Anyway, what I wanted to write about in this blog post is the parking at HKL. If you’ve never been to HKL before, unlike Selayang Hospital, HKL is an old hospital and the different department are located further apart instead of just in one building. The parking inside HKL is rather limited and you’ll even have to fight for a space with the HKL staff themselves and that was at their open parking which is opened to the public.

HKL Open Parking Space

Here’s a tip for you. If you want to visit any relatives or friends and you want to get a nearer parking space, try and come after 4pm. That is of course if the visiting hours are permissible for the ward you’re visiting.

Alright, here’s the HKL parking rate as of March 2011:

HKL Parking Rate

Information from my brother in law who works in HKL, the parking operator is newly appointed. The previous operator’s contract expired and the HKL management discontinued their contract. Hopefully HKL can improve their facilities in order to accommodate their ever increasing patients numbers.

Anyway, cut the story short, we have managed to get all the arrangement done in time. This include, gathering all of phuket and patong beach information blog various blog and websites, getting a reasonable accommodation place near to Patong Beach, my wife’s international passport and most importantly information about halal food to eat when we reach there. I skipped 2 items, one is to arrange taxi from Phuket International Airport to Patong beach and two, arrangement for tour during our short visit at Patong Beach. I’ll let you know why afterwards.

Here’s a full gallery of our trip to Patong Beach, Phuket Thailand (271 photos divided into 3 days):

Alright, firstly if you pre-arrange your taxi, you’ll probably would have paid 200 baht more. I only paid 500 baht to the taxi driver. There is one thing which was quite scary, the taxi drove 120 – 130km/h and this was on a normal road since there were no highways in Phuket. I was sitting on the edge of my seat the entire journey..goshh..Secondly, tour package is available everywhere in Patong Beach. There was like a stall or a booth everywhere I walk at the stretch on Patong Beach streets. During my first day at Patong Beach, I guess I walked almost 10km, took a tuk-tuk ride, slept in the hotel because of exhaustion until the evening, searched and found the most talked about Malay-Thai Kusuma Restaurant (the best tom yam soup I’ve ever had in my life) and had my feet massaged by the end of day.

During the second day, went for a cruiser trip to Phi-phi Island. Came back and had tom yam and seafood again at Kusuma Restaurant. Went shopping a little bit, took pictures and walked along Bangla Road.

Final day before returning home, we hired this Malay speaking taxi driver, went shopping for souvenirs and took the flight home.

It has been 14 years since I last boarded a flight. It was one of my most memorable experience travelling to a foreign country together with my loved one. I’ll sure be coming back to Phuket whenever I get a chance to go there again.

In February 2010, since my wife and I didn’t go anywhere for honeymoon yet. We organized a last minute 3 days and 2 nights trip to Pulau Tioman. We selected a 3D/2N package from an advertisement on 88db.com and booked a return ticket Transnasional bus ticket from KL – Mersing. The hotel resort we booked was a RM700 budget package for 2 person from Sun Beach Resort Tioman Island. My only comment for the resort is to change their bed. I can feel the spring inside the mattress. One more thing, the room doesn’t have a TV so be prepared to do your own activities inside your room there.

I’m not going to write in details of our entire journey and activities so I’ll summarize in using a slideshow below:

Overall, it was an unforgettable honeymoon and we are looking for more trips for the next coming years.

A couple of months ago, I have no issue with DiGi Internet Prepaid as it serves my purpose quite well. Although the top download speed is capped at 384kbps, watching YouTube videos has not been a problem. The download quota of 3GB per month never been exceeded as I only use the pre-paid internet line for 3 – 4 days sometimes 10 days per month. At RM2 per day, it was the perfect internet replacement for me while on the go.

After haven’t been travelling for a while, I realized something new happened. I got this SMS in my Mobile Connect application:

You have reached the 100 MB daily quota. However you will continue to enjoy unlimited Internet usage at 128kbps until the next quota reset at 12am

I was shocked. Immediately the internet speed dropped and my download was downgraded. This is not a good sign. I did some Googling just now using the now throttled internet speed of 128kbps:

DiGi Internet Prepaid

Oh dear, I need to find a solution for this. I did some checking around:

Maxis Hotlink Internet Prepaid

Celcom Broadband Prepaid

I am a Maxis postpaid user on my Sony Xperia X10 Mini. However Maxis has the most expensive plan with RM8/day and only 500MB per day. I also have a DiGi Prepaid sim-card which I hardly use, at RM5/day and only 100MB per day, this is even pricier than my DiGi Internet Prepaid at RM2/day. The best option for me right now is to go for Celcom Broadband Prepaid at RM6/day with 1GB per day.

