notice

I will not be updating this blog till January. I will be working away from home and will only come back by January :).

hadis

Pertama kali mendengar lagu ini, liriknya seakan-akan pernah didengari sebelum ini. Rupa-rupanya lagu ini adalah berdasarkan hadis di atas :). Agak menarik juga bagaimana kumpulan ini berjaya membawa hadis ini dalam suatu bentuk yang unik. Cubalah kita mendengar dan menghayati maksud hadis ini ;).

-Xifu dan Algebra-

cherry

Today, I started to work at a cherry farm. For a start, this is only a one-day job and depends on the fruits. Today's work is cherry thinning. We need to remove all the bad cherries (crack, irregular shape etc) and reduce the number of cherries in each branch. Thus, most of the time, we are removing a lot of cherry from the tree and not picking it either. It seems weird that we are paid to remove all those cherry when it seems so tasty.

With regard to the cherry working, I might not be able to update this blog as often as used to be (even now, I hardly update :)). So, please expect that. To those people who have holiday at this time of the year, please enjoy your holiday and have fun time with your family. You will never know when is the next time you are going to spend precious time with your loved ones...

Allah's guidance

وَالَّذِينَ جَاهَدُوا فِينَا لَنَهْدِيَنَّهُمْ

سُبُلَنَا وَإِنَّ اللَّهَ لَمَعَ الْمُحْسِنِينَ

"But as for those who strive hard in Our cause -We shall most certainly guide them onto paths that lead unto Us: for, behold, God is indeed with the doers of good. [29:69]"

fresh

New look :). This template is fully written by me. The experience has certainly increased my knowledge on CSS and a bit on Javascript. If all goes well, I might improved on this template.

Honesty

Narrated Hudhaifa:

Allah's Apostle narrated to us two narrations, one of which I have seen (happening) and I am waiting for the other. He narrated that honesty was preserved in the roots of the hearts of men (in the beginning) and then they learnt it (honesty) from the Qur'an, and then they learnt it from the (Prophet's) Sunna (tradition). He also told us about its disappearance, saying, "A man will go to sleep whereupon honesty will be taken away from his heart, and only its trace will remain, resembling the traces of fire. He then will sleep whereupon the remainder of the honesty will also be taken away (from his heart) and its trace will resemble a blister which is raised over the surface of skin, when an ember touches one's foot; and in fact, this blister does not contain anything. So there will come a day when people will deal in business with each other but there will hardly be any trustworthy persons among them. Then it will be said that in such-and-such a tribe there is such-and-such person who is honest, and a man will be admired for his intelligence, good manners and strength, though indeed he will not have belief equal to a mustard seed in his heart." The narrator added: There came upon me a time when I did not mind dealing with anyone of you, for if he was a Muslim, his religion would prevent him from cheating; and if he was a Christian, his Muslim ruler would prevent him from cheating; but today I cannot deal except with so-and-so and so-and-so.

[Sahih Bukhari : Book no 76]

from Antartic

Yesterday the weather brought snow to Melbourne, Canberra and Hobart and wild hail storms to southern Queensland.

Melbournians shivered through the coldest November day in more than a decade - a chilly 8C - while some areas of the state recorded the first November snowfalls in 23 years. Much of the east coast was shaking off the effects of a cold snap that saw temperatures plunge across Victoria and heavy snowfalls just a fortnight before the start of summer.

And further north, storms lashed southeast Queensland, cutting power to more than 30,000 homes, as hailstones and gales brought down trees and powerlines, damaging houses and cars.

Read more here

It was quite cold yesterday. The weather has been quite bizarre lately. Hot days followed by cold days. Sunny and later rain (and even snow too ;)). This must be some sign of global warming, I think...

update

It has been four days since the last post in this blog. I guess I should write more posts :).

I am thinking of writing new code for the next version of this blog template. First of all, I need to think of the main colour/theme for the new one. Any suggestion?

analogy

"The cruel jokes which our brother-Muslims play with the Holy Book of Allah are so ridiculous that if they themselves see anyone else doing such frolics in any other matter, they will laugh at him and even brand him as a lunatic. Tell me if somebody got a prescription written by a doctor and hung it by the neck after wrapping it in a piece of cloth or washed it in water and drank it, then what would you say about it? Will you not laugh at it, and will you not call him a fool? But this very treatment is being meted out before your eyes to the matchless prescription written by the greatest of all doctors for the merciful cure of all your ailments, and nobody laughs at it! No one tries to understand that a prescription is not an article to be hung round the neck or soaked in water and drunk, but that its purpose is to use the medicine as directed by it."

-Let us be Muslims-

Stage 2 Water Restrictions are now in place

The following water restrictions apply in metropolitan Melbourne from 1 November 2006.

Manual watering systems can only be used between the hours of 6:00 am and 8:00 am and between the hours of 8:00 pm and 10:00 pm on alternate days*.

Automatic watering systems can only be used between the hours of midnight and 4:00am on alternate days*.

Hand-held hoses with a trigger nozzle, a bucket or watering can be used at any time to water gardens.

Watering of lawns is banned.

* Alternate days means odd numbered houses can water on odd dates of the month and even numbered houses can water on even numbered dates.

taken from here

Currently Melbourne is facing quite severe drought. With the coming state elections at the end of November, the issue of water has become hot topic. Even Howard is also being blamed for not approving the Kyoto Protocol.

Most of the days were hot and cloudless. If this kind of pattern continues till summer, life will be a bit difficult. Hopefully the rain will come....

first draft

At first, I'm stuck on what to write for. Writing in an academic style certainly is not my favourite. To make my life easier, I just reviewed certain relevant journals just looking for certain phrases and sentences and later rephrase that into mine B). For the second draft, I might change those paragraph again. At the moment, I could not write a lot yet since I have not finished my data collection but at least I have already made the first step. The first step is always the hardest.

busy

I have been quite busy lately. My supervisor asked to me to give her the first draft. That's certainly took a lot of time to do. At the time of writing, the first draft was only about 2 pages.

On another note, to those people who will be sitting for their exam, I wish you good luck :).

a tiring day.

I spend almost one whole day celebrating Raya today. The Eid prayer at Malaysia Hall began at around 9 am. The temperature is a bit cold in the beginning but gradually becoming hot later in the day. Then, my housemates and I visited 2 places in the city and later in the late evening went to Monash. At Monash, we visited several rooms and by the time I reached the last room to visit, my stomach has reached its limit. I could not even finish drinking one whole cup of orange juice. Too much eating and drinking, I suppose :).

