Yes it will be in Bintulu. There will be Tune Hotel Bintulu soon. The new Tune hotel will be placed at No.203 Lot 7932 Assyakirin Commercial Square 97000 Bintulu. So next time you have your visit to Bintulu make sure to check out this hotel as the price will be much worth your stay especially if you're on a long holiday in Bintulu. 

To top it all, currently Tune hotel have a promotional price of all it's hotels stay.

Oh, did I mention anything about when the Bintulu's Tune Hotel will be opened? I didn't because they didn't say it but look at the picture above, the stay period for Bintulu starting from early January next year. So that gives a clue when it will be opened :p 

Artist impression of how it will look like (Photo source: tunehotels.com)

So peeps, if you plan to go any place where they're Tune Hotels around, make sure you check their website at www.tunehotels.com to check for their rate. The rules will always be "book early, lower rates" :)

p/s: If you want to know about my experience staying in Tune Hotel Kuching click HERE. 

p/ss: Oh Tune Hotels, when will you'll open your Miri Hotel :(

Radio Kenyalang Astro Ch 870

Kuching, Sunday (31 October 2010), a new radio channel specifically for Sarawak on Astro have been launched. With this Malaysians can now enjoy local and traditional musics from Sarawak. This is the first radio channel that will aired Sarawak's ethnic and cultural musics as well as other music. 

The launching of this Radio Kenyalang will focus on promoting uniqueness of Sarawak's culture and surely will also deliver information and knowledge of tourism and lifestyle of Sarawak people. It is for the benefit of making Malaysian to get closer to each others' cultures and enrich their knowledge in every aspect of every race and ethic from Sarawak.

In line with Radio Kenyalang, another radio channel specifically focusing on Sabah has also been launched earlier.

It was launched by the Information, Communications, Arts and Culture Minister, Datuk Seri Utama Dr. Rais Yatim who said that radio channel will provide a better platform for local talents to showcase their abilities and enhance the entertainment industry with their cultural backgrounds. He also said that such channel will help to build the national-integration which will play a big role in bridging the gaps between Sarawak, Sabah and the peninsular.

The announcers and presenters of this Radio Kenyalang are those locals from Sarawak and they will be presenting in Bahasa Melayu Sarawak as well as Bahasa Malaysia. With Radio Kenyalang launched, Astro now has 19 radio channels.

Apart from that other radio channels, Era, MY FM and hitz.fm have been aired live from Kuching since from 25 October. Three hours has been allocated (10am to 1pm) from Monday to Friday for those channels to be aired live and will features announcers from Kuching. 

Currently nine announcers from Sarawak have been selected to run the programmes in all those radio channels. They are four announcers for Radio Kenyalang, two for hit.fm, one for Era and two for MY FM.

****************************************

So peeps don't forget to tune in to your favorite radio channels live from Kuching. Here are some photos during the Radio Kenyalang launching.

Radio Kenyalang's announcers

Sarawak's hitz.fm, MY FM and Era announcers

p/s: Sarawak Bloggers were officially invited to cover this event and more will come, so Sarawak Bloggers member, always look up for our updates ok :) Sarawak bloggers who attend the event apart from myself are mike, fahri, norman, effa and heinsen

1 Sarawakkkkkkkkkk...

I might be the last to write about this but better late than never no? hehehe Anyway few months back, specifically on the 3rd day of Raya, a bunch of Sarawak Bloggers went on video shooting. Not movie but this:

Why we did this video? Read about it HERE our director explain it well :p It's actually a parody of the famous Wassuppp! Budweiser commercial. So, what do you think? ;p

p/s: You won't see much of me there but the main thing is that we have fun doing it :D

HTC latest line up!