I should make a comparison table for this but I am too lazy to do it right now. Now, I need to find myself a Celcom Broadband Prepaid™ Pack somewhere here in Ipoh.

Update 1st February 2011: I subscribed to Celcom Broadband Prepaid on Celcom Blue for RM18 weekly (Sim Card cost me only RM3 during a promotion). The line only managed EDGE connection with unstable internet connection even on the 18th Floor of Menara PJD, Kuala Lumpur. The same goes when I was in Tambun Ipoh. So, it was a no go for Celcom Broadband Prepaid for me.

Update 12th February 2011: I bought Celcom Broadband Prepaid pack just now at a Celcom partner’s booth (Only RM12.50) at Giant Ipoh (Tried to buy one at Celcom Blue Sunway Pyramid but they said they ran out of stock). I realized that the Celcom Blue sim-card doesn’t have 3G capabilities which is why I couldn’t get a good speed the last time I tried. I am now on HSDPA line powered by Celcom Broadband Prepaid.

I discovered from my brother and also other people using Streamyx 384Kbps that the speed was sufficient for normal browsing and casual download. So the decision is final, we wanted to downgrade the existing 1MBps Streamyx to 384Kbps. After making calls to 100, the best way to downgrade is to go to the nearest TM Point which is for me located at Kepong. Since the line was still under my father’s name and my father passed away last December, I first had to transfer the account to my name first by filling up a form before I can apply for the downgrade (RM10 was charged for the account transfer).

TM Point Kepong design is quite nice and comfortable, as usual the queue required me to wait for almost half an hour before my number turned up.

Here’s another view of TM Point Kepong.

The only thing that surprised me was that my internet line would be disconnected for 2 weeks in order for the downgrade to proceed. I then asked when will the line would be cut, the guy at the counter said immediately. So, I was out of internet for 2 weeks. I had to use alternative broadband internet I have which is the DiGi Internet Prepaid that I’ve bought a while ago but the reception in my house was really slow. I then tried using Daily Unlimited Celcom Xpax Prepaid Internet during last weekend, the speed was acceptable but the budget was a bit steep for me.

I made a call to 100 last week which the operator told me the downgrade request hasn’t been processed yet. So yesterday I made another call where I got the same answer with an additional information that I can request for a rebate for the entire stretch of my downtime (that was nice to hear). Last night, when I got back from home, my internet Streamyx was restored. A total downtime of 15 days.

So there you go, that was my experience downgrading TM Net Internet Streamyx.

After a week of learning all there is from the SOA/ADF Oracle training, I found this job advertised by a big multi-national company that matches what I have learned so far. Before I write about it more, I wanted to share with you some screenshots of what I’ve learned from the Oracle training I attended, here you go:

What you see above is a screenshot of Oracle Jdeveloper tool in designing a work flow of a credit card process. At first, following the step by step instruction in the tutorial was easy. Not until the end part when you have to test to see if the work flow application you’ve just created could run or not. It was sort of a relief when it run successfully. But when you see an error message appears, there is where you start to scratch your head opening up every little components which you’ve thought was so simple and realized it has become so complex. It’s like doing math problems during school but with some visuals added to it. For those people who loves the challenge, this is an ideal job for you. I can’t really say it is for me although I do like it once in a while.

This is a view of Oracle Enterprise Manager. It’s a heavyweight application which I believe involves BEA Weblogic application server. My laptop couldn’t take that application therefore I had to connect to the instructor’s laptop to view. If you are familiar with online dashboard, PHPmyadmin or others, you’ll get the hang of it. All of these activities I’ve shown to you requires a lot of ‘experiencing’. It’s not something you could just read and digest. So if you are lazy ‘doing’ but love to just ‘read’, this is not something for you. I love experimenting (up to a level where I don’t see too much disappointing error messages) so this might be a suitable task for me.

Alright, enough about my ranting, here is the job description of a Oracle BEA Weblogic Portal Consultants:

Job Description

Systems Integration Consulting professionals are responsible for delivering large-scale, complex programs that marry processes with technology to help our clients achieve high performance.

Oracle Weblogic professionals design, implement and deploy Oracle Weblogic Portal and Oracle Weblogic Integration solutions to achieve defined business goals. They maintain skills in Oracle Weblogic Portal and WLI solution architecture, design, configuration, development, integration, testing and deployment; and Oracle Weblogic Portal and WLI technical architecture.

Key responsibilities may include:

• Supervising functional and technical design activities
• Creating functional requirements as an input to application design
• Developing and testing detailed functional designs for business solution components and prototypes
• Supervising application build, test, and deploy activities
• Planning and executing data conversion activities (e.g., test data)
• Driving test planning and execution

Qualifications

Well versed with Oracle Weblogic Portal skills.