The khutbah given this year is enlightening. He started with the definition and purpose of Eid'ul Fitr. This day is supposed to be given to the winners who are able to defeat their own desire. At this point, he asked us to contemplate whether we are among this group of winners...

Next, he discussed the role of this ummah as the best nation among mankind and stated that at the current state, the ummah have not able to portray that kind of image to the whole world. There are simply too many negatives associated with Islam and the attitude among Muslims hardly improved the situation. Then, he concisely mentioned the role that we can play to help our ummah. He also asked us to forget the differences of opinions and thought and become one united front.

At this point, it is clear that if there are not that many 'winners' on the Day of Eid, how are we able to become the best nation among mankind. It is all back to the definition of Eid itself.

penghujung Ramadan

a bit early

The monthly allowance for the next 3 months comes a bit early. Almost one week earlier than the usual date. Is it because there is public holiday at Malaysia?

anyway, on another note...truly happy to receive the monthly allowance :)

memento

Someone gave this link to me via ym. It is the Petronas advertisement of Eid. It reminds me a lot of my paternal grandmother who has passed away....

Click here to view

human nature

VERILY, man is born with a restless disposition. [As a rule,] whenever misfortune touches him, he is filled with self-pity; and whenever good fortune comes to him, he selfishly withholds it [from others].

Not so, however, those who consciously turn towards God in prayer. [and] who incessantly persevere in their prayer and in whose possessions there is a due share, acknowledged [by them],

for such as ask [for help] and such as are deprived [of what is good in life]; and who accept as true the [coming of the] Day of Judgment; and who stand in dread of their Sustainer's chastisement – for, behold, of their Sustainer's chastisement none may ever feel [wholly] secure;

and who are mindful of their chastity, [not giving way to their desires] with any but their spouses - that is, those whom they rightfully possess [through wedlock]: for then, behold, they are free of all blame,

whereas such as seek to go beyond that [limit] are truly transgressors; and who are faithful to their trusts and to their pledges:and who stand firm whenever they bear witness; and who guard their prayers [from all worldly intent]. These it is who in the gardens [of paradise] shall be honoured!

[al-Maarij : 19-35]

statistics

Google Analytics tell me that most of the blog visitors used broadband and few used dial-up. Perhaps in the future, I need to reduce the amount of images and graphics in the blog for the dial-up users.

In term of browser, most visitors used Firefox but there is still large proportion who used IE6.

One aspect of Google Analytics is that you can see cross-segment performance. For example, I would like to see which browser is frequently used according to countries. In Malaysia, more than 50% of the visitors used IE6.

In comparison to Australian visitors, most of them used Firefox. This is certainly interesting for me to ponder. What causes this discrepancy?

The last picture shows the summary of this blog :)

speed

Tested at www.testmy.net

Your connection is: 381 Kbps or 0.4 Mbps
You Downloaded at: 47 kB/s
You are running: 7 times faster than 56K and can Download 1 megabyte in 21.79 second(s)
Test Time:: 2006/10/12 - 10:14pm
Test Browser and OS info: Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; Windows NT 5.1; en-GB; rv:1.8.0.7) Gecko/20060909 Firefox/1.5.0.7
Diagnosis ^info^: May need help : running at only 17.51 % of your hosts average (com.au)
This was tested from a 579 kB file and took 12.468 seconds to complete

folder

The picture shows the patients record for my research. I arranged all the patients infon according to their surname alphabetically. Despite the folder thickness, I'm far from reaching my objective. I have to work harder :)

record

No calamity can ever befall the earth, and nei­ther your own selves, unless it be [laid down] in Our decree before We bring it into being: verily, all this is easy for God.

[Know this,] so that you may not despair over whatever [good] has escaped you nor exult [unduly] over whatever [good] has come to you: for, God does not love any of those who, out of self-conceit, act in a boastful manner

those who are niggardly [with God’s bounty] and bid others to be niggardly! And he who turns his back [on this truth ought to know that], verily, God alone is self-sufficient, the One to whom all praise is due!

[Al-Hadid: 22-24]

iftar

We managed to organise one big iftar on last Sunday. We invited almost 70 peoples and the house is almost crowded to the max on Sunday night. Here are some of the pictures. Warning! Some pictures may stimulate your hunger response :)

nasi ayam + bubur lambuk

kek coklat dan tembikai

menggoreng ayam sehingga garing

delicious chicken ;)

He knows best as to who is conscious of Him.

وَلِلَّهِ مَا فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَمَا فِي الْأَرْضِ لِيَجْزِيَ الَّذِينَ أَسَاؤُوا بِمَا عَمِلُوا وَيَجْزِيَ الَّذِينَ أَحْسَنُوا بِالْحُسْنَى

53:31 Indeed, unto God belongs all that is in the heavens and all that is on earth: and so He will reward those who do evil in accordance with what they did, and will reward those who do good with ultimate good.

الَّذِينَ يَجْتَنِبُونَ كَبَائِرَ الْإِثْمِ وَالْفَوَاحِشَ إِلَّا اللَّمَمَ إِنَّ رَبَّكَ وَاسِعُ الْمَغْفِرَةِ هُوَ أَعْلَمُ بِكُمْ إِذْ أَنشَأَكُم مِّنَ الْأَرْضِ وَإِذْ أَنتُمْ أَجِنَّةٌ فِي بُطُونِ أُمَّهَاتِكُمْ فَلَا تُزَكُّوا أَنفُسَكُمْ هُوَ أَعْلَمُ بِمَنِ اتَّقَى

53:32 As for those who avoid the [truly] grave sins and shameful deeds - even though they may sometimes stumble behold, thy Sustainer is abounding in forgiveness. He is fully aware of you when He brings you into being out of dust, and when you are still hidden in your mothers' wombs: do not, then, consider yourselves pure - [for] He knows best as to who is conscious of Him.

[Najm :31-32]

three

While reading PB and Intan post about PMR, they remind me of my own siblings. Two of my brothers and one of my younger sister is sitting for three main exams this year. UPSR, PMR and SPM.

It is normal in my family to have two people to face two main exams in one year. Due to the family planning :) the gap between each siblings was 2 years. So, every two year, two of my siblings will be sitting for SPM and another for PMR ;).