It's a little while ago when HTC introduce their Aria and Wildfire and now they're back with more player in their line ups. With the recent introduction of WP7 or Windows Phone 7, HTC said to be among the first to offer the WP7 powered devices. Now they offered 5 new devices with 3 WP7 powered phones and 2 new Desire variations. Here are their latest line up:

HTC's WP7 Phones

HTC HD7

...upgraded HD2 with a new "clothes"

 

HTC 7 Mozart

...no this is not a piano, you cannot play with it like piano, it's a phone that you can play Mozart's music with it and of course Mozart didn't use this phone before...

 

 

HTC 7 Trophy

...give it to your love one for a trophy but don't hang it on the wall though...

 

 

 

 

..and their two new HTC Desire variations:

HTC Desire HD

...HD? really HD? owh it might be HD, I think it's a HD, I'm sure it's not HD tv, owhhh my Desire has gone HD...

 

 

HTC Desire Z

...this one sounds like it evolve from Goku's time hmmm Dragonball Z? Just kidding :p

 

 

 

 

So there you have it, 5 new HTC phones, it's a lotttttt of choices to choose from but sadly it might not be in Malaysia yet. Just keep your faith, it will not be long although it might take sometimes :p Anyway, for more info on all of those phones point your browser to HTC website or click HERE.

p/s: I guess this year most people burn holes in their pocket because of mobile phones, oh well, at least that shows mobile phones is one of the most important things in life now, don't believe me? Try throwing your phone from the top of 10 storey building, will you do it or not? you might say "that's so stupid, what for throwing my phone from 10th storey building?" Ain't it important now? ;p If you're a millionaire that's a different story la..

WP7 - Latest army arrived on the Battlefield!

Finally Microsoft enter the mobile gadgets OS battlefield showcasing their latest mobile devices operating system. It's called WP7 or Windows Phone 7. Now that's more like it, at least it's not called Windows Mobile 7. Want to know why they've changed the name? From some sources, there was some mismanagement in the Windows Mobile team which has caused them to be reorganized. That had made Microsoft to start from scratch in developing a new mobile platform and now it's called the Windows Phone. That's a little bit of story on why the name is not windows mobile anymore and can explain why Microsoft was late in introducing it's new mobile platform.

Whatever it is, it's official that this WP7 powered devices are already in the market. Latest news from engadget revealed  the latest HTC phone on Windows Phone 7, the HTC HD7. The HD7 are pretty much like the HTC HD2 with new appearance on the outside. Like HD2, the most appealing things about this phone is the big size of the screen (4.3 inch to be exact). If you asked me is that important or not, my answer is, definitely!! It will be eye-soothing seeing something so big and clear. So if screen size does matter to you this phone is worth to get your hands on. But unluckily it will take sometimes to arrive in Malaysia. A little bit of this phone's specification:

• Runs on 1 GHz processor
• Powered by Windows Phone 7 OS
• 5 Megapixel, auto focus, dual LED flash camera with HD video
• 576MB RAM and 16GB internal storage
• 4.3 inch touch screen with 800×480 pixels resolution

For full preview on this HTC HD7 read it HERE.   

As for us in Malaysia, we will have to wait as like other new mobile devices, it will take sometimes to arrive here. But Maxis brought a good news yesterday as they will be the first to offer this phone and with that we can expect a contract package like other phones they offered before. Now like what always be the concern, the price it will carry. The predecessor, HD2 priced more than RM2k when it was first brought to the market, even now the price might be around RM1900 (correct me if I'm wrong). So, will the latest HD7 carry a price more than the HD2? Logically it might will as it can be consider as an upgrade for HD2. Now, the question is will any of you would be interested in the new Windows powered phone? Especially when while you're reading this you're holding your Android or BlackBerry Phone or an iPhone4 ;p 

Malaysia Airlines MAS

This post should be out a couple of weeks ago but it stays in draft until now :p Anyway the title is very straight forward no? but what about MAS (Malaysia Airlines) that I want to write up here? Another complain and whining about their services? Nahhh.. lets give them some credit alright :p

It's been quiet a while that I didn't fly with MAS, I could only recalled that the last time when I'm in MAS's flight was in 2006 or 2007. That time a lot of changes have been made but after that I've never bothered by what improvement they've made until my last trip from Kuching to Johor few weeks ago. After more than 3 years I didn't fly with them I noticed a couple of improvements. Not that big but it does makes a different.