1. Portlets, Page Flow, Web Flows
2. Weblogic Portal Configuration, Administration and Performance Tuning
3. Weblogic Portal Clustering Design and Implementation
4. Web Services Integration
5. Portal Content repositories
6. Content integration and management
7. Access Management Integration or Single Sign-On
8. Rules-based personalization
9. RIA technologies such as AJAX / Adobe Flex

Well versed with Oracle Weblogic Integration skills.

1. WLI Clustering Design and Implementation
2. WLI Configuration, Administration and Performance Tuning
3. Human Workflow Design and Implementation
4. Process Integration Design and Implementation
5. Synchronous (e.g. SOAP, Web Services, EJB, RMI, CORBA) Integration Architecture, Design and Implementation
6. Asynchronous (e.g. JMS, MQ) Integration Architecture, Design and Implementation
7. Batch Integration Architecture, Design and Implementation
8. Canonical Data Model and Data Transformation including XML, XSD, XPath and XQuery
9. Service Orientated Architecture
10. Oracle Database Integration (JDBC, SQL)

Other Related Skill Requirements

• Knowledge and experience in implementation of Oracle WebLogic Server based solution
• Knowledge and experience in implementation of Java Open Source Framework (e.g. Spring)
• Knowledge and experience in full application development and implementation lifecycle
• Recognized Degree from good universities

Experience Preferred

1. Manager: 8 years and above of relevant experience including Project Management and Solution Architect roles
2. Consultant: 4 years and above of relevant experience including Team Management and Web Architect roles

Professional Skill Requirements

• Proven success in contributing to a team-oriented environment
• Proven ability to work creatively and analytically in a problem-solving environment
• Desire to work in an information systems environment
• Excellent leadership, communication (written and oral) and interpersonal skills

Phew!! That’s just too much to handle for me. I can’t imagine myself learning all those skills just to become an Oracle BEA Weblogic Portal Consultants. I know that this job can offer triple or more the salary I’m earning right now. However, I am missing a lot of requirement in becoming one for instance, a degree. So I guess my only option at the moment is to work closely with my company to maybe provide services for this role. Although my boss would not probably give me triple salary earning, at least I can still make use of what I have learned so far.

By the way, the product line my company is selling can be used with BEA Weblogic server. I think I’ll try and find some time to fiddle around with that one first. Hope you get an insight of what my job is at the moment.

Have a nice day everyone.

Since doing sales job is not one of my strongholds, I’ve always been interested to become a systems analyst. It may sound geeky but it is something that I like to look upon. Nevertheless, since I don’t have a diploma or degree in IT or Computer Science, I’d better stick with becoming at least an engineer role such as a web engineer role.

I just wanted to share with you some notes that I’ve gathered on what a job of a systems analysts is all about:

What are the responsibilities of the systems analysts?

Here are some of the responsibilities that System Analysts are expected to deliver:

• Provide creative source of ideas, solution to address problems to the existing implementations.
• Perform internal testing and debugging.
• Produce project progress reports, including project details, schedule, milestones and resource allocation.
• Ensure projects are implemented and completed successfully within schedule.
• Conduct technical feasibility studies, evaluate user requirements and recommends solutions and resolve issues.
• Prepare functional and technical specification and provide production support.
• Design, analyse and code programs for system development according to user specifications.
• Support user testing and be responsive to user queries, request for assistance.
• Participate in the full software development lifecycle (SDLC) including requirements study, analysis, design, coding, testing, documentation, implementation and user training.

What are the types of knowledge and skills possess by the systems analyst?

Knowledge and skill needed to be possessed:

• Up-to-date with the latest IT in specific areas of their scope
• A keen determination in problem solving
• Excellent communication skills with various level of management level

How are these knowledge and skills acquired by the systems analyst?

Knowledge and skills is normally acquired:

• During on-going job, tasks and projects
• Daily routine of work and communication internally and externally
• Internal training by senior personnel and top management
• Own effort of obtaining the latest information

Are the knowledge and skills possessed by the systems analyst adequate for him to perform his responsibility effectively?

Knowledge and skills are hard to be determined whether it is adequate or not. It is all depend on the individual performing their responsibility and the motivation and drive that they have.

If you are a job seeker, hope this information would be a good guide for you.

CIDB or the Construction Industry Development Board requires any personnel who is or will be working in any consctruction site to have a green card. This is to ensure every personnel is covered, sort of like an insurance or license to be in any construction site. My company has a major project in one construction site installing network cables and IT equipment. Although I only went there like one or two time only, I still need to be covered. So last January 2009, my HR department sent me to get my own green card just in case if I were needed to be sent to any construction site I supposed.