This year is a bit unique. The 2 years gap was only applied from the first (that will be me :)) to the fifth. Between the fifth and the sixth, there are 3 years gaps which explain why three of my siblings will be sitting for three different exams.


p/s: Just for your information, I have 8 siblings including me.

differences

Celebrating Ramadhan and Eid here is a bit different from home. To start with, there is no television slot where they announce when the Ramadhan will begins. Thus, we have to rely via other means to find out the actual date. Either YM or go to the nearby mosque for confirmation. Usually there is not much different from the calendar :)

There are occasionally conflicts between few Islamic organisations deciding the date though. Last year for example, there are arguments when is Eid. Therefore, few people celebrate one day later than the rest. This scenario is normally happens when there is no central authority in a county.

The third obvious difference is the presence of Ramadhan markets. Back at my home country, every evening in the month of Ramadhan, there are always market being established where many people sell various delicious yummy foods and drinks for iftar. Here, none whatsoever. For iftar, we usually cook on our own and most of the time, the dinner is nothing special.

Nevertheless, we try to celebrate as much the coming of Ramadhan since the months of Ramadhan is a blessing for all Muslims. I still remember when the Eid clashes with the exam period. How busy we are at that period. To study and to celebrate in the same time. A memory that I treasured till today :).

All in all, it does not matter where you are in the month of Ramadhan. Whether you are in a country that celebrate Ramadhan extravagantly or in nation that the mood of celebration is hardly noticeable. The important matter is to ask our own iman whether this month of Ramadhan has bring any positive differences in our own action and thinking.

Narrated Abu Huraira:

The Prophet said, "Whoever fasted the month of Ramadan out of sincere Faith (i.e. belief) and hoping for a reward from Allah, then all his past sins will be forgiven, and whoever stood for the prayers in the night of Qadr out of sincere Faith and hoping for a reward from Allah, then all his previous sins will be forgiven ."

[Sahih Bukhari 32: hadith no 1893]

How sincere we are with our fasting this year?

obese

Malaysia has the most number of fat people in the Asean region. In fact, the number of fat people here exceeds that in many developed countries, including Germany and France.

In the last 10 years, the number of fat people has more than doubled, resulting in more Malaysians falling ill and diseases such as hypertension and diabetes shooting up.

A survey shows that 54 per cent of the adult population is either obese or overweight. Ten years ago, it was only 24.1 per cent.

I read that from the Malaysian newspaper. Surprised to know that.

read more here

Narrated Abu Huraira:

The Prophet said, "Whoever does not give up forged speech and evil actions, Allah is not in need of his leaving his food and drink (i.e. Allah will not accept his fasting.)"

[Sahih Bukhari 31: 127]

sahabat....

"friends forever"....seringkali dengar ungkapan itu namun sejauh manakah kenyataan itu menjadi realiti? Sudah lebih daripada 20 tahun hidup di dunia ini, namun agak sukar untuk mencari sahabat yang kekal di sisi kita. Sahabat satu sekolah, satu universiti, satu daerah dan pelbagai persamaan lagi....berapa ramaikah yang masih kekal berhubungan sehingga kini? Betapa ramai manusia kita bersahabat, namun jarang yang kekal selama-lamanya. Atas dasar apakah yang mampu mengekalkan nilai suatu persahabatan? adakah kerana kita mempunyai banyak persamaan atau adakah kerana kita mempunyai perbezaan? Seringkali persahabatan itu wujud kerana ada persamaan antara dua pihak. Kita berkawan kerana dia satu kolej dengan kita. Pernah belajar bersama-sama, pernah mengharungi suka-duka dan memahami hati kita. Namun mampukah persahabatan itu kekal sehingga akhir hayat?

chess

I have been playing this game for few days now. Chess. Playing against computer. Hard and after countless loss, I am able to pick up few survival moves ;). Now, I can survive a bit longer. Afterall, I'm not a good chess player. I usually made my move at random and rarely think 2-3 steps ahead. I guess I have to be more serious the next time I play against computer.

This chess game is free. The size is roughly about 1.3 mB. To download it, click here

p/s: in the picture above, I am white. The computer managed to beat me again ;)

One Web Day.

One Web. One World. One Wish.

Today is the day we celebrate the existence of world wide web.

Without the world wide web, just imagine how dull your life are going to be? No email, no chatting, no online knowledge and nothing to bridge the gap between any persons or countries. Just imagine how long it will take via post (air, sea etc) just to send an important message to another person across the world. In the world of internet, the message will only take seconds to reach that person via instant messenger.

If you would like to know about something, the fastest way is to google it instead of finding the same information from any books in the library. In fact, the phrase 'google' is the common verb now ;).

for more info, click here

Who is better in speech than one who calls (men) to Allah, works righteousness, and says, "I am of those who bow in Islam"?

Nor can goodness and Evil be equal. Repel (Evil) with what is better: Then will he between whom and thee was hatred become as it were thy friend and intimate!

And no one will be granted such goodness except those who exercise patience and self-restraint,- none but persons of the greatest good fortune.

And if (at any time) an incitement to discord is made to thee by the Evil One, seek refuge in Allah. He is the One Who hears and knows all things.

(Fussilat : 33-36)

Google Analytics

I has been using Google Analytics for few weeks now. It is a great service and quite thorough. The most complete version of its kind.

What it is? Well, it is some sort of website tracker which collect all the statistics involved while surfing any website. It is not just useful for normal blogger user but it can also be used for larger audience such as big marketing company. I am interested to see that it is able to detect and create the pathway involved in browsing a large website (if you have one). Useful for company executive, marketing department and web developer :).

The only downside is that it is a little bit complicated at first. Hopefully they are able to improve on the interface in the future.

Google Analytic slide show

antara dua cinta

Apa yang ada jarang disyukuri
Apa yang tiada sering dirisaukan
Nikmat yang dikecap baru kan terasa bila hilang
Apa yang diburu timbul rasa jemu
Bila sudah di dalam genggaman

Dunia ibarat air laut
Diminum hanya menambah haus
Nafsu bagaikan fatamorgana
Di padang pasir

Panas yang membahang disangka air
Dunia dan nafsu bagai bayang-bayang
Dilihat ada...ditangkap hilang

Tuhan...leraikanlah dunia
Yang mendiam di dalam hatiku
Kerana di situ tidak kumampu
Mengumpul dua cinta
Hanya cintaMu kuharap tumbuh
Dibajai bangkai dunia yang kubunuh

-Raihan-

Tertarik dengan ayat ini....Apa yang diburu timbul rasa jemu, Bila sudah di dalam genggaman...