During that trip, the first thing I encounter was their check in system. While I was walking towards the check in counter, a polite lady approach me and said "Encik sila guna kiosk untuk Check in lebih cepat" I said errr.. where's the kiosk? The lady show me the kiosk and I told her that I have big bag that I need to put into the cargo (as I thought that kiosk is only for those who only bring hand carry item and no cargo luggage).

MAS Kiosk

She smile and said "Boleh juga check in guna kiosk ni lepas tu kita ada "bag drop" counter untuk beg yang masuk kargo, Encik tak payah berbaris panjang di kaunter". I told myself, this is cool. She showed me how use the kiosk and less than five minutes, I got my boarding pass! Cool right? (I don't know if I'm the last to know about this kiosk but as I said I've not been flying in MAS for quiet sometimes and forgive me for my "sakai-ness" :p ) Then I walked to the counter just to drop my bag for cargo and then I turned my sight to my right.... What did I saw??? in the next paragraph....

Click HERE for more info

I saw a long queue of people wanting for check in, then I turned my sight to my left to the kiosk, only a few people using it. So I wonder, are those people queuing were not aware of that kiosk or they think it's difficult to use it? Never mind them, for me that's a small improvement which have been advantage for fast check in but still need some additional improvement when people started to fully use it one day in which they need a lot more of that kiosk. Now that's quiet a long story of MAS kiosk hehehe.

Next thing I like about the flight is this:

Meals at 30k feet above sea level :p

Yummeh!! All I can say is, this is great!!! I'm rushing to the airport that morning and doesn't have times to eat breakfast and it's noon already, with this meal I'm grateful I don't have to be starving for 1 hours and 20 minutes flight. Plus it's FREE!! :p The last time I'm in MAS flight they only serve orange juice and a piece of cake or salted peanut and now they even give you Kit Kat!! (I don't know how long have they provide meals for domestic flight, again this is new to me so again forgive my "sakai-ness") Glad I don't have to spend RM20++ for a meal like this in a flight ;p The in-flight meals offered in two types, the fried rice with sweet and sour chicken (like the one I had above) and Tom Yam chicken with rice I think, can't really recalled it, bad memory hehehe.

One other thing that I notice is that their price is getting more competitive nowadays considering the conveniences they provide. But still it's your own choice and preference. We have to be smart no? 

So peeps if it's conveniences that you seek the most, MAS (Malaysia Airlines) might be the one to consider but if you want to sacrifice that and the lowest fare is your most concern... pat your chest and asked your preference (direct translation: Tepuk dada tanya selera :p ).

Sarawak Bird Race 2010

Hey ya'll, been silence for a while, been very busy with work so that can explain why there's a lack of update on the blog. It's end of the year so a lot of last minute thing to be completed. Anyway, its October 2010, less than 3 months it will be a brand new year coming. So what's the new resolution of 2011? Not thinking about it yet? Well, I haven't have any idea myself :p.

So, to kick off October, lets start with a nature based post :p This will be about Sarawak Bird Race 2010 which will be held at the beautiful scenic Borneo Highland Resort. This is the 3rd year this event was organized. I've joined the first in 2008 but unable to be there for 2009 and sadly also have to skip this year's due to work commitment :(

Anyway, that won't stop me from delivering the information although it's quiet late. So, this event is particularly a bird race. Don't get me wrong, you don't have to bring your pet bird and put them into race in which those crossing the finish line first will win :p Specifically, this bird race is where the participants (in a group of two person) will try to spot and identify the wild birds they see in the events location. Meaning that like bird watching but with a sense of competition. It can be define as "A bird race is a “fun race” where teams of two compete against each other in searching, identifying, and recording as many species of birds within a stipulated time". So, those bird watchers and those who like wildlife (particularly birds here) should join this events. Normally bird watchers will do it for the sake of fun and hobby but here you put all those bird watching and bird identification hidden skills of yours to practice and in the running to win attractive price!