The class was done on a Saturday. This is where the place is located:

The Akademi Binaan Malaysia

The place is next to the LRT Star Station Chan Sow Lin station. So if you don’t want to drive there, just take the LRT. If you drive there, the parking is free. No sweat.

The Green Card Program

My class speaker

The speaker was fun to listen to. I wasn’t bored throughout his entire presentation. He was interactive with all of his audiences although I am guessing half of the class didn’t really understand his Malay languange (only 5 or 6 people in the class were Malaysian, the rest are all Indians, Viatnamese, Nepal or Indonesian). I really like what he is presenting. The most interesting part is when he includes his past experiences being a safety inspector.

CIDB Guideline Mini Booklet

This book was given complimentary of CIDB. It’s a nice booklet, less text and more illustration. During the end of the class, I received the construction helmet which is now being displayed on top of my closet collecting dusts. BTW, it is an offence leaving your construction helmet in your car.

That’s all for today. Will write again soon.

I borrowed RM300 (I’m still broke though) and I was on my way to the nearest Immigration Department of Malaysia which is located in Plaza Metro, Kajang. The parking there is just RM1 and I parked my car just outside of the entrance of the office (4th floor). That’s not so bad right? Here’s a photo of the place:

Pejabat Imigresen Kajang

After I bought the application form (RM1), I photocopied my Identity Card and attached my photographs along with my filled application form. The clerk at the counter checked my documents and found out that I didn’t include my birth certificate. I remembered reading that for MyKad holders, that is not necessary so I argued with her. Unfortunately, I found out that I’m not a MyKad holder. I’m just a regular IC holder since I was the early batch back then that has been changed into a new version of the IC.

I had to drive back home to get my original birth certificate, make a photocopy of it and then decided to try the Immigration Department in Kuala Lumpur instead. The office is located at Pusat Bandar Damansara, only 15 minutes drive from where I live.

Jabatan Imigresen Wilayah Persekutuan KL

The only thing I had to bare is the parking fees which is RM2.20 for the first hour and RM1.50 for the next subsequent hour. The place is definitely bigger than the one in Kajang and there’s larger crowd over there.

Instead of writing about my experience, this time I’ll just draw a diagram about it:

How I Got My Passport Process Flow

Application Form and Supporting Documents

Immigration Processing Counter

The whole process took me less than 4 hours and I was back at my office by 3pm. The parking fee that I had to pay was RM6.70 and now I have my first passport ever.

My Passport

My next step would now is to apply for the US Visa. I am now ready to fly anywhere in the world.

I realized one thing, after indulging my own work for quite a while, it is so easy to forget that not everyone knows what you know. I’ve been keeping a lot of stuff that might be beneficial for someone else to know and utilize. I also realize that when you are used to digest a lot of stuff related to a specific task, you will know every single short cut that would enable you to finish off something a lot faster than the rest of the people. It’s time to give back what I know for the benefit of others.

Being in a web developer shoes, I know that bulk data might overwhelm a lot of developers or data entry personnel. This normally would lead to a lost interest of the work you have thus decreases your productivity. It’s a tedious job but someone has to do it. There is however a few tricks to overcome this challenge and one of the tricks when you are constantly online is to use the search engine to find a solution. Still you need to know what are the stuff you are looking for in order to acquire those tricks. I’ll cut the chase for you. One of my system developer needed to resized a batch of images to the same size in order for the system to display it properly. There wasn’t much time left so I helped her out in finding a way for this. I soon discovered a free software called Picture Resizer 2.0:

Picture Resizer 2.0

It took me a few minutes to familiarize with this new tool. After that, a resizing job that would take a batch of 50 images maybe an hour or so to get it done is now can be completed in just under a minute. How cool is that? Then comes another challenge, in order not to replace the origninal files, the software created an extension name to differentiate. After moving all the new resized files into a new folder it’s now time to rename all the files back to what it was before to avoid another job for script editing inside the developed system. If it would be done manually, it will take the same amount of time just as resizing the images manually. I found another software tool for that called Bulk Rename Utility:

Bulk Rename Utility

Now this software may seems complicated at first because you see a lot of buttons and fields to fill up. Our objective is just to removed 4 characters extension and we’ll be done with it. Check out the screenshot above on how to do it or try it out for yourself.

Now here’s an interesting point of view. From a management stand point, I’ve already saved a few valuable hourly pay for my employer for not hiring data entry personnels if they have to do it manually. Secondly, these softwares are free so the company saved some money from buying commercial softwares. Since all this can be done faster and automated, a lot of the existing data entry personnel/system developers would like it since it makes their lives a lot easier. However, it might be a threat to their job position if that’s the only thing they are doing.

That’s my friend is how the management think! Be Productive Everyone!