Adalah biasa untuk kita mengalami hal sedemikian. Apabila hati ini menjumpai akan sesuatu yang menarik dan hebat, lantas kita membentuk satu azam untuk berusaha mencapainya. Biarlah usaha itu menghadapi rintangan dan dugaan atau merentasi masa yang panjang, azam kita yang kukuh akan sanggup mengharunginya. Itulah lumrah kehidupan ini.

Cubalah kita renungkan kembali kehidupan silam kita. Sudah pasti ada beberapa perkara yang dahulu kita idamkan sudah kita capai sekarang. Katakanlah seorang pelajar yang bakal menduduki peperiksaan SPM. SPM ini bakal menentukan masa hadapan dan dia tidak dapat membayangkan kehidupannya andainya dia gagal SPM ini. Sudah tentu pelajar ini akan berusaha sedaya-upaya. Tak kira waktu, tak kira tenaga...dia akan berusaha sedaya-upaya demi mencapai suatu keputusan yang bakal meletakkan kehidupan masa depannya pada kedudukan yang selesa. Keputusan SPM yang cemerlang...itulah azam dan harapan dia. Itulah azamnya yang tetap teguh di hati.

Katakanlah pelajar itu berjaya dengan gemilangnya. 20 tahun selepas itu, sudah pasti pelajar itu sudah bekerja dan berumahtangga. Kehidupannya pasti akan bahagia. Namun, adakah pemikiran pelajar itu masih beranggapan bahawa SPM itu masih penting lagi? Atau adakah dia akan memikirkan perkara lain sebagai matlamat kehidupannya?

Kehidupan ini seringkali berubah-ubah dan begitulah juga hati ini. Matlamat kita akan berubah mengikut suasana dan tahap pemikiran dan pemahaman kita terhadap sesuatu. Maka renungkanlah rangkap yang seterusnya.

Dunia ibarat air laut
Diminum hanya menambah haus
Nafsu bagaikan fatamorgana
Di padang pasir

Hayatilah maksud rangkap ini dengan mendalam. Semoga ini bakal menjadi suatu panduan untuk kita memahami rentak-rentak kehidupan yang singkat ini.

nights and days

It is Allah Who has made the Night for you, that ye may rest therein, and the days as that which helps (you) to see. Verily Allah is full of Grace and Bounty to men: yet most men give no thanks.

(Al-Ghafir : 61)

new header

New header again B). This time the picture is 3D. Check the original picture on your right.

HbA1c

Since I am not that busy at the moment, I spend sometime to understand few biochemical procedures involved in managing diabetes. All diabetic patients nowadays are managed by measuring their blood glucose and for long term management, their blood glucose are measured in term of HbA1c.

Everytime I went to the diabetes clinic, all the children with diabetes will go to the nurse and the nurse will prick their fingers to take sample of their blood. HbA1c is part of the red blood cells and people with diabetes have slightly higher proportion of HbA1c. The more glucose they have in the blood, the more glucose stick to the blood cells (HbA1c) and the lifespan of these blood cells is about 3 months. Thus, by measuring HbA1c, you actually measure the average of 3-months blood glucose :)

Now, the process involved in measuring HbA1c can be either high-pressure cation-exchange chromatography, electrophoresis or immunoturbidometric methods. I know the concept of electrophoresis but not the other two procedures. Google them up and read the procedures. Interesting :).

Nevertheless, if someone offer me to do research something to do with lab, most probably I reject it :). Spending hours after hours in the lab is not something that I like.

english test

I read in the Australian newspaper that Howard's government will implement a new plan that requires all the new citizens to take English test. And to be an Australian citizen, they have to pass that test.

This kind of language test should be done at Malaysia too. Can you imagine how many of those immigrants who are not able to speak in Malay? Just imagine how much you lost if you are not able to communicate in native language. It is impossible for someone to become entirely dependent to other people as their interpreter.

Speak English 'or go home'

finish

Alhamdulilah, finally managed to finish editing the entire database. There are few data which are missing and need to be follow up.

the promise

O men! Certainly the promise of Allah is true. Let not then this present life deceive you, nor let the Chief Deceiver deceive you about Allah.

Verily Satan is an enemy to you: so treat him as an enemy. He only invites his adherents, that they may become Companions of the Blazing Fire.

For those who reject Allah, is a terrible Penalty: but for those who believe and work righteous deeds, is Forgiveness, and a magnificent Reward.

[Fatir : 5-7]

database

will be busy for the next few days. I need to check and update my entire database. The number of entry (patients) is already more than 160.

strangers

While waiting for the consultant today, a small boy came near me and sat down. I guess he is around 5 years old. I thought he want to drink some water since he was quite close to the water filter...

He told me that he does not want any drink. OK.

Then, I turned around to check for the consultants. Within minutes, his face turned bright red and he closed his face with his small hand. He cried and cried continuously. I'm surprised and I don't think I do anything wrong.

Few nurses nearby started to notice him. One nurse asked him and he told us that he could not find his mum and dad and sister. The nurse asked his surname. He quickly told us while he was still crying. Fortunately, the consultant that I am waiting for was interviewing his family :).

Imagine you are a little kid and surrounded by adults. You are small and the adults are biger than you. You don't know anyone of them. All of them are strangers. Aren't you afraid? I understand why that little boy cried. Being surrounded by strangers certainly give us that kind of fear especially if the physical size differ very much.

That little boy reminded me of my childhood and my little brothers and sisters. Doing research among children certainly give me that kind of feeling every time I meet them. What a day :)

no more 'Crocodile Hunter'...

A DOCTOR has told of the desperate efforts to save Australian icon Steve Irwin after the Crocodile Hunter was struck in the chest by a stingray barb today.

Irwin, 44, died this morning after being fatally injured while filming a nature documentary off Queensland.

The news has shocked the nation and prompted a rush of tributes from politicians and the public alike.

Irwin's wife Terri was in Tasmania at the time of the tragedy and had to be contacted by police with the terrible news.