This event is jointly organized by Borneo Highland Resort and Malaysian Nature Society. The detail of the event are as follow:

The race is divided into two categories and the participation fees are as follows:

Long Race
(Buntal – Kubah National Park – Semenggoh Wildlife Centre – Borneo Highlands Resort)
RM100 nett per team of two

and

Short Race
Around Borneo Highlands Resort
RM60 nett per team of two

Additional information and fees
• Kubah National Park entrance fee – RM10 per pax **
• Semenggoh Wildlife Centre entrance fee – RM3 per pax entrance fee**
• Participation exclude meals and transportation
**Not included in participation fee

I know I know the participation fees and other cost look expensive but you can share with your partner 50/50 which I think will not be too much burden. Try to join and you won't regret paying for it :p To add to your motivation here's the prizes for each categories of the race:

The winning teams to be awarded as follows:
1. Long Race:
• 1st Prize – RM2000
• 2nd Prize – RM1500
• 3rd Prize – RM1000
• 4th & 5th – Congratulatory Prizes

2. Short Race:
• 1st Prize – RM500
• 2nd Prize – RM350
• 3rd Prize – RM250
All participants will be given a Certificate of Participation

Attractive? Of course it is, imagine how many Laksa and Mee kolok you can eat with those prizes (if you're a fan of those two highly addictive delicious food) :p

The detail tentative of the race are as follow (click the image to view large):

Apart from the race event, there will be some side events also organized such as Nature Talks by MNS Experts and Nature Walks. So for those who are new to bird watching this is time when you can learn a lot from all the experts at the event. There will be many experts bird watchers attending the events. For those who just build their interest in bird watching and has never done any, this is also the time when you can build your basic skills in it. So what are you waiting for, contact these peoples for more details of the race and registration: 

Benard Tiang ‐ (6) 016‐886 0139 – benard@borneohighlands.com.my
Susan Teal ‐ (6) 012‐855 1799 ‐ mnskuching@gmail.com
Anthony Wong ‐ (6) 013‐833 3163 ‐ antwong@pc.jaring.my

Hurry as this race will take place this weekends from 8th-10th October 2010!

For more information visit Borneo Highland Resort Website at http://www.borneohighlands.com.my

or click HERE

Android 2.2 Samsung Galaxy Tab

With the recent "battle" of Android and iPhone, many have agree that Android has beat iPhone in many ways. My choice always be Android, personally but if I could afford it, I love to have all three, Android phone, iPhone and Blackberry but yeah there will always have to be a number one choice :p

Anyway, Apple has introduce its iPad a while ago and again Android has set to top that with the their latest alike-gadgets running on Android. If you asked me between iPad and Android "pad" I choose Android "pad". Why? As I mention before my choice will always be Android. Not that I'm a hardcore fan but it's my personal preferences. I'm an avid fan of something that can make gadgets interesting and enjoyable. If iPads can top Android "pad" I will choose them as well but it might goes a long way for Apple to do that simply because of their price and not as "open" as Android. What I mean is that iOS is just for Apple's while Android is an open software platform that can be run on many devices' brands leaving us with many choices :)

Ok, enough for that, yes the Android based tablet. Is it a good thing? Of course it is. The line of this "pad" gadgets for Android has already started with the official introduce of Samsung's Galaxy Tab. Although I've yet to get my hands on that Tab but I can feel it's good gadget. Some of it's main features highlighted are:

1. Running on Android 2.2 (Froyo) we all already know this :p
2. 7 inch WSVGA (1024x600) 169 ppi TFT display.
3. 1.0GHz Processor with PowerVR SGX450

