Eid Mubarak: Undefined

It’s almost Eid, and my thesis status is still undefined. I have submitted the first draft of the first four chapters to my supervisor for correction. I pray that he will take a good look at it and we could discuss about it after Eid. In the meantime, I’m working on the most crucial part of my thesis which shows no hint of progress.

Another thing which bothers my mind: my face skin care condition is getting worse; in fact this is the worst in many years. I don’t want to sound superficial but there are at least two persons commenting about my face, “Ida, apa jadi dengan muka awak?” A normal woman could not just pretend that this matter does not bother her at all. Pimples keep popping, not to mention the existing whiteheads, blackheads, freckles. To make things worse, I like to pinch my pimple, leaving all those ‘nice’ scars. All of a sudden, I got mad at one skin care product that promotes: say no to bread face. I’m thinking, what’s wrong with bread face, I got bread face!

Two good friends of mine said, maybe I am stressed with the thesis. Yup, I am stressed on worrying of doing nothing when actually I should be doing something which I don’t know how to do it. There, I feel better after writing all this. I know, I should be grateful with what I have and keep striving for the best. But please excuse me my dear reader(s), a grumpy lady needs to whine once in a while

During this eid break, I need to work out the method on how to incorporate the following equation into my code:

AverageDelay(t) = α * AverageDelay(t -1) + (1−α) * MeasuredDelay(t)

AverageDelay(t) = average delay at round t

AverageDelay(t-1) = average delay at round (t-1)

α = weighted factor

MeasuredDelay(t) = measured RTT at round t

That’s more than enough technical terms I think. Just feel like sharing the burden, that’s all. No need to take it seriously :)

'Ala kulli hal, Eid Mubarak, my friends. We have two days of Ramadhan left. Let’s make the best of it!

Nama Beta Sultan Alauddin

Tajuk : Nama Beta Sultan Alauddin
Pengarang: Faisal Tehrani
Penerbit: Aberdeen Books

Sebelum buku ini keluar, saya telah berpeluang membaca beberapa bab daripada buku ini dalam bentuk cerpen. Ironinya, cerpen yang merupakan bab terakhir buku ini telah saya baca jauh lebih awal dalam Majalah I. Semacam spoiler juga lah jadinya.

Ringkasnya, ini kisah tentang salah seorang sultan pada zaman Kesultanan Melayu Melaka, Sultan Alauddin Riayat Shah gelarannya. Baginda merupakan anakanda Sultan Mansur Syah dengan puteri Majapahit. Menariknya Sultan Alauddin merupakan Sultan yang sangat-sangat menekankan perlaksanaan syariat Islam dalam pemerintahannya. Baginda memang terkenal alim dan saksama orangnya.

Sasaran buku ini sebenarnya adalah kanak-kanak. Bahasanya pun mudah difahami tetapi tetap menarik. Secara jujurnya, saya berpendapat ada babak-babak yang boleh dikategorikan sebagai 18 SG. Tetapi tidak mengapalah, tidaklah ganas mana dibandingkan dengan filem dan drama bersiri yang sering ditonton di tv.

Tidak tahulah samaada disengajakan ataupun memang kisahnya begitu; akan tetapi saya mendapati kisah Sultan Alauddin mirip kisah hidup Khalifah Umar Abdul Aziz. Dari karakter, perjalanan hidup hingga pengakhirannya, ternyata ada persamaan. Waktu sekolah menengah, kisah Sultan Alauddin ada disentuh dalam subjek sejarah. Semasa itu saya membayangkan Sultan Alauddin seperti Khalifah Umar Al-Khattab (nenda Khalifah Umar Abdul Aziz).

Pengarang memang berjaya membuatkan kita rasa kagum pada Sultan Alauddin, malah kita jadi sangat-sangat kepingin menyaksikan pemerintahan pemimpin seumpama baginda sekarang. Ketampanan sosial (meminjam istilah Puan Ainon Mohd) Sultan Alauddin teramat menyerlah sepanjang pembacaan buku ini. Satu lagi kebetulan yang mungkin disengajakan, nama guru Sultan Alauddin ialah Nuh Ha Mim. Tidak dapat tidak saya terbayangkan Sheikh Nuh Ha Mim Keller. Tetapi pengarang pernah juga menggunakan nama Dr Lo' Lo' dalam buku 1511 Kombat. Ada maksud tersirat mungkin?

Pengakuan jujur daripada saya, saya menangis sewaktu membaca dua bab daripada buku ini. Bab yang mana, saya tidak mahu beritahu, nanti jadi spoiler. Rasanya inilah kali kedua saya menangis baca buku kanak-kanak. (Kali pertama saya menangis baca buku Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince pada bab majlis pengebumian (pengkebumian?) Dumbledore). Namun, tangisan yang ini lebih bermakna rasanya. Tangisan keinsafan dan kesedaran insya Allah. Betapa dunia Islam sangat memerlukan pemimpin seumpama Sultan Alauddin terutama dalam zaman yang penuh fitnah ini. A must read!

Much Ado About Campus

The varsity election is back. Controversial as usual. Same hype, same rumor, same issue. Being a university student for almost 8 years, I got fed up and tired of it all. Ok, I better clear myself; this entry is not about the so-called election. Still, I would like to write about varsity-related stuffs.

Recently, I read from TheStar that 8tv will be collaborating with the private higher institutions in a program called The Ultimate Prom Night. Yes, you read it right, PROM Night. According to the official website: “The Ultimate Prom Night is a glamorous on ground event especially organized for college students around Malaysia. A total of 3 colleges will be selected in each region (North and South) and 12 colleges in Klang Valley, where the students will get a chance to attend the event. 10 boys and 10 girls will be selected from the roadshows held and during the prom night, the most popular guy will be selected and crowned as the Ultimate Prom King and one girl as the Ultimate Prom Queen. A memorable event that is sure to keep the college students talking for a long time to come!”

The ‘best’ part is that, the 8TV CEO stated that he wishes this program will be extended to public universities next year. I wonder whether they will try to 'islamize' the program if they dare bring it to IIUM. Maybe it will be called Mahabbah Nite, who knows. Like the way Jom Heboh has been ‘islamized’ to Perkampungan Hadhari. Only Allah knows how these business-minded (or should I say profit-minded?) guys think.

What is the significance behind this program, I really couldn’t comprehend. Of course I believe they will come up with this justification: to give the students a chance of socializing as well as getting to know each other better, to gain self-confidence, the chance to be heard, etc etc. My, my, you don’t need a special program to do that. It has been happening all this while, successfully; judging from the amount of campus couples today. I will not talk about other universities; instead I will focus on my beloved IIUM because insya Allah I know better about it. The IIUM authorities have been having a hard time in eradicating the coupling culture even without this ‘socializing programme’. Imagine what would happen if the idea of PROM nite (Mahabbah Nite rather?) is brought inside.

People might say, who I am to judge as I am an anti-social, nerdy person who has no idea what PROM is all about. True, I have never been to such an event, but to be honest, I have watched enough teen flicks on tv and pirated cds to grasp what does PROM signify. If I am not mistaken, (referring to the teen-flicks again) even the Americans know that such event brings more harm than good. There will be heartbreaks, degrading of self-confidence, and the popular ones remain popular and the less popular ones will remain being ignored. Not to mention other immoral conducts that may be produced later on.

Besides, it is an open secret that there ARE Malay Muslims students who go clubbing. The situation is already bad as it is, don’t make it worse. Curiously, why on earth are we taking the culture which the Americans themselves are not interested in anymore? I rest my case.

p/s: The most anticipated nite: LAILATUL QADR is back ! Let’s do qiyam insya Allah :)