Dr Ed O'Loughlin was aboard the Emergency Management Queensland Helicopter which was called from Cairns at 11.21am (AEST).

Irwin was being given CPR at Low Isles, off Port Douglas, as the helicopter arrived less than one hour after the incident, but Dr O'Loughlin said nothing could be done to save him.

"It became clear fairly soon that he had non-survivable injuries," Dr O'Loughlin said.

"He had a penetrating injury to the left front of his chest.

"He had lost his pulse and wasn't breathing."

read more.

Photoshop tutorial: Pattern 2

The next part of this tutorial will discuss on how to apply the new pattern you have made into a blog. This tutorial will involve Photoshop and some knowledge on CSS (Cascade Style Sheet).

Before applying the new pattern, we need to discuss the properties of a typical blog. The picture below shows the main section of a blog. This layout is based on my blog. As you could have seen, there are several sections such as body, base, header, main, sidebar and footer.

The new pattern can be filled into any of these section and for this, you need to know the width of the section that you are going to apply the new pattern. In this blog, I have used the pattern in Base which have the width of 800 pixels. You could have used the pattern in Main which have the width of 500 pixels.

[This measurement is based on my own blog. Thus, the exact width may be differ from your own website]

It is important to know the exact width as this have important consequence later :). Let say you are going to fill the Base which have the width of 800 pixels.

1. Create a new image 800 x 20 pixels with transparent background.

2. Next, choose fill tools and click pattern. Check the picture for clearer instruction.

3. Usually, the new pattern that you have made will be there. I would like to show you the other options of Pattern tools. Usually I saved all my new patterns under the category of self pattern 1.

If you have created several patterns, it is a better technique to save all those patterns under a new category. By saving under one name, it will help you to transfer your own pattern in case you have to reformat your computer or if you have to reinstall Photoshop.

If you click Reset Patterns, Photoshop will replace the current pattern with the default pattern. Choosing Save Patterns allow you to save the new pattern under a new name. By clicking any categories of the pattern such as Artist Surfaces, Color Paper etc, you can replace the current pattern with a new category. In my case, I need to click Self Pattern 1 as this is the category for all the new pattern that I have made previously :).

4. Next, choose the new pattern that you have made.
5. Now, choose the Fill tools again and choose fill Pattern with the following options. Check the picture :).

[If you could not found the Fill tools ie Paint Bucket picture, right click on the small black triangle. Remember that there are hidden tools as indicated by the small black triangle ;)]

6. Now, the mouse will become a Paint Bucket. Click the empty area on the image and the new pattern will fill the entire image. The image now should look something like this...
7. Now, click File / Save for Web ...and just click save and rename the file :). The new picture will be saved in the format of gif. Saving a picture as .gif reduce the size (and the quality too) of the picture and enhance the speed of viewing your website.

[All the pictures of these two tutorials are in the form of gif. Hence you might notice the low quality but faster speed of viewing the pictures]

8. Now, you should have an image that has been filled with the new pattern. Next, you need to upload the new picture into any website that can hosts the picture. You can use Blogger since they provide the option to upload the picture. Please remember the url of the picture ;). The final image will be looking like this. Since the pattern is the same as my background, probably you cannot see the exact picture. Try to click somewhere below this sentence :D

9. Now, this is the tricky part where you need to know a bit about CSS :). Remember that what I have said about the width. By creating a picture with 800 pixels width, the picture now can fill the entire Base section. But the picture is only 20 pixels in height. So, how do you manage to fill the entire section with the same picture?

Please check your CSS of your website and find the location of the section that you want to fill with the pattern. In my case, I need to find '.base'.

Now, type this under .base...

background: url('yourpicturelocation') repeat-y;

The trick here is 'repeat-y'. By writing this, the picture will be repeated along the y-axis (vertical) and thus fill the entire section till the bottom of the website. If you write 'repeat-x', the picture will be repeated along the x-axis and you can fill horizontally.

An example is shown below

.base {
margin: auto;
background: url('http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/1708/517/1600/wrapper.0.gif') repeat-y;
width: 800px;

10. Now, having done that, you need to make sure that all the other sections do not have the properties of background or colours in their CSS. If they have those properties, your pattern in .base may be hidden behind .main, .sidebar, .header etc. Let me know if this sound too confusing :)

11. Hopefully, you can manage to do the previous step :). If you have any problem, feel free to leave your question in the comment box.

Beside doing pattern for your website, the picture below shows few examples on how you could use pattern.

For more photoshop tutorials, you can either click the link under Photoshop reference on your right or click here.

Photoshop tutorial: Pattern 1

I have been designing my own blog for the past two years. The current template was created using Frontpage 2003 and Photoshop CS2. The background of this blog is filled with a pattern that I created using Photoshop. Having pattern as your background make your website more interesting and it is a better alternative than using only colours to fill the background.

In this post, I will try my best to explain the steps involved in creating and managing your own pattern in Photoshop :). This tutorial will be quite lengthy as it is my intention to wrote this tutorial for the beginners. If the picture are not clear, please click for larger picture ;).

The objective of this tutorial is to create the image as shown below.

This tutorial will explain how to use custom shape as a pattern and save the new pattern in Photoshop.

1. Create a new file with size 20 x 20 pixel and make it transparent.
2. Next, choose your forecolours. Check the picture below. Double click the black box.

   [Note that the black box represent your foreground colour and the white box represent the background colour. It may not be the same colour depending on the previous colours you used in the past]

3. A new dialog box will appear and ask you to choose the colour. Make sure you do not click the box 'Only Web Colors' and put in 9dc6ca as your foreground colour.

   [For the purpose of this tutorial, the pattern that will be created is based on this blog. Thus the colour chosen will be the same as mine :)]

   With the same technique, choose your background colour by clicking the white box instead of the black box. Put c5d1d0 as your background colour.
   
4. Next, you need to choose custom shape tool.

   [Custom shape tool give you the ability to choose various shapes that are available in the photoshop]

   Check the red arrow on the picture below. The picture shows the location of custom shape tool but at the moment it is hidden.

   [In the Tools, there are more options shown but most of them are hidden. Can you see the small black triangle at the bottom right of the square? The small black triangle indicate there are hidden tools. If you check the rest of the tools, there are a lot of those small black triangle. Give it a try to check what kind of tools are available :)]

   The square shown in the picture represent the rectangular tool. Right click at the square....
5. And, a dialog box will appear. Click custom shape tool as shown below.
6. Next, a new option will appear at the top of the window. Click as shown in the red box.