4. Batery - 4000mAh (Samsung claim it can run 7 hours of movie play)
5. 3.0 MP AF camera with LED flash at the back and 1.3 MP camera on the front for video chatting and etc.
6. Full HD (1080p) video player and recorder (720x480 @ 30fps)
7. Support MP3, AAC, OGG, WMA, AMR NB/WB, FLAC, WAV, AC3, MIDI and many more music file format for music player.
8. Memory: 16GB/32GB+Micro SD slot up to 32GB
9. Multi-touch zoom
10. Gyro sensor

and like other Android devices, it support apps download from Android Market. This Galaxy Tab is smaller than iPad and claim to be lighter (380 grams). With this device, Samsung also announce a new service called Media Hub, an iTunes like service which allows Samsung's portable devices user to buy and rent movies and TV shows. Another killer made for iTune? :p This Media Hub will set Samsung Android devices apart from others for sure.

So being gadget lover, I love to get my hands on this thing when it's available in Malaysia. I might end up not buying it because I still prefer netbook with windows and simply because I might can't afford it :p but if the price is a good deal would I buy one? Why not, if it fits my budget hehehe So the most important buying factor here is still the price :) Hope it come with an affordable price tag *crossing fingers*

Ok then, I think I better not let myself drool to much on this Galaxy Tab for now and keep the finger crossing hoping that it will come with a very affordable price :p

p/s: They really want to "kill" iPad, notice the color of that Galaxy Tab? Black front, white back, same as iPad no? :p

A Living Legend?

Yes he is a living legend, he's one of the most respected guitarist in the world and he's one of my all time favorite guitar player. Although I can't play like him but I like the way he pull every riff he played. Not that I want to play like him (because I know I can't) but I really love every music he played. Ever since the Guns N Roses era, every songs with his riff has always been something that worth to listen to. Familiar with songs like Sweetchild of mine and Don't cry? yes it's Slash, one of the Guitar's living legend. Too bad I didn't go to his concert in Malaysia last few months but anyway I'm sure many guitar players out there who like his music wants to play like him so bad :) I've tried but I still not there yet (maybe I'm not a talented person). So just for something other than Guns N Roses songs here's a theme song in video game called Godfather solo played by Slash... Enjoy... 

p/s: why I wrote this post? well just for entertainment :p

Sarawak Bloggers Street Photography

Street photography is all about freezing the moments of all things in the streets and freezing action is guided by the randomness. Well, at least that's what I think hehehe. Last Sunday (August 29, 2010) 11 members of Sarawak Bloggers have gone out for an outing or a mini street photography meet up. The whole idea is to exposed the present members to street photography and sharing knowledge about it. The sharing was done by Robin, (thanks man!) a big street photography enthusiast. Personally, Robin is very good in this field and I'm glad that I meet him (if you don't believe me try visit his blog, you'll be amazed :p ). 

Anyway I learned a lot of things during that session and what Robin share has really make me want to do more street photographing. Honestly, that was the first time ever I done street photography, I mean pointing my lens at random peoples and things. Before, I'm not so into street photography as I was afraid of getting the people mad and disturbing people's privacy and everything else. How could it not, imagine you're walking or in the midst of browsing through the items for sell at the street and suddenly someone you didn't know pointing the camera at you trying to take your photo. What would you feel? Awkward? Irritated? worry? pissed off? This is one thing in photography world which is so challenging I must say.

Doing street photography will surely get you into some troubles, like being scolded by people who mad at you taking their photo out of the blue and people will give you the WTF kind of look. But on top of that all, it is fun because you shoot something that is really random. Ok enough for the ranting, I can go all the way far doing that hehehe, now here are the photos I took (not as good as others' I think).

Sarawak Bloggers shutterbugs who turned up were Robin, Cyril, Fahriee, Angel, Yong Lim, Mike, Norman, Lance, Eve and Ivan. It's great hanging out with you all and nice knowing those whom I meet the first time, you guys rockzz :p

All in all it was a fun events, hope it will be organized again next time and hoping that many more Sarawak Bloggers member turn up, it will surely be more blast!! See ya...

p/s: More photos of this street photography session HERE