   [Everytime you click any tools, there will appear a new option on the top of the window. It is not exactly top though, the option will appear below standard toolbar {File Edit Image Layer etc}]

7. Next, click the small black down arrow as shown in right red box. Choose unconstrained.
8. Next, we need to choose the custom shape that we would like to use. First, click the black down arrow next to the black bird (The image may be differ from yours depending on the last shape you used). A new box will appear. Click the down arrow as shown in the picture below. Then, choose Ornaments.

   [This step shows how you can replace and choose any custom shape available in Photoshop. There are few categories available]
   

   A dialog box will appear and ask you whether you want to replace the current shape with ornament.csh.

   [If you click ok, the Ornament shape will replace the current shape and by clicking append, it will add ornament shape to the current one.]

   Click OK.
   
9. Next, choose this shape :)
10. Since the file is only 20 x 20 pixel, we need to zoom in before applying the ornament shape. So, find the navigator tools on your top left and click as shown by the red arrow. Click it until you reach 600%.

    [The navigator tool is an important tool. If you zoom out and want to move to another part of the image, the easiest way is to drag the red box in the navigator tool]

11. After zoom in the image, apply the shape. Drag your mouse from top-left corner of the image to the bottom right corner. Make sure the ornament fit the whole box. The image should look like this...
12. Next, we need to create a new layer. Go to the layer tool on bottom right corner and click the symbol as shown in the red box.

    [The symbol is a shortcut to create a new layer. Tips: if you drag layer 1 to that symbol, a duplicate layer will be created. If you drag any layer to the dustbin ie the symbol on the right, the layer will be deleted]

    
13. A new layer will be created. Layer 2.
14. Next, we need to change the foreground colour to the background colour. Go the foreground tool and click the arrow as shown in the picture. This will change your background colour into foreground. The foreground colour now should be lighter than the background.
    
15. Make sure you have clicked layer 2. Now, choose fill tool and choose fill foreground as shown in the picture.
The mouse now should change into a paint bucket. Click the mouse on the empty area of the image and the foreground colour should fill the entire image.

16. If everything is right, the workspace should look like this.
17. Now, we need to move layer 2. Drag layer 2 below layer 1 and now it should look like this.
The image should be looking something like this now...

The final step is to save this image as a new pattern. Click Edit / Define pattern / and put whatever name you like.

Next tutorial will explain on how to apply this pattern such that it can be put into as background of the blog :)

tute

Currently involved in writing a photoshop tutorial :).

new header

New header image. On the left is the original image taken from vladstudio.com.

The website is certainly my favourite for excellent wallpaper :)

IE7- RC1

That stands for Internet Explorer 7 Release Candidate 1.

Not much different from Beta 3 though. Overall, the latest Internet Explorer only match what has been available on Firefox and Opera. 3-4 years late.

I still remember the day I choose Firefox over Internet Explorer. Whenever I try to open more than 10 windows on IE, my operating system (Windows XP) start to slow down and later hang. I have to restart all over again. Plus there are simply too many security breach while using IE.

The first time I am using Firefox, I'm quite impressed with tab browsing. It was the first time I use that feature. Now, surfing through many website is as simple as one click. Just click one tab and you will go to the next web. In IE, you have to click the blue taskbar below (most of the time, I choose to group all the IE windows as one group), and then choose from the list shown. That cost me two clicks of effort :).

I'm also impressed that there are simply too many extensions to the Firefox. From time to time, I will visit the Firefox site to check the latest extension available. You will never know what do you need unless you give it a try ;)

Having said that, the only time I ever use IE was when I need to update my operating system and Microsoft Office. The Microsoft website simply don't allow you to use other browser beside IE.

random

Looking back at this map, it seems my blog visitors are rather spread out. Probably most people found this blog accidentally. There are few big dots at North America and Europe. Australia and New Zealand as expected :)

يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ اتَّقُوا رَبَّكُمْ وَاخْشَوْا يَوْمًا لَّا يَجْزِي وَالِدٌ عَن وَلَدِهِ وَلَا مَوْلُودٌ هُوَ جَازٍ عَن وَالِدِهِ شَيْئًا إِنَّ وَعْدَ اللَّهِ حَقٌّ فَلَا تَغُرَّنَّكُمُ الْحَيَاةُ الدُّنْيَا وَلَا يَغُرَّنَّكُم بِاللَّهِ الْغَرُورُ

O mankind! do your duty to your Lord, and fear (the coming of) a Day when no father can avail aught for his son, nor a son avail aught for his father. Verily, the promise of Allah is true: let not then this present life deceive you, nor let the chief Deceiver deceive you about Allah.

[al-Luqman: 33]

choice

Ever since I read Aie's answer to my questions, I have been thinking.

She said that she never had any choice to choose medicine. That sentence send me straight away to my past :).

During high school in which I took science stream subjects, biology and chemistry were never my favourite subjects. I usually get around 60% for biology and for chemistry around 65%. In fact, I failed my chemistry once ;).

My language subjects, be it Malay or English were never my strength. I hardly ever get marks beyond 80%. I am only good in Math and Additional Maths. Physics..hmm, towards the end of my F5 year, I started to like the subject.

Nobody in my family nor relatives nor distant relatives has become a doctor or nurse or anything to do with the medical field. So, you cannot said that I've been influenced by my family or relatives. In fact, I never dream to become a doctor.

After SPM, I went to the matriculation for about 2 months. During those time, I attended several interviews. Whenever I try to apply for any scholarship, usually I don't know which career I should choose. Thus, I choose several most popular careers such as medicine, engineering and accounting :).

In the end, I got several interviews and few weeks later, I received two offers for scholarship. One for engineering and one for medicine. It was tough time for me to decide. One path will give me 3-4 years at uni and another will send me 5-6 years at uni. I'm strong in Math and Physics but not Biology.

After asking guidance from Allah, somehow my heart tends slightly towards medicine. Thus, if someone asked me why did I choose this path, probably I would say that I don't know :D and only Allah knows what is best for me.

23 on 23

Narrated 'Abdullah:

The Prophet drew a square and then drew a line in the middle of it and let it extend outside the square and then drew several small lines attached to that central line, and said, "This is the human being, and this, (the square) in his lease of life, encircles him from all sides (or has encircled him), and this (line), which is outside (the square), is his hope, and these small lines are the calamities and troubles (which may befall him), and if one misses him, an-other will snap (i.e. overtake) him, and if the other misses him, a third will snap (i.e. overtake) him."

Sahih Bukhari

Another milestone reached. Alhamdulillah.

Life in this world is a great gift to all of us. Use it wisely.

yahoo mail beta

I've been using Yahoo Mail beta for a few weeks. The new features are certainly nice and user-friendly. Plus the introduction of tab browsing certainly increases the fluidity of moving around the email account. The added feature of rss feed certainly new to any email account. I can't remember there is rss feed in hotmail, msn or gmail account. Overall, the new yahoo mail seems like a browser within a browser to me.

Everything has its downside though. The beta version eat a lot of bandwidth. Probably due to high usage of java. I cannot access the beta version if my internet speed is slow. That means dial-up user probably cannot use the new version of yahoo mail. Hmm, wonder if the yahoo people can fix that or not....

trial and tribulation

Alif, Lam, Mim.

Do men think that they will be left alone on saying, "We believe", and that they will not be tested?

We did test those before them, and Allah will certainly know those who are true from those who are false.

Do those who practise evil think that they will get the better of Us? Evil is their judgment!

For those whose hopes are in the meeting with Allah (in the Hereafter, let them strive); for the term (appointed) by Allah is surely coming and He hears and knows (all things).

And if any strive (with might and main), they do so for their own souls: for Allah is free of all needs from all creation.

Those who believe and work righteous deeds,- from them shall We blot out all evil (that may be) in them, and We shall reward them according to the best of their deeds.

(Al-Ankaboot :1-7 )

signs

Do you recognise the symbol on the field there? More in here

delectable food

Aie introduced us to this fotopages showing lots and lots of delicious food ;)

Would like to share this with everyone :)

For delicious food, click here [Enjoy the view, preferably check the website when your stomach is not empty :D]

project outline

I need to submit my project outline in few days time. It need to be within 1000 words and need to explain the scope and few details of my research. It is very similar of writing up a research proposal.

The trouble is the more I wrote for my project outline, the more likely I feel I am writing the real final project out. I have to repress my finger from linking out to the references in the reference software, Endnote :D. If not, the last page of my project outline will be full of references.

Anyway, need to continue my work for a little bit. To reach 1000 words is quite a challenge for me. As I'm not a person who loves to write long paragraph nor stories [You can know that by reading my previous posts in this blog :)]

blogger in beta

Blogger has recently upgrade the features on blogger.com

There are few changes in the way we set up the blog. There is an option that can restrict your blog audience to few people only. I think the main notable difference is the additional option to edit the template. Previously, Blogger only offer one big empty space for the user to put any html/css/javascript. Well, that interface may suit some people who knows the technical jargon of html but not for the beginners. Hence the new interface provides a good interface for the beginners and it is quite user friendly.

This new interface is still in beta and at the moment, you can only join the beta version by signing up using Gmail account or wait for the invitation from the blogger (need to check the dashboard for that)

Tour

crazy banana

AN Australian has put a banana for sale on eBay in protest at the Howard Government's management of the economy.

After last week's decision by the Reserve Bank to raise interest rates the seller claims he can no longer afford to keep the banana and has decided to cut his losses and sell the piece of fruit.

It turned out to be a sound business decision. He has received a $26 offer.

Tropical Cyclone Larry destroyed 80 per cent of Australia's banana crops earlier this year forcing a hike in prices which currently rests at an average of $12/kg.

In the immediate aftermath of Cyclone Larry banana prices were projected to reach $6/kg but Australians have had to dig deep for the usually inexpensive item and there are still concerns prices will continue to rise.

The seller of the banana has included three photographs of the product to keep with the eBay selling tradition of displaying products for sale.

"As can be seen in the photo(s) the banana is quite a pleasant shade of yellow, with green tinges suggesting that it should survive another week or so," said the seller.

"When eaten, I suggest slicing over breakfast cereal (as I initially planned), or alternatively you could allow it to ripen a little, freeze it and make "real" banana bread later this year when prices would otherwise forbid it."

And just when you think bananas could not possibly be more expensive, do not forget that this fruity treat does incur shipping - the regular $5 postage charge will be added to the highest bid.

Taken from here

Funny :D. Believe me, in Australia nowadays, the price of banana is skyrocketing. Beside oil price, banana price is certainly increased by leaps and bounds. After reading this, I think anything can be selled through eBay :)

3 analogy

Abu Musa (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said, The guidance and knowledge with which Allah has sent me are like abundant rain which fell on a land. A fertile part of it absorbed the water and brought forth profuse herbage and pasture; and solid ground patches which retained the water by which Allah has benefited people, who drank from it, irrigated their crops and sowed their seeds; and another sandy plane which could neither retain the water nor produce herbage. Such is the similitude of the person who becomes well-versed in the religion of Allah and receives benefit from the Message entrusted to me by Allah, so he himself has learned and taught it to others; such is also the similitude of the person who has stubbornly and ignorantly rejected Allah's Guidance with which I have been sent.

[Al-Bukhari and Muslim]

This hadith has symbolic meaning for each of the part of the nature being used.

Rain = knowledge
Land = people who learned the knowledge (student). Note that there are three different types of land being described here.

The first analogy describes that whenever the rain came upon the fertile land, the land absorbed the water, and from the water, grow out trees and many vegetations. The vegetations later provide fruit and shade to the animal and human being.

The second analogy describes a different type of land. Whenever the rain soaked the earth, the land only contained the water but does not absorb the water to let vegetation grow. Thus, the land may become a pool, lake or a river. From the water that being contained here, the land provide drinks and supply water for irrigation etc.

The third analogy describes a totally different type of soil. The land is so sandy such that it does not absorb nor contain the water from the rain. Thus, the land becomes useless to the animal and human being. It does give any benefit whatsoever to anyone who pass through the sandy land.

How these three analogies relate to knowledge?

The first one describes a group of people who acquire the knowledge and act upon it. They also convey the knowledge to other people too.

The second analogy describes a group of people who acquire the knowledge but does not act upon it. They do not implement whatever they have learned but instead they told other people to act upon the knowledge.

The third analogy describes a group of people who acquire knowledge but does not act upon it and neither tells other people about their knowledge.

The first group of people is certainly the best of people and the third group is the worst group of people to be. This hadith despite being short, it conveys an important message that almost everyone, if not all are affected by it. The hadith describe three categories of people who acquire the knowledge of the Quran and hadith and act differently upon the knowledge. After more than 20 years living on this world, it is something for me to contemplate whether I am in the first, second or third group of people as described above....

light

Allah is the Light of the heavens and the earth. The Parable of His Light is as if there were a Niche and within it a Lamp: the Lamp enclosed in Glass: the glass as it were a brilliant star: Lit from a blessed Tree, an Olive, neither of the east nor of the west, whose oil is well-nigh luminous, though fire scarce touched it: Light upon Light! Allah doth guide whom He will to His Light: Allah doth set forth Parables for men: and Allah doth know all things.

(Lit is such a Light) in houses, which Allah hath permitted to be raised to honour; for the celebration, in them, of His name: In them is He glorified in the mornings and in the evenings, (again and again),

By men whom neither traffic nor merchandise can divert from the Remembrance of Allah, nor from regular Prayer, nor from the practice of regular Charity: Their (only) fear is for the Day when hearts and eyes will be transformed (in a world wholly new),-

That Allah may reward them according to the best of their deeds, and add even more for them out of His Grace: for Allah doth provide for those whom He will, without measure.

But the Unbelievers,- their deeds are like a mirage in sandy deserts, which the man parched with thirst mistakes for water; until when he comes up to it, he finds it to be nothing: But he finds Allah (ever) with him, and Allah will pay him his account: and Allah is swift in taking account.

Or (the Unbelievers' state) is like the depths of darkness in a vast deep ocean, overwhelmed with billow topped by billow, topped by (dark) clouds: depths of darkness, one above another: if a man stretches out his hands, he can hardly see it! for any to whom Allah giveth not light, there is no light!

(An Nur : 35 - 40)

oil

On 17th October 1973, Islamic nations from OPEC announced selective embargo toward nations that support Israel. From then onwards, a global economic crisis was created and US economy suffered the most. This energy crisis certainly shows how powerful Middle-East nations were when they are united. And it changes the US policy towards Arab nation. More info here

Having said that, that event certainly shows how oil controls the entire globe. Look at the war on Iraq. Certainly it was not caused by 'weapon of mass destruction'. Many believe the objective was to capture Iraq's oil properties since Iraq is a rich oil-producing nation. An increase in oil price create major disturbance and inflict great concern among many people. Even for an increase of 10 cent certainly spell out trouble.

I came across this hadith describing events before the Last Hour.

Abu Hurairah (May Allah be pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said, "The Hour will not come to pass before the River Euphrates dries up to unveil the mountain of gold, for which people will fight. Ninety-nine out of one hundred will die (in the fighting) and every man amongst them will say: `Perhaps I may be the only one to remain alive.'''

Another narration is: "The time is near when the River Euphrates will dry up to unveil a treasure of gold. Whosoever may be alive at that time, should not take anything of it.''
[Al-Bukhari and Muslim]

Do you know where the River Euphrates flows? It flows from Turkey through Iraq. Thinking about the hadith, I think there will be another war or battle somewhere in near future along the River Euphrates. And to think that many people will die in fighting for that mountain of gold.....

At present, even oil already caused major trouble / war in this world. Aren't we getting closer and closer to the Last Hour?

blind heart

Do they not travel through the land, so that their hearts (and minds) may thus learn wisdom and their ears may thus learn to hear? Truly it is not their eyes that are blind, but their hearts which are in their chest.

(Al-Hajj : 46)

affliction

Abu Sa`id and Abu Hurairah (May Allah be pleased with them) reported that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said,

"No fatigue, nor disease, nor anxiety, nor sadness, nor hurt, nor distress befalls a Muslim, even if it were the prick he receives from a thorn, but that Allah expiates some of his sins for that"

(Al-Bukhari and Muslim).

a busy week

Another week of collecting data for my research. My research is a clinical audit and that involves me interviewing and examining as many patients as I can. Felt like doing OSCE a thousand times but this time it is real patient. No more simulated patient.

It is quite hard initially. The first day, the clinic received few 5th year medical students and I felt quite crowded indeed. I think they are doing their rotation for paediatrics. Anyway, I managed to get through that. Some of the 5th year thought me as a real doc as I'm quite fast doing my interviewing and physical examination:). I had to be fast as I need to get as many patients as possible.

Examining patients was not that easy though. I have to do the interview and examination in front of the consultants and registrars. Quite nervous at first. I had to be self-conscious at first of what I talked and told to the patient. Being the lowest in the chain and lacking expertise certainly a cause for me to be anxious.Fortunately my supervisor help me a lot.

After spending a lot of time with the patients, I have noticed that the patients and their family are quite varied. There are childrens who are so hyperactive and in another extreme, there are those who are so gloomy. There are parents who are over-protective and quite anxious. And there are parents who let their children to have anything what they want. There are a lot of invisible pyschosocial factors hidden among the patients and families. An interesting observation for me.

death

Every soul shall have a taste of death: and We test you by evil and by good by way of trial. To Us must ye return.

(Al-Anbiya : 35)

heedless

Closer and closer to mankind comes their Reckoning: yet they heed not and they turn away. Never comes (aught) to them of a renewed Message from their Lord, but they listen to it as in jest,- Their hearts toying as with trifles. The wrong-doers conceal their private counsels, (saying), "Is this (one) more than a man like yourselves? Will ye go to witchcraft with your eyes open?" Say: "My Lord knoweth (every) word (spoken) in the heavens and on earth: He is the One that heareth and knoweth (all things)." "Nay," they say, "(these are) medleys of dream! - Nay, He forged it! - Nay, He is (but) a poet! Let him then bring us a Sign like the ones that were sent to (Prophets) of old!" (As to those) before them, not one of the populations which We destroyed believed: will these believe? Before thee, also, the messengers We sent were but men, to whom We granted inspiration: If ye realise this not, ask of those who possess the Message. Nor did We give them bodies that ate no food, nor were they exempt from death. In the end We fulfilled to them Our Promise, and We saved them and those whom We pleased, but We destroyed those who transgressed beyond bounds. We have revealed for you (O men!) a book in which is a Message for you: will ye not then understand?

(Al-Anbiya : 1-10)

reality